Published at 28th of October 2025 4:43 am

Chapter armatus 8.9

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Because youre mine, Pira.

Elpida did not elaborate.

Piras eyes burned, blue lightning in a bloodless face, striking across the narrow gap of Pheiris control cockpit. Cold embers of the undead sunrise crawled through Pheiris tiny viewing port; the reddish light rekindled the fire in Piras flame-coloured hair. Her wounded body was a naked offering in the electric gloom.

Pira croaked: Thats not an answer. You should shoot me, Elpida. Or have me shot, if you cant do it yourself.

Howl chuckled in the back of Elpidas head. Stubborn cunt, isnt she? Let me at her?

Not yet, Elpida replied. I think I finally understand her.

Huh. Good luck?

Ilyusha hissed through her teeth, uncoiling from her seat, tail lifting from the floor but Elpida put out one hand to stop her. Pira would not respond well to the blunt instrument of Ilyushas outrage and aggression; she would clam up, close down, and fight back. Elpida needed to be like a heated scalpel, to remove Piras gangrenous flesh.

Elpida said, Yes, Pira, I agree with that. I should kill you.

Bold, Howl snorted. Dont actually do it though, hey?

No promises.

Elps? Fucking

Elpida continued: Youre a liability, Pira. You kept secrets from me and from the group, not just personal matters, but practical secrets, information which might have made the difference between our collective survival and our individual deaths. Despite that, you took specific actions which have reaffirmed my trust in your intentions but not in your judgement. I want to make that clear. I do not trust your judgement, Pira. I do not trust that youre telling me the whole truth even now, no matter how broken you are. You willingly joined a group that represents the worst possible way to respond to this nightmare of an afterlife. Youve been down to the bottom, all the way down, and I can guess what youre capable of. You shot me in a moment of a panic, a foolish decision which nearly got us all killed, or captured, or worse.

Pira frowned. The bandages and dressings on her face crinkled in a new way; adhesive pulled at the pale flesh of her cheek and throat. Then what

Elpida spoke over her. And I would kill you, if I were a Deaths Head, or a Covenanter, or perhaps if our positions were reversed and you were standing judgement over me. But Im none of those things. I am a daughter of Telokopolis. I am Telokopolis, a living piece of the city, still standing. While one of us stands, the city lives. Telokopolis is eternal; it will never die. And Telokopolis offers a better way.

Pira hissed, This is nonsense. Nothing but words. Just

Elpida raised her voice, filling the control cockpit with command. Your decision to shoot me in the gut was born from lack of trust lack of trust in me. But the mistake was not yours alone. It was also mine.

Pira squinted. What?

Elpida kept her voice level and hard. I failed you, Pira. I failed to earn your trust. I failed to make my case. I was derelict in my duties as your Commander. In a moment of panic and indecision, I failed to guide you. Your mistakes and errors and failures are mine to bear. Elpida pointed at her own stomach, at the layers of bandage and gauze and stitches behind the fabric of her tomb-grey t-shirt. This may as well be self-inflicted.

Pira tried to scoff, but she hadnt the energy. Absurd. I pointed the gun, I pulled the trigger, I

You. Are. Mine.

The jumbled surfaces and screens of Pheiris control cockpit absorbed the whip crack of Elpidas voice; the additional effort had made her stomach wound spike with pain, but she swallowed her wince. Ilyusha flinched in her seat, talons scraping on metal. Pira blinked, eyes wavering. Was she about to break? Elpida had barely pushed; she hadnt even spelled out the equation yet, the retroactive responsibility for Piras actions, as her Commander. She had led this particular dance half a dozen times in the past, in life, with her cadre, even with

Howl? Elpida thought. I hear you panting. You alright?

Howl snapped: Im not fucking crying!

Didnt say you were.

Just fuck, Elps! Fucking, this? Really? For her?

Shes my responsibility. You said it yourself, shes one of my girls now. She took the deal and followed her orders.

But-

Leave nobody behind. I did this for you, too, Howl. I did this for all the cadre, collectively, and for some of you individually, over half a dozen different matters, even when you didnt deserve it, even when it was stupid and I didnt want to. This is what it means to be in Command. Your failures are my failures, your transgressions are my transgressions. And Pira didnt need much, shes already there.

Howl sniffed, loudly. Yeah, yeah. Get on with it. This is ugly.

Elpida went on: Youre alive because youre mine, Pira, because you belong to Telokopolis. Youre alive because I was there when you needed me, and you accepted me. Youre alive because youre one of my girls now. Youre alive because I say so, because I order it, and because I am your Commander.

Piras lips curled disgust, a last bastion raised in haste. These are all just empty words, Elpida.

Commander.

Pira snorted. Elpida. You dont even know what to do with me. You dont

Howl rose up Elpidas throat and took hold of Elpidas voice.

Elps might not, Howl said. But I sure fuckin do.

Pira froze, blue eyes gone cold as ancient ice. Ilyusha leaned forward in her seat to look at Elpidas face.

Howl? Elpida asked. What are you doing?

This bitch is almost as stubborn as you, Elps. Youll be here all day. Let me ride her for a bit, pretty please? I wont make her too sore, promise.

Fine. Go ahead.

Howl peeled Elpidas lips back in a wide and whirling grin.

Pira hissed: You again. The other personality. From the infirmary.

Howl said: Yeah! Hi there, bitch cakes. You gonna keep being a bad girl? Need a good hard fuck-spank before you sit down and do as youre told? Or are you gonna keep throwing a tantrum until reality gives up and spits you out? Cos thats all I see here. A little baby bitch tantrum. Wah-wah-wah, sucks to be you. Sucks to get picked up by somebody who wont let you go, right? No matter how badly you screw up? When all you wanna do is wallow in how sad and defeated you are? Boo-hoo-hoo.

Pira asked, Who are you?

Elpida resumed control. This is Howl, one of my dead sisters. She doesnt think very highly of you.

Howl snapped: No kidding! You think Elps would cast me out if I shot her in the gut? No! Shed smack me upside the head and call me a bad girl, but Id still be here. Because Im hers. Because we all were! We all are!

Pira stammered: Y-you have no reason to keep me

Alive!? Howl cackled Elpidas own voice ringing out against the inside of Pheiris hull. You wanna die so bad, do it yourself!

Howl reached out with Elpidas hand and picked up Elpidas submachine gun. She opened the breech to show a round in the chamber, closed it with a metallic clack, and then offered the gun to Pira, grip first.

Pira stared at the weapon. Her brow furrowed. Her lips twitched.

Howls hand shook; Elpida had to take control to steady her own fingers.

Howl, she said. You shouldnt offer this if you dont mean it.

Elps, shut up!

Youre copying what I did with Ilyusha, but you wont let Pira shoot herself, not really. Youre not prepared to see it through. This is just a stunt.

And you would?! Howl raged. Youd let her blow her brains out?!

If I offered it, I would mean it. You cant fake this, Howl.

Then fucking help me!

Elpida sighed with her own mouth and re-assumed control of her body. She kept the gun extended toward Pira, to keep the offer open. She said: Pira, Howl is being stpid about this, but shes making an important point. I cant actually stop you from killing yourself.

Pira looked up from the gun. Her eyes were a blue void.

Elpida said: Back there in the Deaths Head skyscraper you could have easily gone through with it, killed Ooni and then killed yourself. But you didnt, because I turned up in time and told you not to. But thats all I did told you not to. I was weak and wounded, I wouldnt have been able to wrestle the guns away from you, and the others werent committed. You could have done it, but you chose to listen to me. All I have now is words. You could leave us, when everyone else is sleeping. You could steal a knife and open your veins. But you didnt. Youre still here. And Im confident that you dont actually want to die. All I have is words, but the decision to follow me is yours. I can only save you if you say yes, but I think youve already said it.

Piras gaze dropped back to the gun. She reached out with one hand and took the grip. She tapped her index finger just above the trigger.

Fuuuckkkk, Howl gurgled. Fuck! Elps, Im sorry, I

Trust me.

Pira was still for a long time, one finger extended above the trigger. Her knuckles turned white with pressure. She didnt breathe. Her wounds, her sallow, pale, drained complexion, her sagging musculature, the dark rings around her eyes she looked like a corpse about to collapse.

Ilyusha gritted her teeth so hard that Elpida heard her molars creak. Pheiris control cockpit hissed and buzzed, almost below the level of human hearing. Deep in his belly the nuclear heartbeat throbbed, keeping time with Elpidas pulse.

Elpida counted sixty three seconds. Her arm began to tire, but she did not waver. She would respect Piras choice.

Sixty four seconds. Sixty five seconds. Piras trigger finger twitched. Sixty six. Sixty seven.

Pira let go of the gun.

Her hand was shaking; she flexed the knuckles and returned it to her lap, limp and spent. She cast her eyes toward the floor. She started to cry again, slow and silent.

Elpida lowered the gun and suppressed her own sigh of relief. Ilyusha hissed, hard and restless.

Elpida said: Thank you, Pira. Im glad youre going to stay with us.

Pira shook her head. I dont deserve this.

Elpida said, It doesnt matter if you deserve it or not. Thats not for you to decide.

Pira squeezed a sob through clenched teeth. You cant be serious. You cant forgive

Howl snorted, taking control of Elpidas words again: Forgive?! I didnt hear anyone say that word. Did you? Illy? Elps? Am I hearing fuckin voices here? Is Pheiri growing speakers and chatting with us now?

Ilyusha snorted too; Elpida thought that sounded forced.

Pira raised her head, tears running down her cheeks. She looked so lost.

Howl went on: The Commanders not offering you forgiveness, you dozy bitch. You dont even want it! Youd never take it, not of your own accord! If she offered then youd be disgusted by her, right? I know I would! Ha!

The last flakes of brittle crust fell away from Piras expression. Wide eyes wept freely. I yes I would.

Elpida said: Howl, I can take it from here. Settle down.

Any time, Commander, Howl giggled. Got her all fluffed and prepped for you. Have fun with the juicy core.

Elpida ignored the sex joke it was Howls way of dealing with her own discomfort. She put Howl from her mind for now. She focused on Pira.

Blue eyes hung in the gloom, wet and wasted. Piras final walls had fallen.

Elpida straightened up and put the firearm in her own lap. Pira, I am not offering you forgiveness. Im not giving you that choice, because I dont trust your judgement. You have the choice to run, to leave us behind, because I cannot stop that, and you have the choice to kill yourself though I am ordering you not to do so. But you dont have a choice of forgiveness. Its not yours to reject.

Piras eyes widened; she must have realised what Elpida was about to say. N-no, Elpi C-Commander, no

You are forgiven, because it is my choice, not yours. Your mistake is noted. Forgiveness is your punishment. Elpida indicated her own gut again. And you owe me, for this. If we were not nanomachine zombies, then this gut wound would have killed me. Then, despite that, I stopped you from killing Ooni and yourself. You owe me three lives. The sum of the debt is you, yourself.

Pira tried to swallow; she coughed, choking on her own saliva. She shook her head.

Elpida said, You reject the debt?

No, no, I I cant be trusted.

Because you used to be a Deaths Head?

Pira said, No, not that. Because I dont believe in anything anymore. Elpida. Commander, I didnt turn against the Deaths Head ideology. I already explained that. I just stopped believing in anything at all. The old gods from when I was alive, the new ideals from The Fortress, the Deaths Heads, everything in between. None of it means anything in this place, living like this. This isnt even life, just ashes. All fires have gone out. How can I believe in anything?

Elpida smiled. You believe in not eating other people. You believe in rejecting predatory cannibalism.

Pira winced, slow and wounded. I reject the premise of survival at any cost. Its the only way to resist.

To resist what? Elpida knew the answer, but she wanted Pira to put it into words.

Pira gestured with her bionic hand. The arm was badly dented. She indicated nothing and everything. All of this. Whoever made it. Whoever keeps it going. I used to believe that we might grow strong, or build a home, or use power to strike back at at what? Pira sobbed once, harder than Elpida had expected. At dust and echoes? At shadows on the wall? There is no amount of cannibalism that can protect us. Refusal is the only true choice.

Ilyusha grunted: Sounds like belief. To me. Huh.

Pira shook her head. Its a rejection of belief.

Elpida said, The only winning move is to remove oneself from the game. If that is the case, I have one more question for you.

Pira sobbed. Dont.

Why do you keep coming back?

Pira squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could, tears leaking out between the darkened creases of her skin. Her every muscle was pulled tight despite her wounds; perhaps she was trying to keep herself from bursting.

Pira?

Im so tired, Pira hissed through her teeth. I want this to be over. I want this to end. But it wont. I dont have the choice anymore. I cant make it end, I cant stop, because I made a deal.

Pira had mentioned this once before; the first resurrection, from life to revenant, was free and without consent, but subsequent resurrections required the zombie in question to give a reason to the machines, to the nanomachine ecosystem, or to whatever directing mind lay behind all this software. Pira had been unable to describe the feeling or sensation when shed previously spoken on this subject. She had claimed that after death everything was different.

Elpida clarified: A deal to come back, the first time you die here, the first time you die as a zombie. You have to give a reason to keep going. Is that correct?

Pira nodded. Wasnt the first time, though. Changed over time. Refined it. Got angry.

What deal did you make, Pira?

Pira shook her head. Cant put it into words. Its not something you understand in words. Cant explain how it feels.

Try.

Pira went very still and very quiet, breathing hard and rough. Promised to to try to tear it all down.

Promised who?

Pira hissed: I dont know.

Okay, Pira, relax. Stop thinking about it now. Elpida took a deep breath and let it out slowly, for Pira to mirror. Pira obeyed, shivering and whimpering, wincing with little pains, like unclenching a fist held tight for far too long. Ilyusha grimaced an nudged Elpida in the ribs; Elpida gave her a placating look and mouthed almost there, dont worry.

Elpidas mind was full of strange coincidences. Pieces were slotting into place.

After a few moments of silence, Elpida said: Pira, can you believe in me?

Pira opened her eyes and stared at nothing. Why? she murmured. What for? Whats your plan, Commander? What plan can you possibly have?

I thought you liked my plans, Elpida said. You complimented the general direction in which I was going, before you shot me in the gut.

You had a plan and it failed.

Elpida laughed, big and open; that made her own gut hurt, but she ignored the pain. Ilyusha and Pira both frowned at her.

Elpida said: What, because the combat frame didnt get up first try? Because we stumbled and fell? Because you shot me? Thats just what happens sometimes. Plans fail. People die. Cities fall. But not Telokopolis. You know why? Because here I am. She spread her hands. We got the group back together, we recovered our missing members. Were here, were alive and breathing or at least undead. And while we can think and move and speak, we can make new plans. Its that, its always that, or give up.

I I want to give up. I want to be dead.

I dont think you really do, Elpida said. We need you, Pira. I need you. I need your skills and experience, your knowledge of the nanomachine ecosystem, your combat abilities, your advice, your support, your trigger finger. And now that I understand you, I also want the promise, the deal, whatever it was you made with the system or the machines or the gravekeepers.

W-what?

I want you to make a new deal, with me. I want you to transfer that promise. I want you to fight for me even if you dont believe in me. I want you to accept that I am your Commander, I am your judgement.

Piras tears dried in her eyes. She stared at Elpida, mystified. Why?

Elpida leaned back in her chair and allowed herself a smile. It was only half performance. Because the graveworm knows who I am. Because Ive got a Necromancer who talks to me via sleep paralysis, who wore my face to get into that combat frame. Because a combat frame fell from the heavens when I was resurrected. Because were sitting in a treasure trove of information and firepower. She reached out and patted the bare grey metal of Pheiris innards. Because Pheiri here was within driving distance, out of an entire continent-spanning city. Because Ooni was here, near the tomb in which you were resurrected. Because you were here at all a zombie who made a deal to start wrecking the system, resurrected alongside me. Because of messages inside my coffin, and coincidences I cannot explain.

Pira tried to laugh, but the sound was hollow. Messianic delusion.

Its not delusion, Elpida said. Im starting to disbelieve all these coincidences. Im starting to believe that weve been assisted or at least Ive been assisted by something we cant see yet. You want to access the fulcrum of the world, Pira? You want to tear down whatever this is? Stick with me and you might just get to see it. You know why?

Pira swallowed. Because you think youve been chosen.

Elpida shook her head. No. That part doesnt matter. Whatever I was chosen for, I refuse it. My purpose is my cadre. My purpose is to be your Commander.

Pira stared, no longer crying, her face naked and raw. She did not sit straight, but no longer did she shiver beneath her armoured coat.

Pira whispered to herself. The words were just loud enough for Elpida to hear: Never give up. Never stop. Never lie down.

Elpida decided it was now or never. She put her submachine gun aside on one of Pheiris many control panels, and turned to Ilyusha. Illy, do you have a knife on you? May I please borrow it?

Ilyusha pulled a sheathed combat knife from the side of her torn-up tomb-trousers.

Thank you, Illy, Elpida said. She accepted the knife, stood up, and rolled back her left sleeve.

Piras eyes widened. Commander?

Elpida drew the combat knife and handed the sheath back to Ilyusha. The blade was black and clean, drinking the thin reddish dawn from Pheiris tiny window. Elpida flexed her left hand and held the knife in her right.

Pira, you and I made a deal, back when we had a fistfight. I offered you my blood in place of cannibalised flesh. You agreed in principle, but we never sealed the pact.

Commander. Commander, no, Im not

Elpida, said Elpida. Its Elpida again now. She raised her palm and the knife. Youre badly injured and you need to heal. And I need you to know that you are mine. This blood is given freely, willingly; this is not an act of exploitation. Are you ready?

Piras lips parted with a wet click. She was panting softly. She gave a very tiny nod.

Elpida quickly drew the blade across the meat of her own left palm. Pain blossomed a split second before the blood. The flesh parted and the crimson flowed, pooling in the shallow grail of her metacarpals.

She lowered her hand toward Piras waiting lips. Pira grasped her with fluttering fingertips at knuckles and wrist. She touched her pale lips to the side of Elpidas palm. Her eyes fluttered shut. Her throat trembled. Scarlet blood slid into Piras mouth, sluicing over her tongue, smeared around her lips.

Pira drank, pale throat bobbing, until the flow weakened to a trickle. She took little more than a few thimbles worth of blood; Elpidas circulatory system was host to enhanced clotting agents and specialised platelet structures, another blessing of Telokopolan genetic engineering. She had no doubt that Pira would derive scant material benefit from the nanomachines which comprised her blood. A poor meal compared to a single bite of corpse-meat or even better, fresh brains but blood meant more than nano-mould or empty air. And the nutrition was a secondary purpose.

Pira let go, hands quivering, eyelids heavy. Elpida withdrew. Pira sagged in her seat, smears of blood on her lips and chin. She dropped her eyes toward the floor.

No, Elpida said. Be proud.

Pira straightened up. Eyes to the front. Wiped her chin and licked her lips. Hardly full of energy, but not looking so sorry for herself anymore.

Good girl, said Elpida.

Elpida flexed her left hand. The pain wasnt too bad. She would heal quickly, what with all the raw blue nanomachines already inside her body. She allowed two droplets of blood to fall from the edge of her palm and land on the metal deck: a symbolic offering for Pheiri. She would explain it to him later.

She sat down and went to hand the knife back to Ilyusha, but she found Illy staring at the bloody split in her palm. Ilyushas claws were extended, crimson razors at all her fingertips. Her tail silently flicked back and forth.

Elpida extended her left hand. Dont be jealous. Here, Illy.

Ilyusha bared her teeth, blushing as red as the blood. I dont

You clearly do, Illy. Take it.

Ilyusha snapped: Dont need it!

You know thats beside the point. Clean my hand. Go ahead.

Ilyusha relented, squirming and blushing. She clicked her claws away and then lifted Elpidas wound toward her mouth; she licked the blood from the creases in Elpidas palm. Her tongue was small and raspy. Elpida winced.

Gritty raindrops trickled down Pheiris tiny steel-glass window; it was still raining, a cold and wet day in hell. Tiny machine sounds clicked and whirred from deep inside his body. Ilyusha licked and lapped until the wound began to close. Pira said nothing, her eyes finally at peace, blue skies after a storm. Elpida considered the fact that three of her companions had now consumed her own blood.

Hoping thats gonna be a trend? Howl chuckled.

Not sure. Can I produce blood faster if I modify myself? Maybe.

Bloodbag. Ha.

Eventually Ilyusha finished cleaning Elpidas hand.Elpida reached over with her other and stroked Ilyushas messy blonde hair, smoothing it over her skull. She said: Good girl.

Ilyusha closed her eyes and purred.

They sat together in silence for a while longer.

Eventually Pira asked a question. A croaking voice from a bone dry throat, but no longer wet with tears: Commander, what is your plan? This isnt a rhetorical or philosophical question. Im asking for practical answers. What do we do now?

Elpida said, Short, medium, or long term?

Pira raised her eyebrows. Had she not expected such detail? Long term. Give me the wide view.

Elpida leaned back in her chair, flexing her left hand, savouring the sharp, shallow pain of the cut. We have two long term strategic options. One: head back toward the graveworm and attempt to make contact, with the intention of obtaining access to the nanomachine production facilities inside. Can we get past the worm-guard? I have no idea. Has the graveworm really been speaking to me? Howl?

Im no worm, Elps, Howl snorted. How would I be? Dont you remember what that moon-bitch said?

Moon bitch? You mean Kagami?

Yeah! You cant broadcast shit through Pheiris hull unless he invites it. Its bone-mesh, remember? How can I be the graveworm if Im talking to you now?

That Necromancer managed to broadcast through Pheiris hull.

You had a nightmare! And Im not a worm!

Elpida trusted Howl, at least about this. She shrugged so Pira and Ilyusha could see. Unknown. We would need to test the worm-guard, at the very least. Im no longer certain that they were intentionally waiting for me on the combat frame. That may have been the Necromancers doing. I would also need to re-attempt contact with the graveworm itself. Option one may not be possible, not without the combat frame to put us on an even footing.

Ilyusha hissed: Big fucker. Yeah. Too big.

Pira said: Option two, we leave?

Elpida nodded. Correct. Option two: we strike out, away from the graveworm, toward one of two destinations. The first possible target is one of those three towers youre so interested in, Pira, where you think we might be able to meet plenty of Necromancers, or find some kind of control systems. Elpida shook her head. In theory Pheiri can make the journey, hes survived beyond the graveworm safe zones for a very long time, but when we turn up at a tower were just a bunch of zombies. One Necromancer froze me on the spot, like I was a puppet. If youre right about those towers, I dont fancy our chances, not as we currently are.

Pira frowned. Whats the other destination?

Elpida smiled. Telokopolis. You werent there when we saw the satellite photos in the tomb, but the city is there, right where the plateau should be. Dead or undead or ruins, it exists. And it will live again.

Pira laughed, a single huff without humour. A journey into the depths.

Elpida nodded again. Thousands of miles. Ten thousand. More. I asked Pheiri about this briefly, while you were unconscious, and hes never managed to reach the hypothetical position of Telokopolis. It lies far beyond the usual circuits of the graveworms, past layers of the city hes never penetrated. You and I can review his data together, Pira. Youve been out there beyond the worms too, so I want you to compare notes, let me know if you think its feasible.

Does Pheiri?

Elpida sighed. He didnt give me a straight answer.

Pira swallowed. Die at the towers or die in the wastes. You dont even know what youd find at Telokopolis, Elpida. An empty shell.

Ilyusha grunted: Well make it. We will!

Elpida held out a hand; she ignored the pain of Piras reasonable doubt. All of this depends on the combat frame. If we can get that online, we have a much greater chance of survival, whichever option we choose. But I doubt we can. I think its damaged in some fundamental way, or it would be up and moving under the pilots own power, or by itself if the pilot is too wounded. She shook her head. I have to get in there and take a look.

Pira said: Thats your short term plan?

Elpida said: Yes. Our long term direction depends on short-term results. Before we even choose, we need to recover Kagami and Vicky, and I have to Elpida took a deep breath. I have to decide what to do about the pilot inside that frame.

Ilyusha hung her head. Shes fucked.

Elpida felt a pang of terrible loss for a woman she had not yet met. If we had an atmospherically sealed hardshell, we could help her get into it somehow. The combat frame should be able to flush itself, chamber by chamber. If we could get a hardshell into the pilot chamber, and if she wasnt wounded

If, if, if; Elpidas mind tried to plan ahead with resources she did not possess.

Pira said slowly: Even if we could secure some kind of atmospheric suit, the suit itself would be contaminated. Do you understand?

Elpida actually smiled; there was Piras usual frost, almost back to normal, despite her near nudity and the wounds all over her body. I believe I do.

Pira said: Everything is contaminated. A suit itself would be made of nanomachines. The entire biosphere, the ground, the dirt. Concrete, wood, everything. Every surface. Every cubic inch of air. That pilot will die the second shes removed from that tube.

Elpida said, I know. But I would like to see if theres any other options.

Ilyusha chuckled: Send her back to space!

Elpida said, Maybe. So thats the short term plan as soon as Im recovered enough, were going to travel back to the combat frame.

How? Pira demanded. Right past the Deaths Heads again?

Elpida shook her head. Small numbers, travelling light. Perhaps just me and Hafina, for stealth. I havent decided yet. The Necromancer may attempt to waylay us again at the hatch, to gain access to the combat frame but Hafs not a nanomachine zombie, she cant be paralysed or controlled in the same way. Shes our trump card there. I think.

Ilyusha looked up with a toothy grin. Pira blinked in surprise. I didnt think of that.

Elpida continued: Well recover Kagami and Vicky, do what we can for the pilot, and try to reactivate the combat frame. Im doubtful that will work, but we have to try. Once that succeeds or fails, we can make a decision from there. Elpida pointed at Pira. Kagami does want me to shoot you, by the way.

Pira grunted. Not surprised.

She may attempt it herself. She did warn me that you might be a traitor, and in a way she was right. Expect gloating, possibly worse. Ill do what I can.

Piras eyebrows climbed. She seemed genuinely impressed.

Ilyusha said: How do we pick? Elpi, how do we choose what to do?

Elpida said, Well discuss it, with all of us in one place. Pheiri too. Im the Commander, but that doesnt mean my orders come from above. They come from all of us.

Pira said, voice cold: Voting. Hm.

But before that, Elpida said. We need intel. Her lips curled in a new kind of smile. She stretched out her legs across the control cockpit and felt the dressings tugging at the edges of her gut wound. She invited the pain. Theres no sense deciding what to do until we can get a better view of the board. We cant see far as pawns.

Pira frowned. What?

Ilyusha said, Ehh? Pawns?

Elpida explained. Ive been putting it together in the back of my mind, ever since I got captured by the Deaths Heads. Actually I started a little before that, the moment I saw that Necromancer wearing my own face.

Pffft, Howl snorted. You mean Ive been putting it together, in the back of your mind, for you. Dont shit on staff work, Elps!

You get all the real credit, Howl.

Dont you forget it!

Were pawns, Elpida said. Everything I said earlier, all the strange coincidences. Combine all of that with the things the Necromancer sai to Vicky and Kagami, and the information it apparently passed to that group of Deaths Heads. Put all of that together. Were pawns in a game or in a system which we cannot understand from the inside. We dont know which way to move because we dont know the consequences toward the graveworm, or the towers, or to the corpse of Telokopolis? And Im not just talking literally, Im talking about the motivations and agendas of things so far above us that we can barely glimpse them. So. We need the eyes of somebody who can see the game board, or at least a little higher than us.

A Necromancer, Pira croaked. How? How can you even contact it, let alone coerce it?

Elpida said: We dont have to. Because theres somebody else the Necromancer has been talking to, a whole lot more than its been talking to us.

Ilyushas eyes lit up. Yeah! Yeah! Fuck!

Pira went cold and still. Youre not suggesting we ?

Yes, I am suggesting that, Elpida said. Combat frame or not, once we have Vicky and Kagami back with us, I propose an extraction operation. I propose we kidnap and interrogate the leader of that Deaths Head group, before the graveworm moves on and this temporary watering hole dries up. A smash and grab, to get answers from Yola.

Share