“There’s another way,” Burhawk said. “Hurry.” He scooted out from behind the wreckage and continued past the doors, moving further west.
Rhea holstered the plasma pistol and reactivated her Ban’Shar.
She and her companions weaved between the pillars, following Burhawk. They utilized “leapfrog” tactics: one group of Wardenites and robots would lay down suppressive fire, while the other group relocated. Meanwhile, Rhea also deflected any plasma bolts that came her way.
Burhawk paused before a tapestry-covered wall. The tapestry bore the big, smiling face of the Paramount Leader Qui Fon Chin. Rhea stood behind him and deflected any bolts that came his way. The others took cover behind nearby pillars.
“I told you the throne room was built around the core of a Ganymedean starship,” Burhawk said. “Well, that core wasn’t seamless… there were openings in its bulkheads. Gaps filled over with walls that are like papier-mache in comparison. Or hot butter, before the Ban’Shar you wield.” He beckoned toward the tapestry.
Taking the hint, Rhea took a run at the tapestry. When she reached it, she carved a glowing hot circle into the fabric and the wall behind it, using the edges of her Ban’Shar disks. The round section of tapestry dropped away, leaving behind plastered-over bricks whose outermost edges still glowed incandescent. She deactivated the knuckles long enough to slam a shoulder into the center of that white-hot circle, causing the wall section to collapse inward, revealing the room beyond.
She held one Ban’Shar in front of her, and another behind her as she studied the expansive, vaulted interior. A red carpet bisected the marble floor, traveling from one side of the room to the other. Tapestries, paintings, and pedestals lined the walls, much like the hall out here. However, the central area was devoid of any furniture, and there were no pillars to block the view, or to provide cover. On the far side, she could see a series of stairs leading to a platform that held a metal box. The dimensions of the latter were roughly in line with that of a small vehicle. There was no sign of Khrusos, or any other occupants for that matter.
She viewed all of this from a slightly off-center angle, of course, given her current position relative to the actual entrance.
“Where’s Khrusos?” Rhea asked, leaning first to the left then the right as she peered past the edges of the circular hole to check for potential assailants hiding next to the interior wall. There were none.
“He is there,” Burhawk replied. He had taken cover behind a pillar as the incoming fire from the hall hadn’t lessened.
She glanced at Will.
“It’s a trap, of course,” Will said.
She nodded. “It always is.”
She selected three of her robots and commanded them to enter. She followed, vaulting over the bottommost section of the gap. Burhawk, Min, and Horatio came next, while five more robots brought up the rear. The purpose of the latter machines was mostly to give the beam turrets something else to target other than herself and her cyborg companions, but she hadn’t told that to Horatio, who most certainly wouldn’t have approved.
The remainder of her robots stayed behind with the Wardenites. They would watch her back, and protect her human companions, at least until the automated plasma cannons could be disabled. Then, in theory, everyone could enter.
She advanced slowly, focusing on the stairs ahead, the platform they led to, and the metallic box at its apex.
“Khrusos resides there,” Burhawk said, nodding at the box.
15
Rhea continued to advance cautiously into the throne room. Flanked by Min, Horatio and Burhawk, she followed the three lead robots toward the staircase on the far side. She occasionally glanced over her shoulder, past the five robots that followed, letting her gaze fall upon the entrance she had made, but her companions were doing a good job of holding the outside attackers at bay.
Burhawk had shared the locations of all the disabling beam turrets, along with the plasma cannons and she had them marked on her map. So far, none of those weapons had made an appearance. Burhawk promised they were hidden behind panels in the wall, ceiling and floor, structures that had been built on top of the base starship framework.
The robots followed the path Rhea had laid out, one that gave the hidden turrets a wide berth. She wasn’t certain whether or not she should simply rush the closest turret, and destroy it before it could open fire, so at least she’d start the fight with a slight advantage. As she neared the center of the chamber, she considered doing just that, when panels throughout the room began to open in the wall, floors, and ceiling.
She transformed one Ban’Shar into a blade and raced forward just as a beam turret emerged. It was a pyramid-shaped, menacing looking thing, its metal polished to a burnish.
She cut through it, destroying the turret.
Other beam turrets in the room emitted telltale glows, indicating they were preparing to fire. Rhea switched to the gymnastics of her muscle memory, and somersaulted forward, twisting her body around the long, thin beams that cut through the air. Beside her, Min was likewise maneuvering. Horatio and Burhawk dodged as well, leaping out of the way. The robots tried to do the same, but two of them were struck, and fell.
“Choose your targets!” Rhea shouted.
She picked off a target on her map and marked it in green. Other turrets became similarly marked off as her team picked the remainder.
As she raced toward her selected turret, a plasma cannon fired nearby, and she deflected the blow with the Ban’Shar she’d kept in shield mode.
Ahead, the beam turret glowed a bright white as it prepared to fire at her again.
She leaped upward, arcing over the beam that appeared, and struck down with her sword as she landed, rending the turret in two. Then she deflected another plasma attack with her Ban’Shar and raced toward the next target she had marked.
Three disabling beams came in at her at once.
