Tila rose early the next morning. None of the others were allowed into the briefing. Even Tila was nearly refused entry as a non-essential passenger on the mission, but Grace had persuaded the mission commander, Admiral Yannis, that Tila should be present. The more preparation more people had, the better it would be. She had satisfied his concerns about security, and so Tila was allowed to join.
This journey she had to make from memory. Information on the meeting rooms had been excised from the data pads.
Tila called the elevator and waited. A space station never sleeps. Although it was early in the day for her Skygarden was still busy. While Tila waited she heard footsteps approaching, alongside a familiar tapping sound of Mr Yoshihiro's cane.
"Miss Vasquez, good morning."
"Toma," said Tila.
"Your friends still call me Mr Yoshihiro."
"You asked us not to."
"Perhaps they still do as a sign of respect?"
"Perhaps you intimidate them."
Toma smiled to himself. "Some think me intimidating."
Toma was not alone this morning. He was flanked by two security guards who were already assessing Tila's threat potential. She recognised the look.
"You're not intimidating, Toma. You can't even walk without a cane." Tila looked the two huge security guards up and down. "These two are intimidating."
Toma shook his head at them. "She is no threat. At least not to me. She will be joining us this morning."
The guards relaxed, but only a little.
"Is there a problem?" said Tila. Toma put a finger to his lips instead of answering.
The elevator arrived. It was empty but one of the guards stepped inside. He looked closely at the controls, the doors and checked the ceiling and floor panels and swept every surface and component with a device in his hand.
Satisfied with the readings, he beckoned Toma and Tila forward. The second guard came in last and stood between them and the door.
He pressed the button. The door closed and they descended smoothly with no physical evidence of motion thanks to real-time adjustments made in the artificial gravity field of the elevator. Only the visual feedback provided by moving lights told them which way they were going.
"Now we can speak," said Toma. "We have increased security. There are signs the Cabal is trying to interfere with the mission directly. Possibly they have an agent on Skygarden."
"How could they do that? I thought Skygarden had the best security. I couldn't even go to the bathroom without my wristband."
"No system is perfect, so we must remain vigilant."
The elevator slowed for its next stop. The door opened to three people waiting for their ride. The guard planted himself in the doorway, shook his head and made his sidearm visible.
The doors closed again. They descended again.
"Is it going to interfere with the mission? Is it still going ahead?"
"The mission is unchanged, but I understand the Admiral is making some last minute changes, just in case."
"In case of what?"
"Surprises."
The elevator slowed, and the door opened. The guard again shook his head.
"Take the next one," he said.
"I only need to go down one floor," pleaded the woman.
Tila leaned to her right to see around the guard. The woman stood behind a cleaning trolley and wore a baseball cap.
"Next one," said the guard again.
The woman looked past the guard and saw Toma. Then she saw Tila. They shared a flash of recognition. The doors started to close, breaking their eyeline.
The guard in front of Tila suddenly grunted and doubled over. The doors opened again. Outside the woman withdrew a knife from the body of the guard. She lunged forward.
"Panic button!" shouted Toma.
The guard behind them stepped forward, shoving Tila aside with one arm and drawing his weapon with the other.
The women stepped into the elevator over the body of the guard which lay unmoving across the threshold. She held the knife low, close to her body, grip reversed to stab, not thrust.
Tila hit all the buttons on the panel. Toma moved left to clear the way for his guard. The guard kicked out, making space. The woman stabbed him in the leg, left the knife behind, and twisted the pistol from his hand. She hit him in the face, took a handful of his uniform, twisted and threw him over her hip into the trolley.
Tila saw the new weapon and grabbed the woman's wrist with both hands, jumped and kicked away from the elevator wall.
The weapon fired, filling the small space with a crack-whine as it discharged and power-cycled for the next shot. The blast bounced off the wall near Toma's head and went up into the light panels. They burst, showering them all with sharp transparent ceramic and white sparks.
Toma lurched for the exit, holding tightly to his cane.
Tila and the woman fell to the floor, sprawled over the body of the dead guard. The attacker pulled the blaster from Tila's hand, swung it at Toma, and fired.
Toma fell behind the cart. The energy blast hit the wall, carbon scoring the white surface with an ugly black line.
The hit triggered new alarms.
The woman stood and fired again at Toma sheltering behind the cart. Tila saw his cane roll away.
Tila kicked the woman in the back of the knee, sending the next shot wide. She kicked back at Tila and aimed the pistol at her face. Tila barely rolled out the way as the shot burst against the elevator floor. Bright sparks singed her hair, and she felt the heat of the weapon on her shoulder and neck.
Tila kept rolling until she could plant her feet on something solid, and then she was up, and attacking.
With her staff still in her room, Tila attacked empty-handed. The women fought back, countering, blocking, and trying to line up the pistol for another shot. Tila evaded, ducked underneath her line of fire and struck the woman's elbow and wrist at once. The pistol fell and slid under the body of the alive but injured guard.
They stood together, fists raised, staring at each other, planning their own next move, predicting the other's.
"Tila, be careful!" Toma cautioned.
Tila punched first. The woman ducked and rolled through the door, pulling the knife from the guard's leg. She ran at Toma.
Toma stood up awkwardly without his cane. From nowhere he flashed a thin sword the same length as his cane.
The woman hesitated. She was expecting an unarmed opponent.
Tila charged out of the elevator and into the trolley, tripping on the guard as she threw herself forward. She pushed it at the woman as hard as she could and was pleased to see it strike her hard enough to knock her down too. She dropped the knife.
They both jumped to their feet. Toma limped sideways toward Tila, uniting their position.
"A united front is always best, Miss Vasquez," he said.
The mention of Tila's name startled the woman. She looked Tila up and down. Tila shifted her feet, balancing her weight, ready to attack or defend.
Shouts and footsteps came down the corridor. The woman gave Tila one last curious look, then turned and ran.
Tila gave chase.
They rounded the first corner and headed for the second. Tila slowed, anticipating the turn. The woman ran straight forward, up the wall and kick-flipped over Tila's head. Tila tried to correct her turn but she was still off balance when the woman attacked form behind.
Tila never saw the blow that took her down.
The last thing she saw was the wall, then blackness.
"Vasquez?" was the last thing she heard.