The Rembrandt Legacy

"Is that where our EVA suits are stored?"

"Yes. But these are no simple EVA suits."

"No?"

"You'll see when you get there." Cosina squeezed my arm, then left. I checked the console one final time. The Silician was right. Instead of steadily supplying a tremendous amount of energy, the core sputtered, its output oscillating between twenty and forty percent. It was well and truly done for. I left the machine room and rejoined Lily and Vaelia in the cockpit. The main screen was split in two, one half showing a map of the system, the other the wireframe model of a space ship.

"Is that the seed ship?" I asked.

"Yes. It's much bigger than I anticipated," Lily said, chin in hand. The Faceless vessel was truly alien in design, eight sharp points or cones connected at the wide end by a central, orb-like structure. The whole thing looked like some complicated space starfish, nearly a kilometer in length from end to end. According to our sensor systems, large sections of it were unpowered and in disrepair.

"At least we're not the only ones not at a hundred percent," I quipped, pointing out the sections colored in red. "Hull breaches, power outages... Is this thing even space worthy?"

"Yes, very much. And from what I can see, they are already repairing it. Which would explain why they haven't noticed us yet," Lily said.

"Hey, give me some credit here. I parked us behind that asteroid field for a reason," Vaelia complained.

"What's the plan?" I asked. "I mean, even if they're distracted and even if large parts of that ship aren't working, I can see four, five, six weapon banks in working condition. We get too close, we die. And if we -- somehow -- manage to sneak past, then what? How many Faceless are on that ship?"

"Sensors say about five thousand." Lily grinned viciously. "But apart from a few dozen crew, most of them are in their pods, in stasis. With our battle suits, we should have no trouble getting aboard and into the Queen's chambers." She leaned forward, tapping the navigation system. "Follow this course, Vael. And prepare to activate our distress beacon when I tell you."

"You're crazy, anyone told you that recently?" Vaelia grumbled, activating the flight systems. The main screen flickered, then showed a view of the forward arc of our ship. A brilliantly glittering asteroid field took up most of the view and Vael used the Lumia's maneuvering jets to weave her way through it.

"I know," Lily said. "But that's what makes me irresistible." She leaned across and kissed Vaelia on the cheek. The Zuthrian pilot chuckled and swatted Lily aside.

"Just so we are on the same page," I said. "The power core is in bad shape. If things go sideways, we won't have enough power for a jump. I doubt we could even raise our shields."

"Duly noted," Lily said. "But we're not here to fight. If you've got nothing else to do, get your behind into cargo hold two and suit up. I'll be there in a bit too."

"Sure."

* * * *

Technically, cargo hold two was the only cargo hold the Lumia had. Lily's personal aquarium occupied the space where hold one had been. The once cavernous room was crammed full with six large cargo containers doubling as suit repair and refit bays. Each one held an angular, black suit of EVA combat armor, built both for ground- or space-based warfare.

These suits, at around eight to nine feet in height, were built like a tank and big enough to even cover a full-grown Gravon like Crush. Their outer shell was fashioned from the same material which ship hulls were made from, rendering them pretty much impervious to small arms fire. Even man-portable laser or plasma weapons had a hard time chewing through the tough outer shell. On the ground or in space, one soldier wearing such a suit was easily the equal of a whole platoon of conventional infantry, stronger, tougher and even faster, thanks to an ingenious strength-amplifying set of artificial muscles and jump jets. Add to that a suite of built-in weapons and sensor systems, and "super soldier" wasn't far off.

I remembered the news story when the US military had bought their first ten of those, it was everywhere. Comparisons to the Iron Man suits were drawn and right-wing politicians had boasted that the War on Terror was about to end. What nobody had mentioned though was that the same Grey merchant who supplied the US had no qualms about supplying anybody with enough cash, so the balance of power, thought to forever be shifted in the US's favor, soon swung back to another stalemate.

When I entered the hold, I saw Crush climb into his suit, using the folded-down chest plate to slip into the armor. The Gravon was naked. Two other suits were already closed and powering up.

"Um, Crush?" I asked. "Do I need to strip too?"

"Yes, please!" came Padari's voice from one of the suits. She made a lewd gesture with her massive, three-fingered power glove. "Show us what you've got!"

"This isn't really the time, ladies." Crush growled, threading his arms into the armored sleeves of his suit. His gloves flexed, then the chest plate whirred upwards, covering most of his body. "But you really should shed your clothing, Rem. It will get pretty hot in there, even with climate controls. The suit's inner lining will absorb sweat, blood and anything else you might leak. Besides, the built-in auto-doc will apply healing gels directly. You want that stuff on you, not on your clothes, right?"

"Sure." I stripped down, shivering in the chill of the cargo hold.

"That's how I like my guys. Naked and at attention," Lily purred from the cargo hold's entrance. She blew a kiss my way and sashayed to her own armor suit where she busied herself adjusting the controls with practiced fluidity

"Any place to store these?" I asked, nodding towards the pile of clothes on the floor.

"Yup," Crush said. "There are luggage compartments on the suit's hips and back." His massive hand pointed. I opened one and deposited my belongings before inspecting my suit.

Inside the armored shell, there were adjustable foot rests and arm controls. Manifesting my Legacy, I quickly learned where the necessary tools were and set the armor up to fit me, working bolts and ratcheting the pedals and hand switches until I could comfortably stand in the open armor.

I threaded my hands into the suit's armored sleeves. The gloves were large enough to house a control stick each and a dummy glove used for hand articulation. The control scheme wasn't that different from the loading exoskeletons I had used before the failed heist.

The chest plate whirred in place and the armor's inner layer inflated until I was snug and secure. Cool metal pips pressed against my chest, my back and the insides of my thighs, contact points for the suit's medical sensors. Crush was right. Even with currents of coolant circulating through the absorbent material covering me like a full-body glove, it became quite warm. Reaching above my head, I lowered the helmet onto the rail built into the armor's collar piece. The heavy metal dome ratcheted in place with alarming volume. I fought with a sudden bout of claustrophobia while the suit switched on. Thankfully, the moment quickly passed as the internal lights and status screens came on. The left side of my field of vision showed the suit status, while the right side showed any relevant information I should need, like environmental data or target info. Using the nav keys built into the control sticks, I activated the outer speakers. "Ready."

Praecor entered the hold, the Nor mentalist carrying a hardshell case which he tucked into one of his armor's storage containers. Then he stripped as well and climbed into the combat suit.

Lily stood in front of her armor, critically inspecting it. "Too bad it was either these puppies or some decent anti-psionic trinkets."

"Second thoughts?" I asked her.

"Only that I don't like being cooped up in these tin cans. With my suit in the way, I should pray I don't get hurt."

"Stripping is not an option?"

She chuckled. "As much as I'd like to, no. Since we don't know how long this operation will take, I can't risk drying out. I can live outside of water for a few hours, but it's as much fun for me as jogging through a sand storm would be for you." She tossed the tools used for adjusting the armor into their container, then suited up. A moment later, her voice came over general comms.

"Okay, everybody ready? We'll have a date with the Brain Queen soon. Vael, activate the distress beacon."

"Just so we're all on the same page here, what's the plan?" Padari asked, her smoky voice so well reproduced by the suit's speakers, I thought she would share the warm, tight space with me.

"I'm not a fan of complicated operations," Lily said, flexing her hands. "So this will be a simple, blunt, in-and-out affair." Someone snickered. Unperturbed, Lily went on: "With the distress beacon on, the Faceless can't miss our approach. If they operate like usual, which means protecting the seed ship at all costs, they will intercept our ship and try to detain us for 'questioning'."

"You mean 'assimilation', right?" Crush asked. "I've read the dossiers."

"Exactly. Only, we're no luxury liner drifting helplessly." Lily's armored hand slapped her chest plate. "Once we're inside the ship, Cosina will access the Faceless network and get us decent schematics from which to operate. Our next target will be the bridge. Rem, that will be your call."

"Take control of that huge thing?" My stomach did a backflip as the enormity of what Lily expected from me sank in. This was no half-refitted Terran battlecruiser, this was an alien vessel I've not even had a chance to properly look at. But then, Praecor had mercilessly drilled me.

"Depends on what your Legacy can do," Lily said. "Total control would be fantastic, but I'd settle for deactivation of the security systems, maybe some subsystems like airlocks and the like." She didn't ask "Can you do it?" She didn't have to. I had no idea what I could do, but I'd give it my all regardless.

"Once we have the ship taken care of, we will escort Praecor to the Brain Queen's chamber. Once she knows we're gunning for her, things will get hectic," Lily warned.

"You need to buy me as much time as possible," Praecor said, eerily calm. "She may not look like it, but a Brain Queen is among the most dangerous living things in our galaxy. She is one of the nexus points of the Faceless hive mind and a psionic of rare power. I have battled one before. I can do it again, but it will take time. And while I'm at it, she will probably send every able Faceless your way, to keep me off her."

"Finally, a challenge!" Crush growled, slamming his armored fist into the open palm of his other power glove.

"And then what?" Padari asked. "When Praecor has taken down that Brain Queen?"

"We'll try our best not to kill her," Praecor said. "Through her, we can control every single Faceless on board."

"Fine. If we make her our bitch. What then?"

"Then, friends and lovers," Lily said, her grin evident even over audio-only comms, "we'll bring the whole seed ship to our employer and collect our pay. How's that sound?"

Appreciative noises came over comms, then Vaelia's voice cut in.

"Guys, you should see this." She sounded concerned. A moment later, when my armor's info monitor showed the seed ship, I knew why. Two of the "points" had detached and were accelerating our way.

"It can split?" Lily asked, incredulously. "That's new."

"Yes. And these two look pretty spaceworthy to me," Vaelia said. "Now what, boss?"

"Keep going. Send more distress signals. Don't let them shoot us. Please."

"Copy that. What if they try to hail me?"

"They shouldn't. But if they do, play dumb. Your ship is shot, you need help."

"At least I don't have to bend the truth that much," Vaelia snarled. She cut the connection.

"And this is the part I hate most," Crush grumbled. "Waiting."

"See it this way, big guy," Vaelia said. "You can see what they're doing from the safety of your battle suits while I'm here out in the open."

* * * *

"They're not shooting?" I asked, nobody in particular. On my screen, I could see the black Faceless ships circle around the limping Lumia. We had left the asteriod field ten minutes ago and they were upon us the moment they had a clear shot.

"Probably scanning for life signs," Praecor said. "With us in the suits, it will be only Vaelia they can find. Crush, are these stealthed?" The mentalist tapped his own chest.

"Kinda. It's sensor-deflecting camo paint. I've invested in some decent EMP hardening instead of shelling out for active stealth systems. The moment we open fire, they'll know we're there anyway."

Before I could ask what the EMP hardening was meant for, the lights flickered, then went off, along with the feed from the cockpit.

"Like reading the textbook," Lily murmured. "Cripple the ship with EMP, then tow it."

"They don't have any transporter technology for getting their victims off the ship?" I asked. "I mean, I have seen 'Fading Stars', but that's fictionalized, right?"

"The Faceless want inconspicuous ships too, to get their operatives onto other planets without raising much suspicion. Their ships are pretty distinctive," Lily explained. "We're a wet dream come true."

"One more thing." The thought had just occurred to me. "Once we've reached the bridge... I will have to get out of the armor to use my Legacy."

"Don't worry, Rem," Lily said. "We'll cover your cute butt."

The Lumia lurched hard, nearly knocking me off-balance. The suit's stabilizer systems kicked in and held me upright.

"Can't be long now," Crush said. "Better check your weapons, everyone. Things are bound to get ugly." He reached his hand up over his right shoulder and his armor reacted, extending the stock of a weapon for him to grasp. It was an oversized plasma rifle, the hexagonal barrel wider than my head.

I checked my own arsenal. Besides a copy of the same rifle, my suit was fitted with two miniature grenade launchers mounted to the underside of the wrists, loaded with three stun and frag grenades each. Also, there was a battlesuit-sized concussion gun available. I reached over my left shoulder, going for the nonlethal option. I didn't feel entirely comfortable going into this op guns blazing, especially against aliens I had no quarrel with.

"An admirable thought," Padari said, checking her own guns. "But don't forget -- the Faceless won't hesitate to either dominate or kill you, without a moment's hesitation. To them, you are only a means to an end. Meat."

Vael sprinted into the hold. "We're almost there," she called. "I can see the seed ship from the lounge's window. Maybe two, three minutes tops."

"While we're over there, try to keep the ship going again," Lily suggested. "Should things go sideways, at least one of us can get away."

"You know I won't abandon you," Vael snapped. "Be careful." She saluted, then strode from the hold. My suit's microphone picked up her voice, as she muttered something about "manual overrides". A moment later, the cargo hold doors began to inch towards another.

"Seeing as how Vael is locking us in, how are we going to get aboard the seed ship?" I asked.

"By using the cargo hatch, of course," Cosina said, leaving her bay. She went to one knee next to a panel in the floor and splayed her armor's hand. Articulated cables sprouted from the back of her glove and connected with ports in the panel. A moment later, emergency lights came on.

"I can open the hatch from here. Also, I have access to the Lumia's passive sensors. Vael was right, we're almost there. Everyone, prepare for action!"

* * * *

The Lumia lurched again. Grabbed by the seed ship's tractor beam, Lily's ship was slowly, inexorably dragged into a cavernous hangar within the central structure.

"Is it okay for Vaelia to stay back alone?" I asked over general comms. "What if the Faceless come for her?"

"Vael is a big girl, she can watch out for herself. Besides, the Faceless will have their hands full. Cosina, do it. Crush, be so kind and open a way for us, will you?"

"With pleasure." The armored Gravon went into position next to Cosina. Howling like a chorus of lost souls, the cargo ramp's actuators, powered by Cosina's suit batteries, brought the twenty-feet long metal piece into position. Crush wasted no time and dashed down the ramp. I saw movement, pale beings dressed in black uniforms scattering apart. Then there was the infernal roar of the plasma rifle and, a few moments later, the screams of the dying.

"Go! Go! Go!" Lily yelled. Padari and Praecor were the next to disembark. Like me, Praecor had his concussion gun out while Padari didn't bother with any guns. I wondered if she would tear the Faceless limb from limb with her suit's bare hands.

"Now you, Rem. Move it!" Lily ordered. I jogged down the ramp, into the hangar. I had barely set foot onto the polished metal floor when the first beams of incandescent energy hit my armor. I dashed sideways and brought my concussion gun up. Behind a set of crates, I spotted four, five Faceless unloading their laser rifles my way. One shot nearly blinded me as it hit one of the sensor modules. Blinking tears away, I returned fire. The air rippled like water and the both the crates and the Faceless were tossed around like toys by the incredible force of the weapon. The suit's stabilizers effortlessly absorbed the massive kick. The Faceless didn't get back up.

"Clear!" Crush called over comms. He had circled around the Lumia's landing gear. "Too bad. I just got into the mood."

"Huh." Padari panted. "That was quick." She turned at the waist, scanning for more enemies.

I did the same. The hangar was vast, big enough to house ten ships the size of the Lumia. It was paneled with matte black plating and illuminated by an indirect, red glow emanating from glowing lines between the panels. Under the ceiling, I spotted what looked like wedge-shaped structures. Only when my suit's database kicked in and identified the wedges as starfighters, sleek and deadly interceptors, did I understand why they would need such a large space to begin with. Managing nearly a hundred fighters during take-off and landing would require a sizable flight deck.

"We're lucky they didn't launch their fighters at us," I said, pointing upwards. "They would have torn the Lumia to shreds."

"We have to thank the Nor navy for that," Lily said. "Heh. Wouldn't have thought I'd ever thank them for anything." She bent down and nudged one of the Faceless I had hit. "Good job, everyone."

At a glance, a Faceless in it's natural state looked like a bald, albino humanoid without any distinctive features. What's more, they seemed to be absolutely androgynous, without any sex characteristics. Also, somehow they were naked.

"Explain to me why they have lost their uniforms," I asked Lily.

"That's because they form their clothing from their own substance. When you knocked them out, they stopped maintaining their form and the clothing got reabsorbed. They are strange that way. And don't let your guard down. There are no alarm bells, but let's not forget -- the Faceless are a hive mind. I'm certain some of these guys have called for help already. Cosina, found anything?"

"Yes." The Silician stomped through the hangar, coming to a stop next to one of the walls. She ran her hands over the wall panels, then balled her fist and slammed it into the material. It bent, then shattered at the third punch. Again the flexible cables sprouted from her glove, connecting with the wiring behind the panels.

"Watch out!" Padari yelled, pointing to a bulkhead at the far end of the hangar. More Faceless poured into the hangar and these had much bigger guns. With an infernal roar, small rockets thundered through the hangar. Crush raised one arm in front of his helmet, the other, brandishing the plasma rifle, pointed towards the attacker. His suit got rocked by two impacts, but his answering volley carved a large swath into the approaching attackers. My suit counted twenty foes. I whirled towards them, ready to add my concussion gun to the withering hail of fire my crew mates unleashed, when a titanic fist rocked my world.