Legends of Amacia Attack on Tartarus
Chapter 24: Inside Kartoom

After sneaking through the city’s street-like passages for a half hour, Hannibal’s team secured a transport to take them to the citadel where the core was located. Everyone noticed passages seemed oddly deserted, which worried them. They sped through the passages in a transport that looked like a monorail in every respect except that there was no conductor. Everything was automatic. It had windows made of an unknown transparent material encircling the upper half of the car. This allowed its passengers to see what was going on outside the monorail. On the front end of the car sat a small control panel that twinkled while the car moved automatically. As they rode along, Andrew said worriedly, “I don’t like this. Where is everyone? We shouldn’t be in here this easy.”

The monorail raced through the apparently deserted street passages for ten miles, and then rose on its beam high above the city, hugging its main dome. It gave the team a bird’s eye view of the processing floors and cloning fields the Cadre used to manufacture the Xenians, Zarukars, and the mechanized assets. It stunned everyone except Nemesis and Horace. Monstrous cyclopean assembly lines as far as the eye could see pieced together Xenians by the hundreds of thousands. Machines assembled the Xenian hordes like cars with flawless and hideous precision. The assembly lines went on for miles. One portion of the processing floor was the assembly area where the finished products were marching in formation. The floor crawled with Xenians as they marched away from the line and off the processing floor. Then they came to the cloning fields where the Cadre cloned the Zarukar and the original pieces that would become Xenians. It was both beautiful and horrible in its terrible precision. Millions of pods attached to the superstructure of the city lined the fields. They went in all directions: up, down and out into the distance. Miles and miles, line upon line of pods tended by giant machines with ruthless precision: each pod having a developing clone of something, most of which were Zarukar or Xenian blanks. The team watched in stunned silence as they passed through the cloning fields and noticed that the pods were moving as the machines were tending them, as if the pods were on a colossal assembly line. Hannibal couldn’t help but admire the ruthless precision of what he was seeing in the cloning fields. Ana watched while leaning on Morpheus’ staff, looking out into the cloning fields of Kartoom with revulsion and disgust. The monorail traveled for twenty miles across the cloning fields before passing into another colossal assembly area where the war machines were forged and assembled.

Just like the Xenian processing floor, the machine assembly line was monstrous, stretching for miles; line upon line of machines assembled by machines. They saw giant walkers: some that looked like spiders, some which looked like centipedes, even some were giant mechanical men. Tanks, both track and multi-ped, poured off the lines in the thousands. Every known engine of mechanical destruction was made in this place, including the fighter aircraft, transports, and bombers. Hundreds of thousands of battle droids of every make poured off the lines and marched in flawless precision as they moved out to make room for the new models coming off the lines. The droid army marched in battalion strength off the assembly line continuously.

The whole monorail ride had gone on with no one saying a word. They were too thunderstruck by what they were seeing. Finally, Hannibal asked softly, “Horace, these aren’t the only lines here, are there?”

Horace shook his head saying, “No, milord. There is a line to produce each of the Xenian types and seven more areas of machine manufacture. As for the cloning fields, you saw just a small portion of them. Below the cloning fields are where the Zarukar and Xenian blanks are hatched, programmed, and trained. We are now approaching the citadel. If you will look to the front of the car, you will see it after we pass out of the machine assembly area. See, there is the division up ahead.” The monorail sped toward a cyclopean wall with a notch carved into it just large enough for the monorail car.

“How far have we traveled so far?” Tyr asked.

“Eighteen leagues,” Horace stated soberly as the monorail raced toward the notch.

The wall division loomed ahead of them as Andrew said in disbelief, “Eighteen leagues? We haven’t been on this thing more than ten minutes.”

Horace nodded as the monorail plunged into the notch in the wall, saying, “That is correct. The monorail is the fastest, safest mode of transport in Kartoom. Now look to the front. The citadel will be coming into view any moment.”

The monorail streaked through the notch in a matter of seconds. It emerged from the wall into the inner part of the city. They found themselves four hundred feet above the street and just below the dome of the city. It was a true city, complete with buildings, streets and activity. They looked down into the streets and found thousands of people and things milling around in the streets. The city itself was many leagues wide and right in the center of the city the citadel rose, absolutely dwarfing everything in sight. The citadel consisted of a colossal pyramid made of black basaltic rock, metal and crystal that rose through the roof, covering nearly twenty-five square miles at the base. It spanned five miles on the side and the crystals in it seemed to glow softly. The tracks of the monorail were heading right for it. The sheer cyclopean size of the citadel silenced everyone. Flying machines buzzed around it like bees in a beehive. As they approached the cyclopean tower, Andrew began to fidget with fear, saying, “I’m not sure about this. This thing is taking us right to it.”

Horace turned to him, saying somberly, “Yes. To reach the core, we must go in the citadel. But there is something that’s troubling me.”

“What’s that,” Ana asked.

“The seeming lack of activity here,” Horace commented worriedly. “Usually the streets around the citadel are bustling with activity. But if you noticed, the streets have become deserted within a half league of the citadel. All I’ve seen are checkpoints with soldiers, but no civilians. Something is going on in the citadel. I’m sure of it.”

“I noticed the lack of people too,” Hannibal agreed. “When we came out of the machine processing area, people were everywhere. But as we approached the citadel, I noticed what appeared to be a solid military perimeter, inside which I saw none of the activity we saw farther out. Something is definitely happening here, something sinister. I can feel it in my gut.”

“This is unusual,” Nemesis agreed grimly. “The setting of a perimeter around the citadel indicates something big is happening inside the fortress. We should be careful. Our good luck getting this far may be about to end.”

“You’re right,” Hannibal replied soberly. “We shouldn’t take anything for granted in this environment. The air itself is charged with illusion and evil. I can feel it. Everyone needs to be alert for anything and everything. Now comes the interesting part.” The speeding monorail rushed toward the citadel like a moth to a flame, finally coming to rest inside a station terminal. It was strangely deserted as everyone stepped off the monorail onto the landing platform. Hannibal’s innate ability to sense danger pegged off the scale as they stepped off the monorail.

They looked around and Nemesis, who had been rather calm up to this point, became concerned by the lack of personnel. “Something’s definitely going on here,” he stated. “Where are the guards? This place is usually crawling with security personnel. I’ve never seen this station left unguarded.”

“Indeed; this is a very troubling development,” Horace agreed ominously, “Even with major lock-downs, this terminal always has security present. Where in the hell did they go? This is a major breach of security protocol.”

“And what we’re doing isn’t?” Andrew asked bluntly, feeling vindicated about his earlier concern about the lack of activity.

“That’s true,” Hannibal stated grimly, looking around at the station. “But it may be a blessing in disguise. Whatever is going on here has virtually cleared the path for us.”

“It seems that way,” Ana stated, eyeing the surroundings with suspicion. “However, I can’t help but feel we’re walking into a trap.”

“I hear you,” Hannibal agreed, “But trap or no, we must proceed. We’re in too deep now to back out. Failure is not an option. If we fail, then the Emperor will run roughshod over the entire planet, killing every man, woman, and child on the planet. We can’t let that happen. Okay, which way do we go, Horace?” Hannibal’s little pep talk sparked courage in the team, reminding them of what was at stake.

Horace pointed to the main exit, saying, “This way, milord. Come quickly. We must be swift and silent as shadows if we expect to reach the core alive.” He led them into the corridors of the citadel. Five minutes after they arrived, Horace remembered something very important, especially since they had met with no resistance. “Oh, shit. I just remembered my protocol,” he stated in remembrance, his voice betraying his fear and displeasure. “I know why we haven’t met anyone.”

“And why is that?” Andrew asked with growing unease.

“It has nothing to do with the release or escape of the Azhidakar, but with Gateway Protocols,” Horace declared while leading the way. “Protocol states that whenever a full Gateway opening is attempted, the lower portions of the citadel are to be evacuated, except for essential personnel. Furthermore, a half league perimeter is set up just outside the citadel where all normal activity is suspended and the people evacuated away from the citadel as a safety precaution. That’s exactly what we saw coming in, a half league perimeter inside which no unessential personnel are allowed.”

Ana looked at him as they walked, asking pointedly, “And who are essential personnel?”

“The senior Cadre wizard, who used to be Ahriaman, his assistants, and several regiments of their most elite and savage guards to help with keeping the gateway secure,” Horace answered bluntly. “All other personnel are evacuated in case something goes wrong, no exceptions. The penalty for entering the exclusion zone around the citadel without written permission is summary execution on the spot.”

“I don’t like this,” Hannibal stated, picking up the pace with the team breaking into a run behind him and Nemesis. “If they’re really trying to open a gate, then we’re definitely running out of time. We have to finish this place before they succeed. They mustn’t be allowed to open the gate, even if it means we die stopping them. Our mission has now become that much more imperative. The Old Ones must never again be released back into our reality.”

“Is stopping this gate from opening that important?” one of the Cimmerians asked.

“It is,” Hannibal stated grimly while maintaining his pace, “If they succeed in opening the way for the Old Ones, the Emperor will have an army that makes the one he’s building in this place look like mild by comparison. They’re evil incarnate, and thrive on violence, chaos, death, and destruction. It’s possible they may even turn on the Emperor, just as the Triaskus Spiders turned on him in the 1st Age. They will become a plague on this planet, killing and feeding on every living thing here, including the Emperor and his minions. The fools have no idea what they’re trying to unleash. This is something we have to prevent. Our lives mean nothing if they unleash the Old Ones. We’ll be no more than their food. Think Murians, only of such an alien nature you cannot comprehend their existence with an insatiable hunger for life, particularly human life...a flood of nameless horrors, tentacled demons, and gelatinous blobs that consume everything in their path. Their hunger for flesh and blood makes the Murians look like saints. If you’re lucky, you’ll never see them as I have. Only the strongest minds can behold them and not go raving mad.”

“This sounds very bad,” the Cimmerian stated grimly keeping up with the team, “I honestly pray to the Elder Gods that we never encounter them. I have enough trouble dealing with Xenians, Zarukars, and Murians.”

“So do we all,” Hannibal agreed, “But the danger is there nonetheless. We ignore it at our peril. That’s why we’re here to destroy this place. If the Almighty is very merciful, we’ll stop them before they can open that infernal gate. Now, where is the entrance to the lower levels, Horace?”

“Just ahead,” Horace panted heavily from running, “Just around the corner there.” They raced to the turn in the corridor and stopped short before going around it. Just then, two Xenian spider guards rushed the corner, hearing the approaching footsteps, clanking of armor, and voices. The two groups practically ran into each other. Before the Xenians could act, Hannibal slashed one guard across the chest with the Scepter’s crystal spearhead. The Xenian flew back from the strike, crashing hard into the wall, stunning it. Hannibal then pounced with a shout, plunging the scepter’s crystal spearhead into the Xenian spider’s chest, frying it with a controlled energy burst from the scepter. Nemesis savagely dismembered the second spider Xenian with his claws, literally ripping the spider’s torso in half after scattering its limbs over the passageway with an ear-piercing roar. This savage attack by Nemesis shocked the team, giving them a healthy fear and respect for him.

“Goddamn,” Tyr breathed in awe. “I’m glad Nemesis is on our side.”

“Amen to that,” Andrew agreed, “I’ve not seen this side of him.”

“Such is how I’m constructed,” Nemesis called out menacingly. “I’m built to be a force of destruction when necessary. Give these beasts no quarter for they will give you none.”

“Nemesis is right,” Hannibal stated, pulling the scepter from the Xenian spider he’d dispatched. “We’re in the heart of the enemy’s stronghold here. They will kill us without a second thought if we’re caught, so don’t hesitate to kill when confronted with aggression. I must say we got lucky this time. We may not be this lucky next time; where to now, Horace?”

“This way,” Horace stated, pointing to the end of the corridor where there was a sealed door twelve feet tall and eight feet wide. “We’re going through the Archives to reach the Core. It’s the quickest way there.” The team sprinted to the door. Upon reaching it, they saw a special console on the right side with a keypad and both handprint and retina scanners.

“Hmm; a combination lock,” Hannibal mused. Suddenly, he noticed the scanner eye just above the console and a hand scanner beside the keypad. “Biometrics as well,” he said stoically. “All right Horace, do your thing.”

Horace approached and first keyed in the combination, and then put his hand on the hand scanner while looking directly at the retina scanner. A scaly mechanical voice stated, “Stand by for scanner recognition.” A light flashed out of the scanner eye, scanning Horace’s face for a moment while a light scanned Horace’s hand. Then after a long moment, the console turned green and the voice said, “Access granted. Welcome to the Archives, Horace of Shiar Eloi.” The servos hummed and the door slid open to left, revealing a large room beyond the door.

Horace smiled and motioned for Hannibal to go first. Hannibal refused, saying, “You go first, my friend. We’ll cover you.” Horace shrugged and went through the door.

Suddenly without warning, the klaxon alarm went off. Lights flashed and sirens blare as the mechanical voice roared, “Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Unauthorized personnel in the Archive! All security personnel to the Archive!”

The door began to shut and Hannibal swore, saying, “Shit! I knew it! They must have figured out Horace turned!”

Nemesis pounced on the door, holding it open with his brute strength. “Everyone through the door, now!” he ordered. Everyone but Hannibal went through, who covered the team. The klaxon siren was earsplitting and the computer voice kept repeating its grating warning. Irritated with the noise of the alarm, Hannibal turned to the scanner and jammed the scepter in it, blinding and silencing the computer. He then darted through the opening as Nemesis started losing his fight with the door. A swarm of spider Xenians poured around the corner and opened fire as Nemesis slipped into the room, allowed the door to close. Panic-stricken, Horace tinkered with the console on the inside.

“What are you doing?” Ana asked intensely as they heard the spider Xenians shooting at the doors. The blasts bulged and rattled the door.

“Trying to get this crazy thing to move; it’s supposed to go down. This room is an elevator,” Horace replied in panic.

“Well, you’d better do something quick,” Nemesis hissed as the spiders began prying the door open. “That door isn’t going to hold them long.”

“Shit, I’m locked out,” Horace cried, flustered at his inability to get the controls to respond. “How’d they know I turned?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ana growled, pushing Horace aside. “Let me deal with it.” She grabbed the console with her cybernetic hand, ripping its cover clean off.

“What are you doing?” Horace protested as Ana stuck the same machine hand into the console. Underneath the console top lay an override mechanism with a single key hole. Ana put her cybernetic finger in the hole and turned it. The klaxon suddenly stopped and a second bulkhead door slammed down in front of Nemesis as the other door was being pried open. The room suddenly rumbled and the thirty of them began to descend in the strange elevator. Ana smiled mischievously at Horace as he asked with great amazement, “How did you know about the override?”

Ana chuckled as she pulled her cybernetic finger out of the override, saying, “Because, my dear Horace, once upon a time long ago I used to be one hell of an engineer. I studied all the systems the Cadre used. I had to because they wanted me to upgrade their systems here. I was one of several whom they snatched to help upgrade their security system so that no one would be able to penetrate it. Because of my experience with the design and installation of these systems, I was allowed access even to the core. That’s why I was locked away the way I was in Acheron. Once they had what they wanted, they eliminated the others and left me as a backup in case something went wrong. If something did go wrong, they would release me until I fixed it, and then lock me away again. They altered my genetic structure with the reptilian genetic material to enhance my lifespan by hundreds of cycles. Between it and my extensive cyberization, I’ve been able to live this long.”

“Hmm,” Hannibal mused. “That explains your extensive lifespan and why, as Muriel, you were not only familiar with the machinery at Acheron, but scared to death of it.”

Ana nodded solemnly, saying, “The machinery at Acheron was the basis for this whole place. They reproduced it right down to the last bolt here, and then enhanced and expanded it. What we have here is far more sophisticated and dangerous than Acheron. We’re going to have to be extra careful here. The machinery here is extraordinarily dangerous, much of it controlled by alien AIs.”

Just then, the room ceased to rumble and the wall opened on the opposite side they came in. The moment the door started sliding open, a hail of plasma rounds poured through the ever-widening door. “Look out!” Ana called out in warning, seeing the door move with three spider Xenians and four elite guards opening fire from outside. Her warning came too late. The plasma rounds killed two gladiators and a Cimmerian while wounding two hybrids, a Cimmerian, and a gladiator before the doors opened half way. The rest of the team dropped to the floor or scattered away from the opening door to avoid the fire from outside. Nemesis immediately returned fire with his built-in plasma cannon while taking cover on the right side of the open door. It caused the attackers to cease firing for a few moments. In the lull, Hannibal’s team set in ambush positions, waiting for the attack to resume.

“Surrender, outlanders,” one of the elite guards called out. “There’s no escape. We’ve disable the elevator. Come out and you’ll not be harmed.”

“It’s the captain, and he’s lying,” Nemesis growled, switching to his machine claws. “It’s summary execution on the spot for being in here without permission. They’re trying to get us to let our guards down.”

“No, shit,” Hannibal growled, his berserker rage rising dangerously when he saw his companions fall. “They’re going to regret this. I promise.”

“You have twenty seconds,” the captain shouted, “After that, you will die.”

Hannibal peeked around, seeing seven guards: three spider Xenians and four elite guards. One of the elite guards appeared to be the captain of the group. They had set up a semi-circular perimeter with the spider Xenians to each side and one in the middle. The four elite guards had assumed position between the spider Xenians, which towered two feet over their heads. “Ten seconds,” the captain barked.

“We’re going to die anyway, so come get us,” Hannibal replied in an icy draken-like tone, Grimm’s Mask altering his voice, “Or maybe I should come get you, you bug-brained twits. You have no idea who you’re fucking with.” Turning to Nemesis, he whispered, “There are seven of them in a semi-circle about twenty cubits away. When I step out, blast them with a volley from your plasma cannon. If you have explosive rounds for it, now would be the time for them.”

“Right,” Nemesis growled, adjusting him machine-arm plasma cannon to use explosive rounds. “Ready.”

“You’ve sealed your fate,” the captain shouted, genuinely infuriated by Hannibal’s insults. “Spiders, burn them to ashes!”

“You first,” Hannibal answered, stepping out into the open and throwing the scepter like a spear at the captain. The captain and his team stared in fearful shock as a six-foot bipedal Grimm Draken appeared in the doorway throwing a large spear with a crystal head. Their hesitation proved fatal for them. The Scepter skewered the captain, killing him instantly. At the same moment, Nemesis stepped out and opened fire with his plasma cannon while Hannibal opened fire with the Draken Gauntlets. In less than twenty seconds, the battle ended with pieces of the spider Xenians and the four elite guards scattered over foyer of the Archive. Hannibal and Nemesis attacked with such speed, brutality, and precision the guards never fired the first shot.

Scanning the area through the smoke while switching to his machine claws, Nemesis called out, “All clear.” He kept a close eye on the area as Hannibal retrieved the scepter from the captain’s chest.

Shaking the blood from the scepter’s crystal spear point, Hannibal shook his head solemnly, “What a waste of life; they should have backed down.”

“We should get moving,” Nemesis urged. “This skirmish will no doubt bring others.”

“I agree,” Hannibal concurred, returning to the elevator room. “How bad did we get hit?”

“Three dead and four more seriously wounded,” Ana stated, “The wounded are in no position to go anywhere.”

Hannibal quickly assessed the wounded, agreeing with Ana’s diagnosis. “You’re right,” he agreed, “Have you attempted to stabilize them, Ana?”

“Yes,” Ana reported, “But stabilize is all I’m able to do here. These wounds demand urgent medical attention with the Healer.”

“Don’t mind us,” one of the wounded hybrids stated. “You must finish this now or we’re all dead. We’ll stay here and keep the elevator secure. Someone is going to have to do it anyway.”

“Your courage does Morpheus proud,” Hannibal commended. “And you’re right about securing our way out. All right, who’s staying to guard our wounded and our way out?” Seven warriors immediately volunteered to guard wounded and the exit: two Cimmerians, two hybrids, and three gladiators.

“Excellent,” Hannibal declared, opening the visor on Grimm’s Mask so the warriors could see his face. “Now watch your backs, my friends. We’re far from safe here. Keep your eyes and ears open, and don’t hesitate to protect yourselves. Lord willing, we’ll be back before you know it. If the worst should happen, let me say it has been an honor to fight alongside you. I’m honored to call you friend.”

“We’re the ones who are honored,” the wounded hybrid stated. “Now get moving, milord. We’ll keep this way open as long as possible.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Hannibal stated soberly. “See you guys in a little bit. Come on, guys; we have a power plant to overload.”

“You guys should grab the weapons from the guards we killed,” Nemesis ordered. “It’ll help you defend the elevator.”

“Yes, sir,” the wounded hybrid replied, seeing the volunteer team already grabbing the blasters from the dead guards. “We’re already on it.”

“Good,” Nemesis stated with a grunt, seeing the guards quickly retrieving the weapons. “Keep your eyes open and stay under cover.”

“Yes, sir,” the volunteer team replied in unison.

“We should hurry,” Horace urged, “These aren’t the only guards in the Archive.”

“Right,” Hannibal stated, closing the visor on Grimm’s Mask. “Let’s move.” With that, Horace led the team through a series of chambers and tunnels until they reached the place where he no longer had clearance to enter: the doorway to the core and gateway levels. They lost two more gladiators, one Cimmerian, and a hybrid in the running battles they had with teams of elite guards. By time they reached the bulkhead doors to the core, everyone bore light to moderate wounds received at the hands of those guards. Furthermore, Hannibal’s team had been reduced to twelve, causing concern among the team members.

“This is it,” Horace told them after they slew the four Xenian reptiles, two Xenian spiders, and six elite guard that guarded the doorway. “The core lies beyond this door. I have no clearance for this level.” Horace held his side as it oozed blood from a deep gash.

“Don’t fret it,” Ana declared, “I can get in. After all, I have the master key.” She approached the console for the door and ripped the top off it with her cybernetic hand. Just like in the elevator console, a manual override keyhole lay beneath the console’s top. Pushing her machine finger into the keyhole, Ana turned it and opened the door, saying, “This thing is really useful. Much more so than I ever believed it would be. I’ll bet those bastards didn’t think these things they grafted on me would be their undoing.” The door slid open, revealing another elevator room. They went in and the doors closed. The room immediately sank noticeably.