Darkness swallowed the transport.
For half a second, no one moved.
Then Johanna drew her weapon.
"Contact!"
The emergency lights flickered to life.
Red illumination washed across the shuttle's interior.
The attendants froze.
Johanna turned toward the rear of the transport.
The smiling attendant was gone.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Where is he?"
No one answered.
Then someone screamed.
Johanna spun around.
One of the attendants had collapsed against the wall.
Blood stained his uniform.
The others scattered.
"Everyone down!"
Johanna moved forward, weapon raised.
She had protected Isolde since childhood.
She had fought pirates, rebels, assassins, and more than one ambitious noble who had believed kidnapping the princess would improve his political position.
But something about this felt different.
This wasn't an attack born of opportunity.
Someone had planned it.
Someone had known exactly where Isolde would be.
And someone had infiltrated her staff.
The emergency lights flickered again.
Johanna saw movement.
She fired.
The figure disappeared behind a row of seats.
"Stop firing!" one of the attendants shouted. "You could hit someone!"
Johanna ignored him.
A body rolled into the aisle.
Johanna recognized the face.
It was the same man who had been standing beside the teleportation controls aboard the jumpship.
The one who had claimed he was trying to restore the connection.
Johanna approached carefully.
He was still alive.
Barely.
She grabbed him by the collar.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled.
Even as blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
"You're too late."
Johanna tightened her grip.
"Too late for what?"
The man's eyes shifted toward the cockpit.
Johanna's blood went cold.
She released him and turned.
"Pilot!"
No answer.
"PILOT!"
The shuttle suddenly tilted.
Everyone screamed.
Warning alarms erupted throughout the transport.
AUTOMATIC PILOT OVERRIDE ENGAGED.
Johanna ran toward the cockpit.
The door was locked.
She raised her weapon and fired into the control panel.
The door slid open.
The cockpit was empty.
The controls were moving on their own.
Johanna stared at the display.
Their destination had changed.
They were no longer heading toward the princess.
The shuttle was accelerating toward the far side of the city.
Johanna's face hardened.
Someone had separated them.
Deliberately.
"Brace for impact!"
Planetside
Dinraal moved quickly through the corridors.
Behind him, Isolde and Claire struggled to keep pace.
"I would like to point out," Isolde said, "that I was perfectly safe before you arrived."
Dinraal didn't look back.
"You were about to be kidnapped."
"Yes."
"By me."
"Exactly."
Dinraal stopped.
Isolde nearly ran into him.
Claire sighed.
"Please."
Both of them looked at her.
"Can we save this conversation for after we escape the army of unknown attackers?"
Dinraal raised a finger.
"I wasn't finished."
Claire stared at him.
He lowered it.
"Fine."
He activated his HUD.
A three-dimensional map appeared before him.
Red markers covered the surrounding area.
Dinraal frowned.
"That's impossible."
Isolde stepped closer.
"What?"
"There are too many."
Claire looked at the display.
"How many?"
Dinraal hesitated.
"Thirty-six."
Claire's face paled.
"Inside the building?"
Dinraal shook his head.
"Thirty-six that my HUD can detect."
The implication settled over them.
Isolde slowly reached for her rapier.
"So what's the plan?"
Dinraal looked at her.
"You and Claire are going to get somewhere safe."
Isolde immediately shook her head.
"No."
Dinraal blinked.
"No?"
"No."
"That's not how this works."
"Apparently, it is now."
Claire looked between them.
"I hate to interrupt, but I believe the hostiles are getting closer."
Dinraal glanced toward the corridor.
Then back at Isolde.
"Stay behind me."
Isolde smiled.
"Fine."
He turned and began walking.
Isolde immediately moved beside him.
Dinraal stopped.
She looked at him innocently.
"What?"
"I said behind me."
"And I heard you."
"Then why aren't you behind me?"
"Because I disagree."
Claire quietly stepped between them.
"You're both going to get us killed."
A sound echoed through the corridor.
Metal scraping against metal.
Dinraal raised his revolvers.
Isolde drew her rapier.
Claire took cover behind the corner.
The sound stopped.
Silence.
Dinraal slowly lowered one weapon.
Then the ceiling exploded.
A dark figure crashed into the corridor.
Dinraal fired twice.
The attacker moved faster than he expected.
Both rounds missed.
The stranger lunged.
Dinraal barely had time to move.
A blade passed through the air where his neck had been.
Isolde attacked.
Her rapier flashed.
The attacker twisted away.
Too fast.
Dinraal narrowed his eyes.
Enhanced.
He fired again.
The attacker raised an arm.
The bullet struck the armor.
Sparks erupted.
But the figure didn't fall.
Claire fired from behind them.
The attacker turned toward her.
Dinraal saw the opening.
He moved.
One moment, he was several feet away.
The next, he was directly in front of the attacker.
His fist struck the stranger's helmet.
The impact sent the figure crashing into the wall.
Dinraal grabbed the helmet.
The attacker fought back.
They crashed through a nearby door.
Isolde followed.
"Din!"
The attacker threw Dinraal across the room.
He hit the ground and rolled.
Isolde entered.
Her blade pierced toward the attacker's chest.
The stranger caught the rapier.
Isolde's eyes widened.
Dinraal rose behind him.
"Let go."
The attacker turned.
Dinraal's revolver was pressed against the side of his helmet.
The stranger froze.
For a moment.
Then he laughed.
Dinraal frowned.
The attacker released Isolde's blade.
"Interesting."
The voice was distorted.
But undeniably intelligent.
Dinraal tightened his grip.
"Who are you?"
The attacker tilted his head.
"I was hoping you could answer that."
Dinraal's finger tightened against the trigger.
"What?"
The stranger looked directly at him.
"Tell me, Silver Prince."
Dinraal froze.
The attacker smiled beneath his helmet.
"How does it feel to finally learn the truth about your father?"
The room went silent.
Isolde looked toward Dinraal.
Claire stepped into the doorway.
Dinraal's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know about that?"
The attacker didn't answer.
Instead, he raised one hand.
A small device blinked between his fingers.
Dinraal recognized it too late.
"DOWN!"
The explosion threw all of them backward.
Smoke filled the room.
Dinraal's ears rang.
For several seconds, he couldn't see anything.
Then his HUD flickered back to life.
WARNING: MULTIPLE LIFE SIGNS APPROACHING.
Dinraal forced himself upright.
"Isolde!"
"I'm fine!"
Her voice came from somewhere nearby.
"Claire?"
"Also fine!"
Dinraal exhaled.
Then he looked toward the center of the room.
The attacker was gone.
Only the destroyed remains of the wall remained.
Isolde approached him.
"He knew who you were."
Dinraal's expression darkened.
"Yes."
"And he knew about King Bahamut."
Dinraal slowly holstered his weapon.
"That means this wasn't an attack of opportunity."
Claire stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
Dinraal stared toward the hole where the attacker had escaped.
"It means they knew I was coming."
The Far Side of the City
Johanna fought the controls.
The shuttle refused to respond.
The city rushed toward them.
Buildings grew larger in the viewport.
"Pull up!"
Nothing happened.
Johanna grabbed the manual override.
The controls resisted.
She pulled harder.
A warning flashed across the display.
MANUAL CONTROL DENIED.
Johanna growled.
"Fine."
She reached beneath the control panel.
One of the attendants stared at her.
"What are you doing?"
"Something the engineers are going to hate."
She ripped open the panel.
Sparks erupted.
The shuttle shook violently.
Then the engines changed pitch.
Johanna smiled.
"Got you."
The shuttle began to turn.
Not enough.
But enough to avoid the nearest buildings.
The transport descended rapidly.
Johanna grabbed the nearest support.
"EVERYONE HOLD ON!"
The shuttle crashed through the roof of an abandoned structure.
Metal screamed.
The transport skidded across the floor.
Then stopped.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Johanna slowly opened her eyes.
She was alive.
Groans filled the shuttle.
The attendants began checking themselves and one another.
Johanna turned toward the rear of the transport.
The infiltrator's body was gone.
Her hand tightened around her weapon.
"Of course."
She stood.
"Everyone who can walk, grab a weapon."
The attendants stared at her.
Johanna checked the display.
They were nearly three kilometers from the princess's location.
Between them and Isolde was a city under attack.
Johanna looked toward the exit.
"Princess."
She stepped forward.
"We're still coming."