[ What’s she connected to?] wondered Jack.
Her tentacles drifted above small, softly glowing orbs. When Jack looked directly at one, more and more detail loomed larger and larger until he had to snap his eyes away, afraid that he would lose himself.
[ I don’t know,] replied Fist thoughtfully. [ They look like weave servers, but very heavily remodelled. Remember all the Yamatas? Maybe that’s how they connect to the bodies.]
[Quite a few there. They’ll help us prove what she is and what she’s done. Can we just remote access them from here?]
[ No – she’s very heavily protected, there’s a structural firewall supporting the virtual one. We need to be physically inside that space to interact with her.]
For a moment, they drifted together, the great, alien shape of their opponent pulsing gently before them.
[ Jack,] said Fist, suddenly more serious. [Once we’re in, we won’t have very long before Kingdom finds out we’re there.]
[A few minutes tops. But you’ll be able to find and transmit everything we need to bring him down.]
[Oh yes. I’m not worried about that. And Yamata’s not a threat. But what happens next?]
[ We get out. Fast.]
[ You told me to think about consequences. We’re surrounded by thousands of Kingdom’s people. A god will rise and crush us. It’ll be quite the battle!]
[ You’re right, Fist,] sighed Jack. It was a question he’d hoped to avoid. [ I thought we’d just sneak out again. But now we’re in here …]
[ You don’t think we’re going to get out of this, do you?]
[ Fist—]
[ Just be honest with me, Jack.]
Jack sighed again. [ I’m sorry. We should have talked about it. I just couldn’t—]
[Pessimist! See where thinking about consequences gets you. Of course, there is another way out.]
[ We can’t just kill Kingdom, Fist.]
[Oh, I know that. Not without even more consequences to deal with. Don’t you worry, I’ve been thinking very hard about that.]
There was a long silence. A god’s business carried on around them, a silent babel of meanings and purposes.
[ There’s something I need to ask you too,] said Jack. [Are you really up to this? I mean, after the fight at TrueShield?]
[ I’m one hundred per cent!]
[ I saw your attack systems when you spooled them up against Harry. They didn’t look like that to me.]
[Oh Jack!] said Fist. [ I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.]
[Difficult not to. How are they really?]
[All the basics are fine. We can take on as many Yamatas as we want to, no problem at all. But when it comes to Pantheon members, it’s trickier. Everything’s a bit fragile. One shot left.]
[And once you’ve taken it?]
[ Higher attack systems completely burnt out. I’m a one-shot Pantheon gun, and then that’s it. Fuck, it would be good to kill Kingdom.] Fist waved up through the datahaze. [ He’s up there, somewhere. I could probably hit him from here.]
[ We talked about that, Fist.]
[ I know.] Now it was Fist’s turn to sigh. [Life, eh? Full of complexities. Pretty unpleasant for everyone, when it comes down to it. Nasty, brutal and short.] He laughed. [Like me, come to think of it!]
Jack laughed too. [ I suppose so, Fist.] It surprised him that Fist was accepting the situation so easily, but he wasn’t going to question it. [Should we wait and see if Yamata ever goes dormant?] he wondered. [So we can catch her off-guard?]
[ Things like her don’t sleep. Come on Jack, we’re going into battle for the first time in five years,] thrilled Fist. [Let’s get fucking to it!]
Chapter 43
A heavily encoded blip to Ifor and Lestak – ‘At Yamata’s base in Kingdom’s HQ. Going in’ – and then they entered the lift. It was built on an industrial scale, large enough to take a small vehicle. The dogs shimmered into being around them – seven dark silhouettes, dripping fire from burning maws, padding with a hunter’s silence. They were tense with expectation, growling and snapping at each other.
[ Very excited,] grinned Fist evilly. [ This is what I built them for.]
[ The hounds of hell, attacking Heaven.]
[Oo! I like the sound of that!]
Jack pulled out Mr Stabs’ handgun. It was a standard issue InSec weapon. He hoped that Stabs wouldn’t need it to protect himself against Grey’s maddened ex-employees. It hung heavily in his hands. He slipped the safety catch off. The lift snapped to a halt. Its doors creaked open. The Yamata chamber was a vast, domed space. There was a frozen moment of shock as its inhabitants turned and saw them. Then the night hounds leapt out of the lift, breathing fire. Fist floated behind them, a savage ghost bursting through the air. Jack moved more carefully, assessing the chamber for threats. Scaffolding held a transparent orb beneath the centre of the dome. It was about the height of a person. It glowed nanogel purple.
[ That’s Yamata!] hissed Jack.
Long cables hung down from it, plugged into four black server stacks, each about twice Jack’s height. They were perfect cubes, shimmering with red lights. Figures clustered around them, dressed in white boiler suits. Flat mirrors looked out where faces should be. Four dogs broke away from the pack. Each ran for a different cube. Some of the white figures turned to stare, some started running away, stumbling against each other in their panic. There were strange synthesised screams. One of the figures tripped and fell. Its face shattered against the ground. Smoke rose up as it shook convulsively.
Jack and Fist were halfway to the centre of the room. [ What are those?] asked Fist, pointing. Green, human-sized tubes were clumped together in groups around the room’s walls. Some were empty. Some were filled with a clear, green liquid. Some held bodies, floating in murk. [Must be where they grow the Yamata clones,] replied Jack. He aimed and fired, shattering one of the tubes. Liquid danced out of it and spilled across the floor. A white, boneless shape oozed out in its wake. [ Vat-grown organic AI husks? Lestak’ll love that. All on its own, it’s an excuse to raid.]
[ You’re recording?]
[Oh yes. And once I’ve cracked their security, I’ll be broadcasting, too.]
[Look at that one!] said Jack, pointing. One of the tubes held a much smaller body. [ Think it’s for you?]
[A body of my very own! Generous of them.]
[ We’ll take a proper look once we’re done.]
The four dogs that Fist had sent running forwards reached their destinations, pouncing simultaneously into the black cubes. Emergency lights panicked. Virtual fire roared round servers.
[ I knew it would be easy,] said Fist. [ But not this fucking easy.]
‘You were right,’ boomed Yamata, her voice echoing round the chamber. At first, she was just a silhouette of burning white light. Detail poured into the blank shape, and suddenly she was fully present. ‘I’m surprised you’ve got this far. I told Kingdom he should just kill you. Revenge is clearly a strong motive.’
‘I’m not here for revenge, Yamata,’ shouted Jack. ‘I’m here for justice.’
‘Justice?’ Yamata snorted. ‘There’s no such thing. There’s just power and what it can do for you. You should know that by now.’
‘We’re going to break you and we’re going to break Kingdom. Hit her, Fist.’
The three remaining hounds leapt forward as one. They moved quicker than thought, blurring as they went. Unreal jaws closed on unreal flesh. Flame blossomed, dancing across Yamata. She froze, locked in futile resistance. Gold-red fire became white hissing static, breaking down the shape of her body. The dogs shuddered as they broke her shielding.