by B. J. Keeton
Roman, Nephil, and Bryt shared a look, but said nothing.
“Or should I say, what kind of Instance are you getting me into?” Ceril asked.
Bryt sighed and said, “We're not quite certain yet. Preliminary surveys show that there is only a single Instance available for connection here, and we haven't been able to connect to check it out. We had hoped to connect after you were already safely back on Erlon, but you threw a wrench into that when you showed up late.”
Roman said, “The team you're taking is being assembled as we speak, Ceril. They're all your classmates, Rites candidates. Saryn Bloom, Easter Harlo, Swinton Marelotov, and Chuckie Tidwell. You know them all, right?”
“Some better than others, but I’ve seen them all around.”
“Good. You should also know that this will be the beginning of all your Rites.”
Ceril took a deep breath. He could do this. “Okay.”
“You have permission to act in the capacity of fully Rited agents of the Charonic Archive, Ceril,” Roman said. “But you are going to be the one in charge. You're going to have a pretty solid group with you, but you're going to have to remember that you are more trained than they are. I’m not saying you’re better than any of them, but you’ve got a bit of an advantage. Make sure you use it.
“Saryn’s head is in her research; you know that as well as I do. She’s as capable as they come and should be able to handle herself, but don’t expect her to get a lot more detailed about battle tactics than knowing what part of a sword cuts or which end of a gun shoots.”
Ceril laughed. “That sounds about right.”
“Now, Chuckie and Swinton are soldiers. Honestly, they’re probably trained better than you are since they haven’t had the second discipline to distract them like you have. Don’t worry, though; they’ll watch your back and take your orders. That's their job. I don’t know if you remember, but Swinton was like you. He started as a scholar when you all first came on board, but he swapped over because he got the damn fool idea that he will eventually find a Flameblade. I wonder who gave him that idea?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Roman chuckled. “Right, right. I’m sure you don’t. It worked out, though. He’s good at his job. Not quite the best, but he’s got an eye for detail that I don’t see very often outside of researchers. Chuckie, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite of Swinton. He started out as a soldier, and has been at the top of his class ever since. I don’t speak in clichés very often, Ceril, but I’m pretty sure he was born with a gun in his hand. He…also has a slight problem with authority. He wants to be in charge, but don’t let him just take over. If you have to, pull rank. I can tell you from experience that it works.”
“Gotcha. I doubt it’ll come to that.”
“We’ll see. And there’s your medic, Easter Harlo. God knows I don't want you to need a medic, but I couldn't live with myself if we didn’t send one through with you just in case. She's a damn fine doctor, so if something goes wrong, she’ll know how to fix it,” Roman said. “She’s the best medic we’ve trained in quite some time. If you get hurt and she can’t patch you up, you’re a bit of a lost cause, if you ask me.”
“You’re making me more confident by the second, Roman.”
“Your mission,” Nephil said, “is simple, but we don’t expect it to be easy. We're not even sure if it's possible. If you deal with whatever inhabitants you run across equitably, you should be fine. We will not be able to keep the portal open for you, though.”
Ceril opened his mouth to speak, but Bryt rose and said, “Right now, we're in dead space. No planets, no stars, no nothing. We are running on what energy reserves we had before the connection ended. We have minor generators on board, but our main source of operational power came from Ennd's. With that gone, there is no way to determine how long we can maintain a portal to this new Instance. Especially if the portal opens in hostile territory.”
“You’ll reopen it eventually?”
“Of course, but I hope we don’t have to. If you and your team succeed, you’ll come knocking on our door.”
“How will I stay in contact with you?” Ceril asked. “How will you know that we are on the right track?”
Roman shook his head and said, “You will be on your own. Since this mission is functioning as your team’s Rites, you have to do it on your own.”
Ceril didn't like the sound of that. There was something about the way that Roman and Nephil were talking that made him uneasy. They were hiding something from him, but he had no idea what it was or how to find out. Maybe it was just something to do with the Rites. They were the final test of becoming a full Charon, so maybe it was just something to do with that.
“That should about cover it,” Roman said. “If you find hot spots like we talked about existing on Erlon, your first priority is to collect information and make an informed decision about which one would be closest to Erlon. You’ve done enough of that kind of work already to be comfortable with it. Anything you find that can lead back to the Untouchable is going to help, Ceril, even if it’s a few hops, skips, or jumps away. This far out, who knows if you’ll be able to find anything. But if you do, make note of it, okay? Contact your grandfather as soon as you get back to Erlon. He probably won’t want to help; I don’t expect him to, at least. Please convince him, and then get to Ennd's to see if you can reconnect to us. Do you have any questions?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Ceril said.
“Then let’s get you on your way.”
Chapter Twelve
He’s lying, Saryn thought as she walked out of the chamber. Something about Professor Nephil’s address didn’t sit well with her, but she didn’t know exactly what. He just seemed so…smarmy when he was talking to them. It didn’t matter, though. There wasn’t anything she could do except wait, so she decided that she would take the time to work on her thesis and maybe that would help her figure out what bothered her about the professor.
“Saryn? Saryn Bloom?” said a voice behind her. She stopped and saw a middle-aged woman jogging toward her.
“Yes? What can I do for you, Professor Harger?” Saryn had taken a few classes with Professor Harger over the years. She taught the theoretical sciences on board the Sigil, and Saryn’s line of research required more than a few of those.
The red-haired woman stopped beside Saryn and said, “I need to talk with you, Saryn. Do you mind if we talk somewhere a little more private?”
“No…No, of course not. What’s going on, professor?”
“In a moment.” Harger led Saryn down the corridor and into a small observation room. It was dark since there was no hyperspace blur shining through the wide viewport. Professor Harger motioned for Saryn to sit in one of the chairs, while she herself walked to the nearest wall and placed her palm flat against it. “I just don’t like the dark,” she said. “One second.” Light began to grow from her hand, a faint green-blue, and crawled in seemingly random tendrils of luminescence across the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room. In under a minute, the whole room was illuminated.
“Not quite as comfortable as the blur,” Harger said, “but it will have to do.”
“That was astonishing, ma’am,” Saryn said.
The professor smiled. “Thank you, Saryn. From you, that means a lot.”
Saryn blushed and changed the subject. She said, “What can I do for you, professor?”
“I’m not going to keep anything from you, Saryn, or make it out that this isn’t a big deal. It is.”
“Okay.”
“Your Rites begin today.”
“Today?”
“Within an hour, actually.”
“I don’t think I’m ready,” Saryn said.
“No one ever thinks they’re ready,” the professor replied.
“No, I mean, my thesis isn’t finished. I still have to revise the last few chapters, and some of my experiments haven’t been completed. I don’t have enough data to compile. I can’t have my Ri
tes yet.”
“You’ll finish the thesis, Saryn. In most cases, it’s a formality anyway. In yours, especially. You’ve done good work from what I’ve read, and I can honestly say that another month of research and number crunching won’t help you at all with your Rites.”
“Oh,” Saryn said. She put so much of herself into that thesis, so many long hours, and for Professor Harger to qualify the compliment by saying that her work was merely a formality—rather than the useful research Saryn had believed it to be—hurt her.
Harger apparently noticed. “I don’t mean it’s not important, Saryn. Not at all. But your Rites fall into very unique circumstances, and you already have the theoretical experience that will help you.”
Saryn wanted to believe her, but it sounded like a crock, just like the professors’ explanation of why they dropped out of hyperspace. She said, “What do I have to do?”
Harger leaned back in the chair and stared out the window. “You know, the lack of stars when you look out the window is disconcerting.”
“I hadn’t really thought about it.” But she had. Saryn had noted that morning that they had to be in dead space because, without the hyperspace envelope around the ship, there was nothing but blackness. The only place she knew of that could be this empty was the space between galaxies. Dead space.
“You’re lucky. It gives me an awful feeling to look out the window and not see anything.” The red-haired woman sat silent for a moment as she stared out the window. “Anyway,” she said as she shook herself from her reverie, “your Rites will consist of a mission into a local Instance—”
“I thought we were disconnected,” Saryn interjected.
“We are disconnected. From Erlon,” Harger said. “We have found the ability to connect to a couple of Instances near our current location.”
“Unmapped?”
Harger nodded. “Yes. We have reason to believe that these Instances may provide a starting point for solving two current issues, the first being that it may be possible to chain your way from this Instance all the way back to Erlon.”
“But not go directly,” Saryn said. It wasn’t a question. “How far out are we?”
“Farther than we like, my dear. Far enough that Erlon is not easily accessible—may not be accessible to us at all. We just don’t know. We think it is possible to go from one Instance to another, provided that your team is able to determine the correct locations of portals and other Instances.”
Saryn wanted to say This sounds impossible, but she refrained. Instead, she said, “What’s the second issue?”
“We think that this Instance and many of the others that potentially connect back to Erlon possess a connection to the Untouchable. This was initially the primary directive of the mission, actually. Your team is to discover these connections so that we are able to locate the Untouchable on Erlon and stop his attacks before they escalate further.”
“That sounds more like Ternia’s—Ceril’s area,” Saryn said, correcting herself. She knew the faculty was aware of her and Ceril’s friendship, but referring to him by his nickname to others was a bit much. “I can maybe help with the way back to Erlon, but not with the Untouchable stuff. I don’t even know where to start.”
Harger looked away from Saryn and stared out the window again. “That’s why he’s your team leader,” she said. “Ceril Bain is going to lead your squad into the Instance and direct the fulfillment of your objectives.”
“I doubt I have a choice on this, do I?” Saryn asked.
Still staring away, Harger said, “There is always a choice, Saryn.”
Saryn bit her bottom lip then said, “Sure. I’m in.”
Harger’s head snapped back to her student. “You are hereby authorized to act in the capacity of a fully Rited agent of the Charonic Archive, Saryn Bloom, with all the rights and responsibilities of that position.” The professor held her hand out to Saryn, and the younger girl watched as a small, black ball materialized in her teacher’s palm. “Take it.”
The gravity of the situation suddenly hit Saryn. “Nanites?”
Harger nodded. “You will all be wearing a sleeve on this mission. You’ve been trained?”
“Barely,” Saryn said. “Twice, maybe.”
“I hope it stuck.”
“Me, too,” Saryn said as she took the pulsing ball from Harger. “Anything else I need to know?”
“No,” Harger said. “I don’t think so. You leave as soon as the rest of your team is assembled.”
***
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“No, Chuckie, I’m not.”
“You’re starting my Rites today?”
“Now, actually. In maybe an hour.”
“Am I leading?”
“No, you’re under Ceril Bain. It’s his mission.”
“I don’t like that.”
“You don’t have to. You just have to follow his orders and make sure that he and the rest of the team make it through okay. I’ve downloaded the mission objectives to your tablet.”
“Who else is coming? Besides the killer librarian?”
“Saryn Bloom, Easter Harlo, and Swinton.”
“Not awful. All right, I’m in.”
“You don’t have a choice, Chuckie.”
“I like to pretend I do sometimes.”
“I’m going to ignore that. Chuckie Tidwell, you are hereby authorized to act in the capacity of a fully Rited agent of the Charonic Archive, for the duration of this mission, your Rites.”
“Thanks, boss. Where’s my stuff?”
“Your bags have been packed and will be waiting on you in the Instance chamber. Pick up your weapons from the arms locker, standard set. But grab a sleeve while you’re in there.”
“This is big, then, huh? If you’re giving us sleeves.”
“It is important, yes.”
“Well, shucks, prof. I’m honored.”
“That’s the spirit, Chuckie. Be ready in half an hour. Meet in the Instance chamber once you’re equipped.”
“You got it, boss.”
***
“I can’t today,” Easter Harlo said. “I’ve got too much going on. Can we do it next week?”
“Harlo, you know better than that,” Doctor Howser said.
“Yeah, I do. But what’s so important that I have to stop when I’m in the middle of my clinicals? I’m going to have to start them all over, ma’am.”
“No, this is going to continue them, Harlo. Think of it as a relocation more than anything else.”
“I don’t know,” Harlo said.
“They’re your Rites, Harlo. You have to do them, and there’s always the chance that this might be easier than your clinicals. If you can keep the team patched up well enough—and if this team isn’t exactly stupid—you might not have to work half as hard as you would to finish clinicals.”
“I wouldn’t learn as much, either.”
“Field work is a different kind of educational experience. You need it just as much as you need to wander the halls, treating the sick and making rounds.”
Harlo sighed and reattached the tablet she had been reading to the end of the patient’s bed. “I guess I can. What am I doing?”
“I’m sure you heard about the incident this morning?”
“Vaguely,” Harlo admitted. “I was in here, but I couldn’t step out.”
“Of course,” Howser said. “The Sigil has lost its connection to Erlon. Your team is being sent to find a way to either restore that connection—an outcome Roman does not see as being likely—or to find a way back to Erlon so that we’re not floating in dead space anymore.”
“That’s it?”
“The Instance you’re going to is unmapped. We’re not sure what’s there. Roman hinted the Untouchable’s influence might be there somehow. He was pretty vague about that, actually.”
“Well, that sounds fantastic.” Her voice was monotone.
“Doesn’t it?” Howser replied. “You and your team are g
oing to investigate what you can and see if you can find anything that would lead us to the Untouchable on Erlon. I think Ceril Bain is going to be responsible for that.”
“I don’t know him. Heard of him, though. Wasn’t he the one who killed that boy a few years ago?”
“Yes, but he’s your leader on this one, Harlo. You follow his orders, okay?”
Harlo held her hands out, palms up. “What else would I do?”
“I know you, Harlo, and when you get something in your head, you can’t let it go.”
“Some people say, doc, that’s a good thing.”
“And others call it unhealthy and obsessive.”
“Hey!”
“That mindset will likely get you through this safely, though. Just make sure you take care of your people, okay? Everything else is secondary. I know you haven’t been in the field much, but this is big, Harlo. I need you to bring everybody back, okay? Everything else aside, all other mission directives aside, you bring these people back.”
Harlo sobered up at her mentor’s words. “I got it, doc. I do.”
“Easter Harlo, you have permission to act as a fully Rited agent of the Charonic Archive for the duration of this mission. Do you have any questions?”
“Do I get to keep my sleeve, then?”
Howser nodded. “Yes, and the rest of your team will have one, too. You’ve had the most experience with one, though, so if they need any help making theirs work, it will fall on you to explain it, okay? They might have had a few hours working nanites before, but not nearly as much time as you have.”
“Got it. I can do that.”
“I know you can, Harlo. Now, a bag has been packed for you already, and it’s waiting for you in the Instance chamber. Your team should be about ready to go. Finish up what you’re working on, and meet them there in half an hour.”
“Can do. You want me to finish my rounds this morning, doc?”
“No, I’ll cover them, Harlo. Stop worrying so much.”
“Yeah, sure,” Harlo said. “Quit worrying with my Rites starting in half an hour. That’s going to happen.”