The Trilisk Ruins

by Michael McCloskey

  ***

  Telisa and Magnus found Shiny sitting still in a twisty cavern. Telisa thought it looked like the alien was thinking or busy with a mental interface. The familiar leg twitch revealed the gold and silver statue of an alien as alive.

  “Hi Shiny. We managed to load your robot into the bay. Thanks for letting us study it.”

  Shiny responded through their links.

  “No problem. You’re welcome. Telisa owes Shiny one.”

  Telisa laughed. “Yes we do. Can we ask you some questions about what attacked your base? We’d like to take some samples of the technology, but we’re afraid it might be dangerous.”

  “No time. Collection not feasible. Others nearby, close, in proximity.”

  “What? Others of your race?”

  “Terrans. Companions. Allies.”

  “Other Terrans are here?”

  “UNSF Seeker,” transmitted Shiny. “Leave. Rejoin. Rendezvous.”

  “Five holies! The Seeker?” Telisa asked.

  “You know the ship?” asked Magnus.

  “That’s my father’s ship. The bastard is probably here to exterminate Shiny and anything vaguely alien.” She took a deep breath. “Then he’ll throw us in the brig and bring us back to Earth in chains.”

  “Telisa, Magnus meets other Terrans. Shiny departs, leaves, separates.”

  “Now wait just a minute,” Magnus said, raising his voice slightly. “Those guys are after us because we took off with you. If not for us, you’d be their prisoner by now.”

  “Well, mostly for that reason,” added Telisa, thinking about her father.

  What would happen if she were captured by her father’s ship?

  “Corrective action. Abscond. Retreat. Flee.”

  Telisa’s link received an external pointer. She accessed it and saw a scanner interface from the Iridar. She saw that the Seeker had arrived as Shiny claimed. Assault shuttles were disembarking assault robots and electronic warfare teams from the scout and forcing their way into the base at several points. A message came through to Iridar from the Seeker.

  “This is the UNSF transmitting to suspected smugglers aboard unknown vessel. You are to surrender immediately. All contraband will be annexed by the UNSF and you will be held pending charges. Repeat, surrender to UNSF personnel or risk being killed.”

  “Holy shit! They’re going to be swarming in here in a matter of minutes!” Magnus said.

  Telisa realized that he was examining the same data that Shiny had sent to her link.

  The pointer continued to feed more data. Telisa saw hundreds of red points indicated in the three spheres of the base.

  “Defenses. Weapons. Resistance,” Shiny said.

  A path lit up in green in Telisa’s mental image of the base.

  “Retreat.”

  “The path leads back to the Iridar,” Magnus said. “But what I don’t get is, are those defenses going to be gunning for us, too?”

  “Telisa. Magnus. Access allowed. Flee.”

  Shiny turned away and scuttled down one of the side passages.

  “Where are you going?” Telisa called out, but no answer came.

  “The map says we need to go this way,” Magnus said.

  “Should we go? What’s going to happen to him?”

  “I don’t know. Y’know what, we can’t make his decisions for him. This is our chance to leave. We still have artifacts. If we can get the hell out of here, we might still make it.”

  Telisa shrugged. “Okay. Let’s get outta here!”

  She grabbed Magnus’s hand and they ran.

  “Good luck, Shiny!” Telisa yelled back at the receding alien.

  Then they were loping through the dim tunnels, passing the mysterious clusters of glowing cubes.