A few civilians walked in the distance. Many were dressed in white shifts similar to those he had seen earlier.
~Captain?
Some more white-clad civilians appeared from an elevator, just ahead; they stopped and stared when they saw Agansu and the disturbance in the air caused by the arbites’ camouflage; effectively invisible to the naked eye from as little as ten metres away, the machines weren’t fooling anybody this close, not when they moved. Even the blind would know they were there; the machines were marching carefully out of step and treading as delicately as they were able, but there was still a noticeable vibration shuddering along the wide floor of the corridor.
~
~Communication with the ship is not possible within this shielded environment, Arbite One told him.
~We have no link to other assets aboard? he asked.
~None at present, the arbite replied.
“Hey!” somebody shouted behind them. “Stop! On the floor, now!”
Agansu turned round to see a helmeted security person, armed with what was probably a stun rifle, running down the corridor towards them. ~Stun, he said to One.
The security guard staggered but didn’t collapse.
~Stunning ineffective, Arbite One said.
The guard dropped to one knee and raised the gun.
Light flared, the guard’s head flicked backwards and the figure collapsed.
~Weapon aimed, action taken, Arbite One sent, when Agansu looked at it. ~Standing orders.
Now people were screaming; the group at the open elevator were crowding back in. In the direction they had been heading, those who had been walking in front of them were stationary, looking back.
Lights — red, situated every fifteen metres along the corner the walls made with the ceiling — started to flash. Another siren had joined the first.
~I think, to put it in the vernacular idiom, our cover is blown, Agansu told the marine arbites. ~Resume full capacity including AG and field.
The arbites seemed to collapse in on themselves, compacting to the size of bulky backpacks, and hovering.
Agansu thought his own AG on. It was as though an invisible seat rose beneath him, bringing his legs up as he lay back. He had flown like this before in training and simulations; a familiar-feeling virtual glove-control seemed to fill his hand. He held the kin-ex side-arm in the other hand.
~Follow me, he sent to the four arbites. He raced down the corridor, a metre and a half off the floor, feet first. This was the luge configuration; others preferred the toboggan, though Agansu had always thought such head-first antics both intrinsically more dangerous and a little showy.
The arbites flew in a horizontal square formation around him. They rose very close to the ceiling as they tore over the crowd of people they’d been following earlier, passing overhead without incident, though he heard somebody screaming. They had all dropped to the floor anyway. The piercing sound of the scream dopplered oddly as they swept past above, still following the downward curve of the corridor.
Seconds later, some distance ahead, he could see a crowd of white-clad people clustered around a broad circular staircase leading upwards.
~Insect-plausible device ahead reports person of interest passed this way, up steps ahead, into tank, earlier, Arbite One sent.
There were hundreds there; the steps were packed with people dressed in white.
~Deploy there, he sent. ~Make some noise now; get those people out of the way. Laser area denial bursts too, civilian warning grade.
The two lead arbites deployed tiny blast grenades, producing sudden flickers of light twenty metres in front of the crowd of people. The noise was very loud indeed. More light strobed, turning the whole scene ahead into a bright flare. People dropped, covered their ears, their eyes.
~Make for the aperture, he sent, spotting the large triangular piercing in the ceiling where the steps led.
The two leading arbites zoomed, disappeared. More flashes of light. ~Weapon aimed, action taken, he heard again as he curved up and through to land on the deck above.
It was generally dark. People were scattering. Two guards lay dead, faces gone, stun guns at their sides. This was a dark, very large space, almost entirely filled with a vast tank that looked like water; lights pointed inwards from every side around the enormous space. His enhanced senses mapped out what could be mapped out. One of the insect-plausible devices registered as nearby.
~olonel? somebody sent. The signal protocols were missing. ~Colonel Agansu? It was the marine operations officer.
~Here, beneath this large tank, Agansu replied.
~We’re having some problems with the Culture ship supporting… The voice crackled, disappeared, came back on another crackle. ~ersons of interest would appear to be up inside… It was gone again.
~Units present undergoing effector attack, internal, airship own, Arbite One reported. ~Defending actions deployed.
Agansu was experiencing some problems of his own: the view was hazing over.
~Insect-plau— Arbite Three began.
~Hostile insect-plausible device attached to Arbite Three, Arbite One sent.
Something was glowing brightly on the upper surface of the arbite nearest the triangular hole in the floor.
~Hostile insect-plausible device attached to Arbite Three, Arbite Two confirmed.
~Our insect-plausible device immediately external reports hostile device app— There was a flash outside, where the stairs led down. ~Our insect-plausible device destroyed, Arbite One reported. ~Hostile device approaching registering as knife missile or similar.
~Marine operations officer! Agansu sent. ~Reinforcements, immediately! Use any means—
Something punched through the floor, beneath Arbite One, spearing it and throwing it upwards to impact against the underside of the giant transparent tank. The glowing thing on the top surface of Arbite Three detonated at the same moment, blinding.
~Destroy the tank! Agansu sent, raising the kin-ex gun. He was able to fire once before he was blown off his feet by the blast from the erupted arbite.
~Destroy tank.
~Destroy tank, the two remaining arbites replied, and began firing upwards and around the walls, filling the darkness with insane, stuttering, flares of light.
She was treading water, revolving slowly and looking down between her slow, weed-waving legs, trying to see Berdle, when he said, “On second thoughts, just get to the surface. I’ll join you shortly.”
“Mmm,” she said, and, after a quick look round, struck out.
“Wrong way, turn about,” the suit told her in Berdle’s voice.
She stopped. This was the way she’d been heading, wasn’t it? Could the suit have got it wrong?
“Wrong way, turn about,” the suit repeated.
“Hnnh,” she said, then realised she had been twisting round while she’d been looking down to see the avatar. That was why she’d taken the wrong direction initially.
“You’re heading the wrong way,” Berdle told her. “There’s some sort of emergency down there; just turn round, get out as quickly as you can. I’ll be there very shortly.”
She did a forward roll, started back the way she’d come. “Mmm,” she said again, swimming hard now. Suddenly she felt very vulnerable, suit or no suit.
Something flickered deep below, as though from right at the bottom of the tank. Something very bright. She knew she had seen light that white and intense recently. Her stomach lurched like she’d been punched. She got to where she’d been treading water moments earlier. The light flickered again, brighter still, seeming to reflect off the distant sides of the vast tank.
“Swim up fast
She was already kicking out as hard as she could when it felt like the whole tank shuddered.
