by Charles Case
They walked in silence for a while, both thinking about the Kubla. However, Corbin’s thoughts were of the future while Leela’s were of the past.
Soon enough, the doors loomed in front of Corbin. He stopped and put his hands on hips as he looked up at the gigantic structures. Made of some sort of dark metal composite, the doors soared four stories high but were still small in the grand scheme of the room as a whole.
“How do I open these things?” Corbin asked, approaching what looked like a blank touchscreen implanted in the wall next to the huge doors.
The panel lit up at his approach, but the icons and writing were nothing he recognized.
“Touch the screen at the bottom corner. I’ll see if I can rewrite the language interface.”
“You know how to do that?” Corbin touched a finger to the bottom corner of the screen and watched as a thin line of metal flowed from his fingertip and spread out over a portion of the glass.
“I can. That’s odd, now that I think of it. Maybe I was a programmer in my former life.” She let out a little growl of frustration as she worked. “I still have huge blank spots in my memories. They are slowly filling in, but at this pace it’ll be a hundred years before I remember everything. Got it!”
The metal pulled back into Corbin's finger and he saw that the panel now had a language he recognized. It was a fairly simple interface with an open, close, and stop button, along with a written warning about standing clear of the doors while in operation.
“This seems simple enough. Shall we give it a try?”
“That’s the idea. But, don't be surprised if they don't work properly. It has been a few thousand years since they were last opened.”
“I’ll try to keep my expectations in check,” Corbin chuckled, hitting the open button, and immediately clamped his hands over his ears at the squealing roar of metal grinding against stone.
The doors did begin to retract into the walls, but slowly, and with jerking motions as they were caught against rock that would inevitably break loose only to be caught on another bit, and break that part loose.
Corbin stumbled back from the wall. Leela quickly flowed into her armor form around him and encased his head in the fox-faced helmet. Once the armor was up, the sound was dampened enough that it no longer caused him physical pain. He blinked a few times and worked his jaw, trying to get the ringing to stop.
“Holy shit. That was unpleasant. I hope it gets quieter, or everyone will have to wear earplugs whenever we want to step out for some fresh air.”
“I think it’ll be better once we clear the obstructions,” Leela quipped, drawing Corbin’s attention to the ever-growing opening.
Corbin’s jaw dropped when he saw the wall of stone that was pressed against the outside of the doors, completely blocking the exit. At least he knew where the noise was coming from.
“How the hell did that get there?” Corbin threw his hands up in exasperation.
“I would guess that the blast from Nhi forming caused quite a few landslides. There was probably one that covered the entrance and over the years it hardened into this.”
After what felt like an eternity, the doors finally opened completely and stopped the incessant grinding. The silence after all the noise felt oppressive to Corbin's still-ringing ears. He let Leela flow back into him, giving him access to his tablet and jumpsuit.
Corbin sighed and pulled up his surveyor’s application on his arm tablet. “We’ll have to blast a hole in the mountain to get this cleared.” He sent a text to Glen along with the coordinates and pictures of the door’s opening.
[Glen, I need you to blast a hole in this mountain with the fighter’s laser batteries. I’m attaching the location data along with the door’s measurements. Give me twenty minutes to clear the area before you start digging.]
Corbin hit send and started walking back toward the door he had come in. “Hopefully the rock isn’t too thick, and we won’t need to bring in any excavation equipment.”
“The doors and walls of the bunker will be able to take laser blasts with ease. Glen won’t have to be all that careful.”
“Good to know.” Corbin sent a second quick text informing Glen of the durability of the structure, and not to hold back.
By the time Corbin reached the hall back to the cave, his tablet dinged.
[That’s a huge door. I’m on it.]
14
Corbin stepped out into the late afternoon light of Trac and Nhi. Shading his eyes, he surveyed the area. After the glasser and dravek attack, he wanted to be sure he wasn't caught with his pants down again. This time, he checked the tops of all the boulders as well as the ground.
There was a blast pattern where the fighter had taken off to clear the doorway to the bunker. Other than that, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Pulling up the call list on his tablet, he found Lawrence’s name and hit send. The call rang as he picked his way across the boulder field toward the dropship a few hundred yards away.
“Corbin. Good to hear from you, man.” Lawrence sounded extra upbeat to Corbin. “What can I do for you?”
“Hey, Lore. I have a present for you and the rebellion.”
“Really? What?”
“How about a base of operations large enough to hold an entire city, and secure enough to take a fusion bomb blast?” Corbin smiled at how ridiculous that sounded. Knowing that Lawrence wouldn't take him seriously without some kind of proof, he began sending a few photos and location data to him while he walked.
Lawrence chuckled. “That would be amazing if such a place… holy shit. Corbin, my man, how on Cinder did you find this place?”
“I had a little help. Listen, I need you to get this info to Mara and send out some backup. Seena and I are going to be heading to Rush soon, and we’re going to need something to wear to the ball. Can you be sure they bring a fabricator with them?”
Corbin could hear Lawrence typing furiously in the background. “Yeah, I’m letting her know now. You can probably expect another dropship to head out within a few hours. I’m going to have Glen come back and escort them, just in case.”
“Give him a few minutes. He’s clearing the entrance with the fighter’s laser batteries. I would say half an hour and he’ll be good to go.”
“Sweet, man.” Lawrence spoke to someone else on the other side of the call, so Corbin only heard mumbling as Lawrence covered the mic on his side. “Hey, I have to go. That shipment will be there shortly.”
The change in demeanor and tone let Corbin know that Lawrence was speaking to another Lieu employee not associated with the rebellion.
“Thank you, sir.” Corbin made his voice a little higher than normal, just in case the employee was able to hear him, and ended the call.
A few seconds later he opened the side door to the dropship’s cargo bay and climbed in. Checking to be sure the ship was still secure, he climbed into the OVAL and shut the door behind him.
Seena sat cross-legged on the floor, deep in meditation. Her eyes fluttered slightly and he saw muscles twitching, letting him know that she was doing a little more than meditation. She was in a vision with Gert.
“I think I have an answer to your question.” Leela said, unprompted.
Corbin raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Answer to what?”
Leela sighed, as if he were a very dense student and she was going to have to explain the answer once more. “You asked if there was a way for the two of you to increase your wells quicker. Gert and I have been talking, and we think we have a solution. However, before you try it, you should know that it could be dangerous.”
Corbin was comfortable with risks, especially if Leela was telling him about the possibility. She wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their ability to fight off the Kubla. At least he didn’t think so, so he reasoned the danger was more for Seena than himself.
“How dangerous?” he asked, sitting on the floor so that his and Seena’s knees almost touched.
“More for h
er than you. There is a chance of moving too fast and kind of splitting her well open. That’s not quite right, but it’s the best analogy I can come up with. We can mitigate the chance by letting her lead the meditation. That way she is able to pull back if it becomes too much, but she is inexperienced with controlling her flow of power and, potentially, could feed you too much.”
Corbin nodded, understanding what she meant by splitting her well open. There was only so much power a well could contain at a given time. The way he had grown that well was to meditate and focus more power into his well than he had before, sort of stretching it so it would hold more the next time he filled it. It was like stretching any muscle. No one started out doing the splits, but with enough stretching, anyone could.
“Okay, I understand. To be honest, we don't have the luxury of time, so a little pain for much more gain will be worth it.” Corbin took a deep breath through his nose. “What do we need to do?”
“Take hold of her hands. This will be easier in a vision; Gert and I will have a little more control over the situation.”
Corbin reached out and gently folded his hands over Seena's much smaller ones.
The transition from waking life to that of the vision Gert had made for Seena was far easier than Corbin had thought it would be, dropping in on someone else’s dream. One second he was lifting Seena's limp fingers in his, the next he was standing in the corner of a dojo-like room.
Everything was made of wood, including the rack of weapons he had appeared beside. There were several people in the large room having a knock-down brawl, which was a little confusing to Corbin. Whenever Leela had created opponents for him they were made of featureless silver metal, but these were fully-realized people, if not a little generic in their looks.
There were males and females with blond, black, and red hair each, but other than hair color, they all seemed to be identical. At the moment, Seena was fighting with three of them, while the other three stood to the side watching the fight with as minimal emotion as was possible while still looking human.
Corbin stood back, watching Seena flow through forms. She was nearly as good as he was, but her punches and kicks lacked his deadly power. The longer he watched, the more he recognized the difference in their abilities. Where he was strong, she was quick, landing several blows where he would have only used one. It was a fair trade between them, and ultimately they would do about the same amount of damage. The quick and constant movements made Corbin feel tired just watching, but he had always been a do-it-once-but-harder kind of fighter. Thinking back to their army days, he remembered that Seena was much more about precision than power, even back then.
Seena backhanded a redhead woman before kicking a blond man coming up behind her, then whipping the same leg back and snap-kicking the redhead woman in the crotch. She then ducked a high kick from the black-haired man, and uppercut him in the crotch before throwing an elbow into the blond’s face. She did a quick spin, and crescent-kicked the black-haired man on the top of the head, sending him face-first into the floor. Another punch crushed the redhead’s throat, and a final elbow flattened the blond’s nose, sending him to his back.
Seena blew a stray strand of hair from her face, standing in a wide-legged stance. She slowly spun around, checking that everyone was down and out.
“That was a lot of hits to the crotch,” Corbin laughed, stepping out of the shadows. “Remind me not to make you angry.”
Seena hopped back, her fists up and ready. “Corbin? What the hell is going on? How are you here?”
“Leela and Gert set it up. I guess they have a way for us to expand our wells quickly.”
Seena relaxed and smiled. “Finally, something other than fight training. I need to get a power and start practicing with that before I go crazy.” She squinted one eye at him. “It’s really weird that you’re in this vision. I’m so used to the sextuplets that seeing a fresh face makes this place seem more real somehow.”
Corbin looked around at the detail Gert put into the vision and nodded in appreciation. “I have to say, this is a little more detail than Leela usually does.” He stepped close to one of the figures still standing to the side of the fighting area and inspected the detail. “The fighting dummies Leela made were silver-skinned mannequins. These guys are pretty impressive.”
“Okay, let’s get started, you two.” Leela’s voice came from close to the floor, making Corbin and Seena leap back from her.
Corbin’s heart jumped at Leela’s sudden appearance. She had taken her fox form, but instead of the tiny stature he was used to, she was full-size and in color. Although the color was white fur, black nose and yellow eyes so not exactly colorful, but better than her normal silver shine.
“Leela!” Seena squatted to get a closer look at the two-tailed fox. “You’re so beautiful with your white coat! Why don't you do that all the time?”
Corbin swore he saw Leela blush, but that would be impossible through the fur.
“It takes a bit of my concentration to use color in the real world. I’m so used to conserving everything for Corbin’s changes that I got into the habit of not doing it. I could try using colors more, if that would be okay with you, Corbin.”
“I can't imagine that it would take a whole lot of power.” Corbin gave a half-smile. “Do whatever makes you happy, Leela. I like the colors on you.”
“Where’s Gert?” Seena asked, looking around.
“She is going to maintain the vision for both of you while I guide you. It takes quite a bit of mental capacity to keep a vision for two. Come, sit on the ground and face one another.”
Seena and Corbin complied, sitting cross-legged, knees touching, and hands in one another's, just like they were in the real world.
“Let’s begin.” Leela sat beside them, her yellow eyes serious. “And, remember, this could be dangerous, so be careful.”
15
Corbin kept his eyes closed, feeling Seena's warm fingers and knees touching his. They were settling into that place where meditation becomes a state of mind rather than a chore.
“Reach inside and feel your wells,” Leela spoke in a low steady tone from a few feet away. “Feel its fullness. Understand the amount of power you hold. It is yours, and you are its. Touch it, let it react to your presence. You will need to comprehend its weight before we begin.”
Corbin did as she asked. He felt the power, swirling in the space in his core. It was thick and viscous, like a pure blue oil. Reaching in deeper he felt the power surround him, make him stronger without actually imbuing any of its charge. When he felt he knew the weight Leela spoke of, he let go and felt it settle back into his well.
“Seena,” Leela’s voice changed as she looked in her direction, “do you feel the power? The weight I speak of?”
“I think so.” Seena sounded a little uncertain, but to be fair, Corbin wasn't entirely sure he knew what Leela was talking about himself.
“Good. That is the measure of how much you are going to need to give up to Corbin. Don't worry, we will get to that part in a minute.” Leela turned to him. “Corbin, you are going to have the more dangerous part of this interaction. Once Seena gives you her power, you are going to need to hold it. It will be painful, but the longer you hold it the quicker you will grow. Then, when you can't take any more you will need to give the power back to Seena, but with a little more of yours so that she can expand her well. You will need to be very careful. Too much and it could destroy her, but too little and nothing will happen. You will do this back and forth, mixing your powers, and expanding each other’s power reserves. I will monitor and call a stop when I think you’ve had enough.”
Seena’s hands gripped Corbin's harder and harder as Leela explained what they were about to do. He could feel her trembling with either fear or anticipation, but he wasn't sure which.
“Now, this is going to be a bit tricky,” Leela continued. “I want you to focus into one another through your touches. You will need to open up and let one another
in. You are searching for your partner’s well. You will feel it only lightly, like a breeze on the back of the neck at first, but you will recognize the spot once you find it. Give it a try.”
Corbin felt the strings of power coming off Seena’s fingers if he concentrated on them, but like Leela had said, it was faint. He pushed forward, exploring the connections, tracing them back to their source. After what felt like a hundred-mile journey on foot, he came to a spot that flickered and pulsed, but only if he observed it in his periphery, as if his full attention smothered it from his senses.
“Oh, my god!” Seena tensed, her fingers gripping his hand tightly. “Corbin, how do you deal with all this power?”
Corbin smiled. “I just kept building up over time. Don't worry, we’ll get you there in no time.”
Leela sounded pleased. “Good. Now that you have found the source of one another’s power you will need to transfer that power. This is going to be the hardest part. As Seena pushes her power toward you, Corbin, you will have to give her the space to do it.”
Corbin frowned. “What? That doesn't make sense. How do you give space when the space is full?”
“That’s the hard part, and to be honest it was the part that took Gert and me the longest to figure out. If you try to just accept the power then it will be lost, because it’s not yours and your well won’t recognize it. But if you try and take it you would end up reaching into her well with your power. If she were trying to keep her power then you wouldn't be able to get in, unless you were ungodly powerful, but because she is open to you, you would end up dumping all your power into her well as you reached in and scooped it out, destroying the well in the process. You would get the power from her, but it would be a one-time thing. So, we figured there had to be a way that met in the middle. That way is for you to give her the space in your well; something to channel the power into.”