Resurrection Dawn

by Marc Secchia

  “I know.”

  “I’d be willing to try,” Chimzi said softly. “Could you talk me through disarming something? How many people are trapped down there?”

  “They think over 180,” the Medic said.

  “Plus the possibility of some water predator in the mix,” said Tomaxx. “Can we confirm that?”

  “I’ll ask,” Tamanzi said. After a moment, she growled, “That’s a confirmed report. They think the cult brought it in from somewhere to create a diversion so that they could take over. Don’t know what it is, but it’s large, ugly and angry.”

  “The best ones always are,” Ash said.

  Dymand said, “Ash, Chimzi, are you certain? This could be deadly several different ways.”

  “Yes, sir,” they both responded.

  “Alright, thank you.”

  Dad ran his hand through his hair as he always did when he was thinking.

  The situation blew like a white-hot engine vent. Alodeé wanted to run to him, yelling, Please don’t go down there, Dad! I only just survived my own near-death experience! Yet, she knew what he would do. He was a true leader. He simply could not let two of his young team swim into that kind of danger on their own.

  “Here’s the plan,” he said. “I’m going down with you two, but first, we’re going to threaten the tower with the AVACS as Ash suggested. Isska, I need the best underwater weaponry you can concoct or borrow from the base stores. Stat. It might all be rigged on a timer as well. Alodeé, Asmurti and I go up in the AVACS. We’re going to sharp-shoot those boys before they have time to trigger anything.”

  Isska said, “Thermal scans suggest one’s hiding in the top of that stairway. I’ll bet that’s the one holding the detonator.”

  Dymand voiced a wordless growl.

  “I’ll take him from beneath,” Maruski purred.

  “Depends on what’s left of the stairs,” Alodeé pointed out.

  “I’ll check,” her Dad said, doing a rapid recon. Despite his armour, he had to retreat rapidly. “All melted, save the platform he’s hiding on. It’s 9 mets straight up and as hot as hell in there.”

  “You ever seen a cat jump?” Maruski boasted. “Fast and silent. 9 mets, I can do – if I can borrow that nice nanodagger of yours, Alo?”

  “Sure.”

  More head-scratching. “Alright, that’s the plan, team. We go on my command.”

  The team rushed about, changing positions. Ganze and Maruski waited beside the Control Tower stairwell. Ash and Tomaxx rushed through the building, scanning and searching visually for any other explosives or booby traps. Dymand, Asmurti and Alodeé joined the AVACS, where Isska had taken over as pilot. Dad showed them a few secret gunports that could be opened on the bottom and sides of the vessel. Grief, who built ships like this?

  Paranoid mercenaries, that’s who. Nice to know my Dad has such an untarnished reputation. Space pirate!

  Off they went to threaten the rebel cult who as predicted, wanted absolutely nothing to do with negotiations. No, they would very much prefer to be left alone to slay the miners in peace, thank you, Alodeé translated in her mind. A much happier afterlife beckoned.

  Dymand’s voice tickled her ear. Since she and her Dad had the rifles, he had three targets and she had two, easily visible in their hi-res, glare-adjusting scopes through the tower’s wraparound windows. She checked the rifle’s setting one more time. Highest penetration. Asmurti had one target, front and centre. The one doing all the talking. Maruski would make the first move.

  “Maruski, on my mark. Three, two, one, go,” he said. “Second mark, two, one –”

  The feline called, “Got it!”

  “– fire!”

  Alodeé hit her first mark cleanly in the forehead, but only clipped the second. As he twisted away, she shot him twice more, the high-powered Crysto-Laser blasts throwing him beneath one of the consoles. Asmurti flattened her man; Dad hit two of the rebels, but the third showed a surprising, Class 4 turn of speed. Unfortunately, she bolted for the stairwell. With a roar, Maruski leaped for her throat.

  Blood sprayed across the room.

  Festering lumoslugs!

  “Retractable talons? Hells, I had no idea,” Isska spluttered.

  “She just runs up climbing walls,” Alodeé said. “Maruski, stop licking your fur and patch Isska into the control consoles. We need to find out where they’ve placed the explosives.”

  With a flick of her bloodied talons, the girl purred, “Well, this one isn’t talking anymore. Shall I encourage another?”

  Chapter 8

  Standard 1301.05.16.11 Cal Week 18. Landing.

  DEEP-WATER SCANS SHOWED no sign of any animal nastiness lurking about. That did not mean anything. Bryllintine Mines was a maze of underwater tunnels which refilled far faster than any workable pump system could excavate – besides which, the mineral-rich waters fostered the growth of the rare, valuable crystals and gemstones harvested and mined here. Drainage would be foolish.

  Isska, Alodeé and Dymand laboured over underwater-capable weapons while Chimzi scouted to the practicable level of this first sinkhole, about 400 mets in depth. She found no signs of sabotage along the air and power lines. While the AVACS could easily submerge to this depth, it was too large to traverse the tunnels beyond. Dymand modified a submersible which Ash would pilot – the main point being to provide extra firepower and the ability to liaise at a greater range with Isska, Asmurti and Alodeé above. They would each monitor stations connected to one of the divers, checking pressure, vital signs, local movement and the full sphere of scans possible with their suit tech.

  Then, he triple-checked their armour. Ash looked pale. She held Tomaxx’s hand as Isska informed them they’d compiled a complete personnel manifest. 21 casualties already, 13 seriously injured and 184 miners trapped in the secondary staging station, a klom and a half deep and 4 kloms from the base.

  Isska said, “I’ve traced a disconnect in the Comms lines. It’s deep, so I suspect that the sabotage might be close to the primary staging station. If we can reconnect that, we’ll be able to speak with them. Then, it’s a case of finding out why the transport links are inoperative.”

  Dymand rapped, “Good, Isska. Medic report?”

  Sounding slightly surprised, Tamanzi responded, “We’ve stabilised all but two patients, sir. I’m performing emergency surgery as we speak.”

  “Excellent. Let me not disturb, Medic –”

  “Please be careful, sir.”

  “We shall.”

  Alodeé was certain he dropped into a private chat with her, because his lips continued to move but nothing came through her Comms link. Dad was worried, wasn’t he? They had no idea what they would find below. Maruski had tried to interrogate two wounded rebels up in the tower; one had revealed that all they knew was ‘it’s a proper monster’ and the other told them that a backup timer had been installed on the explosives below by the diver, who had now joined with the cosmic dust.

  One of the missile crew.

  Base manifests showed that there should be plenty of spare diving and breathing equipment at both staging posts. Clearly, that meant the nameless monster must be monstrous enough to be keeping them right where they were – or, no-one wanted to consider alternatives. The transport links were a simple wire along which a submersible or diver travelled from station to station. No need for anything more sophisticated when water predators had always been absent.

  Asmurti, returning to the group, reported that all of the diving equipment above the waterline had been destroyed. Alodeé had been secretly hoping she could dive, too. More hands being better, right? She offered to pilot the submersible, but Dymand did not want to take anyone along who did not have spare breather equipment. Too risky already.

  The diving team submerged. Speed was crucial.

  Be safe, Dad. Come back to me.

  Alodeé picked up on the monitors and custom-merged the streams to provide a three-dimensional view of the divers’ surrounds, one small eno
ugh to be reviewed at a glance and one much larger for fine detail. Isska glided out of the AVACS, now parked in front of the red mine building, wobbling along on four appendages, adding details from a busy quartet of holo screens.

  Chimzi flitted ahead, taking the divers down through the cloudy turquoise waters to the mine entrance proper. Dymand hitched a one-handed ride on the submersible, conserving energy.

  Alodeé flicked through her data. “Visibility 17 mets. Particle density rising. Stats stable.”

  “Check,” her father’s voice came through, sounding tinny and faraway. “Lines clear so far. Going in. Chimzi, stay a bit closer, please.”

  “Just detecting, sir – uh, animal traces in the water.”

  “Sampling,” said Isska.

  “Sensor range, Alo?” Dymand asked.

  “38 mets. Dropping.”

  Her father’s pulse rate flickered. Displeasing data. Ash switched on the submersible’s lights. They proceeded carefully on into a gloomy tunnel, tall but narrow, cut through jagged black stone. The way was clearly marked with signage glued to the walls. The submersible purred deeper into a maze of black tunnels, sharp turns and tall columns, following the flickering emerald tail in the gloom. The air, power and Comms lines were a thick armoured bundle that snaked down through tunnels and cracks, ever deeper.

  Isska pursed their lips over the 3D image of the maze. “Complex. Anything could be hiding in there.”

  Tomaxx, no longer needing to guard the Med team, peered over Alodeé’s shoulder. Privately, he said, “Do you think Ash’s alright? Her mood seemed … strange. Couldn’t figure it.”

  “Worried, I’d say,” she said, shivering as his breath tickled her neck.

  Muting his mike, he whispered to her, “I guess I’d also be worried if I had a detonator to defuse and 184 lives on the line.”

  “Yep. Asmurti, Isska, any insights from the exobiology data?” she asked.

  They both shook their heads. Asmurti added, “I’m getting a few traces of arachnid DNA, but I’m not exactly a specialist in the subject area. As usual for our lovely home, surprise!”

  “We don’t like surprises,” Tomaxx growled darkly.

  “No,” her father’s voice crackled through the link. “Tomaxx, go find Control or Management and get them to check over their whole operation for any further sabotage, stat. I don’t want to find we’ve another bomb up our back alley.”

  “Dad!” Alodeé spluttered.

  With a wicked chortle, the giant strode off.

  Good. One less distraction around here. That’ll keep his mind off Ashamixx and all things deep underwater …

  She said, “Dad, how fond of spiders are you?”

  Grim chuckle of the day.

  The water remained cloudy, visibility hovering around the 14 mets mark as the trio descended 760 mets into the mine. Narrow cracks wiggled between long, crystal-lined galleries. They broke out into a hall lined and criss-crossed with gleaming azure crystal spars, some reaching lengths of over 30 mets, thicker than Tomaxx’s torso – which I am not thinking about. Alo! Honestly. Dad gasped; Chimzi chuckled in delight. The miners had strung the transport line with care through this section, plainly conscious of the natural beauty. Traversing another tunnel, they entered a crystal wonderland. Tiered crystal platters and wildly branching formations dominated this vast cavern – organic, gleaming, fractal formations of incredible complexity and delicacy. Again, the line led carefully through the middle and around the larger formations, not disturbing anything.

  Transport even had a speed limit, the data showed, to avoid creating too much wash. Nice working environment.

  “What’re those?” Isska snorted, frowning at his readouts.

  “Schools of crystal fish,” Chimzi smiled audibly. “There are luminous insects tending the crystal forests. Oh, this is so beautiful –”

  “Eyes peeled for danger, girlie,” Dymand ordered, not ungently.

  “I’ll bet the helmet cams don’t show the half of this,” Ash said quietly. “Lines all clear so far.”

  The trio finned and swam on, following a vertical geode filled with pink, orange and red garnets to a deeper mine level.

  “Getting something,” Chimzi said, holding up her hand.

  Her Dad said, “Ash, play the lights over there.”

  “Lines? Filaments?” they all puzzled.

  Alodeé scanned the sensor data. “No signs of movement or wash. Is that spider silk?”

  “Spiders on the brain,” Asmurti muttered.

  “Silk, no. This is some kind of metallic exudate,” Dymand said, bringing a hand scanner close to the fine lines that crisscrossed the tunnel here. “Chimzi, don’t get tangled up. It looks sticky. Isska, you reading?”

  “Check, sir. I’m with Alo. Looks spiderish.”

  “Don’t become a Mermaid fly in this spider’s web,” Alodeé muttered.

  At least ten people growled or hissed at her through the Comms link.

  She rubbed her temples tiredly. “Sorry.” Headache. Dad had been right about her not diving with them. Something did not feel right in her body as yet. “Look, I’m just being extra careful. Spiders detect vibrations through their webs. Going with the theme, any way you can get through without touching those filaments?”

  “No,” said her Dad, “but, good thinking, Alo.”

  “I don’t like you anymore, green veggie girl,” Chimzi teased gently, but Alodeé heard the snick of weapons being readied and saw the rising charge in her readouts.

  “No more chatter,” Dymand rapped. “Let’s go in.”

  “478 mets to the first station,” Isska noted, after reading the 3D maps. “The Comms line break is … about 352 mets in, best estimate. Alo?”

  “Right. You’ve a long tunnel ahead, three turns and a drop, then an emerald grotto. Hmm. There’s a power amplifier installed there. The break must be very close to that. Or at it.”

  Extra power for the explosion? Or, some other reason? I don’t like this, freak-freakity-freak!

  “Check,” her father said. “Keep Comms clear. Alo?”

  “Zero movement, sir,” she reported.

  Three helmet cams shifted nervously, scanning the area. Murkier waters still lay ahead, visibility now down to 11 mets. Mineral rich soup. Alodeé noticed Medic Tamanzi come back online, checking over the physiological readouts. Heightened, but that was normal in a dangerous situation. She wished they had a probe to send ahead, but the two extravehicular probe units Dymand packed in his AVACS had been toasted by that friendly minefield the cult had seeded for them.

  Passing through a series of darker, more jagged tunnels, the team closed the distance to the first station. The submersible squeezed down into the grotto. Full of filaments. They inched forward, weapons held at the ready, Ash’s fingers touching her dual triggers.

  Chimzi breathed, “Getting an explosives sense.”

  “Don’t see it,” Dymand breathed. “Is that the amplifier? That … lump?”

  They peered through the murky water at the large lump. Odd. Alodeé touched her left ear. There came that tingle again. “Dad …”

  “I know, kiddo. Danger sense?”

  “Getting weird structural and density readings from that lump.”

  “Solid data?”

  “No. Alomonster sense.”

  Tomaxx said dryly, “Go with it, sir. She’s always right.”

  Sweet liar.

  “Strange interference up ahead,” Isska agreed. “Amplifier’s still 16 mets on, sir. That’s not –”

  “Back up!” Dymand roared.

  Weapons thundered as suddenly, from nothing, movement surrounded the team. Seething from every direction. Hundreds of attackers. Mama spider and babies, a multi-part organism in the way Resurrection Dawn was so fond of serving up – whatever it was, arachnids swarmed the team in a living, swirling nightmare. Weapons flashed and crackled furiously. Dymand spun on his axis, dropping the long-legged, sooty black spider things faster than the eye could follow as the
y jetted smoothly through the water, their 10-cent mandibles extended as if to welcome lunch to their parlour. Ash fired several blasts from the submersible’s main guns, ripping great holes in the formation, but they swarmed her from behind and she was forced to abandon ship and fight for her life. Chimzi punched with her hands and fired her weapon, somehow sweeping an area clear with a cross between a song and a psychic scream – all of her companions on the link cried out, hands flying to their heads, except Alodeé.

  Wailing another near-ultrasonic battle cry, the Mermaid hammered into the squirming pile of bodies that had become Ashamixx. Dymand flicked his CLB-4001 to a wide spectrum and hosed the place. Shrill squeals of insectoid rage accompanied his onslaught.

  “Filaments connect them!” Isska cried.

  “Got bitten!” Ash grunted, grabbing at her neck. “Suit seal!”

  “Asmurti, remote the submersible,” Alodeé spluttered, not entirely making sense in her panic. Dad, oh freak it, Dad …

  “Got it. Cannons online and –”

  KERACK!!

  Electricity arced through the water, moving in impossible bolts – like directed lightning. The links blacked out for 2 secs before flickering back online.

  “Sub’s gone,” Isska noted in a high-pitched voice.

  “Got Dad’s rifle on remote. Vitals?” Alodeé snapped. Heartbeat buzzing! Fingers racing at hyper-speed, she triggered the rifle’s remote function, previously keyed to her voiceprint and set about clearing a full sphere around the trio. The holo readouts flashed and faded, before strengthening once more. Carnage! Hit everything!

  “Stim packs inserted,” Tamanzi called. “Dymand! Chimzi, Ash, wake up!”

  Spinning the rifle again, Alodeé flicked it to a narrower focus and probed the large lump sitting on the power line. 7 mets in size? Eight? It swelled, pulsed twice and then raced away into the darkness quicker than the eye could follow.

  Groans. Ash, Chimzi and, after an agonising pause, her Dad stirred groggily.

  The Mermaid said, “Explosives still near.”

  “On it.” Moving stiffly, Ash swam toward the power amplifier. “Here. Handy readout. This is it.”