by M. R. Forbes
“It isn’t just you,” Abbey said. “Something tainted the Focus. For as powerful as it still is, it isn’t anywhere near as powerful as it used to be because of it. If only a limited number of Seraphim could even reach this place, then what happened?”
“The trillion credit question,” Uriel said. “I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to like the answer.”
“Charmeine must have known about this,” Ruby said. “She chose not to provide you guidance.”
“Good observation,” Abbey said. “She already did that to me once on Azure. Whatever is wrong with the Shardship, I think she decided to tell me where it is because she thinks I, or rather we, can fix it.”
“Not because she gives a shit about us peons,” Bastion said. “Frag that.”
“Yeah,” Pik said. “Frag that.”
“In other circumstances, I might agree,” Abbey said. “But we need the Keeper. Besides, I did ask for this, and she did warn me that it was dangerous.”
“She still could have given you the whole story,” Benhil said.
“Good old Charlie,” Uriel said. “I’m not surprised. At least she’s helping me to prove my point.”
“What point is that?” Jequn asked.
“The Seraphim aren’t and never have been the perfect angels some of us would like you to think we are.”
“We are the Chosen of the One,” Jequn said.
Uriel laughed. “And who says the One is perfect? Besides, if we’re so great, then why did he want to make humans?”
“You dishonor the One?” Jequn said, getting angry. “How could you?”
“I’m old,” Uriel said again. “And not caught up in dogma and legends.”
“Cherub, cool it,” Abbey said. “It doesn’t matter. Thraven is our problem now, and this is part of the solution.”
“Aye, Queenie,” Jequn said.
“Keep it simple,” Uriel agreed.
“I believe I have located a landing area,” Ruby said. “Imp, I am passing you coordinates.”
“Got them,” Bastion said, adjusting the Faust’s vector. “Going in.”
The ship crossed the Shardship, swooping in low and running close to the surface. The outer portion of the ship was much more jagged than it had appeared from further away, with numerous dark towers extending from the main sphere. Empty channels filled the space between them, littered with now-vacant docking hooks where the drones had once been held. Threads of dim blue energy crossed the entire thing, reminding Abbey of similar veins that surrounded the Seedships.
“It looks like shit,” Bastion said.
Abbey couldn’t disagree. The Shardship was in bad shape, both from the deterioration of time and a violent history. The closer they came to the towers, the more obvious the damage became. Some of the structures were missing large panels of metal, others were torn from explosions, and others were simply frayed and dirty, subjected to thousands of years in the midst of space, collecting space dust and minerals that ate away at the surface. There was no part of it that appeared fresh, clean, or unscathed.
“It may all be external,” Ruby said. “Sensor readings suggest at least part of the hull contains breathable atmosphere.”
“I can’t wait,” Bastion said.
“You won’t have to,” Abbey replied.
The landing bay was approaching, its presence obvious now that they were close. The opening was massive, easily large enough to allow entry to a Republic battleship or three. A glowing green energy shield sat on top of it, preventing the internal atmosphere from bleeding out into space.
“Do you think it’ll let us in?” Bastion asked.
“Only one way to find out.”
“Roger.”
The Faust dipped a little more, angling toward the center of the opening. They could see the bay beyond the shield as they approached, cavernous and dark, with signs of decay and distress marring the space. Piles of debris lined the corners, while dirt and grime had settled on a scuffed floor.
“It isn’t just external,” Bastion said, noting the damage.
“I suppose not,” Ruby agreed.
The Faust approached the shield. Bastion cut the thrust, reducing them to a crawl. If the energy field didn’t allow them to pass they would need to react quickly to reverse course before the impact crushed them.
“Slow and steady,” Bastion said.
The nose of the Faust reached the curtain of energy. The moment it did the green glow faded, allowing them to continue drifting in.
“Whew,” Bastion said, smiling. “It doesn’t want to kill us after all.”
“Imp, bring us down.”
“Roger, Queenie.”
“Ruby, I want you to stay with the Faust. The rest of you meet me outside.”
“Roger,” the Rejects replied.
Abbey looked out the viewport, scanning the bay.
What had happened here?
Was it still happening?
She spread her fingers, the Gift flowing beneath her skin, a constant tingling tickle of anticipation. The Shard had led her here. The Keeper was waiting. She was expecting trouble, but then she and her Rejects were bringing plenty of trouble of their own.
“Let’s do this.”
36
“It smells,” Pik said.
“You said that already,” Bastion said.
“At least a hundred times,” Benhil added.
“Well, it does. It stinks like a bad fart.”
“Sulfur,” Gant said. “The air is full of it. Probably a malfunction of the atmospheric processing unit. If the Seraphim APU is anything like ours, the filters are probably decayed.”
“A-pee-eww?” Pik said, laughing.
“How do you manage to spend any extended period of time around these individuals?” Uriel asked.
“I tell them to shut up a lot,” Abbey replied, drawing a huff of laughter from Trinity.
They had traveled away from the landing bay, through a set of large doors which were stuck in the open position, their mechanism crumbling and dirty. They had followed a long corridor deeper into the station on foot, making good progress but barely scratching the surface of the Shardship. Ruby had estimated the circumference of the sphere at nearly two hundred kilometers, meaning they couldn’t possibly walk it in a day. In fact, it was probably going to take weeks for them to do anything useful here.
Weeks they couldn’t spare.
They had been walking for three hours, coming across smaller intersections along the way but not discovering anything of significance during the time. The layout of the Shardship seemed to be an aggregation of the underground facility on Azure, and the interior of a modern Republic starship. There were plenty of long corridors, plenty of hatches leading to other sections of the craft, and plenty of rooms. The landing bay they had entered through was surrounded by storage units, most of which were either empty or in total disarray, their contents thrown around as if something even bigger than the ship had been playing catch with it.
Other than that, the ship was dim and deserted. There were no signs of life. No signs that anything had walked any of the corridors for thousands of years. It might have been easier to find what they were looking for if they knew where they were going, but while Uriel could read the Seraphim labels spread along their path, most of them were faded or damaged.
Damaged. That was the part that was keeping Abbey on edge. While they had yet to come across any bodies or any signs of life at all, the corridors were scuffed and marked as though something violent had gone down in them. It wasn’t just laser and plasma blast marks, but also deep scratches in the metal that suggested claws. Goreshin maybe? Or Evolents using the Gift to transform themselves the way she could? But if the Nephilim knew the Shardship was here, why hadn’t they claimed it, kept it, and either used or destroyed the Focus?
And if it wasn’t the Nephilim that attacked the ship, then what had?
“I’m surprised there aren’t any cars or anything in here,” Bastion said. “It mu
st have taken you guys forever to get anywhere.”
“Why rely on vehicles when you can teleport?” Uriel replied. He paused a moment. “Then again, we haven’t come across any so far.”
“They’ve been removed,” Jequn said. “Taken for use beyond the Shardship.”
“Hold on,” Gant said. He reached into a pack on his hip and withdrew his teleportation device. “I amplified the signal on this one.” He withdrew an extender and connected it to the device with a thin wire. “And now I can use it to scan for others.”
The Rejects gathered around him while he scanned.
“If this thing’s right, there are eight of them still on board,” he said. “The signal is fairly weak, which means they aren’t close.”
“Can you get a general idea of location?” Abbey asked.
“No, Queenie. It’s a rudimentary system.” He unplugged the extender and put everything away. “And I don’t think we should use this one to get to them. We don’t know where they’re positioned. You could come out on the outside of the ship.”
“My bot can go through,” Phlenel said.
“What if it gets beyond signal range?” Abbey said. “It won’t help us if you lose it. And it won’t be able to report back.”
“True.”
“We should stay together,” Abbey decided. “I know it sucks to walk, but for now we walk.”
“Roger.”
“Why do you think they left the life support running?” Benhil said as they continued moving. “Not to mention, what do you think is powering this thing that it’s kept going all this time?”
“Stories of Elysium suggest the One’s power source is infinite,” Jequn said. “As is the reactor on the Shardship.”
“Another reason for Thraven to want it,” Abbey said.
They kept walking, with two more hours passing before Abbey called for them to pause.
“Ruby, how are things looking back your way?” she asked, thankful the comm link was still strong.
“No activity to speak of, Queenie,” Ruby replied. “Sensor readings haven’t changed since we arrived.”
“No news is good news, right? Keep me posted.”
“Aye, Queenie.”
“Hey, Queenie.” Pik’s voice echoed along the corridor. “Come check this out.”
Abbey looked down the hallway. Where the hell had he gone?
The Trover appeared a moment later, leaning out of a doorway a hundred meters distant. “Over here.”
Abbey walked over to him, the others trailing dutifully behind her. She hadn’t explicitly ordered them not to touch anything, which she realized now was a mistake.
“Check this shit out,” Pik said, moving back into the room.
Abbey entered, scanning it quickly. It appeared to be another storage area. There were hundreds of cabinets lining the walls, many of them hanging open, their contents distributed across the floor.
Crystals. Hundreds and hundreds of crystals. They ranged across the spectrum of colors, shapes, and sizes, from pure white to purple to red and green. Some were cracked. Others had been pulverized, their dust underlying the larger shards.
Shards. The word didn’t pass Abbey’s thoughts unnoticed. But what did it mean?
“Isn’t it pretty?” Pik asked. “I thought you’d like it.”
“This place looks like somebody ransacked it,” Benhil said, peeking in.
“I saw similar crystals on Azure,” Abbey said. “Submerged in a liquid of some kind and set to vibrate. They opened a portal to another universe. That’s where I spoke to the living Shard.”
“Do you think someone came looking for the supplies they needed to make their own portal?” Trinity asked.
“I don’t know,” Abbey replied. “If the Seraphim had these already, why would they need to rip this place apart? They appear to have been organized at some point.”
“Somebody got into a fight with somebody,” Uriel said. “The evidence is everywhere. I’m willing to guess whoever the aggressor was, they were looking for something in here and didn’t have access to the catalog.”
“I wonder if they found what they were looking for?” Jequn said.
“We haven’t found what we’re looking for,” Abbey replied. She had a feeling this mess meant something, but she didn’t know what. “Let’s keep moving.”
“Queenie,” Bastion said. “I have to tell you. This place is huge, and we’re looking for one guy who, judging by the evidence, may already be dead. Are you sure we’re doing the right thing being here?”
“As sure as I can be,” Abbey replied. “But you’re right. We can’t keep walking indefinitely. New plan. Gant, break out the teleporter again.”
“I thought you didn’t want us to split up?” Gant said as he began unpacking it.
“I changed my mind. I’m allowed. I’ll go through and take a look around, and come right back.”
“One of us should go,” Pik said. “It could be dangerous, and we need you alive.”
“I have the best chance of survival,” Abbey said. “I’m not risking any of you on this.”
Gant placed the teleporter on the floor and pressed the button to activate it. A moment later, the light on it turned green.
“Link established,” he said.
Abbey took a step toward it.
“Queenie, wait,” Trinity said. “I should go. I can survive more easily in a vacuum than you, and I’m more expendable.”
“I won’t ask you to do that,” Abbey said. “This is my idea. I’ll take the risk.”
“You aren’t asking,” Trin replied. “I’m volunteering.”
Abbey looked at Trinity. She knew her former enemy was eager to help, and she was just as capable of surviving extreme environments. More so, because she didn’t need to expend extra energy to do it.
“Okay,” Abbey said. “Go in, look around, get out, report. I’m counting to ten, and you had better be-”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence.
Trinity didn’t get to go through the teleporter.
Something came through to them.
37
It was only slightly larger than Gant. It was mottled and gray, hairless, naked but lacking in genitalia, with large hands that ended in long claws and a bow-legged posture that kept it low to the ground. It stepped through the teleporter almost calmly, but when it saw the Rejects in front of it, it shrieked and jumped at Trinity.
The blades sprang from her wrists, and she slashed the creature as it tried to slash at her, its claws digging at her faceplate and somehow leaving a deep gouge along the armor. It toppled to the ground, its head rolling away from its body, blood pooling around it.
“What the frag?” Bastion said, bringing his rifle up and pointing it at the teleporter. The other Rejects did the same.
“Gant, shut it down,” Abbey said.
Another creature came through, moving faster than the first, bouncing away as they opened fire. It landed beside them, turning and springing at Benhil. He cursed, swinging his rifle and catching it in the face, knocking it to the side. It got up, taken out by a series of rounds that tore its body in half.
The teleporter switched off. Gant picked it up.
“Shit,” Bastion said. “That was not funny.”
Trinity had her hand up to the faceplate, feeling the damage. Abbey could tell that it matched the marks from the corridor.
“It shouldn’t have been able to get through this,” she said.
“What are those things?” Erlan asked.
“Nothing I’ve ever seen or read about,” Gant said.
“They came through the teleporter like they were just waiting for it to activate,” Uriel said.
“You’re right,” Abbey agreed. “And I hate that you’re right.”
Something made a noise somewhere in the ship. A sharp echo that reverberated through the corridor until it reached them. It was repeated a moment later.
“They know we’re here,” Jequn said.
“Queenie,” Ruby said.
“Let me guess,” Abbey replied. “Sensors are picking something up?”
“Yes, Queenie. Many somethings.”
“This place was overrun,” Bastion said. “There’s no way the Keeper is still alive. We should get the hell out of here while we can.”
“We aren’t leaving,” Abbey said. “Keeper or not. If this is the Shardship, the Focus is in here somewhere.”
“So?”
“Have you been paying attention at all?”
Bastion shrugged.
“Let’s move, Rejects,” Abbey said, turning in the direction of the noise.
“Wait,” Benhil said. “We’re going to them?”
“Something’s been keeping them alive in here,” Abbey said. “Possibly for thousands of years, and it isn’t fresh meat. The reactor? The Focus? Whatever it is, I want to see it.”
“You’re the boss,” Pik said, hefting his rifle. “It’s fragging time!”
“Ruby, pass the data across,” Abbey said. “Give us as much as you can.”
“Transferring now,” Ruby replied.
Abbey’s eyes filled with a red splotch of color as the Faust’s sensor data was passed over their network to the entire team’s Tactical Command Units. Without a map of the area, the threat display was vague, but it at least provided some indication of the enemy’s position. The system would refine the results once they made visual contact.
They moved down the corridor at a light run, heading toward the oncoming mass, which began to tighten up as it entered the same hallway. The noises grew louder ahead, scraping and howling and behind it a more rhythmic cadence. It was that secondary noise that caught Abbey’s attention. Two different patterns suggested two different types of targets. The first creatures they had seen were simple, but they had no idea what kind of technology this enemy might possess.
On second thought, maybe they shouldn’t be running headlong into them?
It was too late to change tactics. The first of the targets came into view of her TCU a moment later, painted with a red outline by the naniates that had replaced her human-made SoC. That target fell as a single burst of rounds met it.
Two more targets were outlined. Two more targets fell. The Rejects fired with precision, cutting the creatures down as they charged toward one another, killing them by the dozen within the first ten seconds of the encounter.