D'mok Revival 4: New Eden

by Michael Zummo

  * * * * * *

  “Just sit,” Mencari said.

  Naijen bolted from his seat.

  “Gonna wait at the airlock.”

  Projections of charts and grids appeared beside Mencari. Minea floated next to him and said, “Probes report the last of the large ships just departed. Fighters are still patrolling.”

  Naijen groaned. “Just fighters? That’s it?” Mencari noticed Naijen’s gaze fix on Katen an instant before the warrior called out, “You there—freak—you feel any of your old buddies around?”

  Mencari felt his shoulders tense. Exchanges between the two never went well. Katen’s head tilted curiously to the side, and he closed his eyes. Would he actually entertain Naijen’s request? Not that the request was a bad idea. With Katen along, the former Nukari beast could easily reach out using his cosmic senses and feel out his former brethren.

  Grunting drew his gaze back to Naijen. His Skar dropped to the floor with a clang as he gripped his head, face clenched. “Get … outta … my … head!”

  Katen must be replying telepathically. If left unchecked this could become dangerous.

  Allia spoke up. “You really shouldn’t taunt him like that.”

  Which one did she intend that for? It seemed fitting for both. Naijen’s face flushed, veins bulging in his forehead and neck. His eyes opened with a demonic, piercing gaze at Katen. Pushing through the pain, he grabbed his Skar from the floor and charged.

  “Naijen!” Allia yelled, but the warrior didn’t stop.

  Instinct drove Mencari to reach out, projecting his own protective D’mok shield around Katen. The former Nukari beast smiled with a large, roguish grin.

  Katen’s voice filled his mind. I don’t need that.

  A great barrier of light formed in front of Naijen. Cogeni’s hand clutched one of his ancient totems, his lips whispering a silent prayer. The warrior rammed the barrier, but was stopped cold. He roared with rage.

  Katen slowly stood and approached the other side. As he smiled, the warrior dropped his Skar and gripped his head again.

  “Enough,” Mencari said.

  With one hand still on his head, Naijen punched the barrier with the other.

  “Rabid little dog,” Katen said. A twisted smile crossed his face as Naijen shrieked and crumpled unconscious to the floor. “Don’t start fights you can’t finish.”

  Cogeni released his barrier and Allia dashed to Naijen’s side. Mencari joined them next to the felled warrior.

  “What did you do?” Mencari yelled.

  “He’ll be fine. He needed … an adjustment to settle down,” Katen said. “And the answer is: no. I do not feel my brethren on the station.” With an unnatural calm, he returned to his seat.

  “What’s going on back there?” Una yelled. “Are we still good for this mission?”

  It was the first time he’d heard Una raise her voice. Naijen groaned, groggy. His eyes opened dazed but passive.

  “Naijen?” Mencari said, coaxing a response.

  “What am I …” Naijen shuddered. “Musta jus’ tripped.” He noticed Allia and Mencari hovering over him. Disgust crossed his face. “Outta my way, I jus’ tripped. Ain’t nothing.”

  “Should we scrub the mission?” Una barked.

  Naijen snorted. “Like hell, gonna crush some skulls!” In a moment of grace, he arched back then flipped forward to his feet, grabbing the Skar beside him on the way. “What we hittin’?”

  Mencari felt equal parts amazement and bewilderment. He’s forgotten the last few minutes. Did Katen wall away the memories, or destroy them altogether?

  For the first time he realized the delicate game he played with these powerful and deadly beings. He’d always taken their teamwork for granted. He had a risky tendency to assume everyone was just like him—looking to make things better, willing to work together. But if their careful balance ever tipped, if any chose to go rogue, any one of the D’mok Warriors could inflict great damage—to each other, or anyone else.

  The burden of responsibility sat heavier upon his shoulders. They needed to stay united, focused, to help keep them together. He had to find a way for each member to see the value of the others, and how they complemented one another’s talents.

  “We’re good, Una.” He stood and addressed the others. “So there’s no Nukari beasts to contend with. We do have fighter crafts and base defenses. Naijen, you, me, we’ll go after the station defenses.”

  “Yippee,” Naijen said.

  “Katen, Decreta, Cerna, Allia, and Ichini, assist Ghn’en’s forces to take out the Nukari fighter crafts. Whichever team finishes first, assist the others. Once we have the region controlled, we’ll go inside.”

  “And there’s no beast warrior things?” Naijen said.

  “None at this time,” Katen said with an odd smile.

  The warrior turned silently to the airlock, his fist clenching the Skar.

  “Before you go,” Toriko said, pulling two bands from behind her. Each resembled smaller versions of the eyepiece she wore. “I have something for you.”

  She ran up to Mencari and fit a band over his ear, dropping a small display over his right eye. It instantly came to life, outlining Toriko and displaying information about her on the eyepiece. “What’s this for?” he asked.

  “Augmented reality. We can take information from our systems and feed it directly to you. Like the locations of the defenses on the station. Less guesswork. I want to build in more features that could help with combat too.”

  She turned with a second band in hand, but stopped when she saw Naijen still staring blankly at the airlock. Allia bounded over, grabbed it from Toriko’s hand, and scaled up Naijen’s back.

  “Hey, what’ya doin’?” he barked.

  “Just be still,” she said, slipping it on his bald head. He attempted to claw at the device, but her small hands stopped him. “Leave it on.”

  “What is it?” he growled.

  Mencari imagined what Seigie would have said right now. Something like: does it have a barbarian setting? The thought made him smile.

  “Just leave it on, it will help,” Toriko said.

  “Geek, this is one’a your things!” he growled.

  “Hey, can’t you just go with it? For me?” Allia batted her eyes playfully.

  “Gah!” he said, defeated. “Well, I ain’t being careful with it or nothing. If it gets wrecked, she shoulda known better.”

  Mencari’s smile strained to break free. So there was one way to get Naijen to do what they wanted. Allia certainly had a way with beasts, Naijen included.

  “One minute from normal space,” Una called back.

  “Be ready!” Mencari added.

  Allia climbed off Naijen’s back. “Hey kid, just one rule …”

  “Yeah, what’s that?”

  “Don’t get hurt.”

  She shook her head then laughed. “No promises—but I’ll try!”

  Minea called up a new projection of the asteroid station. “You should see additional information through your AR unit.” She was right. As Mencari looked over the asteroid, sections illuminated, revealing large cannon-like devices. “I see weapons.”

  Begrudging, Naijen said, “Yeah, me too.”

  “We’ve only seen beam-based weapons, no projectiles yet,” Mina said. “Approach with caution. As they discharge, or as we find more, your displays will update.”

  “Thirty seconds until normal space,” Una announced.

  “Katen, keep watch for any Nukari beasts,” Mencari said.

  Katen bowed and said, “By your command.”

  Mencari noticed Cogeni’s lethargic posture and unusual disengagement. If this kept up, he’d be a danger to himself and others in the mission. Could the issues with Nikko be taking this much of a toll on him? “Cogeni—you ready?”

  Popping out of his funk, Cogeni looked over and nodded.

  “Fifteen seconds,” Una said.

  He fidgeted with his wedding band as tension gripped his chest.
“Be ready,” Mencari said. Would this be the mission he finally found out something about his wife and son? Regardless, if they could just get updated intelligence, or capture some operatives. Even rescuing some prisoners could provide useful information.

  The ship rocked gently as it exited tunnel travel into normal space.

  “Our escorts have come through safely,” Una said.

  “Space is clear of any large ships,” Mina reported. “Some small fighters on the far side of the main asteroid have changed course toward us.”

  “The Be’Inaxi escorts are moving to intercept,” Bob added.

  The sleek fighters burst ahead toward the asteroid base.

  “Launch!” Mencari said.

  CHAPTER 7

  Incursion

  Una’s voice crackled through the communicator. “Enemy fighters neutralized. Ghn’en’s fighters have begun to patrol the area.”

  Cerna’s regal tones added, “The bay area is also secure.”

  Now they needed to find prisoners, capture enemies, and harvest any data they could find. The oddest sensation came over Mencari, like somehow his son was near. Wishful thinking. “Naijen, let’s head in.”

  Without another word, the warrior formed up on his side. Mencari did a double take in disbelief. Had Naijen ever done that before?

  Approaching the way in, the large bay doors were splayed open, as if a mighty lance had pierced through. Dark burn marks around the shredded metal revealed the true nature of the breach. Allia, Ichini, Decreta, and Cogeni must have combined an attack through Cerna to create such an effect.

  The pair flew through a containment field into a maintained and pressurized environment. Despite activity, the station’s systems appeared still functional. Though, his nostrils were assaulted by dank, stagnant air. It felt unbreathable, but it was. None of the other stations smell this way?

  He looked down to see bodies of soldiers and a small robot horde were strewn about the bay floor. A few smaller crafts remained, their internals exposed on their landing pads. Most likely they were left behind, not spaceworthy.

  Even with the success of Cerna’s team, he expected to see more activity in the bay. Perhaps automated robots maintaining and refueling ships. But there was nothing else in the bay, just like all the other abandoned facilities they’d found.

  Touching down, Katen and Decreta met them. He looked to Katen and asked, “What are you sensing?” Feeling the presence of other sentient life forms was among the former Nukari beast’s many talents. Once he found them, he could also touch their minds for information or infliction.

  “Strange interference. Almost like echoes of beings that used to be here. I’ve never felt something like this before.”

  Of all the times for his abilities to wane! “Fine. You and Decreta stay close to Maro and Toriko. Trust nothing.”

  Katen’s voice filled his mind. I never trust anything.

  Mencari led the team into the corridor. Lights appeared unusually dim, as if the station was switched to reserve power. Crates were strewn about the bay along with severed chunks cleaved off Nukari robots. Some parts still smoldered. He paused to investigate the deep grooves cut into the metal floor, as if massive machines had been dragged across it. A thick matting of grime blackened a path along the ground, hinting at patterns through the area.

  Just ahead, the others waited before the exit into a corridor. Bob and Minea floated beside the others, reviewing panels of information. Floating discs above circled Toriko’s head.

  An eerie sensation drew his eyes to a dark exit. He sensed something ominous in the gloom ahead. What was it he felt exactly? Maybe his own anxiety and anticipation were getting to him. No, something just felt wrong.

  Small hovering discs whizzed past his head causing him to curl down defensively.

  “Sorry! Sorry! They have a mind of their own sometimes,” Toriko said, running up to him. The near noiseless discs disappeared into the darkness. “My mini-drones will help map the levels. I hope their evasion systems will help them stay functional, at least until they’ve finished their job.”

  A holographic projection appeared beside her. Lines of corridors and rooms expanded outward by the moment. Small green dots pulsed along the far edges. Mencari assumed the dots were the drones themselves.

  “We’ll hold position here, keep the area secure until those drones get more area scanned.”

  “Oh, you’re getting all Kiyanna on us,” Naijen chastised. “Can’t we just run down the corridor like old times?”

  Looking about there were vents, closed doors that went to who knew where, and an empty control bay. One by one, he pointed to a specific location, then to a corresponding team member. Without a word they fanned out to assigned positions. Only Toriko and Maro remained beside Mencari.

  He noticed Naijen fidgeted with his Skar, eager to hunt for new prey while he searched the bay control room. Finding nothing, he scowled at Mencari, disgusted.

  “Yata!” Maro cried. “I’ve found a back door!”

  Naijen snorted and mocked from across the bay, “Ou, a door.… No wait! Look! I found one too!” He pointed to an airlock into the bay’s control room.

  Maro bit her lip. “No. I mean, I found a way into their computer systems. Toriko, look at this. I think it’s fractal-based encryption!”

  A projection appeared before Toriko. None of the charts or tables of scrolling data made any sense to him. Though he understood the expression on Toriko’s face. It was the same one she made when presented with a challenge that made her curious.

  With a toothy smile she said, “Yes … maybe multidimensional fractals, or some other type of multivariate cryptology. Guessing they think they’re keeping it quantum safe? Good thing we’re not computers.”

  “Can you break it?” he asked.

  “Please. But, hey, Bob, Minea, want to join the fun?”

  “Affirma-mundo!” Bob chirped as a projected copy of him spawned beside her. The sight threw Mencari for an instant; then he recalled the times both Minea and Bob could create another them when they wanted to multitask.

  “Family hacking party!” Minea cried in delight as holographic workspaces appeared before each of them.

  While the foursome engorged themselves on the challenge, Mencari watched the progress of the mini-drones. The holographic map continued to span out before him. Toriko’s new tech seemed to be working well. Perhaps because it was based on the components obtained from the gizmo experts back on Allia’s world? Speaking of that, someday he needed to return there and thank the elders for this help against the Nukari. Allia would also benefit from spending time back home, and seeing her family and mentor, Lu’ri.

  “We’re taking a virtual chainsaw to their security,” Maro said with glee.

  “Affirmative: proverbial walk of cake,” Bob said with a few clicks and a whistle.

  “Caution: unusual activity detected,” the clone of Bob floated next to Maro. “Tracking origins.”

  “What activity?” Maro asked. “I’m one microsecond from breaking into the next layer.”

  “Negative! Do not—” The displays before Maro, Toriko, and Minea filled with swarms of tiny green beetles.

  “What are you doing?” Toriko said.

  Mencari gasped at the strange digital beast before him. The instance of Bob devolved into a blocky, pixelated parody of itself. Sections of its body phased in and out, and its antenna jerked about violently. The color appeared to be sucked away, and its bug eyes bulged until they burst into spheres of angry red light.

  “Bob?” Minea asked, backing away.

  “Warning: corruption detected. I am isolating my instance now,” Bob said as a cage of light appeared around the mutated instance. “Its last recorded action indicated an awareness of a Trojan virus, nanoseconds before it activated.”

  “Can you disinfect it?” Toriko said.

  “Negatori!” Bob said, investigating his corrupted counterpart. “The data is completely compromised. In fact, I’d wager my i
nstance is something entirely new. Curious.”

  Mencari walked over and inspected the cage of light. “Will it hold that thing?”

  “Affirmative. It has been neutralized for now. Commencing secure storage.” Bob spoke while the cage of light collapsed in upon itself and disappeared.

  “What are you going to do with it?”

  With a twitch of his antennae, Bob whistled and clicked before saying, “Why study it, of course. Something changed my instance at the root level. I need to understand the existing vulnerability, in addition to what the instance has now become.”

  Mencari looked over the bug-bot, apprehensive. Before he could say anything Toriko chimed in. “The channel is still open. Maro and I can keep going. Unlike Bob, we can’t get hacked.”

  Bob’s antenna danced about. “Clarification: a secondary instance was hacked. I was not.”

  Minea floated over beside Bob. “Oh, you’re so cute when you get defensive.”

  “How long will it take you?” Mencari asked.

  Maro’s fingers flickered in the air, as if counting. “Just a minute.”

  “Looks like they didn’t figure on anyone making it past their virus,” Toriko said with a grin.

  “Yeah, but I’m not finding anything in their data stores.” Maro moaned. “It’s like visiting a huge city that’s completely empty—wiped clean. Let me try a deep scan, see if there’s any fragments to undelete.”

  “It’s not huge, but I did find something,” Toriko said, giddy.

  Maro looked over. “Yeah?”

  Toriko nodded, nibbling on her lip. “Watch this.…” With a swipe, data streamed through the air and over to the map floating in front of Mencari. The floor plan exploded outward, then extruded, exposing multiple levels, all marked with various icons.

  “You didn’t!” Maro said.

  “I did. I’m calling my mini-drones back. We don’t need them anymore.”

  Mencari noticed the dots moving on the display. “Wait, is this—”