Chapter 62 – Branching Paths

  “These aren’t the only missions you have access to,” said Sophie. “Or even the only ones you’re qualified for. But based on information provided by the data collectors on your Curahee and Vael expeditions, I think these will most play to your strengths.

  She brought up the screen to mirror her tablet and flicked through the profile on an area covered in muddy water. Tall buildings could be seen in the distance, covered in plant mass and half-collapsed.

  “Pass!” declared Roxy.

  After the soupy marsh of Curahee and the half-flooded mire of the Vaelian no-man’s-land, Cole was inclined to agree, but he nodded for Sophie to continue.

  “Hexighast. Risk index 2. It was a modern world by LF planet standards, think 1950’s tech powered by magic. But it regressed once they brought a super-computer named Hextant online that hijacked the Lewis Field, took control of all magic, and things have only gotten worse as the increased load started to overheat its core and its programming started to degrade.”

  Howie grimaced. “Sounds a little I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream,” he said.

  “I mean…” Sophie scrunched her nose. “Yeah, a little. But this computer doesn’t despise, or even dislike humans. The opposite, in fact. It hated the injustice and inequality it saw in the world, so it took away people’s means of oppression and instituted a level system based on its own perception of meritocracy. Now, magic is no longer something Hexighastans are born with by blood or chance, it’s something they earn through labor. The skilled and driven get stronger, the fearful and timid get crunched under boot of magic automatons.”

  “So it’s Terminator,” said Cole.

  Sophie made an exasperated noise. “Not every situation is a one-to-one equivalent to a sci-fi movie. No, it’s not Terminator. Hextant is trying to challenge humans to force individual growth, not wipe them out. In fact, he’s ambivalent toward Earth humans and even Kickers. That’s not to say he won’t send lethal threats your way. This is a recon mission. Low level Kicker teams will observe and report and provide security to personnel from Camp David as they deploy airborne reconnaissance assets. We’re still trying to figure out where the taken child even is within the world.”

  Cole rubbed his chin. “File it under maybe. What are our other choices?”

  “Well, next is Kracausia.”

  The view shifted to show an aerial video of a dense forested land of thick trees and ferns that had taken over what used to be a medieval castle. But there was something strange about its layout. It didn’t make sense from a defensive standpoint. Along with that was a picture of two teenagers, a boy and a girl, that looked like siblings.

  “In a nutshell, an eccentric mage with a bio-simulacra proxy class wanted to create a zoo of extinct Kracausian creatures, and it got out of control when—”

  “Oh, come on!” said Howie.

  Sophie grinned at him. “Actually, it’s home to a sentient virus trying to exterminate all life. The virus has infected multiple members of the local pantheon, and there is currently a War-in-Heaven scenario that’s doing almost as much damage to the world as the virus itself. This is a Risk-Index 3 world. But you wouldn’t be performing the extraction. You’d be smashing a low-security monster birthing facility in order to delay the virus while we finalize the plans to extract the twins.”

  “So not just a plague on the ground, but literal gods fighting to the death?” asked Cole.

  “No one said these places would be pleasant, Mr. Colton.”

  That was true. It wasn’t like the Army was sending him to Belize, either. If you wanted to be challenged, you had to go to where the challenges were. “Alright. What’s the third option?”

  Sophie cycled the screen again, bringing up a strange world with what looked like a ceiling, and a distant, kaleidoscopic horizon. Cole leaned forward, squinting.

  “What the fuck…?” he asked.

  “Code-name Babel is what we call an AF, or ant-farm world. That means the entire world is a single interior space, in this case a tower comprising an unknown number of floors that is observed from outside by one or more gods. In the case of Babel, warriors from many different worlds are given the choice, or sometimes not given the choice, to participate in a dangerous climbing challenge for the local god’s sick amusement. Set up like a game with deliberate risks, groups can challenge the tower for rewards.

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  “The tower is variable risk-index depending on what range of floors you’re on. Dallemonte, the God with authority over Babel, is a repeat offender. Every two-hundred and ninety-seven days, he takes one or more children from Earth and throws them against his gauntlet.”

  “What a fucking asshole,” said Roxy.

  “What’s worse is that we have no way to stop him because his authority exists outside time and space. All we can do is send teams to get them back,” said Sophie. “He’s a constant thorn in the side of DOR, but it’s one of the more predictable worlds.”

  Cole considered. “What’s at the top of the tower?” he asked.

  “Presumably, some sort of ultimate reward. But we’ve never had any Kickers reach it or even attempt to reach it. We’re not there to challenge the tower, after all. And Dallemonte knows it—and knows we cheat by bypassing his ordained routes. If you draw his attention, expect hostile divine intervention.”

  “Uh,” said Howie, “Does anyone else really not like that phrase? Hostile divine intervention?”

  “There are counter-measures,” said Sophie. “And you wouldn’t be the only Kickers on-site. We do this operation in two parts: First, a wave of scout teams to zero in on the target’s location while effectively participating in the climb as normal. Once they return with a credible location, a high-level team goes in force to perform the extraction. Your responsibility would be a small range of floors, which you would ascend while searching for the target, Beth Black.”

  The screen switched to a portrait of a teenage girl with jet black hair put up with spray and dark eye-shadow who stood in front of a concert stage. She was giving the middle finger to the camera and wearing a faded Fallout Boy t-shirt.

  Howie nudged Roxy. “Remind you of anyone?”

  Roxy groaned, probably being haunted by memories of her own high school fashion sense.

  Cole chuckled. He leaned back and considered. “Thoughts?”

  The tone in the room got more serious. Surprisingly, Besson was the first to speak up.

  “I don’t know how effective Nutmeg is going to be against automaton enemies,” he said. “Her bite force in otherworlds is strong, but I don’t know if it’s chew-through-metal strong.”

  “It’s flooded, too,” said Roxy.

  “Weren’t you Navy?” asked Howie.

  “So? Weren’t you a Marine? Do you want to go wade through the swamp so bad?”

  Howie considered that. “Not really,” he said. “Babel, though. If it’s set up like a game, then it’s got rules and parameters that we can exploit for advantages. It’s meant to be conquered, after all. Potential for powerful otherworld armaments to make future extractions easier.”

  “Hostile divine intervention,” Roxy reminded him.

  “Ah, yeah, there’s that,” said Howie, rubbing the back of his neck.

  “One hostile god is better than half the pantheon turned to plague-zombies,” said Cole. “But that sentient computer is also neutral on Kickers, and neutral is probably the best we can hope for on that front.” He hummed. “What’s the timeline for these ops?”

  “Hexighast requires coordination with assets from Camp David, which takes time to prepare, and they won’t be ready for six weeks. But you can go in ahead of them to secure and recon the assigned areas. There’s some specialty amphibious training involved, as well. Kracausia is at your discretion, but another team may beat you to it if you drag your feet. As for Babel, the next climb is set to seed in twenty-one days. That seed is our ingress to get multiple teams in without Dallemonte noticing. We can push in and pull out at safe floors, which is the first floor and every third floor in sequence, though they’re more like a safe room that settlements spring up around. You’d be going in at floor four, and, with luck, that’s where Beth will be holed up so you can find her immediately. You can spot her, make contact, escort her to the next safe room at floor seven, and then we can send the extraction team.”

  “And we’ve been there before. Can I assume we’ve got good resources and intel?” asked Cole.

  Sophie nodded. “The tower is ever-changing, but not too dramatically. Dallemonte likes his long dramas.”

  Cole looked across the table to the one person who thus far, hadn’t spoken. Nona watched the slide deck carefully, eyes taking in the varying landscapes of Babel and the picture of the girl who didn’t look all that much younger than Nona herself.

  “What do you think, Nona?” asked Cole.

  Roxy scoffed under her breath but looked a bit embarrassed when Cole sent a withering look her way.

  Nona swiveled her chair back and forth, thinking. Cole had already considered her abilities. In a world of automaton enemies, her soul-swap should make her functionally invisible unless the supercomputer had some sort of soul-seeking technology. That didn’t seem too likely. But Babel would be filled with otherworlders, and Nona had lived most of her life as an otherworlder. She’d be better able to navigate the dangers of competing parties of powerful tower climbers intent on playing Dallemonte’s game. Plus, her banish ability could be an instant ripcord if any of them had to bail out before a safe floor.

  “Anywhere but Kracausia,” she said.

  Cole nodded and looked at the rest of the team. “I agree. I say Babel’s our best 50 meter target if we want to get back into the field and not sit around all day. Any objections?” he asked. When no one said anything, he turned back to his squire. “Sophie, if we take Babel, can we still assist in the operation on Hexighast?”

  Sophie considered her schedule. “Depends on how quickly you perform your search and climb your assigned floors,” she said. “And how much you hate time off. But, yes, I’m sure the Hexighast coordinators would appreciate extra hands.”

  Cole looked around the table.

  Howie looked like he wanted to crack a joke but held back. Roxy’s eyes were glazed over, probably already thinking of loot—or maybe the girl in the photo. Besson and Nona remained quiet.

  “Alright,” said Cole. “We’re going climbing.”