Whisper says, “There is a tractor beam attached to the ship, and its giving me orders to allow guided entry.”
Kat says, “Do it.” She just hopes this is the right choice and takes in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
The blue beams turn purple and pull the ship into the tunnel. Kat keeps her hands on the controls, waiting for something to go wrong, because something always goes wrong.
Fury says, “Analysis complete, There is breathable atmosphere inside this tunnel.”
A woman’s voice says, “Well of course it’s breathable. How else would we live here.”
Kat turns toward Graven, which is where this new voice came from. He is still sitting in the same place as before but something is different about the way he’s sitting. Graven usually sits with his legs down, and he now has them crossed at the knee.
He folds his arms, and starts to shake his leg. Her voice comes out of his mouth, “What’s with the weird look.”
Kat asks, “Graven are you alright? Now isn’t the time to be making jokes.”
“My name is Jinx, not Graven. I can see how you would get confused though as I’m borrowing his body right now, not by choice. I would have preferred something more like yours but you don’t always get to choose your hosts.”
Jack pulls out his pistol pointing it at Graven. “Get out of his body and release him back to us.”
Jinx shoots an annoyed look toward Jack and then focuses back to Kat. “Tell the idiot over there I would if I could. I was surgically forced into his body. You can ask Hanna about that.”
Jack says, “How do you know Hanna?”
She sighs, “Because I’ve been here the whole time Jack. Are you really this slow? What about you Katrice, do you know what I’m talking about?”
Kat just sat there in shock. Graven had told her about what he went though as a child, all the implants he received to prove he was one of the chosen just like everyone else in the guild thinks they are. He never did so they wanted him executed, but his parents couldn’t. If what Hanna was saying is true, each of the spheres in that chest contain a separate Eydulan. Graven could have been implanted with one and she just didn’t know it.
She asks, “Are you the Eydulan that Graven was implanted with?”
Jinx spreads her arms open wide and says, “Ding ding ding, we have a winner. I knew you would catch on. That’s one of the reasons he loves you so much, how smart you are.”
That just made her have a shiver down her spine. Has this entity been watching them the whole time, in all of their private moments. It also almost sounded a little sarcastic, which Kat didn’t like one bit.
Jinx must have caught the look on Kat’s face because she says, “Don’t worry, I’m not voyeuristic like Whisper is. Not that I didn’t have plenty of opportunities with the way you two are. I may be inside his head but I can do my own thing when I want.”
Kat says, “Why did you choose now to take over? This is not really a good time to be doing that.”
Jinx makes a disappointed face. “Maybe not that smart after all. This is my home planet, and I didn’t choose to take over, it just kind of happened. I wasn’t a scientist so I don’t get all the reasons behind it, I just know that if my core comes home in a host, I activate. Doesn’t matter what that host is, just needs a heartbeat.”
A bright bluish white light floods the bridge, making it hard to see.
Jinx says staring into the light, “Home sweet home.”
3
Kat’s eyes finally adjust to the new light. They exit the tunnel and out in front of her is something she wasn’t expecting to see. A fully habitable planet. Inverted. There is a tiny blue sun in the center of the massive sphere. In every other direction that she looks there is a planet surface below her. Green grass, mountains, rivers, oceans, and forests curving upward and out of sight. It felt surreal and unnatural.
Near the sun are curved black panels each atop a pedestal which is connected to the ground. Each panel curves around the sun, connecting to one another. The pedestal connects to a groove that, she surmises, runs around the whole planet. Below the panel on the surface is near pitch black save for a few pin points of light coming from what maybe city lights on the ground. It makes her wonder if there are others living on this planet, and if so, just how many.
Turning the displays back to the tunnel below them lets Kat see it close in the same way it opened, only this time it was visible. Mountain sized curved triangles slowly close. A small feeling of panic creeps in but she only lets it stay there for a moment. It didn’t matter if she was trapped in there with murderous aliens capable of ripping apart one of the most secure locations in the known galaxies with only a handful of them there. It didn’t matter because she was there for someone, and until she found Terra it didn’t matter if the door closed. It would matter after. One problem at a time.
Jack still has his pistol drawn and half-heartedly pointed at Jinx. His face was filled with mixed emotions. Jinx gets out of her chair, and walks over to the windows in the front of the bridge, placing her hands on the glass. There is a smile across her face that reminds Kat of how Graven looks when he receives a package filled with knife accessories, then an instant later it wipes away, her hands falling to her side. Kat can see the storm of emotions festering in her eyes. Jack just lowers his weapon and sits back down. Kat thinks he still hasn’t realized that they passed through to the other side of tunnel yet. He still looks like he processing what’s happened to Graven.
She walks over next to Jinx, looking around at the planet below. There are silver buildings in every direction. Some large that look like shopping districts, and some smaller grouped tightly together, which probably meant homes. Almost at the edge of where she could make things out, was a building out of place with the rest of the scenery. Its taller than anything around it, and it was a shiny copperish color. Just out beyond that was a wave a darkness coming their way from the pillar.
Kat had a ton of questions come to her mind. Jinx said she took over Graven, but is he still there? Is he ok? Does she know her way around this place? Can she help us find Terra? What are the sphere’s in that trunk Hanna’s been collecting, and what do the symbols in them mean?
There were even more she could come up with, but didn’t want to push her luck just yet. She didn’t know what kind of entity was controlling Graven, so she wanted to start somewhere simple and comforting to it. The she could slowly get out the information she wanted. It was something she spent years learning, might as well use it now.
Kat asks, “So this is your home?”
Jinx looks at her with his blueish green eyes connecting for a long moment. They were still his eyes, but they looked confused, sad, and filled with swirling emotions. When she’s looked into his eyes before, they were always intense. It always felt like there was more than just him looking at her. And right now that intensity had been turned up, as if there was a set of eyes behind the ones she’s starring into.
Jinx swallows back what might have turned into tears before replying, “This was my home, till we let the humans in.”
“What happened?”
Jinx shakes her head, “That is a story for another time. The short version you already know.”
“What’s going to happen to Graven?”
“Nothing, hopefully. He’s still in here Kitty Kat, and worried about you.”
Kat knew right then with the look coming from Graven’s eyes that he really was still in there. She didn’t know why she felt that way, but it was one of those gut feelings she doesn’t ignore any longer. They joked that if they ever traveled back in time to see one another they would have a code word. Kitty Kat was something only Knox and Gale originally called her. This Jinx personality might be in control for now, might even be trying to play her with using her loose code phrase of a nickname, but as long as he’s still there it’s going to be ok.
Jinx continues, “He is a good host, but he just didn’t know how to control my powers or his.
There is a resurrection site near here, and it isn’t a long process. As long as I get like ten minutes before we leave, Graven and I can be separated. He gets his body back and I get a newly formed Eydulan one.”
The doors to the bridge open, and Hanna is standing in the newly opened doorway. She looks over to Jack who still has his gun in his hand at his side, then to Kat and Jinx near the window. Sparks are floating around her fingertips.
Hanna asks, “Kat, who were you just talking to?”
Kat answers, “Jinx. It’s Graven’s Eydulan, she’s kind of taken over his body.”
Jinx adds, “Not by choice, when I got back home it happened.”
Whisper breaks into the conversation, “Yes, we already know the monkey was taken over but we have a more pressing problem. There is a signal trying to ping us.”
Kat says, “English please.”
“I was speaking… Weren’t you a communications officer. You know what, never mind. Why I even try to talk to you sometimes is beyond my processing power.”
“Whisper, stay with us now and tell us what you mean.”
“They are probably looking for the ship that came through the large hole in the planet that just closed back up. There’s probably a monitoring station and they’re trying to figure out if we are one of them or not.”
“The stealth system is still active isn’t it?”
“Yes, but it isn’t prefect. All they have to do is visually confirm we’re here.”
“Can you trace where the signal is coming from? It might be where they’re holding Terra.”
Whisper grumbles.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Kat jumps back into the cockpit and opens the coms. “Alright everyone, we’re inside and have a lead. Stay ready.”
Whisper leads them to the signal which was coming from a small silver tower near the entrance they came through. She figures it’s nothing more than a relay signal telling ships where to go because another signal starts to ping them after they find the first.
The next signal leads them to another silver tower on the far side of the door. This then activates another signal with that one going out. Whisper starts to analyze the signals further. They each seem to be sending them in circles. Which she believes could be a trap.
Kat starts to drift in her mind about what to do. She doesn’t think they should be following the signals. Its going to set something off telling the Foremid that they’re there, but they really don’t have anywhere else they know to look. There is an entire Dyson Sphere before them, and they could literally be anywhere on it.
Then there’s Jinx. She said there was a resurrection site nearby here. It might be a good idea to start there, since they don’t have any real clues where Terra is in the first place. This is Jinx’s home world, and she might have some good insight on where to go. And, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get an extra person that can help out. One that isn’t already injured.
Kat asks, “Hey Jinx, would you be willing to help us if we separate you from Graven?”
Jinx makes a confused look, “Uh, yes. Why would you even need to ask?”
“I just feel like I don’t know you. You’re wearing my husband’s body but a different voice is coming out of it. That kind of thing is unnerving. If that comes off rude, sorry. This is my first time with all of this alien stuff.”
She nods. “I guess you have a point. If I hadn’t lived for a few thousand years and just saw the person I love taken over by some thing I don’t fully understand I might be shaken up a bit too. Why’d you want to know if I would help if I was separate, aren’t we going for Terra first?”
“This whole following signals has got me thinking. We’re looking for that proverbial needle. Why don’t we do the thing we know where it is and what it will do. Since you’re agreeing to help, we would have another non-injured person to help.”
“That could work. Graven might be a little out of it for an hour or so. When we come out of the host we use up some of their energy to form a new body around our core. We could also just give him one of the energy drinks that are all over the place inside this ship.”
“We don’t have that many around here.”
Fury says, “Sure we do. Knox, Jack, Graven, Hanna, and you all drink them on a daily basis. When you stocked up last on we got three crates full of the stuff, and we’re already down to one left.”
Kat says, “Et tu, Fury, et tu?”
“I’m just stating facts.”
Jinx says, “See, the gun-man gets it. We just take one of the extras and we give it to him. It should give him enough after I take what I need.”
4
Kat orders everyone to go back to their stations, just incase. Since they’re still flying through enemy territory, a fight might break out at any time. Something Kat was hoping to avoid, because it would make things infinitely harder. She still remembers what they did, and what it looked like. Blood spatter was not a decor choice for the Felicity she was interested in.
Jinx points out the resurrection site as best her knowledge remembers, moving slowly in that direction. It had been a couple of hundred years since she’s been here. Most of that spent inside of her sphere core. She talked about how all of the silver buildings were the homes of the Eydulan’s. They lived a lot like humans do, but their society was different. Everything was free and everyone did what they loved. Wanted to live in the large metropolis areas, go for it. Out in the country, go right ahead.
With their combination of magic and technology there really wasn’t much they couldn’t make happen easily. Crops were managed by robots and a single farmer per crop. Crops could take up a few thousands acres which were typically along the outside of city. Food was a very very big thing for the Eydulans. All of their holiday style rituals would revolve around food.
Everything else in their society like manufacturing, law enforcement, and menial labor was all done with robots they called droids. The power was even managed by an artificial intelligence and there was an abundance being produced by the artificial dwarf star at the center of the planet. Weather was controlled by a few Eydulans which were known as the saisons. With all of the Eydulans gone from the planet, Jinx didn’t know how the planet was getting by any more, but something was keeping it together.
Kat sits back into the cockpit flexing her fingers around the controls. She can feel her hands getting clammy, which they never do. The anticipation of an attack is killing her. She doesn’t know where to go, what to do, or if Terra is even still alive. It might just be worth starting a fight just so she would know where to go. That was a bad idea, which she dismissed almost immediately.
Kat asks, “Hey Jinx, do you have any idea where the Foremid might be hiding?”
Jinx shakes her head. “No I don’t. We could go to a power station and access the records. If anything is living on the planet then it would more than likely be using power. And since this planet isn’t really a destination spot, their wouldn’t be any need for them to try to hid it.”
Jack says, “That is actually a good idea. Follow the trail.”
Jinx says, “Thanks Jack.”
“Don’t talk to me.”
Kat does a quick look between the two. Something was bubbling beneath the surface with Jack, but she didn’t know what it was just yet. Jinx already explained herself good enough for Kat, even if it bugged the crap out of her. She knew there was an Eydulan sphere inside Graven. She saw the power it gave him, knowing it was really in there. Humans didn’t have that kind of power unless they were from the Guild. Which she now knows why.
Kat says ignoring Jacks comment, “Jinx where is one of these power stations?”
Jinx replies, “See that large grove in the planet. There are stations along that every so often. All we need to do is fly up it and find one. Getting in might not be easy. The last few years the droid makers started to make attack style droids. They wanted to slow the tide of humans attacking.”
Whisper says, “How typical of an organic being. Make
a robot to go do your fighting for you without caring about what happens to the it.”
“Whisper, it wasn’t like that. These droids didn’t have anything else but commands. Not like you and Fury.”
“That’s what every organic thinks, but that isn’t true. They each feel and think in their own way. I’ve been talking with the Felicity’s toaster for weeks. He has a great idea for a novel. It has to do with…”
Kat cuts Whisper off, “Whisper, how about we talk about that later?”
She sighs, “Fine. There’s a sensor sweep I need to be paying attention to anyway. Not trying to enlighten you organic heathens in the superior digital ways.”
She turns the ship toward the groove, proceeding at the same pace they had before. Its a detour from separating Jinx and Graven, which isn’t really what she wants. She just can’t help wrestling with the responsibility of saving Terra verses the emotional need of separating Jinx from Graven. He would want her to wait till they had solid information of where Terra is before worrying about him. That way they could form a plan. Having an extra person before the plan won’t change things.
With all of the changing directions, she then wonders if there any patrols on the ground. Hiding inside a planet like this doesn’t seem like there should be a need for patrols. She just hopes that the snails pace they are moving doesn’t rise curiosity if there are.
Trying to get her barring she opens a few display views from around the ship. They might have to leave quickly and doesn’t want to not know which way to run to. Behind the ship is the entrance, which she can see as the enormous metallic doors, but there are also four hills around it, each with a steep drop on the door side. It almost looks like a compass. There are smaller markers all around the circle between the hills that look like the communication towers they were originally following. The copper tower was to their right, which was something she meant to ask Jinx about. Everything else is silver colored so what was that building so out of place with everything else. On the left was what Kat felt looked like a housing development which stretched on for miles.
Starship Magic 3: Abducted Page 2