Chapter 123: Mental note
The quiet hum of the castle was a stark contrast to the chaotic energy still thrumming through Fin’s veins. He sat at the massive stone table in what Arachne had designated the ’war room’ – a chamber smaller than the main hall, dominated by the table and several stark, uncomfortable-looking chairs. The datachip was slotted into a battered, Guild-issue reader he’d... acquired. Mara had been surprisingly thorough.
Holographic schematics of the Valerius Spire floated above the table, a complex, multi-layered structure. Red markers pulsed over designated targets: divination chambers, psionic relay nodes, primary data archives for Hunter movements across multiple sectors.
’Harder target,’ Fin acknowledged internally. The Spire wasn’t just an office; it was a fortress, the heart of the Association’s information network in the region. ’More defenses. More personnel. Higher stakes.’
He zoomed in on a section labeled ’Sub-level Psi-Corp Conduits’. Intricate networks of cabling and glowing energy lines. ’Disrupt these, and their long-range scrying goes dark. Completely.’ That was the primary objective. Secondary: personnel. The chief diviners, the psionic technicians. Neutralize their ability to see, to predict, to coordinate.
He traced a potential insertion route with a finger through the hologram. Maintenance shafts. Old service tunnels from before the Spire’s last major refit. Less guarded, according to Mara’s notes, but likely still trapped, monitored.
"Valerius is a hornet’s nest," Scarlet’s voice drawled from the doorway. She leaned against the stone frame, arms crossed, watching him. "Stir it, and you get stung. Hard."
"Hornets can be swatted," Fin replied without looking up from the schematics.
Arachne entered silently behind Scarlet, placing a tray with a mug of water and a piece of plain bread on the table near Fin’s elbow. "Your sustenance, my Lord."
He ignored it. "The Spire’s lower levels are older," he mused, tapping a section of the hologram. "Less integrated security. That’s our way in. We hit the conduits first, then move up to the divination sanctums on the upper floors."
Scarlet pushed off the doorframe, walking over to peer at the floating schematics. "Upper floors? That’s where the real teeth are. Elite guards, dedicated response teams. We’ll be fighting our way through a damn army."
"We won’t be fighting an army," Fin corrected. "We’ll be precise. Surgical." He looked up at her, his eyes flat. "Fast in, cripple their eyes, fast out. Like Arclight, but on a larger scale."