1:3:8 Retrieval (Part 4)

They had prepared for a riot but found themselves instead woefully underprepared for the calm and still. All of the extra gear strapped to and inside of their exoskeletons rattled and rumbled like a drawer of knives as they tried to run so to maintain cover, they walked. Their speed didn’t matter in the end as they managed to leave the village with nary a feather ruffled; they soon reached a point that was a good enough distance away from the village to teleport back to their staging area. Lore’s ship idled behind them; they opened the landing ramp and brought the stone aboard.
“We’ll need to find something to properly secure it.” Lore hesitated to put it down, given its weight or lack thereof.
Crait vanished into one of the cupboards. They returned with a small bag. “I know you don’t like them but they may finally get some use.” Crait winked. “More use than that one night.” Crait removed a series of leather straps and began binding the stone to the wall of the ship. There was more to the memory but Lore woke up.

Years and years had been forced into their head and they were nearly lost in their creator’s past but something finally snapped them to reality. Crait was still snuggling them and they knew that there was nothing they could do without alerting them. Lore could only lie there, waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the right moment.

To say the bridge was spartan would be an understatement. Apart from them, it was empty; no seating, no tables, just a viewscreen and a single console. There wasn’t even a discernible door to access it. While they were still alone, Destiny ran for the console.
“The camera feeds have already been disabled…” She was already on edge but now more so. She extended her middle finger and shaped into a tool that could interface with the console. She slithered through the computer, looking for a physical point of weakness as she tried to hack her way through its cyber security with her free hand. Using her macrocomps, she bridged a gap between two circuits allowing her entry to the ships full functions. The ships chronometric sensors told her that someone was going to be Breaching in soon so she quickly opened a channel to The Destiny on the planet below before exiting the console.
Precisely on cue, Reid returned. Her smile hadn’t. “Well… What are we going to do with you?” She shook her head.
“What did Crait say?” Destiny countered.
“That you are Lore’s compatriots. I suppose I knew something was off but at least this way I get you all to myself.” That thought brought back her smile.
“You don’t have to.” Destiny looked at her crew as she walked back to join them. They formed something of a wall between her and Reid. “If you don’t want to.” Destiny was trying to spare Reid for humiliation. Five against one was hardly a fair fight.
“Oh…” Reid nodded. “But we want to.” A second Reid had appeared behind Destiny unbeknownst to any of them and struck. Her sword made it through a centimetre of Destiny’s ‘flesh’ before she could move herself from the blade’s path. The first Reid vanished and her doppelganger followed suit soon after. The five of them regrouped and formed a circle, backs to the centre. Midpoint took a shot and soon realised why Reid had used a sword. A firework of sparks rocketed from the wall blinding all but Reid. The destroyed conduits were bypassed quickly. Lesson learnt, the clones switched to their melee weapons. Reid flittered and fluttered around the room, never stopping for long enough for the clones to properly register her presence. The barren bridge soon became a forest dense with Reids; she seemed to be everywhere. The clone’s numerical advantage had been a fallacy to begin with but now, it had been overwhelmingly lost to the single combatant. The Reids used their numbers to distract their targets, striking from behind themselves and retreating into their human foliage. With each attack, the clone’s circle widened until the Reids had separated the five into the four corners of the bridge, leaving Destiny alone in the centre. With their separation completed, the Reids vanished leaving only a singular Reid standing by Destiny’s side.
“That’s better then.” Reid exhaled. “Now then, let’s do this properly. One at a time, then you can try all at once. Who’s first?” Reid returned her sword to its sheath which promptly folded itself neatly into her belt.
Destiny looked to the clones. She nodded to Curve but as she took her first step, Midpoint cantered.
“Go on then.” Midpoint thrust Destiny to his corner.
“Now this will be interesting.” Reid waited until Destiny was definitely in the corner before erecting an energy barrier, separating her and the clones from the combatants. Destiny and her fellow trapped compatriots sidled across the wall from their various corners toward the middle of the room. Midpoint and Reid waited for them before they began. Quickly, Destiny tore the tips from the fingers on her left hand. She held the three fleshy digit segments for a moment before rearranging them into wearable earpieces for the others.
“Put these in. She’s got an advantage for now but the next one of us to go in has three extra pairs of eyes to help beat her strategy.” Destiny was optimistic she’d have time to think of a proper counter strategy but time she wasn’t sure she had. Reid vanished.

Midpoint stood alone in the centre. He withdrew his baton. Flashes of Reid span around him; never attacking and never stopping. When she did eventually stop, she appeared battered and bruised. Reid faltered as she hobbled over to him. Midpoint hesitated before lowering his weapon. His attack pose fell into a subtle defensive stance. She feigned a trip. While falling, she whipped her blade from its tin can like scabbard before it could unfurl and drove it toward Midpoint’s throat. He was able to parry it effectively. Then, again, she vanished. Instead of flickering around, she reappeared suddenly, sopping wet and unharmed. Reid lunged, one hand behind her back. They fought as equals much to Midpoint’s confusion, blocking one another’s strikes in a seemingly premeditated scene. Each strike chipped away at his baton; at first, the damage was negligible but it quickly became a problem. His non-lethal, blunt, weapon became a semi-lethal, spiked weapon, with a sound like broken bone. Midpoint changed his tactic with his changed weapon. His defensive stance and almost drunken sword fighting transitioned through a riposte into an elegant, if heavy, fencing pose. He scuttled like an angry crab at the still present Reid. It was as if they were two totally fighters. Reid conceded two hits with one nearly drawing blood.
“Better?” Reid wasn’t even phased.
Midpoint roared as he thrust forward. Reid simply sidestepped out of the way. He kept trying but she just kept nonchalantly moving out of the way. Each attack drained him but not her. As he slowed, her movements became more obvious; she flickered then waited until the last moment before making her move. Midpoint retreated to catch his breath. He was given two seconds to breathe before his body flew through the energy barrier, slamming against the bridge wall; Reid stood at the centre of the room, catching her own breath after her knockout blow. She had taken her Breacher and tossed herself off of a cliff. She allowed herself to reach terminal velocity before assuming her pose and ensuring that she’d arrive in the right orientation. Returning to the bridge, she slammed into Midpoint, travelling with him until he hit the wall and she Breached away. After allowing herself to slow to a stop safely in an ocean on a planet lightyears and centuries away, she returned and waited.

Curve went next. She passed through the barrier and stood before Reid. She tapped her earpiece twice cuing the music. She didn’t even say anything, she just thrust both of her fists forward, towards the ground. As if growing from her armour, two gauntlet mounted, katar like shields formed as her fist made contact with Reid’s face. Destiny pumped her fist then smacked it into the wall. Reid vanished but a voice in Curve’s ear told her where to look. Curve followed that voice, dancing on Reid’s heels but never stepping on them. Reid landed a few hits but not without cost as Curve added to her initial strike, following it with a series of jabs to her torso. Winded, Reid realised her error; she backed away before jumping back into the fray. The voice was no longer of any use, simply providing support and motivation rather than useful tactical insights. While Reid’s Breacher based advantage had been easily turned against her, in a fair fight, they were more evenly matched. Curve was fighting with good form but her lack of experience with fighting humanoids was beginning to show.
“Come over here.” The voice whispered. Curve pushed herself off of Reid, propelling herself to the edge of the barrier. Destiny detached her hand, leaving it in the wall while using her other hand to grab at Curve’s shoulder. Destiny dissolved into her. Macrocomps crossed Curve’s face, forming a mask; every piece of data Destiny had access to was now flashing before her eyes. All of Reid’s possible attacks and movements were shown at once as digital spectres. Tendrils of metal whipped at Reid as Curve attempted to defend from her onslaught. Somehow, regardless of the sheer number of moving parts, Reid’s focus remained true. One lucky strike saw a disoriented and overstimulated Curve on the floor. Reid kicked her out of the arena and waited for her next foe. Destiny retracted herself into the gaps in Curve’s armour before messaging her ‘conscious’ to The Destiny.
A notification pinged to Reid’s Breacher. “Now isn’t that a shame.” She shook her head. “That was fun. I doubt either of you could top that so I guess it’s time to end this.”

Crait appeared. They looked at the weary clones and sighed. Wordlessly, they drew their sword from their back and took it into their hands by its blade. The energy field fell and the remaining clones attacked in unison. And in unison they fell. Crait dodged both of their attacks with ease before striking them both with the hilt of their sword. Unconscious, they fell. Ascension.