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

Tempest looked skeptical, but nodded anyways.

“I’ve calculated the ideal time for the mission and based on traffic patterns and shift cycling, there will be the least activity in the area around Serif in one hour and seven minutes. That’s when we should make our attempt,” Yuki advised, touching her forehead then her wrist so everyone would sync their displays.

“I’ll form the distraction and we will get Yuki, Gus, and Aurora inside,” Tempest said. “You two will need to steal something of value and then flee with me, drawing the sentries away. Yuki, how are you going to get past internal security?”

“Serif is fully automated at the location we will be hitting. The entire operation is automated. Only robots making augment parts; there are no human workers or even supervisors there. Access ports exist in case systems need to be updated, however. At the very least, there will be pressure plates, thermal detection, cameras, and motion detectors. Sentries all can fly and will have multiple armaments. You will need to take them seriously—they’re deadly.” Yuki eyed Gus and Aurora.

“As for me, I’ll need to find some way of overcoming those security challenges in a little over an hour, so no pressure, right?”

Prime stepped forward, approaching the small group.

“Sorry to insert myself in the conversation, but I think I can help with Yuki’s part of the plan.”

Yuki’s face visibly calmed as her eyes widened with hope.

“She could borrow one of my stealth suits. It might be a little big on you, but it should work out perfectly. Active camouflage technology and wall-walking. Completely thermally shielded with wave-dampening technology.”

“Um, yes please!” Yuki exulted. “Do you guys need me for anything else?” When no one had anything else to offer, Yuki followed the demure Prime. The spartan quarters showed no real decorations or pictures, just a closet full of four suits.

“Try this one,” Prime pulled out a suit at the far end of the closet. “It’s the smallest one I have.”

Yuki grabbed it and, uncertain about undressing in front of Prime, slipped into the small bathroom by the cabin.

No one knows if Prime’s a dude or not, so better to not make it weird. The pants were extremely stretchy but felt like they were made of a breathable vinyl or leather. As she put on the upper portion of the suit, there was a jacket-like portion embedded with all sorts of electronics on the internal surface, totally hidden by the hard armor on the exterior.

She was only able to get it partially on, so had to have Prime help her attach and adjust everything. Once it was all in place, Yuki did some deep stretches and practiced some kicks. The material was extremely supple, and remained silent as it stretched with her various movements.

“This is how you turn on the stealth functions.” Prime showed her a set of ridges along the right side of the chest-plate. As Yuki depressed them, a quick-button populated her display with each of the features. Active camouflage, wave dampener, gravimetrics.

“Aw, yeah! How does this work?” Yuki asked, activating gravimetrics. Her feet felt suddenly heavier, as if mired in mud, and she had to exert herself to lift her legs.

“You can refine that to a degree. You still need to have a base support to manage your body weight. Try it out here.” Prime grabbed the mattress of her small bed and slid it onto the ground.

Tentatively, Yuki gingerly stepped onto the wall; the mired suction feeling grabbed the wall. She had a couple of false starts, as her brain refused to lift her supporting leg off of the floor.

“You’ve just got to commit. Trust me, you won’t need the mattress, but it helps your brain let go for the first couple of times,” Prime encouraged.

Yuki stepped and flung her arms out to catch herself if she fell, but there she was, hanging on the wall. The suit was stiff from a tiny bit above her knee, reminding her of snowboarding.

“Now straighten up,” Prime directed, and as Yuki stood horizontally on the wall, the suit somehow compensated, supporting her and reducing how gravity pulled her upper torso to the ground. Blood didn’t appear to be affected, so hanging upside down would be trickier.

“I wish I had more time to get used to this. It definitely has a learning curve.”

“You also have to be careful what you step on. Most walls are sheet-rock, which will not support you; you’ll rip a chunk out and still be attached to that piece as you fall to the ground. For the same reason, avoid ceilings. Here, let me toggle this…” Prime reached to the helmet and tapped the side, moving fingers as if sliding bars up and down on the cheek of the mirrored helmet.

“That should do it. Okay, I’m going to let you borrow the helmet too, but it’s the only one I have. Since I like my anonymity, I’m going to hand it to you outside the door and stay in my cabin until you get back. I’m trusting you, Yuki. If you lose this helmet, I do not have another. Got it?”

Yuki nodded gravely, vowing to herself to be careful.

“Practice a little bit. The suit learns your mannerisms and movements the longer you use it. I’d practice until you have to go.”

Yuki walked around, noticing how she had to swing her weight side to side as she took a step. The suit almost felt like it was pulling up on her “ceiling side” and solidifying on the “floor side” as one leg disengaged from the wall. She felt like Frankenstein as she clumsily tried to move around, but Prime was right, she never fell. As Yuki stepped to the floor again, there was a brief moment of vertigo as her world reset to normal and she deactivated the gravimetrics.

“That is trippy!” Yuki said, eyes wide as she laughed.

“You kind of get to love it,” Prime admitted, laughing a bit as well. “Don’t