The Calypsis Project

by Brittany M. Willows

  “There’s one other thing,” Alana said, remembering an important detail she’d almost neglected to mention. “We, uh . . . we found the key.”

  The other end of the line stayed silent, and Alana thought for a moment that she’d lost the comms signal. Then Levian spoke up again. “I would have thought this would be good news, but your tone suggests otherwise.”

  “That’s because the key is Kenon, and it doesn’t matter how many times I run that over in my head, it still doesn’t make any sense.”

  “It’s not exactly weirdest thing I’ve heard over these last couple of days,” Dr. Chambers added. She must have been listening to the conversation from her shuttle and decided to jump in. “I have been living on the surface of a superweapon for half of my life. Your friend being some kind of organic key doesn’t make a much bigger impact than that did.”

  “Well, that’s one opinion,” Alana said.

  “Let me remind you that people once believed the Earth was flat, and that faster-than-light travel would never be seen outside of storybooks. You also can’t forget there was a time where if you claimed to have seen aliens, you would have been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. I could go on, but I think you’d prefer that I didn’t.”

  “And you’re telling me this because . . . ?”

  “I’m trying to make you see that there will always be things out there that are strange and new to us, things that boggle our minds, things that pique our curiosity and urge us to search for answers. Seems to me like this is one of those things, Alana, and I know your type. Go hunting.”

  After pulling up beside the battered Nepheran cruiser, the dropship carrying Alana, Lieutenant Knoble, and the young Drahkori warrior eased inside an open corridor, slipping through the jagged hole her stepfather and Sevadi had jumped out of earlier.

  Private Sevadi had begged to join the group on this rescue mission, but he was in no shape to do so. Eventually, Dr. Chambers had convinced him to stay with her so that his wounds could be properly treated.

  The turrets mounted on the dropship’s nose spun about, ready to fire if anyone was waiting inside for them—but as far as Alana could tell, the place was empty. Both the radar and the viewscreen were clear.

  No hostiles detected.

  Alana wasn’t sure what to make of it, and she didn’t want to leave the dropship only to find that they’d walked right into a trap. She pinged the Ship Commander and asked over the radio, “Levian, I’m getting a really weird feeling about this. Has that scan turned up any results yet?”

  “Just now,” he replied. “As far as I can tell, the prisoners and your group are the only ones onboard. I will keep a close watch on the radar and alert you if there is any change.”

  “Let’s get this party started.” Alana armed her rifle and pounded her fist on the cockpit door to let the pilot know they were all ready to go. The hatch in the floor spun open and she hopped into the gravity lift.

  As soon as her boots touched the floor, the navpoint Orion had programmed into their helmet displays popped up, directing the group toward the cellblock where the prisoners were being held.

  That’s two decks down. Hopefully the elevators are in working condition, she thought. After seeing the extent of the damage to the cruiser’s exterior, she had no idea how many of its system would still be operational.

  Alana started to wonder how easy it was going to be to break the prisoners out of their cells. If Nepheran holding cells were anything like those used by the Drocain, with shield doors, then they wouldn’t have too much trouble. All they would have to do is find the power switch and flip it.

  But if they were closer in design to UNPD holding cells, then there would be a huge problem. Between the three of them they had only six grenades, their guns and their fists—no charges, lasers, or anything that could cut through steel.

  Exploring the vacant corridors of the alien cruiser, the team soon located an empty elevator shaft. Far too narrow for them to glide to the bottom using their suits’ wings, they would have to climb down.

  The lack of guide wires, cables, or anything for them to hold on to made for an exceptionally long and monotonous journey, but they managed to make it to the lower level in one piece.

  Alana stared down the length of the gloomy, desolate corridor that stretched on before her. Bathed in an eerie red glow, it reminded her of the abandoned penitentiaries she’d seen in old horror movies.

  Holding cells lined the walls on either side of her, each cubicle closed off behind glass and further reinforced by energy barriers. They would be easier to break into than UNPD cells, thankfully—however, not quite as easy as Drocain.

  Knoble clambered through the seized elevator doors after his stepdaughter with Kenon right on his heels. “Looks like we’ve got a bit of looking around to do,” he said, intimidated by the sheer size of the cellblock. “Let’s get to it.”

  After eighty minutes of endless searching the group was finally nearing the opposite end of the compound, and it was beginning to seem as if the prisoners might have been moved to another location.

  Things were looking bleak.

  . . . Then, a grouping of yellow IFF tags winked onto the Corporal’s motion sensor.

  Alana heard the sounds of muffled voices and the frantic pounding of hands on glass. With a quick glance at her stepfather, she darted down the hall and skidded to a halt in front of the second-to-last cell.

  Echo Team was locked inside along with four of the marines and the rest of her stepfather’s team. Corporal Bennett sat in the back corner of the cell with Private West kneeling at his side, and in the opposite corner lay the bodies of their fallen comrades.

  “Carmen?” Lieutenant Jenkinson said, stunned. His hands were pressed against the glass. “What the hell are you doing here? You can’t be here—you all have to leave right now!”

  “Are you kidding me?” Alana snapped back, lifting her visor and meeting her friend’s gaze. “We’ve been looking for you for over an hour! I’m not leaving this place without you.”

  “Shit, no, you don’t understand! Look,” He pointed to the pile of bodies behind him, all of which were strapped together and fitted with some kind of bulked-up harnesses. “The Nephera killed O’Malley and Shepherd, as well as the Drocain warriors and some of the marines, then left them in here with those harnesses. They’re lined with explosives and running on a timer.”

  “You can’t disarm them?” Lieutenant Knoble approached the barrier and closely inspected the seam between the glass and the wall dividing this cell from the others, searching for a weak spot.

  Corporal Parker shook his head and said, “We already tried. No buttons, wires or panels—no way to shut them down.”

  “And he’s the tech expert on this team.” Jenkinson put in grimly, folding his arms. “If he can’t figure those tickers out, then none of us can. We pretty much decided we were screwed until you guys showed up.”

  “How much time is left?” Alana asked, motioning for Kenon to hit the deactivation switch for the barrier.

  “Can’t read it, it’s not written in English or Drocain.”

  Carter came up to the glass with a clever idea. “Any of you carrying HC ‘nades? Those baby’s pack a hot punch.”

  Drocain hardened crytal grenades. Without a doubt, they’re some of the nastiest little balls of death I think I’ve seen come out of the Empire’s store, Alana thought. . . . but will they be enough to take down this glass?

  “Hell yeah,” she said, pulling one from her belt and tossing it up and down. “Several, actually.”

  An ear-to-ear grin spread across Carter’s face and he clapped his hands together, backing away from the window with a spring in his step. “What’re you waitin’ for, then? Light it up!”

  “Alright, let’s get some distance.”

  Alana, Lieutenant Knoble, and Kenon withdrew from the cell, lining up against the opposing wall as they primed the explosives. On the count of three, they lobbed the grenades across the hall and d
ove out of the danger zone just as the silvery balls exploded.

  A roiling cloud of hot vapor filled the corridor, coating everything within the grenade’s blast radius in a rainbow of tacky, glistening residue. As the mist began to settle on the ground, the air cleared and Alana watched the bubbling window dissolve—sinking to the floor and slowly folding over itself.

  Freed at last, the prisoners stepped out of the holding cell, careful to avoid as many of the steaming puddles of crytal as possible, and reunited with their teammates.

  We’re not out of the woods yet, Alana reminded herself. We still have to make it to the extraction point before the timers on those bombs hit zero.

  “Is everyone okay?” Knoble asked as his team gathered around him. He looked over each one of them carefully, stopping on a ghostly-pale Corporal Bennett who was clutching his thickly bandaged forearm. “Bennett?”

  “Lost his hand, sir,” Private West reported. “Lost a lot of blood, too. We bound him up with whatever materials we could get our hands on, but they’re not holding up too great.” She gripped Bennett’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, clearly worried about him.

  “Well, we weren’t planning on taking a leisurely stroll back to the dropship. You’ll have to help him along as best you can, West,” Knoble said, raising his assault rifle in the air. “Come on, Alpha, move ‘em before you lose ‘em!”

  Alana stayed back to take up the rear with Lieutenant Jenkinson and the rest of Echo Team while her stepfather and his men took the lead. Kenon kept to the middle of the group with the last of Anderson’s marines.

  “We’re on our way to the extraction point. ETA: twenty minutes,” Alana said over the comms channel. “We’ve got a bomb down here, so make sure our ride’s ready for dust off the moment everyone is onboard.”

  It was Orion who responded to her call. “I would aim to reach it in ten if I were you. I have managed to decrypt the timer on that bomb, and let me just say that you are running terribly short on time.”

  “Damn it. Alright, Orion, work your magic—see if you can find us a faster way outta here.”

  “Done,” Orion said less than a minute later. “When you reach the center of the cellblock, turn left. There will be an active door at the end of the hall. Follow that corridor and you will find an opening. You may have to jump.”

  “You know some of us don’t have wings, right?”

  “Don’t worry needlessly, just hurry. And good luck, Carmen; you are going to need it.”

  Yeah, ‘cause that’s exactly what I wanted to hear, Alana thought.

  Alana could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel where the corridor had been ripped open by a crytal cannon. She was relieved, now quite certain they were going to get out before the bomb exploded.

  Just as the thought crossed her mind, a shudder ran through the deck.

  “Heat spike,” Orion said. “I do believe that bomb of yours has just detonated. You have approximately thirty seconds to get off that ship.”

  Could all thirteen of them get out in such a short amount of time? Those at the front of the group were probably safe, but with the young warrior and Alana taking up the rear . . . they would be the last ones out.

  Kenon has to survive, whatever the cost.

  “Kenon, run ahead,” she ordered, knowing that if he was anything like other Drocain warriors then he could hit thirty miles per hour easily.

  “No,” Kenon refused with unexpected firmness. “I will not leave you behind.”

  That stubborn side of yours is going to be the death of you, she thought, doubtful that there was enough time left to change his mind.

  Another, more violent, shiver shook the hexagonal floor panels. The hull popped and puckered as it started to collapse under the intense heat of the explosion.

  Up ahead, Lieutenant Knoble jumped and disappeared out of sight, followed by West, Bennett, and the remaining marines from Nicholas’ crew.

  When it came time for Alana and Kenon to make the jump, she saw what Orion had waiting for them.

  A Falcon dropship had pulled up just below the opening with its portside hatch wide open, and the Corporal’s armored boots thudded loudly as she hopped down and landed on the extended metal ramp. As soon as she and the Drahkori warrior were inside, the dropship pulled away.

  Alana saw the cloud of smoke and flame burst out through the hole in the alien cruiser’s hull before the hatch closed, and then felt the dropship lurch sideways when the shockwave washed over it.

  Knoble was bent over, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. “That was way too damn close,” he huffed.

  “I have received word from the Empress of Dyre,” Levian announced once everyone was gathered in the Legacy of Night’s hangar bay. “And I am pleased to say that she has agreed to meet with us at her palace in Shindar—with reluctance, I might add; thus we must be quick with our words and straight to the point. This may be our only chance at reviving the Drahkori’s old technology.”

  “Great, when do we leave?” Lieutenant Knoble asked, resting against the silver hull of Pioneer. Even though the team had only returned to the carrier half an hour ago, he was already revving up to get back to work.

  He definitely wasn’t the kind of person who looked forward to a day of relaxation.

  “Our Drahkori friend here will not be going anywhere,” Orion stated as Chambers appeared in the shuttle’s doorway carrying his projector unit. “And neither will you, Lieutenant. You will stay here with Dr. Chambers and Valinquint while ‘Nher and Carmen pay a visit to Shindar.”

  Putting her free hand in her pocket, the Doctor looked at Knoble. “To ensure the safety of the key we have decided to take Pioneer out for a space drive. We’ll be flying dark to avoid any unwanted attention. The only reason I’m dragging you along with me is because, if we are discovered, it would be nice to have a man with a gun around to offer some extra protection.”

  Orion nodded in agreement. “The Nephera will likely be expecting to find their prize aboard Legacy or with the Ship Commander and Corporal Carmen. They will not be looking for a powerless shuttle drifting through a debris field, and certainly not one of this size.”

  “Sorry, Lance.” Alana hunched her shoulders and gave him an apologetic smile. She would have liked for him to come with her but there were too many reasons for him not to. For one, she could easily imagine him getting into an argument with the Empress, which would probably lead to their asses being kicked to the curb.

  They needed that ancient Drahkori technology badly. It would be stupid to risk losing it by taking her stepfather along for the ride.

  “Okay, then when do you leave?” Knoble asked. While he was upset, he wasn’t angry enough to question their decision.

  “We’ll be out of here as soon as the dropship’s prepped and ready for Levian and I,” Alana said, threw a glance over her shoulder at the ship. Ayla had just descended from the portal on its underside and was drifting their way. “. . . And it looks like that would be now.”

  “Well, have a safe trip.” Knoble pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, then stepped back. “If we have even a little bit of luck on our side, then you’ll have some good news for me when you come back.”

  “Stay out of trouble, okay?”

  “I’ll try.” He laughed and patted her on the shoulder, waving his hand in the air as she and the Leh’kin ship commander turned and walked away.

  Though Alana’s last words to her stepfather had been spoken jokingly, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go drastically wrong.

  Maybe this trip really was a bad idea after all.

  It’s not like we can go back on this now—not when we’re literally heading out the door. This is way too important. Besides . . . we won’t be gone more than a few hours, she thought, trying to reassure herself. Everything will turn out fine, I’m sure.

  Chapter

  —TWENTY-SEVEN—

  1038 Hours, December 04,
2438 (Earth Calendar) / Shuttle Pod Pioneer, in orbit over planet Dyre

  “You look bored,” Dr. Chambers observed from her leather command chair, where she sat in front of the viewscreen twirling a gray stylus between her fingers.

  She was not entirely wrong. For the last couple of hours Kenon had been sitting here with nothing but his thoughts to keep him busy, and right now all he wanted was to get away from them.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about the mysterious bow he’d picked up in the ruins below the Deadlands. Where had it come from? Could it really be a piece of the old technology, still active and in such perfect condition? And the voice he’d heard when he drew near it . . .

  “You can take a look around if you want to,” Chambers told him. “You may find something in the back to be of interest to you.”

  Kenon considered that for a moment and then stood, nodding his thanks to the Doctor before heading into the aft compartment. The doors slid open and he froze when he saw what stood in the center of the room.

  A tall, cylindrical containment tank filled with fluid—and inside was a Leh’kin warrior. He had a mask pulled over his face, his eyes were closed, and he didn’t appear to be in any sort of pain. In fact, he looked peaceful.

  Although the sight was unsettling, Kenon approached the tank to get a closer look.

  “Aha, my sensors don’t lie! She really did give you permission to come in here, didn’t she?” Dr. Chambers’ AI materialized without warning on the pedestal by the doors, making the young warrior spin around suddenly.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said. “Gave you a bit of a fright, did I?”

  Kenon didn’t reply. If he had, he probably would have lied due to his embarrassment. This construct had a way of making him feel very uncomfortable, but perhaps that was because he couldn’t properly grasp the idea behind AIs.

  Orion was an entirely artificial being created by humans and composed of nothing more than countless strings of data—Kenon could understand that much. But what he couldn’t figure out was how this digital life form could have such a strong personality if that’s all he was—data.