The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Mindfire Redux

"FOOLS!" Kendrick snarled at the assembled Mindfire, standing before a holo-transmitter that sent their image directly to his office in Toronto. They were a shimmering collection of forms that stood above the holo-imaging plate built into his phone. The receiver/transmitter also sent his image to a holo-imager of their own, forming a telecommunications link that was both live and interactive.

"You have probably four renegade hardwires running around the city, fourteen nations still in rebellion and you're playing patty-cake with a softwire?? You should have tracked her back to her base, instead of trying to burn her down! That may have given you the location of this newest nation, Avalon!"

"Perhaps," Ravage answered evenly. Kendrick could hear the defiance in his voice, and see it in every one of their postures. "But we didn't anticipate that she would be able to communicate with her safe house through our jamming signal to request an extraction! Nor could we anticipate that a member of any nation, other than the Brotherhood, would have a hardwire powerful enough to bore 'port somebody out of a completely secured area."

Mindfire's commander's face tightened.

"These facts, added to the data we've been gathering in the city, has led us to conclude that Preacher's renegade has returned to Calgary and is currently working with this Avalon. This, in itself, makes this new nation much more formidable!"

"In addition to this third party that seems to have taken an interest in our organization there, in Calgary," Kendrick mused out loud in a rumbling rasp, his anger washing away at Ravage's revelation. He nodded tightly. "It would appear the Inner Council is in agreement with you on this. Avalon and the unknown third party have become a risk the Brotherhood can no longer tolerate," the North American commander announced flatly, glaring at Mindfire's image sitting on top of his desk.

"So they've dispatched five additional ESETs to Calgary to assist you in tracking down and exterminating both the unknown third party and the Avalon nation, as well as continue to quell the rebellion."

"Five?" Ravage's face seemed to twist. "We don't need any assistance in tracking this rabble down!" he insisted tightly.

"No? Then what is your explanation for not having Preacher's renegade in your hands as we speak?" It was Kendrick's turn to grimace as his anger returned with a vengeance. "If you had taken him when you were supposed to, our Lyon facility ..." The big man physically shook himself as he pushed that renewed anger and frustration to the back of his mind. "If, indeed Preacher's renegade is in league with Avalon, and the unknowns support them, you may need even more ESETs than the five we're sending you. Remember what he did to your team in the hotel, after you supposedly surprised him."

As all of their faces darkened at the memory, Kendrick pressed on.

"With what the unknown hardwires have been doing to our cleanup and suppression teams there, I won't even mention that you've lost several quarry subjects in the last two weeks, despite your best efforts to contain them!"

"Our telepaths have found that the com traffic is much cleaner and tighter over the city than usual. It's as if somebody has been training the nations to use tight links and squawk traffic instead of fluid links and interactive traffic! You'll need the additional forces to assist you in getting a good lead on the renegade and his 'ragged' band of followers in this Avalon. They're on the ground as we speak. You'll meet them at the Sheraton downtown ASAP and coordinate your activities."

"But ..." Ravage tried to interject. Kendrick, however, severed the connection with a thought before he could say anything more.

"Conversation over!" the big man rumbled and stared hard out his office window at a smoggy skyline over Canada's largest city. 'God take me for a fool, but I think we're about to go to war!'