Aboard the Eliza

  They follow Hyaline's guidance, leaving security and venturing down the lower hanger bay. With most of the lights on the Eliza took on a much different spirit in the low amber glow. It reminds Domitia of a ship ablaze with flame; the air seems thicker, with a strange haze collecting at the end of the halls. She realizes this is the result of leftover smoke from the battle that has yet to fully dissipate.

  They come across the partially open elevator, stained with blood like the half-open maw of a dead beast. The abyss leers out from the broken door, and the sound of metal on metal clinking together catches Domitia's attention. She pulls the door open, lance ready, and finds what she already knew was there—the broken cables of the elevator, still flailing about like dying snakes that stretched on deep up and down the shaft.

  Dell peers over the shoulder of the Bellator, giving her a glance, which she returns with a shrug. Domitia pulls a flare from her belt, lights it, and tosses it down the shaft. A burning red comet hurtles down the shaft, bits of debris and scraps of metal shining off it as it impacts on the bottom or as close to the bottom as it can get before rebounding a bit upwards and bouncing around the end of the shaft.

  "Any last words?" Domitia asks sarcastically.

  "Yeah, tell your kids not to grow up to be bounty hunters."

  That gets a chuckle out of Domitia, "And tell them not to become Bellators."

  The pair go down the shaft, Dell riding on Domitia's back while she ventures down gently, taking care to watch her sectors as she descends. She flips around and lands on her feet at the bottom of the shaft. impacting on the ruins of the elevator. It had been pulverized upon impact, the fate of its passengers unknown as she stomps through on her magnetized sabatons. The state of the hall is worse than above, somehow. Here, the carnage is much more apparent as the hall is caked in blood and viscera, frozen by the failing life support.

  "Something made a mess down here," Dell says grimly.

  Domitia doesn't reply; she's busy analyzing the scene before her. The number of bags and belongings that float aimlessly in the flickering amber light indicates an evacuation and a hurried one. No bodies are found, only the evidence of where men, women, and presumably children were cut down like livestock.

  Among the blood spatters and ion strikes are long, narrow scars in the metal. Domitia scans them, identifying them as slices from energized blades. Not uncommon in these parts, as some fights are often so close that a blade is needed to finish the fight. Yet the slaughter that had occurred here only boils Domitia's blood. It evokes distant, nearly overwritten memories of the thunder of guns and the smell of burning flesh. Of the thrill of survival and the agony of losing a loved one. Losing a father.

  "The fuck happened here..." Dell speaks again, "Dom, ya seeing this?"

  "Yeah," Domitia says, keeping her temper in check. "Now I'm hoping for a fight."

  "Why do you think they ran?" Dell ponders.

  "Foolish thing to do, really," Hyaline says with little pity. "The safe rooms would've protected them if the SOS had gone through."

  As Domitia strides forward, the red ice cracks and shatters, leaving a red mist in her wake. She makes it to the end of the hall, finding it opens into a vast hanger bay; an eclectic collection of ships lines the main deck, while above, more ships hang in massive cradles. They range in class, make, and model, but they all had the same level of wear and tear one would find on any deep spacer vessel. Rust around the nose cones where heat panels were beginning to fail. Exhaust stains show where the jets would be while the ship was in full thrust. Fading colors reveal the grey slate void steel underneath the older-looking vessels.

  "Okay," Hyaline begins, "Where are you now?"

  "In the hanger, believe on the starboard side."

  "Good, good," Hyaline mulls over things for a moment. "There should be a catwalk running above you. Follow it, that will lead you to the service hall that runs under R&D. Should be a straight shot to the Liminal Array."

  Domitia deactivates the mag-lock on her boots and gives herself a burst with her ion thrusters, launching her upward, Dell clinging onto her back. The pair of bounty hunters soar through the dimly lit hanger, passing over and under a number of ships as they do so. Along their journey, Domitia keeps an eye out for any signs of an ambush. Right now, floating through the hanger, would be an opportune chance to strike.

  As she does so, a ship catches her eye - it's red, with white stripes running along its hull and scars of battle across its aft nose. Along the nose, she can see the name of the ship written in bold white font, 'The Drunken Mailman.' The name rings a bell in her mind, and she recalls that ship being one of the missing vessels. The suspicion had been pirates, the same pirates supposedly menacing this stretch of Big Empty. Yet here it is, resting in a steel cradle, its doors open, its engines dead.

  "Dell," Domitia calls her partner over the private comm, "See that?"

  "Yeah, I saw a few others. It makes you wonder what kind of research they're up to," Dell sardonically remarks.

  "Hmm," Domitia grunts as she adjusts their flight to bring them alongside the catwalk. She aims her lance at the end of the walkway while using her free hand to guide herself along it.

  "Say doc," Dell says over the open comm, "Lot of ships in here. Y'all running a side gig or something?"

  "If you're insinuating piracy, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, Dell," Hyaline dismisses Dell's question like an insulted parent, "Of course your kind would ask such a thing."

  "Oh, my kind?" Dell asks, finding amusement in Hyaline's prejudice, "What do you mean, my kind?"

  "I'm well aware of grumlian culture," Hyaline says, his arrogance coming across as almost comical, "I know you're kind like to believe all cultures dabble in crime. I'm afraid we run a legitimate business."

  "How do you know I'm a grumlian?" Dell asks, Domitia feeling the smile on his face.

  "A lucky guess," Hyaline does his best to recover, but the conclusion is obvious.

  He's been watching them. For how long? Domitia isn't sure of that, and that concerns her the most. Yet as she approaches the bulkhead out of the hanger, the fact that there hasn't been an ambush yet causes her even more concern. Restoring the Liminal Array could be something the remaining pirates onboard, if there were any, could do. However, the fact that this doctor has been leading them along like this while watching them makes her think this is more than a simple boarding action.

  Her thoughts turn to the real reasons they're bypassing R&D.

  The door out of the hanger opens with a pull and twist of the knob found in the center of the door. The inside is pitch black, causing Domitia to turn back her low-light visor. Inside, two bodies are frozen against the wall in puddles of their own blood. A third floats lifelessly between them. The ones on the wall have the same blue armor as the rest of the security detail, weapons dangling from cords. The third is a mystery - black armor with cybernetic arms and blades protruding from the forearms. The body has no patches or unit markings, just glinting black armor with a grey undersuit.

  "Might be a pirate," Dell observes, "Big money floating there. Arms alone could fetch a hefty price, armor too; how's the helmet?"

  The body answers that question for Dell as it drifts around. The visor is completely caved in, and icy mountains are rising where blood had been oozing out.

  "Never mind, I'm good," Dell says with a hint of disgust.

  The pair walk down the hall, passing by another set of bodies. One is floating upright, his boots keeping him standing as they're still magnetized to the floor. The other has bled out on the floor, a frozen puddle keeping him in place. They reach the end of the hall, a light above the exit flashing red.

  "Well," Dell gives the door a once over, "That's definitely a door," He tries giving the knob a turn, only to find it won't budge.

  "Is it locked?" Asks Hyaline.

  "Maybe," Dell floats up, clicking his tongue, "Ah, that's fun," He reaches onto his tool belt, "Jammed, hydraulics sent one of the bars right into the hull."

  "How long?" Domitia asks, already knowing the course of action.

  "Eh, a few seconds, keep an eye out," Dell answers as he activates the plasma torch.

  As he does, the sound of cracking ice attracts Domitia's attention. She aims her ion lance at the source, finding one of the cadavers is moving. The body twitches and pulls itself upright with such force it begins to float backward. Regardless, it grabs its weapon, but before it can fire, Domitia charges and puts an ion shot into the man's helmet. The ion round melts metal and causes the void glass to superheat and pop into thousands of pieces. Yet the man does not go down.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Blind by the shot, he returns fire in a spray of lead that clicks and clangs all over the hall. Dell curses as Domitia puts another round through his chest. The lance bolt fries his insides and bores a hole clean through. The body now returns to death and is sent flying backward. Suddenly, more began to stir, and a sickening feeling washed over Domitia; she knew what this was and now knew why the doctor was so evasive.

  The standing body turns around rapidly, ice snapping off as his rifle roars to life, lighting up the dark hallway. High-velocity rounds impact all around Domitia; she steps in front of the fire to cover Dell. She lands an ion shot on the neck; the superheated bolt of energy cuts his head off, yet the body continues. She lands another shot through the man's rifle, causing it to explode and melt most of his stomach. Despite this, it still does not die; it charges through the hall, dragging itself toward the Bellator.

  As it closes, two more bodies stir and fire, trying to suppress Domitia. Contemptibly, she produces her Hand Cannon with her free hand and lands an explosive round into the crawling cadaver, turning it into floating meat. As she does that, she returns fire on the two remaining dead men, landing a shot through and through on one, causing him to float upward, now truly dead. The other takes two shots before he finally ceases fire.

  "The fuck is going on?!" Dell looks over his shoulder, "I thought they were fucking meatcicils!?"

  The floating corpses then springs to life, arms reaching out and stabbing into the floor. It rushes at Domitia, weaving toward her at lightning speed, her enhanced hearing picking up the strain of metal and the cracking of synthetic bone. Before it could make it, she atomized it with a single charged shot, vaporizing the dead aug.

  Dell gets the door open, "Fuck was that?"

  They flood out of the tunnel and into another hallway, which forks upward and downward, and a set of stairs illuminated by low amber lights. Before Dell can say anything more, Domitia slams the door shut and bashes the hinges with her fist, causing the door to jam again.

  "Obviously, this is an ambush," Hyaline observes. "Clearly, these pirates are utilizing the dead as weapons."

  "Isn't hacked suits we're looking at," Domitia growls over the comm, "Ravenous."

  Domitia sees Dell visibly reel back, "Fucking what?"

  "A foolish observation." Hyaline comments, "Ravenous haven't been seen in these--"

  "Stop. Do not lie." Domitia's words contain an underlying promise of violence: "Should've known. The signs were there. How long has the infestation been allowed to fester?"

  Hyaline is silent momentarily, "It's been... perhaps three weeks. Maybe a month."

  "Fuck..." Dell's hands go to his helmet, "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He loses his cool, real fear coming through, "We have to go! Dom! We have to fucking leave this--"

  "We're too deep in now. It has us where it wants us." Domitia grumbles.

  Despite the trepidation she feels, something primal wakes up within her. Her Legacy stirs a rising desire for violence, a baying for blood coming from within her. She doesn't notice the smile growing across her lips as she tries to determine her next move. Her attention is torn to short-wave signals coming to life. Grunts and gurgles are picked up, laden with static. Groans and moans that carry pain and suffering come with them. It's at first unintelligible, then begins to form words.

  "Hungry... So hungry..."

  "Blood... Need blood..."

  "Pain! I can't feel anything but pain!"

  "GIVE US FLESH!"

  "YOURFLESHGIVEIT!"

  "GIVEUSYOURBLOOD!"

  From below, shambling figures begin to work their way up the weightless halls. Their shadows cast long, and the sound of cracking ice and stomping mag-locked boots echos through the hall. Screams, curses, and commands mix in with the cacophony. The horde nears.

  "Then what's our fucking plan?!" Dell asks.

  "Activate the Array. Alert Blackwatch. It's our only course of action."

  "Yes..." Hyaline begins to speak, "Yes. That has to be done."

  "Why wasn't it done?" Domitia can sense vibrations through her boots, thralls are getting closer. "Never mind. Where is it?"

  "Upstairs. You're close." Hyaline's confidence has been lost. "You must understand everything I did." He catches himself. "We did, we did for the betterment of the galaxy. You would understand that, right? You're a Bellator, after all. You know--"

  "I know well enough," Domitia launches herself upstairs, Dell riding on her back. "I know what they can do and the danger they pose. It's why I exist."

  Domitia and Dell burst up to the next landing, Domitia launching herself forward with bounding leaps as she passes through the maintenance hall. Through the grating above, the Bellator can see more shadows move. They jerk and twist to life like marionettes tugged and dragged along by an angry puppeteer. Some spot the bounty hunters and try to claw through the grating or even shoot through it. Bullets hail downward, sparking through the icy shaft, while Ion Strikes cut through the hall like lightning.

  The door at the end of the hall opens, figures poor through, guns blazing and blades gleaming in the low light. The bellator ignites her ion thrusters, rocketing forward, Dell clinging onto her with his tail around her waist. She fires a volley of Ion rounds, causing some figures to fall while others simply ignore the loss of limbs or heads.

  "Dell, 'nade them!"

  "Got it!"

  Domitia bursts through the shambling infected. As she passes, Dell tosses primed grenades. As the two pass through, the doorway erupts. Gore and cybernetics are sent in all directions as the bounty hunters get their bearings. Before her, Domitia can see the base of a great cylinder. Wiring like sinew pours from it in neat and organized lines. Above, through the grating, she can see the shape of the Array.

  With a lance burst, she makes a hole through the grating. As she does so, a pair of Ravenous Augs strike at her. One strikes at her with its last remaining arm blade. She deftly dodges it and puts a round from her hand cannon from her hand into the other who came at her with a katana. As the explosive round sends the sword-wielding infected in all directions, the other skids across the floor and bounds toward Domitia again. This time, Dell is there, his SMG roaring a storm of lead. While it doesn't end its suffering, it does cause its attack to stall, allowing Domitia to charge an ion shot and blast it through and through, vaporizing most of its upper torso.

  "How the hell do you put these things down?" Dell asks.

  "Have to destroy the brain stem and spine." Domitia answers deftly, "The virus takes control of the nervous system and grows into the spine and later brain stem. It causes immense amounts of pain, as well as implanting desires for violence and hunger." She leaps upward, through the hole they made.

  "That... is a well-informed summation," Hyaline observes.

  "Cut the chat," Dell looks over the Array, "Fuck, it's big. How do we fix it?"

  Domitia observes the Liminal Array, recognizing that this isn't just an ordinary beacon and transmitter. The Array looms over her, the glass ceiling above it casting it in pale starlight. Numerous dishes branch out from its metal trunk. The top ends in a central point that blinks a dull red, which indicates to Domitia that it's currently inactive.

  "During a viral outbreak, the Array is purposefully sabotaged to prevent the infected from utilizing it to draw in more victims." Hyaline states, "There is a way to fix this, but you must act quickly."

  The door into the Array closes and locks.

  "I've bought you some time; do not waste it!" Hyaline growls, "The dishes need to be realigned manually; I will direct you. Once aligned, the Array will be online!"

  "Split it up!" Dell points to the top, "I got the upper half, toss me!"

  Domitia follows her partner's lead, tossing him upward. He spins in the air as his suit's thrusters stabilize him. Domitia follows suit, getting to her first dish.

  "Okay, Domitia, that one you're in front of needs to be pushed in, then to the left until you detect a click." Hyaline says, "Dell, the one you're at needs to be pulled out, then to the right until you detect two clicks."

  The Bellator complies, carefully pushing the dish in. It's subtle at first, but she feels the dish slide back into place. With a steady hand, she carefully turns the dish until she feels the click vibrate through her gauntlet. Before she can ask for the next dish, something hits the door hard, the hinges on it buckling as something tries to force its way in.

  "Dell! Get the other dishes!" Domitia rockets down to the floor as something pushes the door flat as if it where made of cardboard.

  A massive figure, hulking with painfully swollen muscles, and an infected toak lead the charge in. The reptilian humanoid's scales can barely contain the swollen flesh underneath, the thrall's maw foams with blood, eyes bleeding as it wields a hunk of steel that had once been the leg of a Webster bot. Blood and spittle pollute the air as it roars, and the horde charges in.

  Domitia replies with grenades and ion; blasts of frag grenades scatter the incoming security guards while the ion blasts melt down the monstrous toak. It closes in rapidly, tail snapping behind it as if it were a seaborn predator. As its bulk meets with Domitia, she smacks it aside with her kinetic maul, sending it hurtling back.

  She watches as it crashes into the oncoming horde, and they either narrowly evade it due to their own frenzied movements or get crushed underneath its bulk. One black armored aug rushes toward Dell, blades out, the face of the human shedding tears of blood. Before the infected can even touch the bounty hunter, the Bellator crashes into it like a shooting star. The impact from the shoulder of the Bellator shatters what few bones remain in the body of the infected, but before it can even try and snap itself into shape, Domitia sends an ion round right down the throat of the infected, atomizing the thrall.

  "Three turns and push!" Hyaline instructs frantically.

  "Got it! Got it!" Dell replies, "Domitia, cover me!"

  "Providing cover!" Domitia responds coldly, her whole world narrowing down to this.

  In this moment she feels the inner beast baying to be let out. To be allowed to reap a bloody harvest on the infected mobs that rush at her. Yet the Bellator keeps her Legacy in check, recognizes the tactical situation. She needs to keep Dell alive, and she needs to put the call out.

  "One more!" Dell calls out as a rockets downward.

  Domitia smashes another aug aside and boosts her way out of the reach of another, sending an Ion shot through its brain stem. Suddenly, she's being peppered by lead as the infected security guards open fire, taking no care that their infected kindred that is rushing down the Bellator are caught in the crossfire. Domitia bounds away, keeping the shots both from the glass ceiling and her own partner. A few rounds find their way into the gaps between plates, the carbon fiber doing its job but still causing the Bellator to grunt in pain. She rushes toward the enthralled fusiliers, opening fire with both Ion Lance and Hand Cannon. Bodies burst, and flesh melts under the fire of the Bellator as she pushes the horde back.

  "Last one done!" Dell rushes down to the control console, "Booting her up!"

  Dell then gets to the control panel as Domitia rockets back to him, sabatons mag-locking to the floor as she covers Dell. The boot up sequences begins as the Array lights up. From below the generators whirl to life and the hum of Vita Crystals rumbles through the air.

  "We're online!" Dell calls out.

  Domitia reaches the console and opens the transmitter to go on all frequencies, "This is Bellator Domitia Sejanus! Identifier, one-one-three-seven! Ravenous Infestation Found on the--"

  The receiver turns red. The transmission ceases.

  "I can't let you do that." Hyaline grimly says.

  "You fucking moron! You're gonna get us killed!"

  "I'm already dead." Hyaline says darkly, "And so will you."

  Above, the glass ceiling opens, Dell is suddenly ripped upward by the sudden loss of pressure. Acting on impulse Domitia rushes after him. She's now in the void, the horde shunted into the void with her. She can't go back, and she can't leave Dell. That's when the observation deck comes into view.

  "Dom?"

  Domitia doesn't respond. Cradling Dell in her arm, she pushes her ion thrusters to the max and races at it.

  "Dom?!"

  She begins to charge her lance; she knows she has one shot at this.

  "Domitia?! What the fuck are you doing?!"

  She aims her shot, finding her angle as she uses the momentum to carry her in.

  "Dom?!"

  She fires.