"Why hasn't White Tiger reported yet? Black Tiger, ask him what he is doing," Phoenix commanded in vexation.
Black Tiger, the guard behind Phoenix, fished out a holophone from his cloak and tapped at it. A few seconds later, he said hesitantly, "He's not responding."
Phoenix let out an annoyed snort and gestured with her hand. A holographic display appeared above her desk.
"Security cam! Ablation Chamber!" she barked.
The display switched to the live feed from an enormous lab of some sort from various angles. In the middle of the stark-white lab was a massive contraption with batteries, coils, probes, and arms along with an operating table with handcuffs. Three cloaked figures were busy at work on the mammoth machine.
Behind them, a showcase lay smashed, shards scattered across the floor. Zablaron almost gasped as he noticed the Nova Conduit lying on it. He exchanged a look with Florinok.
"Is that White Tiger?" the guard with the feminine voice asked, trying to maintain her composure. She pointed at a cloaked figure lying slumped in one corner of the lab, a gun still grasped in lifeless hands.
"It is!" Black Tiger exclaimed.
"But who are these three?" Phoenix seethed. "Scan coins!"
The display beeped for a while before three names appeared above the heads of the figures — Warrior, Nightmare, and Phantom.
"Wraith! Which group is that?" Phoenix asked furiously.
"The Trio of Terrors," Wraith, the other guard with the gruff voice, replied. "But what are they doing here?"
"They are Wystals!" Florinok exclaimed. Everyone's heads turned toward her. "Look at the entrance!" she added.
One of the angles showed the doorway to the lab. The doors were still slid open, but a neon-red crystalline barrier had been erected to block the way.
Phoenix inhaled loudly. "Venom, summon security," she said calmly. "Have them eliminated before they destroy the Ablator."
Venom, the guard with the melodious voice, produced a holophone. "Guards, head over to the Ablation Chamber. Wystals have infiltrated," she urgently spoke into it. "Exterminate with extreme prejudice."
A couple of voices responded on the other end.
"The units closest to the chamber are not responding," Venom said worriedly.
Realization dawned on Zablaron as he figured out what had happened. To his surprise, Phoenix got up from her seat, marched around her desk, and seized his throat. He groaned in pain as she released a burst of amaranth energy crackles. "You lied to me," she whispered menacingly, her hand still on Zablaron's throat. "You let those snakes sneak inside!"
"We didn't, you fool!" Zablaron croaked as he wrestled her hand away.
"How did they enter, then?" Phoenix growled. "Speak!"
He caught his breath and continued, "We accidentally knocked out more of your buffoons than we needed — for the masks and cloaks. We took what we needed from four members, but there were still an extra three. The Wystals must have been following us and took the cloaks from those other three members."
"If you're telling the truth, why weren't they discovered during the ritual?" Phoenix demanded.
"Beats me." Zablaron shrugged.
"Seems pretty obvious, if you ask me. They headed straight for the tunnels," Glacia spoke up.
"Right. They weren't present during the ritual," Florinok deduced.
"They were busy slaughtering our guards on their way to the Ablation Chamber," Wraith grudgingly agreed.
"And then they must have been lying in wait for someone to unlock the chamber," Venom added.
"I was right about the Qwoiseene gas," Zablaron whispered. "Those three louts didn't wake up."
"Not the best time to discuss it," Florinok replied, unimpressed.
Everyone's attention turned back to the screen as they heard gunfire ricocheting off the crystalline barrier.
"Whatever they are doing, they aren't actually trying to destroy the Ablator," Phoenix observed curiously. The three figures were installing disc-shaped devices into the power batteries. "So much the better."
"It's much worse than you think," Zablaron interjected as he analyzed the build of the devices. "I'm pretty sure they are installing some kind of amplifiers."
Phoenix, Wraith, and Venom exchanged blank looks through their masks.
"They can't possibly..." Venom stuttered.
"Seal all entrances except the Ablation Chamber!" Phoenix thundered.
Through the feed, several metal doors in various places could be seen sliding shut.
"Comms online. Connect me to the Ablation Chamber," Phoenix commanded.
After a beep, Phoenix spoke up, "Wystals, you are discovered and trapped. Stop what you're doing immediately and surrender."
The Wystals looked around them as they heard Phoenix's voice. One of them removed his mask and responded, "Oh, Phoenix... I presume that's who I have the honor of speaking with? You know perfectly well you wouldn't have bothered to grant us this honor if we were really trapped. Aren't those noisy maniacs firing outside enough for you to heckle us as well? I gather you have figured out what we are doing?"
Glacia felt her eyes widening as she saw his face. She recognized the familiar round face with beady eyes and a thick mustache. I was right. He is bald! Glacia thought angrily as she watched the Wystal commander who had been with her on the ferry. She wished there was some way to let him know she had survived before the Cabal killed him — or, better yet, some way to kill him herself.
"What you are doing is suicide," Phoenix snapped.
"That's debatable," the commander countered. "What if we make it out of here?"
"You won't. All entrances are sealed. I know you mean to amplify the ES Ablator's radiations. You do realize you are standing right next to it? Be prepared to bear the brunt of it if you try to do that. Yours will be the first powers to be removed. The process is painful and deadly enough without the radiations being amplified," Phoenix replied fiercely.
"We are mere soldiers, Phoenix," the commander replied, still busy at work. The crystalline barrier was starting to crack against the gunfire. "We are prepared to lay down our lives if that means the destruction of your cult. If you want to save it, I suggest you start evacuating. No one will be harmed, and we will walk out of here with our prize. Otherwise, this amplifier will make sure the radiations penetrate each and every corner of this lair and remove everyone's powers."
"Get ready to be slaughtered, then," Phoenix said. With a gesture, she severed the connection.
"Should we inform the members outside?" Wraith inquired.
"Not at any cost!" Phoenix said immediately. "They will flee. We need them here so the Wystals have to face as much resistance as possible."
Just then, the Wystals finished installing the amplifiers. The commander raised a detonator in his hand and tapped at its screen. As Phoenix zoomed in on it, a countdown of ten minutes could be seen to have been initiated. Behind her mask, Florinok could imagine her face going pale.
The crystalline barrier shattered and four guards rushed inside. The Wystals took cover behind the gigantic machine, forcing the guards to hold their fire. Next, the Wystals lobed a diamond-shaped grenade at the guards. The latter retreated in panic, but the grenade exploded in an emerald flash of light and impaled them with dozens of crystalline spikes before blasting them back.
Phoenix banged her fist on her desk in fury. "Where are the other guards?"
"Zablaron, is there a way to disable those amplifiers?" Florinok whispered.
"Perhaps, but I can't do much, can I?" Zablaron said.
"Just answer me," Florinok insisted.
"Apart from wrecking them?" Zablaron said. "Hypothetically, yes. I could use my holophone to determine the frequency of that detonator and prevent it from activating the amplifiers."
"You could also use your magnetic powers," Glacia suggested. "Like an EMP."
"Yes. Again, modulated by holophone," Zablaron agreed.
Florinok turned away. "We can help disable those amplifiers," she said loudly. "Zablaron can."
No! I'm not sure, Zablaron thought, annoyed.
"Don't you dare to speak out of turn, you impudent—" Phoenix began.
"You are out of options," Florinok cut in. "And you are also out of time."
Phoenix put her hands on her desk and leaned forward. "Alright. Do it, then."
"Hand over our VBPs, first," Florinok demanded.
"Disable them," Phoenix replied. "Then, we'll see about that."
"We both know there's no guarantee with you," Florinok countered. "Besides, we must head to the chamber. We'll need our weapons."
Phoenix snatched her hands from her desk and paced back and forth. "I'm this close to activating self-destruct and burying everyone inside," she said. Then she stopped. "Very well. Wraith, Venom... I must leave. The leader of the Helix can't risk being here in these circumstances or else everything we have ever done will be for nothing. When I'm gone, return their VBPs to them and follow them to the chamber. Then whoever emerges victorious, kill them. Keep the Ablator and the artifact safe."
Venom and Wraith nodded.
"Black Tiger, you're coming with me," Phoenix added.
With that, she pressed something under her desk. A bookshelf behind her desk slid away to reveal yet another staircase. This one was ascending.
As Black Tiger led the way, Phoenix cast one last look at everyone in the room, before rushing up the staircase and disappearing out of view.
Venom produced three VBPs from her cloak and tossed them over. "Get to work now."
"The Ornebular's VBP too, please," Florinok said, as she rebooted her VBP.
"He won't be needing it," Venom replied.
"Florinok, there's no time to waste. Let's go!" Glacia urged.
"Go. I'll be right with you," Florinok replied. "Thorn Bramble!" she cried.
In a flash of forest-green, the gun materialized in her hand.
"As you wish," Glacia replied and hurried into the tunnel behind the fireplace.
Florinok raised her gun toward the door Beralaxon had gone into.
"What are you doing?" Wraith demanded as he moved in front of Florinok and pointed his gun at her.
"Get out of my way, please," Florinok said.
Zablaron looked after Glacia as she vanished into the tunnel before looking back at Florinok. He considered his next move for a moment. Ah, well, she'll handle whatever it is she's trying to do, he convinced himself and rushed into the tunnel.
"Don't push your luck!" Wraith threatened. "Go with your friends!"
Florinok flanked him and unleashed a barrage of forest-green thorns at the door.
...
Redwolf jumped as thorns poked holes into the door and shot into the room. "What the..." he exclaimed as he looked at the door in bafflement.
Florinok? was all Beralaxon had the time to think before he leaped at Whirlwind. Electric-crimson cosmic energy engulfed him as he left a nebulous trail behind him.
He collided headfirst with Whirlwind, carrying him off his feet with the momentum. Whirlwind's back rammed into the window behind, which exploded into a thousand pieces. Beralaxon closed his eyes as they lurched into the air, shards flying all around them.
They plummeted into the cavern, Beralaxon clutching tightly onto Whirlwind to make sure he stayed underneath him. Whirlwind landed on his back with a sickening thud as a groan barely left his mouth.
The lanky sleazebag failed to cushion Beralaxon as much as he had hoped and searing pain jolted through his body. He rolled off Whirlwind and clutched at his knee, which seemed to be hurting the most, as he lay writhing on the stone floor in agony.
The sound of something hitting the rock behind him made him open his eyes. Far above, Redwolf stood in the shattered window. The barrel of his gun was pointed in Beralaxon's direction.
Beralaxon rolled over rapidly as an electric-crimson orb with a sapphire disk around it burst forth from Redwolf's gun. The cavern wall crumbled at the site of impact as he got to his feet and limped forward into the tunnel.
He released a comet from his hand upward, causing Redwolf to step aside and dodge it.
Seeing his chance, Beralaxon hobbled down the tunnel, away from the window, as fast as he could. He briefly turned his head back to see Redwolf raising his gun once again.
Panic gripping him, Beralaxon quickly looked ahead. He engulfed himself in cosmic energy and propelled himself forward into the tunnel. Redwolf's attack ricocheted behind him somewhere.
Mustering every last bit of his enertrons, in another burst of energy, he zoomed through the air and landed a few yards ahead before he resumed running through a bend in the tunnel. The window was now out of view.
"You can't run forever, Bergamot!" echoed Redwolf's voice.
...
Florinok released a bunch of forest-green seeds from her hands. They exploded at the man's feet into hot-pink dust, causing him to be seized by a violent fit of cough. He bent over and clutched at his throat, struggling to breathe between his coughs.
Through the dust, Florinok aimed the Thorn Bramble at the man. He was the one Beralaxon had identified as Redwolf back in the forest. He had a flowing red beard with matching red hair.
"Let him go," Florinok said as the dust cleared.
Placing his hands on his knees, Redwolf took a huge gulp of air. It took him a moment to compose himself. Then he stood up straight. "Are you Bergamot's new friend? He's going to betray you, too. Look how he ran away. That's what he does best."
"Maybe. But you'd hardly blame him for running away from a "friend" who wants to kill him," Florinok said.
"Believe me, we didn't want to kill him," Redwolf said coldly.
"Tell that to Mr. Bonnel," Florinok spat.
"Enough!" Wraith growled as Florinok felt a gun to her head. "You have five seconds to leave. Or else, you die. Your friends won't find out until they have already disabled the amplifiers." Spitting on the ground, he began counting, "Five... four..."
"I see no reason to loiter around now," Florinok said, raising her hands. "Let's go."
With that, she turned around and calmly walked past Wraith toward the door. She briefly glanced behind her to see Redwolf jumping through the broken window. Some people never know when to give up, she thought, frowning, as she stepped through the door. I hope Beralaxon had enough of a head start.
...
"Rime Specter!" Glacia cried. In a powder-blue flash of light, a raygun materialized in her hand. It was powder blue with bright-turquoise accents.
"Steel Knight!" Zablaron cried, having caught up with Glacia. His cannon appeared in his hand as they rushed down the tunnel, nearing its end. They had both cast away their cumbersome cloaks.
"What are you so mad about anyway?" Zablaron inquired.
"All you need to know is to leave baldy alone. He is my prey," Glacia replied.
"That's going to be hard, but as you wish." Zablaron shrugged.
They emerged in a wide intersection, lit with white lamps along the craggy walls. To their left and right were mouths of other tunnels. Up ahead was a wide doorway labeled "Ablation Chamber" at the top. The bodies of guards lay strewn about near the doorway.
Presently, a few figures emerged from inside. For a moment, they halted in their tracks as they saw Zablaron and Glacia.
"Oh, no you don't!" Glacia said, raising the Rime Specter at the Wystals. She pulled the trigger, causing a bright-turquoise ray to be cast forth. As the Wystals dodged, it froze a section of the doorway in powder-blue ice. In a second, the ice exploded, destroying the section. The Wystals retreated into the lab, shielding themselves from the debris. One of them dropped the artifact he was carrying in order to wield his gun.
"Keep them busy," Zablaron said. "I'll try to jam that detonator. But don't shoot at that machine or else the amplifiers might go off."
"On it," Glacia replied as they chased the Wystals into the lab. The stark-white tiles were now chipped and cracked all around.
"Scan nearby devices," Zablaron spoke into his holophone.
As crystals launched in their direction, Glacia formed an ice shield to protect both of them.
Glacia returned fire just as the Wystals scurried back behind the Ablator. The commander peeked from his cover to fire at Glacia — before he froze in shock. "You?" he exclaimed.
"That's right," Glacia said, aiming at him. "It's me — Glacia Frosnow. You tried to drown me as well as bore me to death. And yet, here I am."
Zablaron frantically tapped at his holophone's screen, trying to decrypt the radio signal of the detonator. Meanwhile, he released magnetic waves from his body in a bid to disrupt any premature discharge.
"If you were smart, you would have gone back home," the commander replied as he withdrew from Glacia's assault. "Yet you survived only to die here. The detonation has only two minutes left. We'll barely be able to make it out if we hightail it out of here right now. You can choose to die with me, or you can save yourself."
Glacia blocked another barrage of crystals with a shield. She fired at the floor next to the commander. It exploded and hit him behind the machine, resulting in a loud groan. "I choose to outlive you."
...
Beralaxon alighted from the mouth of the tunnel into what looked like an intersection. An awful din originated from a doorway ahead and to the right, hurting his head. He could make out bodies lying all around it. He paused to catch his breath and shed off his cloak.
Suddenly, he could hear footsteps coming down the tunnel to his right. Did Redwolf find another way? Beralaxon wondered. He slowly retreated back into the tunnel he had come from and formed cosmic energy on his fists. As he cautiously peeked around the mouth of the tunnel, a figure emerged into the intersection.
"Florinok!" Beralaxon exclaimed and stepped out from his cover.
"Beralaxon!" Florinok said. "Here, catch this." She chucked his VBP at him.
Beralaxon immediately activated his VBP. "Quasar Arquebus!" he cried. An electric-crimson cannon with two barrels and a lens in the middle materialized in his hand. It had sapphire accents. "Did you... did you, by any chance, take care of Redwolf?"
"Not really," Florinok replied. "But I stalled him. Plus, he jumped from the same window you did. It's a long fall."
"Tell me about it," Beralaxon said, nursing his knee. He hadn't really had the time to confirm, but he was pretty sure Whirlwind had not made it.
"Come on. We need to head inside," Florinok said, pointing toward the doorway up ahead. "Zablaron and Glacia are in there."
"What are they doing there?" Beralaxon asked as they ran over.
"Wystals are about to amplify the Ablator's radiations and remove everyone's powers," Florinok replied.
"Wystals?" Beralaxon asked, surprised. "How did they—" he stopped short as they entered the white-tiled room. To his surprise, the Nova Conduit lay on the floor, near the doorway. Ahead, Glacia had erected a powder-blue, ice wall in front of her, taking potshots over it. Zablaron was busy tapping at his holophone urgently.
"Did you disable them?" Florinok inquired.
"No. I can't," Zablaron replied, gritting his teeth.
"What?" Florinok asked in shock.
"I can't figure out the frequency of the detonator," Zablaron said. "The best I can hope for is to delay the timer by a couple of minutes."
"What if we destroy the Ablator?" Beralaxon asked.
"No!" Zablaron warned. "If you shoot at it, it might set off the amplifiers."
"Then, do what you can! And let's get out of here," Florinok said.
"With the artifact," Beralaxon added as he turned around to look at the Nova Conduit lying on the floor.
To his surprise, he locked eyes with Redwolf, who had just snuck in.
"Where will you run to now, Bergamot?" Redwolf snickered.
"Not this time, Redwolf," Beralaxon said as he immediately aimed at him. "Meet Wolfsbane."
He pulled the trigger. Two electric-crimson orbs shot out in horizontal, diverging trajectories. Before long, their arcs converged, and they collided with each other near the doorway, creating a powerful explosion.
Redwolf tried running back but got caught in the explosion and was knocked back out of the lab. He stumbled and took cover before Beralaxon's next shot.
"Alright, I have delayed it by five minutes," Zablaron said. "We must get out! Now!"
"I'm going to grab the artifact, so cover for me," Beralaxon said and tapped at his VBP. His weapon disappeared.
Glacia's barrier shattered, forcing them to return fire as they pulled back. "I'll get you next time, commander!" Glacia cried.
"Oh, you'd better hope there is a next time, Glacia Frosnow," came the reply.
Beralaxon grabbed the Nova Conduit as they exited the lab.
An energy beam sailed their way, which Zablaron blocked with a metal shield.
Zablaron, Florinok, and Glacia aimed their weapons at Redwolf at once, who stood near the mouth of the tunnel in the middle.
"If you have one ounce of common sense left... run. Run for your life," Zablaron threatened as they crossed the intersection toward the tunnel.
"No. Finish me," Redwolf croaked.
Suddenly, they heard a dozen footsteps thundering down the tunnel. In a moment, Wraith, Venom, and three guards arrived from above. They aimed their weapons at the four of them.
"We were watching. And you clearly failed," Venom said. "Now, surrender the artifact."
"There is no time," Beralaxon said. "We must leave."
"Now, now, Bergamot," Redwolf said smugly. "You know perfectly well you shouldn't hand the artifact to Oracle."
They heard a noise behind them. Wystals fled the lab and made a beeline for the tunnel to their right.
Now's my chance, Glacia thought. She fired the Rime Specter. The ray made direct contact with the commander's ankle. The ice exploded, and he collapsed with a loud yelp. The other two Wystals hesitated for a moment but decided to keep running.
"Ignore them," Wraith commanded. "Kill these four."
Venom, Wraith, and the guards raised their weapons.
"Hey! Wystals!" Beralaxon shouted at the top of his voice. "Catch this!"
Beralaxon threw the artifact into the air with all his might. It sailed in an arc through the air before it landed right into the hands of a Wystal.
For a moment, everyone looked in shock at Beralaxon including the Wystals, and it seemed like time froze. Then, the Wystals resumed running and vanished into the mouth of the tunnel.
"NO! STOP THEM!" Wraith screamed at the top of his voice.
The guards rushed to chase the Wystals. Meanwhile, Zablaron aimed the Steel Knight and shot at Wraith.
The triangular projectile smashed him back into the slope of the tunnel.
"I did not appreciate your tone throughout our visit!" Zablaron remarked.
"Quasar Burster," Beralaxon cried and summoned his weapon once again. "This... for Mr. Bonnel," he said to Redwolf and pulled the trigger.
This time, Redwolf resigned to his fate. He stood still as the orbs crushed him in between. Then, he slumped.
"Drop your weapon," Florinok commanded Venom.
Venom silently obeyed.
"Good. Now, come with us," Florinok said.
Glacia ran over to the commander who was trying to get up.
"Glacia! There is no time!" Florinok cried.
"Just a second," Glacia replied. She released as much ice as she could from her hand and froze the commander's legs in place. "You were right. There won't be another time."
"No," the commander groaned weakly as he shivered. "Come back! It was just a command from Corvair! I had no choice!"
"Let's go," Glacia declared as she returned.
They hurried up the tunnel back into Phoenix's office with Venom at gunpoint.
"Operate that, unblock the exits, and tell your members to flee!" Florinok commanded Venom, pointing toward the hologram above Phoenix's desk, which still showed the feed from the lab.
Venom made a gesture to remove the feed.
A file on the main screen, labeled Gala Invitation caught Glacia's eye. That seems useful, she thought. As Venom turned on the comms outside, Glacia used her holophone to connect to Phoenix's device and began downloading the file.
"The Enertronian System Ablator is about to overload! Save yourselves, and run!" Venom shouted.
Outside, a cacophony erupted. Meanwhile, Glacia accessed other files and set her holophone to download as many as it could.
"Unseal all entrances," Venom commanded. Then she turned to Florinok, "It's done."
"Let's go!" Florinok said.
They scrambled up the staircase Phoenix had left through earlier.
"Metalloy command, we are exiting the lair," Zablaron spoke into his holophone. "Pick up coordinates, and get ready for exfiltration."
They alighted under the night sky some distance away from the butte through a trapdoor. They glanced behind to see a Wystal spaceship already taking off, while dozens of Helix members poured out of the lair.
Presently, a blue-gray helicopter zoomed through the sky and hovered over them. It dropped a rope ladder from one side.
"Everybody, get in!" Zablaron shouted through the noise. "Except you!" he said to Venom.
Venom ran into the distance while they stowed their weapons. As they began to climb, an ominous, rumbling noise emanated from the butte, and the ground shook.
"It's activated! Quick, before the radiations reach here!" Zablaron urged.
Beralaxon climbed first, followed by Glacia, then Florinok, and then finally Zablaron. They were still on the ladder when the helicopter began to ascend.
A shockwave jolted the bottom of the ladder causing Zablaron to lose grip. He began to plummet, but he grabbed a vine from Florinok in time.
As they all safely reached the interior, they watched as the butte's foundation began to crumble. Before long, a major chunk of it toppled over itself.
"That's the second time we escaped destruction," Beralaxon said.
"You shouldn't have handed the artifact to the Wystals," Glacia rebuked him. "You gave Oracle exactly what they wanted."
"Oh, I should have let us be killed?" Beralaxon said incredulously.
"What's done is done," Florinok said. "Let's talk about moving forward."
"It's smoky in here," Glacia complained as they moved toward the seats.
"My apologies," a woman spoke up. She was seated at a window seat and had auburn hair in a bob cut. Presently, she extinguished her cigar in an ashtray. "Have a seat, please."
"You came personally?" Zablaron asked, surprised, as he seated across from Ferrina. The others settled down as well.
"I heard from the embassy you had some plans," Ferrina replied. "Naturally, I was interested."
"What did they tell you?" Zablaron asked skeptically.
"That you mean to stage an attack on the Metalloy Embassy and frame the Karomozians. That would spur the Confederacy of Planets into taking action and summon military presence on Karomoz," Ferrina said. "Pretty much what I had in mind, except I meant to use Wystals. Anyway, where are we on that?"
"I warned you not to use the word, 'we,' in my company." Zablaron frowned.
"Alright." Ferrina rolled her eyes. "Where are you on that?"
"We are still working on it," Zablaron admitted, grudgingly. "We learned of a weapon of some sort that Oracle has built on Raimyor. I was wondering if we could somehow redirect it and aim it at the embassy... after getting it evacuated, of course."
"That sounds smart," Florinok agreed. "It would also expose the clandestine activities going on on the moons to the galaxy."
"But how do you mean to do that?" Ferrina inquired.
"I accessed some files from Phoenix's device," Glacia said, bringing out her holophone. "One of them was an invitation to a gala I am familiar with. It's at the mansion of Naedil Tawanis, a Karomozian magnate. According to the invitation, Phoenix's real name is apparently Arna Zinvor."
"Arna Zinvor?" Florinok exclaimed in surprise. "That's the person who contacted me from Savvo Corp to order the medicine!"
"Ah! So, Phoenix works at Savvo Corp," Beralaxon said with a chuckle. "Don't know why, but it sounds a bit funny."
"Well, what about the gala?" Zablaron asked impatiently.
"Everyone of repute is meant to be at the gala, including Oracle executives," Glacia said. "I attended it five months ago, in relation to the construction of the headquarters. But I understand that whatever was going on on the other moon was also being discussed among involved parties. That brings me to some of the other files on here."
Glacia projected a hologram and displayed a file she had downloaded. "This is labeled 'reconnaissance report.' I reckon it's from when Phoenix's allies scouted the moons. We might find information in here on how the weapon works."
She gestured with her hand, and the display shifted to some photos of a spherical device labeled redirecting lens. It seemed to be floating in midair.
"What's that?" Beralaxon asked.
Everyone looked on intently for a few moments.
"The name gives most of it away. It's clearly meant to be a device — lens — that redirects the beam of the weapon," Zablaron said as he slowly processed the images. "That's how the weapon precisely fires at intended targets — even those not in a straight line from it."
"And we... you... could use it to redirect it toward the Metalloy Embassy," Ferrina remarked.
"But how do we get hold of one?" Florinok asked.
"We build our own," Glacia replied. "The Oracle executive in charge of operations on Raimyor is named Fae Ravelta. She is going to be at the gala, overseeing an auction. I bet if we pry inside her holophone, we might find the blueprints for one."
"OK. Once you have built this lens thing, how do you get to the moons in the first place?" Ferrina asked.
"The Crimson Crows used to have their spaceships coated with armor plating that didn't trigger the defense systems," Glacia said. "We could find more information about that as well — either in these files or at the gala."
"So, are we using Phoenix... Arna Zinny or whatever's invitation?" Beralaxon asked. "To get inside the gala?"
"Yes, we are," Florinok affirmed. "We'll pretend that she sent us in her place. I'll talk to Ms. Zinvor of Savvo Corp and tell her to play along or else we'll reveal her true identity to Oracle."
"Sounds like a plan," Beralaxon said. "When is this gala?"
"Five days," Glacia replied.
"That gives us ample time for preparation," Zablaron said. "We will go through all of these files at the embassy, and we'll refine our plan. Then, we strike. But for now, let us all rest."
Just a few hours ago, paying Oracle back for its betrayal had looked like an impossible task to Glacia. Now, it seemed just within the reach of her hands. I guess I always underestimated the power of having some friends, she thought as she satisfactorily leaned back into her seat.
Do give me your feedback about this chapter, and if you enjoyed it, please consider dropping a vote. Have a great day!