All is Fair

An extract from the journals of Sister Venerae

Pan City, POZ

September 8th, V26 – Late Evening

“Hi Penny, it’s me” I said into my phone. I was standing amongst flower beds and topiary on the roof of Longflower’s residence. The smell of jasmine and lavender was strong in this part of the garden and it was helping to calm my anxiety. It was always like this when I dealt with Penny, even from before when we were together.

“Good evening, Venerae” she replied, cold and distant. “How are your team after the attack on Tran? Did you get what you wanted?” I could hear the gentle mockery in her voice.

“Not everything I needed” I conceded to her. “I want to make a deal with you for the virus antidote”

“After tonight, my associates are no longer willing to deal with you. Your niece will die and the City will be engulfed in a viral outbreak” Penny responded, anger starting to taint her voice. “You chose to attack us rather than negotiate. That is the way of the Order, isn’t it Venerae?”

“It was a mistake, Penny, I know that. But you forced us into a corner. We had to try and take out your associates”

“So now what? My associates are ready to let this city burn. They can take what they need from the smouldering ashes once it is all over” she sneered.

“I can give you Jericho-Three” I told her. “Bound and gagged if you need it, but I can bring him into range for you. He’s the one you want isn’t it? You want to subvert him somehow, make him a tool for your masters?”

“An interesting idea, Venerae. My orders were to kill him, nothing more. His current incarnation has proven too adept at manipulating the actions of the Zone’s masters. I will take your suggestion to my associates and see if they will agree to it” Penny ended the call and I sat down on a wooden bench, exhausted from holding back my emotions.

“It will work, I am sure of it, dearest Venerae” spoke Longflower from my side. She was seated on the bench and had been listening to my conversation. A comforting arm wrapped around my shoulders and I laid my head against hers, the scent of the flowers drifting pleasantly from her.

“You smell like the garden” I told her, my anxiety fading in her company.

“I hope you mean the flowers and not the compost heap” she teased me.

=====

My phone rang and I dragged myself off the lounge I had fallen asleep on. A small grey cat meowed angrily at my movement and jumped away, leaving a fading warmth on my chest. I had not even realised it had been there but I already missed the comforting weight over my heart.

“Venerae, I have approval from Archimedes for what I need” said Jericho-Three urgently from his end of the connection. I rubbed my eyes and brought myself to an alert state of mind.

“That’s great” I said and stifled a yawn. Jericho-Three did not need much sleep but I certainly did.

“Penny has agreed to the meeting with us tomorrow, at the place and time we negotiated” I added. “Can your team get the preparations ready by noon?”

“Yes” he responded. “Will the Order be ready to act?”

“I have confirmation from Bishop Wainwright and Nata is already here with me. Did Twenty arrive OK at your location?”

“She has. It was quite a treat seeing her interacting with my people. Once this is all done, I may have to arrange a drinks night for us all. Get the whole gang together and celebrate our win”

“I admire your optimism, Jericho” I answered with a tired smile. “I’ll see you in the morning”

“OK Venerae, sleep well”. We finished our call and I shuffled wearily to the bedroom that Longflower had prepared for me.

As I opened the door I was greeted with the gentle snoring of Nata, still dressed in her street clothes, sprawled across the bed covers. An open book was on the pillow beside her head, long hair spilling out from its braid in a fan of dark strands. A nightlight was the only illumination, highlighting her young face.

She looked far too comfortable for me to wake her up so I let her lay where she was. I put the book on the bedside table and pulled the covers over her, turning off the light. The bedroom that Longflowers’ maid had prepared for Nata was down the hall, but I decided to stay in here with the Novice.

The chaise lounge was comfortable and I threw a blanket over myself that I found in a cupboard, stubbing a toe on a wooden chair leg in the process. I swore quietly to myself, trying not to wake Nata, as I hopped to the makeshift bed. I had slept in far worse places over the years and I drifted off to sleep quickly enough. My dreams were vivid, a jumble of people and places I had been in over the years, mostly missions I had worked on with Penny.

Yet every time I took down the target, they had Penny’s face and screamed at me with her voice, clutching at my arms. Begging me not to let her go.

=====

September 9th, V26 – Noon

A chill wind blew over the top of the empty residential tower, cutting though my clothes despite the armour coat I had buttoned up across my chest. It was the middle of the day but the scattered clouds were low and dark, promising rain soon. The sun shone weakly through, lighting up the surrounding towers with golden shafts brilliant against the shadowed backdrop.

My eyes lifted unconsciously to the heavens, pondering the power that lay there. Mortal power and that of the gods, sometimes indistinguishable from each other.

<Don’t give the game away> came Jericho’s voice from my earbud. I looked over to him, sitting cross-legged on the concrete roof of the tower, his back against the housing for the elevator shafts that ran down the forty floors of newly built apartments below us. He was remarkably calm on the outside, his face as composed as a statue.

<Are you OK with this?> I asked for the hundredth time, subvocalizing through the throat mike. He was cuffed hand and feet, as demanded by Penny, wearing a simple blue workers jumpsuit. It must be freezing for him, yet he had not complained once.

Threadcutter sat in its scabbard on the rooftop just in front of him, also as Penny had demanded. That was fine with me, as I had no real intention of using it in this situation. Others would be doing the heavy lifting today, but my hands would be dirty soon enough.

<All good, Nata?> I subvocalized to the Novice. She was armed, our one requirement to Penny’s associates. Nata carried her short sword on a baldric over her right shoulder, sitting high on her left hip. Her armoured coat had been repaired skilfully by Parsifal as she slept and reinforced with protective charms by Longflower.

<I’m fine, just a bit cold> she answered, and walked around hugging her arms to her chest. She showed no signs of nervousness, making me realise the past couple of days had seasoned the Novice faster than any amount of drills or training could have done.

I glanced to our fourth member of the team, Parsifal, sitting on a metal comms antenna in his raven form. The breeze ruffled his black feathers as he watched the rooftop with his yellow eyes, his senses extending into the Dark Side as Longflower used him as her vessel. He was our early warning system and backup magical support all wrapped in one.

Parsifal rested his gaze on me for a moment and bobbed his head, an affirmation he was ready too.

Now all we needed was for the guests of honour to arrive and we could start the party.

====

At five minutes past noon, Penny appeared in a pop of displaced air, a tall dark haired man touching her left shoulder. She was dressed in a black pant suit, black gloves on her hands, and practical leather shoes. A metal cryogenic case was in her left hand, with a short barrelled assault rifle carried easily in her right.

She observed the three of us on the roof, then carefully put the case on the ground and stood upright once more. Without a word the tall man vanished and she was alone with us.

“You’re late” I admonished her and she smiled at me, just like she used to.

“I had to pick up something first” Penny replied and indicated the case at her side.

“May I check the contents?” I asked and stepped forward.

“Not yet” she said brusquely and raised the gun, aiming it at me, her finger on the trigger. Even one handed I knew she could shoot me accurately. “Where are the rest of your team?”

“The only people here are the three of us” I said, gesturing to Jericho and Nata.”We just want to make the handover without any fuss. There have been enough deaths already over this”

Penny listened to me without comment, her eyes roving around the rooftop, then at the surrounding towers. Satisfied, she turned to face me once more.

“You’re lying to me Venerae, but if it means I get my hands on Jericho then I’ll take you at face value.” She rested her gaze on Jericho, sitting quietly observant on the ground.

“Why are you letting this happen?” she demanded “What angle do you think you can work with me killing you?”

“You didn’t come to the Zone to kill me, Miss Deeds” Jericho said. “That would be a waste of your talents, and pointless in the end. I am an avatar, so killing this body just means a little delay while a new clone body is activated. I will be back in service to the Archimedes Network before you could call for an auto-cab”

“So why am I here, Jericho-Three?” asked Penny, watching him warily. She was closer to him now, barely five meters from where he sat, cuffed and defenceless. I felt myself tensing and forced myself to deliberately relax, not ready for the finale. Not yet.

“You have been given a new weapon by your masters, a Quantum Field Disruptor, and I am the ultimate test. The initial results were promising, but you want to try it out against a full Avatar” Jericho said matter of factly, meeting her gaze. “That is why you are here, Miss Deeds, and why I agreed to this charade”

Penny moved fast, her Enhanced reflexes making her body a blur as she closed the distance to Jericho. He was faster, his legs pistoning him into the air and flipping him onto the roof of the elevator housing, three meters over our heads.

I sprinted for the cryogenic case, snatching it off the ground and heading to the east corner of the rooftop. <Contact, contact!> I said into my throat mike as I cleared the central space.

At the corner I stopped, reached over and latched the case to a drone concealed below the ledge of the roof. <All yours , Zeke> I said into my mike, and grabbed the sword concealed next to it.

<Copy that> came the reply and the drone detached from the wall anchors, dropping away and accelerating clear.

“Ferro Mortis” I shouted and my sword flashed blue as the enchantment was activated. Sentinels were swarming up from the emergency stairwell and over the building edges, maybe a couple of dozen. Nata was already engaged, her short sword arcing in deadly blue tinged sweeps as she cut the mechanical soldiers apart.

Gunfire sprayed across the rooftop and I activated my shield spell a little too slowly, heavy rounds impacting on my armoured coat. I was driven back but held my feet, the shield spell soaking up the remaining fire.

I rushed into the closest knot of Sentinels, forcing them to dodge and weave as Ferro Mortis smashed their metal bodies, truly living up to its name of Iron Killer. More Sentinels were joining the fight, coming up from their hiding places in the tower. It was as we expected, but the sheer number that Penny had subverted was staggering.

Looking to the upper roof, I could see Penny struggling with Jericho. He had torn off the hand and leg restraints and was fighting her in close quarters. I had never seen him fight before, yet he was built to be fully capable of keeping himself alive. Penny had the combat experience, but his body was better designed from the start.

Nata had felled all the Sentinels around her, but she was bleeding from a number of wounds, some from gunfire and others from the metal hands of the mechanicals. More were climbing towards her, heedless of the bodies of their fallen comrades.

I knew I could not reach her in time, caught in the press of my own opponents. Then a black clad figure in a bowler hat appeared at her side, yellow eyes blazing, his silver headed cane held like a sword.

“Sorry Miss Nata, I was delayed by some mechanical men” Parsifal announced to the relieved Novice. He leapt nimbly at the Sentinels and swung his cane in sharp and well executed strikes. Each blow hurled a mechanical flying over the edge of the roof with ease, accompanied by a string of comments like “Take that, you ruffian!” or “Begone, sirrah!”

I surged through more Sentinels, decapitating one and splitting another down the centre. More bullets slammed into my back and sides, nearly toppling me, yet I staggered on towards the raised elevator housing. I had to reach Penny before it was too late.

At the wall of the housing I jumped as high as I could, pushing power into my levitation tattoos to hurl me onto the roof. I landed clumsily, not far from where Penny had managed to corner Jericho against a metal ventilation column. Her superior combat knowledge had allowed her to pin him in place, and she had her left arm extended, held against his neck.

“Penny!” I shouted, “You can’t use the disruptor on him! He has a failsafe protocol in his processor”

“Shut your mouth, Venerae!” snarled Jericho, struggling to free himself.

“What do you mean?” said Penny, even as I could see the air distorting around her left arm, strange ripples appearing in the light.

“Archimedes won’t let you subvert him. Orbital One is aimed right at us, at this building. If you try to take control, the failsafe will trigger a strike. It will destroy everything, including you!”

She paused and looked at me, doubt suddenly evident. I walked up to her, lowering my sword.

“Please Penny, don’t do this, let me save you” I said with a choking sob. I held out my left hand to her, willing her to take it.

<Move a meter to your left> said Twenty.

“Please Penny, for the love we once shared, don’t make me do this” I cried and moved to my left. Penny’s eyes followed me, and her expression was confused.

“What are you doing, Venerae?” she asked.

“Killing you my love” I sobbed and fell to my knees as the Railgun rounds struck her. The first severed her left arm above the elbow, the second took her through the spine. She screamed and fell in a welter of blood and fluids, metal and Ceramite shattering under the fury of the Railguns.

The tall man appeared beside her as she fell, reaching out to touch her, to teleport her to safety. Just as we expected. Two Railgun rounds exploded his skull and the Mare and his Host perished instantly.

<Targets are down> said Jericho into the communications link. <Good shooting Trixie and Twenty>

<Copy that, Boss> came the reply from Trixie.

The sounds of fighting below had ceased, the Sentinels losing the link to their controller. Jericho stood at the edge of the roof, Penny’s rifle in his hands, checking there was no more threat.

I crawled to where Penny’s body was leaking its life away, her torso separated from her legs and groin. My body was heaving uncontrollably with grief at what we had done to her.

Her eyes were still moving, her lips still trying to speak.

“Vee” she croaked, crimson fluid bubbling from her lips, “Are you there?”

I knelt in her blood and cradled her head in my hands. “I’m here Penny” I said softly, wiping her face and moving the long dark hair away from her eyes.

“I am so sorry my love” she said to me, “I could not stop what they wanted me to do”

“I know, Penny, I know. You were being controlled by an AI”

“You knew?” she asked wonderingly, searching my face. “When did you realise?”

“From the beginning. I was only certain when we met at the Marina. You never called me Vee like you used to. And you never told me you were still in there” I ran my hands over her head, feeling the scars under the hair, where the new processor had been installed.

“I upgraded one time too many” she said. “I thought the quantum processor would give me the final edge I needed. It just gave the AI a chance to take me over”

Her body and her systems were failing now. The light in her artificial eyes was fading.

“It was the Athena AI” Penny told me, clinging to her dying mind as long as she could. “Make the bitch pay for what she did to me”

“She will Penny, I give you my word”

“I’m sorry about Millie, Vee” she whispered. Her power was almost gone now, the processor winding down. “The antidote really is in the case, I promise you”

“Thank you, Penny” I said but she was already gone.