Knight Read online

  Knight nodded but didn't say that in all her years on Valiant, she'd never left the capitol. Despite growing up on the planet, Knight had seen very little of it. As a child she'd fantasized about all the places she'd go when she was crowned Queen, but as a refugee she'd longed for anything but the strange lands she was thrust into. Regardless, there was no need for Toshi to know that one small detail.

  In the end, Taz had little say in whether or not she went. Knight had set her mind to the mission and nothing would sway her. So two days later, Knight boarded her flight and returned to Valiant.

  The Sixth Star Shipping Company was not in Roirse, but instead sat on the banks of the largest river on Valiant, the Lareush, in one of the few permanent equina settlements. Ancestrally they were nomads, and to this day many rarely stayed anywhere for long. Settling along the Lareush had been almost an accident. They'd set up their tents and seemingly just forgotten to take them down. The port settlement had grown into something large and sprawling, nowhere near Roirse's size, but noteworthy in and of itself. Many of the buildings were low to the ground and made of sandstone. Few jutted more than a couple stories into the air. The shipping company was one of the largest buildings in the settlement. It was nestled right on the waterfront, and ships came and went from it daily. Despite it not being a warehouse, it was still a hub of activity.

  At present, Knight sat perched on the wing of the disguised Remnant starcraft that had brought her to this place, macros trained on the building. The nearby airfield was almost too convenient. They'd landed inconspicuously among a handful of other battered trading ships. Now it served as a vantage point for her reconnaissance. She could make out the minimal security measures Ferrao had talked about. There were security cameras, but they were sparse and old. There were guards, but they were unarmed. Recon hadn't picked up any biometrics on the property and Knight couldn't see any from where she sat.

  The sun was just now setting. She'd have to get moving if she wanted to make it to the building by nightfall. The plan was simple enough. She would gain access to the building, find the director's computer located on the third floor, and plug in the worm. Toshi had programmed it to do the rest. Any files that Knight decided were important would be downloaded immediately. Then Knight would slip back to the rendezvous and the ship's pilot would whisk her back to Levala.

  But the job was not without its risks, and Ferrao saw that Knight came prepared. He agreed with her when she suggested she wear her old masked hood over her eyes. Its mantle dropped to her mid back, and its corners were secured to Knight’s wrists, giving her some control over the fabric. The material’s mirror fibers had been deactivated, so that she would blend more into the background. The naturally black fabric allowed her to find the shadows where few existed. She was armed with two photoshivs, in case she came across any trouble.

  "Those won't do you any good from a distance," Ferrao had said. He offered her a pistol, easily concealed beneath her short cape. Knight stared at it hesitantly.

  "I'm not the best shot," she said. In all her sessions with Weinan, they’d never gotten around to marksmanship training, and during drill she still struggled to hit a target. The admiral raised an eyebrow.

  "Show me."

  Knight did as ordered, taking the pistol and aiming it down the gun range at a target. She squeezed off a shot. The blast missed the target by a good meter and a half. Ferrao looked concerned.

  "She shouldn't have any need for a ranged weapon," Weinan said, watching the whole spectacle. “Not if you’re using her for stealth reconnaissance. A pistol would give her away, don’t you think?”

  "If you're certain," Ferrao said. Weinan nodded.

  "She won't disappoint."

  So the admiral relented, but afterwards he seemed more on edge, as if he was unsure sending Knight into the field was the right thing to do. Weinan’s assurance seemed to be the only thing keeping him from revising the whole plan, and Knight was glad she’d spent so much time training under the captain. This was what she was made to do.

  "You'd better get going if you want to make it on time," the pilot, an equina, said. Knight handed xer the macros and slid off the wing of the ship.

  "It shouldn't take me more than a few hours," Knight informed xer, tone confident. “I’ll see you at the rendezvous." Without another word she snuck to the edge of the immune lamp's light at the boundary of the airfield and threw the masked hood over her face. She wouldn't be able to stay in the shadows the whole way, but she could at least get fairly close.

  The walk was pleasant. More than pleasant, actually. Invigorating. She'd missed the feel of being on the prowl. Even if she didn't have a target to kill, the principle was the same. Her heart began to race in anticipation, her veins thrumming with latent energy. She was in her element.

  When she finally reached the boundary of the shipping company's grounds, she crouched low behind a decorative hedge that ringed the building. The guards made the rounds every five minutes or so—around the building, through the front doors, up the stairs and back again. Knight waited for the them to pass before creeping towards the front door. It was locked, but only by a deadbolt. It was a simple matter to pick it.

  She was in. Knight crept through the front door, sticking close to the wall. The building was dark. The only light came from the immune lamps outside that shone through the windows. It pooled on the floor like water, and she dodged it easily. So far, so good. She followed a long hallway to the staircase at the end, passing darkened office after darkened office. Each one had a computer, glowing dimly. Knight wondered if any of these computers would be able to access the Hegemony's network. Did it have to be from the director's personal computer on the third floor? She briefly considered the idea before common sense kicked in. Who was to say whether or not these computers had security measures the Remnant hadn't anticipated? It was safer to stick to the plan.

  She scaled the steps that took her to the third floor. Knight kept her eyes peeled for the office of the Sixth Star Shipping Company director. His name was something long and convoluted, a classic aquarin mouthful. She hadn't bothered to memorize it. She just had to know where it was, not who it belonged to. His was the room at the very end of the hall, a large suite with massive windows that opened to Valiant's vast desert. The lock was not biometric, but another deadbolt. Knight picked it within seconds and scurried inside.

  The office was surprisingly well-lit by the moons and immune lamps outside. Long shadows fell across the computer sitting still on the desk: jackpot. Knight crept closer to the computer. There were a number of inputs, where all manner of cords and devices could be plugged in. Knight slipped the worm out of her pocket, thumbing its smooth, elongated structure. It was barely longer than her pinky finger. It was astonishing that such a small device had the potential to wreak so much havoc. Knight easily found the input that matched the worm and slid the gadget into place. Then, she tapped a key on the keyboard and winced as the bright light from the monitor bathed the office in a pale green glow. She glanced down out the windows at the buildings below. If anyone was out there, would the immune lamps be enough to blot out the computer's light? She'd better work quickly, just in case.

  The worm started up all on its own, and files flashed across the screen before Knight's eyes. She had no way of knowing if it was actually working, as the windows opened and closed too fast for her to read. Then, as suddenly as the files had come up, they stopped. An official looking window, black with blue lettering, popped up. It was a single word and a box, and it demanded a password. Knight held her breath. It was the moment of truth: could Toshi's code get through without raising any alarms? The cursor blinked innocently back at her. Her heart matched its rhythm.

  After an unknowable amount of time, the screen vanished…and was replaced by what could only be described as a database. Knight exhaled. It had worked. Her eyes scored over the files, her excitement growing. It was all there: troop movements and supply runs neatly laid out for her to see. Toshi had done
it. It was now Knight's turn to rifle through the files and find all those pertaining to the recent retreat from Hlean.

  It was difficult to find what she was looking for; she had to sift through multiple reports on boring and unrelated missions. But after browsing through quite a few memos, she stumbled upon it, a single file labeled "Hlean Supply Run,” hidden between a statement on ship mechanics and a progress report from Arryna. Knight brought the file up.

  It read:

  From the desk of the Royal House of Valiant, his most excellent Lhiyrra Varenti

  OPERATION PLANET FALL

  URGET: REQUIRES DIRECT ACTION

  RELEASE #470-852-977-8355

  STRIKES ON HLEAN TO CEASE IMMEDIATELY

  Roirse, Valiant: Caesyn has been confirmed as the next primary target. Remnant surveillance on Caesyn is low and should decrease after withdrawal from Hlean. Biological weaponry will be centralized on the continent of Javik, on the human settlement of New Ithaca. May the Divari grant us victory.

  Knight froze, rooted to the spot. She read the memo again, mouthing the words because she couldn't quite believe what was written. "Biological weaponry"? There was no doubt in Knight's mind this was starless sickness. Luminance made sure that no other illness posed a threat to inhabitants of the Cradle. They must have figured out a way to deploy it without harming their own troops. And New Ithaca…that was the largest human settlement in the Cradle. Her blood ran cold.

  Caesyn was the second of now five Remnant-controlled worlds. After the initial decimation of Caesyn over a year ago, the Remnant could no longer turn a blind eye to the planet's plight. After all, it wasn't just humans who lived there. The war front migrated to Caesyn and the battle was long. The Remnant won the planet, but at great cost. The war stalled while they regrouped. Other resource worlds were lost in meantime, and it was then, according to Weinan, that the war really started to turn in the Hegemony's favor. What really stood out to Knight was that it didn't sound like the Hegemony wanted Caesyn back. Biological weaponry did little in the vacuum of space. It wouldn't have any effect on the brunt of the Remnant's forces. And for them to target New Ithaca of all places…this wasn't about winning a battle. This was about wiping out the humans and sending a message.

  The memo finished downloading and Knight ripped the worm from the computer. She had been warned that the moment she removed the worm, alarms would be triggered. She had mere minutes to get out of the building before security descended on the director's office. She stuffed the worm into her pocket and retraced her steps, sneaking back down the stairs and darting down the long hallway. She was almost home free when the sound of footsteps stopped her. Expecting unarmed security, she ducked into a nearby office…

  …and nearly gasped when a squad of fully armed soldiers stomped past her hiding spot. This wasn't what she'd anticipated. They weren’t supposed to be there. How had they known?

  She held her breath as footsteps raced past her door. She could hear hushed voices but couldn't make out what they were saying. Then the footsteps stopped, and there was silence, followed by the sound of someone kicking a door in. Knight closed her eyes. Another door was knocked down.

  They were checking the offices, starting on the ground floor. It was only a matter of time before they found her. She glanced around the room, looking for a way out. There were no windows, no vents, nothing that could be a possible escape route. Knight was trapped. She was doomed.

  Taz was suddenly beside her in her mind's eye, looking at her disapprovingly. "I told you not to go. I told you it wasn't safe."

  "I know," Knight whispered.

  "You left anyway."

  "I know."

  "Is this really how the feared Knight dies?"

  No. No. She had to get this worm back to the Remnant. Millions of human lives depended on it. She hadn't brought any tranquilizer, no, but that didn't mean she was helpless. She had her photoshivs. She could still fight. Surely, in such close quarters, the soldiers wouldn't risk firing their weapons and hitting their comrades. And in hand to hand combat, Knight knew, she could hold her own. This is what Weinan had prepared her for. The avian took a deep breath and steeled herself for what she was about to do.

  The soldiers knocked down another door, right next to hers. She heard the muffled voices of the soldiers as they searched the room.

  "Clear," one of them said. Knight gripped the hilt of a photoshiv in each hand. They went for the door across the hall. She slipped to her own door, shoulders pressed against the wall. Her heart pounded in her chest. She had never beat Weinan, she realized. She'd never actually won. What if she failed? What if she was too slow?

  Taz tutted. "Thinking like that will get you killed."

  They came for the door she was crouched behind. Now or never. They kicked the door open. She lunged. The blades of the photoshivs found their target, sinking deep within the levian soldier's neck. He dropped. At the same time, the soldier's comrades realized they were under attack and opened fire through the yawning doorway. Knight dropped with the soldier's body and rolled, coming up beside two other levian soldiers and slashing as she went. They, too, fell to the floor, hurt but still very much alive.

  An initial count put maybe seven levian and avian soldiers in the hall. Three were already down. The other four descended on her—three avians and a levian—drawing photoshivs of their own. At least she was right about them not using their guns. Knight drove her right shiv into the chest of the first downed soldier in front of her and kicked the gun away from the second. It skittered out of his reach. He scrambled for it, but Knight couldn't allow him to reach it. She plunged her left shiv into his upper right eye. He screamed, twitched, and then stilled. She came up, ready to meet her attackers head on.

  The first one, an avian, came at her and slashed downward. She jumped back, narrowly avoiding the blade. He slashed upward and Knight saw her chance. She heard Weinan in her head. Fast movements, shorter movements. Knight darted in, jabbed, and darted back. Her blade cut a large swath across the soldier's middle. He doubled over, attempting to stab her on the way down. Knight leapt over his body, but felt the blade of his shiv shear across her lower leg. She gasped and stumbled, and the last three saw their opportunity. They lunged as one, driving their shivs downwards. Time slowed to a crawl as she took in the scene. Knight couldn't move back, and couldn't move to the side. Her only option was ahead, into the shivs. She used her momentum to push herself forward. She managed to knock the middle avian soldier's shiv aside with her arm as she fell, and the other two were caught off guard. Their blades slid harmlessly past her.

  The middle soldier's blade found her side and Knight howled. A flash of anger seared through her and she plunged both shivs into his neck. Blood spurted in her face, blinding her. But there was no one in front of her, she knew, and she rolled forward. Her side screamed in pain, and her leg throbbed. She needed to heal herself. Knight bounced up on her feet, sticking the hilt of one shiv in her mouth. With her free hand, she gripped her side and called her Luminance. She limped away from her attackers, but they followed fast, having recovered from her initial jump. The flesh had only just begun to knit together when the closest soldier reached her. Knight whirled around at the last minute, watching as the levian soldier pulled his arm back for the killing blow. But his movements were slow and advertised, and Knight knew just where to strike. She drove the remaining shiv in her hand into the soldier's chest. He made a choking sound and his shiv clattered to the ground as he fell.

  The last soldier squared off against her, tossing his shiv to the ground, out of reach. His hand closed around the gun holstered at his hip, and he brought it up to aim at her chest. Knight clasped at her side, keeping her weight off her injured leg, breathing hard.

  "It's just you and me now," he taunted. "Your move."

  Knight felt cornered. She could run, but she'd get shot. She could attack, but she'd get shot. Attempt to heal herself, and she'd get shot. She could just stand there, and eventually he'd shoot her.<
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  Knight had just one chance. Wincing, she raised her hands and dropped the shiv. "Lhiyrra would want Knight alive, wouldn't he? To make an example of her?"

  The avian soldier frowned, sensing a trap. But he stepped forward, keeping the gun aimed squarely at Knight's chest. "Turn around," he ordered. Knight did as she was told, her breathing shallow. Not yet.

  The man wrenched her arms behind her back, and Knight gasped involuntarily. Her side was on fire, dripping blood onto the floor. She felt the soldier sidle up behind her. The barrel of the gun pressed into her back. Now.

  With her injured leg, Knight stomped hard on the soldier's boot. She didn't bring her foot down hard enough to hurt, but it had the desired effect of shifting the gun's barrel ever so slightly. Knight had just enough time to jerk sideways before the soldier fired. She turned around and, once again, used her momentum to drive herself forward. Her shoulder hit the soldier's sternum and he fell backwards. They hit the ground together, him reaching for his gun and her for the shiv she had dropped moments ago. Knight's fingers wrapped around the hilt, and with as much speed as she could muster, she rolled over and plunged it deep into the soldier's chest just as his hands were closing around the grip of his gun. He gasped, jerked, and went still.

  Knight collapsed on the floor, panting hard. At last she was able to heal the wounds in her side and on her leg. And then she lay still for a moment, just breathing. She'd done it.

  But she wasn't out of the woods yet. Someone was waiting to hear from the soldiers she'd dispatched, and alarms would be raised when they didn't check in. She hauled herself to her feet, exhausted, and exited the building.