One Character (18)

Chapter 18 - Extraction

Bernam dusted off his massive hands and spat contemptuously at the spot where the tentacle Unus had imploded. “Good riddance, damn credit-eater.”

Chaz gave both Bernam and Olive a weary but appreciative thumbs-up. “Good work, both of you. Excellent execution.”

Olive gracefully accepted the praise. “Just a shame about Kazuma,” she added with a theatrical sigh. “Poor kid probably died a virgin. What a waste.” She shook her head sadly.

Just then, Wes approached, awkwardly supporting the unconscious Kazuma. “He’s not dead.”

Bernam and Olive stared, surprised.

“What? But that wound…” Bernam started.

“How?” Olive asked curiously.

Wes simply tapped the side of his sniper rifle, Aroth. “I shot him.”

His blunt statement left Bernam and Olive looking utterly confused.

Chaz ignored their confusion and immediately turned his attention back to the vault. “Alright, priorities. Let’s see how many chips are left intact.”

They cautiously entered the vault. The interior was chaotic – overturned shelves, slime-coated walls, and scattered credit chips littered the floor. At the far end, a large, jagged hole gaped open in the reinforced wall, chunks of rock and earth spilled inwards.

“So that’s how the damn thing got in. Tunneled straight through.” Chaz muttered

SKREEEEEEECH!

A distant, but rapidly approaching, Unus cry echoed from the tunnel outside.

“Trouble coming!” Chaz snapped. “Grab what you can! Fast!”

“Yes boss!”

Panic spurred them into action. Wes propped Kazuma against a relatively clean section of wall and started scooping handfuls of credit chips into his duffel bag. Some were clearly cracked or corroded, but there was no time to be picky. Each intact chip was worth 10,000 credits – even a partially full bag represented a fortune.

SKREEEEEEECH!

“They’re getting closer!” Olive warned.

Multiple sets of skittering footsteps and heavier thuds echoed down the tunnels.

“Move! Move! Bernam, pick up Kazuma!” Chaz was shoving chips into his own bag.

“But this…” Bernam grumbling about his interrupted third sack and hefted the still-unconscious Kazuma over his shoulder like a sack of grain. They could feel the resonant signatures of the approaching Unus – numerous, and growing stronger.

Just as Bernam secured Kazuma, the echoing screeches intensified, accompanied by the rapid clicking of many legs on concrete.

“They’re here!” Olive hissed.

Seconds later, the Unus swarm arrived. Spider-like creatures, agile and unnerving with their multiple red eyes, scuttled into the cavern, lowering themselves silently from the ceiling on strong threads of biological silk. Accompanying them were hulking, beetle-like Unus whose heavy footsteps thudded ominously, along with a few leaner, Striker-type variants. Their numbers easily exceeded forty.

The creatures spread out systematically and began scanning the cavern with unnerving thoroughness. Their multifaceted eyes swept across the debris, their antennae twitched as they tasted the air. They noted the fresh impact craters on the floor and walls from the recent fight, subtle signs of disturbance, but no immediate targets presented themselves.

Then, their collective attention focused on the massive, open vault door. It stood agape, an anomaly in the otherwise secured environment. The Unus approached it cautiously; the smaller spider types moved with eerie silence, while the larger beetles lumbered forward with heavy menace.

A particularly large spider Unus was marked with distinct, menacing patterns that suggested it was the pack leader, it detached itself from the main group. It pranced delicately on its spindly legs right up to the threshold of the vault, then entered alone.

Inside, the leader spider moved with predatory grace. It observed the chaos – the scattered, gleaming credit chips, the faint scorch marks on the floor, the residual slime coating the walls. Its sensitive antennae twitched rapidly as it sniffed the air, detecting the faint, lingering scent of Harmonic resonance and discharged energy, but notably absent was the familiar, potent scent of the large tentacle Unus that had claimed this vault as its lair.

The leader spider tilted its head in a distinctly alien gesture of confusion. Had the vault guardian been destroyed? Had the intruders who caused the disturbance already escaped? The evidence was inconclusive, the immediate threat seemingly gone.

After a final, thorough sweep yielded no targets, the leader spider exited the vault. It emitted a series of sharp clicks and chirps to its waiting pack. Receiving the signal, the entire Unus swarm turned and began moving away methodically, flowing back into the dark tunnels they had emerged from, abandoning their fruitless search.

“…”

Silence descended once more. A moment later, the air inside the vault seemed to shimmer. The figures of Wes, Chaz, Olive, Kazuma, and Bernam reappeared, exactly where they had been standing. Severed tentacles and bloodstains reappeared on the floor around them.

Olive swayed slightly as she panted heavily. Sweat plastered strands of hair to her forehead. The intense yellow glow faded from her eyes and returned to their normal color.

Chaz clapped her reassuringly on the shoulder. “Nice work, Olive. Perfect camouflage.”

Olive managed a weak smile. “Luminx Vision’s illusion trick… drains Resonance like hell, boss. Glad it worked.”

“Alright, we don’t linger. Let’s get out of here before they change their minds or something worse shows up.” Chaz ordered immediately.

“But Boss…”

Bernam grumbled about his third bag again but obeyed. He adjusted Kazuma’s weight on his shoulder.

As they quickly exited the vault, Wes noticed a severed tentacle near the doorway emitting a faint, unusual bioluminescent glow. Might be worth something to a bio-researcher. On impulse, he snatched it up and quickly strapped it to his pack.

They retraced their steps through the gruesome cavern. Kazuma needed proper medical attention soon; Wes’s healing bullet was a potent patch job, not a miracle cure. Chaz consulted his datapad to navigate them back towards the service tunnel access point.

They reached the junction leading to the service door, but stopped short. Another swarm of Unus milled about in the main tunnel ahead, blocking their path. These seemed less purposeful, perhaps residual stragglers from the earlier swarm.

“Damn it. Still searching?” Chaz cursed softly.

They waited, hidden, hoping the Unus would move on, but the creatures lingered and were sniffing aimlessly at the ground. A direct fight was too risky, especially with Kazuma unconscious.

Wes assessed the situation. “I can create a diversion.”

Before Chaz could respond, Wes aimed Aroth down a diverging side tunnel in the opposite direction. He fired a single Ghost Bullet. It phased silently through the tunnel wall and struck something metallic deep within – perhaps an old maintenance panel or piece of machinery.

CLANG!

The loud, unexpected noise echoed sharply through the tunnels. The lingering Unus immediately reacted, heads snapping towards the sound, then scurrying off in that direction to investigate.

“Clear! Move, now!” Chaz commanded.

They slipped quickly into the service corridor and sealed the door behind them, and made their way back towards the waiting subway train without further incident.

They piled onto the train. Exhaustion was evident on everyone’s faces. Bernam roughly deposited Kazuma onto a bench, then dropped his two heavy bags of chips onto the floor with a satisfying thud.

“Whew, that was hectic.” Olive collapsed onto a seat and complained tiredly.

“Barely broke a sweat,” Bernam scoffed, though he looked tired too.

Chaz went straight to the control panel. Wes followed him. “Can you get this thing moving without Kazuma?”

“Kid bypassed the main systems already. Just need to override the track lockout and engage reverse propulsion. I’m not completely incompetent, Specter.” Chaz began interacting with the interface.

Reassured, Wes slumped onto a seat near Olive. He was bone-tired, Resonance levels dangerously low after the healing shot, but a deep sense of satisfaction settled within him.

Mission accomplished.

He partially unzipped his duffel bag and peered inside at the gleaming stacks of credit chips.

10,000 credits a piece.

He grinned. Enough to treat Rackell’s crew to a feast – maybe even enough to smooth things over. And Leo… Alice might be furious, but spanking her butt with a hefty stack of credits would likely soothe her anger quickly. A genuine smile touched Wes’s lips.

Olive noticed it. “Already planning your spending spree, Specter?”

Wes just shook his head, keeping his thoughts private.

Olive stretched languidly. “First thing I’m doing is booking a week at the Aethelgard Grand Spa. Full body regeneration treatment, synth-caviar, the works. Gotta live life to the fullest, right?”

Bernam chuckled loudly. “Spa? Waste of credits! I’m buying a mansion, maybe starting up my own private strip club. Always wanted one.”

Wes smirked. “Lucrative business, especially near Harmonic Guild districts. Guys always need a place to unwind after dangerous missions.”

“Hahahaha! Right! Right!”

Bernam laughed and clapped Wes surprisingly gently on the shoulder. “See? Specter gets it! Maybe you ain’t so bad after all.”

RUMBLE.

The tremor startled the crew. The train beneath them vibrated, then began to move smoothly backwards down the track, away from the dangers of Havenwood and towards the relative safety of Aethelgard.

Relief washed over the crew. They were heading home rich.