by Matt Roberts
Owyn joined Sully in the cockpit of their jet and as soon as he was strapped in they lurched forwards into the launch bay. As the hangar doors opened before them the engines ignited and roared into action. Below, the Tajari desert was basked in golden sunlight. They wouldn’t be going in under the cover of darkness this time.
“We’re good to go,” Sully reported. “You ready?”
“I’m ready. What’s your plan for getting us to Ambrose in one piece?”
“I’ve got a couple of ideas. Unfortunately neither of them are particularly smart. They should be exciting though.”
“I thought you had a month to think this through.”
“If there was an easy way through I’d know about it. Just relax. Imagine you’re on a roller coaster and try not to be too concerned if gravity…switches directions.”
Owyn smiled. “I think it’s you who needs to relax. I know you well enough to realise you only start spouting dumb crap when you’re shitting yourself.”
“I was talking to myself. So if you could keep your mouth shut for a few seconds that’d be nice.”
Owyn started chuckling to himself. “It’s alright, Sully. There are plenty of things about this to justify being scared shitless, but we’ll be fine. Trust me.”
“That wasn’t particularly reassuring, you know?” Sully replied. “You do realise that risking my life twice in one day isn’t something I do too often, right? I’m usually a good few miles away from the gunfire, not taking part in whatever dumb, suicidal shit you’re getting yourself into.”
“What’s life without a new experience every now and then?”
“God fucking dammit,” Sully muttered with his hands over his eyes. “I think you might actually be making it worse so let’s just get it over with.”
As the thrusters fired both he and Owyn took a deep, anxious breath as they burst out into space and down towards the desert.
For now they stayed high in orbit. They had some distance to go to reach the Tajari and Sully wasn’t about to risk dipping into the atmosphere any earlier than necessary. Doing so would risk alerting the DPD to their presence early enough for troops to be sent in pursuit. If they were going to have any chance of reaching Ambrose they had to at least ensure they wouldn’t have to deal with anything more than unmanned drones.
After the initial rapid descent towards the surface they allowed gravity to carry them in orbit towards their target, meaning Sully could reserve fuel should they need it later on.
“I don’t like sending you out there alone,” Sully said, attempting to distract himself from fearing for his own life. “That place. Ambrose. I don’t like it.”
“Ambrose isn’t going to kill me. If he wanted to then he’s gone to a whole lot of trouble to do something he could have done a hell of a lot easier a few years ago. This is all leading up to something. Once I know what that is we’ll go home.”
Sully raised an eyebrow. “Home? I’ve never heard anyone call HQ home before.”
“We haven’t got anywhere else have we? It’s where we’ve spent most of our time here so I’d say it qualifies.”
“I suppose so, it just never felt all that homely.”
“I never asked. How’d you end up at ISO?” Owyn said, switching the subject.
“Since when did you care about anyone’s past?” Sully asked in return.
“I don’t seem to remember you taking much of an interest in mine either,” Owyn pointed out.
“I had an interest but I reckoned it was better not to ask. I figured most people don’t want it bringing up, especially the type of people who get selected for ISO,” Sully explained.
“That’s what I thought until today, but the truth is they aren’t going to forget about it whether you ask or not. There’s no harm in asking. Besides, we could all be dead tomorrow so why not get to know each other a little better?” Owyn said. “So, what’s your story?”
“I grew up as an orphan in Illinois, a few miles west of Chicago. It was a pretty peaceful place, even after the war started, so it wasn’t too hard getting by. I never knew my parents. Never really had any interest in people either – let alone the annoying ass kids in that damn orphanage – so I was interested in computers instead. We had a reasonably powerful generator at the place so I started by playing around with this little machine they gave me. I guess it was kind of a luxury to have anything like that those days. Most people didn’t have access to power at all while I spent all day digging through files and code.
As I got older I started running off more and more often so I could get away from the other kids, and one time I came across this old computer factory. It was pretty much a paradise for me. It had a century’s worth of tech and all the tools and components I could ever dream of. I kept bringing things back and so by the time I got kicked out of the orphanage at 15 I understood most systems at a pretty advanced level. I figured the best thing to do then was to head into the city.
Chicago was in pretty good shape honestly. Rather than rising up the people there banded together and started working on restoring the power as soon as it went off. It took them about a decade but somehow they managed it, at least in the city centre, so when I got there pretty much everything in the city was controlled by a computer system. That’s when I discovered myself as a hacker. I could get pretty much anything I wanted, so I did.”
“I never imagined you as a hacker,” Owyn remarked.
“Why? Am I too good an innocent to have ever committed a crime?” He rolled his eyes. “Being a hacker was much better for me than trying to fight, that’s for sure. I mean look how you turned out.”
“How’d you end up here?”
“A bit later on I stumbled across an encrypted communications channel coming from somewhere underground in the city so, in my great wisdom, I tried to patch into it. As it turned out the channel traced back to a hidden army base with pretty good security measures – I’m guessing courtesy of XION – so the next thing I knew I had ten automatic rifles pointing at my head.
Fortunately people with my skillset were pretty hard to come by so rather than killing me they hired me. I helped them keep track of any rebels who’d got their hands on wireless electronics for a couple of years before I got offered a place in ISO. I didn’t have anything holding me back on Earth and I was pretty fascinated by space travel so moving to another planet sounded like more fun. Now I’m starting to think my 19-year-old self was a dumb little shit and I should have taken the boring option, but I guess that’s what hindsight gives you.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“It wasn’t. I had it easy,” Sully admitted. “So what’s your story?”
“It’s a bit of a long one. You’ll have to wait until the return journey.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” He checked up on their current location. “Alright, we’re closing on Ambrose’ signal. Get ready for a sharp descent.”
As the border of the Tajari desert passed beneath them, Sully plunged into the atmosphere. The jet shook violently as they dropped, the entire hull burning red as they nosedived like a bird of prey swooping for a catch. Once they’d reached cruising altitude they levelled out again and Sully’s screens displayed a birds-eye view of what was below. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky to obscure their view, yet there were no dust storms to be seen; no swirling sands or brown mists. As they panned over countless miles of rolling dunes and rocky hills, still the air remained clear. Sully was right. It was all just another illusion conjured up by the DPD. They were hiding something here, and Owyn had his money on Ambrose leading them right to it.
“We’ve got a group of drones inbound,” Sully said as all of a sudden the jet’s radar began picking up about a dozen hostile aircraft just a few miles ahead of them. They hadn’t stayed clear for long.
Owyn jumped up to get a look at the front view camera that was now on screen. As Sully magnified the image the drones came into view. They were flying at a slightly lower altitude but that w
asn’t going to be enough to avoid detection. “Can we slip past?”
“There’s no way we’re getting clear of their sensors in time but we might still be able to avoid detection. They’ll be scanning for heat and energy signatures. The hull masks our heat, so if we cut the power we might be able to slip through.”
That idea wasn’t at all smart, but they had to do something. They couldn’t just fly headfirst into that much firepower however good of a pilot Sully was. “Do it,” Owyn ordered.
As Sully flipped the switch the cockpit delved into complete darkness. The screens deactivated and the hum of the engines faded into silence.
Owyn’s heartrate sped up a little. They were now completely oblivious to what was happening outside. The feeling of separation and uncertainty was unnerving. “How do we know if they missed us?”
“We don’t.”
“Any way of checking our altitude?”
“Nope. I told you this would be exciting, didn’t I?”
Owyn squeezed his eyes shut. He was already wondering if they’d just accepted their fates. If this plan didn’t work then they’d be shot out of the sky before they knew a thing about it.
For a few seconds they both stopped still and listened. Nothing. Owyn’s foot slid forwards a few inches. A few more. He could feel the force pulling him up against the back of Sully’s chair, strengthening little by little. The jet was tipping. “Sully?” he asked nervously.
“Just a few more seconds.”
He usually had complete trust in his pilot, but Owyn’s confidence wasn’t holding so firm this time. The weight upon his feet was lessening. With every passing second he was edging closer to weightlessness. The seconds continued to tick by. Owyn winced at every little sound inside the cockpit, expecting the crash to hit at any moment.
Finally Sully took a deep breath to focus himself. “Here we go.”
The lights burst back into life, the engines roared and the screens reactivated. Their altitude was just over 1,000 feet and falling fast. They hadn’t shaken all of the drones either. In their rear view were a pack of four. Their weapons were armed and hot but they were struggling to gain a lock.
Sully wasn’t concerned. He pulled sharply to the left, flinging Owyn off his feet and into the wall. “I hope you know what the hell you’re doing,” Owyn cried out.
Still they continued their descent. 500 feet. 200. Sully was deep in concentration. He lifted the nose slightly but not quite until it was level. He aligned their course with a narrow ravine that split open the earth up ahead. It was only a few meters wide but it was straight – straight enough to do the ridiculous. He tipped the jet suddenly onto its side. Their altitude hit zero and they entered the ravine. The four drones were still in pursuit but they were too large to enter the ravine. One by one they crashed into the ground, bursting into flames on impact. As soon as the fourth explosion hit Sully pulled up as hard as possible, rising out of the ravine and back into the open sky. Steadily their altitude climbed back into positive figures.
Sully sat in stunned disbelief for a moment. Before he could celebrate he looked back to the radar to be sure. It was clear. He raised his fists into the air and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Fuck yeah!”
Owyn, meanwhile, was laid out flat on his face battling the urge to throw up. If only he’d stayed in his seat he’d have been fine, but instead he’d spent the entirety of Sully’s little stunt beings tossed and turned around at the back of the cockpit. “Fuck you, Sully,” he groaned.
Sully laughed. “I did warn you.”
Eventually, once his vision had finally stopped spinning, Owyn managed to pick himself up. He rubbed his head and slouched into his seat, but his break was soon cut short.
“We’re close,” Sully updated him. “I think you ought to see this.”
Immediately Owyn was revitalised. He bounced back up just in time to see a breath-taking view opening up before them.
Below, looming over the desert floor were hundreds – maybe even thousands – of cylindrical, metallic towers. They were thin and tall – taller than any skyscraper – like needles rising out of the earth. Sully had brought the jet up to near 10,000 feet yet even from this distance they were no small things. Some of them looked dull and rusted while others were polished and gleaming in the morning sun. The sight sent a chill down Owyn’s spine. Even from here he could sense the eerie atmosphere that surrounded this place.
“What the hell are they?” he wondered out loud.
“I don’t know, but I get the idea there’s a reason I don’t.”
“How far is this from the facility we destroyed?”
“A little over 800 miles. I doubt they’re directly connected.”
Owyn collected his helmet and stepped over to the airlock door. “Once I’m down start circling the area in a 10 mile radius. That should give us enough time to make evac if you pick up any inbound aircraft.”
“Watch yourself out there, O. Don’t trust him.”
“I know, Sully,” Owyn reassured him.
“And don’t do anything stupid. I’m not losing you out there.”
“Keep me informed.”
Owyn then turned back to the airlock and fastened on his helmet. He took a deep breath and stepped inside.
CHAPTER 14
EDEN
Owyn dived out and plummeted headfirst towards the desert floor, slaloming his way between the towers until he’d lined up an open strip long enough for him to make his landing. His thrusters fired to stall his momentum as he closed in on impact. He flipped upright and touched down, the sand around him bursting up into the air as he skidded to a halt. The booming sound of his landing echoed hauntingly between the towers and far into the distance, emphasising the empty silence that surrounded this place. There were no winds, no subtle sounds of movement; nothing.
He unfastened his helmet then brought his contact lenses online in place of his visor. As he blinked to bring the display into focus he looked up above his head. Immediately he felt himself shrink.
The sheer scale was hard to believe. It was immense – even more so than even Kyvos. Each tower must have been at least a hundred feet wide and two miles high, and as Novus fell in the west they cast dark black shadows extending far towards the horizon. To stand in such a wide open space yet seem so small was a dizzying feeling; Owyn’s brain could hardly make sense of it.
The fact that every tower was virtually identical added to the unsettling feeling. This place had every one of the characteristics of an alien landing site; where the towers were in fact alien space ships that had come to roost in the uninhabited Tajari desert. And, without any better idea of what else it could be, Owyn was almost willing to accept that explanation as reality.
He walked over to the nearest of the towers to inspect it. No openings. No noticeable welding marks. The only construction lines were horizontal rings every 50 feet or so above. The towers were built from seamlessly forged cylinders, stacked one above another high into the sky.
He placed his hand on the metal but was immediately forced to recoil from it. It was burning hot – so much so that it singed the outer layer of his glove. That was one curiosity satisfied, now he had time for another. He kneeled down and ran his fingers through the sand. It was smooth and fine; it felt consistent, as though it lacked nature’s usual random touch. The colour wasn’t right either. From afar it looked a rich gold but in reality it was closer to grey than the sand he knew.
While Owyn was young his parents had built him and Mitch a small sand pit to play in, so for once he could make a comparison. The difference was only slight – not visible without close inspection – but it brought up another set of questions to add to the ever lengthening list. Was this even a desert? If not, what else could it be? Perhaps it was just Altaris’ version of sand, but Owyn’s first impression was that it felt more synthetic than naturally formed.
“Alright. Where am I headed?” he asked Sully.
“Connected you to Ambrose’ signal now.
Let me know if you see it.”
A marker appeared before Owyn’s eyes, pointing him towards Ambrose’ location. It was still some way away, deep in the heart of the jungle of towers.
“I’ve got it,” Owyn reported. He then readied his pistol and set off trudging through the dust towards the target.
As he made his approach the marker remained perfectly still, tempting him closer. He avoided walking in a straight line in an attempt to conceal himself. Even as the marker moved within what should have been visible range he was still yet to see or hear anything to break the monotony. At no point had he expected this to be easy, but the unsettling feeling in his stomach was growing and growing now. He was never less comfortable than when he knew he had no control over what was about to happen.
He reported back to Sully. “Still no sign of Ambrose. Anything on your end?” The comms stayed silent. “Sully?” Still nothing. “Oh shit,” Owyn whispered to himself.
From somewhere behind him he heard a sound. He froze and took a deep breath. Gripping his pistol firmly in both hands he spun around. There was Ambrose, stood still and silent as a statue behind him. The barrel of Owyn’s gun was mere inches from his face yet he didn’t even twitch.
“Hands in the air and step back,” Owyn instructed him. He didn’t shout, just kept his voice firm and flat. Ambrose complied, lifting his empty hands and holding them either side of his head before taking a couple of slow steps backwards. “Behind your head.” Again he did as he was told, placing his hands one over the other on the back of his head while remaining totally silent. Owyn took one hand from his gun, opened up a pocket on his belt and held up Rodriguez’ pendant. “What does this mean?” he asked.
“Haven’t you figured that out already? All of your answers are right here,” Ambrose said calmly. “You managed to find your way easily enough.”
“You led me here. Why? What is this place?”
“You don’t need me to tell you; you can see for yourself.” He turned and set off walking.
“Walk slowly and keep your hands behind your head. Pull any shit and I’ll shoot,” Owyn asserted, though it didn’t seem as though Ambrose was taking much notice of his threats.