“Once the remaining guard notices her, only because she wants him to, she gauges their interest in what Ugenini scientists refer to as some of that smoke. The guard goes against all notions of common sense, trying to get big on her, then attempting to grapple with her like they’re a church deacon who likes to grip hands way too tight in a handshake.”

Anitra opened her arms as if inviting an embrace. For a moment, the guard puffed up but quickly opted to throw a blade at her.

“An Anitra shifts into a mode commonly referred to as a’ight then. She’s mad now. You can tell by her new posture and, well, that gesture in particular, that she’s just asked him to ‘do that again.’ And”—Robin paused—“yes, notice how she proceeds to take her shoe to beat him into unconsciousness. A now-successful Anitra prepares to wave us into position.”

Anitra scurried about, planting charges around the facility and some of the parked vehicles. Positioning herself away from their entry point, she climbed up an embankment of stones and set up her nest. Little more than a shadow, Anitra motioned to the enemy positions. Sweat poured down her despite the nanomesh filter layers, her DMX-3000 ready to engage the enemy. She opened fire. Pulse charges erupted, stirring the camp. It was time for their game faces to be put back on.

“Follow me.” Epyc Ro waved them forward.

The chaos provided excellent cover for Epyc Ro and her team to move in unnoticed. The trail ran over rough terrain with chunks of shale protruding with its razored edges. They negotiated the steep embankment, with Epyc Ro slipping several times along the scree, but reaching out to steady herself. The rest of the squad darted around the perimeter. Despite the cuts and scrapes on the way down, they maintained noise and light discipline. All the hastily constructed adjoining structures and buildings, spare towers and hangars, formed a simple shell. The larger buildings grouped around an open square in a pattern her mind registered as familiar. By the time they reached the door, the unit stacked up in breach formation behind Epyc Ro. On her count, they rushed in, their loud assault designed to startle and panic. As Epyc Ro, Robin, and Ellis entered, Chandra remained in cover by the entrance to direct drone strikes to guard their rear. They swept down the hallway to reach the hangar bay. Weapons hot, they cleared the corridor and adjoining rooms with each step. Epyc Ro watched for reinforcements. Robin set charges at each juncture. They would bring an end to this chamber of horrors.

They rounded a corner and stopped short. A wide room brightly lit with floating screens filled with data streams and linkage holovids on display. In the wide array of an interrupted work space, the afterimage of Fela’s assassination vanished.

“This what we here for?” Epyc Ro asked.