Everyone but the Marines froze when code
spilled so abruptly into the real world, as the terraforming and support
programs began showing everyone the conflict.
The Marines were out, on the ground, all
around where Perrin’s throne and the CEO of Eastern stood, but their restraints
shot out with perfect precision and snapped into a shell around Perrin where he
sat, avoiding her completely. She
stepped back as the restraints hit a shield and blue-white sparks flowed around
the curvature as the two energy fields fought for control.
Down on the planet Kyrus the Emperor had
leaped to his feet when this all began, his arms upraised and the Great Hive
flowed down around him, lifting him up, using all the ideas that Hara had been
tinkering with and the warbird made of bees glittered and flickered like the
FireDrake missiles. On the saddle, Kyrus
reached across in front of him and yanked as if drawing back a curtain and he
and the Great Hive rode through into code, right under the hut on chicken legs.
“Fak it, Inamour! Ilax lunged through
the hole, mandering up a winged horse for himself. “Love... don’t try this alone!”
The Emperor glanced at his husband and
smiled. “I’m never alone.” He turned his
attention to the struggle happening on the moon. In code it appeared to be directly connected
to Glass Mountain by chains made out of light. “Ancestress...”
“Yes.
Hive Lord... my generations great grandson...” Cross-legged on the porch of the hut, Diryish
sat. Petra swooped down in her mortar to hover beside Kyrus. “He’s fighting
back. Here are the repaired codes that
you don’t have, or have busted copies of.”
A glittering of insects and silver dust billowed out of her hand.
“Empress... why give them to me? You said...”
“I’m keeping him busy. You see, my boy, we’re dead. This life in code is a sham really. Thriti’s recordings and Gregors and the half
a dozen Emperors of Lainz and a whole
carasarkina of strong Asses of Lainz are in here to help... but the way it
works... You and your husband...” She grinned at a thought she had about that
but didn’t comment, just continued her hurried instruction. “You’re the live ones. You and whoever is living are the Warmasters
here.” Her head turned. “He’s breaking
loose from the soft restraints. He’s been
working on the offensive programs for a while and they don’t know what he’s
got. Command, us Radiance!” She said that loud enough to echo everywhere in
code, then quietly only for him and Ilax.
“Get your ass moving, boy.”
The CEO stepped a bit further away from the
Marines attempting to arrest Prime and touched one of her earrings, and softly,
quietly, vanished. *Mom!* Terry cried.
*She is just cloaked. A wise move, seeing
that Prime is escalating.*
“Dammit, Rasheduzzaman! Order your dang marines to stop! Rash? Rashe?
Oh, hell.” The flowing sparks burst up and out, vanishing. “You can hear me, Rasheduzzaman! If you are siding with my Heir and my enemies
you realize I can’t allow you to leave?
Rash. Talk to me. I don’t want to
break your Spine in transit!”
A voice came from nothingness,
directionless. “You’re threatening to
kill me and my entourage, and all legal and military personel with us? Captain, you have my authorization to defend
us.”
Alissa whined, almost under her
breath. “They can smash the moon, and
the planet, all of it, doesn’t he see that?”
“They’re both threatening to kill us all.” Uninkly bastards who don’t care about
anything but themselves. Lovely.
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