»We’re going to enter the station,« Arkroid announced and signaled Herimos. Since he carried the heaviest weapon, he was taking the lead and could thwart off an attack with better chances than the rest of the team.
»All clear in the orbit,« Nautilus announced via a special comm-link with Arkroid. »The space sector is quiet. There are no tachyon activities. The Messy Unit is also in standby mode.«
»Warn us as soon as something happens,« Arkroid transmitted back to Nautilus.
»Roger!« Nautilus replied with an age old Solar Union Fleet confirmation.
They advanced slowly and stopped frequently, giving Voit an opportunity to taste for life auras.
Tranos and Vasina examined some interfaces which had been integrated into the walls. These terminals didn’t seem to have been installed recently; they had grown from the wall covering rubber-like material.
»This technology is amazing,« Vasina admitted. »You blast a hole in the rock, then seed it with this bio-whatever and soon it starts to grow. It spreads over the walls and ceilings and establishes the pre-programmed infrastructure and then creates an atmosphere and suitable pressure. I’m certain that this self-organizing station can adjust automatically to the inhabitants.«
Pi nodded.
»It seems to work that way. The technology is not of Globuster origin and was developed by somebody else, who gave it to them,« Pi concluded.
The adjacent room was much larger than the portal room. The team discovered a couple of dead Kugos who had tried to escape their death. Again, no trace or evidence which could shed a light on the attacker! Three meter tall and one meter in diameter, black cylinders were mounted along the slightly rounded walls. Pi counted thirty of these containers whose surface didn’t emit light but reflected the surroundings like mirrors. Arm-thick pipe systems connected these cylinders with each other and then vanished inside the walls or blend in with the black rubber-like wall covering.
»What could this be?« Herimos wondered. He approached one of these cylinders to take a closer look. »Are these containers used for processing or are they simply tanks maybe even serve as energy storage?«
»Please, be careful and don’t touch anything,« Maya suggested strongly.
Herimos ignored her warning, shouldered his weapon and touched the closest cylinder with both hands trying to take a look inside.
»The surface feels like everything else here – rubbery and pliable. How is it possible that this rough-looking material can have such a high reflection rate?« he wondered and witnessed the black color fade, turning transparent.
Suddenly, he could see inside the container which was filled with a milky-green liquid. Everybody in the room followed this strange transformation, holding their breaths.
Herimos quickly removed his hands from the container.
»What in the name of a stinging shlorger trunk is this?« he shouted out surprised.
Seconds later, the container’s surface returned to the original deep-black state.
»How did you do that?« Maya asked and stepped beside him.
»Did you see anything?«
»I was too surprised to really see what was going on.«
Maya followed Herimos’ example and touched the cylinder with her hands. The surface changed color again, revealing the content. Maya didn’t pull her hands back and screamed, surprised, seconds later. She froze as she saw the being inside the cylinder – an unfinished, horribly disfigured lifeform was floating before her eyes, only centimeters away from her.
Herimos caught her as she collapsed before him.
»I … I can’t believe this,« she uttered and kept staring at the cylinder which had changed to black again in the meantime.
Arkroid came over and put his hand on her shoulder.
»The cylinder reacts to touch and reveals the contents. I saw it too, Maya. We all saw it.«
»This is horrible,« Vasina added in disgust and pulled her sword, pointing with it at the other cylinders. »This is a brooding station for replications! That’s were Morgotradon creates his replications. I can imagine that he also makes his agitators here!«
»That was me!« Maya sobbed. »I … I saw myself inside this cylinder!«
Arkroid stepped back as he saw Maya’s eyes. Filled with hate.
»I want these containers destroyed, at once! The entire base! Everything!« she demanded harshly.
Arkroid and Herimos looked at each other.
»We will do that, Maya,« Arkroid assured her, »But not just yet. Let’s take it a step at a time. We have certainty now, but before we destroy the base, we need to know more about it. What is the base’s function? What are Morgotradon’s and the Dark Brotherhood’s plans … and beyond all this: I want to know what this organization really stands for.«
Maya wiped her tears of anger from her face.
»When the time comes, then I want you to give Morgotradon to me.«
Arkroid drew a deep breath and his voice became hard.
»Revenge is a bad advisor, Maya! I understand what you’re feeling but Pull yourself together. If you give in to your uncontrolled emotions then you become a burden to the team. I will have no other choice but to send you back to the ship!«
Irritated, she looked at Arkroid, then she nodded.
»Okay, Toiber, I’m sorry … I understand. It’s not easy to look into an unfinished, monster face, realizing that it’s your own!«
Voit supported her. »It might comfort you that none of these replications show signs of a life aura, either because the cylinders are shielding the bio-electric field or they simply don’t possess a conscience yet.«
Maya got up from the floor, still struggling with herself.
»Who or what is inside the other cylinders?«
»We should move on and come back later!« Klori Tar screeched impatiently. »We wasted a lot of time already. We won’t find any good information here! It’s nothing new that Morgotradon is producing replications!«
Ivanova clenched her teeth, but didn’t respond to Klori Tar’s outbreak.
»Let’s go,« Vasina whispered to Maya and pulled her along. »Don’t let this bastard take the best of you. Remain focused! If Morgotradon succeeds in controlling your emotions, then he’ll win in the end!«
Maya nodded thankfully.
»I’ll remember your words, Vasina.«
Sisters?
The team cautiously kept advancing and entered a new section. Here too, several brooding tanks were found as well as other, unknown technology. Some of the tanks were connected with tubes that ended in glass containers in which a crystalline substance swirled around, creating small eddy currents.
Hmm … this seems to be a processing station for the crystal being. Morgotradon is running a full fletched replication factory! Arkroid assumed.
Nautilus scanned the sections and aided the team on its reconnaissance mission.
By means of a small projector, Arkroid was able to call up sectional maps of the installation, which Nautilus had transmitted to him. The star-like layout of the station was clearly visible, when Arkroid switched to overall view. In the meantime, Pi adjusted and fine-tuned his infrared equipment. He knew from the Quaoar experience that infrared equipment had revealed details, hidden to the Human eye under normal lighting conditions. He was looking for parallels in this base. After taking a quick glance through his infrared goggles, he handed the equipment to Arkroid – who was stunned for a moment as he saw the results.
He saw long bands and streams of energy running along the walls and ceilings. It seemed like a pulsating network displayed in surrealistic, strange colors which penetrated the walls, feeding and connecting equipment.
This looks like a neuronal network, as if the walls and ceilings are covered with a living being … and we’re walking right through its body and metabolism!
»Since we came here, I wondered about the missing security. Looking at this though, I think now that a security system might not be necessary at all.
»Explain,« Arkroid requested and looked into an adjacent room while Vasina and Tranos were securing the team’s back.
»If this base, with its thousands of small and big rooms and connecting corridors, has grown like a huge organism then it’s plausible that it also acts like one. We need to pay attention to the different flows of energy. The team on Quaoar was almost cut off from the outside world. Just in time they noticed the heightened energy activities on the walls and drew the right conclusions. Who knows what this base is capable of, considering that it is much larger than the Globuster cave on Quaoar. I imagine that the reaction time also decreased, maybe it developed its own conscience as it grew bigger and bigger.«
»Are you concerned, Pi?«
»Well, yes, somewhat, if I rely on these facts. Just look for yourself …«
Arkroid looked down at his feet and noticed a meandering flow of energy which had divided into several thin bands. The streams were flowing around his feet, changing in color and intensity according to weight, pressure and how he placed his boots on the ground.
»Hmm … I see your point, Pi. The floor covering registers our movements and sends them as impulses to an unknown data gathering interface or something. This thing, or whatever you want to call it, is reacting to our presence.«
»Let’s hurry, people!« Arkroid commanded.
Suddenly, Arkroid heard a humming sound coming from his rear. Klori Tar was hovering beside him, ready to take the lead.
»I prefer not to walk on the ground, aggravating the bio-tech web. You’re correct with your assumption, Pi. It always knows where you are. It possesses a multitude of sensors. Proximity or contact sensing is only a fraction of available measures it employs to connect to the real world. It also senses any change in ambient temperature, caused by our presence it can also detect our breathing activities and the CO2 discharge of our lungs. It knows that I’m here too. I didn’t think it was important that’s why I didn’t warn you, because I couldn’t prevent it anyway. Even our bio-electric auras are being detected.«
»Uh … you didn’t find it important?« Herimos gnarled and slowly approached Klori Tar.
»We’re on the right way, though!« Klori Tar explained quickly, raising his hands, just in case Herimos attacked him in his rising anger. »This corridor leads to the base central.«
Herimos displayed his yellow teeth in a threatening manner and growled, »Pshaw … this base is built like a star, all main corridors will eventually lead to the center!« he mocked.
»Bu … bu … bu …,« Klori Tar stuttered in haste, »that’s where we find the information we’re looking for, I’m certain! All energy flows culminate there!«
»Admit it, Klori Tar, you’ve been here before, right?« Kuster~Laap interjected. »That’s the only way that you obtained this detailed knowledge!«
Paafnas was clinging to Maya Ivanova’s shoulder and looked at Klori Tar with wet eyes. He was uncertain and rechecked Klori Tar’s neuronal network.
Has he become suspicious? Arkroid pondered worriedly.
»Chiropters are well known for their logical thinking, the galaxy over. How could I contradict you?« Klori Tar replied pertly.
Before Herimos could grab Klori Tar by the neck, Voit Masgur yelled a warning, »Watch out, we’re getting visitors! I can taste the life-energy of several beings! They taste bitter!«
»Scatter, and find cover!« Arkroid commanded, accompanied by curses from several team members.
Klori Tar activated his disguise field and disappeared. Herimos yelped and tried to catch Klori Tar in vain.
»Later! Later, Herimos!« Arkroid assured him and took cover behind a cubical object. This object was also coated with the rubber-like substance as everything else in the base.
Bio-tech web! A living base! I can’t believe it!
»Regardless what happens, remain level headed! There’s only one entrance to this room! That’s where they’ll try to get in!«
Vasina had called Paafnas over to her. Tranos was standing before her, defending her with his life, if necessary. Vasina was, nevertheless, able to defend herself quite well as she had proven before. She had gone through the same training as her shield bearer.
Tranos held his shield before his chest, pointing it toward the door opening. The ZyClonians too, stepped before Kuster~Laap to protect the Genorantan Prophet, while their chests began moving with agile nanopods. So far, the previously sent nanopods had not returned. Klori Tar seemed to be avoiding an open conflict and remained under his disguise field, while Pi, Maya and Herimos formed a defensive front line.
Arkroid detested Klori Tar’s behavior.
We’ll talk about your attitude later, Klorian!
Suddenly, there was a movement before the door to the room. A tall, well-built woman entered the room with open hands, showing her palms.
The Human members of the team held their breaths as they saw her standing there dressed with a tight fitting suit. She looked at the occupants without emotions.
Maya Ivanova saw the woman’s surprise as she looked at Maya, seemingly recognizing her.
»Sister!« Maya Ivanova’s likeness shouted surprised with wide open eyes. »What are you doing in such bad company? Why are you sneaking yourself into the Master’s star base? He will never forgive you for that. We will kill you all, one after the other, and you’ll be killed last!«
Irritated, Maya looked at her twin speechless.
She didn’t expect to see me here and is trying to cover it up! I would probably do the same or is she really thinking that I’m one of her replicated sisters? Maya thought.
The artificially created copy of Maya Ivanova grimaced as her words filled the room.
»How naïve must you all be to follow a disloyal woman? It is so easy to fool you! You are just too trusting. Our Master was right, this is your greatest weakness that’s why you will die!«
Arkroid looked at Maya, but she just shrugged.
This is a feeble attempt to play us. We must not listen to her. Maya thought.
»Do you really believe that we’ll tolerate your presence in our dominion. Do you?«
She stopped abruptly as Klori Tar suddenly deactivated his disguise field.
Totally distraught she screeched, pointing at Klori Tar, »You’ve allied yourself with the scum of the galaxy! There will be no mercy! He brought you here!«
A bright energy beam cut through the room, hitting the replication in the chest. Arkroid whirled around and shouted, »Klori Tar … DON’T!«
It was too late.
The replication burst into flames and was reduced to a small pile of ashes.
»Good Heavens, what did you …?« Arkroid yelled with a high pitched voice, noticing from the corner of his eye how three more replications suddenly appeared after they had deactivated their disguise fields. They must have entered the room undetected. They were armed and swiftly moved through the room, taking cover behind some brooding cylinders.
»The replication played the decoy while the others snuck into the room! Consider yourselves lucky that they can’t fire when their fields are activated. Fight them! They came to kill us!« Klori Tar shouted into the room while firing at the replications.
He missed the target; instead his shot hit one of the brooding cylinders which tore open on the side, releasing a reeking liquid which spilled across the floor.
Horrible! Arkroid thought and saw how one of the replication discharged her weapon. Voit was the target and was thrown back by several meters where he went down, stunned from the kinetic energy. He didn’t have time to react or even yell before he was hit. Arkroid saw that Voit was unconscious. His defense field had saved him.
Tranos yelled a warning and lifted his shield while Herimos grabbed Arkroid and Pi, shoving them to the side with brute force. Seconds later, the shield bearer released a tremendous shockwave. The fast expanding energy field burst some of the brooding cylinders and glass cases. Greenish looking liquids and organic matter oozed from the cylinders onto the floor, making
it slippery and treacherous. An unbelievable stench filled the room, making Arkroid heave repeatedly before he had himself under control again. Crystal dust filled the air obscuring the view.
»Our defense fields will shield us from the crystal dust!« Arkroid yelled into the room, attempting to surmount the noises of the energy weapons.
Ruthlessly, the attackers tried to get the upper hand, no longer being cautious. They didn’t care about the valuable cylinders and other containers in the room.
Klori Tar was hovering above them in the dust clouds like a revenging angel, being hit several times. Thanks to his superior defense field, he didn’t get killed.
Every time, Herimos used his heavy weapon, it was followed by a series of smaller explosions. His weapon was much too powerful for this type of engagement.
Arkroid and Pi ducked lower, not to be hit by flying debris. Smoke mixed with fire which caused the crystal particles to explode in a sudden, huge flash.
Arkroid was blinded for a moment while the air inside the room was depleted almost instantly. Fortunately, their defense shields had activated after the first exchange of fire, providing them with oxygen. Without the defense fields the team members would have suffocated. Moments later, it was over. The attackers had disappeared.
Nobody knew if any of the replications had been killed or if they’d all gotten away.
The room’s interior was almost destroyed. Some of the bio-tech coating on the walls and ceiling had huge, smoldering gaps. It looked like big flesh wounds.
Herimos wanted to follow the attackers, but Arkroid called him back.
Voit Masgur got back on his feet. He looked around, wide eyed, at the chaos.
Klori Tar hovered over to Arkroid and stopped.
»You’re good fighters, my respect,« he said. »You probably impressed the replications, but also made them very angry! I think that the destruction of this section will call Morgotradon on to the plan. Whatever you want to achieve here, do it quickly! They won’t wait long before they attack again!«
NEBULAR Collection 5 - Panic in the Galaxy: Episodes 22 - 26 Page 26