An hour later, Jason and Pal landed on the surface of the alien planet a quarter mile from the source of the beacon. The land was dry and cracked, without the tiniest evidence of life. The sky was a hazy shade of red. Through his suit’s visor, Jason saw the elevations of the landscape, as well as the canyons they were headed toward.
The place was a barren wasteland, though the surface had once been 95 percent water. They had landed on what would have once been an island. It was a flat elevation that at its highest was thirty feet above sea level. Jason stood beside the ship as Pal unloaded supplies and stared out at the alien vista. It was eerie to stand on an island and stare out at a dead ocean. Eerier still was how much it reminded him of how he felt during his last few weeks in St. Croix. This sad, dead planet reminded Jason of his heart. He never thought that anything would affect him like the loss of Ember and Melissa, but now he had lost Ember again. Worse yet, he had been the one who ended her life.
If his heart had been dead before, now it was ashes.
“Are you ready to head out, sir?”
Jason nodded. “Eriksson to Zeus. We’re heading east toward the beacon.”
“Affirmative, Captain,” said Killian. “Your way is clear.”
Pal led the way, glancing back now and again and looking like something was on his mind. Jason ignored him, focusing instead on the readouts on his visor. It was 120 degrees outside, and there was virtually no humidity, no wind, nothing. He looked at the dry, cracked ocean floor and saw more clearly now the gray rocks that littered the shoreline. Jason tapped the virtual zoom as seen through his visor and circled a section of the rock formations. “Dead coral reefs,” he said aloud. “Are you getting this, Zeus?”
“Yes, analyzing it now, along with the readings you gathered when you landed,” said Killian. “Unless we’re mistaken, the reefs were cities, Captain. Whoever used to live here used living coral to create their dwellings.”
“Technologically advanced mermen living in coral palaces,” said Jason with an ironic chuckle. “Why not?”
“Incredible, isn’t it, Captain?” said Pal, turning to smile at him as they trekked toward the beacon.
“Pal, have you ever heard of being in the dog house?”
“I’m familiar with the phrase,” he said hesitantly.
“Well, consider yourself in it, deep.”
Pal stopped and turned to face him, head bowed and emoji face looking pathetic. He even wrung his hands together. “Sir, I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I was hacked by the admiral, and—”
“When you say you’re sorry, you just say you’re sorry, Pal. You don’t top it with an excuse.”
“I’ll remember that, sir.”
“Come on,” said Jason, shouldering by him.
They reached the edge of what would have been a cliff leading to the dead ocean below. It was indeed rocky at the bottom of the 1,400-foot drop, but there was no crashing of waves, no flocks of seagulls sailing on the soft wind. On his visor, the beacon blinked red. It was just below them, 1,500 feet down.
“All right, Captain,” said Killian in his helmet. “One thousand feet down the side of that cliff is an opening in the stone. The cave system that branches off leads down to the beacon. Once you are inside the cave it should be smooth sailing, just tedious.”
Tedious was right. Once Pal and Jason got back on the Pegasus and took it down to the cave entrance, it took them hours to navigate down into the tunnels and chambers. The planet’s gravity was three-quarters that of Earth, which helped Jason navigate the climb down easier. He could drop down much farther than he would have dared back home, and the gloves had been designed for such activity, as were his boots.
It was dark so far down, and without his shoulder spotlights Jason would have been blind. They hadn’t encountered any signs of civilization, only tunnel systems carved into the stone deep beneath the shore.
“Zeus,” said Jason as he touched down in wide chamber. “We’ve reached the bottom of the main chamber.”
“Good to hear, Captain. Make your way south. The beacon is two hundred yards away, about twenty feet down.”
Pal walked ahead, scanning the cavern with a half a dozen laser beams that spread out wide as they grazed over the rock formations. He had released a swarm of a hundred tiny drones, and they were busy at work mapping the system, which came to life on the upper right side of Jason’s visor. The coral here was unlike any he had ever seen. It crunched beneath his feet as he traversed a fifteen-foot-wide tube that branched off from the main chamber. The tube was perfectly cylindrical, and he imagined the alien merfolk swimming through in droves as they traveled in and out of the city.
They emerged from the tube, which opened to a giant coral network. Through the visor the tunnel system spread out beyond the cavern. Jason was reminded of an ant farm, only this one was multidimensional and contained numerous rooms, chambers, and halls that were either perfectly round, or uncannily square. There were no doors on any of the rooms or blocking off any of the tunnels. Apparently, the aliens hadn’t been big on privacy.
“Just this way, sir. The beacon is coming from this next chamber.”
“Yeah, no shit, Pal,” said Jason, seeing it clearly on his visor. He was about to bust the robot’s brass balls some more, but he stopped at the threshold and stared in awe.
The chamber was full of translucent crystals. He glanced back at Pal, before making his way carefully through the crystal forest. The translucent shards jutted from the bowl-shaped floor of the chamber two to ten feet in length, but there was enough room between them to walk through. At the center of the chamber there stood a blue glowing crystal, and the readout on Jason’s visor pinpointed it as the beacon.
Jason stopped before it, feeling a bit dizzy as he looked up its length. The walls and the ceiling were all uniform crystal formations, and he felt for a lucid moment like he was in the maw of a legendary monster of the sea.
“You see this, Zeus?”
“Affirmative, Captain,” said Killian.
“We’re all here with you,” Charlie added.
He reached out and touched the twenty-foot crystal with his bulky glove. “Now what?”
The crystal began to hum before anyone could answer. Jason backed up, bumping into Pal, who grabbed him and defensively moved between Jason and the crystal.
“Calm down, roboPal,” said Jason.
The humming steadily grew, and the other crystals in the chamber began to glow the same blue as the main. Jason glanced around, awestruck as the chamber suddenly filled with water. The water was a hologram, but it was so convincing that Jason found himself absently moving his arms back and forth, as though he were treading water.
“Sir, it isn’t real,” said Pal.
“No shit...” Jason pushed the robot aside and stepped closer to the crystal. There in the distance, swimming toward them, was the hologram of an alien merman. Jason blinked. He would have rubbed his eyes if not for the helmet. There was no actual indication that the creature was male, for it had no noticeable genitalia on the outside of its body. And it was more like a cross between an octopus and a humanoid with scales. The creature was green and brown with speckles like a rainbow trout that covered it like freckles and became thicker and wider down its seven tentacles. It had two arms, much like a man’s, with webbed fingers and fins running up the top of its forearms and along its triceps. It had no hair, but like a Mohawk a long fin stuck up from its head and ran down the length of its back, where it plumed in multicolored radiance. The creature stared at Jason with large, elliptical eyes. The irises were jade vertical slits set in black orbs.
“Hello, human. I am Iria’Nan.”
“Captain Jason Eriksson,” said Jason, extending his hand.
Iria’Nan glanced down at it as he hovered a foot off the floor, easily treading water with minimal movement.
“He cannot shake your hand, Sir,” said Pal. “He is a hologram.”
Jason offered him a withering glance. “You’ll
have to excuse my metal friend,” he said to the alien. “He likes to point out the obvious.”
“Your friend is right,” said Iria’Nan. “I am not real. I am the essence of the one called Iria’Nan. He is long dead, but he created me to greet you when you came, and to offer you warning.”
“Warning?” said Jason.
Iria’Nan’s essence blinked heavily. “Your planet is in grave danger.”
Chapter 29
The banished Ones
Jason waited, not wanting to ask. He hadn’t known what to expect to learn from the strange mer-alien, but he hadn’t expected a grave warning.
“A threat from who?” Jason finally asked when Iria’Nan continued to stare at him.
“They are called the Vorrak. But I should tell you first why they are a danger.”
“Please do,” said Jason.
Iria’Nan swam in a circle, tapping his chin in an eerily human gesture. “Where to begin? The story is one that stretches back through the eons...” He looked Jason up and down suddenly. “Have you felt ...a change since leaving your solar system?”
“Yeah, you could say that. I was shot and mangled before we passed through, and on the other side my wounds have almost completely healed.”
“This is not common?” Iria’Nan asked.
“Not that rapidly. On Earth I most likely would have died without medical attention.”
The mer-alien nodded, blinking heavily. “Captain Jason Eriksson, your kind are known to the rest of the galaxy as the Seraph.”
“There is a word like that in one of Earth’s religions,” said Jason.
“Often there is truth to religious stories.”
“You said we’re known to the galaxy. How long have you been watching us? And how many alien races are there?”
“One thing at a time, my friend. Your kind, the Seraph, was once the most powerful race in the galaxy. Your incredible power, cunning, healing abilities, and telekinesis made you terrible foes.”
“Telekinesis?”
Another nod. “Everyone experiences it differently.”
“Why are we gaining back these ...powers now?”
“Because you have left the influence zone of Earth’s satellite.”
“The moon...” said Jason.
“Yes. As I was saying. Your kind dominated the galaxy. They enslaved other races. They milked dry other planets. They hoarded resources and destroyed all who opposed them.”
“Sounds like us,” said Jason, which gained him a frown. “I’m sorry, continue.”
“The Seraph Empire War is legend on many worlds. It occurred more than twenty thousand years ago. And at the end of it, your kind was finally defeated. The new rulers of the galaxy, the Vorrak, debated with the other planets about what to do with you. Many voted to wipe you out once and for all, but many, including my kind, convinced the others to banish you instead. We sent you to Earth and placed inside the moon a device that emanated bio-dampening radiation that nullifies your innate abilities. We thought that perhaps without your great power you would find humility. We thought that perhaps you would change. Whether or not you have is yet to be seen.”
“But why contact us now? Why give us your technology?” Jason asked the questions, but in his heart, he knew the answer.
“There has been a great disturbance on the moon, and the device is failing. Soon, all people of Earth will have the powers of old.”
“Jesus Christ,” said Killian in Jason’s headset.
“Jesus Christ is right,” said Jason.
“Who are you speaking with?” said Iria’Nan.
“My crew.”
The alien glanced sidelong in thought, then smiled, leaned closer to Jason’s helmet, and said, “Hello, Jason’s crew.”
“They say hi,” said Jason. “Look, we can’t let this happen. If everyone on Earth was suddenly a superhuman...” He didn’t have the words to explain the chaos that would ensue. “How do we fix it?”
“Fix it?” said Iria’Nan.
“The device. Whatever the hell’s keeping us normal.”
“It cannot be fixed by you. As we speak, a Vorrak war fleet is likely en route to your planet. They have intentions to destroy it.”
“They can’t do that. There are over ten billion humans on the planet.”
“Their fear of you is great. For to them, you are monsters from the past. They see the strike on the moon as an attempt by you to retain your old abilities.”
“But we have no idea who we used to be. We weren’t trying to break the device.”
“What were you trying to do?”
We were killing each other...
“It was an accident,” said Jason. “Why are you helping us anyway?”
“The Seraph were not the war-hungry killers so many thought. There was also a kindness to them, a want to help others. Your ancestors once saved our world from the Vorrak, and now we are repaying the debt.”
“But, you said you were...”
“Extinct? We are. This program was created long before our planet was stripped of its water. The accident on the moon put in motion my programming.”
“Which is?”
“To send a drone with a preserved Atlantean body in it, along with instructions on how to merge our innate abilities with yours.”
“And your ability. It is the power to travel through the universe with but a thought?”
Iria’Nan nodded.
“Wait, did you just say Atlantean?” said Jason.
Iria’Nan seemed to smirk. “Yes, that is what many of your kind called us at one time. I do not know if legends survive.”
“Holy shit,” said Killian.
“Atlantis!” cheered Kaito.
Iria’Nan arched his head toward him. “Is that your crew again?”
Jason snapped back to look at the merman. “Yeah, sorry, uh, Atlantis, okay. Then how were you defeated?” said Jason.
“With a device like the one that has kept you mortal for a millennium. The Vorrak are very clever.”
“Can they be defeated?”
“Perhaps. But they now rule the galaxy, and their technology is far superior to yours.”
“But they are tyrants, correct? There must be those willing to help us.”
“That, my friend, is your only hope.”
“Can the Vorrak travel like your kind?”
“No. They never discovered our secrets, and even if they did, they could not utilize it themselves.”
“Why not?” said Jason.
Iria’Nan looked at Pal 2000. “Because they are not alive.”
Jason looked at Pal as well, and the robot seemed afraid.
“You’re not insinuating...”
“Yes,” said Iria’Nan. “The Vorrak are the cybernetic creations of the Seraph. In the end, what finally defeated your great race, was its own creations. But like their creators, they have become greedy and tyrannical. If they sense a threat, they do not hesitate to utterly destroy it.”
“Sir, we’ve got company,” said Killian.
Jason turned from Iria’Nan. “You’ve gotta be shitting me,” he said into his headset.
“I wish I were, Captain. But more than a thousand spacecrafts just appeared out of nowhere. They’re five hundred thousand miles away and closing fast.”
“ETA?”
“Twenty minutes, Captain.”
“How did they find us?” Jason asked Iria’Nan.
“They did not find you. They are most likely responding to my activation.”
“That happened ten minutes ago! You said they couldn’t travel by thought.”
“They cannot, but they can travel at speeds many times that of light. And they are everywhere. It is lucky you were banished to such a distant place.”
“How long will it take the fleet to reach Earth at their best speeds?”
“Three weeks,” said Iria’Nan.
“Eriksson to Zeus. You’ve got to get the hell out of here. Return to Earth and warn them.”
“We’re not leaving without you, Captain,” said Killian.
“You must. There’s no time for us to get back to the ship.”
Silence.
“Did you hear me, Killian? Use Seven, get back to Earth. That’s an order.”
“Sir, give us five minutes, we’re working on something.”
“Do not attempt a rescue mission,” said Jason.
“We’re not, sir. Seven is.”
Chapter 30
Getting the Hell out of Dodge
Jason paced the crystal cavern, glancing at the timer every other second.
“Take that crystal,” said Iria’Nan, pointing to a small one sticking out of the floor. “It contains my essence. I believe that with the one you call Pal, you will be able to communicate with me further.”
Jason grabbed ahold of the small crystal Iria’Nan indicated, and he pulled it from the ground like a tooth. The main crystal began to hum low, as though it were powering down.
“I hope your crew is successful in rescuing you, Jason Eriksson.”
“Me too. I’ve got a hell of a lot more questions for you.”
“I look forward to speaking with you further as well.”
The image blinked out, as did the illusion of water.
“Talk to me, Zeus,” said Jason.
No one answered.
“Goddammit!” said Jason, but then his body began to tingle. He looked at Pal, who was staring at his outstretched arms like a dopey stoner.
“I feel funny, sir.”
The next moment Jason was standing in the engine room beside the chrome sphere. Kaito cheered and hugged Charlie, and Killian smiled at him.
“I can’t believe that worked!” said Mae.
Jason fumbled with his helmet and finally got it off. “What the hell just happened?” he demanded.
“I programmed Seven to beam you up, just like fucking Star Trek, man!” said Kaito.
“That was reckless,” said Jason, slamming his helmet into Killian’s arms. “I told you to leave.”
“We weren’t going to leave without you,” said Charlie.
“The last time Seven performed her magic twice in a row, she was seriously injured!” said Jason.
The Man Who Broke the Moon Page 15