Galactic High

Everyone had quickly and quietly returned to the top of the wall where they had entered before Sephy safely slipped into the local matrix and began digging.

“Still nothing changing down there.” Alora sighed after several minutes of silent observation, looking down at the busy workers at the front of the complex

“It’s almost like you want something to happen!” Jack pointed out, causing the Eladrie to chuckle.

“Hey I’m glad things are going well for a change, I’m just expecting them not to at any moment!” Alora smiled, giving the unconscious Sephy a glance. “Don’t forget, these guys are pulling out for a reason!”

“Corvin Enterprises.” Nika nodded grimly. “Worst of the worst.”

With luck, the hard part is over, Chiyo told them. Depending on where the fabricators are we may need to move them into position, but now that Sephy has system access it should be smoother from here.

“So we wait for Sephy to work out where the fabricators are located, then we gather them up and go,” Jack reasoned. “Tagrilla better play his part well after giving us nothing to work with.”

“Urgh…” Sephy groaned as she slipped back into ‘meatspace’. “Why can’t things be easy?”

“What’s wrong?” Alora asked the Skritta, quickly getting a bottle of water as Sephy rubbed her head in pain.

“I have access to cameras and I have their inventory list,” Sephy confirmed as she took a sip with some painkillers.

But? Chiyo prompted.

“Someone else is already in the matrix,” Sephy explained. “Or they were - it wasn’t Tagrilla, I know that much. Don’t fully know what they’ve been up to, but they’ve been fudging the inventory system and messing with the orders. I almost ran into some Black ICE when I tried to search for the index.”

“Shit. We’ve got company...” Nika cursed, scowling as she looked around for anyone else who wasn’t meant to be there, but saw nobody.

“So what do we do now?” Jack asked. “If we can’t use the inventory system how do we find the fabricators we need?”

The site manager would surely have been sent a backup! Chiyo exclaimed. I believe it’s standard procedure in case of a system glitch!

“Alright, how would we get access to that?” Alora asked. “Try and lure the manager into an ambush and grab their dataslate?”

“Nah, if they have an office they’d have a private terminal,” Nika pointed out. “If the manager is out there being an insufferable cunt then her office is free.”

“I did get a floorplan,” Sephy confirmed. “Manager’s office is in the central building overlooking the shelves. There’s some kind of office section towards the back, I checked the security cameras and there’s nobody there right now.”

“Kinda worrying that you have security access but not inventory,” Jack pointed out, sounding worried. “Do you have a route to get us up there?”

“There is a lift, but it has a lot of active security measures I can’t disable without setting off alarms…” Sephy began.

Oh no… Chiyo began, realising what was coming.

“Yep!” Sephy grinned. “Sorry Chiyo, we’re taking the stairs!”

*****

“Alright, the cameras are looped and I’ve already deleted any trace of our presence, but there are blind spots,” Sephy whispered to the group as they entered the central building through the back. “So be careful and try to look natural!”

Now that the Skritta had control of the cameras, it had been trivially easy to avoid the patrols of guards and simply walk to the middle of the complex without fear of a security response. They all agreed to proceed with the heist despite learning that something else was going on, but they now knew they were on a timer, without knowing the time, or the consequences.

“I thought you were mad when you all did it the first time, but the high visibility jackets were definitely a good idea to speed things up, the workers haven’t given any of us a second glance!” Alora enthused, keeping her voice low as they passed a group of workers loading a pallet, who didn’t even glance their way as a forklift brought another pallet down from a higher shelf.

It won’t work all the time. We shouldn’t rely on it! Chiyo warned. We need to stay away from management and security.

“I see the stairs on the right,” Jack told them as he led the way, casually walking across the floor and quickly dashing up a few steps when nobody was looking, keeping a lookout behind him as the others quickly joined him.

“Hey!” a deep, male voice called out as Chiyo turned the corner, her hi-viz momentarily fanning behind her for just a moment too long. “Come here right now! You’re meant to be working!

Shit! Sorry! Move up a floor and we can ambush or hide, it’s a manager! Chiyo warned.

“Alright,” Alora whispered as they moved up a floor, emerging into what looked like an open-plan locker section.

He’s still coming! Chiyo warned.

“Alright, get ready to pile on him,” Nika warned, as they heard the droning voice of the manager get closer as they climbed the stairs.

“If you don’t get here right now I will alert security and make sure your paychecks are null and voi-AAARGH!” The manager snarled as he got within range of Chiyo who yanked him around to meet her four friends, who quickly dogpiled him and slapped on a stimpatch to knock him out.

The manager’s comm cracked to life with Fotonato. “Nishii? Status report!”

“Jack? Male voice needed, please,” Alora prompted him as he picked up the comm, doing his best to imitate the sub-manager.

“Nothing to report, comm on the fritz,” Jack replied, cringing as he used a casual expression from Earth.

“Fine. Continue with your rounds,” Fotonato ordered, before hanging up.

Oh thank goodness. Chiyo sighed, as she used her power to pick the manager up and stuff him into a locker.

“Doesn’t seem like anyone else wants to follow,” Jack noted, peeking back down the stairs they had just come from. “Shall we?”

“This is the top floor,” Sephy whispered as they climbed up, moving as quietly as possible to not attract attention. Though the lights were on as they passed several cleared-out offices and meeting rooms, they didn’t see any workers or any more guards as they wasted no time getting to the top, finally emerging to a long corridor that looked spotless, like it was rarely travelled. At the end was a solitary door that had the nameplate ‘Fotonato’ in bright blue lettering….

*****

“Holy shit…” Sephy gasped as she checked the terminal. “That’s why there’s someone else in the system…”

“What do you mean, Sephy?” Alora asked with concern. “What’s wrong?”

“It looks like Fotonato or someone else with her credentials might have been selling system access or something... They’ve tried to cover it up by deleting the records and fudging the inventory to make it look like a slicer attack, but I should be able to dig it back up.”

“Who did they sell it to? Corvin Enterprises?” Nika asked, but Sephy shook her head as she copied some details over and shared them with the rest.

“Hmm, I don’t think so,” the Skritta rationalised as she looked through the messages. “Damn, I think they could have sold it to someone from Myrodin. ‘Senior Sorcerer Acclethix’ sure sounds like a Myrodin name. It looks like they’ve been communicating more officially on the open channels as far as coordinating against Corvin Enterprises is concerned.”

Myrodin are currently allied with Shaskasaki against Corvin Enterprises, but they may have another play in mind. But why would Fotonato fudge the inventory? Chiyo asked.

“Personal gain,” Jack realised, and the others looked at him quizzically. “I don’t think this is some massive 4D chess conspiracy between MegaCorps. I think these guys are seeing this whole withdrawal as an opportunity! Could they be purposefully losing inventory to fence it on the side?”

“Holy shit, I think you might be right!” Sephy exclaimed as she amended her search to look for certain keywords. “Yes! It’s not system access being sold here. While most of these cargo shipments are heading to Shaskasaki territory, some of these cargo drones are taking unofficial off-record shipments to a Myrodin site elsewhere, that’s why she’s fudged the inventory records!”

And it’s not unfair to assume that ‘Senior Sorcerer Acclethix’ runs that Myrodin site and has enough autonomy to do as they see fit with the unregistered cargo! Chiyo added. They can sell it off at their leisure for mutual profit.

“And that must be why Fotonato’s down there giving orders and working her staff to exhaustion!” Alora pointed out. “The more shipments sent, the more she gains.”

“So…do we do anything with this information?” Nika asked them all. “It’s interesting, but we’re here for the fabricators, not to worry about an embezzlement scheme, unless you think we can make a play here.”

“Could you redirect the shipments somewhere else?” Jack asked. “Have them sent home so we can sell the goods instead?”

“Ha!” Sephy snorted in barely contained laughter. “I really wish we could, but if we sent it home it’d be obvious from the records that it was us that did it!”

“Okay, then we don’t need to send the shipments home, maybe elsewhere where they won’t suffer any fallout?” Jack suggested.

“What did you have in mind?” Nika asked curiously.

“Couldn’t we send the shipments somewhere where it can do some good for people?” Jack asked. “The city is coming off a major disaster right now, so perhaps we can mark it as a donation to a charitable cause?”

“That’s so evil!” Sephy cackled “That could totally work!”

So where do we send it? Chiyo asked. The Temple of Hope? Clan Bharzum wouldn’t risk accepting it, but there are also the Greenwardens and Sect of Esin that could.

“I think the best obvious choice is the Temple of Hope,” Alora opined. “They have the logistics to make the best use out of whatever is sent their way.”

“If you’re sure…” Sephy nodded slightly less enthusiastically at that prospect. “When do you want me to start redirecting them?”

“If you know where the three fabricators we need are, we can do it right now,” Nika pointed out. “All we need to do at this point is get the fabricators and wheel them to an open space for pickup. We’ve got the IFF now, so just contact Tagrilla with it and he’ll send his cargo drones in to pick them up, and us along with them. He had better come through for us…”

“They’re in this building close to one another,” Sephy told them. “We won’t even need a forklift for them, they’re still here on a bottom shelf.”

Makes sense for a key asset. Chiyo nodded. Though clearly not key enough for them to prioritise it for shipping. It makes sense if they already have in-house fabricators at other sites.

“Maybe they’ll rig this place to blow just to deny it to Corvin,” Nika reasoned. “Though if that’s the plan they haven’t received the word yet.”

“Let’s hope we’re long gone when they do,” Jack noted. “So if you know where the fabricators are, where’s the extraction point?”

“Closest would be left side of the building,” Sephy answered. “Unless we open the roof? Less open and exposed, and it gives us the quickest way out, but if they’re not expecting it then that can attract attention.”

“Left side I think,” Alora proposed after thinking for a moment, as the others nodded in agreement. “However, opening the roof could still serve as a distraction if we need it.”

“Alright.” Sephy nodded, quickly typing away on the terminal before then immediately turning around, and opening one of the metal drawers on the desk, rummaging around for a few moments to grab a few loose credit chips before looking back up at the rest of the group. “Also, we’re in a distribution centre and we have empty bags and pockets. I’ll be damned if I’m not spending at least a few seconds to check for random loot!”

“Good point.” Jack shrugged, as he moved over to help.

*****

“There’s some expensive food in the crates nearby, over there just opposite of our prize,” Sephy whispered to the group, pointing to the adjacent shelves ahead.

“Where are the fabricators?” Jack asked, causing the girls to jerk in a brief panic, believing the fabricators were missing before he asked. “Are those them? They’re pretty big!”

That’s them, and yes. Heavy too! Chiyo nodded, looking at where Jack was pointing. We’re going to need one of those pump trucks for each!

The large metallic cubes were made of an iridescent, dark matte alloy that seemed to reflect colours differently in the light, like the surface of an oil puddle. The edges were smooth, giving it a mostly sleek, aerodynamic appearance, with the exception of various hatches, ports and vents, though fortunately Jack could see enough sturdy-looking handles welded onto the thing that he knew they could all safely attach themselves to it, though whether the drone could handle it would be another story. Strips of neon-blue LED lights ran along the edges, currently turned off, and focused at an inactive touch panel interface.

“Alright, shall we make the call to Tagrilla?” Nika asked, and everyone nodded in agreement.

“This asshole better be quick…” Sephy muttered as she called the slicer, who picked up on the first ring. “Hey Tagrilla we’ve got the fabricators, we just need to move into position then you can pick us up!”

“Holy shit you people like to cut it close!” Tagrilla shouted in a panic. “Sending drones to you now, ETA three minutes! Shaskasaki are sending out a High Threat Response team, so you need to be ready to go or you need to run!”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?” Alora asked in a panic emergency. “Everything is still quiet here.”

“Well it won’t be for much longer!” Tagrilla retorted in a panic. “The DataNet is abuzz with reports of a single high-speed object moving from Corvin territory heading your way, and you know damn well what that means!”

“Oh shit!” Nika cursed in a panic. “We’ve gotta move!”

“Wait what? They’re shooting a missile?” Jack asked, only to see the Kizun emphatically shake her head without elaboration.

“Change of plans,” Alora ordered. “Sephy, get the roof open now! We’ve got to make enough space for a pickup, Jack can you pull the fabricators out without the pallet thingy?”

“I’ll try!” Jack confirmed, as he yanked on the fabricator as hard as he could, causing it to budge slightly, the wooden pallet underneath scraping the floor with the strain, though drowned out by the sound of the roof hatch opening. “It’ll be easier to push, where do you want them?”

“In the middle, there!” Alora pointed to the central crossroads of the warehouse, right in the middle of the warehouse directly below the open sky of the still-opening hatch. “Who has the tracking devices?! They need to be latched into position!”

“Stuff your bags!” Sephy told them as Chiyo helped her rip the panel off one of the opposite crates, quickly using their bags to scoop up anything they could before tipping the crate to spill on the ground, allowing them to quickly pack them to the brim.

“For fucks sake both of you! No time! Everyone, help Jack!” Nika yelled, as she added her strength to Jack’s and fully pulled out one of the fabricators before moving onto the next one, while Sephy and Chiyo quickly saw sense and helped Alora, who was struggling with the third.

Line them up in a row and push them as one! Chiyo suggested as they just about managed to shove them all into position. Pushing is easier than pulling!

“You know that from practice, Chiyo?” Sephy cheekily quipped, causing the group to laugh out loud as they strained with all their might, no longer concerned about remaining quiet.

“Damn, this isn’t working!” Alora cried out in despair.

“Yes it will!” Jack retorted. “On three! 1…2…3!”

Pushing as one, the three fabricators shifted, and quickly gave way to momentum as they charged forward like a battering ram, shoving the fabricators forward until they got to the crossroads. In the distance they heard the surprised yells and shouts of workers in the background, asking who was opening the hatches.

“Get the trackers on and latch yourselves!” Alora ordered, as Nika quickly snapped one set into place, while Sephy rapidly followed and moved to help Jack with his.

“How long do we have?” Jack asked.

“ETA thirty seconds!” Tagrilla called back. “Latch yourself onto the one you want!”

“There’s still time!” Jack grinned as he turned around into a full sprint while the others attached themselves securely to their chosen fabricator with their climbing rigs. “Who has empty bags? Get them ready!”

“OH COME THE FUCK ON!” Nika exclaimed in sheer, maddening disbelief, while Sephy laughed in amazement as Jack quickly reached the nearest set of crates and tipped them over, causing the contents to spill out, before Jack quickly scooped some up in his arms and ran back.

Get yourself latched on Jack! Chiyo yelled telepathically as she used her power to pull some more boxes and plastic wrapped objects to them while Jack attached himself next to the unamused Ilithii. Telekinesis! Remember!? I can do it from here!!!

“Point taken!” Jack grinned as he opened his bag for Chiyo to hastily fill, though she did make sure to jokingly clatter him over the head with one of the boxes before sending it to Alora’s bag.

“You all on? Good!” Tagrilla confirmed in a panic as they heard the familiar rumble of a repulsor jet overhead. “I’ll get you out and away first then your slicer can take over the controls! Hold on!”

The four trackers on each corner of the fabricator beeped with a flash of yellow light, and for the briefest of moments Jack considered the very terrifying prospect of being at Tagrilla’s mercy, before a faint cord that gleamed a yellow light shot out and connected the tracker to the cargo drone overhead, before they were forcefully and abruptly yanked up high into the sky at a rapid speed.

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!” Jack yelled without thinking as within the space of a second they cleared the scarily-narrow gap of the still-opening hatch. The warehouse floor and the chaos of the workers running about shouting below quickly shrank away as the wind whistled in his popping ears, while Jack held onto the fabricator as tight as he could in sheer terror, raw adrenaline flooding through him, before just as quickly they stopped, dangling in the air, now fully attached to the cargo drone. Daring to look up, he saw the others were no better, and as he gasped for the breath he didn’t realise he had been holding, the small, tiny rational part of his brain that was still working right now was glad that they hadn’t brought Dante for this heist. Looking past Alora’s shuddering head, he could see that two other cargo drones had also picked up their quarry, though without the traumatised passengers.

“Don’t….throw up….” Nika managed to gasp. “Can’t…leave…evidence…”

“That’s a good idea, let’s move you over the nearest shithole!” Tagrilla cheerfully chirped into the comm, sounding mightily pleased with himself as they slowly hovered away from the distribution centre below, making sure they didn’t look too suspicious from anyone else looking up from the ground.

“Bluuuuurgh!” Chiyo lurched from beside him, the Ilithii making a rare physical noise as the predictable brown stream soon followed. Alora did the same the moment she regained consciousness, and although Sephy tried to fight it, she soon threw up a little, but was just about able to hold the rest of it together along with Jack and Nika, who were both on the cusp.

“Fuck that,” Jack groaned. “I’m not doing that shit again…”

“I’m going to send these three drones away from the area and take the scenic route,” Tagrilla warned. “You can take control of yours at any time, but considering the situation, I’d make it look natural for now until you’re away proper. After that, I suggest we don’t contact each other for a while and lay low. Pleasure doing business!” He then hung up the call.

“Sephy…” Alora gasped. “Do you still have…their security system?”

“Oh shit, yes!” Sephy briefly perked up as she quickly remembered what they had just left.

“Set off the alarm!” Alora ordered, fighting to speak with all of her strength. “Give the workers a chance to run! She'll slaughter them if they’re in her way!”

“Already done!'' Sephy called, and they could hear the screeching siren in the distance, though Jack swore he could just about hear the shrill cry of Fotonato too as he saw the ant-like workers scatter into the night with nobody sticking around. Clearly they were all smart enough to have no company loyalty whatsoever, though Jack frowned as he also saw something in the distance, almost like a pink, sparking contrail that quickly drew closer to the distribution centre.

“What the hell is that?” Jack muttered to himself, but as he looked around he could see the girls were too exhausted to answer. Slowly, the cargo drone left the madness behind, and Sephy eventually took control of the one carrying them and directed it home, avoiding the fleet of Shaskasaki ships that were moving to intercept whatever was heading to their distribution centre. Nobody said anything, aside from confirming the rest were alive, until Jack looked up and noticed that one of the loose boxes had managed to stay on the fabricator, despite their insane escape. Taking a look at the label, Jack couldn’t help but chuckle at ‘Admiral Derrish’s Delectable Microwave Pizza’.

“Anybody hungry?” he asked, to faint chuckles from the group as they headed home.

*****

“Who activated the alarms?” Fotonato snapped, screaming at the workers who were running past the guards and away to safety. “The only threat here is me if you don’t get back to work! Do you hear me?!”

Whether the workers heard or not, they didn’t care as they ran for their lives.

“Nishii? Where are you?” the manager snarled before a few of the guards rushed up to her in a panic. “What is it now?”

“Ma’am, we need to get you out of here!” the head guard breathlessly. “We’ve got incoming hostiles! High Threat Response is already on their way but we need to clear the area! Now!”

“This had better be accurate, Captain!” Fotonato cursed, lamenting the cutoff of her side hustle with Acclethix. Still, she had made enough to live comfortably…

“It’s Keter Level! Our Ronin are on their way!” the Captain began, as dropships suddenly appeared above them bearing the Shaskasaki symbol.

“It appears that your concerns are unfounded, Captain,” Fotonato huffed.

“Oh fuck this, I’m not paid enough for this shit!” The Captain sighed as his nerves took over, causing him to flee with the rest. Only a few guards stayed behind as various shapes began to quickly jump from the dropships to land gracefully on the ground. Clad in advanced, dull-silver cyberskeletons adorned with intricate neon-blue accents, the imposing Ronin immediately put Fotonato at ease as they began to form up, before suddenly one of the dropships was blasted out of the sky, a huge chunk of it blown apart by an explosion of purple light. All around them the sound of high-pitched cackling could be heard as a small form highlighted by pink sparks zipped past in the sky above them, pointing something down at the troops on the ground, before blasting another ball of purple towards a group of Ronin, detonating in an explosion of red sparks and fireflies that churned the asphalt they were standing on, causing Fotonato to stumble and fall.

The Ronin did not stand idle, quickly scattering across the complex and engaging the flying figure with ranged weapons, who summoned a magical shield of light in the shape of a blossoming flower that seemed to easily block their shots, before they quickly countered with magical attacks that seemed to chase and home after whoever was targeted. Using the opportunity, the figure began casting a more complicated spell, summoning several glowing pink portals, which several heavily armoured Corvin troops rushed out of and charged into battle.

Fotonato gasped as she slowly staggered to her feet. If the Ronin, the elite response units, were having difficulty against the horror that Corvin Enterprises had sent, then she had to get out of there! Though she dreaded the prospect of facing the Shogunate Council for her actions, she did not want to die either! Picking herself up and putting one foot in front of the other, she ran stumbling as fast as she could, making her way out of the district and rushing past the nearest block of buildings as she heard the cackling overhead echoing throughout the deserted streets.

Fotonato kept on running. Whether their Shaskasaki High Threat Response Team had done their jobs, or they had not, it no longer mattered to Fotonato as she dashed as far and as fast as her cyberrised legs could take her. Corvin Enterprises could have the damned district for all she cared.

She was taken completely by surprise when the stun spell smacked into her back, paralysing her as she slammed into the ground, completely locked in place. That same cackle returned as her assailant drew closer, and Fotonato was just about able to see movement in the corner of her eye as the figure flew down to land from her broomstick, dismissing it in a puff of neon pink heart-shaped sparkles, before she casually walked towards Fotonato, her high-heels softly clacking on the cobblestones.

“Nu…n……noooo!” Fotonato was barely able to get out through several forced exhales of breath, desperate to beg for mercy as she knew exactly who this was. Never in her contingency plans did they ever account for Corvin Enterprises sending her.

Fotonato trembled in fear as the figure moved out of view, humming a pop song as she skipped over towards her downed prey and began rummaging through her pockets. Fotonato felt the slender fingers identify her credit chip in her pocket, before ignoring it and leaving it in place, quickly doing the same with her commlink and data drives, before stopping as they found a small but thick, debit card-shaped object with neon blue patterns dancing around the surface, hidden in a jacket pocket.

“Ah, there you are, thought you could hide from me? Fufu!” The deceptively cute, playful tone of the teenage girl filled Fotonato with dread as they muttered to the object they were after. “You’d better stay nice and safe with me!”

“P….Pla….Pleash….” Fotonato managed to gasp out.

“Oh? Did you want to say something?” the soft voice mocked as Fotonato was effortlessly turned onto her back with surprising strength, allowing the doomed manager to gaze upon the figure properly. Wearing a tiara, purple cocktail dress and white stockings, Fotonato had always assumed the figure to be an Eladrie, but up close saw that this didn’t seem to be the case. The well-groomed hair of the girl was more blond, the fair skin was nowhere near pale enough, and that wicked grin had no place on the mouth of any Eladrie she had ever met. “Hello!” The girl cheerfully smiled, waving enthusiastically with an open hand at the figure frozen to the ground.

“Pleash…” Fotonato gasped out again as the spell began to ever so slowly begin to subside. “Pleash don’t kill…”

“Hmm…” The figure made a pantomime gesture of thinking.

“That depends. I wouldn’t normally bother with something as boooooring as this. But about an hour ago when I was doing my hair, I cast a divination spell when I had nothing better to do, and I learned that there might be someone…interesting around here!” The figure giggled coyly. “For some reason I wasn’t able to work out any of the details, but that’s neither here nor there! Whoever or whatever they are, I can’t seem to find them! Foooo…” She ended with a pouty face.

“Wh…What?” Fotonato asked, completely confused.

“You wouldn’t happen to know of anyone…interesting? Would you?” the girl asked, though her face dropped on seeing the hints of confusion through Fotonato’s terror. “Ah, it figures.” She shrugged as she mused to herself. “I must have botched the spell. Haven’t done that in a while!” she cheerfully told herself.

Fotonato said nothing. Paralysis spell or not, she was frozen with terror.

“Welp! Better not let anyone know about that!” The figure shrugged with a happy tone, as she extended an arm, and summoned a comically large warhammer, with a heart-shaped pommel that glowed a neon pink. “Bye Bye!” The figure cheerfully waved, before slamming the hammer down on the head of Fotonato with a giggle.

Dismissing her hammer after shaking most of the blood off, the girl cheerfully pivoted like a ballet dancer, and began skipping back down the dark street, humming a song without a care.