by A. Omukai
Thornhill’s expression was unreadable. He rose from his captain’s chair and stretched his back, as if to buy himself some time to think.
While it wasn’t possible for them to complete their mission anymore, at least they could do something while in this system.
“I would like us to send crews down to check both planets for viability. We still have the lifeboats and one of the transporters, so we should be able to handle this.”
“We can only do one at a time,” Brilann said.
Everyone turned their heads around to look at him.
“In order to colonise, we have to open a permanent gate to the Otherworld. For that to happen, we need to find out if the planet in question has a place of power.”
Place of power. This was the first time she heard this term.
“Place of what?” Thornhill asked in her stead.
Brilann sighed and stroked his beard.
“Under normal circumstances, I would have landed on the surface, found out if the planet is connected to the…” He shook his head. “All these explanations aren’t even relevant. Fact is, we need a druid on the ground, and I cannot leave the ship.”
Even the captain seemed to not know about every aspect of the mission, which was more than strange. Judging by the look from Thornhill’s eyes, he had a firm opinion on this, too, but he didn’t speak about it here, which was probably a wise decision. The timing would have been less than perfect.
“Why can’t you leave the ship?” He asked instead.
“I’m maintaining several spells to keep functions going. Shielding, artificial gravity, and a few more. They would persist for a while in my absence, but I have to renew them every so often. That means I can’t leave the ship for long.”
Thornhill’s eyebrows shot up.
“All right. Lieutenant MacBreen it is, together with…” His voice trailed off for a moment.
“Do you think you can go with her, Mr Adams?”
The scientist looked at Deirdre, then back at the captain.
“Yes, I will accompany her. I’d like to do the measurements in person. Do we have scan equipment on board the transporter, and can we bring a ground vehicle and equipment to build a temporary base?”
Boots on the ground, to find a ‘place of power’, whatever that was. She glanced at Brilann, who now turned his face towards her and smiled.
***
Getting back to Deck One had been a challenge. Outside the bridge, everything had sunken into chaos.
Not only were parts of the corridors without atmosphere or gone completely, other sections were still on fire. Brilann and Deirdre had to wear protective suits just to leave the bridge.
Another problem had been the elevators themselves. They had shut down automatically, and had to be reactivated manually, which had cost time, too.
However, both had been dealt with relatively quickly, and they had reached the outer ring.
“What is it you didn’t tell me? About those places of power?” Deirdre asked.
The old arch druid leaned against the wall. It didn’t flicker right now that he was in direct physical contact with it. The tree on the other side of the wall didn’t become visible.
“It is what it sounds like. Places of power are spots in a physical location, where energy pours from sources and produces little pools, which you can draw from, in order to produce stable gates to the Otherworld. Those sources are actually connections to the Otherworld, it’s where the power originates.”
“How come you didn’t tell me earlier?”
Deirdre wasn’t sure what to think about the oak seer anymore. Keeping this kind of secret from his mentee didn’t seem what a mentor would do.
“Opening a permanent gate to the Otherworld exposes it. This is certainly not desirable, if it’s being performed without consent by the two Courts. Certain information is on a need-to-know basis, and you didn’t have to know yet.”
Deirdre raised her eyebrows.
“That sounds like something a Faerie would say.”
Brilann laughed in his dark, voluminous voice.
“That’s quite a sharp observation, Deirdre MacBreen. Things are more complicated than that, though.”
He continued to chuckle and wiped a tear from his eyes.
“You must have been surprised when you found out that not even the captain knew about this. Well, the existence, and of course the handling of places of power is a closely kept secret, and information is only being given out when there’s no other way. Now you need to know, though, so there’s that.”
Even though he had no iris and pupils, his white eyes stared straight into her soul. She shivered.
“Shouldn’t at least the captain of the ship know, especially if it’s part of the mission, and he carries responsibility?”
“That is where you are mistaken. While the captain handles the ship, the one responsible for the mission itself is me, or one of the other mentors, for the other two ships. While Captain Thornhill makes sure we can perform this mission in as much safety as possible and organizes the logistics, the one responsible for the actual legwork on the planets is me.”
Not knowing all these details, while she could understand the reasons, didn’t sit right with her. Their lives were on the line on this mission, shouldn’t they know what they were doing, at least?
“I can imagine what you’re thinking, but things are not as clear-cut as it seems. You already know that humanity, the AI and the two Courts are not one unit. We are acting as partners. Who do you think I represent?”
This was an unsettling revelation. Deirdre could imagine, but she didn’t want to. She had had the impression that they were on the same team. This had turned out to not be the case, and she didn’t like it. However, it was too late to even think about it. They were underway, stranded in a star system over twenty light-years away from home.
“It doesn’t really matter anyway, because we all have the same goals. Finding a new home for humanity has direct consequences for all parties involved. We are all connected anyway, and in the case of the Tuatha De Danann, literally sitting in the same boat.”
“Well, I guess you are right and it can’t be helped now. What’s next though?”
“After you land, you need to find the location of a place of power, since only such spots are suitable for the construction of a gate. The principle is very similar to the jump ritual, only that the source of energy will be far greater, and you won’t move through the gate you produce. Instead, you will connect it to the destination and stay where you are. This means, the image you will hold will be in Luna City on Earth’s moon, so the actual connection will be to a place at home, just using the Otherworld as a medium of transportation.”
“How will I find such a place of power?”
“This is where your Cu Sidhe comes into play. He will pick up the scent of magic, much as he can pick up the smell of life force, and predict death. He is uniquely equipped to lead you to such places, which is what you will depend on, since you cannot find them on your own. I spoke with Cailean before we left Earth. He has his instructions, and he will lead you right there when you call him after you land.”
Deirdre frowned.
“My Cu Sidhe, Cailean, has instructions from someone else than me?”
“I wouldn’t call it instructions. I explained the problem to him. He knows what’s at stake. If we cannot find a new home for humanity, we will die. When that happens, the Otherworld will be cut off from the very essence of what keeps it running.”
“And what would that be?”
Brilann looked at her, or at least he turned his head her way, with a serene expression on his face. She didn’t like his secretive manner. Secrets upon secrets. No, she didn’t like it at all. But it was just as he had already said, it couldn’t be helped. They were trapped here, and these were just technicalities. The general principle of the mission had not changed: Travel to the places on the list, check for viability, clear for colonisation. That they could co
nnect these new worlds with Earth was fascinating, and she could not find a flaw in this plan.
After a short, but awkward period without an answer, she moved on.
“Tell me about the ritual. How do I tap those places of power, and how do I construct a gate that doesn’t collapse after I leave?”
Brilann looked satisfied, as if he had calculated her reactions correctly. Was she this easy to read?
“It’s really not that difficult once you know that the amount of power you are dealing with is on a whole different level from what you have been using so far. All the same rules apply, however, first we have to check if this planet is indeed worth connecting and settling. Now, let me explain to you how to conduct the ritual.”
She sat still and listened intently.
***
Deck two showed no sign anything had happened. All the destruction was limited to the middle part of the Tuatha De Danann. When they had made their way up from Deck One, Deirdre had still been under shock, her attention laser-focused on getting out of the chaos, into Brilann’s quarters. Now that she had calmed down, and her brief discussion with the oak seer had distracted her for long enough to give her a chance to calm down, she was once again able to look at the world from a broader perspective.
Everything was where she had put it. The reagents, the runes… Deirdre felt a surge of adrenaline. Her runes! Her hand shot to the side of her uniform, the bag was still dangling from the belt. The acorns were inside, clicking softly as she opened it, all of them, except for the three she had used for the jump.
Anger welled up inside her. She gnashed her teeth. This meant searching for tiny little acorns on the large bridge, hoping they were still intact. Their plans hadn’t included going back through the destroyed parts of Deck One. They would prepare themselves here, then move over to the hangar near the bow of the ship.
The destruction had hit the Tuatha De Danann from the opposite side, and while the bulkheads had kept the bridge itself intact, parts of the corridor didn’t even exist anymore. She had registered that only in passing while she had been with Brilann, still affected by the heavy fog in her brain in the crash’s aftermath, but the memories were still fresh. Fine. She’d put the suit back on and go back, but first she’d make sure she still had enough pine wood. The piece she had used for the jump had been consumed in the ritual.
She grabbed her box with paraphernalia and added it to the other things she planned to take with her. It all fit inside two medium-sized bags, one of them a rucksack she had to adjust to carry over the suit. Deirdre had no choice, she couldn’t work with an incomplete set of runes, and asking Brilann for his wouldn’t work. Runes were attuned to the caster personally. She checked her bags one last time, sent a quick note to the arch druid, then made her way down to the bridge. Again.
When the elevator doors opened on Deck Two, there were two technicians sealing a breach in the wall. One of them nodded at her, while the other didn’t even notice her presence, or didn’t care. She returned the greeting, then marched towards the bridge as fast as she could without breaking into a sprint. The corridor lay in twilight now. The light sources were still shut off, but small lamps were attached to rails on the wall, lifting small areas out of the darkness. Deirdre reached the section where the outer wall had been ripped open. The artificial gravity here was out of order as well, so she had to carefully move hand over hand, clung to the rail. A technician was working on either side of the breach, and her suit was connected to a security cable, but climbing over this abyss made her heart pound faster and harder, as she was exposed to the uncaring, dark wastes just a step away.
She slipped, scolded herself, renewed her grip, moved on, and more than just once. Thankfully, the chasm wasn’t that wide. When she reached the other side, she moved on quickly, with her feet firmly attached to the ground again.
The hard soles of her boots caused no sound here, which made it all feel surreal. She had sped up the moment she felt gravity again, but it still was like walking underwater, an experience she had never made, but could imagine perfectly.
Finally, Deirdre reached the bridge.
The heavy door was closed. What was that damn security code again? She should have taken a note. After waiting only a moment, it opened with a hiss. The figure waiting inside, looking at Deirdre, was Fionnlagh. He hung in the air, grinning at her.
“Good thing you came. I was waiting for you. Was just about to send you a message.”
Deirdre raised her eyebrows.
“I was sure you would come. You need your runes, don’t you?”
Seemed like the little Faerie had paid more attention than she.
“Thanks a lot. That’s gonna save me quite a bit of time.”
“I know. And you owe me two favours now.”
He smiled mischievously.
“Alright. I see you’re keeping track.”
She grinned. He might be serious, but there was no way to find out now. Either way, she was happy to have her runes back, without having to search the whole bridge for them. How he had done it that quickly, she didn’t know, and she wouldn’t ask him now, anyway.
“You going to leave now?” Fionnlagh asked.
“I will meet with Mister Adams at the hangar in–” She opened her system interface and looked at the clock icon. “Twenty minutes. So I still have a bit of time.”
The Aes Sidhe looked at her bags.
“That’s all you gonna take down with you?”
“Yeah, I was hoping it won’t take so long. Although, it’s my first time, so I can’t be sure.”
“It’s the first time for all of us.”
“You’re right,” she said.
She opened the little bag still hanging from her belt and put the three runes in. Then she stuffed it into her rucksack.
“Maybe it’s best to get on my way now. Better to be early than to be late.”
The Aes Sidhe nodded.
“Don’t forget to bring me a souvenir when you come back.”
Deirdre laughed.
“Will do.”
8
Descent
The ship had three lifeboats and two transporters. One for material, one for personal. When Deirdre arrived at the hangar, she wasn’t sure she could trust her eyes. Two of the three small vessels were smoldering heaps of trash. She looked over at the two big box-like transporters. They had crashed, too, and one of them was barely more than scrap metal now. The other one looked out of shape, dents and scratches everywhere, but looks were deceiving, and perhaps it was still somewhat usable.
“Holy…”
A sigh escaped her lips.
“Not looking good at all,” said a male voice.
Deirdre turned around and saw Adams standing beside her, hands on his hips, frowning at the chaos in front of them.
“I hope at least one of them is still usable. It would be a shame if we had come here for naught.”
Now that would really suck. Not only were they trapped in this system until the Tuatha De Danann was in good enough shape to jump back to Earth. If they couldn’t even land on the planet, to see if it was usable, they had gained nothing at all. It would all be a giant failure, and she hadn’t come here to fail. She had come to help humanity escape from an Earth suffering from a runaway greenhouse effect, and maybe to become famous in the process. She certainly wouldn’t mind it.
Together, they walked over to one of the technicians, who was busy working on the transport ship that didn’t look quite as damaged. He was a tall, built Fir Bolg with dark hair, wearing the uniform of the engineering crew.
When he saw them coming, he straightened his posture and showed them a salute.
“Hello…” Deirdre looked up at his nameplate. “Chief Warrant Officer Smith. What do you think, is this bird usable?”
The engineer grimaced.
“She will fly, all right. She’s in awful shape, but functioning. Probably can’t carry all of your stuff, though. The target planet has a gravity much higher
than that of Earth, and the damage to the internal structure will probably not allow it to land. You will have to jump out the airlock.”
Adam’s grumble was clearly audible. She shared his sentiment.
“Jump?” She asked.
The engineer nodded. “Yeah. With a parachute. You’re lucky that we can drop a vehicle for you. There’s emergency equipment for that. The bags, though? Nope.”
Deirdre cursed silently. This was bad news, and if not even so much for her, but looking at Adams’ face, she wondered if he could even do his job under such circumstances.
“Will you be alright?” She asked.
“I might carry some of my gear myself, but sorting this out will be a pain. I can’t go without equipment to analyse the biosphere. The planet might be full of life forms that are incompatible with human bodies or could kill us in ways we can’t even imagine yet. We can’t have that, that’s why I go down to check the planet. If I can’t make sure I have the equipment to find threats like that reliably, there is no reason for me to even bother, and then, there is no reason for you, either.”