Unity

by Carl Stubblefield

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Together Again

  “Well, it looks like the transport is shot. What’s left of it,” Tempest said, lifting a torn piece of plating with his foot and letting it fall to the dust.

  “It’s not the only one,” Darik added testily, constantly trying to adjust his pants but never seeming to get comfortable.

  “Don’t be a little witch about it,” Harmony teased.

  Darik turned on Jet with his fists on his hips.

  “Are ye happy? See what you’ve done? Would have been better to fall to my death than bear the barbs this lot will heap upon me ‘til the end of time.”

  Jet wobbled and drew a small face on the dirt with X’s for eyes. Then an oblong oval, followed by a frowny face.

  “What is that? Emoji? What’s the middle one?” someone asked from the back.

  “I think it’s an eggplant, if I had to guess…” Harmony piped in.

  “Enough of this!” Darik bellowed, using his foot to wipe away the characters, stirring up a cloud of dirt in his fervor. The remaining Crew laughed at his discomfiture, secretly glad that they had all survived relatively unscathed.

  “Darik, can you make a portal back to the manor?”

  “No. Don’t you think I would ‘ave done that already if I could? I don’t have a good enough idea about the manor’s location to travel from here to there. I need to know both endpoints clearly and distinctly. I’m not remotely close at the manor and that should tell you how much less this point is in the middle of nowhere. Even if I did, I could only bring one person through at a time, then it’d bottom me out, and we’d have to wait at least four hours before we could bring another person through.”

  “What about a smaller jump to a portal, then we could gate back to the manor?”

  Darik puckered his lips and bobbed his head back and forth.

  “Now that may be do-able. Though what I could create is less a portal than a skipping jump. I’d need a direction though, and I think we’re far enough from civilization that we lack the necessary landmarks. I only have a limited amount of MP for jumps and they would need to be precise with a group this large, if we all wanted to make it there without waiting forever for recharges.”

  “Are the comms functional? Can we send out a signal?”

  “Unfortunately no, captain,” Grimdark drawled in his thick Romanian accent. “We lost engines and batteries when we hit trees. It was good fortune that we skip to this inlet, but ship is useless now.”

  “I should have expected as much,” Tempest sighed. “Alright, everyone link in team chat. Pulse, how are you doing?”

  “I’ve got some pretty good burns from those damn drones, but I’m fine. Wish BoJack was here to fix this up though.”

  “You and me both. Anyone else hurt severely?” There were some light complaints but overall the Crew was only roughed up a little. “Pulse, can you send a beacon periodically to notify the others where we are?” Tempest asked.

  “You’re not worried about any remaining drones?” Anastasia piped in.

  “I look forward to them coming,” Tempest growled. “Maybe we can get some answers. What are your thoughts? Who attacked us and why?”

  “I doubt that they knew we were supers, or their tactics would have been different,” Anastasia replied, pulling a strand of hair behind one ear.

  “The Oracle warned that this might happen,” Darik added.

  “So a remote viewing ability? No one comes to mind with that as a major skill set. Anyone know anything related?” Tempest asked, looking around the group. When no one offered anything new, he soldiered on. “So what we do know is that this awareness does not seem to know who is inquiring, but it does seem to know where or they couldn’t have found us so quickly. Those drones were some of the latest models from what I could tell, so we are looking at someone well-established and well-funded. The fact that they tried to kill us just for knowing about them also is telling. It indicated to me a weakness. A need to remain unknown to be able to do what they want uncontested.”

  “So does whoever sent them know they failed?” Harmony piped in from the back.

  “I’m not totally sure. Yuki would know; it all depends on how connected the drones are to the network. But if we are having communication issues, I would assume those drones are as well. And that’s good for us.”

  “You don’t think they can tap into the satellites and connect?”

  “After seeing the firepower those drones carried, I would doubt that they would have much room for the processors needed to manage targeting, full communication, and that offensive capability. My guess is that they were dispatched here and someone will be following them to retrieve them after they have completed their mission.”

  “So how much time do you think we have, Tempest?” Harmony said, hugging herself and shuddering in the increasingly cold twilight.

  “We were much higher when the drones made contact, so I would estimate eight hours to travel to where the drones found our ship. They probably communicated then, and had contact with the satellite network there, or piggybacked off of our ship’s signals. After we went down, my guess is that they did not plan to end up in an area this remote. On top of that, Pulse destroyed a fair number of those drones, which would weaken their collective signal strength. Anyone arriving to check out the aftermath would need to ping the drones to find out where they ended up. What I don’t know is if they could detect that we were able to retaliate and destroy some drones. If they do, that would change what type of welcoming party we can expect.”

  “It looks like only Gus, Aurora, BoJack, and Yuki are unaccounted for, so we have to find them or make it easy for them to find us and get to civilization. We may need to leave a couple of people behind if we don’t manage to find them, then send someone back,” Anastasia recommended.

  “I don’t like teams smaller than four, so I hope they’re together.”

  Across the lake, Aurora saw the glint of metal in the moonlight.

  “Yuki, look.”

  “What are you talking about?” Yuki squinted at where Aurora was looking but no recognition passed across her features.

  “You think that’s the rest of the Crew?” she asked, voice full of uncertainty.

  “Look at the trees, you can see where it came down,” Aurora said, pointing.

  “How are you seeing anything out there? It’s so dark.” Yuki continued to look but couldn’t see anything, try as she might.

  Is it because she hasn’t put as many points into perception as I have? I probably should tell her about Nth and how to access her levels…

  “Well, I trust you can see it even if I don’t. I’m sorry I can’t fly. It would probably be easier to just swim across, but I am not going in that water again. It’s like ice cold. Why don’t you fly over there, and you can get a couple of people to bring me back?”

  Aurora nodded. “You’ll be okay?”

  “Hold on, before you go, let me try linking comms… Okay, I sent an invite but no one has accepted it yet. Not totally sure anyone has received it though. You think they’re sleeping?”

  “Someone would be on watch, regardless. Let me try to get their attention.” Aurora braced herself and fired Dazzle and Ion Storm simultaneously. The shimmering effects reflected off the glassy still lake and the trees along the banks flickered with reflected light. Two quick red beams shot up from the area of wreckage in response.

  “That’s Pulse.” Aurora smiled. “Glad we found some of them.”

  “I hope that’s everyone, I’m ready to get out of here.”

  “Me too.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Your Friend Will

  As Gus flew above the smoky remains of the fire, he was impressed with the level of destruction around their camp. His eyes panned around until there was a bright wink of light. Focusing, he used his perception zoom and saw that the glint came from the transport! Tiny figures moved around the broken section of the ship and one portion of bent ba
ck metal had reflected the light like a mirror. Surveying the area all around, his mini-map filled in with additional information and he put a marker on the ship’s location. He descended and took care not to stir up too much ash with his landing.

  Popping his head into the tent, he yelled at BoJack to wake up. The older super didn’t move until Gus told him what he had found. That got him moving. The older super sprang to his feet and in a matter of minutes, he had unraveled all of his constructs and the only thing remaining was a relatively untouched rectangle of smooth dirt, out of place in contrast to the black scarred ground.

  BoJack didn’t trust the charcoal spikes that remained of the trees, so he just propelled himself above the ground on his cables as Gus took to the air. Soon they had passed the area of fire damage and BoJack hoisted himself above the treetops again.

  “Which way?” BoJack deferred to Gus.

  “This way,” Gus pointed as he shared the nav-point on his display and began to fly.

  “Let’s go.”

  They traveled for a bit in relative silence, with only the crunch of cables attaching and the swoosh as the trees bent back and forth as BoJack moved.

  “Gus, can I ask you a personal question?” BoJack asked through the mental link, surprising him.

  “Sure, I suppose,” he replied.

  “What do you have against your father? The whole Crew can see how you keep him at arm’s length, and you always get incredibly tense around him. From my experience, Tempest has always gone above and beyond to help the other supers in Purple Faction. I doubt you would get this many people following him on a personal mission if he wasn’t doing something right.”

  “Maybe he just treats supers better than regs,” Gus shot back, a bit too quickly.

  “Mmmm, I don’t think so. There are definitely those in Purple Faction that are exactly that way, but your father doesn’t give out that vibe. So what’s going on?”

  “It’s complicated.” Gus didn’t like where this conversation was heading, so he flew a little bit more quickly.

  “Does it have to be? I know from personal experience that I have a tendency to make things a lot harder than they need to be, or exaggerate the size and scope of the rift between myself and others. I’ve wasted a lot of time being stubborn and prideful, telling myself the other person has to change. This may just be me talking—I don’t want to put my experience onto you—but it just seems… familiar.”

  They traveled in silence for a while as Gus mulled the situation over. The silence became ponderous and Gus had to fill the void, even if it meant sharing something he’d rather have kept to himself.

  “There’s probably a little of that going on, if I’m being honest.” Gus turned around and hovered as BoJack crawled towards him. “There’s just so much to sort out, and I feel like I’m trying to drink out of a fire-hose at full blast. It’s overwhelming, and I feel totally inexperienced and inadequate.

  “Then Tempest shows up and all those things just get bumped up a notch. Except now he seems like a totally different person, all accepting and friendly. A part of me feels like he’s only accepting my powers, and only now am I important to him. That makes me both angry and suspicious. I don’t know what his true motives are, where his loyalties lie, and I’m afraid of losing control and losing everything I’ve worked for, like the past.” The words flowed out, having been pent up and pushed down for too long.

  BoJack came closer. “I get it. I think every super goes through something similar. Maybe not with a manor involved, but trying to find your place, especially when you’re around other people who are amazingly talented. It can be a bit daunting. Not to mention transitioning from how people saw you from before, to the new, improved you.”

  “That’s for damn sure,” he said, a little relieved that BoJack could relate to some of what he was feeling.

  “And it’s even worse if you’re trying to lift that whole load on your own. I know you don’t really know any of us on the Crew, and maybe don’t trust all of us yet. But your father is on your side whether you believe it or not. And we are on his side, which makes us on your side as well. I think you would do well to let some others in and allow them to get to know you. I don’t think that I would have gotten to know you as much as I have if all this hadn’t happened.” BoJack gestured, mimicking the crash and fire. “Am I wrong?” He peered at Gus, making eye contact before Gus could stare elsewhere.

  “No,” Gus said, looking away as his face flushed.

  “You know Wheaton’s law?”

  Gus chuckled a bit. “Yeah.”

  “Well, take it to heart then. You’re not a moody teenager anymore; you’re a super, so you have to up your game. Got it?” BoJack’s tone was encouraging, hopeful, and didn’t immediately throw up Gus’ deflector shields and make him defensive.

  “I’ll make more of an effort. It’s hard though; some things are like a reflex. I feel awkward and inadequate around you guys and how you all get along and know how to work with each other. I don’t feel like I belong—like I’m some phony trying to fit in.”

  “Everyone gets that at first. Okay? You’re normal. You’re hyper-aware of your own flaws and failures, and all you can see is everyone and the ease with which they do things, right? You’ve been doing this super thing for how long, a couple months?”

  Gus nodded as he did some mental calculation. “Yeah, about two months.”

  “So two months, teaching yourself, fighting monsters that scare any super out there, and coming out of it all intact. That doesn’t make you feel good? Then defeating a whole horde of other supers and keeping the island. Aurora still won’t tell us exactly how you managed to pull that off, says it’s your story to tell. So I don’t know what the big mystery is, but have you ever considered that some of the Crew may be as intimidated by you as you are by them?”

  “Whatever.”

  “And then how the Oracle singled you out like that? Do you think that’s normal? Supers are afraid of her, and what she can see and what she will ask in payment for that information. I have never heard of her taking an interest in anyone before either, so that’s another mystery. I don’t know what’s in your future, but I want you to be ready to meet whatever it is. It may be more important than anything supers have done in a while, if you’re affecting that many events and powerful individuals.”

  “Dang. No pressure, right?”

  “I hate to break it to you, mate, but if you got into the super business for a life of ease, you picked the wrong profession. It’s hard, thankless work if you don’t find your inner motivations.”

  Which I still need to figure out, Gus thought.

  “Okay, I don’t mean to pry. But can I give you some advice?” BoJack asked.

  “Sure.”

  “First, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re doing fine, probably better than a bunch of us did when we were at the same stage in our development. Second, like I said, give your father and the Crew an honest chance. Put yourself out there, and just trust that you’ll be okay whatever happens. Your dad is trying, but no one can keep that up forever if there’s constant resistance. If you want to know his motives, ask him. It doesn’t sound like you’ve been that close the last couple of years.”

  “No, we haven’t,” Gus replied matter-of-factly.

  “But things change. People change.”

  “Do they though? It seems like most people generally make the same mistakes over and over.”

  “True. Some do. But Gus, you have Nth. I don’t know what your whole path has been like, but I know one thing for sure. You are not the same person you were before those Nth entered your life. Sure—they change a part of your physiology and help you quantify your progress, but a large portion of that is based on your choices, Gus. Do you know what happens to supers who don’t grow?”

  “Don’t they stagnate and lose their powers?”

  “Exactly. So if you know that, why would you cling to anything that holds you back? These Nth don’t just give us sup
er abilities, they help you improve any skill in life if it becomes an area of focus. Just because most don’t use them to improve the other aspects of life doesn’t mean that they can’t.

  “Listen. My personal baggage kept me from progressing and developing when I was in your position. As a super but also as a person. You can have amazing powers and abilities yet still be someone no one wants to be around. That was me for a long while. And how can you help anyone if you’re in a pity party of one? I’ll tell you. You won’t. Family’s not around forever, and you will feel it when they’re gone, trust me. You’ve already lost your mom, don’t choose to lose your dad.”

  Damn it, he’s right. Gus nodded in agreement. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

  “And the same goes for the Crew. Lower the walls and don’t wait for everyone to come to you. Sometimes to show you’re approachable, you have to extend the first olive branch.”

  “I can do that too.”

  “Gus, you’re probably somewhere in the 20s in levels, am I right?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “You’re in the sweet spot for massive gains. For some reason, the requirements to level up and the ease of improving skills is magnified from about level 25 to 50. I squandered that and wasted my time. You can skate by and things will slowly level you out of this zone, even though it takes a lot more time doing it that way.

  “But if you focus, you can really flesh out some of your abilities and make them your own. That’s what frustrates me about this new way we train supers. They have no Nth assistance, so they are losing massive guidance and probably wasting time making errors that would be so easily avoided with a mentor. You’re fortunate you know about yours. You asked me about my relationship with my Nth, how is yours?”