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  She followed the map until she reached the first T-junction. The sounds of distant gunfire popped off the corridor walls to her left. The map told her that the exit lay to the right. The fighting in the other direction sounded intense.

  Who the hell let me out? And what kind of distraction were they talking about?

  Eline looked to her right again. According to the map on her SIG, freedom was no more than three doors away. Eline took a step that way but hesitated. The guard had claimed that Malek was in the building. For some reason, the crime boss wanted to see her in person.

  No, she thought, changing direction. I’m going to give Malek exactly what he wants. He’s going to meet me in person. And I’ll be the last person he ever sees.

  #

  Mass Madness

  She sneaked into the loading bay, staying low so as not to be seen, and holding her blaster tight. The fighting seemed heaviest near the loading bay doors which were no more than thirty yards away.

  Eline ran to a stack of crates and peeked between the cracks. Among the guards defending the loading bay, with his back against her, stood the person she was looking for.

  Eline would have noticed that golden cloak anywhere. Malek!

  He was still too far away. She sprinted from behind the crates and sidled up to a broad support beam, edging her way closer to the man who killed her sister.

  She ran from the support toward a piece of machinery resembling a generator. A bolt of plasma sailed overhead, missing her by inches. She rolled to cover and leaned against the generator’s metal plating.

  Malek was less than a dozen yards away now. Eline took a deep breath and leaned out, ready to fire.

  He was no longer there.

  “Looking for me?”

  Eline turned and jerked her head sideways as a meat cleaver struck the generator’s control panel. Malek caught her right wrist with an off-hand strike using the blade’s flat edge, knocking the blaster from her hand.

  The golden-cloaked Malek wore a deep hood, masking his features in shadow, but Eline could feel him peering into her eyes.

  “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Eline,” the crime boss hissed with unconcealed excitement. “You know, Vale told me you were a much better fighter that she was, and I’m glad to see the lying bitch told the truth some of the time.”

  He swiped at Eline’s shoulder and she rushed him head on, grappling his chest and limiting his reach. They tumbled to the ground and wrestled for a time before Malek got the upper-hand. His strength was impressive. Even if Eline had been at her best, she knew he still would have beaten her.

  What was I thinking? Her heart beat furiously in panic.

  Worry must have flashed across her face, for Malek released a howl of delight.

  Eline thought she could see his canines flash in a wild grin, but she couldn’t be certain.

  Malek had one of her arms pinned with his knee and the sleeve of the other arm held with his hand. Eline knew that she could free her hand with a quick jerk.

  And then what?

  The idea occurred to her suddenly. It seemed desperate, but it also felt right. If she was going to die, she was going to look her killer in the eyes as he performed the deed. She pulled with all her might and her sleeve slid free. Her hand snapped up and pulled away Malek’s hood.

  Eline almost choked, for the waiter from Olly’s restaurant stared back at her. He pinned her arm back down with ease and giggled.

  “You’re Malek?” She could barely form the question.

  “Surprise!” he exclaimed with a crazed shriek.

  “I thought you didn’t let people see your face,” Eline muttered, trying to buy herself time. For what, she didn’t know.

  Malek chuckled again. “I don’t mind people seeing my face just before I kill them. In fact, I prefer it!”

  “What do you want with me?” Eline cried out. “Why couldn’t you just let me be?”

  “You know too much.” His eyes took on a crazed look. “And those who know too much must die!”

  Malek lifted the cleaver into the air and the blade came down.

  A bolt of plasma smashed into Malek’s head, forcing him off Eline and onto the floor. He screamed and writhed as flames engulfed his black hair. Someone in a TEK stepped over Eline and moved toward Malek, firing at him several more times.

  Eline climbed onto wobbly knees, and her savior spun to face her. Eline almost passed out.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Eline? You never listen!”

  Eline was so stunned, she couldn’t speak, let alone move. Her ears rang and her head spun. As much as she moved her mouth, words refused to form.

  “You were supposed to go, dammit!”

  An endless flood of questions saturated Eline’s brain. So many tried to escape at once that she only managed to squeak one word. “Vale?”

  A shot fired behind Vale and a hole exploded in her breastplate.

  Vale looked down at the gaping wound in disbelief and crumbled to the floor.

  Malek stood behind her laughing, a plasma rifle in his arms.

  “No!” Eline screamed as she ran for Vale.

  A second blast of plasma struck Eline’s left shoulder, the force throwing her to the ground. She choked on the stench of burning flesh as acrid smoke stung her eyes. The pain threatened to engulf her soul entirely, but Eline caught sight of Vale’s twitching fingers. The burning plasma wound paled in comparison to the resulting anger swelling within her.

  Fury, hatred, and spite combined and lent Eline the strength to roll onto her side.

  Her blaster lay on the ground, just out of reach.

  Malek stood with one foot on Vale’s neck, his warped eyeballs—baked into his half-melted face—staring from odd angles. He aimed the plasma rifle at Vale’s head, his teeth somehow still managing to grin without a mouth.

  Eline kicked her legs out, and her hand gripped her blaster. She emptied the battery into Malek, and he fell on top of Vale, a gaping maw where his face should have been.

  Eline cast her spent blaster aside and pulled herself toward Vale with her only working arm.

  She reached out for her sister with little regard for Malek and what threat he might still pose. The world could have burned for all Eline cared, if only she could look into Vale’s eyes one more time.

  She pulled her sister’s head around to face hers and was relieved to find life still shining in them.

  “It’s okay, Vale,” Eline said desperately, tears clouding her vision. She wiped them away, not wanting to miss one more second with her sister. “Malek’s dead, sis. Help will be here soon.”

  Vale’s lips moved but barely made a sound. Eline had to lean closer to hear her words.

  “Go be free, Eline,” Vale whispered.

  “But I can’t be free without you, sis.”

  “Yes...you can.” Vale’s words came in gurgles and rasps. “Leave...this place. Be...free. For me.”

  The life in Vales eyes waned and Eline cried out, leaning her forehead against her sister’s cheek and inhaled the scent she so dearly missed...the smell of home. “Don’t you dare leave me again, Vale.”

  “I never...left,” Vales words were barely audible. “I watched you...from...the shadows.”

  Vale closed her eyes.

  “Open your eyes, Vale! Don’t go to sleep! Help is on its way!” Something deep inside told Eline it was pointless.

  Vale’s eyes suddenly opened wide and for an instant they were full of recognition and life. “I love you...Eline.”

  “I love you too.”

  The light suddenly fluttered out as the last dregs of life left Vale.

  Eline huddled closer, sobbing into her sister’s chest, just as she’d done so many times when growing up. Vale had protected her from the brutality of Claracia, and Eline couldn’t even return the favor. She had a second chance to save her sister, and instead her sister had saved her.

  As Eline’s fingers brushed Vale’s hair aside, something pulled at
her ankle, snatching her away.

  “No!” she screamed. “Vale!”

  Eline repeatedly screamed her sister’s name, the words drowned out by the gunfire as she was dragged toward the hangar doors.

  She looked back to find that she was being dragged by an Aegis warrior. The Aegis dragged Eline with one hand while fighting her way through the throng with the other. All the while, Eline struggled in vain to break free.

  The Aegis dragged Eline up a ramp and into the back of an assault vehicle.

  Eline kicked the armored warrior, but it carried on without so much as a glance in her direction, its vice-like grip holding tight.

  The Aegis finally dropped her on the deck and stepped away.

  “Relax, child,” a female Shanti voice demanded in sultry tones. The Aegis pulled a lever on her neck, and her helmet retracted into the TEK’s collar, revealing one of the most beautiful Shanti Eline had ever seen.

  “To hell with relaxing,” Eline objected, wincing in pain. “That bastard just killed my sister.”

  “There’s nothing you can do about that now,” the Shanti snapped.

  “Who do you think—”

  “Stay here,” the Shanti ordered, as if Eline had a choice.

  The Aegis snapped her helmet back into place and charged back down the ramp, closing the vehicle bay doors behind her so Eline couldn’t leave. Not that Eline could have gone anywhere even if she’d a mind to. She had spent every remaining ounce of her strength to get to Vale, and it still wasn’t enough. It never was.

  #

  X.Claracia Farewell

  Eline held onto the rail as she watched Vale’s face through the suspension chamber’s glass cover. Aegis Inx had returned to the loading bay to retrieve Vale’s body.

  Their dream had come true, after all. They had left Claracia together, but one of them had left as a corpse.

  “We were supposed to leave Claracia together,” she muttered under her breath. “But not like this.”

  Eline tried to force a smile to match the one on Vale’s face—on her true reflection. At least she’s at peace now.

  Eline cocked her eyebrow. She realized that Vale wasn’t just smiling. She wore that knowing half-smirk that told everyone she got her way. Vale had seen to it that Eline was free, but Eline knew that it was Vale who had achieved true freedom.

  The suspension room door hissed and Eline turned her head to see Inx enter.

  “I don’t mean to disturb you, child,” Aegis Inx said. “However, we’re getting ready to enter the G-Gate and need to lock this suspension room down.

  “Of course,” Eline said, wincing as she let go of the rails.

  “Is everything okay with your wound?” Inx asked, walking toward her.

  “The ship doctor said I’ll need another round of regen therapy, but my next session is tomorrow.”

  “I see,” Inx said, joining Eline at the rail. “Your sister was very special, you know.”

  “I know,” Eline whispered. “I know it was for my own good, but I can’t believe Kibble lied to me like that.”

  “They had to make you believe Vale was dead. It was the only way she could protect you. Otherwise you would try to return to her.”

  “I understand that, but it still hurts.”

  “Most wounds heal in time,” Inx explained like an old sage.

  “I spent the last two years believing she’d died because of something I’d done, and I got her killed in the end anyway.”

  “Something tells me that Vale wouldn’t see it that way,” Inx said with a smile—the first Eline had seen from the Aegis since meeting her.

  “And to think I believed Vale and Kibble about it being a heist.”

  “It was part of their cover,” Inx explained. “Though I suppose you could call the operation a kind of prolonged heist. Kibble and Vale lasted all this time under cover and they stole the most valuable thing in the galaxy. Information.”

  “I guess you’re right.” Eline sighed. “I just can’t believe that she stuck with the operation the entire time, even after Malek cut off her legs. I know he gave her robotics, but still...What a psychopath.”

  “Like I said, Vale was special.” Inx looked back at the only other suspension chamber in the room and Eline followed her gaze. “I’m sorry that they have to share the same suspension room, but this rig is low on space.” She gestured to the Aegi ship.

  “That’s okay.” Eline limped to the opposite rail and ran her eyes over Malek’s remains. “I’m just sorry you didn’t manage to get the real Malek. It’s incredible how real the android looked.”

  “We’ll track him down in time. Thanks to Vale, we uncovered his operation and closed down several of his factories. We also have evidence that he has broken several major laws. That’ll give the Galactic Council the power they need to take him down. Your sister didn’t just save your life, she saved the lives of millions.”

  “I know,” Eline muttered. “I’d hate to know what would happen if he’d succeeded in building his android army.”

  “That’s what the Aegi Order is for...to stop things like that from happening.”

  “What happens now?” Eline asked.

  “Well, I was going to save it for later, but since you’ve brought it up...part of the deal was getting you safe passage off Claracia and enough money to have a decent life elsewhere. She knew you would never be safe as long as you were together. We’re still happy to honor that arrangement. However, Vale was going to join the Aegi Order at the close of the operation.” Inx swallowed. It was the first time Eline had seen her so uncomfortable. “I understand it might appear insensitive at this time, but the position is yours if you want it.”

  Eline’s eyes went wide. “You want me to join the Aegi order?” She had to stifle a nervous giggle.

  “Don’t underestimate yourself, child,” Inx said with a sense of pride. “You’re a Shanti and we Shanti are strong. You’ve survived on Claracia all these years, and you’ve often done so on your own. You’re a survivor. And the Order values that above all else because it is an Aegis’s job to survive.”

  Eline was stunned to silence.

  Inx offered her a curt nod. “Give it some thought.”

  “I’ll do it,” Eline said without hesitation.

  Inx furrowed her brow. “Are you certain?”

  “I couldn’t be more certain.” More than anything else in the universe, Eline wanted to hunt down and kill Malek. Becoming an Aegis seemed like the quickest route to achieving that goal.

  “Very well then. We’ll make preparations as soon as it is appropriate.” Inx gestured to the doors. “Shall we?”

  Eline hesitated. “Can I have one more minute?”

  “Of course,” Inx said. “One more minute.”

  The suspension room doors hissed again as the Aegis left Eline alone. She limped back to Vale’s suspension chamber to speak with her sister one last time.

  “See you again one day, sis.” She turned away and hobbled toward the exit, thinking about Kibble, and Vale, and what they had achieved. Eline was beyond sad to lose the two people she’d cared about most, but she liked to think that she would swap stories with them again one day. When that day came, they could laugh about how they had pulled off one hell of a Shanti Heist.

  - THE END -

  About Killian Carter

  Killian Carter was born with a blaster in his hand (it was a complicated delivery) and grew up hunting cyborg aliens and extra-dimensional beings. He specializes in tracking and capturing space-ware-vampire-ninjas aka the TRAPPIST-1e leprechaun. Killian is well versed in the use of advanced photon weaponry, intergalactic quantum spacecraft, and a wide range of technology the government doesn't want you to know about. On weekends, Killian likes to kick back with a space-beer and a top-secret data crystal he stole from the REDACTED archives. Killian is rarely seen without his automaton chihuahua, Tequilabot.

  Warning: Killian will not hunt endangered Centauri unicorns or nebula pixies for you, so please don't
ask. If you insist on asking anyway, he will set his robot chihuahua on you.

  Killian is an active member of SFWA

  Connect with Killian here:

  www.castrumpress.com/authors/killian-carter

  Antithesis

  by Mitch Goth

  The wind of Maltese summer whipped at Dr. Jonah Edwin’s straw sunhat, carrying the salty aroma of the Mediterranean with it. Despite the leisure his hat suggested, he was all business from the neck down. He donned a navy suit and tie that hadn’t seen daylight since the last wedding he attended. Although he knew little about his mission, the brief stated ‘dress appropriately.’ He tried.

  As if the beaming sun wasn’t bad enough, his directions stuck him on a baking, black tarmac, awaiting instruction. Every so often, a jet liner belched wind his way, offering minor reprieve. And, he killed time watching those rainbow-colored vacation planes disappear into the cloudless sky.

  “Dr. Edwin,” a familiar voice called. Colonel Arthur Wilberforce, Jonah’s tall and physically foreboding chaperone appeared behind him. His simple military fatigues served as a stark contrast to Jonah’s tailored suit. “We’re ready to go.”

  “Right, yes.” Jonah nodded, and followed the Colonel in his brisk walk towards a line of unassuming hangars at the airport’s edge. “You know, you have yet to explain where we’re going.” Jonah scratched at his stubby short hair beneath his hat.

  Colonel Wilberforce glanced back, his bald scalp resplendent against the sunshine. “Our rendezvous has a debrief scheduled on the flight. Be patient, Doctor.”

  Jonah just nodded and hurried along. Confusion wasn’t new to him. As a psychoanalyst, it was pivotal to his job. Of course, remedying said confusion was just as pivotal. To him, that part wasn’t going so well.

  It wasn’t unheard of for the government to seek psychologists for contract work, so Jonah began more flattered than flustered. But Wilberforce wasn’t much of a talker, and they’d had a long journey from New York City. Supposedly, they needed him for something top secret. Apparently, too secret even for him to know.