Transmigrant - Chapter 29
Copyright © 2024 Stephen B. Anthony
A closed door is not an obstacle but a riddle, and the key is not force, but understanding.
—Katsu Niruku, Anatomy of Power
CHAPTER 29
Kannon Niruku knelt on the deck and looked down at the corpse of Luis Soto. Soto had gotten sloppy. He’d brought a single android into the room with Decker, relying on threats, intimidation, and that damned plasma pistol, which now was presumably in Decker’s hands.
Higgins and his team of twelve men accompanied Niruku. The Chairman had insisted on bringing a dozen androids with him. Higgins felt like they were more trouble than they were worth. Niruku wanted a show of force, although he would be the first to admit that they weren’t particularly useful in combat. They could kill, but they simply weren’t capable of complex decision-making.
Higgins watched Kannon place the tip of his wakizashi at the back of the neck of the malfunctioning android that Soto had left behind and put an end to the creature with a single thrust, severing the spinal cord. He had seen Niruku dispatch androids before. He was clean and efficient at it, which Higgins appreciated.
Niruku directed two soldiers to breach the door to the other brig, where Stewart was held. It didn’t surprise Higgins to find the room empty. Decker had taken her with him, just as Kannon had predicted. The two were clearly lovers, a weakness that Higgins would exploit if necessary.
The Leviathan was a giant ship with almost no one on it. Aside from his twelve men, Niruku and Soto (before his death), a bridge crew of five remained behind at their posts. Higgins had insisted on having the bridge secured so that Decker and his compatriots didn’t storm the bridge and take out the small command there. Niruku had agreed. Only Higgins and Niruku had the code to re-open the bridge.
Niruku said. “Split your team. Six of you, with me and the androids, will go to the artifacts. The other six to the Shinobi, just in case they are hiding out there.”
“You heard him,” Higgins said. “Jonesy, Strat, Biggs, Booker, and Maverick with me. The rest, stay with the Chairman.”