by Jason Kent
"Sorry, Captain Paavo," Kate apologized. "The Katrin took us further than we ever hoped." It was not much of a eulogy for the airship, but it was all Kate could come up with. Even with the added lift of her parasail, the ground floor of the crater was quickly approaching. Kate tried her best to aim for a clearing in the trees. A glint from the center of the bowl nearly blinded Kate. She squinted and held up her hand against the glare.
The center of the crater was just as Kate had foreseen. A massive dome stood atop a rocky mesa at the exact center of the ring of tall mountain peaks. In the brief instant she could study the structure, she noticed the dome was not complete. It reminded Kate of pictures of Rome's Pantheon back on Earth. The massive dome, built thousands of years earlier by the industrious Romans, had an opening called an oculus which allowed light to stream through and illuminate the interior with a natural disc of sunlight. As the day passed, the light would move across the walls and floor in an every-changing display. The dome in front of Kate had the same feature, except the oculus was much, much bigger.
Just visible above the truncated lip of the dome, dense branches full of dark leaves, the crown of a massive tree, waved at her in the breeze.
Knowl.
Kate caught her breath and nearly crashed into a tree closer to home.
"Tral!" Kate yanked on her left control cord with all her might. She lifted her feet and just cleared a branch as thick as her waist. Many other smaller branches slapped her legs and stomach. Then, the ground was right there. Kate bent her knees and rolled onto the ground. When she finally stopped, she struggled to her hands and knees. Kate gulped air as her heart beat furiously in her chest. She figured she must have stuck the landing correctly because, as far as she could tell, she was not broken or dead.
When the breeze tried to blow her limp parachute into a nearby line of trees, Kate realized she was not done yet. She fumbled with the heavy buckles on the leather harness and let the entire contraption fall to the ground. She stepped out of the leg straps and watched as the silk chute dragged the pack away. The buckles clinked with discordant musical notes as they bumped along the uneven ground after the chute.
Safely on the ground, Kate took a moment to look around. She was alone. The screech of tortured metal reached Kate. She looked back up the cliff as the remains of the engine compartment collapsed. The wreckage from the passenger compartment and bridge littered the incline of the mountain's face. Kate hoped anyone witnessing the Katrin's destruction from the dome would believe it was an accident. Any such witness would think they were dealing with survivors, not a team of commandos who were intent on getting to the great tree at the center of the crater. Kate turned from her study of the airship wreckage and found someone in the glen with her.
The cloaked figure stood at the far side of the clearing. Kate swallowed hard. The stranger wore an outfit identical to Javin's.
Watcher, thought Kate. She slowly reached her hand down and unsnapped the pistol Merrick had so recently strapped to her hip.
"You have no need of your weapon," the Watcher said in a high-pitched voice. Even though she could not clearly see his face, Kate got the impression this Watcher was much younger than Javin. She wondered if an older Watcher sent out this younger, less valuable member of their number to confront the new arrivals.
Kate did not release her grip on the pistol. Then again, she did not draw the gun, either.
"We suffered a little...accident," Kate offered. As an explanation for the destroyed airship, it sounded a bit lame, but what she needed now was time. Time for the others to find her.
"Yes, so I noticed." The Watcher's gaze did not waiver from Kate's face.
"You're from the dome?" Kate thought it might be wise to not mention she saw Knowl peeking his leafy crown above the opening in the white dome at this exact moment. Or that she knew anything about Knowl at all.
"Of course."
Kate paused. The Watcher was not being evasive. Perhaps they received pilgrims on a regular basis. She decided to go for the direct approach.
"Can you take me to the dome?"
"This is my purpose."
Kate opened her mouth then realized why this Watcher was here. Knowl sent this man to find her.
A blur of motion in the corner of Kate's vision caught her attention. She realized almost too late what it was.
"NO!" Kate shouted.
Merrick paused five meters from the Watcher, his rifle aimed at the Tallinn's chest. Center mass. Best place to ensure a kill shot.
"Knowl sent him," Kate explained.
The Watcher did not react to either Merrick's appearance or Kate's mention of the great tree's given name. Both of these facts confirmed to Kate his true intentions.
"He's a Watcher," Kate said.
"Yeah, the eyes gave him away," Merrick replied. He still held his rifle aimed at the man's heart.
"He's here to show us the way."
Merrick's aim wavered then he lowered his weapon. Kate smiled inside, Merrick trusted her in a way no one ever had before. He was willing to go with her instincts even when his training told him to fire first.
"This way," the Watcher said.
"We need to find the others," Kate insisted.
"Yes," the young Watcher replied. "This way."
"What's your name?" Kate called after the Watcher.
"Tarun. This way, if you will."
Kate caught Merrick's eyes. He shrugged. Kate fell into step behind the Watcher. Merrick followed a few meters behind Kate and off to one side where he maintained a clear line of fire on their new friend. Very trusting, Kate thought.
True to his word, Tarun soon reunited them with the rest of the quest. The others all managed to come down more or less together in a larger clearing to the west of Kate's landing site. Georges was the only member of the team who seemed any worse for wear; he showed signs of a limp, having carried Andrea to the ground as he had not trusted her to land safely in her semi-conscious state. He paid for his chivalry with a strained tendon.
"Okay?" Sparrow asked as she examined and wrapped Georges' ankle with supplies from their limited medical kit.
"It'll hold," Georges grimaced. He handed Andrea over to Ross and Garrett and eyed the Watcher warily. He asked Kate, "Friend of yours?"
"So it would seem," Kate remarked. "Everyone, this is Tarun. Tarun, everyone."
"This way," Tarun instructed Kate. He turned and ignored everyone else.
"To the dome, right?" Kate pressed.
"As I stated earlier, this is my purpose," Tarun explained. "The One urgently desires a face-to-face gathering with you, Katherine Michelle Thompson."
"Lead on then." Kate gestured for the Watcher to show the way.
"Uh, the back door, if you please," Georges added.
The Watcher considered Georges with his glowing blue eyes.
"As you wish, Randall Simon Georges, Lieutenant Colonel, Stellar Union Marine Corps." Tarun stopped and gazed at the others with a single raised eyebrow. "Any other requests?"
"How about my ship," Dagger muttered.
"I cannot deliver the Blade Redeemed, Amanda Rodgers."
"Worth a shot," Dagger grunted.
Ross and Garrett looked at each other and shrugged. They had nothing germane to add.
"Come. Knowl senses there is little time." Tarun strode off into the trees.
"He doesn't know the half of it," Ross snorted softly. He straightened up after Georges glowered at him. "Sorry, sir."
"Let's go meet the big talking tree," Dagger said. Kate noticed she held a long blade in each hand.
They did not have far to go. A few minutes later, the Watcher stopped in front of a massive pair of steel doors set into a concrete bunker. The ridge which the bunker emerged from rose sharply upwards. Far above, the outer walls of the huge dome could be seen anchored at the rocky crest of the mountain sitting squarely in the middle of the crater.
Tarun stepped forward and grasped a rusted iron wheel at the center of the door wi
th both hands. With a visible effort, he was able to start the large wheel spinning. Bolts deep within the thick doors retracted with a rumbling screech. When the wheel hit its stops, the Watcher lowered a heavy handle and pulled. The two doors parted and swung outward in unison accompanied by the protesting squeal of long-unused hinges.
Kate gazed down a dark tunnel leading into the base of the mountain. The roof arched three meters above the floor and was wet with moisture. Fat drops of water fell with loud splashes into shallow pools which formed wherever the uneven cobblestone floors allowed. Kate's eyes could not penetrate far into the gloom.
"Got any lights?" Ross asked. He leaned across the threshold and peered into the darkness.
Tarun stepped through the doorway and threw a large switch set into an alcove. Gas flames sprang to life near the door. More lights, housed in dusty glass globes, flared after a seconds' delay and marched down the tunnel as far as Kate could see. The result was a dank passage filled with deep patches of darkness between the distantly spread pools of flickering, gas-fed light.
"Homey," Dagger noted.
"How far?" Georges asked.
"Not very." The Watcher turned and headed back into the trees along a narrow path.
"You're not coming?" Dagger growled. Her tone dripped with accusation. She flipped her knifes with obvious menace.
Kate looked from Tarun to the dim tunnel. She knew Dagger thought the Tallinn just led them into a trap.
"My assistance is no longer required," Tarun stopped and called back over his shoulder. "Knowl awaits." He started walking again and disappeared into the trees.
Everyone looked at Kate.
"What now?" Ross asked.
"We go in," Kate said. She turned and led the way with more confidence in her step than she felt. Knowl brought her this far. She was willing to take the next step, with faith he would continue to show the way.
When everyone was inside, the steel doors creaked and began to close. Garrett, Ross, and Merrick rushed back and pressed their weight against the moving doors. Despite their efforts the hatch clanked shut and heavy steel pins slammed home.
Merrick tried the steel wheel set into the left door. It did not budge.
"Well then, I wonder what's at the end of the tunnel," Ross said and turned away from the sealed entrance. He held his assault rifle at his hip. It was aimed down the tunnel, ready to take on any threat which might erupt from the many dark pools ahead.
"An old tree," Dagger snorted. "Haven't you been paying attention?"
"Let's move," Georges ordered.
They plodded down the tunnel. Every now and again, someone would catch their foot on the uneven flooring.
"Tral," Garrett grunted as his foot sank deep into a dark pool of water. "Better get someone to fix that."
"It would appear no one has been down here in quite a while," Sparrow noted.
They came to a spot where the floor and tunnel began to slope upward. No gas lamps illuminated the ramp.
Kate looked around for another switch like the one the Watcher used back at the entrance. She saw something set into a dark alcove and stepped over to investigate. The controls were draped with cobwebs. She grasped the handle and started to pull.
"Wait!" Georges shouted.
Kate threw the switch just as Georges reached out to grab her wrist. Their section of the tunnel went dark as the lamps nearby winked out. The rest of the lamps further down the tunnel extinguished themselves two-by-two, plunging them into utter darkness.
"Too late," Sparrow sighed.
"Throw it again," Ross growled.
"I just did," Kate replied. In the darkness, the sounds of metal contacts closing echoed against the stone walls.
Nothing happened.
A match scraped against the rough walls. Kate's eyes were drawn to the new source of light in the tunnel.
Dagger held the match in one hand and used the other to rummage in her pack. She pulled out a small brass lamp and lit the wick before the sputtering match reached her fingers. Dagger dropped the match to the ground where it hissed and sputtered in a small puddle.
"What is it you guys say?" Dagger said, "Aren't the Marines supposed to be prepared for anything?"
"Prepared to kill anything," Ross corrected. He slapped the light attached to the barrel of his rifle. The LED flickered then died. "Piece of tral hasn't worked since we were on the ironclad."
Merrick flicked on a bulky light attached to the side of his rifle housing. The small bulb glowed faintly then glared bright white after it warmed up.
"Where'd you get that," Ross asked. He leaned close to examine the make-shift contraption strapped to Merrick's weapon. He considered his non-functioning light. "I am so jealous!"
Merrick moved to take point. His small light illuminated a tiny circle of the sloping floor directly in front of him. As he passed Ross, the sniper explained, "Call it a 'Sparrow Special'."
Ross glanced over at the sprite. She clucked her tongue and made a gun with her fingers. She fired an imaginary round at Ross.
"Catch me later for your new, old-fashioned upgrades," Sparrow announced with a wink.
Kate ignored the patter and hurried after Merrick. Knowl was just ahead.
"I can feel him," Kate whispered when she reached Merrick's shoulder.
Merrick nodded and continued up the tunnel. After a short pause, he admitted, "Me too."
Kate followed Merrick's tiny patch of light for what seemed an eternity but in reality was probably no more than two hundred meters before the passage floor evened out. The tiny pool of light revealed a blank wall. Kate moved forward and laid a hand on the cool stone. The wall trembled slightly under her touch. Knowl was indeed close.
"He's right here," Kate breathed.
"Then I suggest we go through the door," Dagger said as she and others crowded behind Kate.
Kate looked over at the pilot. She was holding her lamp up to show a smaller iron door set off to the side of the passage. This one opened after Ross spun the locking wheel and pushed down on the oversized latch. The hinges groaned loudly when Ross pulled the door open. Kate was glad to see dim light seeping into the dank tunnel.
They found themselves in another passage. This one wound back and forth at odd angles and continued to lead the quest upward. The light grew brighter with each turn. The twisting tunnel ended in an archway.
Kate gasped as she stepped through the arch. Before her, an underground grotto opened up. Pillars and curved buttresses rose to the ceiling all around her in no particular pattern. Her eyes followed the stone ribs of the roof where a massive column climbed through a circular opening. The space between the opening and the irregular pillar allowed bright sunlight to pierce the otherwise unlit grotto. Kate's eyes drifted downward. The pillar seemed to rest on a twisted maze of thick...suddenly she had it.
"We're under Knowl!" Kate whispered excitedly. She grasped Merrick's arm and pointed to the center of the pool. "Those are his roots!" As her eyes adjusted, she could make out more and more details from the grotto. The central pillar was actually Knowl's huge trunk.
The base of the cavern was filled by a pool of still water. Knowl's roots, a forest in reverse all by themselves, plunged into the pool and twisted around one another as they climbed to the opening and the sunlight far above. Kate noticed then the pillars holding the roof up were not made of stone. Instead, these were still more roots tracing their way down the ceiling before plunging into the water.
Kate heard the sound of metal scraping on stone from across the grotto. She took a step out onto the broken stone path leading from their arch to the center of the pool and focused her attention on the dark recesses set around the edge of the circular wall. Kate spotted the glowing red light at the same time as Merrick.
"Mech!" the sniper called out. He grabbed Kate by the arm and pulled her forward onto the walkway across the pool.
Gunfire shattered the grotto's stillness.
Kate glanced over her shoulder. Chips of stone
exploded from the wall. She stumbled on the uneven flagstones and turned her attention back to her footsteps, intent on not falling in the pool.
Ross and Georges fired back at the mech and managed to draw its attention to them.
"Get Andrea across!" Georges shouted.
Groggy, Andrea did not put up much of a fight when Dagger hooked her arm under her sister's shoulder and started across the pathway. Garrett took careful aim with his crossbow and loosed a bolt at the mech's gleaming optical sensor. The distinct whine of the bolt sailing across the grotto could be heard even with the chatter of the mech's chain gun. The sound of glass shattering was followed by the abrupt end of the mech's firing.
"You got it!" Sparrow shouted. She lowered her pistols.
Merrick and Kate slowed to a halt as they reached the middle of the pool. Kate bent over and gasped for air. For some reason, it felt as if someone was kicking her in the chest. Kate gazed around at Knowl's roots. Several splinters were missing thanks to the quick gunfight. She clutched at her chest as a stabbing pain shoot through her heart. She looked up at the twisting trunk. Kate realized this close to Knowl, she could feel his pain.
Merrick tightened his grip on Kate's arm as she gasped for air. "What is it?"
Kate leaned heavily on Merrick and turned her head so she could see the spot where Knowl's trunk rose up through the opening in the grotto roof.
"I'm so sorry..." Kate apologized. This was her fault. She had led the others here. Now Knowl had been injured due to her presence. Kate closed her eyes and suddenly felt a breeze blow across her mind. She was filled with a sense of peace and the pain in her chest eased. Kate took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Merrick stared at her, his expression filled with concern.