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

dilapidated transport ship, Yuki bounced up with a big grin on her face.

“Good news. To better blend in, I GTA’d you a vehicle, and one advantage is that it is shielded so no one can peek inside. That means I can be your wheel-man!”

“When you say you—” Tempest asked archly, before he was cut off.

“Don’t worry, boss, I guess I exaggerated a bit. It was all aboveboard. We’re renting it, but under an alias, and we’re using one of the Faction’s scrubbed accounts. No worries.”

Tempest just raised a skeptical eyebrow and she stared right back, mouth screwed up in a mix of a pout and a snarl. When she didn’t back down, Tempest dropped his stern expression.

“Okay, I believe you. Given your talents, I’m impressed you had the restraint to do things by the book this time. The last thing we need to do is call any undue attention upon us. So what did you get?”

Yuki checked her display and smiled a Cheshire grin.

“Should be delivered by autopilot any second now,” she said, strutting to the window and grinning.

“Whatcha think?” She bumped one hip out and presented the window like she was a game-show hostess.

Gus peered through a window and saw a sleek ebony vehicle that was all sharp lines and angles. It looked as if it had been carved out of an immense shard of obsidian. It bobbed in the air, having reached its delivery coordinates, menacing like a feral animal as it awaited activation.

“So where are we going next?” Yuki asked.

“We need to track someone to the Aslan clan’s current headquarters, and we do that by following a courier,” Gus said distractedly as he gazed out the window.

“This is perfect, then. It also has external stealth features, as well as internal. It’s diplomatic grade, so it can take some damage and become practically invisible if needed. Primarily, it’s for escape when attacked, but it could easily follow someone undetected, especially if they aren’t wise to us. What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Yuki cheered and slid open the gangway.

“Can we all fit in that?” Gus asked skeptically as they approached.

“Just watch…” Yuki said over her shoulder and her right hand danced over her holo-keypad on her left forearm.

The vehicle began to move, sections sliding across each other, rasping like sharpening knives.

Somehow it managed to maintain a menacing appearance, but now it was more the size of a minivan instead of a sports car.

“After you.” Yuki gestured in a mock bow as Tempest, Gus, Aurora, Prime, and Grimdark piled inside. Closing the door behind them, she slid into the pointed cone that formed the front of the vehicle.

“If you wouldn’t mind sliding me those coordinates, gov’nuh,” Yuki asked in a cheesy British accent. Tempest made a sliding motion, and a series of nav-points showed up on the console in front of Yuki. She selected one and the vehicle sprang to life, silent as a jungle cat.

Gus was sitting next to Prime, and they were becoming more agitated as they approached the nav-point.

“Everything okay?” At first, he thought Prime must have not heard him.

Well, I do have a bad habit of mumbling.

He tried again, “Prime, are you okay?”

Gus saw his reflection in the mirrored helmet as the super looked his way.

“Hinansho is full of bad memories for me…” Prime said in a flat electronic tone. They turned to look out the window. “…but you don’t need to worry about me.”

Despite the filtered and modified voice, he could sense the melancholy behind the words. He knew the Oracle said that Prime had a key for him, but how would he ever be able to learn what it was if Prime remained so aloof? And finding out exactly what it was would just add to the challenge. Perhaps this mission would give him some hints.

“Let’s rock!” Yuki exulted and hit the accelerator without warning. Gus’ head slammed into his seat and he pressed into Prime and Grimdark as they took turns at breakneck speed. Yuki was obviously familiar with navigating sky-ways and weaved effortlessly through the burgeoning traffic. More quickly than expected, they arrived near the pickup location. Yuki found a nearby vantage point and backed their vehicle to be less conspicuous. There was a shudder as it anchored itself to the brick building behind them and the engine powered down. The lights dimmed and Yuki activated the stealth feature. There was a shimmer as the outer hull mimicked the wall upon which it rested, aided by the shadows and wisps of mist.

“Now we wait. I’ve always wanted to do a stakeout,” Yuki said excitedly.

“You won’t after this one,” Aurora countered, knowing full well how boring they could be. Especially without snacks or a reasonable diversion that didn’t distract too much.

“According to the schedule, we shouldn’t have to wait long,” Tempest reminded them. “Less than half an hour if they’re on time.”

“Perhaps we should remain quiet, to be less detectable when they arrive,” Grimdark added ominously.

“Don’t worry about that. This baby is sonically shielded too, so no one can listen in on us. Nothing but the best for my Crew!”

“What kind of vehicle is this, Yuki? I’ve never seen anything like it,” Gus asked.

“They’re not common in the United Commonwealth, and they’re super expensive to own. This is a Seek 2000 in Ebony. I fell in love with it as soon as I found it was available. Apparently, no one wants to rent them because the price is too prohibitive. Purple Faction has deep pockets, and I know how to invoice so we won’t get any flak from the higher ups. We need an edge. But it would be best if the leadership did not know we were ever here in Hinansho.” She looked over her shoulder at Tempest for confirmation and he nodded.

“It’s worth it,” Tempest said simply. Then a prolonged period of silence followed as everyone stared at the loading dock across the sky-way, lost in their thoughts.

A soft buzz came from Prime after a couple of minutes. Turning