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“You got her to work again?” Niko asked.

“Yes, but I had to rewrite some of her neural network and jailbreak the programming. I’m not talented with machine AI the way some of the other people at LaraTech were, but to put it simply, she won’t send feedback to Galapol if you do anything illegal.”

“So, what’s this about a drone?” Zann pushed.

“Right. See this camera? I’d had it from before I even started killing.

I gathered a lot of supplies and tech components, just in case I’d need them eventually if a situation arose.

I’ve made her into a fully functional drone.

She can be used for surveillance. And see this?

” He opened her side compartment, then pointed to delicate wiring and a chip of some kind.

“She has ophthalmic refraction tech installed, too—”

“What.” Zann stared at him.

“Uh, the stealth tech stuff,” Niko offered.

“I’ve programmed her to switch stealth on and off, adjust the camera, transmit signal, internal emergency kill switch, things like that, all from remote control,” Elliott continued.

“And the flamethrower?” Niko asked.

“And the flamethrower.”

“Well, shit,” Zann marveled. “Everything’s kinda falling into place for once, huh?”

“Please don’t jinx it,” Niko said. The last time things had started falling into place for them, he’d received news that his father had been kidnapped by literally the worst people in the galaxy.

“Don’t expect anything extraordinary,” Elliott warned, though Niko thought any of the wonders he’d managed to create could easily be categorized as ‘extraordinary.’ “The camera doesn’t have the range most modern drones do, and it’s still, in the end, a very basic T1-N4 model.

It’s just a project I’ve been putting together in my free time.

But we could deploy her and scout the area while she’s under stealth.

Check if Angela’s information is good, or if we’re about to walk into another trap. Then go from there.”

“Sounds good,” Zann said. “When do we start?”

“Why not now?”

“Good afternoon, Niko!” T1-N4 exclaimed cheerily as her interface activated, a familiar, pixelated emoji smile lighting up her screen.

The shine of its glass reflected the thick, cerulean treetops of Vorna-12 above.

All around them, the scent of soil and petrichor filled the air.

Niko only now realized how stale the air in places like the facility seemed.

Even Kaapra-19 and Dainna, while full of their own vibrant tapestry of city scents, never held the sort of quiet, soothing splendor that nature inherently did. “It’s very good to see you again!”

Niko blinked. “Wow, she remembers me? I thought she had to be, like, rebooted.”

“She did. I had to wipe everything. But I wanted her to recall you, so I programmed it in,” Elliott said. That detail struck Niko hard and he ached, looking over at Elliott. It was such a simple, small thing, but meant so much.

Elliott tossed her into the air, and her little whirring engines took over. “Are you ready to murder some assholes?” she chimed in her singsong voice. Niko barked out a laugh.

Elliott smirked at him. “I may have added a few personality additions.”

“So, you made her into a mini you.” Zann snorted.

“Beats being nagged at about keeping hydrated, I guess,” Niko said.

“She’ll still do that,” Elliott muttered.

“Time to test the controls.” He played around with a small but simple holographic interface.

T1-N4 moved in a gentle circle, then floated up and down.

He opened a second hologram which revealed himself, Niko, and Zann from the viewpoint of T1-N4’s camera, all slightly distorted in fisheye view.

“I am ready for destruction!” she exclaimed, then emitted a small jet of flames aimed toward the sky.

“Okay, you might have to tone that thing the hell down, before it sets us all on fire in our sleep,” Zann mumbled.

Elliott ignored him. A moment later, she vanished from view. “Everything seems to be functional.”

Niko caught a glimmer of distorted air from the corner of his eye as she ascended. He and Zann crowded around Elliott to watch the holoview from her camera as it swept up now through the treetops, heading toward the coordinates Angela had provided them.

“There’s a branch—” Zann warned. T1-N4 swiftly pivoted around it. “You should stay clear from any settlements too, even with the stealth on. You might want to go a little higher, and—”

“I know what I’m doing,” Elliott snapped.

“Zann, stop backseat driving the drone,” Niko mumbled.

The camera view soared up above the treetops, giving a breathtaking view of the azure forest at large.

In the distance, a flock of diamond-shaped creatures that reminded Niko of manta rays soared along, before diving one after the other into the foliage.

Eventually, T1-N4 reached Angela’s coordinates, pausing to hover above dense overgrowth and tall, crowded trees.

The area looked completely inconspicuous—nothing at all appeared to be around for miles.

“Bring her down under the canopy,” Zann said impatiently.

“I know!” Elliott barked. T1-N4’s view began to descend, slow and careful as Elliott had to navigate her through the branches. Once the leaves cleared from view, the undergrowth of the forest spread before them, shady and azure with dim shafts of sunlight peeking through occasionally.

Elliott rotated T1-N4 slowly.

“There. There!” Zann said, pointing. Elliott paused, zooming in with her camera on the spot Zann had indicated.

Peeking out from among several tangled bushes was a heavy set of concrete doors that led straight into the ground.

Elliott swiveled the camera more, and two ships—one smaller and built for luxury travel, the other more sizable and for utility—sat parked two dozen yards away in a subtle clearing.

A particularly rough and scarred looking Toliai stood leaning against the side of the plainer ship, smoking a cigar.

“Get a close up of their serial numbers,” Zann said.

Elliott zoomed in on the small, sixteen-digit numbers printed on the sides of each, and Zann immediately began running them through some of the data he’d swiped from Galapol.

“One on the left belongs to Hesaakan. The other… is harder to track, but seems to be registered in Dolloss, Thoro.”

The capital city of Thoro, which seated the Toliai royal throne.

“So, these guys are a favor from Taal to his best buddy,” Niko mumbled.

“Or Taal’s here too,” Zann said. Goosebumps crept along Niko’s skin at the thought.

“Taal’s recovering in the Dolloss royal hospital,” Elliott said.

Zann shrugged. “Could be a front to throw your murder-happy ass off.” He pulled out the pack of cigarettes from his coat pocket and lit up, seeming to savor in the relief only satisfying a gnawing addiction could bring.

“Anyhow, I guarantee this guy’s big scaly ass isn’t the only one here.

And they’re probably elite, seasoned agents in service to Taal.

Or trusted mercs. Either way, your job here just got a whole lot harder.

You sure you wanna go through with this? ”

Something hardened inside Niko. He wasn’t willing to back off on this, wasn’t willing to let it go and allow Yerudu Hesaakan to enjoy another day of sentience just because Uru Taal might be there too.

And he’d dealt with Toliai before. They were hard as hell to bring down, but they weren’t invincible.

Especially not with Lady Death and her team backing them up.

They could take on a few well-trained mercs.

He glanced at Elliott. “I want it to be him next. Are we still doing this?”

They locked gazes for a long minute, Elliott searching Niko’s eyes, his own hard and shadowed in a churning storm of thoughts. He worked his jaw.

After a moment, he gave Niko a single, decisive nod. “But only Hesaakan.”

“Fine,” Niko agreed reluctantly. He had a feeling Taal wasn’t behind those thick concrete doors, underneath the soil—an old gut instinct that whispered to him. But if the Toliai prince—and Elliott’s tormentor—was there, Niko would have a hell of a time trying to talk Lady Death into letting him go.

Let alone, himself.

But that was a problem for Future Niko , and one he might not ever even have to worry about at all.

Elliott looked back to the camera, guiding T1-N4 across the area to get a full look around.

“Underground bunker. Likely fortified. There’s probably a back entrance around here, too…

Bingo.” The camera focused now on another door, similar to the first, hidden in an even thicker set of bushes.

“We can flush them out, then pick them off at both exits.”

“Yep.” Zann crushed the butt of his cigarette under his boot, then kicked a small covering of dirt over it.

“Well. Place looks surprisingly clear, too. No Galapol agents waiting around on this one. Nothing fishy. Just an asshole hanging out with his hired protection. Looks like Kelsa’s intel checks out.

We just earned ourselves a very, very useful new best friend. ”

Elliott began T1-N4’s retreat, guiding her up silently through the canopy again, careful not to rustle any leaves and catch the guard’s attention. Then he spoke what lay heavy and wrapped with dread deep inside of Niko.

“If Honeybliss doesn’t find her first.”