Chapter 19: Endangered Stars

When dawn broke, the gathered adventurers, bounty hunters, and outlaws split up into their designated groups, and each one ventured off towards their preordained location. Cattia had given the leaders of each group a set of coordinates to go by, so it was up to them to find the location of each of the enemy’s bases. The disks that Cattia had stolen had just given their last byte of information out, and with the banks now empty of secrets (and the Tatania now full of them), each of the disks had to be destroyed so that they could never be recovered again. They had done their job; now it was up to Cattia, Zet, and Dustin to do theirs.

Cattia’s group, which consisted of herself, Dana, Tania, and Jerwon, were only more numerous than everyone else because their destination was the roughest. Unlike Zet or Dustin, Cattia and her group were headed towards the home base of the man behind all of System GOLGOTHA, Grady Dorina himself. The whole place would probably be littered with guards and traps, and even with these four, a successful penetration would be nearly impossible to pull off. But everyone else was also entering into dangerous enemy territory, so Cat and her comrades had to stay sharp or else get left behind.

Grady’s joint was indeed somewhere in Russia, but the location boasted such a low temperature than even Tania got chilly just thinking about it, and she claimed to be impervious to most elements. If there was ever a strip of land closest to the North Pole, then this place would have been it. Only the hardiest of all living things could have lived there; robots would freeze up, and humans would probably die of hypothermia or frostbite before ever reaching the secret house. Grady had obviously chosen this location for a reason, but as chilly as the place would be, everyone had to bite the bullet if they wanted to stop this project from going any further than it already had.

Obviously, the foursome took the Tatania as far as she would allow them. If they got too close to Grady’s, then any radar he might’ve owned would have spotted them, and if they got too far away, then they would all freeze before ever getting there. Cattia had to be an awfully incredible pilot, with an awfully good skill at landing, if she wanted to invade the distant hideout while remaining safe and undetected. Dana had to admit, her new friend sure had guts.

“It’s a skill of mine,” boasted Cattia as she found a suitable place to set down her ship. “I was brought up to be tough and resilient ... though even I have my limits.”

“I never would’ve guessed,” muttered Dana. Cattia turned her head to give the older woman a playful smirk.

“I may be the Space Cat, but I’m still a human being,” she said. “These scars and burns are proof enough of that.”

“Those’re the ones you got when that engine blew up, right?” Cattia hummed out an affirmative and nodded her head.

“Mm-hmm. I should have gotten a whole lot more, but ... well, little Tia here was with me, and she took most of the burns that were meant for me.” A trace of sadness was barely audible in Cattia’s flat voice, perhaps such a small sliver of one that only Tania really could pick it up.

“ ... Oh...”

“Ahh, don’t worry!” assured the blonde. “This lil’ girl, she’s a lot tougher than she looks. I had to replace most of her body with mechanical apparatuses, but she’s still pretty cute.”

“I heard that!” came Tania’s voice from the other side of the ship. Cattia laughed softly and finally touched down on the snowy ground.

“Well, this is it!” she said. “We’re a good distance from Grady’s main base, so we’ll have to bundle up warmly. Tania, that goes for you, too.”

“Yeah, yeah...” The annoyed voice of the younger Prepells sister became louder as the young girl popped into the cockpit, wearing wool leggings and a very heavy coat over all her other clothes. Cattia approvd in her same silky-smooth voice; Jerwon stood by her side bashfully.

“And just what have you been up to?” asked Dana cattily. Jerwon’s tanned face turned red a little.

“It’s nothing, really. I, uh, I just thought that it might be nice if Miss Tia and myself were to become friends, that’s all.” Both of Dana’s thin, dark eyebrows raised in interest, and her mouth turned into an upside-down arch as she smiled.

“Ah, ‘friends’, is it? Well, I guess you two are about the same age and all...”

“Excuse me, but I’m not twelve years old!!” spat Jerwon. “My height has nothing to do with my age! I ... I am just ... lacking the normal growth patterns of my fellow Leduadians!”

“Whatever you say, pal,” smiled Cattia. “At least Tania now has somebody her own size to play with.”

“I’m not a child,” grumbled Jerwon with enough irritation to melt the snowy fields outside. Tania, however, didn’t seem to really care that much.

“Well, I think he’s pretty darned cute!” she squealed, giving the slightly-shorter one a hug. Jerwon’s face grew redder still, and the two-tallest ones in the ship had to cough something powerful before the duo could be separated and business could be returned to.

“HOLY CRAP!!!! IT’S FREAKING COLD OUT HERE!!!”

“Ssh!!!” Dana hastily covered her mouth and apologized for her rash outburst, while Cattia let out a ghostly sigh of chilly relief. “Not so loud!” she hissed. “Grady might have sound detectors!” Dana apologized yet again, and vowed to keep as quiet as possible as she plowed into the snowy fields. In global perspective, Grady’s house was just a few steps away, but in reality, it was at least a mile away. Every person that had been previously riding in the Tatania had no real problems with cold, as long as it was in moderation, and distance was also not a problem, but when one combined ungodly temperatures with a grueling distance, adding in the heavy soil of snow, then even the shortest distance was far too great to travel.

Jerwon hated the cold the most, largely because the biggest blankets of snow came all the way up to his forehead. He had to sit on Dana’s shoulders throughout most of the journey, which kept the taller woman quite warm but his own self freezing. Tania, a heavy burden if one considered her mechanical implements, had to perch herself on Cattia’s shoulder so she would not get lost in the blizzards as well. Of course, sometimes the falling snow was so thick that even Dana and Cattia were blinded, and thus the two former enemies were forced to hold onto each other until the berating winds ceased.

Walking one single mile in the frosty weather was not really that bad, but if Grady’s location were even a single step farther, then the gang would’ve most certainly fallen over and perished from such intense weather. They ended up walking very close together, sometimes hugging each other close for warmth, and soon Dana was glad that all enmity between herself and Cattia had been solved; Jerwon also welcomed Tania’s warm embrace, but for an entirely different reason.

In any case, the gang was but a short distance away from Grady’s hideout in about ten or so minutes, and the place was akin to an oasis in the desert, except this place provided warmth as well as the first of three terrors behind System GOLGOTHA. Placing guards outside in this weather would have been inhuman, but there were still a few there anyway, mostly to keep any intruders out in the cold for a few more cruel minutes.

“We need to get rid of these guys and fast!“ hissed Cattia as she pulled a few weapons from out of her coat. A gun was put in each of her hands--Jerwon had a few sharp throwing-knives, Dana her stun-baton and Tania her mechanical strength--and a brief moment of rest was gained before the quartet rushed forth and charged at the guards. There were only four of them, and they were so frozen stiff that they were very near being dead. Despite the fact that the men standing there were enemies, none of the gang felt the desire to completely ignore the guards, and thus dragged the men inside where they could at least have a chance of warming up.

Once inside Grady’s very large and very warm abode, excess clothes were cast off, bodies shook like wet dogs, and the four travelers prepared themselves to face one of the deadliest and most powerful men in the known galaxy. Needless to say, Cattia and Dana were pumped.

“Here,” said the older woman, “slap the bony end of your wrist up against mine. That’s how Shift and I always psyched ourselves up before a big fight.” Cattia smiled wryly and wiggled her eyebrows at the little tidbit.

“Oh... ! So do you consider me a part of your club now? How flattering!”

“Well ... I guess you and Jerwon, and Zet and Diana are all a part of the gang now ... or whatever...” Cattia smiled at her new friend, whom she was liking the more she got to know her, and slapped the bony end of her wrist up against Dana’s.

“Then consider ourselves psyched!” she cheered. “Hey, little guy! You wanna piece of this action as well?” Jerwon mumbled something nasty, most likely centering on his unappreciative attitude towards Cattia, and halfheartedly waved a declination as he ambled off. Cattia and Dana exchanged glances and shrugged.

“Oh well. But don’t wander too far off, okay? We need to take this guy out as fast as we possibly can. Who knows what kind of tricks he’s got up his sleeves--and besides, who in their right mind would want to stay in this place!”

“Not me!” agreed Tania, and the three ladies (along with poor beleaguered Jerwon) led the charge into the thick of Grady’s domain.

It would have been a waste for some type of architect or interior decorator to even bother describing the insides of Grady’s place, since most of it went unappreciated by Cattia, Dana, Tania, and Jerwon. Tania, who had one mechanical eye that captured everything in photograph form “just in case”, viewed most of the domain as a kind of cabin that one might find nestled in the Russian woods, except considerably bigger. Most everything was made out of delicious-smelling cedar wood, from the inner walls to the floor and even the ceiling, with a few tapestries and trophies strewn about. This was obviously set up to deter anyone hardy enough to make it this far, but none of the quartet was fooled.

“Nice place,” muttered Dana as she searched frantically for some type of hidden door. Most of the “nice” furniture became ruined and overturned as the foursome combed through the large cabin in search of any clue that might indicate where Grady actually was. Cattia had known about this place by looking at the data encrypted on the disk she had stolen, and the guards outside weren’t exactly there to be decorative. There was a 99% chance that they were in the right place (“Because you can never be too certain!” Tania had said), so all they really had to do was look in the right spot.

“I used to love playing hide-and-seek,” muttered Jerwon as he hastily removed a stack of books from their shelves. “I always hid in the best places where nobody would find me--but this is ridiculous!”

“Right. See anything, Tia?” asked Cattia. Tia pressed her finger to the side of her head, as if activating a part of her mechanical brain, and briefly scanned the area for anything unusual.

“Not at the moment, but there’s definitely something here! I can just barely hear a binary code.”

“Most likely in a basement,” muttered the elder Prepells. “Dana! Try and finding some type of hidden compartment in the floor!” However, as everyone fumbled around the large cabin in search of a hidden door, Dana smugly crossed her arms and pointed to something that nobody had thought of before.

“We could just use those stairs over there,” she pointed. Three pairs of eyes looked up to see a staircase descending downward, and everyone felt so ashamed and embarrassed that they would have kicked themselves if they had the time.

“How did you...”

“It’s too obvious,” indicated Dana. “Whenever somebody’s looking for a hidden door, they always think it’s somewhere secret, or else a switch’ll activate something--but they never think of looking in the most obvious place.” Cattia’s face turned very red as she clenched her teeth, and went over to give Dana a friendly glare.

“ ... You...”

“What about me?” smiled the older woman. Cattia held her own tongue and decided to not speak any more, lest she embarrass herself any further. Even Tania looked sheepish, and poor Jerwon was trying to act as civil as he could as he brought up the rear.

Down the stairs, both Tania’s and Cattia’s hunches were correct: a very large bank of computers and machines were waiting for them, most of them squeaking out in a language only Tania understood. The girl suddenly grimaced and clasped her head with her hands, screaming out from some unknown agony.

“Aaaaaugh!! Too much to process!!!” The girl screamed and writhed even more, and would have went completely out of control had Jerwon not acted so quickly. Plucking a few knives from his jacket, he threw them with the aim of a futuristic Robin Hood and slashed at the computer’s wires, killing a few of them for good. Tania’s maddening condition lessened but didn’t fade; fortunately, Dana and Cattia got the idea.

“Blasted machines!” cursed the blonde as she shot at the terminals. “I nearly forgot that if Tania’s around too many powerful computers, her inner workings will go slightly haywire. She would’ve had her logistics and algorithms scrambled to pieces if we hadn’t intervened!”

“I never liked computers anyway!” agreed Dana as she smashed a few herself. Soon, the three of them had wreaked glorified carnage on the entire bank, sending many machines to binary heaven and quite a few of them to the other place. Since these were the property of Grady Dorina, not a one of them was spared any sort of wrath, and even Tania broke a few once she got better.

“ ... Humph! I guess that takes care of that! ... Thanks, Jerwon!” The short, elfish Leduadian smiled bashfully as Tania thanked him, and his face grew downright vermilion as she leaned down to kiss his cheek. Meanwhile, Cattia and Dana tried not to snicker too much at the little scene, but also kept their heads, and reminded the two smaller ones that there was a job to do. Tania smiled and shyly apologized; poor Jerwon merely smiled foolishly and rubbed the place that Tania had kissed. Being short had many disadvantages, but the best blessing he had was that many ladies equated being short with being cute, and thus, he never completely lacked a female in company.

With the massive computer room now behind them, the four continued to race through the lower bowels of the well-concealed cabin. Surprisingly, they encountered almost no guards, though with the weather outside as it was, very few people really could have made it this far. What little security the place did boast was taken out by Dana’s baton or Tania’s powerful fist; very rarely did Jerwon’s knives or Cattia’s guns have to get in the mix.

Unfortunately, as even the best gamblers must run out of good luck sometimes, so too did this inevitability apply to the four travelers. They had been sprinting through the large lower structure of the Siberian cabin with almost no resistance, so according to Murphy’s Law, they were bound to face trouble sooner or later. This certain trouble came to them in the form of a very unwelcome guest, one that only Jerwon recognized. He seemed very average and hardly outstanding at first, what with his ordinary build and brownish hair and eyes, but his black leather jacket concealed weapons which would make any normal man pale in the face. His name was Sean Gilliam, and he was one of Brokolov’s Super-S Class Assassins, one of the deadliest killers in the known world.

“D’gaah!! You again!!” Jerwon immediately took a few steps backwards as he nearly ran into the taller man, but the girls were unaware of who this was, so their approach was less cautious. Weapons were drawn and aimed, but Sean only smiled.

“Hm ... just a bunch of nasty intruders ... Oh, and the little elf-boy! I recognize you, kid, although I must say, you look a lot weaker now with these women surrounding you.”

“Little? Boy? Kid? Weaker? Mister, you...”

“Watch your tongue, mister,” sneered Cattia in a threatening voice. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with. I’m Cattia Prepells, the one-and-only Space Cat, and these are my friends. And these,” she said, producing her guns from her own leather jacket, “are my other friends. Say hello to Mercury and Hermes.” Dana suddenly shot her friend an extremely disbelieving look, but Cattia kept her steely gaze focused on the assassin ahead.

“Humph ... only a weak little novice would do something so idiotic as naming their own guns...” he snorted. Sean drew out his own weapon, an H-7 semi-automatic plasma pistol--unnamed. Even Cattia’s cool was lost as the professional killer aimed the powerful and precise weapon at her forehead, which meant that everyone else was freaking out.

“Oh, crap!!” hissed Dana. “I thought plasma pistols were banned!”

“Yeah, well...” Sean, who was not one for words, pulled back the hammer of his gun and took a second to decide who should die first. Of course, everyone there in that silent hallway knew that he would try to kill Cattia first, since she had coughed his employer so much trouble (Jerwon would probably be second on the hit list).

“ ... I’m not much for words,” admitted Sean, “so ... I guess this is goodbye!” He pulled on the trigger, sending a slow but deadly blast of white-hot plasma energy rocketing straight at the Space Cat, and perhaps not even her infamous stealth could get her out of such a bind. Even Tania, whose body was partially made out of machinery, could not absorb such a blow. Suddenly, from out of nowhere, Dana’s stun baton swished in the air and crashed down on the ball of energy before it could destroy anything. The plasma instantly shattered and broke, leaving absolutely everybody paralyzed in a daze.

Mouths hung open, none quite as wide as Sean’s, but Dana’s was the only mouth that dared to smile. Twirling her baton in her hands like a master stick-fighter, she gazed coolly at the average-looking assassin and explained away her defenses.

“Not bad,” she admitted. “Illegal weapons like that are almost impossible to defend against. But unfortunately for you, I’m carrying a rare weapon as well, a WD-Grade offensive Cosmic Fang Stun Baton personally constructed by the top brass of the White Dove Space Fleet. It’s just strong enough to block your shots.” She then grinned in satisfactory victory, leaving everyone twice as stunned as before. Cattia soon broke out of her surprise and slapped a hearty hand on her friend’s back; poor Sean was too amazed to really do anything.

“ ... How... ?” he croaked. “ ... How ... did you ... get ... such a powerful weapon?! Only somebody connected to the White Dove fleet could ever possess such a tool!! How did you--”

“It’s no big deal,” admitted Dana. “The Marshal of the fleet is my mother.”

“YOU?!?!” squeaked Sean in a voice that was beyond shocked. “You, you little punk ... YOU are related to...”

“Yeah, it’s nothing I brag about, usually...” shrugged Dana. Beads of sweat, as big as the ball of plasma previously shooting through the air, were now dripping down Sean’s face at a very fast speed. His face turned ashen with illness, and the Super-S Class Assassin actually took a step backwards.

“ ... I see,” he swallowed. “Well ... as skilled as I am ... and as much as my bosses pay me ... I’m smart enough to know better than to mess with such a power! Heh! I might even end up working for you ... But ... you’ll ah, forgive me if ... ahhh...”

“LEAVE!!!” snarled Dana, taking a sudden step forward with her baton in her hands. Sean scampered out of the place as fast as he possibly could, obviously uninterested in messing with the daughter of the White Dove Space Fleet’s Marshal. The decision he made might’ve put him in danger with Grady or Ilyich ... But there were some things worse than death.

Taking a deep, satisfactory breath, Dana hooked her baton in its sheath and dusted her hands off smugly. Cattia’s eyes were wide and sparkly, and her mouth yawned open in amazement. The elusive young lady nearly tackled Dana as she hugged her, and Tania almost did the same.

“That was so unbelievable!” exclaimed the blonde. “I can’t believe that you’re actually the daughter of the White Dove Space Fleet’s Marshal!! No wonder you were able to catch up with me so many times!!!” Dana smiled humbly and ruffled the bleached hair of her friend, all the while hiding a chuckle.

“Like I said, it’s nothing I really brag about,” she said. “Even Shift doesn’t know the whole story. He just thinks I’m the daughter of somebody important, and I guess that’s the truth, from a certain point of view.” Cattia’s eyes continued to sparkle like a child’s, and the scarred woman gave Dana a smile so pure and innocent that it made the older brunette grin back.

“ ... Whoo, boy ... Am I glad you’re on my side!!”

“No prob,” said Dana with a wink. “Now before you get all mushy on me, Cat, why don’t we go and see if we can’t capture us a dictator?” Cattia grinned and nodded her head in agreement, and together the two friends raced forward, now uninhibited from their pursuit.

Jerwon and Tania, still a little speechless, paused in silent contemplation before following them. It was best not to ask any further.

Having secured themselves in the base of the wealthy Lucius Natassti, Zet, Diana, and Greg took their time in searching through the place. Unlike the rustic hideout of Grady Dorina, Lucius lived in something even more grand and ornate than a mansion. The entire place literally stank of wealth, what with fine oriental carpeting beneath, and rich pain on the walls, and chandeliers above. If something had a yellowish tint to it, then it was probably gold, and not a bit of silver was in the place at all. Lucius lived in a palace, literally, and if the place were sold for top value, it would be able to support a small European country for a hundred years.

Zet never was much of a fan of rich people, because they were oftentimes snobbish and snooty, and here was where Diana heartily agreed. Greg, ever human in his method of thinking, suggested looting the place once Lucius was out of the picture--then declared that he had just told a joke, albeit a bland and unfunny one.

“We have more important things to worry about than the décor of this palace,” said Zet as he nervously fingered the large cannon set across his backside. “Our duty here is to find the whereabouts of Lucius Natassti, and to either eliminate him or else make an attempt to siphon out as much information as possible. Perhaps, though, we shall have the luxury to perform both.”

“I hope so,” shivered Greg as he walked through the splendid manor. “I never was a fan of rich people. My folks kept on tellin’ me that money doesn’t buy happiness, and sometimes I’m actually bright enough to agree with them. Of course, sometimes--”

“Ssh!” hissed Diana suddenly. “I hear somebody!” The three of them, never doubting the demi-human’s abilities, scrambled for a place to hide themselves, and were extremely lucky to pick out a spot. What Diana had heard was something that no living creature should have been able to see; indeed, the fierce beast was perhaps more than all three of them could handle.

Zet nearly let out a shocked curse as he recognized the monstrosity to be a Sepren, one of the deadliest species in the known universe. The gigantic reptilian abomination was at least ten feet high--over three meters--with a reddish skin color to its thick hide and a golden crest waving down its neck. The creature had a head like a dragon, but with the silvery membrane of wings belonging to bats (and not the scaly wings of dragons or other flying reptiles), and the body of a serpent. Its tail had a sword-like blade for a tip, and the whole entire of its body was massive with muscle. Needless to say, the creature was a terror to behold.

“(I know this Sepren!)” whispered Diana (Greg subtly noted that she did not call it a freak or a monster, as he most certainly might have). “(Yes! Yes! Zatore, does she look familiar to you?)”

“(Did I hear you correctly?)” whispered Zet. “(Did you say that this ... creature was a she? How is it that you can tell?)”

“(It’s a girl thing, )” stated the demi-human flatly. “(Anyway, if I’m not mistaken, this was the same Sepren that started that fight with the Vlishg’noth. You know, that time we were around that tavern? Well, I think that this is the same Sepren!)”

“(What’s going on?)” whispered Greg. Diana wanted to give him a sour look, but since his question was completely genuine, there was no reason to get irritated.

“(To make a long story short, Zatore and I more or less ran into this Sepren back when Cattia asked us to split up. She indirectly saved our lives, so believe it or not, I’m actually grateful.)” Greg’s face paled to the point of being completely white; Zet, however, nearly gave their position away as he yelped out.

“(Ah!! Now I know where I have seen this one! Yes, yes! I recognize that golden crest on the back of her neck! But ... why do you suppose such a creature is wandering around the mansion of Lucius Natassti?)” A pause. Diana actually considered the question before replying.

“(No idea, )” she muttered. “(The good news is that her sense of hearing is not very acute, so she won’t hear us if we whisper. But her sense of touch and smell are astounding; she’ll feel the vibrations we make if we move too suddenly, and no offense, but both of you guys and myself will give off very distinct odors.)”

“(So why hasn’t she found us yet?)” hissed Greg. “(Can’t she smell us from where she is?)”

“(If you haven’t noticed, the whole place is drowned in sweet-smelling perfumes and incenses, )” answered Diana. “(All that is masking our own scent. We’re okay for now, so long as we don’t make any sudden moves. But take one look at her and honestly tell me that you’d like to fight her.)”

“(No thanks, )” muttered Greg without missing a beat. “(I like living.)”

“(As do I, )” said Zet, “(but there is still the question of why she is wandering around here. I suppose I shall have to ask Mr. Natassti himself about that!)” And so, with little else to do except watch and pray, the three of them sat carefully behind their hiding places, and observed the Sepren wander around. They had been situated in such a place where it was difficult to spot them, yet they could view the visible world with little problem. To their great fortune, the female Sepren did little except pace around (or slither, since she really had no legs), as if she were patrolling the hallways.

It was a pretty horrifying experience, just sitting there and watching this great beast mill around aimlessly. If any of the three made a sudden move, the Sepren would immediately know where they were and would most likely do something indescribably nasty to them. Worse still, it didn’t look like it was going to move outside of its range, which meant that it was blocking all access to the rest of the manor. Diana, Gregory, and Zet were stuck in the worst possible predicament, and only one thing could make it even worse.

Greg sneezed.

“Oh, crap!” he hissed after the involuntary reflex. He had ruined his day once before by sneezing at the wrong time, but the last time something like that had happened, he was with Dana, and he had been dealing with a mere human. Now, though, he may have been teamed up with an elf bounty hunter/bodyguard, and an escaped member of a fanatical cult of mages who was also a demi-human, but he was also up against a Sepren, which was by far worse than any human being.

The creature immediately bolted around, issuing out a snort as all of its senses flared up: its eyes widened, its nostrils flew open, its forked tongue lashed in the air, its body crouched low to the ground to detect vibrations, and two dragon-like ears pricked up. With a low snarl, it slowly slithered forward towards the origin of the sneeze, making Gregory’s pale face turn white as milk. Both Zet and Diana, who could forgive their human friend for sneezing and maybe even accidentally revealing their location, were equally as pale and perhaps twice as frantic. Diana was possibly the most powerful of them all, yet even with Zet and Greg at her side, she really had no hope of fighting a Sepren.

Suddenly, the creature stopped, and stood up to its full height as it leered over the trio. Having spotted them, it issued out another growl, and bared a mouth full of venomous fangs. Deciding that, since their location was now known, the three travelers emerged and figured they had a better chance of fighting than just being destroyed right then and there. However, if the beast had any intention of battling them, it certainly didn’t show it--or, if it did, it displayed it in a very unusual fashion.

“Hai didn’t expect to seeh vhisitors hin such a place,” it said, in an unusually breezy and feminine voice. The trio below her nearly balked from the surprise. “Tell me, hhumans, whhy har hyou hhere?”

“Oh, man...” moaned Greg. “We’re so totally fried! I ... I don’t believe this!”