The Rembrandt Legacy

And suddenly-

Enviromental controls. Gravity. Oxygen. Temperature. The next panel. Remote bulkhead access. The next panel. Communication and sensor systems. Next one. Drive controls. Next one. Weapons and targeting. Next one. Surveillance and security systems. I tried the controls. Angry signs flared up. My Legacy translated. "Access Denied."

"Cosina!" I called, forcing my tongue to work. Before, I had never been able to communicate when manifesting.

"I'm here, Rem," she said, close by. Her hand, her flesh-and-blood hand, caressed my hip. "What can I do to help?"

"I know what's what, but I don't have the access codes. Can you-?"

"On it," she said. Her soothing presence vanished and I heard naked feet patter up the stairs to the throne. A few seconds later, I had access.

My hands flew over the panels, activating defense mechanisms and altering the Friend/Foe algorithms. Outside, I heard dull thuds and muted hisses as disintegrator turrets and flame jets came on, clearing the corridors in a cell-vaporizing inferno.

The next console showed the status of the cloning chambers. Someone had woken up a full five hundred of the sleepers, they were in various states of thaw. I hit the override keys, to reverse the thawing process, but even with Cosina's codes, I couldn't. The console locked up, separated from the main network. I ended the manifestation and forced my eyes open.

My crew mates looked at me, some through the visors of their armors, Lily and Cosina with their own eyes. My own uneasiness was mirrored on their faces. Around us, alarm systems were moaning. We had poked the beast and now it was coming awake.

"We need to deal with the Queen. Now. Otherwise we'll be neck-deep in angry Faceless."

* * * *

"Cosina and I should have stayed behind," I said, for what felt like the fifth time. "With the ship's security system, we could have kept the sleepers off your back." We thundered down a corridor, wide enough for two of our suits to walk next to each other, towards the next elevator shaft. The bridge had been close to the "polar" region of the seed ship's central structure, while the Queen's chamber was in the center, surrounded by the enormous cloning facility and the stasis pods. I couldn't help but think of an alien version of a bee hive.

"Not a good idea," Lily patiently explained, swerving to poke her plasma rifle into a side corridor. "We'll need every able fighter we have once Praecor challenges the Queen. With you and Cosina on the bridge, we wouldn't lose two, but three people, since I'd have to leave someone to cover you. Clear." "At least Rem and I could lock down the bridge. This ship is going nowhere unless we tell it to," Cosina said. "Without him, I would still be trying to locate the right systems."

"Vael will be happy to have him around when it's time to fly this thing to our employer," Lily added. "The three of you work well together. I'm almost jealous."

"Oh, I don't know..." Padari purred. "You, Rem and I can work well together as well, Lily."

I didn't even have time to blush. Ahead, the elevator doors opened. Two battle forms, their skins showing scorch marks, charged into the corridor. Crush and Padari raised their weapons and fired. One battle form tore a panel off the wall, using it as an impromptu shield while the other one staggered under the infernal onslaught of the ultra-heated barrage. Crush handed off his weapon to Padari and charged ahead, crashing like a hammer into the shielded battle form, wrestling to tear the half-molten panel aside. Lily leaned past Padari, adding her own plasma stream to those the Marked unleashed onto the second battle form which finally collapsed into a smoldering pile.

Crush's opponent grew a second set of arms, desperately fighting to keep the shield up.

"You really like that piece of wall, huh?" the Gravon snarled. "Fine, have it." He changed his grip and, instead of trying to yank it aside, he spun in place, forcing the battle form to move with him and expose it's vulnerable rear to us.

Padari, Lily and Praecor didn't hesitate and opened fire. Eventually, that battle form too stopped struggling. Crush tossed the warped and glowing panel aside. "Stubborn fuckers," he growled, kicking the charred remains.

This elevator wasn't a traditional cabin, more like a large platform with a small control panel on a waist-high pillar, large enough to easily accommodate all six of our suits. Cosina plugged her cables into the lift controls and brought the platform online. It moved downwards. Suddenly, the constant red glow of the seed ship's usual architecture was replaced by much brighter illumination as the walls receded and the platform descended through a long, transparent shaft. Large orbs shed a sun-like illumination, bathing the cloning facility into perpetual daylight. Around us, arranged in gigantic, concentric circles, loomed hundreds, no, thousands of identical stasis pods. To me, they looked like plump coffins, each with a frosted, red insert in the lid. Each and every one of them held a Faceless, ready to be unleashed. Long, flexible transporter arms, mounted to rails above each row, plucked coffins from their storage locations and carried them to lifts which took them down towards a central level where they disappeared, carried by conveyor belts. Probably towards some kind of automated wake-up station.

"My thanedom for a few missile launchers," Crush muttered, flexing his suit's gloves.

"We're not here to destroy, but to capture," Lily admonished him. "But you're right. That's a whole lot of trouble." She pointed. Below, on that central level, assembling in front of a dome-like structure, were several dozen battle forms and an impressive number of regular Faceless.

"We have to get through them to get at the Queen?" Crush asked. "Seriously. I should have brought the big guns."

"They can't hit what they can't reach," I said. "Cosina, stop the lift."

The platform came to a halt.

"What's your plan, Rem?" Lily asked. A small grin tugged at my lips. No complaints, no "you can't do that." I really was part of the team. And I would do my darndest to get us all out of here in one piece.

"Look at the dome," I suggested. "Isn't that a whole lot of glass?"

"You're right," Lily said, squinting past the shorn-off collar of her suit. "And?"

"Our suits have jump jets."

Lily's eyes lit up. "Nice." She tapped Crush's shoulder. "Open the door for us, will you?"

"I thought you'd never ask," he said, balling his fists. A few moments later, the transparent shaft housing the platform had a suit-sized hole in it. "See ya down there." Without hesitation, the huge Gravon jumped from the shaft.

"He's enjoying himself way too much," Padari said, grabbing the jagged edges of the hole. She pushed herself off, whooping.

"Look who's talking," Lily grumbled. "Praecor, your turn."

The Mentalist shrugged and threw himself from the shaft. Below, I heard the sounds of battle, as the Faceless threw up an impressive, but wildly inaccurate screen of anti-air fire. Some of the shots hit the shaft we were still in, carving chunks out of the transparent material.

"I wish I still had my helmet," Lily cursed. "Rem, now you."

I swallowed hard. I've seen combat drops in the occasional action holovid, but never thought I'd actually participate in one.

"I hope the relevant suit systems didn't get torn asunder when that Bee-Eff tried to kill me," I said. "Otherwise this will be a very short engagement."

"Less blathering, more suicide-diving please," Lily said as another tremor shook the shaft.

"Sure, sure. Don't die on me, boss."

Her radiant smile on my rear-view monitor was the last thing I saw before pitching head-first from the crumbling shaft. Below, I could see Crush tucking his limbs in before he shattered one of the glass elements of the central dome, his jump jets firing incandescent jets of plasma to break his fall.

Laser fire and missiles whizzed past me as I fell, the suit adjusting my trajectory. My armor diagram showed where the hits peeled off layers of armorgrade. I crossed my arms in front of my chest, hoping to cover the huge breach in my armor. Even with a few more of the self-adhering cement packs Cosina had slapped onto it, I didn't trust the armor to absorb another serious hit. A missile clipped my foot, nearly causing me to turn my controlled fall into a helpless tumble. Growling, I pointed my fist downwards and fired my remaining flashbangs. They detonated like miniature suns among the Faceless. No idea if they made a discernible difference.

"Attention, landing imminent. Pilot participation required." The suit righted itself. Using the control sticks and jump jet switches conveniently located under my toes, I aimed for the hole Crush and Padari had made in the dome and braced for impact. The jets in the suit's boots and back fired, depositing my battered armor gently on the floor of the dome. I reached over my shoulder and yanked the plasma rifle free, scanning for enemies.

The dome was a weird mixture of garden and machinery, complete with ponds and flower beds, housing eye-wateringly colorful blooms and blossoms from a dozen alien worlds. An artificial, backlit waterfall pattered down from up high and purple grass covered the floor. Gnarled trees with phosphorescent leaves surrounded a small gazebo-like structure, black metal panels on graceful pillars. It housed a living space, complete with consoles and a tub-like bed, while towering machinery made up most of the wall opposite the waterfall.

I heard the signature roar of plasma rifles, then a pained grunt. I turned towards the sounds. Crush clutched his shoulder. I could see his pauldron, glowing cherry-red, through the fingers of his battle glove. In front of him, surrounded by a force field which slightly blurred everything seen through it, stood what I presumed was the Brain Queen. She was the most distinctive Faceless I'd seen outside of "Fading Stars", a curvy female wrapped into a sleek black-and-red body suit. Her skin was as pale as every other Faceless', but her hair shimmered in a multitude of hues, from albino-white to lavender to black and everything in between. Her eyes were twin orbs of infinite darkness, like miniature portals into the darkest depths of space, where not even the stars shed their faint illumination and her lips were very red. Six techno-organic tendrils were visible on her cheeks, the bone of her jaw and converging on her forehead, circuitry glittering. As I looked closer, I could see similar patches of cybernetics press against her suit from below.

"I have seen enough of my children die through this infernal weapon." I nearly dropped my gun as the voice came, seemingly straight out of my own head. It was definitely female, stern and authoritative, yet with an alien sultriness which put my hairs on edge. "You shall not hurt me with it."

Crush fired again. The plasma stream ricocheted off the force field, vaporizing another chunk of the dome.

"That's quite enough," the Brain Queen hissed, her rage almost a physical force. My head thumped with each syllable. An irresistible force grabbed the plasma rifle and yanked, nearly tearing out my arms at the shoulders. I let go. Every plasma rifle in the room levitated up. I saw the Queen's face distort in a feral snarl, and above, our weapons collided. The sound of breaking high-density plastics and screaming metal were ample warning. I took a few steps back, as did my crew mates. Lily raised her arms to cover her vulnerable head as the weapons crumbled under the might of the Queen's psychokinesis.

Praecor stepped forwards, his visor sliding up. "I challenge you," he called, his voice a thin, almost insignificant wail against her towering mental presence.

"Praecor Thal." There was a hint of ...respect? But the notion faded, replaced by a wave of anger. "You killed one of my sisters. The hive mind never forgets."

"I was counting on that," the Mentalist said. "Don't you want to punish me for my insolence? Your sister was very big on that. Too bad she was far too arrogant for her own good and I melted her brain."

"Don't think we will be surprised as easily again," the Queen hissed, her voice gaining exponentially more intensity. I went to my knees, clutching my helmet. Lily was fighting to keep upright, a small trickle of green blood running from her nose. "You will watch helplessly as my children will tear your associates limb from limb. Afterwards, we will learn all the tasty secrets stashed in that brain of yours. And only then will we allow you to slowly, painfully die."

"I'm willing to take that risk," the Mentalist said. His chest plate opened and he slid, sweaty and naked, from the safety of his armor. Unperturbed by the presence of the alien, he pulled his clothes from the armor's storage compartment and dressed. Only then did he face the Queen.

"Shall we?"

"You will regret ever thinking about challenging me," she snarled. The force field expanded, enclosing the purple-haired Nor. The pressure on my head mounted for a brief moment before subsiding.

Around us, the doors hissed open and Faceless swarmed in by the dozens.

"Oh, fucking great. And no plasma rifles," Crush snarled. "It was nice knowing ya all." He stomped towards the nearest cluster, wading into battle like an angry giant.

I checked my suit systems. There had to be something I could do to help. My left back holster still held the concussion gun. I yanked it free and pumped a few shots into the advancing mass of enemies. My suit dutifully updated the weapon's status after each shot.

Inspiration struck.

"Cosina?"

"Not now, Rem!" She fought a battle form, trading punches with the towering, misshapen monster.

"You need to help me," I pleaded, charging to her side and slamming the full weight of my armor into the battle form. It stumbled backwards, right into Padari. The Marked Zuthrian balled her fist and rammed it into the monster's maw, tearing out a huge chunk of its gullet.

"If I can. My tactical analysis suggests that we have less than a ten percent chance to make it out alive."

"Listen. Concussion guns are controlled by their on-board bird brains, right?"

"Yes." She ducked, feinted and clocked a battle form trying to sneak up on Padari.

"Can't you write a program, virus, whatever to override the safeties? These things pack enough punch to break bones after all."

"Give me a moment..." Her armor froze. Another battle form pounced, intent on tearing that juicy target to shreds. Gnashing my teeth, I dialed in a new dose of combat drugs. The icy cold flooded my system. This hit lacked the universe-shattering impact of the first, but it gave me a much-needed shot of energy. Roaring, I intercepted the pouncing battle form, ripping it out of the air and slamming it into the nearest tree, uprooting it from the sheer momentum of the throw.

I thought I had heard Praecor's voice, but that was surely a hallucination. After all, the thick shell of armorgrade dampened any noise from outside and the microphones were overwhelmed by the roars and screams of the Faceless swarming in ever-increasing numbers into the dome. A stabbing pain lanced through my head, slowing me down for a heartbeat. A battle form tore into me, pummeling the weakened chest plate. And behind it, I saw something move. Three, no four regular Faceless, arms linked, began to melt and flow together, into... into... a thing even more menacing than a battle form. Without the calming rush of the combat stims, I might have lost it then and there, but the stims held me together, even allowed for a somewhat calm analysis. The thing towered a full fifteen feet, standing on two thick, muscular trunks. Four arms grew from it's broad, muscle-bound shoulders, two ending in even bigger claws than the battle forms had, two being nothing more than long, sharp bone blades, tailor made for puncturing seams and eviscerating soft tissue. And wherever I looked, I saw more and more Faceless melt together into these gestalt beings.

"Data transmission incoming." My suit beeped, finishing a download sequence. The status display of my concussion gun flared a bright orange, then a "Safety Disabled" warning popped up.

Lily withdrew, her armor half-buried under six viciously clawing and biting Faceless trying to tear her head off. She pushed her own concussion gun into the midst of bodies and fired. A fountain of gore spewed forth and Faceless peeled off her suit like old paint under a sandblaster.

"Oh yeah!" she yelled, firing the weapon into an onrushing cluster of more Faceless. Instead of the characteristic shockwave a concussion gun normally produced, a sharp, focused beam tore into the mass of bodies, punching clean holes through torsos and heads.

I aimed at one of the gestalts and fired, cleanly cutting off an arm. To my dismay though, it almost immediately regrew it.

"We need more firepower, damn it!" I yelled. Cosina and Lily joined me, their beams slicing into the gestalt. We didn't do much discernible damage, but at least we slowed it down while it regrew what we cut off.

"Rem." It was a whisper, pained and weak. Right in my brain. Praecor. "She is too strong. Help me."

"How?" I asked aloud, feeling utterly foolish. I was no telepath, no psionic. How could I help where he failed?

A triumphant scream erupted from all Faceless around us. I could see straight into the force field bubble. The Brain Queen bent low, grabbing a knelling Praecor by the hair. Her free hand reformed, a vicious, serrated bone blade.

An image formed in my mind, the face of the Brain Queen, flickering. Praecor turned his head my way, his eyes pleading, urgent.

The blade came down. The flickering slowed. It wasn't one Brain Queen I saw in my mind's eye. One had no cybernetic enhancements, the other one did. Ours. Praecor screamed. The Faceless surged towards us, obscuring my view. I only saw horrible amounts of blood. But I understood. This Brain Queen had prepared for the day when we would come knocking, implanting only the heavens knew what into herself. And Praecor hoped I could fuck up her tech toys. I hoped he didn't die to give me this information.

I rammed my feet onto the jump jet controls, launching my battered suit into the air and towards the force field. Two gestalts sprouted long, bone-plated tentacles to intercept me, but the beam from my concussion gun sliced them off before they even got close. Soaring towards the force field, I could clearly see inside. Praecor, clutching the stump of one arm towards his chest, was backpedalling on his ass, trying to put as much distance between himself and the Brain Queen. Her hand formed a tentacle, the pale appendage whipping out and around Praecor's ankle. Then her arm pulsed, absorbing the tentacle and pulling the struggling Mentalist towards her.

I made sure to incinerate a handful of Faceless on landing. Now what? Storming naked into the force field?

"Danger! Pilot too injured for unsupervised leave!" The HUD blinked disapprovingly in my face. Well, drastic times. I invoked the suit's self-destruct sequence. The armor panels fell apart, leaving me shivering and naked. The suit's generator spooled up for one final hurrah and I jumped, praying for the first time since childhood that the force field wouldn't instantly disintegrate me. A slight shock crawled over my skin as I dove through the shimmering barrier, rolling on the soft grass. Behind me, the generator went critical, exploding with the force of a small bomb. The discarded armor plates shot outward like giant knives, slicing apart anything not protected by at least a like amount of armorgrade. Or a mental fortress. A chunk of leg bounced off the force field with a deep, sonorous ring, like a giant gong. The Brain Queen turned towards the noise, her eyes widening in surprise at the naked, bloody form charging at her. Her suit hung in tatters around her body, smoking in places and revealing more of the glittering cybernetics. I barreled into her, my momentum taking her off her feet.