by Adam DiSalvo
“Marcus you have a daughter?” inquired Chandra.
“Yes. She is very special.” Marcus added.
“The Steelmane lineage is that of family men?! Wow.” remarked Jaithen.
“You don’t approve?”
“Oh no it’s not that! It’s just not what I expected. I thought the sons of Jamal Steelmane would be...” Jaithen trailed off.
“Would be what?”
Chandra laughed.
“Is that funny?” Marcus snapped.
“To be rugged lone-ethers or something, man.” Jaithen finished.
“You thought Steelmanes were ether born?”
“What else?” Jaithen shrugged.
“Human. We’re all human."
“Aren’t ether born technically human?”
“You know what I mean.”
“You want us to get your daughter off world.” predicted Chandra.
Jaithen looked back and forth between Chandra and Marcus.
“Whoa wait a second. You want us to take your daughter off world?”
“Yes.”
“Hold up —“
“Terralat is in its final days.” pleaded Marcus, “Its location will not remain a secret much longer if Cordon is a traitor.”
“Oh shit.”
Jaithen grabbed his head with both hands and rubbed his eyes.
“Jaithen we must get to Terralatt. I have to retrieve my daughter and warn the people.”
“Captain. what do we do?”
“Please. Help me get my daughter off world.”
Jaithen raised his hand to silence them. They awaited an answer.
“Get us out of these damn tunnels and I will get you to Terralat.”
Marcus rejoiced with a tight fist.
“If you want me to get your daughter off world you have to pay me.”
“What?!” cried Chandra, “Captain you can’t be serious.”
“Chandra, something tells me we’re not getting paid for this job. Unless.” Jaithen trailed off.
“We don’t have anything.” Marcus assured him.
“Don’t you?”
“Captain you can not extort him for his daughter’s safety.”
Jaithen furrowed his brow looking at Chandra, confused.
“We’re pirates Chandra. How else are we going to make money?"
“Chandra, are you saying you would take my daughter off world?”
A pause of confusion bound up the trio.
“Yes” replied Chandra looking at Jairthen.
Jaithen threw his hands up.
“I can’t believe this. My AI isn’t going to listen to me!”
“I guess rampant isn’t so bad after all!"
“I don’t belong to you Jaithen!”
Marcus raised his eyebrows and jeered.
“You know what Chandra, I was wrong about you.” said Marcus nodding his head.
“I know." she replied. “Everyone is.”
Marcus took point and guided them to a mammoth cement pillar with two archways at the bottom. Inside was a cement spiraling staircase that soared into the air hundreds of feet.
“These stairway junctions were all over Cathuum’s city streets.”
Marcus shined his light up the staircase.
“Most of them are destroyed now but, a few are still in good shape. If you’re lucky enough to find them.”
Marcus turned back to the pair following him.
“So you’ve been here before?” asked Chandra.
“No. We were lucky enough to find one.”
“How tall is it?” asked Jaithen
“They’re almost five hundred feet tall. There used to be elevators attached to them.”
“Five hundred feet? Good gods man.”
“Hope those are comfortable boots.” Marcus joked.
The air inside the cement spiral staircase was cold. The slight aroma of the surface hung in the air. Jaithen saw nothing but blackness beyond the windows of the spiral staircase. There was no way of knowing how high they had climbed. Chandra went sprinting ahead up the winding stairs.
“What's your plan once we reach Terralat?” asked Jaithen from the rear.
“I don't know.” Marcus replied. “Terralat is a city. There are a lot of people living there. All the points of entry are hidden and closely monitored.”
“Will we get an escort in?’
Marcus smiled.
“No. We will be sneaking back in. Maybe. Hopefully.”
Jaithen stopped his ascent.
“Wait what? Sneaking?”
“Yes. Sneaking.”
“Why?”
“Would your government just let you come back with a citizen of Skylauren without asking us all some questions first?” Marcus purposed. “Whether you’re with me or not my government will figure out you’re from off world and when they do, all of us will be detained. Chandra would be deactivated."
“Captain." chirped Chandra through Jaithen’s ear piece. “I have reached the surface and am intercepting large amounts of radio chatter from multiple sources.”
Marcus continued his explanation as Jaithen quietly ignored him, listening instead to Chandra’s voice in his earpiece.
“The Imperials know we landed. They’ve confirmed multiple reports from ground sources that something came from the sky above Skylauren and touched down somewhere in the ruins of Cathuum. Multiple units have been dispatched to search the area. I have warmed up the boosters for an emergency launch. Lift off will be detectable by satellite. Once you reach the surface Drop 1 will be here and we must depart immediately.
Marcus continued to drone on in the back ground.
“Imperial fast movers will most likely be in pursuit.” Chandra continued. “Wherever the location of Terralat is, we will have to first evade or dispatch the Imperial air units."
“Jaithen are you listening?!” Marcus interrupted.
“Yeah just, where is Terralat located?”
“Open a channel to me.” Marcus suggested.
Jaithen looked down and swiped at his PDC."
“Okay.”
A map appeared on Jaithen’s screen with a yellow indicator on it.
“There. About half a mile under the surface.” pointed Marcus.
“Chandra do you see this?”
“Yes. I am not sure how he thinks we are going to get in. Or out for that matter.”
“Marcus what’s our entry and exit points?”
“The east side of the city is underneath part of the Skyreach Moutain Range.” Marcus explained. “There is a point of entry on the south side of this mountain. There’s a transport just inside the entrance. Our exit would be at the base here, after we pick up my daughter.”
“What do you think Cha—“
“Captain!” Chandra cut in. “I am receiving an emergency broadcast from Terralat. It has been left on a loop."
“Patch it through.” Jaithen replied.
Jaithen activated the speaker on his PDC and held it up for Marcus to hear.
“… all Rangers. Report back to your P.O.E.s immediately.”
Marcus’s eyes went wide. His pace up the stairs quickened.
“Terra Actual is compromised. This is not a drill. Repeat. Message to all Rangers. Report back to your …”
Jaithen deactivated the speaker. Marcus could not hide his dread.
“Marcus, what's the plan once we get inside?”
“I’ve taught Lilyth an exit plan should something happen to Terralat. She knows it well.”
Marcus wrestled with his fear.
“We will rendezvous with her at our preselected location and then determine our best exit point. How will you get us off world?”
The smell of the air began to change. They were almost at the top.
“Let us worry about that once we have an exit point.”
Marcus nodded his agreement.
“Captain.” Chandra chimed in again. “Imperial fast movers have been scrambled. Drop 1’s launch has been detect
ed. Their command units await visual confirmation from their air units. Drop 1’s cloak remains engaged. Arrival in one hundred and two seconds.”
“Marcus the dropship will be here in less than two minutes. It’s going to take us —“
Jaithen looked down at his PDC.
“Two hours before we reach Terralat. How long will it take us to reach your daughter once we reach your point of entry?”
“A few hours. If we don’t have to fight our way through.”
The air was light. Only a few more floors.
“Chandra. Are you picking up any snatcher chatter?”
“Yes Captain. They are mobilizing for a huge offensive. No attack commands have been given yet."
“We are coming out Chandra.” notified Jaithen.
Jaithen and Marcus exited the soaring staircase onto abandon city streets.
Drop 1 landed in a courtyard in between two tall buildings. The dust remained floating in the air. Chandra sat waiting for the two at the bottom of the retractible ramp. Marcus blinked hard in amazement.
“Captain. I think it is safe to assume that our presence here is no longer a secret. We can not remain on Skylauren for long no matter what our objectives may be.”
Chandra followed the two up the ramp and continued her assessment.
“We must not delay in retrieving Lilyth. It would seem Marcus was correct.”
The hatch to the ramp snapped shut behind them startling Marcus.
“It seems the fall of Terralat is imminent.”
“Fucking Cordon." murmured Marcus.
“What?” questioned Jaithen.
“Cordon. If I ever see him again I’m going to shoot him in the throat and watch him die slow.”
Chandra made her way to the empty bay where her avatar had originally rested. Her feline figure folded back into the wall while another duplicate avatar to her original unfolded from the bay next to it. Chandra strode past Marcus with a tiny smile.
“Just like new.” she laughed.
Drop 1 lifted off the ground with a soft shudder. The ship’s after burners ignited, rocketing them towards Terralat.
CHAPTER 7
THE ARC SUIT Hermes hung silent, floating on the dark edge of the twilight band in the skies of Styx. Just below lay a massive mountain range with the arc suit positioned near the highest peak. Haitrion stood watching the colossal mountains below through a viewport.
“It’s just under that mountain.” he noted. “Is there any more relevant data you can pull from that drive?”
Taytha sat staring at a screen with her face just inches away. She took a big bite out of a pepper-cheese and pretzel ration. Her eyes squinted hard attempting to see something in a blurry picture. She leaned back, coiled in disappointment.
“No. It’s just death and cyber worms .” she reported. "I’ve never seen violence like this.”
She sat down her food on it’s silver packaging and spun around in a chair suspended from the ceiling.
“At least your working theory seems solid, judging by the evidence we've found. The worms consume everything. Like literally, everything.”
Taytha stood up and stretched her arms out in front of her. She walked across the room and took her place next to Haitrion. She pointed down to the peak below.
“Is that the one? Taytha asked.
Haitrion nodded his head.
“Do you have any idea what we’re looking for?” she probed.
“It’s an alien energy source that powers an ancient spacetime-warping-interstellar-gate.”
Haitrion turned his head to Taytha.
“I have no idea what we're looking for. Readings however, indicate there is something under that mountain.”
Haitrion pointed to what appeared to be a trench protruding from the base of the mountain, snaking its way between the other peaks. The channel dove deep underground many miles away.
“I hypothesize we can gain entrance to whatever is underneath, through there. However, I’m sure we will have to leave the Hermes behind."
Worry crept along Taytha’s face as she looked down at the alien trench.
“What do you think we’ll find in there?”
Haitrion turned to a monitor and swiped a few commands across the screen.
“What we might find inside isn’t what worries me.”
Haitrion moved the monitor into Taytha’s view. On the screen was an isometric view of the ground below. He pointed to the screen.
“After our last altercation I discovered a signal that the creatures emit and started tracking it. The pink hue represents potential cybernetic combatants buried beneath the ground. Taytha’s mouth dropped open. The creatures spread out under the ground like a cancer stretching from beyond the horizon. The arms of the mass neared their mountain target.
“How did so many of them get through so fast?”
Haitrion turned back to the viewport.
“They're surging in through that gate, Sergeant. Without the whole of the Imperial Navy and possibly the aid of the Nepheri, there is no chance at defeating this enemy or recovering the gate.”
“You want to recover the gate?" Taytha spouted. “The Nepheri won’t help you! Us! If they find out what you’ve done out here it'll start a war!"
Haitrion took a deep breath and turned completely to face Taytha.
“We knew the risks.” he growled. "We took our chances and presently we are here. Nothing in hind sight will help us now. Only consideration of the facts.”
Haitrion turned back around and a quiet lull settled in. The two stared out the viewport. Styx’s surface was dark and the mountain peaks were barely visible against the star lit sky. Uruteth’s twin suns burned bright as one, twinkling with the colors of each sister star.
“Is it hopeless?” worried Taytha
“No. No, it is not.” Haitrion assured her. "Not if some of us are willing to make the sacrifices necessary.”
“How do we stop them?”
Haitrion tuned back to the view screen and punched in a few more commands. A diagram of the mountain with a computer simulation of what was underneath. Taytha examined the display.
“What ever is down there, it's producing an incredible amount of energy.” Haitrion explained. "I couldn't detect it from orbit. It might be safe to assume it has some kind of shielding around it. If I’m correct, that is the gate's power source.”
Taytha turned to Haitrion.
“You’re going to try and shut down the power to the gate instead of destroying it?”
Haitrion squinted his eyes.
“I aim to use it’s power.”
“What if we can’t do that? What if we can’t do it on our own?”
The two locked eyes.
Hatrion turned around and raised his arms. The articulating mandibles began their dance.
“We are on the precipice of history Sergeant. You survived first contact."
“Lone survivor,’ sighed Taytha.
Lights flashed as the suit activated. She watched as Haitrion lifted his chin and the suit's helmet descended, latching tightly to his ether skin. Attached to the waist of the suit were magazines of polished iron spheres. The robotic appendages secured two long metal batons to the back of the suit along with a side arm fastened to Haitrion’s right thigh. He turned and twisted his body as the arms pulled back.
“What will you do with the Hermes?”
Haitrion shook his head side to side. His voice cracked through the external suit speakers.
“I'm going to place it in orbit above Styx.”
“Is that wise? What about Kilahren’s forces? Won’t their satellite network eventually pick it up?”
“The alternative is to land the Hermes and potentially surrender it to our new friends.”
Taytha bit her thumbnail between her teeth.
“Those aren’t good choices. There’s no alternatives?”
“If you have any ideas, you have my full attention.”
Taytha looked back out the window at
the mountain range and the looming Trithon. She turned around.
“Might as well go see if anyone’s home. Right?”
The desk and chair where Taytha sat folded away into the walls and ceiling, followed by the rest of the amenities. When the last of the furniture disappeared, Taytha’s ZGC suit descended from the ceiling.
“Is every arc suit like this?”
“Like what?”
Taytha gestured around the morphing room.
“Can they all change shape like this? Can they all travel through space?”
Haitrion chuckled.
“No. Most arc suits are hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. Each is constructed personally by the ether who pilots them. I constructed the Hermes within the last century and it is my expression of classical arc suit design, combined with everything modern technology has to offer. I spared no expense.”
“I’m sure the tax payers didn’t mind.”
Haitrion tilted his head,
“Sergeant. For how many cycles did you pay taxes before joining your Lord?”
Taytha smiled and waved her hand.
“Fair enough.”
“You were a naughty Sergeant,” Haitrion scolded, waiving his finger at her.
“Whatever,” she smiled, leaning into the viewport.
Taytha took a deep breath, staring out into the moonlit morning sky. The inside of the arc suit Hermes was warm. On the mountainsides, there were no signs of water. There were no clouds in the sky. No signs of life. Her eyes drifted from the mountain peak down to the entrance with the channel laid out before it.
“The fastest way home is to finish this.” Taytha mused.
She slammed her palms on the windowsill.
"Let’s go.”
Taytha approached her suit and turned around with raised arms and her chin in the air. When the robotic assistants completed her suit’s assembly she stepped into her greaves which secured themselves to her suit. The robotic arms torqued in the final bolts. The last two arms held out her weapons and she secured them both to the thrusters on her back. She turned to face Haitrion. The wall behind him vanished, revealing open sky and the mountain range below. Wind rushed through the Hermes as the atmosphere inside was expelled into the vacuum of Styx. Taytha took her place next to Haitrion at the edge. Haitrion stared down at the mountain.
“Are you okay?” she asked.