Energize (From the Logs of Daniel Quinn Book 1)

by Thomas R. Manning

  “Idza, Laraar,” I said. “I need hunters or trackers. I’m going out to find Cessa.”

  “Daniel, you recall . . . her location . . . unknown to us,” Laraar said.

  “I do, but I also have something that none of you have.” I pointed to my bionic eye, which was functioning at unbelievable precision since the contact with the empyreus. I requested that anyone with tracking skills meet us at the comm station and I also needed my rifle back. I had no intention of shooting her, but I at least wanted to show her I was serious. Laraar walked me to a kind of armory which held a number of staves and small wooden shafts that shot their stun darts. When I looked at them I felt a small itch on my neck where the dart had hit me a week ago. I grabbed a couple of the stun shafts and my rifle, which sat alone on a table.

  When we returned to the station two other Dawnians had joined the group. I handed them the shafts and they took them, looking at me then to Laraar. He nodded to them as if giving permission to use the weapons alongside me. Jortu made some kind of commotion drawing our attention.

  “Jortu has finished . . . test device . . .”

  Brilliant. I ran up to the display screen on the device and was lost immediately by all the icons and symbols. I asked how to speak to Al and Ponta reached across me, pressing a silver colored symbol that looked like a cross between Chinese letters and hieroglyphics.

  “Al, can you hear me?”

  Static sounded, but no words or voice spoke through it. Jortu knelt down and manipulated wires underneath the console. Static turned to buzzing. Buzzing turned to an uncomfortable high pitch squealing sound, then I heard his voice as though a distant echo. After a few more tweaks from Jortu I could finally hear Al.

  “Captain. Do you hear me?”

  “Yes Al, I’m here now. Are all systems functioning properly?”

  “This technology is remarkable Captain. Though there is a complex amount of circuitry within this device, the entire station is charged without an external power source. I am unable to compare this type of power with anything else in the -”

  “Al,” I interrupted. “I’d love to hear all about it, but I need you to start analyzing right away. Meanwhile I am going to try and find Cessa and bring her back here. If all else fails she may be our only hope of stopping Erebos.”

  “Acknowledged sir. Good luck.”

  In any other situation, even though he was a machine he would have scolded me in some way for interrupting his breakthrough hypothesis and findings. I would tell him I don’t have time for it. He would tell me to make time because something he says could be valuable information one day. The argument usually ended when I told him I would listen to him next time, though I can’t claim that I always held my word.

  I told the two trackers whose names were Grimal and Crotu to stand by as I closed my left eye and concentrated on the surrounding grass and dirt with my bionic eye. The task of finding Cessa’s footprints wasn’t easy. Even though she was only one of two humans on the planet, days had passed and winds shuffled the ground, not to mention the intense amount of activity while the Dawnians repaired their village. I remained persistent despite the odds. This area was the last place I saw her and it was my best chance of picking up her trail.

  The first footprint displayed in my vision about two meters to my right. Idza passed her translator to Grimal so that they could understand what I was saying, but unfortunately they didn’t have any training in human speech, one more thing I blamed on the empyreus. They must have figured that with their technology and resources, no more than a couple of Dawnians would need to learn it.

  I requested that the two of them stay behind me so my scanners wouldn’t be distracted by their presence in my line of sight. They kept their dart guns at the ready in case we found Cessa. The footsteps were far apart from one another, which indicated that she was taking giant leaps during her escape from the village. The path led us into the forest, which is where I counted on Grimal and Crotu to assist me. Each of them took a turn showing me something that could indicate her direction such as flattened plant life on the ground or broken branches hanging off of trees.

  I heard a crunch and a snap from beside me and I quickly rotated toward the sound, raising my gun with my finger on the trigger. The animal I mistook for Cessa was large and covered in silver-white fur. Black markings covered its head and legs and its hooves were twice as large as a horse on Earth. Two bright golden eyes stared at me. I had clearly startled him as much as he startled me. I lowered my gun and my heart skipped a beat when a whooshing sound sent something past my ear. A dart landed in the animal’s elongated neck and it dropped to the ground. I turned to give the shooter a sour look, but found both Dawnians rubbing at their stomachs.

  Ah, dinner.

  Now I knew where my mystery meat came from. Crotu ran over to the beast and checked it over, confirming it had been neutralized. After that we continued our trek through the forest for Cessa. After every few steps my eye would be unable to locate any footprints, but spending a few minutes looking around and focusing on various terrains would reveal another. She must have kept to rocky surfaces as much as she could, but there weren’t enough to mask her flight completely. I wondered if she had stopped anywhere for shelter or if she had been on the run since the night she attacked. I decided I would only search so far before turning back to the village. The top priority right now was to assess the arrival of her reinforcements.

  We made our way through a heavily concentrated area of the forest where the tree trunks nearly touched each other. A couple of times I had to sidestep in between them, but there was a silver lining or at least I hoped there was. I could smell smoke and judging by the lack of wind, it had to have been close by. A number of possibilities could have explained the smell, but I hoped the source was a fire, one she would have to keep warm. In as few and most basic words as possible I asked my two colleagues to increase the distance between each of us. If Cessa was close by there was a chance that we could flank her position. The biggest problem was while Crotu and Grimal were traveling in complete silence, I was snapping twigs and brushing against plants every few steps. I slowed my advance as the two of them continued to my right and left.

  I found my first clue of Cessa’s whereabouts when I came to a narrow tree that had fallen. I traced it back to its trunk to see that a blade had cut straight through it. The surface of the cut was smooth to the touch and a cold tingling sensation traveled up my spine. Continuing forward I saw more trees that were used as targets. The surrounding air was becoming increasingly grey from the smoke. I readied my weapon and switched from plasma to stun rounds. I wasn’t sure how the empyreus would affect the stun rounds, hopefully nothing as intense as the plasma or I might put Cessa in a coma at the very least.

  Ahead of my position I thought I saw a figure of some kind, which blinked on my display. The creature was humanoid in shape, maybe Cessa, but maybe another Dawnian.

  I stepped into a small, unnatural clearing. Every tree within twenty or thirty feet had been sliced at the bottom of the trunks. The wood that had been cut was burning, the flames rising tall. Sitting on the other side of the fire, Cessa’s legs were crossed inward with her sword lying across her lap. Her eyes were closed and her mouth a straight line, until I snapped on yet another tree branch. My hunting skills were poor. Cessa smiled.

  “Daniel. I thought you might come looking for me.”

  Hearing such a sweet and soft voice come from someone so cold and murderous made my skin crawl. I set my finger on the trigger and slowly advanced towards her position.

  “Get up Cessa! Now!” I had to continuously take deep breaths to keep my hands from shaking. Without placing one hand on the ground she simply turned her feet down and pushed herself into a stance. She opened her eyes and looked at me and my weapon, then smiled at me.

  “Look at you, the soldier. I feel like I’m experiencing deja vu, don’t you? I stand a few feet from you with your gun pointing at me . . . Remind me again how that ended l
ast time?”

  My eyes narrowed and I made sure a target lock was kept on her using my bionic eye. She had the stealth and agility of a snake and a lioness mixed into one. She was standing still now, but give her a couple of second’s hesitation and her sword would be smeared with my blood.

  “This time it’s different. You don’t have an unarmed body to slaughter in cold blood.”

  Her mouth parted and her eyebrows strayed from each other. She acted as if I told her she lost her favorite puppy or something.

  “I’m hurt Daniel. I was merely doing my duty. I can’t help it if some righteous vile creature wants to be a hero. Heroes are an illusion Daniel. Take you, for example . . .” She walked toward me. I dug the gun into my shoulder and kept it aimed at her. “You think you’re being a hero right now by finding me? Do you think you were a hero when you stopped my beasts from devouring the village? This all happened because of you.”

  The last of her words echoed through my mind.

  No, I thought. There’s no time to question yourself.

  “You’re wrong Cessa. We are responsible for our own actions. I may have been the one to bring you here, but you chose to betray me and murder the people of this planet. Now you’re going to answer for it. Let’s go!”

  I waved the gun back in the general direction I walked from, hoping she would oblige and do as I said. Of course, she didn’t. She stood there and raised her sword to me. The blade reflected the little sunlight shining down into the clearing. The edge was so sharp it could easily cut me in half. My mind couldn’t help but summon mental pictures of Ashley stabbed to death, but the images weren’t as frequent or intense this time. Cessa must have expected me to flinch, because I saw her blink and her eyes darted to her sides, looking for an escape. That’s when the dart from Grimal’s blowgun hit Cessa in the neck. She had enough time to swipe her sword in the direction it came from, but a second later she fell to the ground.

  Grimal and Crotu walked into the clearing and to my astonishment Grimal was flapping his hand open and closed, unbelievably reminiscent of when humans use a similar expression to show the other person is talking too much. I mentally imagined Grimal singing ‘blah blah blah’ and I couldn’t help but laugh. The two of them looked at me and then laughed themselves in that quick high pitch progression.

  Score one for the good guys. Crotu carried Cessa over his shoulder and Grimal held onto her sword. He offered it to me but I refused. Normally having the sword so close reminded me of the past, bringing up the unpleasant images of Ashley’s death, but for some reason the memories weren’t affecting me as intensely as they did before. Did talking to Idza help me face the pain or did her music help heal my soul? Either way I was confident that I could face my future without any further interruptions. At least I hoped that was the case. The three of us walked back to the village though our speed was a little slower with our fresh cargo, Cessa and the beast. At least we knew where we were going. Er, I mean they did.

  SEVENTEEN

  The sun lowered into the horizon and the village was fully active. From the outskirts I saw adults working and tending to their homes and children running and playing with each other. The music that emanated from the scene warmed my heart and helped me forget about the dreadful conversation I had with Cessa in the woods. The three of us marched straight back to the center of town where Idza, Laraar, and a few others were stationed watching the terminal do its work. I always knew Al would have no trouble drawing a crowd.

  Everyone seemed very pleased to see us with a few loathsome looks focusing on Cessa, unconscious in the arms of Crotu. Laraar placed his hands onto my arms and smiled.

  “Relieved . . . You are well.” He said.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Grimal dropped the beast on the ground and motioned for a couple people to come and handle it. Then he handed the translator back to Idza and spoke to her for a moment. When they finished he beckoned Crotu to follow him and they walked in the direction of the two cells we had previously occupied. Cessa wasn’t going to be happy when she woke up and found herself back there. I might have to be present for that.

  I walked up to Idza after she finished setting her translator.

  “The trip back was quiet. How did it go for Grimal?”

  She smiled, and held back a laugh.

  “He says . . . Daniel excellent distraction.”

  My shoulders slumped, but I guess I couldn’t argue with his assessment. Everyone around me laughed. I let them do so at my expense as I approached the computer console to check in with Al.

  “Talk to me Al. Tell me you have something.”

  “Something would be an understatement Captain. This empyreus is extraordinary. The raw energy it gives off allowing all surrounding devices to be wirelessly connected is unprecedented by our current technology. Not only do all devices integrate with each other, but they act on a network reminiscent of a beehive, doing one specific job and transmitting it to the next and so on. Simply remarkable.”

  I tapped my foot impatiently.

  “Al, that’s great and all, but I’m speaking of the transmission Cessa sent. What’s the word on that?”

  “Of course sir. I finished that over an hour ago, just after you left. Taking into account various equations and calculations such as signal strength, current star charts, and the average slingspace velocity for a star cruiser, I estimate that anyone who received the transmission would arrive at this planet roughly 16 to 43 hours from now.”

  Gulp...

  “So what you’re telling me is Raymond Erebos will be here in less than two days?” I asked him.

  “Precisely, sir.”

  If what Al said was true then there was literally no time for preparation. I didn’t so much walk as trudged towards a torn down home close by and sat on the steps in front of the entrance way. I rubbed my temples with my fingers. We needed soldiers, a defensive strategy or better yet a number of high powered weapons. Unfortunately less than a handful of Dawnians had any natural aggression. That meant that if it came down to a fight, I would have myself, Chorta, Horku, and Laraar. I had the Belle which still held enough plasma charge for a fight, but with Al disconnected she would have to be piloted manually. We were screwed. I didn’t have to be a genius to know my rifle and a run-down armament of plasma bursts weren’t going to stop Erebos and whoever or whatever he was bringing with him. The question is what exactly he would bring with him, what kind of force and firepower? I needed answers.

  “How long do your sleeping effects take to wear off?” I asked out loud to anyone willing to answer.

  “Matters not . . . Can be woken,” Laraar said to me. I looked up at him and smiled.

  “Idza, please come with me.” The two of us walked back towards the encampment where Cessa and I were kept. Technically the last time I slept in my cell was four nights ago, but since I was out cold for most of them it felt like just yesterday. On the way we stopped briefly at their hospital so Idza could retrieve the supplies she would need to wake Cessa up. When we arrived at the cells I looked at the one I previously occupied. It was strange seeing it empty.

  I moved in front of Cessa’s cell and stood there with my arms crossed, waiting for her to wake up. Idza injected her with some type of serum and it took a minute for the grogginess to wear off. When it did Cessa sprang up like a cat, a vile hissing sound coming from her mouth. I half expected her to extend claws out of her fingernails or for her hair stand up on end. She screamed at the top of her lungs when she realized where she was and punched and kicked at the walls violently.

  “Settle down,” I said over the noise. I allowed myself a small grin to show her I wasn’t afraid of her. “You’ll only end up hurting yourself.”

  Cessa stopped and focused on me. Her hands were hanging at her sides clenched hard enough that I thought she might draw blood inadvertently. Her shoulders were tense and her breathing hard. As Idza walked around the cell to join me, Cessa took notice and smiled.

  “Oh Daniel,�
�� she breathed, “You as well as anyone should know that mating with an alien creature is illegal by government law.”

  I shrugged at her. “You can stop toying around with me. It’s not going to work, not to mention you’re really not in the best position to be intimidating.”

  She didn’t respond or flinch at my comment, but kept her eyes locked on mine, watching me and my every move, clearly both physically and mentally.

  “I need to know what Raymond Erebos is planning. What are his intentions?”

  At the sound of her master’s name she drew a wide grin and furrowed her eyebrows. Her body shivered in what appeared delight. Even stars and planets away he still held total control over her like a loyal pet.

  “Did you really think he was going to trust you with a task like this? You were merely the chauffer who had information he needed. He could have easily extracted it out of you, but instead he made you a player in his game. You lost by the way. When he gets here, he will claim this planet for himself and use the power it contains to fuel an unstoppable empire.”

  “That’s . . . very ominous and evil sounding,” I said to her with a touch of sarcasm.

  Looking at her now I could see she really didn’t have any other card to play but manipulation and intimidation. Free and with her sword she was lethal and dangerous, but without them she had to rely on her ability to wear down her opponent mentally, whether it was by lowering their self-esteem, seducing them or outright terrifying them with her frightening personality. She made it her job to toy with a person’s emotions and in the short time I knew her I’d seen her be damn effective. Her problem was that she already used all her cards on me. The deck had been dealt and she was out of aces.

  I continued my interrogation by asking if Erebos would kill everyone on the planet. She tilted her head back and laughed at that question.

  “That’s a good question. I imagine he will kill some and enslave others.” She paused for a moment. “Anyone he doesn’t kill will be forced to do his bidding . . . men . . . women . . . and children.”