Dimension

by Shay Zana

  They have landed safely on Olympus.

  OLYMPUS

  The top portions of the SSP’s open just like coffins, and each occupant is greeted with a cool and refreshing breeze. The air is no longer stale, it is sweet and fresh, almost as if they have had cold water splashed over them on a stifling summer’s day. One by one, they emerge from their SSP’s, speechless and dazed, and also exhausted from the cryonic process.

  Kitera climbs out of her SSP slowly, her silver eyes scanning the landscape, seeing a thick blue jungle surrounding them. Orange starlight beams through the treetops, bringing out the gold veins in the ferns and leaves. She almost sighs in relief as her bare feet make contact with the cold grass. It has been so long since she last felt real grass beneath her, felt real gravity, fresh air, and heard the sounds of nature. The moment is surreal.

  The Paragons are less stunned, retaining their militaristic exteriors. After the fog of cryo-stasis clears enough, they almost explode from their pods and proceed to secure the perimeter around the landing zone, at times faltering just to stand upright. Once satisfied that all is clear, they check their weaponry and place them back to their designated positions on their vitasuits, their features hard and mentalities focused on the task at hand, dismissing their current predicaments. They simultaneously scan the area around them, their eyes sharp and their ears pricked, listening for any sudden movements in the foreign jungle.

  “I-I do not understand... There should only be darkness,” Kitera’s voice stammers out as she leans back on her SSP for support, limbs flopping uselessly.

  Boone shrugs off his own muddled comprehension and carefully picks his way back over to her, his own limbs feeling distant and awareness narrow. “You’re alive,” he supports her by allowing her to latch onto his extended forearm. “And so is the galaxy. Let’s not jinx it by asking too many questions.”

  Natheus looks upward, spotting an ideal cliff face that juts out towards them, roughly over a kilometre away and just visible through the tree line. “We need to get high, scout the area and see where we are.” The others look to where he is indicating and nod in agreement.

  Without another word, they set out through the blue jungle, leaving their SSP’s behind and heading south towards the rocky cliff. They move in wedge formation, Natheus taking centre point, Mazayus left flank, Deo right flank, and Boone trailing their six with Kitera closely in tow.

  They study the environment around them as they walk, taking in the exotic scenery. The jungle is beautiful. A mixed array of blue and grey shades merge together in the luscious plants, from dark navy to bright electric and pale pastels of grey. A water-soluble vacuolar pigment is responsible for the blue in the native plant life of Olympus, Kitera aptly informs them, though she is immediately hushed by Deo.

  The team pass several small streams, cross through broken tree trunks laying defeated on the jungle floor, and weave through hanging vines from high tree tops. They are careful not to disturb the environment too much, and Natheus has the responsibility of leading them through safe paths without having to force their way through any unwelcoming natives. Insects of all shapes and sizes flutter around them curiously, and Boone is stung several times, much to his annoyance.

  The sounds of inquisitive animals set the jungle alight with even more activity as the humans pass through, and they manage to catch a glimpse of a group of swinging monkey-like mammals, high above them in the vines.

  They continue until they reach the cliff face, which Natheus judges to be at least twenty metres high.

  “We must climb,” he says simply.

  And so they climb, finding an adequate path up the sheer rock-face.

  Natheus proceeds first in order to scout out the region while the others cover him from below. Kitera was urged to climb behind Mazayus, in case she was to slip. That way, if she fell, the Paragons behind her would have the chance to catch her. She obliged without much of a fuss, and now climbs steadily between Mazayus and Deo, matching Mazayus’ hand and foot placements with surprising ease.

  The Paragons excel in the task, making use of their cybernetically and bionically augmented bodies with exceptional fitness and powerful muscle density, but what Kitera lacks in upper body strength and stamina, she makes up for with flexibility and the advantage of her lighter body weight. This surprises the Paragons below her, who watch as she gracefully swings from one handhold to the next. Boone laughs in delighted surprise, and Deo cannot help but grin as she unexpectedly overtakes Mazayus, who was previously oblivious to her swift progress. He will not admit it, but the others know this punctured a dent in his ego.

  Once they reach the top of the cliff, they can see the jungle clearly as it stretches as far as the eye can see. Landscapes tumble across more landscapes, with a thick, blue ocean of tree tops and ferns. Ripples of gold, like waves of light, are dappling the blue verdure.

  The team is stunned, and now aided by their tiresome ordeal of cryo-stasis and such an unexpected introduction to a world that is still very much alive, their vigilant training is momentarily cast aside. The evening sky is enveloped in a bright blue cosmic dust that surrounds the planet, and there are nine moons to be seen amongst the gas, large in the sky as they overlap each other, some closer than others. Olympus’ star, Messiah, is able to peek through beneath one of the moons, shining orange on the lands and seeming to create a milky purple haze as the orange cascades with the blue flora. Beautifully tall mountains lie to the east, encircling the jungle and trapping the starlight in this region of the land. The cliff stretches for several kilometres each direction, west and east, until it eventually drops lower to meet the same portion of land they had just climbed from. Behind them is entry to even more jungle, but this section of the cliff is barren with dark grey rock.

  The sight is spectacular, and Kitera’s heart is filled with passion as she admires the landscape with pale eyes. Her deep respect for nature and the environment makes her extremely defensive of it, almost to a point where she is possessive. This kindles her hatred for the UEU, who violate the way of the Zodiacs, and everything she believes in.

  Standing at the cliff’s edge, she closes her eyes as the wind lightly kisses her bare skin, her intricate white robes and black, hip length hair flowing around her like silken water. Her luminous skin is visible as her robes sway around her in the wind, and only the necessary portions of her body are covered beneath the free flowing garment to retain her dignity.

  The various ornaments of tribal feathers and precious stones decorating her body stand out with vibrant colours against her otherwise pale canvas. A two-strand headpiece falls delicately around her head. It is made of a thick braided string of dark material, and a vibrant blue pendant is attached at the front, which falls upon her forehead. The pendant is circular and small, no larger than her thumbnail, with several delicate fringe chains hanging beneath it. A scribe is carved into the blue stone, a dialect only she can understand; the language of the Ciphers. She wears arm bracelets on each upper arm of the same dark, braided string, but her right arm bracelet has a small yellow feather hanging from it. One anklet is tied around her right ankle, and also with a small yellow feather attached to it, and a silver belly chain is attached to a tiny ruby piercing on her navel, gleaming with a vibrant red. The silver chain wraps around her waist and attaches again to the other side of the piercing, with another stone hanging at the back, an oblong jewel of opalescent colours falling at the small of her back.

  The pendent hanging at her neck shimmers in the breeze, catching her eye and beckoning for her to enclose it in her hand.

  To the Paragons who watch her movements like guardians, Kitera claims a mysterious blend of sophistication and tribal attributes. Her culture is no-doubt a fusion of various sodalities, or clans, as she has so enigmatically described. Her dodging tactics regarding her ethnicity have been noted by the Paragons, and they eventually learned to refrain from querying. In more regular circumstances, questioning a Cipher on their sociology would be conside
red disrespectful.

  Smiling as the wind gently caresses her skin, Kitera deftly steps forward, placing her feet gracefully on the flat rock. Beyond she can see Messiah setting along the horizon to the west. She thinks of Altair, and her smile subtly fades. They must find the time to mourn their vessel respectfully, or at least make a monument in its remembrance. It had been an important part of this mission, and they would not have gotten this far without it. It would have loved the light of Messiah…

  Deo watches Kitera silently as he sits on a jagged rock, morphing his Phoenix from rifle to blade repeatedly in thought. He despises her. He despises all Ciphers. What others see as sacred guidance, he sees as shady influence. They are supposed to be the wisest, the all knowing, the sages of Serenity, yet Kitera was anything but wise aboard Altair. She was stupid to come back for him. Foolish. Reckless. He should just throw her off this cliff right now and save them the trouble of having to babysit her. He simply does not trust her or any of the Ciphers, not after his death, his blood is on their hands...

  Although Deo’s train of thought is settled with his brooding conclusion, his glare stays on the Cipher, no longer conscious of the fact that he is still watching her. She seems different now that they are off Altair. His intense brown eyes follow her every movement, and his scowl corrodes into a small furrowing, framing his now tender eyes. He is hypnotised by her unique beauty, studying every slight muscle alignment of her lithe figure as her features seem to sadden. Even with her back to him, he can still detect the faint body language as her shoulders drop ever so slightly.

  “How is this possible...” Boone’s voice interrupts Deo from his subconscious gaze.

  The young man looks to Messiah in the distance, his facial expression illustrating his confusion. “Were the Zodiacs wrong?”

  Kitera does not answer, nor even flinch at that. She remains perfectly still, her arms hanging loosely at her sides.

  “What happened to jinxing it?” Mazayus snipes in a surprisingly teasing humour. “For now, we should be grateful that we are all still alive. But I advise we be cautious, even in Serenity territory. A lot will have changed in forty million years.”

  Boone raises a brow. “No shit.”

  “No doubt humanity has evolved significantly. We may not even be recognizable,” Natheus adds as he too, stares at Messiah.

  Something tugs at Kitera’s mind, and she jerks in response. A brief moment of unconsciousness passes, and she imagines herself jumping off the cliff in a moment of ecstasy and freedom.

  My body is falling, catching the wind in every pore of my skin, feeling the warm air collide with the cool breeze. Refreshing. The feeling of the dive pulses through my soul. My heart quickens with the thrill. Below, the blue of the jungle grows in my vision, and above, the orange of the star sweeps over my muscles with smooth warmth. Godly light envelopes me, touches at my spirit in its solid form, freeing me. I am carried with the wind.

  Her eyes narrow as she finds herself back on the cliff’s edge, staring downwards at the blueness below her, as if she can see herself shrinking back upward.

  The Paragons notice her change in demeanour and wait curiously, this time knowing she has just been in the presence of the Zodiacs.

  “Check your datakey,” comes her command to no one in particular, her eyes still staring blankly down at the blue foliage below the cliff.

  A few glances are exchanged, but now Mazayus activates his datakey, dropping his hand to let the interface expand and float freely.

  “For how long have we been in cryo-stasis?”

  Mazayus frowns at her question, slightly angered at himself for not even checking the time lapse after emerging from cryo. The whole cryonic process has taken more of a toll on him than he initially thought. He taps the kinetic interface a few times, and stops abruptly, his eyes widening.

  Kitera turns to face him now, looking just as shocked as he.

  “Would someone care to elaborate?” Deo asks impatiently as he stands.

  “According to my datakey, we have only been in cryo-stasis for three months.”

  The other three Paragons look to each other in confusion, and now all simultaneously check their own datakeys, only to find the same result. How did they travel eighty seven million light years at SSII, in only three months? It just is not possible, not at only twice the speed of light.

  “This is Olympus right?” Boone asks, deactivating his datakey.

  Mazayus nods. “Yes, this is without a doubt, Olympus. And if our Cipher has just been informed of what our datakeys are also telling us, then it is certain that we have only been in cryo-stasis for three months.”

  Boone squats on the ground in a stupor, leaning on his Phoenix to balance himself.

  “Do you think an ikamanu carried us here and then just left us?” Deo suggests with a shrug.

  “Perhaps,” Mazayus replies, though unsure as to why an ikamanu would do such a thing and then flee. Unless of course it was obeying UEU rule, but then why would the UEU help them? They would not.

  “Or could it be the work of the Zodiacs?” Natheus pitches in. “After all, we have no clear knowledge of their capabilities.”

  Kitera looks to him evenly now. “No. The Zodiacs cannot manipulate the physical reality. Their only means of interaction is through us, the Ciphers. This is the work of something far more powerful... I sense their fear.”

  The Paragons fall silent, a chill running down their spines as her words cease.

  They know she is right, the Zodiacs do not have the power to shape the physical world, they only possess the ability to influence conscious thought, or to ‘heal the spirit and enlighten the soul’ as the Ciphers say. Most within Serenity simply translate this as ‘signs from the Zodiacs’, but natives to spiritually central planets, such as Natheus, are more cryptic and believe the Zodiacs capable of more than what the Ciphers inform. Although it is unclear as to how the Sacrifice is possible, Spiritual Natives, a title given by the less spiritual members of Serenity, believe the acts are offerings to the Zodiacs, which sends the Paragons to the Underworld in return for the stars and life to continue. Every Paragon sees the right to make the Sacrifice as an honour, and that it will fulfil their destiny and serve humanity. To be denied this honour either by death or incarceration is considered a great dishonour. Every Paragon seeks to make their Sacrifice, and few ever make it past the age of sixty.

  Natheus slightly approaches Kitera, his demeanour careful as if he is approaching a skittish creature. “More powerful than the Zodiacs?” he queries, his voice low and cautious.

  Kitera says nothing, but looks to each Paragon steadily. Her eyes alone tell them of the fear she feels, but also of the unknown.

  Off in the distance of the sky, a sonic boom reverberates through the lands, the sound ricocheting off the mountains to the east. A lone vessel falls from the sky, breaking the sound barrier and veering downwards at a steep angle. A Spartan class vessel, the smallest type of warship in both Serenity and the UEU, glides through the vibrant sky of Olympus. Serenity and the UEU share warship classes due to the joint alliance that the two nations had long ago, before humanity expanded from the Milky Way.

  Spartan class warships are quick and nimble, and are used as scouting vessels, reconnaissance, and light patrol or deployment. They are able to enter atmosphere and land, which sets them apart from other warship classes. Spartan class warships contain intermediate shard defences, which are larger than infantry class, but smaller than heavy shards which are used for orbital defences and heavy class warships such as Titans and Olympians.

  All ships use star shard energy cores, which divert the necessary energy to any and all systems, even the quantum drives. This is the only method where the UEU adopted star energy from Serenity, using the light from stars to power their ships. Star shard cores are fairly similar to heavy shards, except for the fact that they are able to recharge, though because of this, their energy and radiation output is considerably lessened. The starlight reservations of
the ikamanu inspired this technology, though the method is still not as efficient or seamless.

  The vessel has a sleek, rigid and intricate design, with black glossy nikita plating and a row of four artillery cannons mounted on the vessel’s underside. At this distance, it is difficult to estimate its size, but most Spartan class warships are roughly 400 to 500 metres in length, 150 metres in width, and 100 metres in height.

  The team watch as the vessel dips below the orange clouds and now veers to the west, emitting a black energy field and distorting the air around its thrusters. The green triangular logo on the ship’s stern is clear indication of the UEU, but what are they doing on a Serenity planet? And how did they even get past the guardian station?

  The ship fades into the horizon.

  “What the hell is the UEU doing on Olympus...” Deo growls as he slings his Phoenix back over his shoulder, clenching his powerful fists at his sides, the tension in his muscles visible even through his vitasuit.

  No answer is given, but Mazayus responds with a thoughtful hum and a gesture of direction. “To the west hovers one of Olympus’ research facilities. See the darkening line on the horizon? To the right of the large boulder? I’d say that’s about sixteen kilometres distance. That UEU ship is headed there.”

  The others sight the outline of the facility as they move together along the cliff’s edge, standing side by side with furrowed brows and stern expressions. The dimming light of Messiah blazes in their eyes, and the wind begins to pick up with the chilling entrance of night, the stars starting to emerge in the sky.

  Deo nods. “Then so are we.”

  INTO THE WILD