Page 3 of Only Rogue Actions
Asterinledusalongthe walkway, which circled the entire maze.I glanced over the railing, but I didn’t see any steps leading down to the ground level.
“No stairs?”I called out.
Asterin shook her head, making her ponytail swish from side to side.“Not from the walkway directly down to the maze.House Battis takes safety very seriously, and everyone must check in at the control room before they can access the ground level.That way, the technicians know exactly who is down there, and no one is entering the area by accident.”
“What about once you’re in the maze itself?”Vesper asked.“How do you get out?”
“The technicians monitor everyone through the cameras, just in case there’s an emergency, but in general, once you’re inside the maze, you must either figure out how to reach the center or fight your way there,” Asterin replied.“Or both, if you’re a Hammer and it’s a training exercise.”
Asterin left the walkway and strode down a wide, enclosed corridor.Holoscreens embedded in the dark gray concrete walls flickered to life at our approach.Some screens contained images that chronicled the construction of the dome, along with the maze, while others showed smiling people who had to be important members of House Battis, given the large blackBsigils that adorned their dark red uniforms.
The three of us went to the end of the corridor, veered around a corner, and stepped into a long rectangular space.Off to the right, a glass window revealed polyplastic benches squatting in front of gray metal lockers.Steam also wisped through that area, indicating that the locker room also contained shower stalls.
Off to the left, another glass window showed a well-stocked armory.Blasters, hand cannons, swords, daggers, and war hammers hung in neat rows on the wall.Next door to the armory was an infirmary with a couple of medtables and cabinets that held injectors and other medical supplies.
Asterin moved past those areas and headed toward the back, where a waist-high permaglass wall cordoned off a large space.She pushed through a gate in the clear wall, and Vesper and I followed her.
A long metal control panel that sloped down like a keyboard stood at the front of the space.Green knobs, red buttons, and black levers jutted up from the panel’s surface, along with rows of colorful lights.I’d ridden on Imperium space cruisers that didn’t have such sophisticated controls.
Several small holoscreens were embedded in the panel, and a row of holograms flickered in the air.Each hologram showed a warrior in the maze, along with notes about their armor, weapons, and psionic abilities.Their heart rates, oxygen levels, and other vital signs were also displayed.
Monitors mounted to a nearby wall showed warriors clutching blasters, hand cannons, and war hammers and moving through the maze.Tables were scattered around the rest of the room where folks could watch the holograms and camera feeds.
Asterin headed over to a man wearing a red uniform standing at the center of the control panel.He was several inches shorter than me, with narrow shoulders and a thin body.He had light brown hair and eyes, and the panel’s flashing lights painted eerie glows on his pale skin.
“This is Jeffrey, the head technician,” Asterin said.“He oversees and controls the maze, and his job is to throw as many challenges at the Hammers as possible.In addition to fighting each other, warriors must also deal with whatever physical obstacles and simulated holographic enemies Jeffrey activates.Some of the biodomes are also challenges in and of themselves, given their extreme environments and elements.”
Jeffrey gave us a distracted wave, his attention still on the holograms flickering in the air.He frowned, then leaned forward.His long, slender fingers danced over the control panel, twisting knobs, hitting buttons, and pulling levers like he was playing a complicated concerto.In response to his actions, fog rolled across the monitors, making the warriors stop.
Pew!Pew!Pew!
The muted sound of blaster fire erupted out of a monitor, and blackXs appeared on the holograms of two warriors, indicating that they had been mock-killed.According to the info on the screen, the warriors were equipped with modified blasters that were set to stun instead of kill, although the weapons would still leave behind nasty bruises and minor burns to remind the fighters of their failures.A simple but effective training tool.
Jeffrey nodded with satisfaction, then spoke into a black microphone sticking up out of the panel.“Hammer One and Hammer Two, you’re done for the evening.Please return to the nearest exit.”
Static crackled out of the microphone.“Roger that,” a man replied in a sour tone.
Jeffrey hit more buttons.Asterin, Vesper, and I watched while one blackXafter another appeared on the remaining holograms.A single alpha warrior was swiftly navigating through the fog and eliminating the other fighters.
“It’s too bad Zane isn’t here,” I murmured.“He loves war games.”
A smile tugged at Vesper’s lips.“He messaged me earlier.”
“And what did your annoying big brother say?”
Her smile widened.“Zane told me to forget about our truebond training, mock-kill you in the maze, and claim victory for myself.”
I snorted.“Of course he did.”
Zane Zimmer was the current head of the Arrows and one of the best warriors in the Imperium.He also happened to be my long-standing rival and, perhaps most unfortunate of all, Vesper’s brother.
Nerezza Blackwell, Vesper’s mother, had abandoned her as a child, so Vesper had never known who her father was until several weeks ago when I’d figured out Wendell Zimmer—Zane’s father and a Regal lord—was the man in question.
Two weeks ago, the Zimmers had come to Sygnustern, and Zane had finagled his way onto the Collier estate.At first, I’d thought Zane was there to capture us, per his mission from Callus Holloway.But Vesper being his long-lost sister meant a great deal to Zane, and he and Wendell had welcomed her into their family with open arms.So had Beatrice Zimmer, Wendell’s mother and the current head of House Zimmer.
Most of the time, I wanted to punch the smug smirk off the arrogant Arrow’s face, but Zane had given Vesper the one thing she’d always wanted—a family—and I would always be grateful to him for that.
Zane, Wendell, and Beatrice had left Sygnustern several days ago to return to Corios.I was still getting used to the fact that I was going to be shackled to Zane bloody Zimmer for the rest of my life, but Vesper was already quite fond of her brother, and Zane cared about her just as much, so I would be forced to keep the punching to a minimum.Pity.
