Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

began moving again, turning and exiting the clouds and they set course to intersect the large column.

With the rattle of chains, the cargo elevator opened, revealing Tempest sitting on a crate. As everyone approached, he opened it and addressed the Crew.

“Looks like we only have four shrouds for this mission, and while they are newer than the ones I have used before, they are still about two generations behind the latest models. Whether that means anything or not remains to be seen. The scanners may be able to easily see through this type of shroud, depending on how sophisticated they are themselves. I’m confident that Darik and Yuki got the cage working, so I’ll have Seneschal keep the transport as inconspicuous as possible.”

“If she’s piloting, how will she fly the ship from inside the cage?” Gus asked.

“She won’t. She’s not a super, she’s an augment. She’ll show up unregistered, but that means the same as ‘tourist’ to the locals. Shouldn’t raise too many red flags unless we attract unwanted attention. I’m sure this old bucket has an autopilot feature though, in case we need her. Just like before—I’ll only take volunteers, so none of you have to do this. The shrouds have to be configured, so let me know who’s willing and we’ll choose our team.”

Gus would have liked to visit, but recognized that he would probably be the least helpful choice. He was ignorant of what was ‘normal’ and expected of the typical resident of Hinansho and imagined he would stick out no matter how hard he tried.

Kind of weird, since I was super good at not being noticed before I had powers.

“What do you mean it won’t work on me?” Darik shouted, interrupting Gus’ thoughts.

“These must have been used previously and customized for other supers whose powers aren’t compatible with yours.”

“Well, this could be a problem, doncha think?” Darik gruffed, folding his arms and frowning at Tempest.

The other supers who were willing to try the shrouds found that only Tempest, Aurora and Grimdark were compatible. And that was after two had to switch, a particular shroud being specialized so Grimdark alone could wear it.

Prime hesitantly stepped forward.

“My suit has a stealth mode that would shield me too. I could come and go in Hinansho and no one would know the difference.” The voice was modulated through the helmet, filtering out even slight emotional cues.

“Every little bit will help; it gives us more options.”

“I don’t want to go, if you don’t need me, just to be clear.”

“I’ll keep it in mind. If you’re uncomfortable, I won’t ask you to do anything, don’t feel obligated.”

Prime nodded and retreated to a corner to be alone.

“Well that looks like all of us. Still a suit left. Are you in or out, Gus? If not, we’ll just have to do this with three,” Tempest asked.

Gus accepted the suit, sliding the shroud over his shoulders and fastening it near his collarbones. Once in place, someone made some adjustments from behind and a green light pulsed on the fasteners in the front.

“Looks like you’re in if you want, Gus. What do you say?” Aurora asked, something in her voice sounded almost pleading.

It’d be a chance to try to ‘connect’ as BoJack suggested… Gus thought before finally saying, “Okay, I’m in.”

“If I’m not going to throw things off, I’d like to check it out.” Yuki said, lifting her laptop, displaying it like a model in a game show. Tempest nodded in approval then returned to the cockpit to speak with Seneschal.

“Everybody get in the cage. We’re about to enter in five…” Seneschal warned over the comm soon after Tempest had spoken with her.

Gus found a seat by a window and buckled in. They were now so close to the barrier that the interior lighting of the common room became distinct as the light from outside disappeared. Tempest was the last to buckle in and the ship penetrated the barrier.

Rain began to pelt the windows, moving like a screen swipe as they passed through the field. Bright lights guided traffic down large tunnels. If this didn’t work, their ship would be boxed in and easily captured. Slowly, they worked their way forward in the queue until they hovered by the checkpoint. After what seemed like an extra long wait, they were waved through.

On the other side of the tunnel, bright lights strobed and flickered off the mists. Large buildings materialized out of the mist, hidden until the holo-ads came to life, detecting the motion of their ship. A beautiful woman brought a hand to her face as she pursed her lips indicating ‘shh.’ The image panned back, revealing more women, all exotic and beckoning them to visit the ‘Kitty Club.’

“Look at this place,” Pulse said in wonder, face plastered to the window. Dark and brooding, it looked like Gotham and Blade Runner’s version of Los Angeles had an ugly baby. Neon signs in kanji and holograms illuminated the foggy, overcast city. Hovercars and the bike-like craft similar to the ones Gus had nicknamed ‘jet-skies’ raced through the gloom, somehow avoiding accidents in the tumultuous traffic.

“Kind of makes you wonder what we could do if there weren’t so many restrictions by the Factions, eh?” Darik grumbled.

“No—it does not! This is what happens when people run amok. You know what goes on down there—” Harmony objected, eyes wide and pointing downward.

“You can’t believe all those urban legends,” he sighed, waving a hand in dismissal, “that’s just stuff for horror holos.”

“Those people are willing to do anything. Illegal cybernetics to try some twisted attempt to be like a super. Wet-ware shops that will perform all sorts of dangerous surgeries and transplants, no questions asked. It’s chaos, and people somewhere down the chain are getting hurt. Don’t even get me started on those abominations they call neo-furries!”

“Neo-furries?” Gus whispered to Aurora unfamiliar with the term.

“People who insert animal DNA into themselves to grow wings, talons, scales, or some other trait. Not very compatible with human physiology, but those people are tenacious,