Elissa’s transmitted voice was tiny, “I’m on it.”
“Then I’m gone. Catch you later.” He turned away and leaped from the ship. The fused ground rushed up at him. The surface fractured as he hit it. His suit absorbed the impact easily, protecting him. Cutting through the base camp, he entered the ruins. The city’s a vast three-dimensional labyrinth, but sensors should lock onto survivors if I get close enough. With any luck, we’ll find them in time.
As the sun slowly sank from its zenith, he followed a trail of disturbed dust and debris. The traces of human intrusion were obvious at first but soon disappeared. He resorted to searching in ever expanding arcs, staying in the street, letting his sensors sweep the surrounding structures. It was tedious work, and the city itself was a distraction. Its streets were senselessly winding, often ending capriciously near the points they first branched from.
He stopped by a three-tiered fountain, finding a human handprint on its dusty rim. It was the first sign he was on the right track.
“Chim, Doc has dug up some interesting data for you. You want the whole thing or just the highlights?”
“Give me whatever you think is relevant.”
“Okay, the last recorded entry in Falken’s journal describes a collapsed shrine in a commons not far from your current position. A soft crystalline vibration led them there. After recording the ruin from all perspectives, the workers began the task of clearing away the fallen rubble and discovered a huge crystal of synthetic origin. As more of it came into view, the crystal song strengthened. The entry concludes with the projection that the crystal will be fully exposed given another day’s labor.”
“It sounds like this shrine holds at least one answer. Plot me a direct course,” Chim instructed.
“Sure. Here you go.”
A map appeared on the inside of his visor. A red blip marked his location and a blue one indicated the site of the shrine. The intervening buildings were outlined in gold. Hmmm. I should get there well before sunset. He killed the display and started moving. He stopped a few times to call up the map display. The winding streets made any straight course impossible.
He burst onto the commons. Surrounded by towers with interconnecting buttresses, the field was dry and dusty, littered with small gnarled trees and spiky weeds. There are a few stone benches scattered around keeping lonely vigil. At one time, this spot was probably irrigated—some kind of park or garden.
Wading through a weird chiming sound, Chim approached a concrete dais edged with columns. The structure looked small initially but grew to respectable proportions as he neared, passing freshly made cairns of stone. The weeds around the dais were trampled down. There were abundant tracks made by human footwear.
Chim climbed a short flight of stairs. On the dais, he staggered. His visor display went in and out, losing resolution as power fluctuated. He felt a phantom ache in his bones from the neural interfaces. A filter of static distorted his comm link.
“Chim—are you—I’m not receiving—telemetry—”
“Elissa! I hope you’re getting some of this. Suffering massive system failures. Suit might as well be a sarcophagus for all the good it’s doing. Don’t know what’s going on. Must have something to do with this crystal vibration. Getting … a headache...”
“If you can—function—need me to—?”
Chim’s visor display was suffering pixel dropout but he could still make out a number of prone figures, lying like offerings around a rough crystal mass. Half the size of a man, the stone was caged with wrought-iron braces. He saw feeble movement among the Falken party. Some of them at least were still alive. A woman lifted her head with an agonizing effort to stare at him with pleading eyes.
He fell to his knees, then sprawled.
He couldn’t help her. He couldn’t even help himself … unless…
He activated the emergency evacuation system. Explosive bolts fired. His armor came apart as designed. He fought out of the dead weight, keening a dirge that resonated in his sinuses. The sound emerged to wrap him in protective layers, changing the harmonics playing havoc with his body. He reclaim his feet, staggered to edge of the dais, and pitched himself down the steps. He crashed to the ground, beyond the stairs, and lay there a moment. Though jolted, he was essentially unharmed.
His implant channel cleared. “Chim! Are you all right?”
He looked up.
She stood over him, staring down. Her golden image went fuzzy, thick with swirls of static.
“I could ask you the same thing.” He rolled so his feet were under him, but stayed low where the raised foundation of the structure offered him shielding. “I’ve found the Falken party. They’re up on the dais with some sort of crystal growth that’s transmorphing sunlight into some strange form of electromagnetic interference that has a decidedly detrimental effect on biological organisms as well as cybernetic systems.”
“I could bring the ship here,” Elissa suggested. “Its systems are far more complex than those of your suit, and not so well insulated overall, but I can probably resist the crystal song long enough to pick everyone.”
“Try it, but don’t endanger the ship,” Chim said. “Fly toward the shrine. At the first sign of system compromise, back off. If possible, I want you to cast a shadow over dais. Without direct sunlight, I think the interference will fade. I’ll be able to throw something over the crystal to keep it powered down.”
“Doc’s back aboard,” Elissa reported. “We’re on our way. But, Chim, if this thing’s only a problem during the day, why not wait ‘til nightfall? Sun set isn’t far off.”
“I don’t want the extra complication of dealing with the warren creatures while evacuating survivors.” Chim broke of the conversation, staring at the globular sphere that was his ship. After moving halfway to his position, it stopped, hanging over the city. Chim turned his eyes back to Elissa. Her image was frozen, her expression one of distraction.
“I can’t get there,” she said. “Systems are becoming erratic. Power levels are all over the place. I have to back off.”
Moving away from the shrine, and studied the setting sun as it peeked out from behind several towers. “All right, shadows from the surrounding buildings will soon neutralize the shrine. You’ll be able to land here and send in your servo-units to get these people out while I hold off any creatures that show up.”
“Without a suit?”
“Send me another. I’ll make do until it gets here.” He warmed his
voice, saving certain lethal notes until needed.
Accompanied by Elissa’s projected image, he hurried to a statue’s pedestal with only broken legs attached to the top. The rest of the statue lay face down in nearby weeds. Waiting for a chance to act, Chim indulged his curiosity, rolling the fallen carving over. “This must have been a revered figure to the ancient city-dwellers. Nowhere else have I seen such a sculpture.”
The carved native wore a toga with a feathery fringe. The stone face was broad and reptilian with wide-set, bulging eyes. The back of the head had a stiff fan-like ridge running from forehead to the back of the neck.
“Well,” he said, “now we know what the ancient builders looked like.”
“I hate being a harbinger of unpleasant tidings, Boss, but…”
Chim sighed within his visor. “What is it?”
“Doc has shown me sketches made by someone in Falken’s group. These night creatures, if you force them into good posture, throw clothes on them, and take away their vicious, hungry expressions—they match that statue, distinctive head-ridge and all. Doc says…”
Chim interrupted, “The builders didn’t die off. They went underground, losing culture, intelligence, maybe even their souls.”
“Doc calls it devolution. She theorizes that the natives were more sensitive to the crystal song than even they knew. She says the so-called shrine was actually part of a defensive weapon system designed to protect the city during some ancient conflict. Some dim memory of the crystal must
still linger among the warren-beasts; Falken’s notes indicate that the creatures avoid the shrine religiously. They’re not going to bother you unless you leave the commons.”
“Finally, a piece of good news.”
Chim watched the sky deepened from red to a murky violet with lilac wisps. The first few stars of evening made a hesitant appearance. Beautiful. Moments like this nourish the spirit.
His new suit arrived. He quickly donned it. He heard a bass croaking and stared across the commons. There were shifting shadows. His visor enhanced the image, adding definition by translating infrared scans. The moving figures were rendered in silver gradients.
“It’s the creatures. They’re gathering, but not entering the field.
He noticed that the crystal song was dwindling down to nothing. “Well, time to do something about the crystal.” Chim turned, went back to the dais, and climbed the stairs. He noticed that the fallen researchers were more aware and active, though too weak to do much more than stare at him, sitting up a bit. A few of them tried calling to him, making anxious rasping sounds, but prolonged dehydration had muted their voices.
He moved closer. “It’ll be all right,” he told them. “I’ll get you out of here soon.” His reassurance didn’t have much effect. The man he recognized as Dr. Falken was desperately trying to warn him away with violent throwing gestures.
“They don’t seem to understand that the danger is over,” Elissa commented.
As he took a step forward, a clicking sound occurred, followed by a soft hum. Recessed ports opened in the dais near the crystal’s base, throwing beams of red light into the centerpiece. The crystal song returned, Elissa flickered out, and Chim fell to his knees as his suit lost power, becoming sluggish.
He suddenly understood the warning that the Dr. Falken had been trying to give him, and why none of the researchers had crawled off during the past nights. The ancient defensive system used spots to keep the crystal active past sunset.
Chim didn’t know if the beams were on a timer or activated by a photocell receptor that measured ambient light. If it was the latter, he had an answer to the situation. Opening his bag, he drew out a light grenade and planted it while trying his comm. “Elissa! Are you all right?” There was only static on his link. He could only hope the ship hadn’t crashed when the shrine reactivated.
Chim rolled the grenade up to the crystal, turning his visor away. A fierce white light flooded the dais.
He heard a telltale click as the spots went out. The crystal began to feed on the grenade. He knew there would be a few moments, after the glare of the grenade died, before the spots came back on. Then, he could withdraw, but that wouldn’t solve anything. He had a better idea.
The grenade dimmed and the crystal song stalled. Chim reached over, snagging two of the researchers. As the ports began to open again, he rolled lax bodies over most of the recessed lights. Not all of them were covered but the returning crystal song was considerably weaker.
Forcing himself to his feet, he staggered closer to the massive jewel, dipping to slip both hands past the bracing, under the stone. He thrust upright, lifting the entire stone above his head, out of the last of the red beams. The crystal song died completely.
Elissa appeared next to him. “Chim, are you all right?”
“Yes,” he answered. “Get some servo-units over here to weld some braces to the top of these supports. I don’t want the crystal able to drop back in place.”
“Sure. I’ll go lure the creatures away so my units can get through.”
She faded out, but Chim kept the conversation going over the comm. “How’s the ship?”
“We slammed into a building when the crystal went into night mode.
The vessel will need a little time in the shipyards, but she’s still space-worthy. I’ve got some med-bots heading your way to provide emergency treatment.”
“Good. As soon as Falken’s people are aboard, we’ll lift.”
“Hey Chim, Doc’s left the ship. She’s out making nice with the warren creatures. They seem to like her.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised,” Chim said. “Nothing understands a reptile better than another reptile.”
“She says she’s going to stay and study them.”
“Fine by me. I don’t think Dr. Falken’s in any shape to complain about someone taking over his work.”
“I’ll miss her,” Elissa said. “It was good to have another woman around for a while.”
Spidery servo-units climbed onto the dais, getting busy. Soon, Chim was able to leave. He followed the last of the med-bots across the commons. None of the natives were in sight. The IMPERIAL DRAGON ran its cargo lift, collecting everyone. Chim was last to board.
“Tell Doc goodbye for me.”
A moment later, Elissa reported. “I tried, Chim, but she’s totally absorbed with her new friends. She just kind of nodded and waved me off so I wouldn’t scare them.”
“Yeah, you’re scary all right,” he joked. “But then, I’m fond of pretty angels with attitude.”
She appeared next to him in the cargo bay. This close to her photonic projectors, she had the same density as solid matter. She fanned gleaming white wings that protruded from her back. “You really think I’m pretty?”
“Sure.”
He took off his helmet and she kissed him.
“Thanks,” he said. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I am in dire need of a shower, shave, food, and a little sack time.”
“I have needs too, ya know?” Elissa complained.
“Fine, you can scrub my back.”
“You are too kind.”
“You don’t have to—”
“You said I could. You can’t take it back.” There was threat in her voice.
He sighed dramatically. “I’m just to kind, but everyone needs a failing to make them interesting. C’mon, let’s get out of here. Lift ship.” The stars were calling and they, too, couldn’t be ignored.
INTERLUDE
A new interrogator weighed in. “Let’s get back to the matter of your partner. What happens if her deepening relationship with you affects her judgment? What will happen when a ship is forced to choose between saving a guardsman, or completing her mission? What if a ship were to reject mission objectives entirely, running amok?”
Chim said, “The only rogue ship I’ve ever heard of, completed her mission, saving several star systems. As for what Elissa and I feel for each other…that too has value to the Imperium.”
8. THE RIFT
Darkness flooded the dormitory. Many of the children were out of their beds, surrounding his. Their fists fell on him. He didn’t fight back—survival was victory enough. He covered up to weather the storm.
The lights came on. The children slipped like shadows back to their beds.
A white-coated man approached. He checked Chim for damage, turning his face to the light. “Who did this?”
Chim knew the question was an undeclared test, one of loyalty toward those that abused him. “Did what?” Chim projected confused innocence that he knew the man didn’t buy. The white coat left.
The lights went out.
The children returned.
Memory turned into fantasy—this time, they had knives. The blades fell, making his chest a bloody ruin. He awoke screaming, sitting up in bed.
“It’s all right, Chim. It was just a bad dream.”
Warm arms encircled him, offering comfort. His heart raced as he gasped for breath. “Knowing that … doesn’t help.” He lay back down with Elissa nestled against him, shimmering softly.
“You want to tell me about it?” she asked.
“No,” he whispered, his mind sinking into memory, returning to Charon and the facility that had drained his innocence.
He sat at a desk with a green plastic box in front of him, its top full of round holes. Next to the box, lay an array of red square pegs. Around him were other desks with other children, each one with their own boxes and pegs. A voice drone
d out of a wall speaker: “Put the pieces into the box. Put the pieces…”
Nameless men in white coats walked the room, scribbling notes, occasionally talking to each other in hushed tones, but seldom anyone else. They watched every little thing. That was their job. They were good at it. One of them stopped by Chim’s chair as he poked a red peg at a
round hole. It wouldn’t go in.
Chim looked around. The other children were making the same discovery. A few of them began to cry at being given an impossible task. Some kept jamming their peg at the box, as if persistence alone would change the face of the universe. A couple just gave up, leaning back to stare at the ceiling, or laying their heads down on the box for a nap. Chim knew that those who didn’t try were not going to be around much longer.
Chim never felt like surrendering. There was a hard core in him that couldn’t stand to lose. Chim slid out of his chair and gathered up the box and pegs. He left the room with one of the white-coats tagging along like a curious puppy. Chim went down a hallway to an open door. A workroom waited inside with all manner of building materials and power tools. He set the box down and crossed to a display of wall-mounted tools. He took a cutter off the wall. It took him a few minutes to slice the pegs in half.
After putting the tool away and cleaning up, he picked up the box, and returned to the test room. Chim took his seat once more with the box back on his desk. Several white-coats came over to check him out as he fed the sliced pegs into the round holes. One of the white-coats smiled.
That night, the beatings began.
“Chim?” Elissa’s voice anchored him in the moment.
“Just hold me,” he said, “and let the past stay buried.”
“Sure, whatever you say. Uh-oh.”
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