Second Quadrant

Cairo-3998 aka Planet Challenger

Daring City - Outskirts

Ubik took a quick look around to get his bearings.

They were still inside the dome that housed Daring City, but they were somewhere on the fringe, beyond the buildings and the arenas where visitors were probably still enjoying themselves.

The open ground here was rocky and uneven, not yet developed into a money-making enterprise of some sort or others, as would be expected of someone like Boss Glosso. But then again, perhaps a derelict piece of land had other uses it could be put to.

Thirty men bristled with anticipation, ready to charge forward at any moment. But they were waiting for the order. No one dared to act without their boss’ permission, it seemed.

Ubik wasn’t surprised to see Boss Glosso and his men waiting for them. He had expected him to be here.

Ubik was more than familiar with his type — the small man who had no advantage of birth, no family connections to trade off of, who rose to prominence through sheer grit and determination, and the occasional murder.

The moment he had first met him, Ubik knew this was a man who staked his claim and then ruthlessly protected it.

Such men thrived in out of the way places where they wouldn’t be disturbed by others of his kind, where they could do as they pleased. To have control of even a small kingdom still made you a king.

There was no way this kind of man had allowed them access to his prized hunting ground without making sure he had a way to track them. He wasn’t the sort to rely on someone’s word. And he certainly wouldn’t expect anyone to rely on his.

It would have been better to sneak away quietly, of course, but realistically, that had never been an option. And in any case, it was better to settle matters here and now, away from prying eyes.

“Did you know they were going to be here?” said PT, in an accusatory tone.

“I’m as surprised as you are,” said Ubik.

PT looked at him disbelievingly and then turned his attention to the waiting throng of mercenaries who were practically licking their lips.

“You found that in my Dungeon,” said Boss Glosso, “so it is my property.”

Everyone was looking at the pink limb in PT’s hand, not really sure what it was but certain it would be worth a lot more than the lives of the three young men in possession of it.

They should have just rushed the three of them as soon as they climbed out of the ground and taken what they wanted, but they were wary of what they had found on the fifth level, and what power it contained.

Items found deep inside Antecessor sites tended to be strong. Lethal, in many cases. Ubik was glad it was in PT’s hands, because that would be where they aimed their first assault.

“How did you know we’d be here?” said PT, using their hesitation to size up the situation. Ubik was looking forward to seeing how he would handle this.

“That is of no concern,” said Boss Glosso. “If you refuse to cooperate, then please forgive me for being impolite. If you don’t mind doing the honours, Captain Jansen.”

One of his men stepped forward. He was the tall man from the Merchant Corporation who PT had injured. He looked back to full health now, and quite energetic.

“Hand it over,” he growled. “Whatever that thing is, it belongs to us, now. What is it, an arm? Wait, is that an Antecessor’s arm? Is that what they looked like?”

A murmur of interest rose from behind him.

“Too scared to say anything, huh? Never mind, we’ll find out soon enough. Give it to me and I’ll make sure to only beat you half to death, how’s that? But I’m also fine with you not wanting to. I’d prefer it that way, actually. You won’t get lucky a second time.”

PT turned back towards Ubik, about to say something, when Fig tapped him on the shoulder.

“It’s him,” said Fig, pointing at one of the guards beside Boss Glosso. He was the guard that had entered the fifth level with them. “He must have put some kind of tracer on us. That’s why Ubik wanted him left alive. He wanted us to end up here like this.”

Ubik was mildly outraged. Fig had no definitive evidence for his baseless accusations, he was just guessing based on past experience and logic. Mere speculation. Simply assuming the worst about someone was tantamount to slander, even if he was correct.

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” said PT. “He planned it, so he can deal with it.” He pointed the arm at the tall man. “If you want this, you’ll have to fight him.” He swung the arm around to point at Ubik.

“Don’t you think you owe him a rematch?” said Ubik. “You did take him by surprise last time.” He looked over at the tall man for confirmation.

“See? Even your friend agrees.” The tall man looked back at the crowd as though attempting to convince them that his loss had been a fluke.

Here was the perfect moment for sucker-punch number two.

But PT did not take the opportunity.

“You wanted them here, you deal with them,” said PT, taking a step back so that he was level with Ubik.

“You obviously arranged this,” said Fig, joining PT. “Boss Glosso won’t have told anyone else about this because he doesn’t want to share anything we might have found, so if we take care of them here, where no one can see us, we’ll be able to leave with a decent head start. That’s your plan, isn’t it?”

“Sounds about right,” said PT. “He lets us do the fighting, mops up at the end. But still, I think we’re missing something…”

“Hey, are you going to fight me or not?” shouted the tall man, his eyes glowing for an instant and then powering down.

Ubik could tell this wasn’t going to work. The tall man, for all his bravado, was scared. He knew better than anyone how easily he’d been taken down last time, and there was no reason to believe this time would be different.

He was waiting for a better opportunity, overcompensating by being as defensive as possible. Most likely, he had arranged with some of the others to attack as soon as PT made a move to try and catch him off guard. But PT wasn’t making a move.

And Boss Glosso was just watching. He was the dangerous one here.

“There’s got to be another reason he let them all gather here like this,” said PT. “Something more than a head-on fight.”

“He’s worried about Boss Glosso?” said Fig. “Maybe he’s probably got something extra up his sleeve for after this attack fails. Another team in reserve?”

The mercenaries had quietened down a little as they listened to Fig and PT share their thoughts.

“Hmm,” said PT. “Could be. How do you think they tracked us here? How did those two even get out after we left them wrapped up? The walls don’t open for them.”

“This is really fascinating, guys,” said Ubik, “but don’t you think it would be better to figure this out afterwards?”

“This is your fight,” reiterated PT.

“Captain Jansen,” said Boss Glosso. “Kill the small one. He does not have an organic.”

This information seemed to please Jansen. He switched his focus to Ubik, his eyes glowing.

“This is so unfair,” said Ubik. “Look how many of them there are. And they’re all massive. And I don’t even have an organic.”

Ubik was fine with taking care of them himself. It just meant the other two would be left to handle whatever came next. If that’s the way they wanted it, who was he to refuse?

This clearly was not the main force.

No one would start off showing their real strength.

This was just the warm-up.

“Here,” said PT, holding out the arm. “You can use this if you want.”

Ubik looked at the arm disdainfully. What good was that going to do here?

“Watch out,” shouted someone from behind the tall man. “It’s probably a weapon.”

“Don’t worry, Captain, we’ll keep you boosted,” called out someone else.

They were all ready to support him. From behind.

“They’re getting rowdy,” said PT. “You should probably make your move before they get organised.”

“Fine,” said Ubik. “We’ll do this your way. But just so we’re clear, this was your idea.”

Ubik took out a silver ball from the pouch on his belt. It just about fit in his palm. It was what the Antecessors had given him when he explained his plan to go through the first three levels of the site without alerting anyone of their true purpose. This ball would have enabled them to quickly defeat all the droids.

But Ubik never intended to go through the first three levels, it was just a convenient way to get them to give him their technology. It would have come in useful at some point in the future, he thought. He didn’t really want to use it here, but he had no choice.

Ubik held up the ball. “Here.”

“What’s that?” said Jansen. “A grenade? A bomb? That sort of thing won’t work on me.”

Ubik didn’t doubt it. With their suits and organics, a simple explosive would have no effect. But this wasn’t a grenade or a bomb.

Ubik tossed the ball lightly into the air. It rose up and then stopped, floating.

Thin beams of white light shot out of it, no brighter than sunlight. Each beam struck someone, leaving a dot on their foreheads.

Helmets slammed down and suits automatically went into defence mode, ready for the attack.

But then the ball fell back into Ubik’s hand.

“What did you—” PT didn’t get any further.

The ball in Ubik’s fist vapourised.

Each man that had been targeted snapped back his head like he’d been shot.

A silver skin spread out over the surface of their helmets and was absorbed into the suit.

A moment later they all fell to the ground, not moving.

“Did you just kill everyone?” asked Fig.

“No,” said Ubik. “I don’t think so.”

Boss Glosso was the only one left standing, a shield surrounding him was now visible because of the splattered silver liquid now smeared across it.

“Where did you get that?” he demanded.

“Yeah, where?” said PT, sounding just as irate as Boss Glosso.

“They gave you that?” asked Fig.

“Why did they give you that?” said PT.

“How does it work?” said Boss Glosso. His interest was more businesslike.

“Yeah, answer the man,” said PT.

Ubik was a little overwhelmed by the barrage from all sides.

“And why have you left him alive?” asked PT.

“He had some kind of shield,” said Ubik.

“So you’re just going to leave him?” said PT.

“No,” said Ubik. “We’re going to wait for him to attack us.”

“Alone?” said Fig. “Is he really that powerful?”

“I don’t know,” said Ubik. “I’m just going off how confident he looks.”

Boss Glosso did look confident. Not once had he shown any sign of doubt that he was in control here.

“Don’t you think it would be better if you surrendered that arm to me and went on your way?” said Boss Glosso. “If you stay here much longer, all those people looking for you are going to eventually turn up, don’t you think?”

“Does he know who we are?” said Fig.

“Looks like it,” said PT. “I knew it was a bad idea coming here. We should have waited.”

“He hasn’t called anyone,” said Ubik. “He wouldn’t risk letting any of them come here and take away everything he’s worked so hard for. Isn’t that right, Boss Glosso?”

“He knows,” said PT. “Even if we get off this planet, he’s going to tell them where we are.”

“It doesn’t matter if he knows,” said Ubik. “He’s one of those people who need others to do his dirty work for him. We can deal with him on his own.”

“You boys should surrender yourselves to me now,” said Boss Glosso. “You’ve broken many of our rules, but I’m willing to let that go if you pass me that arm and whatever that silver ball was.”

“He does seem very sure of himself,” said Fig.

“But his men are all dead,” said PT.

“They aren’t dead,” said Ubik. “They’re just short-circuited. They can’t move or think.”

“Or breathe,” said PT. “That’s what dead means.”

“I can’t see any life signs from them,” said Fig.

“I’m telling you, they’re fine.

Boss Glosso’s eyes lit up. They were an eerie green colour. “Very well. I see I have no choice.”

The men lying on the ground began to twitch and move.

They slowly got up, their movements unnatural and jerky.

“I told you they weren’t dead,” said Ubik.