by William Wood
“Yeah.” He tried to smile at her, to reassure her he was fine and that he was strong for her, but the best he could do was a half-smile with little conviction. He had a feeling she could see right through him.
“Come on,” she said, leading him down the corridor. “Let’s get back to the bridge and land this thing.”
They went to the bridge and strapped themselves into their seats. Calvin locked the coordinates of the landing platform into the navigation computer. The computer displayed the optimal approach into the planet’s atmosphere. Calvin eased the ship down at a gentle angle, smoothly penetrating the atmosphere. As they touched the atmosphere and passed into it, a bright light filled the bridge for a moment, and was gone. “What was that?” Calvin asked.
“I have no idea,” Astra admitted. “The computer didn’t register it.” Calvin shook his head and returned his attention back to landing the Frost and avoiding attention. Were they just scanned? That fear nagged him all the way down to the planet’s surface.
The section of the planet they were flying over looked like a flat desert. Everything was shades of brown and black. A distant Goremog city gleamed in the sunlight. Calvin followed the navigation computer down, which led them directly to the landing platform. The sensors told him it was two hundred feet tall. A single metal stairway snaked its way down to the ground. The tower stood in the middle of the ruins of the Alerian city. Ruins in various states of decay spread out for miles in all directions. It never occurred to Calvin to ask why the tower was the only undamaged structure still standing in the city, or why the design didn’t match the typical Alerian scheme.
“Stand by for touchdown,” Calvin announced on the intercom. As they neared the platform, Calvin circled it once to get a good view of it. It looked old, the main support structures had cracks and missing sections. Astra, as always, was one step ahead of him.
“Sensors say it’s stable enough for us,” she said calmly. “The outside looks bad, but the structure is solid.”
“OK,” Calvin said. He gently set Azure Frost down on the landing platform, and very gently cut power to ease the weight of the heavy ship onto the aging platform.
“That was your best landing yet,” Astra said. “Good job.” As soon as the ship touched the metal floor, the airlock opened.
“Sipper released,” Wexton said. Moments later, Wexton, Dev and Nils rushed outside and secured the immediate area. Before Calvin unlatched his seatbelt and stood up, Wexton was already reporting in,
“The platform is secure.”
“Alright,” Calvin said. “Good job. We’re on our way out. Ion, keep the engines warm. We might need to leave in a hurry. Also, please have two combat robots waiting at the airlock, in case we need help.”
“Yes sir,” Ion said. Sierra One and Two were already at the airlock door when Calvin and Astra arrived. One on each side of the door; weapons ready. Before going outside, Calvin and Astra activated their cloaks and shield generators. His Helcomp powered up and began reporting the details of his surroundings with one change; he could now see Astra, even though she was cloaked.
His Helcomp displayed her outline in red and orange colors that fluctuated with her life signs; her heart rate, body temperature and blood pressure. She was standing next to him, and seemed to be scanning the horizon.
“OK Dev, I like this,” Calvin said. “I think you’ve redeemed yourself. The cloak is working much better now.”
“Thank you sir,” Dev said. “Integrating them into the suits power source and computer made sense, and gave it the stability we were looking for.”
“And nearly unlimited use time, you said.” Wexton added.
When he stepped outside he looked around the platform. If he only had his eyes to rely on he would have thought he was alone, but he could see the images of Dev, Wexton and Nils clearly through his visor. They each appeared as a digital image, scrolling through their life signs. Calvin moved that data out of his vision by focusing on a spot in the upper left. All data disappeared except for a muted short range scan, which is how he liked it. Dev and Nils were behind the Frost’s rear landing struts with their weapons pointed towards the only way up and down; the stairway. Wexton was kneeling near the forward strut, holding his weapon out in front of him. Calvin turned and looked at Astra.
“I’m not picking up any life signs within ten miles,” Astra said. Calvin cautiously walked to the edge of the platform and looked down. He could see ruins surrounding the platform, and it almost looked like there were white lines on the ground. Was it in the shape of an X? The ground below the platform looked smooth. He looked out at the horizon and shivered. No matter what direction he looked in, tall buildings of the Goremog city rose into the sky. Ten miles? They sure looked a lot closer than ten miles.
Millions of Goremog people surrounded them on all sides. In the sky above, dozens of spaceships were landing and taking off.
“In position sir,” Wexton said, bringing Calvin’s focus back down. “Awaiting your orders.”
Sierra One and Two stood nearby, looking deadly even when they were standing still.
“Bring up the rear,” Astra said to the robots.
“Acknowledged,” Sierra One said.
“Lead the way, Wexton,” Calvin said. Wexton stood up, and walked directly to the stairs. Dev and Nils followed. Wexton looked down the stairs carefully before heading down. Calvin and Astra were right behind them. Sierra One and Two were last. Everyone constantly glanced around; making sure no Goremog robots or space ships entered sensor range.
Calvin was amazed at the view. Dust storms swept through the ruins, steadily growing in strength. This visor had no problem seeing through the dust choked air. The computer enhanced grains of sand speeding by; it was almost beautiful. He felt confident they wouldn’t be surprised this time. They would see the enemy coming from miles away.
They cautiously walked down the steps, slowly and carefully. They were all trying to be quiet, even though there was nobody around. At the bottom of the steps, Wexton gave a command.
“Dev, Nils, spread out just like we planned.” The three men separated in different directions, creating a perfect triangle, defending the bottom of the stairs.
“In position,” Dev said.
“In position,” Nils said. When Calvin and Astra got to the bottom of the stairs they took a second to get their bearings.
“I’m getting a strong signal from Sipper,” Dev said. “There’s a large structure in the middle of the city. There’s a segment signature emanating directly under it.”
“It has to be the lab,” Astra said. “That way,” Astra pointed to a group of ruined buildings to the north. She led the way.
“Wexton,” Calvin said. “Astra and I are heading for the lab.”
“OK,” Wexton said. “We’ll cover you. Dev, you and I will move ahead. Nils, you cover the rear.”
“Affirmed,” Dev and Nils replied simultaneously.
Wexton and Dev dashed ahead to the next row of ruins and kneeled behind broken walls. Calvin followed Astra. They picked their way carefully through large rocks and debris along a well-worn path. Sierra One and Two followed close behind. They passed through a smashed rock wall that looked like it was once part of a foundation. They moved swiftly through the ruins, invisible shadows, darting from wall to wall, around charred craters and occasionally pieces of scorched machines.
Astra crossed over a worn foundation, bent over and picked up a small object. It was a small plastic doll. She looked at Calvin with tears in her eyes. “Oh, no,” she cried. “I didn’t want to see this,” she whispered quietly, so quietly Calvin almost didn’t hear her.
“Come on,” Calvin gently took her hand and pulled her along. “You said it was that way?” He pointed ahead.
“Yes,” she said, and continued walking. It was easy to spot the large structure when they got there. It was massive. There were four beams rising from the corners of a broken concrete slab. Rows of thick heavy beams lay rotting on the
ground; rusted and broken. The top looked like it might have been made out of metal, but the only thing left were a few decayed sections and a lot of charred metal dust; at least that’s what it looked like. Only two beams were unbroken, hanging over the wreckage like a pair of arches.
Wexton, Dev and Nils darted out to the corners of the building. Even with the computer enhancement it was difficult to see them through the blowing dust and failing light. Calvin looked up towards the sun, which was now close to the horizon and long shadows were stretching across the ground.
Astra gingerly climbed over the beams and walked under the arches. Calvin followed, being careful where he stepped. He passed under the arches nervously. They looked like they could collapse any moment. The two Alerian combat robots were less careful; stomping on the beams, which were crushed and crumbled under their weight. At the back of the structure was a large rock wall. They followed a dirt path through a series of walls that was more like a maze. At the back of the building, in a dark corner they found a stairwell that led straight down. Calvin took the lead, plunging down into darkness without hesitation. The computer enhanced his vision as soon as he was enveloped in blackness, so he could see perfectly. It wasn’t a long climb down the stairs, only three flights to the bottom.
At the bottom of the stairs, they found what they were looking for; the vault door. Calvin suppressed an outburst of triumph, knowing they were far from success. They still had to find the eighth segment.
Unceremoniously, Calvin and Astra put their hands on the thick metal bar across the door. They waited, expecting the handle to change from dark gray to dark green; followed by a soft click. But instead, nothing happened.
Calvin was about to say something, to step back and analyze their options, but Astra was in no mood for that. She pushed her weight on the door. She grabbed the handle and pulled with all her strength. To Calvin’s shock, the door moved. It was only a fraction, but there was definitely movement. Astra stepped back and gasped. She looked at Calvin with a mixture of shock and determination.
“Don’t just stand there,” Astra said. “Give me a hand!”
“Sierra One, open the door,” Calvin commanded. There was no reason to hurt himself when there was a perfectly good robot standing nearby.
As Sierra One stepped up to the door, Astra moved back out of the way. The massive robot placed its hands on the metal bar and effortlessly pulled the door open. A loud grinding sound radiated outwards, but fell dead on the rocks and dirt floor.
“Stay here,” Astra said to the robots with a stern tone of voice. “Guard the door. There’s no danger inside.”
“Yes, your highness,” Sierra One intoned.
Without waiting for Calvin, Astra rushed inside. Calvin followed her.
“Astra, wait,” Calvin said as he hurried after her. He was instantly afraid and irritated. They’d survived too much to simply rush into danger without being careful.
“Astra!”
Suddenly, there was a bright flash from inside the room. The flash enveloped him and he was blinded temporarily, until his Helcomp could compensate and correct the light level for him.
It lasted only a second, and he was able to hurry forward to see if Astra was OK.
Astra, he learned, was fine, and stood still. The lights inside had turned on suddenly, and Calvin was unprepared for what was waiting for them.
They were standing on a balcony, bright lights from above shone down on the biggest, most advanced laboratory he’d ever seen.
The room was hexagonal in shape. A large wide open space filled the middle. It resembled a plaza, with a fountain in the middle. The floor was clear and glassy. It was stunningly beautiful.
The outer areas of the hexagon contained dozens of rooms. It was a stark difference from what he was used to finding; dirty, nasty labs that were empty except for the segment they were looking for and maybe a couple of computers. This lab was full of equipment, computers, desks, chairs and book cases full of books. There were also planters spread all over the lab, no plants though; nothing living. But what drew his eye were the myriad of high tech equipment everywhere. Devices that looked important, but he had no idea what they were.
But the lab was dirty. A thick layer of dust coated everything; a testament to how long the lab had been abandoned.
In the back of the room was a row of wall-sized windows. Calvin had to use his Helcomp to see through them. When the view came into clear focus, he gasped. Under the lab was a small city. A large underground waterfall poured out of a rock wall, into a small lake. A hydro-electric power plant next to it appeared to be the source of energy for the lab and city.
Calvin heard Astra take a deep breath.
“This is it, we found it,” she said with solemn respect. “We actually found it. I can’t believe it.”
“That was easy,” Calvin said. “What did we find?” He didn’t want to get excited until they found the segment. Then they would have something to celebrate. In his mind, it was too easy.
“This is Lab One. It’s the biggest research complex we ever built. Don’t you understand what this is? This is the lab where they designed the weapon. This is the lab where all of our greatest breakthroughs were made. This is like finding buried treasure, although, this is better; way better.”
“Well I don’t understand how the door opened up to the center of the lab, as if there was no security,” Calvin said, confused. “And the DNA door was broken.”
“There was a large building sitting on top of this site,” Astra said. “Obviously whatever security this place had was destroyed along with it. I don’t think my people intended for there to be easy access. We’re just lucky the Goremog haven’t found this place yet.”
“Right,” Calvin agreed.
Without a word Astra walked down a broad set of stairs down to the main level on the hexagon. Calvin followed, wondering if they should call and ask the others to help search. Astra didn’t seem to think so. She walked towards the first computers she saw without hesitation, lost in her own world, literally.
She walked down the center of the hexagon, scanning the room as she walked. Calvin had no idea what he was looking for. There were computers everywhere, and strange devices scattered throughout the room on desktops and table tops. Which one was the segment? There were also large metal safes throughout the room. All were closed and locked.
In a back corner of the room was another door. Calvin opened the door and looked inside. There was a short corridor and a stairwell, leading down.
“It looks like a way down to the city,” Astra said. “I wonder if there could be another way back up to the surface down there.”
Calvin wandered off to the left, hoping to expedite the search. But he was worried he would walk right past the eighth segment, having no idea what it looked like. Astra would have to go behind him and check where he searched. She knew better than he did what the segments looked like. They all looked different, but somehow she knew.
Luckily, Calvin didn’t have to worry about it very long. Astra shouted, “I found it!” Calvin rushed to where she was, in a far back corner of the hexagon. She stood in front of a very large device. It had no discernible shape, but looked like a mess of circles, squares and cables.
“This is it,” she beamed a huge smile that Calvin didn’t see often enough.
“And it’s intact.” She took two anti-gravity handles from her front pocket and stuck them on the side of it.
“I’m coming back, after we get this up to the Frost,” Astra said. “There are a lot of things down here that we have to take with us. As a matter of fact, I want to pack everything up and take it with us.”
“Everything?” Calvin asked, looking around. “There’s a lot of stuff here. I don’t see how we can do that.”
“Well, here’s the thing,” Astra said getting serious. “We can’t leave it here for the Goremog to find.
“Good point,” Calvin agreed.
“Wexton,” Astra said, wasting no time. �
��We’re on our way up with the segment,”
“Bring it up,” Wexton said. “The area is secure.”
The eighth segment was bulky and very heavy, but the antigravity generators made the task of getting it all the way up the stairs to Azure Frost nearly effortless. Under Astra’s direction, it was quickly secured on board, in the lab. Everyone met again at the bottom of the landing platform.
”Now what?” Wexton asked.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Astra answered. “We need to get all the equipment out of the lab and up to the ship. Let’s make use of all the robots, so we can get it done as quickly as possible.”
They worked as quickly and efficiently as they could. Astra directed traffic from the lab, showing the robots what she wanted them to take up to the Frost. The others utilized anti-gravity handles and took loads up to the ship as well. They took up all the books they could find while Astra downloaded all of the computer files and databases. She had the robots smash open the safes. They found a treasure trove of electronic storage devices and computers inside them. There were several binders full of blueprints and what Astra thought were prototype devices that were worth their weight in gold. At least that’s what Astra said. When they were finished, the robots stayed on the Frost. Dev, Wexton and Nils met Calvin at the top of the stairs to the lab while Astra made a final sweep inside.
“I think we’re almost ready to get out of here,” Calvin said. “I’ll go down and see if Astra needs help.”
“Alright,” Wexton said. “Do you need any help?” They all started walking slowly towards the landing platform.
“No, I don’t think so,” Calvin said. “Dev, I’m impressed with your cloaking generators. Honestly, they’re incredible! I had doubts at first, but you’ve worked out all the bugs. Good job.”
“Thank you sir,” Dev said. “That means a lot to me.”
A strong wind hit them, and almost knocked them over. His sensors registered a drop in temperature. Calvin looked up at the dark blue sky. Twilight was setting in, and the shadows were gone. They were halfway back to the landing platform, and easily found a path through the ruins. His Helcomp made his view look like it was daytime.