Reborn (The Cartographer Book 2)

by Craig Gaydas

  “Yes,” replied Nathan. “Sorry about that, but I had a hard time trying to figure out how to use the shuttle's communication system.”

  Kedge folded his arms across the chest, hiding the pain. Lianne turned and bored a hole into his soul with her eyes. Kedge feigned a smile. He knew she didn't like him but he didn't care. He didn't trust them. Any one of them could turn out to be a traitor, just like Calypso.

  “We are about to enter the building, we will alert you if we see anything out of the ordinary.” Satou cut the transmission and grabbed his scanner. After punching a few buttons, he stared grimly at the miniature screen.

  “What's wrong?” Lianne asked.

  “Nothing at the moment. It appears there are about fifteen people inside the building.”

  “That seems like a low number,” Kedge admitted. “That's good.”

  Satou nodded and fastened the scanner to his belt. After double checking the canister, he made sure the wrist connection was snug. “Alright, we go in side-by-side. I want both of you flanking me but slightly behind me. I will take the lead and hopefully get the spray off before they have a chance to react.”

  Kedge nodded. He retrieved his staff and noticed Lianne's sword was already in her hand. He hoped for Nathan's sake that neither of them had to use their weapons.

  Satou opened the door.

  A Cure For Boredom

  “This sucks,” I muttered.

  It had been twenty minutes since Satou contacted me. The walls of the shuttle seemed to close in around me and I felt the beginning stages of claustrophobia creep in. I tried to find a scanner on board that would have allowed me pinpoint their location inside the building. After accidentally starting the shuttle, activating some sort of horn, knocking a knob off a device that may have been important I finally gave up and slumped in my seat.

  After several minutes of thumb twiddling I decided to activate the map and poke around the universe. I found myself bathed in familiar green light as the map lit up the room. The map remained centered on Mauritania, which seemed to be a built-in “save your work” functionality. I located the GX-750 galaxy and found the planet Xajax, the mysterious planet where we first encountered Kedge. It was categorized as a new planet (a new find for the Explorer's League) so the template next to the planet was blank. As the Cartographer it was my duty to make sure the Universal Map was updated. It served as the cosmic GPS unit for the Explorer's league. I filled out the template, adding the strange trees with their sap defense mechanism as well as the birds who could fly as well as burrow underground. Since it was also my responsibility to name new species I decided to call the birds Tunnel Owls due to their resemblance to Earth's barn owls and their ability to tunnel underground. The trees I decided to name Pitcher Trees. The name came to me when I thought about pitcher plants, which looked harmless enough until their prey comes close. Xajax's trees were certainly pretty to look at, until you got close. Images of the unfortunate bird that had been thrown against one of them by Satou came to mind. Visions of the bird as it struggled while the sap overtook it sent shudders through me.

  We never got a chance to explore further on Xajax once we found out it was being used as a base for the Lumagom. Our priorities changed and I never got the chance to study any of the other wildlife on the planet. I left the rest of the template blank and marked it as incomplete. I hoped to fill in the blanks one day.

  The airlock disengaged outside and I turned my attention toward the door. The familiar sound of the river filling the cabin soon followed.

  “Well, that didn't take long.” I breathed a sigh of relief. If they returned this quickly then that meant there had been hardly any resistance and that meant minimal casualties.

  I went to the door and waited. The waters receded from the airlock and the inner door opened. “Thank God I hope everything went—,” I froze in midsentence.

  Calypso stepped through the doorway. Next to him stood Natronix, pointing a neutralizer at me. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I briefly wondered if I had fallen asleep and descended into some sort of nightmare.

  Before I could pinch myself, Calypso spoke. “Don't make this harder than it has to be.”

  My mouth hung open. “How…Richat…gone?” When they both tilted their heads and peered at me strangely I knew my mouth was not conveying the correct message. I took a deep breath and tried again. “How is this possible? I thought you were at the Richat Structure?”

  “We are everywhere, Nathan,” Calypso replied mysteriously. “Your friends will be returning soon so I have to insist you come with us immediately.”

  “Why?” I crept closer to the control panel. Located inside a nearby compartment was a spare hand cannon. Satou showed it to me earlier when guiding me around the shuttle. Five feet separated me from the compartment.

  “Unfortunately I don't have time to explain,” he explained, not unkindly. “I promise once we get back to our shuttle I will explain everything.”

  A little over three feet away now. “Why should I believe you? Everything you told me was a lie.”

  Natronix stepped forward, gun at the ready. Calypso held up his hand to stop him. “What have I lied to you about?”

  Two feet. “Your planet is not dying. Your reasons for betraying the Consortium is the biggest of the lies.”

  “A little white lie,” he admitted. “My reasons for betraying the Consortium are truthful. They attempt to save insignificant worlds every day as major contributing planets are left to die. I did not lie about Charr, only about the timing.”

  I was about a foot away, close enough to reach out and grab the weapon. “What do you mean?”

  “You will find out that it is not me who's lying, Nathan. The Consortium is one big lie. They will be revealed as the true betrayers.”

  I narrowed my eyes and fury rose from deep within my soul as I remembered all the people who had done nothing but help me. Lianne, Satou, Embeth, Wraith—they were no traitors. Then my thoughts drifted towards those that had been killed as a result of Calypso's treason—Madoc, Crag'Dughai as well as Lianne's father, Captain Jasper. Unable to contain my rage anymore I opened the compartment and reached for the gun.

  Calypso's eyes went wide. “NO!”

  I managed to get a shot off but had no idea who or what I hit. Natronix, however, was a former captain of the Explorer's League with military training. The first neutralizer dart hit me square in the chest. The second pierced the soft flesh at the bottom of my throat. I dropped my weapon and crashed to the floor. Drool fell in droplets from my mouth before it went completely dry.

  “Urk you.” The statement was unintelligible, but judging by the pained look on Calypso's face the meaning had been understood. I collapsed in a heap at his feet.

  “Nathan, can you hear me?”

  Satou voice beckoned me from the communication panel. He sounded frantic, but I wasn't sure if it was due to my lack of response or trouble inside the United Nations. It didn't really matter anymore, it was over. Calypso grabbed me and hoisted me over his shoulder before I passed out.

  Game over.

  Satou

  “Nathan, are you there?” He shoved the communicator into the belt clip. “Damn!”

  He placed the antidote dispenser carefully in the pack and strapped it to his back. Scattered around them were the unconscious bodies of humans who were infected by the virus. Satou dispensed the cure with zero casualties. The news would please Nathan as well as satisfy Meta.

  “Where the hell is he?” Lianne demanded.

  Satou wondered the same thing. Lianne and Kedge were looking at him, wide-eyed. They sensed something was wrong back at the shuttle. He felt it as much as they did.

  “Come on, we are going back,” he barked.

  It's happening all over again. Memories of Vaire came flooding back. Not the good ones either. Events led him back to his days before the Explorer's League. His son, Darus, had desired to be a member of the Vaire Royal Security Forces—a powerful militia who were
held in the highest regard on the planet. He begged his son to reconsider. He had urged him to join the Order of Chemists instead like his grandfather. Darus had laughed at him. “I am better with a weapon than a beaker,” he said. The underwater empire required that all of their recruits travel to the surface to pass the Trial of the Sands. Traveling to the desert villages to slay a Shreen warrior had been considered a rite of passage. It proved the recruit's worth in battle. The Shreen were a violent race and their scorpion-like carapaces hard as steel. Every one of them had enormous claws three feet across which could snap a full-grown man in half. Each recruit had the opportunity to select a Ka, or protector, to guide them to the villages. The job of the Ka was primarily that of a guide and they could not interfere in the battle in any way or the recruit would be disqualified. The Ka were required to bring along video equipment to document the recruit's journey and discourage cheating. At the time of selection, Satou insisted Darus choose him, and he agreed reluctantly. His reluctant acceptance was the last words passed between father and son. They encountered a group of Shreen as soon as they surfaced from the ocean. They rarely ventured so close to the desert-ocean passageway. Normally they shunned the water. Battling one Shreen was a difficult encounter, a group of them were virtually impossible.

  Satou looked at his communicator and remembered the claws of the Shreen warriors. The image haunted him. Darus' beheading had been quick, thank the gods. The sound had been louder than cannon fire and echoed across the desert. Its reverberations still resided in Satou's nightmares. He swore to protect Nathan just as he swore to protect Darus. Have I failed again?

  They reached the shuttle and hurried aboard. After searching the cockpit, Satou slumped in the pilot's chair. He noticed the storage compartment door open and the gun lying on the floor.

  Kedge saw it as well and picked up the gun. “He fought back.”

  Lianne ran into the cockpit. “There is no sign of him anywhere.”

  Satou's foot brushed up against an object. He scooped it up and pinched it between his fingers.

  “A neutralizer dart,” Lianne remarked.

  “Which means his abductors took him alive,” added Kedge hopefully.

  “And I swear we will recover him that way,” Satou growled. He closed his fist, snapping the dart in half.

  Lianne jumped in the co-pilot's seat and punched in coordinates.

  “I will not fail again,” Satou whispered.

  Perceptions

  “How long will he be out?”

  “The neutralizer has run its course, it should be any moment now.”

  “Satou?” The word fell from my lips as nothing more than a croak. My mouth failed me and my eyes felt like they had been welded shut. Neutralizer venom was potent and Satou mentioned that its victim could remain unconscious for hours.

  “What was that? Do you think he is coming out of it?”

  My eyes opened slightly which granted me the pleasure of Natronix's grim expression. The last of the welds faded from my eyes and they flew open. I leapt out of the bed but fell to the floor with a crash. My legs failed me and I panicked, thinking I was paralyzed.

  “Relax, Nathan.” Calypso revealed himself from a shadowy corner of the room. “You are suffering after-effects from the neutralizer venom so you need to give your legs time to regain their feeling.”

  He helped me into the bed gently. The room resembled the one aboard the Cirrus when I first came into contact with the Consortium. Several fluorescent lights lined the wall, however only two were on yet dimmed, giving the room an eerie torture chamber vibe. Besides the single bed, there was a monitor in the corner and a large unmarked cabinet beside it. Unlike my previous encounter I was not bound by writhing, disembodied tentacles which was a relief.

  “What do you want with me?” Panic crept in when I remembered the Universal Map and I immediately looked at my wrist. The bracelet remained with the map nestled in the socket.

  Calypso followed my eyes. “Do not fret, Cartographer. Your map is safe.”

  “Where am I?”

  Before he could answer there was a knock at the door. Natronix opened the door and let in a familiar face. It was Zeek, the communications officer that used to serve on the Cirrus under the Explorer's League. Just another traitor to add to the list.

  “Our guest was just wondering if the Cartographer was awake yet.”

  “Yes he is, but give me a few minutes with him,” Calypso replied. Zeek left and closed the door. Calypso glanced at Natronix. “Alone, please?” With a grunt, Natronix followed him.

  Anger started to bubble to the surface. “I won't join you so you might as well get this over with.”

  Calypso fixed me with a sorrowful stare. “Get what over with?”

  I glanced at him suspiciously. “Aren't you going to kill me, like you killed Kell?”

  His expression changed to shock. “What makes you think I killed Kell?”

  “You sent him on that scouting mission. He was doomed from the start. You betrayed him as well as the Consortium by stealing the map. Everything you did up to this point is dripping with betrayal.”

  Calypso shook his head. “I did no such thing. Kell was killed in an accident. The scouting mission turned out bad. Everything I have done is for the future of the universe. I betrayed no one.”

  The sincerity in his eyes only served to enrage me further. His words, dipped in charisma and uttered with grace. I was well aware that his power resided within the spoken word. I refused to let his charms work on me.

  “You murdered Captain Jasper. You killed Crag'Dughai and Madoc! Do you still want me to believe you're some sort of savior of the universe?”

  “Shai murdered Captain Jasper. A most unfortunate incident, I'm afraid. The Lumagom killed Madoc and Crag'Dughai in their haste to loot your base camp. I had nothing to do with either of those incidents.”

  The feeling came back to my legs and I stood. “You have everything to do with those incidents. Those people are now your buddies…your friends….your amigos!” Tears of rage streamed down my cheeks but I no longer cared. “Am I reaching you yet? You are guilty by association!”

  I could tell that my words cut because his smug expression shifted to sorrow. His genuine look of emotional pain caught me off-guard. My anger receded and I sat on the edge of the bed.

  He turned away and paced to the door. His hand fell on the door handle and his head lowered. “You're wrong about me, Nathan.”

  “Wait a minute!” I tried to stop him but he was gone.

  My thoughts raced while I studied the closed door. Was I his prisoner, cursed to stay here until I believed him? Before I could answer my own question the door opened and a man stepped through. His appearance shocked me.

  “You're human!” I exclaimed.

  When the stranger laid his eyes on me he froze with a look of shock. His lips parted slightly and a sliver of drool trickled onto his well-manicured goatee, merging with the gray strands that highlighted it. He fidgeted with one of the oversized hoop earrings that dangled from each ear and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Oh my God, Nathan, you're alive.”

  I studied him suspiciously. “How do you know my name?”

  The stranger let out a dry cough and rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. “Sorry, I'm being stupid. I should have known you wouldn't recognize me. To you it's been just a few months, but to me it's been several years.”

  “What are you babbling about?”

  The man took a deep breath and strolled across the room, toward the cabinet. From inside the cabinet he retrieved a large metal disk, about six inches thick and carried it over to me. I flinched, expecting something horrible to happen but instead he pushed a button alongside the disk and four metal legs unfolded from the bottom, making it nothing more than a stool. He placed it on the floor and sat next to me.

  The man placed his elbows on his knees and wrung his hands nervously. I studied his face but his expression revealed no details of his motives or wh
at he was thinking. Fear tickled the hair on the back of my neck.

  “The media reported you dead when you disappeared. I tried to find you, but you were nowhere to be found.”

  I chewed on my fingernails nervously while I studied his face. His expression and tone seemed sincere but I wasn't sure if this was another one of Calypso's tricks. I needed to tread lightly and remember that they were the enemy.

  “What are you trying to get at?” I asked defiantly.

  “I ran into the cave but I was a fool and knocked myself out. I wanted to go back inside but the police wouldn't let me.” Tears welled in his eyes. “I swear Corvus never told me your name when I returned.”

  “Who the hell are you,” I croaked. My mouth was as dry as the area surrounding the Richat Structure.

  “I'm Sam.” he moaned. “I'm your best friend.”

  The Ascended

  “You can't be Sam. You're so old.” The initial shock at his appearance was immediately replaced by skepticism.

  He smiled and rubbed his gray-streaked goatee. “Yeah, I guess I am.” His smile faded, however, when he viewed my skepticism. “I suppose it really is hard to believe.” He stood up and stretched, arching his back to work out the kinks. “When the Ascended discovered the time hole on Earth it was hard for us to believe at first as well.” A light, snapping sound came from his back and he let out a sigh. “But I'll tell ya this, even though it's hard for you to believe I'm this old, I certainly feel it sometimes.”

  “I'm sorry did you say the Ascended?” I continued to fix him with a look of suspicion. “Who the hell are they?”

  Sam cracked his knuckles. The way he cracked them reminded me of my Sam. Whenever he got nervous he would ball his fist and massage his knuckles until they cracked. Perhaps this stranger really was Sam.

  “The Ascended are the dominant species on Earth now,” he explained. “They are the result of human genome experimenting gone awry.”