Legacy of the Anari

by Ashleigh Blayze

Chapter 12

The Eckt have escaped Yasm, but Ashai still remains with a score to settle and anger seething. Who will be next?

******

Ashai approached another Docking Bay, this one busy and with obvious gang members on guard with carbines. Key noted the weaponry and Ashai kept a wary eye out. When she got 10 metres from the nearest guard, a large Togan turned and walked across to her.

“You want to meet the boss human?”

Ashai nodded.

“Drop the cannons.”

Ashai smirked, “Just how dumb do you think I am Krayt? Not gonna happen. You boys can have as many guns as you want, I’m not planning on killing anyone, but you’re not getting my guns.”

The Togan gave a guttural grunting sound Ashai knew was laughter.

“Boss say to try. He not bothered. Wants to know why he shouldn’t just kill you for trespassing on Krayt turf.”

“Well, for one I've information your boss really wants to have, about the Reivers,”

The Togan look a bit more interested at the mention of their rivals.

“For two, you don’t have enough weapons or fighters here to kill me, and if anyone tries I'll give you a bloodbath. I’m perfectly happy to kill gangers as well as Sec Bur troopers.”

Ashai stayed outwardly relaxed but she was keyed up, waiting for a response. This could go two ways. If the Krayt Boss was curious enough about her mention of the Reivers then things would be fine. Otherwise the fight would be very one sided. The Krayt weren't heavily armed and only had limited armour. Ashai doubted she would even need the micro grenades she'd palmed, and already had her first half dozen targets chosen based on their species, location and weaponry.

The Togan walked back into the crowd, talking on his comm, while the Krayt guards and Ashai watched each other. A few minutes later it returned.

“Walk on up the tunnel human. These two will escort you. The Boss says he wants to talk about the Reivers so you have safe conduct. You will be met.”

***

Delta squad approached the pad with the armoured mechanical forms of the droids bracketing them. The foreman and his crew of warehouse labourers saw them in the distance and rapidly concluded that sending a Sec Bur squad further down the tunnel to the Krayts was liable to be bad for their health. So when the squad leader walked up and asked if anyone had come past recently, the group collectively assured them that no one had. After reporting in and updating Brax, the squad was ordered to return to the transfer terminal. Brax was relieved Lennox was gone. He was well aware that the Krayt actually ruled further down the tunnel, and with depleted resources he didn’t want to start another fight looking for the human.

***

Ashai was escorted along the tunnel, which hummed with activity. She was taken down a connecting maintenance tunnel and led through a warren of connecting passageways, spotting numerous booby traps and guessed this was the first layer of the Krayt’s defences, designed to confuse trap and kill attackers. She knew the Krayt would feel they had the upper hand, that she would be disorientated when she spoke with their boss. With Key mapping the route as they went that wasn’t going to be a problem. Eventually she was brought into a large chamber that looked like it had been converted from a machinery room into a control bunker, with wall screens, comp terminals and comms equipment as well as Krayt moving busily around. Ashai could immediately tell who the Boss was.

The head Krayt was a Togan, but he was at least a metre larger than any of the other Krayt around him. The Togan moved with surprising dexterity amongst his gang, directing operations with quiet intensity. Ashai was surprised by the purposeful direction amongst the gang. Her escorts calmly waited for their leader to finish giving his instructions before bringing her to his attention.
The Togan turned and studied her for a long moment, assessing with intelligent dark eyes. Finally he grunted and gestured to a separate room with a desk and chairs, inviting her to enter. With a last look around this surprising place Ashai walked in. The Togan followed and sat himself at his immense desk, sized to fit an alien 3.5m tall and weighing over 300kg.

“You have information, and you want to trade Human. You are the Human Ashai Lennox that Grinder wants, correct? You call me Shatrtick. You have killed his Cobalts, why should I not hand you to him and take his reward?”

“I didn’t think Space Port gangs cared what Slum dwellers want?” Ashai mused.

The Togan grunted his laughter. “True Human, Grinder has nothing that I need or want. What do you have I want?”

“You have an impressive operation here Shatrtick. Not what I expected I must admit. Organised. It must be galling for you to have to rely on that organisation to keep parity against the Reivers.”

The Togan snorted his irritation, but grudgingly nodded his agreement.

“The Reivers are thugs, terrorists, extortionists. They are brutal, feared, and have numbers to spare. I am a businessman. This is my business. What do you offer for trade?

“I can give you the Reivers.”

“You? And what do you want for such a bold claim?”

“Simple, you’re business is import and export yes? Smuggling, in other words. I want you to smuggle me into the Slums so I can kill Grinder, and then I want you to smuggle me on a ship off Yasm and out of Korkari space.”

“What you want is relatively easy for me Human. I think what you want is very difficult for you to deliver. I want proof you can do this thing.”

“I suppose that’s fair. Okay Shatrtick I'll give you this present as proof. Send a group down the access tunnel. You'll find your present and proof 200m from the far end. Send them in a vehicle which has space for cargo. Tell them to salvage whatever's useful, but do it quickly, you have a small window of opportunity.”

The big Togan gazed at her impassively for a second before calling one of his Lieutenants, and giving rapid orders. The Lieutenant looked at her before hurrying out. Shatrtick suggested they move back out of the office so he could watch over the rapid reconnaissance he had ordered. A few minutes later Ashai was surprised to see that one of the wall monitors changed to a camera image from a vehicle rapidly moving down the access tunnel. Shatrtick explained it was mounted on one of the Krayt’s hover cargo trucks.

The truck moved into the transfer terminal, completely ignored by Sec Bur guards, before moving through the heavy traffic and shortly down the empty tunnel to the Concourse. The truck travelled, the atmosphere becoming tense in the Krayt’s command centre. The silence broke as the first bodies came into view. Murmurs from the Krayt were silenced by Shatrtick, as the carnage came into view. There were no live Reivers in the tunnel, but bodies littered the ground.

The Krayt squad could be heard swearing and praying as they panned the camera around. Ashai watched long enough to see the dropped weapons and equipment hadn’t yet been salvaged by the Reivers, and turned to wait in the other room. She didn’t need to watch. Key could replay any part of the bloodbath for her if she wanted. She heard Shatrtick give orders to strip the dead of weapons and usable equipment, quietly and quickly, and ignored proceedings after that.

***

The Togan came back after almost an hour, sitting down quietly behind his desk. Shatrtick’s expression carefully schooled to be impassive. His group of Krayt had driven back with the truck loaded with a large haul of weapons and equipment, which they stripped off the dead Reivers. The weapons included autoguns, shotguns, flechette weaponry, grenade launchers, as well as power swords, combat mauls and other melee weapons. There was also a collection of armour that had been removed from the fallen Reivers. The recon group had reported a total of 23 dead Reivers in the access tunnel. Shatrtick wasn’t absolutely sure the human was responsible for the deaths, but his group had reported that the vast majority of the dead had blaster wounds. The two Makatov heavy blasters the human wore seemed unlikely to be coincidence. Which meant the human was a lot more dangerous than she appeared.

“What happened in the tunnel?”

“I was escorting two friends to their ship. The Reivers objected violently. Do you know how many Reivers Heti has?”

“Around 80 are known to be in the Reivers. So I would estimate, around 60 now.”

“Less than 50. I left another dozen dead before the tunnel. There was also a firefight in the concourse, but I don’t know who was in that.”

“So the Reivers are much weaker than before. The haul of weaponry has also strengthened our armory.”

“Don’t forget they have wounded as well Shatrtick, so their fighting strength is reduced, and their morale will be low.”

“Well Human I believe you’re capable of doing what you said. You've already put the Krayt in a much stronger position, a welcome gift.”

“Yeah well Shatrtick, I’m sure that is worth what I want.”

The Togan pondered for a second. “For what you’ve done so far, I will get you in and out of the Slums so you can settle your issues with Grinder. A flight off planet and out of Korkari space is more expensive. Settle up with Grinder and then finish off the Reivers and Heti and you have your ride, plus I will give you a bonus as well.”

“You want me to take on the rest of the Reivers single handed?” She was incredulous.

“I know my troops Human. They’re good in a fight, but as you say so bluntly we are smugglers, not soldiers. The Reivers are the worst of the thugs and killers that Heti could find. This is why I have to be organised. You've given me the best chance to break the Reivers in years, but to attack their base? I don’t have enough fighters to accept the losses, so yes it will be up to you. I don’t know if it’s possible but I didn’t think that the Reivers losing at least 35 of their soldiers in a single day was possible.

Ashai glared at the Togan, wondering if it was possible. “This bonus you mentioned, what is it?”

“Anything you can recover from the Reivers is yours, and in addition I will pay you 25000 creds when you bring me proof of Heti’s death.”

Ashai stared coldly at the big Togan, who managed to gaze impassively back at her. She knew she scared Shatrtick but she had to acknowledge his points. If Shatrtick wanted control then he needed the Reivers gone, but in such a way that he could secure the vital points they held without tipping off other gangs. If The Blue Hand got wind, then they would do their best to fill the power vacuum.

“So I’m an assassin already then.”

You do what you must Prime. At the moment you don’t have much to bargain with. The payment is a mere drop in the ocean to the funds you will need in the future, but it would significantly increase your resources.

“I know Key, this is the only option I have. I don’t know whether I’m more worried about the prospect of the fight, or the fact the idea of being paid to do this killing doesn’t actually disturb me that much.”

“Shatrtick, I have to kill something like 50 gangers and Heti to get my ride off Yasm, so it’s going to cost you more. As you said, what I want is fairly easy for you, while my job is very difficult. For a fair trade I think 150000 would be more appropriate.”

The Krayt leader grunted. While he hadn’t really expected the Human to agree to 25k, 150k was simply more than he could arrange at such short notice even though control of the Concourse access was worth much more.

“I can offer you 120000 creds Human, but that is all.” It would deplete almost all of his available funds but the rewards were huge. The human looked intently at him for a couple of seconds before nodding her understanding. “Agreed. 120000 it is.”

“Good. I will arrange to get you into the Slums tonight. Is there anything you need now?”

“Some food and drink would be welcome Shatrtick. I want to see what you salvaged from the tunnel, and I have some power packs that need charging. After that just some sleep.”

“I will have a meal sent to you shortly.”

The Togan left and went to make preparations. Ashai turned the chair around and watched the Krayt carrying on with their business, her thoughts elsewhere.

***

Getting back into the Slums had been ridiculously easy. The Krayts had simply loaded her into one of their trucks and driven her through the checkpoints. Well bribed on a regular basis the guards never even stopped the vehicle. A short drive through the evening traffic and they came to a halt, before the driver opened the smuggling compartment hidden under the truck’s floor and let her out. The driver stepped back as Ashai stepped out warily holding a Makatov ready. Looking around she could see she was in garage lockup. After checking the time with the driver, Ashai ensured the lock up was secure and then sat down and leant against the wall to wait for the middle of the night, her mind on memories of the Hive Mart and her dead friend.

As midnight approached Ashai slipped out of the lock up into the familiar streets at the Slums outskirts. Moving quickly she slipped through the shadows, having Hound reconfigure to the combat default but with a camouflage scheme of browns and greys. With her long coat left back in the truck, the camouflage pattern effectively disrupted her outline as she stalked unseen deeper into the Slums.

Ashai headed for one of the slum flop houses that served the Cobalts as a drug den and crash pad. There were several such places in the Slums, but this was one of the smaller ones, and should be easier to deal with. She wanted a prisoner she could find Grinder’s location from, and a small den would be easier to deal with. Getting there took 10 uneventful minutes, and as she slipped into the pitch darkness of the filthy alley beside the house, Hound helpfully adjusted her vision so she could see almost normally. The flop house had a double door at the front and a side door she was crouched beside. There was no sound nearby or from behind the door so very carefully she tested the door's handle. It was locked and mostly likely barred as well, it didn't look like a quiet entry was going to be possible. With a shrug she drew the Di Kat with her right hand, the blade singing softly as it slid from the sheath, and with her left hand aimed the Makatov and fired, obliterating the door lock before sending the door crashing inwards with a solid kick, and gliding forwards into the darkness that didn't slow her at all.

The room was a dirty empty kitchen, and Ashai was through the next doorway into a dark hallway before the flop house erupted into noise in response to her blaster fire. Hound began plotting the noise sources and targeting icons began bracketing noise sources in her vision.

“How many Cobalts in here?”

Hound supplied the data immediately — 4 targets on the Ground floor and 5 on the 1st Floor. Ashai moved rapidly down the hall, not bothering to boost, watching the targeting information. The first target threw open the door from its room on her right and ran into the Di-Kat's blade at neck height. There was a gurgling noise as the body continued to move forwards, the Di Kat's razor sharp blade opening the Cobalt's neck to his spine before Ashai whipped it back in a crimson spray.

The second Cobalt was moving out of the next room down, the barrel of a gun visible to Ashai's enhanced sight. Hound automatically adjusted her vision as the Makatov blew through the lightweight wall and Cobalt at the same time. According to Hound the last two targets on the ground floor where hidden by the closed door at the end of the hallway. Target 3 was moving towards the door, while target 4 was static at the other side of the room. From the sound of screaming target 4 was female. Target 3 was yelling at her to shut up. Ashai never stopped moving, slamming a powerful kick into the door as Target 3 moved behind it, the door bursting inwards and slamming the Cobalt sideways. She moved into the room, a young naked girl huddling in bedding against the wall immediately identified as Target 4, the room empty except for her and the dazed Cobalt laying under the door. Ashai knelt and with a carefully weighted punch knocked the thug senseless.

The girl was looking around blindly in the darkened room, and Ashai realised the Cobalt had been heading for the light switch. She could see so easily that it seemed very strange that this girl was obviously terrified out of her wits in the darkness, unable to see whatever demon had destroyed the door. Ashai guessed the girl was barely a teenager, possibly younger and she stood silently not wanting to terrify the girl any more than she already was. A man's angry shouting came from upstairs, and Hound placed it as positioned at the top of the stairs. Ashai glided silently across the room towards the stairs, crouching a little way away.

“Kort, Kort! What the fuck's going on down there?” Silence greeted the shouts, apart from the girl' whimpers and sobs. A light flicked on at the top of the stairs, a weak dirty yellow illuminating the stairs and a perhaps a third of the room. The girl was caught in the light and the man shouted again as the girl looked frantically around the room that was now barely visible. Mentally Ashai snorted in disgust as her eyes immediately adjusted. Whatever night vision the Cobalts upstairs had, was now utterly ruined.

“Neti you little slut, where's Kort?” The girl ignored him, her eyes wide as she caught Ashai's feminine silhouette crouching in the shadows near the bottom of the stairs, blaster and sword held ready. The man shouted again but the girl just sat frozen in fear. Ashai slowly moved her finger to her lips and shushed the young girl, then slowly and silently stood in the shadows at the base of the stairs. The Cobalt swore again, and began clumping down the stairs promising Neti a beating for disobedience. As he reached the bottom of the stairs Ashai stabbed the Di Kat through the side of his neck. The Cobalt died almost instantly as Ashai pulled the razor sharp sword free, the thug's dead weight hanging in place for half a second, before its bowels voided and the corpse slumped forwards to fall flat at the bottom of the stairs. For a moment there was stunned silence, before the remaining Cobalts began to move. Not giving them more time to react Ashai swung on to the stairs and opened fire with the Makatov. Blaster bolts punched through the four Cobalts, turning the staircase into a steaming morgue. Ignoring the bodies Ashai ran lightly up the stairs to check for more enemies but a quick search showed the upper floor was empty. When she made her way back down stairs Neti was still huddled in her bedding, gazing blankly at the bodies.

Ashai checked the last Cobalt was still unconscious and then holstered her pistol, and sheathed the Di Kat after wiping it clean. After a glance at the huddled girl she quickly hauled the bodies one at a time up the stairs out of sight, as she wondered what to do about the traumatised child. Finally she went back downstairs and flicked the light switch by the shattered door. The weak light thrown down the stairs was drowned by the white glow from a ceiling strip light. Neti was still huddled in her bedding, but as the light came on her gaze snapped to Ashai, her eyes growing huge. Ashai walked across and then sat cross legs in front of her, noting Neti's dirty skin as well as the remains of fading bruises across the girl's thin body. She had been beaten, and in the light Ashai guessed she was not even in to her teens. She wondered what to say first, what to ask the abused child in front of her, and struggled to keep her anger off her face.

“What's your name sweetie?”

“Neti.”

“Neti? That's a pretty name. My name's Ashai okay? Do you have anyone you can go and live with?”

The girl paused for a second, looking elsewhere, then shook her head as a tear ran down her cheek, carving a passage through the dirt. Then she seemed to focus on Ashai again before speaking, her voice flat. “You killed them.”

“Yes Neti I did, except that one. I need to ask him some questions.” The youngster seemed to consider her answer before nodding at her.

“I wanted to kill them. Thank you lady. They....they hurt me.”

Ashai didn't know what to say, what to do, and just opened her arms offering Neti a comforting hug.
The girl looked at her for a long moment as if judging her, before hurling herself into Ashai's arms with a sob, wrapping her arms around Ashai and holding on for dear life. Ashai held Neti and let her cry, comforting her, and rocking her, planting occasional gentle kisses on Neti's head. After a few minutes Neti calmed down and then pulled away from Ashai and looked at the still unconscious thug. A fierce hungry expression flitted across her face, before she turned and looked at Ashai again.

“I want him Ashai, when you're done with your questions, I want him, I.....owe him.”

Ashai studied her, seeing the seething anger and hatred Neti had for the Cobalt.

“What happened to you Neti, how did you end up here?” Ashai asked the questions gently, wanting to both distract the girl from her vengeance and get some more information. Neti didn't want to answer but seeing that Ashai wasn't going to let it drop, sighed and answered.

“During the riots, Grinder and his thugs came to my parents house. I was with my sister when we heard lots of shouting about debts or something. I heard my Daddy shouting as well, and then a gun and my Momma was screaming. Then the door burst open and these two huge guys grabbed me and Emilie my little sister. They took us to the kitchen and my Daddy was lying in a pool of blood,”

Neti started crying again and Ashai gathered her back into a hug as she talked.

“my Momma was pleading with Grinder to let us go but he said she was too old and had no value to him, so the debt would be paid by her children. Then he told the two men holding us to bring us along. Before we left he told two of his men they could have Momma and to kill her when they were finished. I struggled but I couldn't get away, and Emilie was only four. I heard Momma screaming in the house as they carried us away. They took us somewhere and I was put in a cell with some other girls. I never saw Emilie again. Kort told me the slavers took her. I miss her.”

Neti pointed at the unconscious Cobalt. “He's Kort. He's one of Grinders lew-ten-ants,” Neti pronounced the word hesitantly. “Grinder gave me to him when he was finished with me. Grinder had me first. I....” Neti just curled up tighter in Ashai's arms and cried. Ashai stroked her hair gently, while her eyes gazed flint like at the unconscious thug, as she pondered what to do next.

“Key?”

Yes, Ashai?

“I was a ganger for years. We ran the Hive mart. But we never did this. How can this happen?”

Evil comes in many forms Ashai.

“I was going to kill Grinder for myself, for Zazt but I guess I never really considered what Grinder has done to everyone in the Slums. I want vengeance, but I think it will be justice as well.

Under the circumstances Ashai I think both those needs are real.

“Neti...I think she's twelve Key. Twelve. She's been raped, abused, humiliated, beaten, given to this bastard as a toy for his mob to use...she wants me to give her Kort. Neti wants vengeance. Should I give her it? What will that do to her? Will it help? Or will it make her life worse?”

The young lady will need a lot of help Ashai. The trauma of what she has been through will be very severe. I cannot say whether letting her take her own vengeance will be wise or not. It may give her some sense of personal closure at least, especially if she knows that Grinder has been dealt with as well.

Ashai stroked Neti's hair again as she made her decision. Then she gently cupped the girl's chin and pulled it up so she could get eye contact.

“Neti, you've been through things that no one should. So when I have answers from Kort, if you truly want to deal with him yourself then I will make that possible for you. Do you understand?”

The tearful girl hesitated and nodded.

“Okay. I promise you Neti, Kort will pay for his crimes against you with his life, and Grinder will pay as well, so no matter what you will never have to worry about them again. If knowing that lets you feel like it's okay for me to deal with Kort for you then that's okay. It's also okay if you still want to deal with it. That good with you?”

Neti nodded again, a serious expression on her face, before offering a small hand to shake and seal the deal. Ashai shook it gently and Neti's expression changed to relief and acceptance.

“Okay Neti, I want you to go and get yourself a wash and find yourself some clothes okay, plus you can look for anything else you want upstairs. If you find any credit chips or something you think is valuable then bring that down as well. The other men who hurt you are upstairs. They are dead. You watched me kill them so you know they can't hurt you any more. Okay?”

“Okay Ashai.” Neti's voice was sweet and quiet, but steady and the girl gathered her bedding around her and headed to the stairs.

Ashai turned her attention to the unconscious Kort.

Bastard.

With a not so gentle slap she brought the thug around. As the Cobalt jerked awake, Ashai waited until he started to move before she moved into his field of view.

“Hello Kort.”

Before he could respond in any way Ashai reached out and struck two points on his neck, firmly, each with a single rigid finger, watching for a response. The combat primer listed these strikes as temporarily paralysing the arms and legs of the victim, with control returning after approximately an hour. The Cobalts suddenly wide eyes and the straining of his neck muscles showed the strikes were successful. The discovery that he couldn't move his arms and legs prompted a volley of abusive language. Ashai let the Cobalt swear at her for half a dozen words before slapping Kort across the face with the faintest trace of her enhanced strength, snapping the man's balding head sideways.

“Shut up you stupid fucker.”

“Bitch you any idea who you dealing with? Grinder's gonna...”

“All Grinder's gonna do is die. The question is whether you're gonna live Kort. The only people alive in this shit hole are you, me and Neti upstairs. Your boys are dead, and pitifully easy to kill as well. You're going to tell me where Grinder is in the Slums.”

“Fuck off.” The Cobalt spat at her, which she easily avoided.

“Hmm it seems like you need to understand your situation a little better,” Ashai slid the Di Kat from its sheath, “Kort either you tell me what I want to know, or I hurt you, hurt you badly, and eventually kill you. Oh and I don't bluff. When I say you'll die, you will die.”

“Fuck you.”

“I didn't think you'd really be that dumb Kort. Okay, that's cool.”

Ashai slid the Di Kat into the Cobalt's eye line to catch his attention, the thug's neck muscles still straining in his attempts to move. Slowly she lightly dragged the swords tip down his body, the razor point slicing effortlessly into his flesh, fresh red blood welling up in its track. Kort gasped at the pain before clamping his jaws shut. Ashai grinned wolfishly at him.

“Ooohh a tough guy huh? Okay Kort, next stop is your achilles tendon, which one do you want to lose your right or left? Gonna be a bitch being a cripple Kort.”

Korts eyes were wild as the Di Kat moved down his body out of his vision. He tried to crane his neck to see but all he could see was the sword being waved between his ankles.

Ashai paused for a moment letting the thug watch her moving the sword. Seeing that he hadn't broken yet she shrugged, and very deliberately severed Kort's achilles tendon in his right leg, sparking fiery agony in the Cobalt's nerves. Unable to stop it a scream and a whimper burst from Kort's mouth.

“You fucking bitch, fucking shit, my leg oh fuck my leg.”

“You've still got a good leg Kort. If you tell me what I want to know I won't kill you.”

The sound of Neti coming downstairs made Ashai turn around. She'd found some pants, a tatty sweater, a dark jacket that was a little big for her, and some ankle boots. She was carrying a small sack over her shoulder up as she came down stairs. Seeing Kort writhing in pain, Neti walked across.

“Oooh Kort that looks painful. Has he told you what you want yet Ashai?” she asked.

“Not yet Neti, but he will. Would you wait in the kitchen for me sweetie?”

“Okay, but remember you said I can have him when you're finished.” Neti's grin at the stricken Cobalt was feral, and her gaze was implacable.

Ashai saw that however scared the thug was of her, the prospect of being left helpless with the abused girl terrified the wounded Cobalt who was almost hyperventilating from the pain. Neti looked down at Kort before crouching down beside his legs next to the unnaturally bunched calf muscle where Ashai severed his achilles. Ignoring Ashai's quizzical expression, Neti shot out a hand and dug her small fingers into Kort's severed calf muscle, making Ashai wince and Kort scream in utter shock as agony exploded up his nerves. She held her grip for two long seconds, long enough to have Kort begging for an end to the pain, before just as suddenly Neti stood up and walked to the kitchen.

“Don't take too long Ashai, I want some time with him.”

Ashai waited until Neto had left the room before turning her gaze back to Kort.

“Where's Grinder?”

Kort gasped, his eyes glazed from the pain in his leg, cold sweat running down his face. “He'll kill me.”

“Maybe. But I'll definitely kill you if you don't. If you talk I won't kill you and you have a chance. Not much but better than nothing.”

Ashai's callous tone and obvious indifference were enough to push the thug over the edge, and Kort talked, spilling his guts on Grinder's current base in an old warehouse near the Slums' border with the industrial district. Once he was finished Ashai called Neti back in, and then while the girl watched renewed the nerve strikes.

“He's all yours Neti. You have fifteen minutes then we need to leave. You need anything?”

“No, this will be fine.” Grinning coldly Neti brandished a long wicked looking knife.

“You're sure about this?”

At Neti's definite nod, Ashai stood up and headed to the kitchen.

Kort yelled from behind her. “Wait, you said you weren't going to kill me if I told you...please.”

“I'm not, Neti is.” Ashai shrugged and turned away.

A little less than fifteen minutes later, Kort's screams and whimpers had finally ceased, and Neti joined her in the flophouse's kitchen, spattered in blood. The two women shared a look for a long moment, before Neti turned and vomited her stomach up on the kitchen floor. After a second retch, she dropped the bloody knife and then moved into Ashai's open embrace, sobbing.

“Shhh, baby. It's done. It's all over now. Time to leave, I'm gonna take you to some friends while I deal with Grinder, and then we'll get you safe okay?”

With a nod, the crying girl burrowed in tighter.

**

It was a little before 2am and Ashai crouched in the shadows, looking over the clear space surrounding the old warehouse that Grinder had claimed for his Cobalts. She'd taken Neti back to the lock up garage where the Krayt driver was waiting for her. A short conversation had ensured that Neti would be safe with them and a slightly longer talk with the girl had reassured her she wasn't being abandoned, before she had walked back into the Slums, following Kort's directions to the warehouse.

The warehouse was constructed from corrugated alloy sheets over a rusty frame. Two large open sliding doors at the front were guarded by a handful of Cobalts, armed with various weapons and accompanied by a handful of girls keeping them supplied with drink, drugs and affection while the majority of the gang partied inside the warehouse. The music thundered from the open doors, reverberating across the open concrete. The front entrance was a possibility but if possible she wanted a more stealthy approach.

Quickly Ashai did a stealthy circuit around the warehouse looking for an alternative. The only other option was a back door, with a single guard outside, under a flood light. The guard was smoking, and the acrid smell of his smoke wafted in the night air. Around the corner from the guard there was a wire fence surrounding a power generator that thumped away into the night. Deciding that the power supply was the obvious target, Ashai moved around the compound until she was opposite the generator and then satisfied she was out of view she slipped across the open concrete towards the fence.

The fence's builders had spooled tangle wire between the tops of the fence poles to deter intruders, and for a moment Ashai wondered whether to cut the wire fencing with the Di Kat or climb it. Then she realised the generator control panel was within the range of her armour's new tentacles. She held her hands near the fence instructing Hound to build up a charge of power to deliver. A couple of seconds later the tentacles extended from her wrists, easily slipping through the large mesh fencing, before spearing into the generators control panel, forming the circuit which Hound then blasted a charge of electricity down, instantly overloading and burning out the circuitry, which exploded in a shower of sparks. The power spike flooded the warehouse's power system and all at once the sound and lighting system became showers of sparks as the warehouse plunged into darkness. Ashai retracted the tentacles, unholstered the Makatov and Di Kat and moved around the building to the back door at a run. The single guard suddenly blind as the floodlight failed, never even saw her coming. The Cobalt was young, barely fifteen and in a moment of pity, Ashai shifted her blade, and knocked him senseless with her fist, before wrenching open the door and plunging into the darkened hallway beyond, as Hound adjusted her vision to compensate.

**

Grinder cursed as the lights exploded and the speakers burst. He thrust himself into the girl bent over the table in front of him, making her whimper again. Holding her in place with one hand he grunted at his lieutenant to go find out what was going on. Faltr obeyed, leaving the whore he had been fucking in place as he buckled his pants and left Grinder's booth to find out what had killed the power and the party. Grinder pulled his hips back and then slammed forwards again making the girl whimper, as he fucked her hard and deep, impatient to let his load go now.

Faltr stood on the raised dais outside Grinder's private booth and tried to make sense of what was going on. The warehouse's open floor was lit now only by sparks and a couple of small fires that had started in ruined electronics. The floor was crowded with drunken Cobalts, hangers on, whores and guests all stumbling around in the sudden dark. Three of the more sober thugs had grabbed flashlights and opened the door to the back, heading to the generator to try and repair it.

**

Ashai swept down the darkened hallway like an avenging fury, her mercy spent on the youngster outside. She charged into the group of Cobalts coming into the hallway without warning. The Di Kat flashed in the light beams as Ashai effortlessly cleaved through the gangers, but not before the rearmost shouted an alarm. She charged through into the quietened party where the drunken gang and party goers began to react to the shouts and screams in the hallway. To her enhanced vision the warehouse seemed well lit, but the sight of men and women stumbling in the dark as they either fled from the screams or ran towards them, reminded Ashai of the advantages she had and how essentially unfair this combat was about to be.

Well if they hadn't killed Zazt I wouldn't be here, so fuck em all.

She skidded to a halt and quickly scanned around the open space.

“Opposition?”

Her vision lit with target icons as Key highlighted Cobalts armed with firearms in red and those with close combat weaponry in orange, fleeing non combatants in blue as well as a few who were not yet classified in yellow. In a second she absorbed the targeting data and prioritized her enemies. No sign yet of Grinder, but there was a room at the back that was a likely place for the Gang Boss. First to deal with his mob, so far as she was concerned they were all culpable. Key displayed a target summary and told her as well.

7 Priority Targets identified armed with firearms, 19 additional combatants identified armed with close combat weaponry, 27 non combatants, 3 non classified.

With a bleak grin, Ashai span to face the nearest priority target, the Primer and Key mapping suggested movements in her vision, and charged, the Di Kat slicing open for the Cobalt's throat as she passed on his right and sprang at the second red icon, almost casually killing an orange icon as she passed, almost invisible in the darkness as she moved at high speed, save for her platinum mane which caught the flickery light from the small fires, making Ashai seem a spectral figure lunging at shadows that screamed and died. Losing herself in her fury the number of targets fell very rapidly as she slaughtered the Cobalts, to give Zazt's memory his revenge.

***

Faltr gaped as he watched first in disbelief and then in horror and fear. Grinder's demon. The thought ran through his head charged with superstitious dread. It looked like a woman but that wasn't possible. The demon moved so fast, none of his boys were getting anywhere near it. Shouting for Grinder he ran back to the VIP room, looking over his shoulder to see yet another Cobalt die with a scream. It was some kind of obscene dance where every step claimed another life, the long platinum hair visible as it whipped one way and another, leaping, sliding, twisting, jumping and spinning, kicking and striking amongst the Cobalts who were dying so fast the blood from one hadn't hit the ground before another was being slain.

Slamming through the door to the VIP room he grabbed for his prized assault rifle, as Grinder was yanking his pants up utterly ignoring the whore he'd been sodomising seconds before as he reached for his weapons, while screams continued in the warehouse.

“The demon's here boss. It's wiping the gang.” Faltr fought to keep panic out of his voice as
he told the Cobalt boss what he'd seen.

“Fuck Faltr. I told you there's no such thing as Maker fucking demons. Let's go kill the fucking bitch.”

Grinder pulled himself to his full height of just over 2 metres, his massive frame dwarfing Faltr, shaved head scraping the low ceiling of the room. The gang boss was a monster of a man, scarred from almost forty years of brutal living, heavily tattooed and hugely muscled with immense hands that he would literally grind his enemies into the plascrete with. His rule of the Slums by violence and intimidation was total and the idea of anyone challenging his rule, let alone a woman was incomprehensible to him.

With a bellow of anger at the invasion of his domain, Grinder charged out of his booth, brandishing his power axe, cursing and swearing, then promptly skidded to halt, dumbstruck by the carnage in his base. Eyes wide, the veins pulsing angrily on his bald head, Grinder gawped at the blood that was pooling around his minions' bodies. Some had limbs lying around, cleanly amputated by a viciously sharp blade, others lay with their entrails visible. The screams and yelling that had been so audible moments before had been replaced by eerie silence broken by whimpers and moans of pain. These were gradually cut off as the demon casually finished off the wounded with precise mercy strokes. She utterly ignored him as she finished the grisly task she was doing, and Grinder found he couldn't move to try and catch her unawares. His legs wouldn't obey his commands, they were rooted to the stop. Beside him Faltr gasped and the noise caught the demon's attention.

She couldn't be human. It simply wasn't possible that this tall slim girl had destroyed the empire he had taken years to build. His demon was clad in the form of beautiful blond woman wearing a mottled grey and brown camouflage bodysuit up to her neck, and was liberally coated in the crimson blood of his Cobalts. Even the long platinum hair that was picked out by the light from the fires that were sputtering in the warehouse was spattered with gore. Seeing the Cobalt boss and his surviving lieutenant gazing in horror and dismay at her handiwork the demon gave a small smile that managed to be both mocking and feral at the same time.

'Fuck.' Grinder muttered the epithet, not conscious of speaking.

Faltr gave a scream of rage and whipped up his assault rifle. The demon moved lightning quick, drawing, firing and returning her blaster to the holster before Grinder even thought of reacting. Faltr's rage was cut off in mid shout, as a blast of energy obliterated his head. That was the moment that Grinder knew he was about to die. His strongest lieutenant died with casual ease, and the mocking smile never reached the demon's eyes which were glacially cold with fury. For the first time in years Grinder felt fear, and with it resignation. He wanted to piss himself but pride wouldn't let him.

For all his power in the Slums, in his heart that he knew he was a nobody on the grand scheme of things, even in Talont city itself, other gangs were far wealthier and more powerful as they weren't ruling the human detritus and other poor. Grinder had vaguely expected to think about his life when it came time for him to die, but instead he wanted to know why this terror that outclassed him so much had decided to wipe him off Yasm.

“Why?” It was only one word and he croaked as much as asked it, but Grinder's expression as he surveyed the warehouse spoke volumes. The demon cocked her head at him for a second, idly flicking blood off her sword.

“Simple punishment Grinder. You took from me. You let scum like Carlo exist, and killed someone precious to me. You should have left Haskins and mine alone, and this” she gestured around “ wouldn't have happened. But you tortured him, when he did nothing to you, and killed him like he was nothing, so I'm doing the same to you. Maybe whoever comes next will learn the lesson. I doubt it but you never know.”

The demon finished talking and stood waiting for him. Grinder looked around disbelieving, all this because he killed a fucking Korkari?

“What? You're not taking control, making a power grab? You slaughter my guys over a fucking trader?” Grinder's voice radiated confused outrage. The demon sighed.

“I'm not after the Slums Grinder. I'm leaving anyway. I'm coming back to Yasm eventually, and when I do, then I'll take control and things will change, but for now killing you will have to do. You terrorized the people in the Slums, treat everyone like a slave and killed my friend. So now you die. Now come on and fight or are you a coward as well?”

His machismo stung Grinder finally surged forward, swinging the power axe two handed in a powerful horizontal slash, its wicked blade crackling with energy. The demon stood motionless as the big Cobalt committed his full bodyweight to the blow, before darting forward, ducking under his swing, inside his guard, her sword lashing out with precise control. There was a brief moment of sharp pain for Grinder before his corpse slumped as its momentum carried it forwards, severed head rolling away as the body landed, heavy axe still flickering with energy crashing with a metallic ring against the plascrete floor.

Grinder's demon stood and gazed blankly into space for a few moments, her thoughts elsewhere, as the rage and need for retribution cleared from her expression and gaze. She shook herself, looking for a moment full of self disgust before turning and walking away, ignoring the corpses around her, or the Cobalts' piled goods and booty in the warehouse. Now she was done she wanted away as quickly as possible. Ashai's expression hardened again, there was still more killing to do if she wanted to get off planet. Quickly leaving the way she arrived, she paused momentarily and checked the youth she'd knocked cold was still unconscious. He was and after a moments consideration she hefted him up and carried him over her shoulder to the walls of the building across the open ground. The boy never even stirred as Ashai laid him down, making sure he would live if the warehouse caught properly ablaze. The kid was underweight but fairly well built. Thoughtfully she took his weapon a basic club and snapped it, and his bandana shredding it, maybe he would get the message. Without another look back Ashai headed for the garage and her ride back to the Port, as Hound took care of the blood and gore covering her bodysuit by simply refreshing the upper layers of armour that were spattered along with the evidence, absorbing all trace of the fight. The spatters on her face and hair Key directed the nanos to destroy.

Inside the warehouse for minutes nothing moved before two women peered from the VIP booth at the carnage. They were sisters both biologically and in the oldest profession, and had been 'entertaining' Grinder and Faltr. Lennox was gone. Everyone knew the name that Grinder's 'demon' used from the holocasts, and they knew what they'd heard. Lennox was leaving but would be back to take Yasm and woe to those she judged unworthy. Whispering the women grabbed their scant clothing and left. As they hurried into the night they came across the unconscious boy, the youngest Cobalt they'd seen and wondered how to interpret the snapped weapon and shredded bandana. Considering the judgement rendered inside there had to be a message there. After a brief discussion they hoisted the youth between them, managing his limp weight as they headed for safety. In the distance they could already hear Sec Bur sirens approaching.