They made their way deeper into the heart of the ship.
Sara was struck with how familiar some of the fixtures seemed, but the layers of dust and sand gave them an alien quality she was unable to disregard.
Eventually, Dr. Hess held up a hand to stop the procession, and turned to Sara.
“From this point, the ship’s systems are online, but we’ve cleared the few defenses from here to the engine room. I will point out the various turrets and security measures we disabled so you will know what to look for.”
Turning back to the corridor, he started walking at a slower pace, taking care to follow a worn path through the sand-covered floor. Sara noted that while there was less sand this far into the ship, the stuff still seemed to get everywhere. The skich-skich sound of the doctor’s footsteps sounded like a metronome in their regularity.
“This is where the first turret came online. Luckily, its servo motor was seized up from all the dust and sand, and it fired wide. Our few guards took it out quickly,” the doctor said, pointing to a blackened armature hanging from an open panel on the ceiling.
Sara noted that the turret was hidden in an alcove, giving it a wide firing arc while staying hidden from long range fire. It was a similar setup to the defenses on all the ships she had studied in her time at the academy.
The doctor pointed out a few more wrecked turrets, and a set of blast doors that had tried to slam closed when they had approached, but were jammed open by a fallen ceiling panel.
They finally came to a set of double doors that were in relatively good shape. They had been sealed, with only a slight gap between the two slabs of thick alloy.
“This is the entry to the engine room. We have some video of the interior from a small drone we slipped through the crack; unfortunately, the drone was shot down soon after entering the room, so we don't have much,” he said, pulling out his tablet to start the video. The troops gathered around the outheld tablet and watched.
The view was from the floor, making it seem as if they were looking at a set of huge, ominous doors. The drone slipped through the crack and revealed a room that was relatively clear of sand, though a thin layer of dust did cover the floor. The drone rolled forward, and Sara could see a huge structure to the right that seemed familiar, but the low perspective hid its nature from her. The drone moved forward and came to some wreckage lying across the floor that it had to maneuver around. The view rocked and slewed from side to side as it circled around the junk. It turned back to the center of the room, and Sara’s breath caught in her throat. Then a white blast came from off-camera, and the feed went dead.
“Did you see that?” Sara asked Baxter, who shook his head.
“I did, Ma’am. The tank?” Specialist Gonders said from over Sara's shoulder.
Sara looked back to see the blank, matte black mask of Gonders and gave a nod. “Like the new system we have on the Raven.”
Dr. Hess looked a little abashed, but said nothing. Sara gave him a hard look that she realized was wasted behind her helmet’s faceplate.
Something is going on here, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.
“Right. We’re going in there. I’ll provide a shield bubble big enough for three of us. The rest of you take cover under your own shielding, and provide cover fire if needed. Gonders, your specialty is force, right?” she asked the shorter woman, who gave a nod in the affirmative. “Good, you force the door open once I have my shield running. Dr. Hess, you're coming with me and Baxter. You’ll need to find this core and retrieve it while the two of us cover you. Baxter, are you good to defend against anything that might pop up?”
“If I’m not, then we are in bigger trouble than we can handle. I have your back, Captain,” he said, rolling his shoulders in anticipation.
“Right. Doctor, come stand here and stay close,” she said to the wide-eyed researcher.
Sara looked over at Alister, still sitting on her shoulder, and gave a slight nod. A spellform blazed in her mind, similar to the shield forms he had provided on the ship, but with the slight modification to cover them in all directions. She fed a trickle of power into it, and a golden bubble formed around them, becoming more and more translucent as it stabilized. There was a hum of power as the shield vibrated slightly in the thick atmosphere.
“This is amazing, Captain. You created a shield that will actively repel incoming fire, not just absorb it,” Dr. Hess said, listening to the hum and reaching a hand out to touch the bubble. Thinking better of it, he quickly retracted his hand.
Sara had wondered why the shield was humming. She reviewed what she knew about spell theory, and realized that Alister was changing the spellform in her mind as she was feeding it with Aether. He was essentially vibrating the shell back and forth in a tiny space. Incoming physical objects would not just hit the shield, but be hit by the shield in return. She realized that, while a more efficient way to shield from weapons fire, it would be impossible for a normal person to do. Changing a spellform was difficult when it wasn't being fed; there were too many variables. But Alister was doing it with ease.
“Stay close, doctor. Gonders, whenever you are ready.”
The squad had taken cover behind a half shield that Deej had erected across the corridor. Gonders raised a hand and, with a swiping motion, slammed the doors back into the walls with a squeal, the metal and gears ripping and clanging apart.
The engine room was a vast cavern of machinery and piping. Sara noted the tank in the center of the room, its dimensions the same as the Ravens but seeming small next to the reactors. On the right was a huge version of the fusion reactors they had on the Raven. It was almost exactly the same design, if not three times bigger. She could see that there were at least four of the huge reactors in the dimly lit room.
She pointed them out to Baxter.
Baxter took in the huge machine and gave a nod. “I’ve only been to the engine room on the Raven a few times, but I think you’re right. It does look eerily similar.”
The large pile of debris was in front of them, piled high enough that they couldn't see past it. Sara pushed a little more Aether into the shield, making it more golden in color, and started around the pile of junk. As soon as the shield passed by the debris, the sound of servos coming to life filled the quiet room. Blasts of laser fire peppered the outer Aether shell of the shield, turning it a yellowish color where the intense light beams tried to eat away at it. Sara had to grab a hold of the doctor’s sleeve to keep him from stumbling back, and she pulled him forward.
Baxter was scanning for the turret. After a few more steps, he spotted it hanging from a catwalk. He held out a hand and, after a moment’s concentration, smashed his fingers into a fist. With a pop and a fizz of sparks, the turret was crushed. Pieces of it rained down to the floor, bouncing with the clang of metal on metal.
Sara took a breath as Baxter scanned the rest of the room. He gave a nod, and Sara continued deeper inside. At nearly the same time, two more turrets opened up on them, peppering the shield bubble with continuous fire. Baxter made quick work of them, crushing one and ripping the second from its armature.
“Clear,” he confirmed after scanning the room once again.
Sara, however, was staring at the large tank in the center of the engine room. It was identical to the one her sister was currently ensconced in.
How is this tech, supposedly new tech from the Elif, here on a ship that is tens of thousands of years old? Are they copying some long-dead civilization? If so, how do they know it works, if all the previous examples have self-destructed? Or is the core’s destruction more localized?
She had so many questions running through her mind, she didn't even notice that Dr. Hess was talking until Baxter gave her a shake.
“You okay, Captain?” Baxter asked, still scanning the room.
“Yeah, sorry. I just have a lot of questions for the good doctor here when we get out,” she said, looking over at the chagrined Elif.
Dr. Hess pointed to the tank and said, “The core
is attached to that. We need to get closer to get it out.” He was trying to forestall the argument he could hear in her voice, and pressed forward.
Sara followed him as Baxter kept an eye open for any turrets still in hiding.
The tank was dark, and its fluids had evaporated into a dusty sludge in the bottom. The glass was fogged with grime, but Sara craned her neck to see into it nonetheless. The shield was keeping them at a distance; she would need to drop it if they wanted to get closer.
“Are we clear, Baxter?”
“As far as I can tell, Ma’am. There could be some turrets that haven’t fired yet, but I don't see anything indicating they are smart enough to lay in wait for us to drop our shield. Just make it quick, doctor.”
Dr. Hess nodded in understanding and squatted down. “Give me a second to examine this more closely before we drop the shield.” He pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on, staring at the contraption that supposedly held the core.
Sara could see the box-like contraption he was examining was lit up with dim blue lights along the edges. The box on Cora’s tank was not lit up like this one, but her’s did have all the parts attached to the tank, just like this one. It was hard to tell, due to the layer of dust obscuring the details, but she thought it looked like there was a thumb pad on the top of the box.
“Is that a biometric scanner on the top, Doc?” Sara asked the crouching Elif.
He gave a nod. “I was afraid of this. It makes sense that the core would be protected from tampering by anyone but the captain,” he said, rubbing his chin. He stopped and cocked his head. Swiveling around, he eyed Sara, then looked to Alister.
“You should try it,” he said, indicating the pad.
“Okay,” Sara said, holding her hands up. “What the hell is going on? Why would this thing open for me?”
“Well, it has to do with your familiar. You have a much higher Aether potential because of him, and the fact that you are of a twin set means you may have enough power for the core to recognize you as a captain of a ship,” he said, shrugging. “It’s not very scientific, but most things to do with Aether are not. It’s worth a try.”
“Why don't you try it first?” Sara asked, not liking where this was heading.
“It won’t open for me without force, and I don't want to try that unless we have to. The fact that this core is intact is unbelievable, and I don't want to set off its self-destruct because we are trying to force it. I’m not a mage; we know that all captains of these ships were powerful mages, so it stands to reason that you would have the best chance of opening it. All the security on these old ships was based on the user’s ability to manipulate Aether. If a person was powerful enough, they had to be in a position of authority. It’s actually a pretty good system.”
Sara didn't know enough to refute him; he was an expert in this race’s tech, after all. It made a kind of sense to her and there were things on her own ship that ran on this principle. She could access things that no one else could, purely because her power output would let her through the security.
“Okay, go stand close to Sergeant Major Baxter. I’m going to drop the shield.”
The shield came down, and Sara stepped up to the tank. When she got close, she noticed that it opened from the side. She could see through the grime that the tank was empty, and breathed with relief, acknowledging that a part of her had been afraid she would see the body of some long-dead alien, stuck in there just like her sister. She focused on the box and began to wipe away the dust. It did have a thumb scanner very similar to the ones used on the Raven, and she began to suspect that this defunct alien culture was the origin of their shiny new ship.
She gave her suit a mental command, and the glove of her right hand opened with a hiss of pressure balance. She freed her hand and, turning the arm to get the rigid glove out of the way, pressed her thumb to the scanner. A green line of light slid across the pad of her thumb. She pulled her thumb away and waited, but nothing happened.
“Try it again,” the doctor said from behind Baxter.
She shrugged and pressed her thumb to the pad again. This time, there was an audible tone after the scan. She looked at the box and noted that the lighting on the box’s edge had changed from a blue to a deep green. There was an audible click, and the front of the box popped open.
Sara jumped back at the sudden movement, but the doctor leaned in to examine the inside of the little compartment. When she realized it wasn’t a trap, Sara did the same.
There, nestled into a round cubby, was a silver sphere about the size of a baseball. It didn't seem to have any markings, and it shone as if it were brand new.
She looked to the doctor, who was practically drooling at the sight of the shiny object. He reached out a hand, but before he could touch it, a thick blue spark jumped from its surface and hit his middle finger.
The doctor flew back, skidding through the dust, his body limp. Baxter quickly checked the corners of the room, looking for the source of the attack, and Sara slid to the doctor’s side to check his vitals. He was alive but unconscious.
She looked back to the little silver ball like it might jump out of its cubby and bite her.
The doctor came around a few seconds later and tried to focus on Sara, but it was obvious he was dazed.
“You okay, Doc? That was a nasty jolt you just took,” Sara said, concern in her voice.
The doctor tried to rub at his face, but his hand met the mask he had on, and he shook his head in confusion for a second. “I’m okay. I just, um, I didn't think about the core itself having a defense mechanism. You’ll have to pick it up. It will recognize your touch, now that you opened up the casing.”
Sara shook her head, but laid the recovering doctor back on the ground and approached the core. She reached out a tentative hand. After a cruel second of anticipation of pain, she touched its surface.
It was cold to the touch, and smoother than anything she could think of. She tried to get her fingers around it to pull it out, but it was embedded so deep she couldn't, and it was too slick to palm. Eventually, she pressed down on it. With a click, it came free, rolling into her hand. It was heavy, even when she compensated for the increased gravity of the planet. It must have weighed thirty pounds or more; she guessed it was made of some extremely heavy elements. She worried for a second that it might be radioactive, but her suit would have warned her if it was. The core was so slick, she was afraid she would drop it, so she opened her hip pouch and slipped it in, making sure the top was secured tightly.
Then she closed her glove over her hand and, with the help of her powered armor, bent down to scoop up the still groggy doctor like a child.
“Give me a shield, Alister,” she said to the cat.
She powered the shield again, and they made their way out of the room. The rest of the troops were waiting for them, rifles trained on the open doors. Gonders gave the signal when Sara came into view, and they stood up, preparing to leave.
“All right, doctor, we have your core. Now we are getting off this planet, and you and I are going to have us a conversation,” Sara said to the weak Elif in her arms.
Alister stared down at the good doctor as if he wanted to have a word as well.
Chapter 24
The sun blazed bright, as they ushered the researchers that they had collected out of the derelict ship and across the open sand toward the dropship. Sara still carried Dr. Hess, but he was coming around and insisting that he could walk on his own. She put him down, and steadied him as his legs began to buckle, but he was able to catch himself before he fell.
She could see that the two researchers who had accompanied them to retrieve the core were running ahead, telling everyone to pack up and get the material on the ship. There was soon a flurry of activity as Elif men and women appeared, carrying boxes of samples and instruments. They began to fill the ship’s hold, and a few of the troopers with her peeled off to organize and strap down the crates.
The doctor still leaned on
her as they stood in the sun and watched as the camp was broken down in fairly quick order.
“Let me see it, Captain,” Dr. Hess said, indicating her side pouch.
With a sigh, she opened the pouch and pulled out the core. The sun reflected off the surface, making her look away, but the doctor leaned in to examine it closer.
“Fascinating. It has no interface I can see, other than the surface itself. How does it communicate with the tank? This is a marvel,” he said, lost in thought.
Sara wanted her own answers, and this was as good a time to get them as any.
“About that tank,” she said, slipping the sphere back into the pouch.
The doctor frowned at the obvious reprimand, but looked to her. “What about it, Captain?” he said conversationally.
Hadn’t he heard Baxter’s comment about that tank being just like the one on the Raven? Maybe he was too focused on gaining access to the engine room?
She huffed a laugh at herself for assuming this researcher on a distant planet would have any idea what was happening on Earth. She assumed humans were known to exist throughout Elif culture, and the fact that the doctor had shown very little surprise at humans coming to save his band of researchers showed that he was at least familiar with them; he probably had been sent a message from the Elif fleet that they were coming.
If he has no idea that we’re currently using the tech we just saw in that thirty-thousand-year-old ship, then maybe I can get some straight answers out of him. You know… if there is an actual conspiracy of silence from the Elif High Council.
God, you’re paranoid Sara.
With a smile she pushed forward, “What was it for?”
Dr. Hess thought about how best to answer that, putting a sun browned finger to his lips as he looked up and organized his thoughts. “It is a controller’s tank, much like what we use with a controller’s chair, but much more in depth. It connected the controller to the ship all the time, not just when they were needed for warp or battle. It gave them a huge edge because the orders they were given could be enacted with unparalleled precision. Plus, the tank enabled the controller to use raw Aether in spellforms they created, not just simple, pre-constructed spellforms the chair system uses. It amplified their power; our amplifiers are crude in comparison. It would be like comparing a club and a shock stick—they are essentially the same weapon, but obviously worlds apart in complexity.”
War Mage Chronicles- Part One Page 14