by Kyle Noe
Upon inspection of the weapons, she was surprised to find that they contained live ammo.
She lifted a multi-barreled mini-gun that had been grafted onto the chassis of a machinegun. The thing felt like it weighed a hundred pounds, and had a circular ammo box dangling on one side, a thick silver harness on the other.
Quinn shrugged the harness over her shoulders and deadlifted the contraption up, nearly losing her balance.
Even if it made sense, she had always been surprised and a little embarrassed at how easily weapons had instilled confidence in her. Holding the weapon, she felt like she could take on the Syndicate herself, even though she knew she’d never be able to get off a single shot before her gear self-destructed.
Quinn felt the weight of the weapon, sliding her finger around a trigger, looking over the olive-colored barrels. A gentle squeeze of the trigger sent her flailing backwards. Damn, that was some recoil.
“Christ,” she muttered to herself.
Bracing herself this time, she fired again, a short burst that shredded one of the targets. Her eyes narrowed. As she stepped into the range, all of the pent up anger from the events of the last few days flooded through her.
In seconds, Quinn was charging across the range, blasting the figurines to bits, turning, emptying out her gun as the barrels began to glow red and roll over empty.
And then she fell to the ground behind a target, a strange mix of resignation and rage washing over her. She realized she was surrounded by the deadliest weapons in the world, maybe even the universe, and it was impossible to use them against the forces that had imprisoned her.
She unbuckled the gun and tossed it aside, then stared down at the only thing she had that was her own. A strange energy pulled at her from the temporal totem inside the ammo container. She needed to know what it was and whether it would reveal what Cody had suggested.
For now, though, keeping it out of sight was priority number one. She needed to get it back to her squad bay until she could sync up with Cody and figure the thing out.
***
Quinn lay in her bunk, trying to think, to plan. Disordered thoughts fought for her attention, and she gave up, deciding to work off some of her energy in the training facility near the middle of the mother ship.
The facility was wide, with high ceilings and divided by glass walls into various training pods. There was a pod where one could train in a pressurized capsule for combat in deep space. There was another where one could prepare to fight underwater, and still another where one could enter a broad, darkened chamber, where close-quarters combat could be initiated against holographic adversaries. The mysteries of the ship were never-ending.
Quinn entered this last pod, donning a silver holo helmet while hoisting a black baton. She felt tiny pricks on the back of her neck, and wondered whether the helmet was fitted with the spinal implants that she’d heard Cody mention earlier, electrodes designed to enhance the user’s ability to fight.
She slipped through a glass door that hissed shut behind her. The lights went out and before she’d uttered a breath, she was alone and running across an icy, holographic landscape.
Dressed in a gray compression suit, she galloped along soaring cliffs and towers of brittle ice that loomed over what appeared to be a glacier. Down below her was a research station of some kind, small buildings and radomes that lay in ruin.
Amidst the wreckage was a pack of marauders, two dozen misshapen, vaguely humanoid figures who capered about near the brutalized bodies of men and women, holding bloodstained weapons.
The helmet contracted and Quinn felt the overwhelming urge to do violence to the marauders, who spotted and gestured at her. She moved so quickly down the glacier, it felt as if she were flying. She crashed into the training marauders, twirling her baton and bashing skulls.
Quinn felt pressure on her back and spun to see a marauder slamming a cudgel over her rear deltoids. The compression suit absorbed the blow, but Quinn felt pain, more than she imagined she would have felt in a simulation.
She swept a leg and brought the attacker down, battering his head before vaulting backward and throwing an elbow into the sternum of a female attacker.
More marauders appeared, pulling themselves out of holes in the ice.
Quinn’s reflexes were tested as the marauders charged her. She beat back the first wave, but there were so many. Clubs and poles were swung at her as Quinn parried the blows.
A marauder dropped to the ground on all fours and sprinted toward her when a boot came out of nowhere and crushed the brute’s midsection, knocking him back.
Quinn recoiled, turning to see Milo fighting alongside her.
“Thought you could use some help,” he said.
“I was doing just fine.”
“Not from where I was standing,” he replied with a smirk.
She growled and they waded into the marauders, cracking skulls, shattering kneecaps, dispatching the horde in minutes.
WONK!
The lights in the training room flashed on.
Quinn stood in silence for several seconds, then removed her helmet. Battle sweat poured down her face and over her body, her muscles throbbing from exertion.
“There’s a secret to it, Quinn,” Milo said.
“I suppose you’re gonna enlighten me.”
He nodded and smiled, removing his own helmet. “They shoot you up with adrenaline or some kinda liquid scream at the beginning. You probably felt it. Actually, I know you know what I'm talking about. I've been at your side for years, and never once saw you reach down as deep as you have the past few weeks.”
She thought back on the needle-like sensation when first she slipped on the helmet.
“The key is to conserve your energy. Do the opposite of what your body’s telling you to do. Both in the simulation and when you're using whatever Cody gave you.”
Quinn just stared at him.
“You’re welcome, by the way.” He spun his helmet like a basketball and brushed past her.
He was right about everything, but she still didn't know how much to share with him. Fuck it. If she couldn't trust him, then who? “What if there was a way to fight them?”
Milo stopped. “Come again?”
“The Syndicate. What if I told you I had discovered a secret?”
Milo stepped closer. “Go on.”
“We need to talk, but not here. Somewhere private. And not right now,” she said. “I’ve got to help a friend right now.”
“Cody, right?” Milo said, then turned away without waiting for a response.
No sleep tonight. Aside from having to deal with Milo, Quinn needed to know what the contraband temporal totem would reveal before she made a half-measure decision.
Satisfied that nobody was watching, Quinn picked up her rucksack containing the mysterious temporal totem and moved through the mother ship, toward the lab and Cody.
Cody was stooped over a bank of equipment, tinkering with a new piece of weaponry the Syndicate had given him. He flinched at the sound of Quinn’s footfalls, then turned and mustered a smile.
“Heard the mission was a success,” he said.
“How’d you know?”
He shrugged. “I’ve got my ways. Besides, the Syndicate’s like God in a way. Eyes and ears everywhere, y’know?”
“I hope not,” she whispered, turning to make sure the entry door was closed behind her.
“Did anyone follow you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I strayed from the beaten path and picked us up something.”
Quinn placed her rucksack down on the ground and threw it open, then removed the ammo container. She reached in and withdrew the temporal totem—a small, spherical shaped crab. She held it up to Cody who cradled it like a baby. The sphere was intricately detailed, with filigreed markings running its diameter.
Cody placed a single finger on the object’s side, and jolted as if he felt a current emanating from it. It was as if there were some tiny motor inside
the device that had just powered up. The hairs on Cody’s wrist stood at attention and he pulled his finger back.
“It’s the second piece to the puzzle,” he said.
“It better be,” she replied. “I risked my ass for that.”
He lifted the object, and Quinn touched his arm. “Is this thing for real?” she asked.
“Scientists traffic in uncertainty, Quinn. Usually, the best you’ll get out of me is an educated guess.”
“And it’s a wonder the others hate your fucking guts.”
“You’re cold.”
She nodded. “Like an iceberg in Siberia.”
Cody leaned into her, lowering his voice. “Any idea why somebody would leave it behind for us to find?”
“Who’s to say they did?” she asked.
“Things happen for a reason.”
“Is that the scientist in you talking, or the conspiracy theorist?”
“Different kinds of same, eh?” He shrugged. “I mean, what’s a conspiracy theory other than a search for the truth?”
She didn’t respond as Cody moved to the holographic imaging scanner and powered it up. He placed the temporal totem inside the scanner as a blue light swept over it. The scanner’s plasma-driven engine revved to life, humming and vibrating, and then Cody stepped back, recoiling, a look of bafflement on his face.
“What?” Quinn said. “What is it?”
“This isn’t supposed to be happening.”
He pointed and—
WHUNK!
A blast of green light filled the air in front of them, followed by a kaleidoscope of imagery and data that coalesced into another constellation.
Cody and Quinn looked on in awe.
“What is it?” asked Quinn.
“It’s … it’s the Cancer Constellation.”
He looked up at Quinn. “Y’know, the dimmest of the thirteen constellations of the Zodiac.”
“Why would I know that?”
“Doesn’t everyone?”
“Some of us had social lives back in school,” she replied.
“Yeah, well, you’re gonna wish you’d been studying with yours truly on Friday night when you hear this.”
He pointed to the image of the crab, and to the black areas on either side of it. “See, what the scanner does is project the most likely future path of an object. This one’s complete, also. Just like the first one you found.”
Cody traced the outline of the crab. “But here’s what’s really interesting. See how the constellation goes beyond the border of the holographic projector,” he continued, pointing to the dark areas. “That’s happening because the scanner doesn't know how to account for so much data.”
“I don’t understand a word you just said.”
Cody sighed. “It means the crab might be another echo from the future.” He pointed back at the constellation. “That constellation is the same, but different. See, over time the constellations change, so based on what I can tell, that image there is what the constellation will look like … in a thousand years. What we’re looking at is the full life path of the crab, or, more clearly, the past, present, and future of the Cancer constellation.”
Quinn’s face fell. She couldn’t tell if Cody was serious or fucking with her. “Remember how you said you were worried I’d kick your ass in five seconds?”
“Actually you said two, so—”
“You better not be lying about this,” she demanded.
“I’m totally serious.” His eyes showed it to be true. “I just wonder what the powers that be will say when they find out.”
“Who’s to say they will?” Quinn replied.
Cody tapped his foot on the ground. “What if I don’t have a choice but to tell them?”
“You’d rat us both out?”
He shook his head. “It’s not ratting us out, it’s reporting what we found so that they don’t take our heads.”
She frowned. “You know this is too important for us to let that happen.”
“Then figure out a way to keep this quiet, so it doesn’t come to that,” he said.
She nodded, glancing around nervously, but stopped short of exiting the lab. “What happened when you scanned the exo-armor?”
“You wouldn't believe me.”
“After today, I wouldn't be fazed by the sudden existence of unicorns. Come on. Give me the deets.”
“It vanished.”
“Inside the scanner?”
Cody nodded. “Like I said. I’m a scientist. I care more about the discovery than the outcome. I have nothing to hide from you.”
“Alright, Cody. I’m in. I trust you.”
He beamed. “Thank you, Quinn. We’re gonna make this happen, and then—”
The doors to the lab swung open. Quinn turned, terrified to see four Syndicate soldiers along with a familiar face—the alien who called himself Larry. She glanced at Cody and was glad to see as much shock on his face as she felt.
“You!” she said, jabbing a finger at Larry.
“Me,” he replied.
“You’re a fucking traitor.”
“We’re not even from the same species, Marine. I couldn’t possibly be a traitor.” Larry moved in, the Syndicate soldiers fanning out behind him. “Besides, you and the Potentate have more in common than I do with either of you.”
“You’re not part of the Icarus unit?” Quinn asked.
“I am,” Larry said. “But we’re not working for the Syndicate. We’re working against them.”
“Why didn’t you say so,” Quinn said, sarcasm dripping from her words. “We could have been working together.”
Larry laughed at that. “I doubt you’d side with me once you found out what my people are up to. We don’t just want to destroy the Syndicate. We want to destroy humanity.” Larry licked his lips and motioned for the Syndicate soldiers to grab the temporal totem.
“I was rather surprised to discover you were the one plotting against the Potentate. I mean, you’ve got offspring, don’t you? A girl, if I’m not mistaken.”
Quinn was silent.
“Oh, the things they’ll do to her once they find out that you’ve been plotting against them. They’ll send a separate team back down to Earth, I imagine. They’ll find her and kill everyone that gave her shelter, and then they’ll bring her back to this ship and the Potentate will make her pay for your crimes. If I allow the Potentate to survive that is.”
“So take the goddamn thing and let’s call it a day,” Quinn replied, pointing at the temporal totem as Larry drew near. Quinn inched to her right, getting within an arm’s reach of the vial of purple liquid she’d seen before.
Larry took a step forward, but in one fluid motion, Quinn grabbed the vial of purple liquid and flung it at him.
The alien reacted lightning fast, throwing up a hand to block the vial. But the glass shattered against his arm and the purple liquid splashed his midsection.
He screamed and clawed at himself as Quinn watched the purple liquid disappear, working itself through Larry’s flesh. In an instant, he began dissolving from the inside out, flesh rippling, splitting apart.
The alien screamed and Quinn shrieked to Cody, “GRAB MY WAIST!”
Cody grabbed Quinn around the waist as Larry stumbled back into a collection of liquids and gasses that smashed, setting the lab on fire. In seconds, blue and orange balls of flame were filling the air, engulfing the Syndicate soldiers as Quinn slammed her hand down on the red button—
BARUUUM!
The rear wall of the lab opened and the space was filled with the ear-shattering howl of unseen suction devices that powered up and blasted everything in the lab out of the mother ship. Sirens began wailing and red lights flashed, and Quinn realized they only had minutes, maybe just seconds, before somebody else came to investigate.
The power from the suction devices was immense. First to go were the fire-smothered Syndicate soldiers, who wailed as they were lifted up and jettisoned into deep space.
Qu
inn gritted her teeth, holding onto a metal bar at the side of the lab, Cody’s arms wrapped around her torso as they hung, suspended in the air.
“HIT THE BLUE BUTTON, QUINN!” Cody shouted.
Quinn fought against the pressure of the suction devices, reaching a hand out toward a blue button that was positioned just below the red one.
Her fingers were almost upon it when—
WHACK!
Black, gnarled claws raked her hand.
Quinn flinched. Her eyes saucered as she watched Larry fighting to overtake her.
He was alive. Barely.
His body resembled a corpse that had been unearthed from an alien graveyard. His flesh was necrotic, peeling off in streamers, little puffs of smoke erupting from the gaping holes where the acid was devouring his body. His jawbone was visible, as was the ligature near his wrists as his hands closed on Quinn’s arm.
“YOU BITCH!” the alien shrieked.
He lunged, and Quinn did the only thing she could.
She violently head-butted him, and the alien’s skull split apart, brain matter oozing out.
Larry scrabbled for purchase, and Quinn kicked at his body, which broke apart as what was left of the alien disintegrated. The remnants of his carcass scattered and were sucked out into the minatory blackness on the other side of the lab.
With every ounce of remaining strength, Quinn punched the blue button, and the wall on the lab sealed shut.
Quinn and Cody slumped to the ground, their bodies intertwined like dancers.
Cody was the first to recover. He levered himself up, surveying the lab, largely in ruins. He raced to the scanner and looked inside. A moment later he was pulling out the temporal totem—it was still there. He hid it inside a metal locker, and then turned with Quinn as the doors to the lab opened once again to reveal Marin and a contingency of Syndicate guards.
Marin entered and looked around, banners of smoke still hovering over the wreckage of the lab.
“There was an accident,” Cody said. “The wrong chemicals were mixed and there was an explosion. Quinn saved us… she saved the ship. If it wasn’t for her, there would’ve been a massive blast.”