NOVEL NEXT Ch66.2 Xin: Digital Depths (Scene 2)
13:13, March 19, 2295
3F, Jensen H Engineering Center, 475 Via Ortega, Stanford Psi University
The Draug's fist caught him in the ribs, lifting him off his feet. Only the Psi Shield saved him from broken bones, but he felt his Aether reserves plummet. He hit a bookshelf hard, old books cascading around him.
Through the pain, he saw the Draug grinning, one hand raised for a killing blow. Xin tried to shout but couldn't even hear his own voice.
Then a small blue form landed on the Draug's head. The silence evaporated, sounds returning to his world.
Håkon's tiny claws dug into corrupted flesh as the Diabolisk screeched.
"Skjöld!" the young hatchling managed, his first real spell in Jǫturmál.
A shimmer of lunar energy appeared between Xin and the Draug, a barrier that made the creature stumble back in surprise. Sound rushed back like a breaking dam.
"Aðgát!" Håkon shouted, again in Jǫturmál, and suddenly the Draug was floating six inches off the ground, arms windmilling for balance it couldn't find.
But the strain was too much for the young Diabolisk. Håkon's scales flickered between blue and gray as his tiny body trembled with effort. The anti-gravity spell wavered.
"Hold on, little guy!" Thomas's voice cut through the chaos. The Vanguard had finally broken through his own battle, cybernetic legs carrying him across the library in powerful strides.
The Draug crashed back to earth as Håkon's spell failed, the hatchling tumbling from its head with an exhausted chirp. Thomas caught him mid-fall with one cybernetic hand while the other extended, panels sliding open to reveal his Fist Blade.
"Finish it, Xin!" Thomas commanded, placing the weakened but safe Håkon on a pile of books before engaging the Draug. The titanium Fist Blade met corrupted flesh with a sickening sound, forcing the creature to defend rather than attack.
"Let's—" Xin gasped, tasting blood. He raised his left hand, feeling the Devavāṇī returning to him. "Bheda Atisīmā!"
Verdant green energy wreathed Kuma's polymer barrel. With Thomas keeping the Draug occupied - cybernetic reflexes matching the creature's unnatural speed - Xin had the opening he needed. He reloaded the gun with a new magazine from his belt, then emptied the entirety of it, each bullet now carrying amplified destructive force.
Thomas rolled clear as the enhanced rounds tore through the Draug's defenses. The bullets made craters in its corrupted flesh that couldn't heal fast enough.
The creature tried to rise one final time, but Thomas's pair of Fist Blades, now arranged in a cross to execute, found its spine. Combined with Xin's Void-enhanced assault, it was too much. The Draug dissolved into black sludge that the library's emergency systems immediately began processing.
"You okay?" Thomas asked.
Xin's legs gave out. He slumped against the ruined bookshelf, hands shaking too badly to reload. With his Aether depleted, he felt a hollow ache behind his eyes.
"That zombie almost got me," he managed weakly, nodding toward the terminal where the mirror nodes continued their work despite the chaos.
"You both did good," Thomas said, nodding firmly at him then at Håkon. "First rule of combat - use your team."
"Xin!" Lorna appeared at his side, having cleared her sector. Her sapphire eyes quickly assessed - the destroyed Draug, Håkon perching protectively on the pile of scattered books, then Xin's pallor.
She pulled an Indra-Sprite capsule from her coat, unpacking it, cracking it open. "Eat this. Now."
The shimmering deep blue liquid burned sweet down his throat, carrying the taste of exotic fruits. Immediately, he felt the hollow ache begin to fill, though his hands still trembled.
"Glad you came." he said.
"Not bad." Lorna said softly, helping him sit up properly. "Taking down a Draug on your second real combat mission."
Håkon crawled over, chirping with concern. The little Diabolisk nuzzled against Xin's hand, checking if he was hurt.
"Thanks, boy," Xin whispered as he looked up at Lorna. "You all saved me."
"Just bring your own Indra-Sprite next time," Lorna added, but her smile was proud.
"I believe the Kraken's learning the algorithms," Reeves warned from the side, his hologram cracking slightly as he paced around. "It likely has experience with GSR security protocols."
Xin stood up carefully, holding Kuma with one hand. "You've met it before?"
"Not this specific one," Reeves said carefully. "But we've had…past incidents."
"What incidents exactly?" Lorna demanded as she approached a dying Bone Fiend struggling on the floor nearby. She stood atop its back, Baldr severing its spine at the base of the skull. The creature's movement ceased.
"Accommodation serves better than extermination," Reeves replied. "The Crystal could make that accommodation more...manageable."
"You need to speak English." Lorna's annoyance was clear as she turned to Reeves, frowning.
"Some things aren't easily disclosed." Reeves pointed his cigarette at her. "Not unusual for people in positions like ours."
"Sixty-five percent," Xin interrupted, not liking where this conversation was heading. He approached the terminal to execute a command sequence, creating a loop that trapped several of the Kraken's probing attempts. On the screen, the creature's eyes narrowed in frustration.
"Clever," it acknowledged. "But we have consumed the knowledge of sixteen other programmers. Your techniques, finite. Our growth, exponential."
To prove its point, the Kraken's arms moved. Error messages cascaded across secondary monitors as corrupted data threatened to contaminate the download.
"Diego! How's your sector?" Lorna called out while powering down her Psytum Sword to reach into her pocket, taking out a fresh magazine to reload her 10mm, Váli. Her voice echoed upwards.
"¡Todo bien!" Diego's voice came down, punctuated by the crack of his Gauss Rifle. "Counting more signatures downstairs, though."
"Can you locate the physical Kraken?" Lorna looked up as she spoke. "We need to stop it at the source."
"Wish I could," Diego muttered, splitting his attention two ways - combat and conversation. An injured Skuggr tried to flank him; he pivoted and delivered a perfect burst to its thorax. "Xin, amigo. If you could?"
"On it!" Xin's fingers danced across haptic and physical interfaces at the same time. He then announced. "Terminal 17, Basement 3, south wing."
"Of course it is," Reeves muttered. "That's where we — stored the classified data."
"What classified data?" Lorna asked, but Xin was already forwarding the location to her Quantum Watch. A streak of green energy shot from the device, creating a path across the polished floor.
"Simply classified," Reeves said firmly. "Even for allies." He drew on his cigarette as he finished.
"Seventy-eight percent," Xin reported. The download had accelerated once he'd pinpointed the Kraken's location.
"Håkon. Guard Xin." Lorna commanded. The young Diabolisk chirped in acknowledgment, positioning himself between Xin and the nearest access point, his small size belying his protective instincts.
"I'm going to the basement," Lorna announced, checking both weapons. "You boys buy me five minutes."
"I'll come with you," Thomas said immediately, his Gauss Rifle ready. "Two-person team, standard protocol for killing Krakens."
"No." Lorna's tone was firm but appreciative. "I need you here. Someone has to coordinate with the Wardens."
Thomas's cybernetic fingers tightened on his weapon, clearly unhappy. "Lorna—"
"That's an order, Tom. As a Psi Lynx, I outrank you by one." But she softened it with a slight smile. "Trust me. I've got this."
Thomas exhaled. "Right. First Lieutenant and what not."
"The one and only." Lorna made a triumphant smirk.
"Okay," Xin tried to catch Lorna's arm as she passed. "Be careful —"
But she was already gone, sprinting toward the elevator. Xin watched the strands of her blonde hair disappear around the corner before focusing back on the screens before him. The Kraken had noticed her departure.
"She goes to her death!" the Kraken taunted through the speakers. "The basement is Fenris domain now."
"She's faced worse than you," Xin shot back, executing a script to lock down vulnerable ports. On screen, several of the Kraken's digital arms writhed in frustration as access points slammed shut.
"¡Xin, hermano!" Diego's voice came from the stairwell. "Coming down to you!"
Heavy footsteps on the stairs, then Diego appeared, his Gauss Rifle tracking smoothly across the library's entrances. "These pendejos are getting creative with their entry points."
As if to prove his point, a Bone Fiend burst through a ventilation grate neither of them had noticed. Diego pivoted and fired in one motion, the electromagnetic round taking the creature's head clean off.
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"Thanks," Xin gasped, sweat dripping onto the keyboard.
"You're still standing," Diego observed with approval. "Not bad for a tech guy, ese."
"Eighty-two percent," Xin announced, voice tight as he scrolled through seven different tabs, making sure the Kraken had not found any new weaknesses.
Through a shattered window, he glimpsed the Wardens regrouping in the courtyard. Their golden armor was scorched and dented now, their perfect formation reduced to a desperate circle. A female Warden with sergeant stripes held the main entrance almost single-handedly, her rifle overheating from continuous fire. "Hold the line!" she roared. "GSR stands!"
"Mr. Reeves," Diego managed as he reloaded his Gauss Rifle, an empty magazine clanking on the floor. "Our Wardens are taking heavy casualties. Perhaps you should be coordinating their retreat?"
Reeves' hologram now stood beside them. "My job is overseeing you. Jessie and her Wardens knew the risks when they signed up."
"There's something you didn't tell them about this place. I can tell." Diego's eyes narrowed, studying the politician.
"I've been completely transparent," Reeves said smoothly.
"Sí, claro," Diego's tone dripped sarcasm. "That's why you're standing there as a hologram while we bleed. Very transparent, cabrón."
Before Reeves could respond, Lorna's voice crackled through: "Found the Kraken. My Quantum Watch says it's modified. Someone grafted cybernetic interfaces into its nervous system."
"GSR tech?" Xin asked, catching the implication.
Reeves' silence was answer enough.
"Three Draugs incoming!" Lorna continued. "Going dark."
The sounds of combat echoed through the building's structure - Baldr's distinctive hum, Váli's sharp reports, something heavy hitting a wall.
"It was you who kept that Kraken here." Xin needed no further clue, now staring at Reeves with anger. "Experimented on it. Augmented it."
"I'm only doing what you Alliance would've also done, given the chance." Reeves gestured with his cigarette, posture casual.
"Eighty-five percent," Xin muttered, then his fingers paused over the keyboard as understanding dawned. "Wait. You weren't surprised when the Kraken appeared. You knew exactly where it was hiding!"
Reeves took a long draw from his cigarette. "The creature proved useful. For three years."
"Three years?" Diego called down between shots. "You've been feeding that thing for three years?"
"It possessed remarkable aptitude for data analysis," Reeves said smoothly. "We provided it with...nutrients. In exchange, it worked on cracking certain classified databases. Including the one you just accessed."
"The Moondust data," Xin's voice came in horrified whispers, punctuated by Lorna's gunfire and Psytum Sword slashes over the comm. "You've been trying to get the shard location yourself."
"The GSR has its own interests," Reeves acknowledged. "The Kraken made progress, but those old Digital Era encryptions proved stubborn. Then you arrived with your SIMU clearances and..." he gestured at Xin, "superior techniques, no doubt."
"So you let us in, hoping we'd crack what your pet couldn't," Xin's jaw clenched. "And when we succeeded, the Kraken decided it didn't need you anymore."
"Ungrateful creature, isn't it?" Reeves flicked ash from his cigarette. "We gave it seventeen of our best computer science students. Volunteers, of course. Mostly."
"Volunteers?" Diego's voice was sharp with disgust. "¿Estás loco?"
"Their sacrifice serves the greater good. But could we discuss this after you — finish the job?" Reeves pointed at the screens in front of Xin.
"Eighty-six percent," Xin reported. The Kraken's attacks had grown desperate, almost frantic. It knew its time was running out.
Then it tried something new. "Perhaps a different approach would prove more effective," it mused with calculated malice.
Instead of attacking the download, it targeted the terminal's display systems. Screens flickered, showing grainy security footage that made Xin's blood freeze. Songnei Starport. Lorna defeated, her weapons scattered across bloodstained floor. Skarn's massive form looming over her, tentacles writhing with predatory intent.
"No," Xin breathed, unable to look away as the footage continued. Her desperate struggle. The wet, dark tentacle constricting her waist, lifting her like a broken doll. Another forcing its way past her lips as she fought to breathe, to scream, to—
The image burned into his mind. He'd heard her describe it once, voice carefully neutral, clinical almost. But seeing it... seeing her eyes in that moment, the shift from defiance to horror to something worse than defeat...
"Through the Hivemind, all of the Fenris Horde share this memory," the Kraken whispered through dying speakers. "Every detail. Every sensation. Every time she closes her eyes, we are there with her."
"¡Hijo de puta!" Diego's Gauss Rifle barked three times, shattering the main monitor. Glass and sparks rained down. "Don't watch that shit, hermano. That's what it wants."
But more screens bloomed with the same footage. Different angles now - security cameras, plus what looked like Skarn's own perspective. The Kraken had found his weakness - not in code, but in the woman he'd grown to care for more than he'd admitted even to himself.
"She still tastes him!" the creature continued relentlessly. "Still feels him moving inside her when she sleeps! And from that violation, new life grows. You tend to another's seed, human. How does that—"
"SHUT UP!" Xin's hands trembled violently. The download wavered at eighty-seven percent, packets corrupting as his concentration shattered.
A primal screech cut through his anguish. Håkon launched himself at the nearest screen with savage fury.
"MAMMA!" the young Diabolisk cried - not a chirp but an actual word, raw with protective rage. His tiny claws raked across the display in a frenzy, scales darkening to pitch black as sparks flew. Without pause, he lunged to the cable management system, jaws clamping down on a specific thick cable with uncanny precision.
The remaining screens died instantly, leaving only the emergency terminal - the one running the download.
Xin stared at Håkon, wondering how the little Radi-Mon had known exactly which wire to pull. The hatchling's eyes blazed with an intelligence far beyond his few weeks of life, and for a moment, Xin saw Lorna's determination reflected in those sapphire depths.
"That's right, pequeño dragón," Diego said quietly, voice rough. "Protect your family."
Family. The word cut through Xin's paralysis. Håkon positioned himself between Xin and the dead screens, small body coiled and ready, as if daring the Kraken to try again.
"She survived," Xin said, forcing his hands back to the keyboard. "She survived, and she's down there right now, facing this thing. I won't let her down."
"That's the spirit, hermano," Diego squeezed his shoulder. "That's her story to tell, not some monster's weapon."
Then, Xin's eyes widened as he witnessed the unexpected turn of events through the last functional terminal screen. The Kraken, its three eyes narrowing in annoyance, had been about to speak when a flash of silver blue streaked across the frame.
Lorna's form emerged in the screen, a grin on her sweat-slicked countenance as she brought her Psytum Sword down in a precise arc. The quantum blade cleaved cleanly through the Kraken's arms, severing them one by one as the creature made an agonized scream.
Three shots of her 10mm Magnum followed. Xin's jaw dropped as he watched the creature's body slump to the side, black ichor oozing from the fatal wound. The camera angle shifted, capturing Lorna's determined expression as she stood over the fallen monster. Her blonde hair was damp with exertion, tendrils clinging to her sharp features. Her blue eyes held a fierce intensity.
"Alright. The fucker's gone." Lorna's voice cut through, fierce with triumph. "Any progress there?"
The cyber-assault ceased instantly.
Without the Kraken's coordination, the tide finally turned. The surviving Wardens pressed their advantage with grim efficiency. Xin watched one veteran - his golden armor bearing years of service marks - methodically clear a hallway, checking corners despite his obvious exhaustion. Behind him, two younger Wardens carried a wounded third between them, their formation never breaking even in retreat.
"Eighty-eight percent," Xin watched the progress freeze. "Okay..."
The final segment had been transferred elsewhere, the routing leading through infrastructure so old it predated modern protocols. Finally, a location resolved: 'Mariposa Grove Area, South Entrance Station.'
"Of course," Reeves showed no surprise. "Mac was thorough."
"You knew," Diego accused, rifle still raised. "This whole thing - you knew they'd come for the data."
"The GSR maintains careful records of all Radi-Mon incidents," Reeves said carefully. "When SIMU requested entrance to California, I believed..."
"Believed you could use us as bait," Xin finished, ejecting his flash drive with more force than necessary. "Test your theories about Radi-Mon cyber warfare while we bled for it?"
"Such drama. I prefer 'mutual benefit'. You have most of your data, we have field intelligence." The Chief Executive retorted.
"Plus seven dead Wardens," Diego added coldly. "I counted the bodies, pendejo."
"Acceptable losses." Reeves' mask finally slipped completely. "The Moondust Crystal should make such sacrifices unnecessary. Remember our agreement."
"Oh, I'll remember," Xin stood slowly, legs shaky from adrenaline crash. "I'll remember that when we decide how to use the Crystal."
The hologram smiled thinly. "Pragmatism isn't evil. You'll understand when you reach Yosemite. The Jokull Horde doesn't negotiate."
"Jokull?" Diego frowned. "Those are the ice fuckers from Europa. What are they doing in California?"
"Scouting? Expanding? Who could know?" Reeves said simply. "The valley belongs to them now. Has for nearly a decade."
"And you just let them have it?" Diego demanded.
"The cost of reclaiming it exceeded the benefit. Until now." The projection began to fade. "Do bring back the Crystal shard. Our future depends on it."
As Reeves vanished, the elevator doors chimed open. Lorna emerged, Baldr already powered down and tucked away. Her sharp eyes immediately took in the devastation - the bodies in their shattered golden marine armors, the shattered terminals, the exhausted survivors.
"How many?" she asked Diego quietly.
"Seven Pomo Wardens. Plus however many civilians got caught in the initial attack," Diego's jaw tightened. "Reeves knew this would happen."
Lorna's expression hardened, but she simply nodded. "We'll remember that." She turned to Xin, noting his pallor and the way Håkon protectively curled around his neck. "You okay?"
"Yeah," Xin managed, holding up the flash drive. "Got eighty-eight percent. The last twelve percent - the exact coordinates of the shard - it's stored on a derelict server in Yosemite. In someplace called Mariposa Grove."
"The decryption key for the final coordinates," Lorna understood immediately. "Mac's insurance policy. Of course he'd hide it somewhere only the desperate or insane would go."
"Vámonos," Diego said with a heavy sigh. "Thomas and I will coordinate cleanup with the survivors. You three get out of here before Reeves decides we're worth more to him as corpses to study."
"You sure?" Lorna asked, glancing between them.
"Someone needs to document this properly," Thomas said, his cybernetic arms already moving to help a wounded Warden. "Make sure their families know the truth. Diego speaks their language better than I do."
"And Thomas has the field experience to organize triage," Diego added. "We'll catch up with you later"
"What will you tell them? The Wardens' families?" Xin asked, his voice catching slightly.
Diego's expression was grim. "The truth. They died protecting California from monsters. Just not the ones they expected."
Thomas nodded, already moving toward the wounded. "Go. We've got this covered."
Xin nodded, making his way through the carnage alongside Lorna.
Behind them, Diego began calling out orders while Thomas organized the surviving Wardens into a triage team. The two men worked in synchronization.
One Warden sat against a wall, hands pressed to a stomach wound that her armor couldn't quite seal. Thomas knelt beside her, applying Medi-Vap with steady cybernetic hands while Diego spoke to her in rapid Spanish, keeping her conscious and calm.
Another Warden sat against a wall, hands pressed to a stomach wound that her armor couldn't quite seal. Another knelt beside a fallen comrade, carefully removing the neural interface from a helmet that would never be worn again. Seven golden figures lay still among the carnage, their sacrifice buying time for the download, for the mission, for California itself.
The incomplete data weighed heavy in Xin's pocket. Without those final coordinates, they had a location but not precision - the difference between searching a building and searching a city. But Yosemite waited, hoarding that final piece.
As they reached the library's exit, Xin shifted Kuma on his back and spoke gently to Håkon. "Come on, let's get back to the Rover. Make sure everything's ready for... for your mom."
"Mamma," Håkon agreed softly, the word still new on his tongue. His scales had returned to their usual burnished bronze, sapphire highlights glimmering in the afternoon sun, but he remained vigilant, small head swiveling to track every shadow.
Lorna glanced at them both, something unreadable passing across her features. "Good boy," she said with a smile.
They stepped out into California sunshine that felt too bright after the darkness they'd witnessed. Whatever the Jokull Horde was, whatever nightmares waited in that frozen valley, they'd face them as a family.