Aeon Legion: Labyrinth (41 page)

“Hello?” came Lenz's voice
over the small device. It didn't use a speaker, but carried sound
waves across time.

“What is the key to
victory?” Hanns asked.

There was a pause.
“Objectivity.”

Hanns smiled at his own
codeword. Lenz was alone. “I have an update for you.”

“Thank God,” Lenz said.
“We wondered if they had executed you and Emmerich.”

“I have my target now and a
way to escape. I will send you specifics soon. I need you to go ahead
and get the boarding party ready for the next month. Detailed
instructions on their objectives will soon follow.”

“Understood,” Lenz said
before hesitating. “Are you sure about the weapons?”

“The weapons are the thing I
am most sure about. These Aeon Legion soldiers are arrogant. They
haven't faced a challenge from a foe like us in some time. My guess
is they will adapt quickly, but by that point we will be gone with
our objective. How are things on your end?”

“Several SS officers are now
fighting over control of the project along with both the Heer and
Luftwaffe. In fact, this is good because no one is in command at the
moment.”

Hanns nodded. “That's good.
What about the war?”

“The war is still in our
favor. Right now we are preparing an air campaign against England.
Only a fool could lose the war for us right now.”

Hanns hesitated for a moment.
“Good work, Lenz. I will talk to you again soon. Go ahead and move
things forward.”

“Yes sir,” Lenz replied.

Hanns pressed the device
again. It went dark. He put it back in his mouth before turning. A
figure stood in front of him obscured in shadow. Hanns started as he
reflexively reached for a pistol he didn't have.

The figure stepped out of the
shadows and faced Hanns. He was a blond youth in his early twenties
about Hanns's height and slender in build with olive skin. A white
mask covered the top of his forehead to his nose while he wore tight
fitting clothing that changed colors to match the surroundings.
Hanns's gaze shifted to a pair of aeon edged daggers that hung on the
youth's belt.

“My Master wishes to speak
with you,” the youth said in a formal tone.

Hanns expression remained wary
while the youth extended his arm forward and touched his
shieldwatch's holoface. The youth's holoface was a dull gray color
rather than the usual blue. A holographic projection of another
figure, tinted in grainy gray, sat on a throne. The projection faded
just below the man's face though Hanns could see a shieldwatch on his
left hand. Once the projection was before Hanns, the youth stepped
back into the shadows.

“Greetings, Hanns Speer,”
the man said from his throne. The projection slightly distorted his
voice. “I would properly introduce myself, but I am afraid I must
remain anonymous for now.”

Hanns's eyes narrowed before
clasping his hands behind his back and facing the projection. “You
have me at a disadvantage. Are you working with the warden?”

The man chuckled. “Certainly
not. I am not so lowly as to be affiliated with the city government
or the Aeon Legion. I serve no master. I just happen to have a
singularity artifact that can detect cross time transmissions such as
the one you just made. I also have access to the warden's records and
notes, many of which keep mentioning a model prisoner who is helping
them with their own singularity artifacts. Interesting that their
model prisoner is plotting something.”

Hanns lifted his chin. “You
want something.”

“We all want something,
Hanns. What separates us from the rest of the stagnant hedonists and
fools is just the scale of our desires. I don't know what you are
after, but it must be something impressive, considering the lengths
you are going to. I find ambition a noble quality. You must have a
lofty goal if you have come this far to infiltrate the city. Well I
have ambition too, but you and I need is opportunity.”

The man on the throne gestured
to the masked youth. He stepped forward, drawing an item from a back
pocket and presenting it to Hanns.

Hanns stared at the item with
suspicion. “What is it?”

The man on the throne gestured
to the item. “A final key to your plan, Hanns.”

The youth removed the covering
to reveal a shieldwatch.

Hanns's eyes narrowed on the
item as he took it with reluctance. He did not wish to take a Trojan
horse himself. “One of the time devices?”

The man on the throne smiled.
“Yes. It's linked to my singularity AI and it can remotely override
Minerva's control of Tartarus for a short time. Don't worry. It's
shielded. The prison's sensors can't detect it so long as you hide it
from the eyes of the guards. It also contains a vast hard drive for
data storage in case you need to take any information from the city.”

Hanns looked at the man on the
throne, confused. “You wish to take control of Tartarus?”

“Oh Aion no. I wish to take
something from it, but I need it separated from Saturn City first and
you need to evade the Sybil's precognition.”

Hanns frowned while remaining
thoughtful. The Sybil were a problem. He had learned a little about
them, but that was another hole in his plan. He pointed to the masked
youth. “Then why not send your assistant here? He seems skilled at
breaking in.”

“Oh he is skilled,” the
man said, knitting his hands together under his chin. “But the
eleventh level is far too secure for him to break into and recover
what is rightfully mine. And if the guards have proper warning then
reinforcements from the Legion would prevent him from escaping. You
though have access to nearly any level now thanks to your efforts to
charm the prison staff. Now I see an opportunity for both of us and
we can succeed if we work together.”

With the Survival Test over
we once again shift priorities. Strike team leaders must now rebuild
their teams after so many tirones dusted. We take this opportunity to
force teams to accept members that would unbalance their dynamic.
Potential candidates include clashing personalities or others who
were enemies in their home times; Saracens and Crusaders, Spartans
and Persians, Romans and Gauls. On the second week we allow team
leaders to trade in order to test their resourcefulness. Now we test
their dedication by salting old wounds. All must put aside feuds from
their pasts and work together. Each must be an Aeon Legionnaire
first.

-From the personal logs of
Praetor Lycus Cerberus

T
erra
fell
off the horse again.

Zaid trotted on his horse
closer to Terra. “Did they not have horses in your time?”

Terra groaned as she stood.
“Horses are more of a hobby in my time. Most people have different
ways of travel.”

Nikias sighed, shaking his
head. “That's enough. Tiro Mason, you need to practice this part on
your own. Now for the harder test.”

Zaid and Hikari climbed down
from their horses before the optios led the animals away. Nikias had
told them that learning to ride a horse was a useful skill since, in
a lot of points in history, travel by horse was common. They had
learned other historical skills. Yesterday she had used all manner of
guns at a firing range. The day before they had practiced with bow
and arrow.

Nikias touched his
shieldwatch's holoface which changed the salient into a dusty mud
cracked obstacle course. At first, Terra thought it was time for more
exercise, but paused when she saw the line of parked automobiles. She
couldn't help but laugh after recognizing the model.

Zaid and Hikari turned to
Terra, brows raised.

Terra shook her head while
wondering if the designer of this course was a fan of American
cinema.

Hikari stared at the
automobiles. “Is it a carriage or cart?”

Nikias pointed to the cars.
“We will show you the basics of driving. Who wishes to try first?”

Terra smiled and stepped
forward. “I can drive.”

Nikias gestured to the cars.
Terra walked over and opened the door which lifted upwards rather
than opening to the side. She sat in the driver's seat, turned on the
engine, and drove around the course. Terra finished the course and
parked in front of her strike team or at least what remained of it
after the Survival test.

Hikari frowned and glared at
Terra. “How did you do that?”

Terra shrugged. “Almost
everyone learns to drive where I'm from.”

“Good, Tiro Mason,” Nikias
said. The centurions had started memorizing everyone's names. “I
mean that was terrible! You should quit,” Nikias added in a
halfhearted tone. All the centurions still tried to discourage the
tirones, though Terra knew this wasn't personal, but another part of
the training.

Nikias touched the glass face
of his shieldwatch. “I'll give you one point for driving safely and
two for completing the course. Next time, try to make it through the
course in under a minute.”

Zaid was next, moving into the
driver's seat. He stared at all the controls and steering wheel for a
long moment before getting out. “I think will need a few hours in
the strategy study first.”

Hikari shoved Zaid aside as
she jumped into the driver's seat. She flipped through the various
controls until she found the key. When she turned it the engine
roared to life and Terra could swear a slight smile touched Hikari's
lips.

Nikias took a step forward.
“Excellent, Tiro Hikari. Now slowly tr–”

Hikari found the gas pedal.
Tires squealed as the vehicle shot forward.

Nikias raised an eyebrow. “You
think she knows how to use the break pedal?”

Terra shrugged. “If she did,
do you think she would use it?”

Hikari sped through the
course, taking out a few rails, but made it through the course
without the car being too damaged. She opened the door and glared at
Terra as if daring her to do better.

Nikias nodded. “That's one
point for time, Tiro Hikari. If you had not wreaked half the course,
then that would have been four points.”

Terra faced Hikari before
turning to Nikias. “I want another try.”

An optio approached,
interrupting Terra's next attempt at the course.

“Centurion,” he said,
saluting. “Replacement for this strike team.”

Nikias nodded. They were past
due for a replacement. A few days had passed since the survival test.
Only Zaid, Hikari, and herself remained.

Zaid stepped forward.
“Replacement? I assumed I would trade for new members?” He no
longer wore his helmet or chain mail, having replaced it with the
Legion's armor. He still held a scimitar at his side, though as a
secondary weapon to his aeon edge.

Nikias shook his head. “No,
Trio Zaid. Trading is only allowed during the early phases. After
week five, only centurions may authorize team member exchanges.”

The optio gestured to another
tiro who stepped forward into the dry mud cracked course. Terra
instantly recognized the relaxed posture and confident smirk. She
wondered if the instructors had chosen him just to annoy her.

Roland approached, eying the
three team members. An aeon edge hung at his belt and much of his old
armor was gone, now replaced with new legion equipment. The white
tunic with red cross still covered his torso. He frowned when he saw
Terra, but scowled when he laid eyes on Zaid, something Terra had
never seen Roland do. He turned to Centurion Nikias. “You didn't
tell me there would be a Turk.”

Nikias raised an eyebrow. “A
what? Never mind. If you have a problem, tiro, then endure it or fix
it. We sometimes have to work with people we don't like.”

The optio raised an eyebrow.
“Is that why you tried to strangle that Persian?”

Nikias laughed. “Yeah that
was hilarious... I mean that was different. He was out of line.”

The optio shook his head and
turned to Zaid. “Strike team leaders will have new tirones assigned
to them. You are more than welcome to complain to Praetor Lycus.
However, I would sooner marry a Faceless than expect Praetor Lycus to
give you what you want.”

Zaid's jaw clinched as he
glared at Roland. “Name?”

Roland stiffened. “Roland
Delmare.”

Zaid nodded, his posture still
tense. “A Frankish name?”

Roland smiled, trying to
appear disarming. “I was a simple keep guard before this. Nothing
of particular note.”

Terra looked from Roland to
Zaid, wondering if Zaid caught the lie.

Zaid's own gaze narrowed. “You
are lying.”

Roland's smile vanished.

Terra's smile appeared.

Zaid crossed his arms and
stared at Roland. “I recognize that garb. Are you a knight?”

Terra turned to Zaid. “He
is.”

Zaid looked at Terra. “You
know him?”

Terra nodded. “Yes. I am
pretty sure he is a knight. I have seen his swordsmanship skills.
He's good. He is a liar though and a cheater too.”