Cara had been outright aggressive towards them before Nida had caused the sky to fall down, so Carson could bet the alien woman would be nothing but apoplectic now.
He was wrong though.
As Cara and Harya picked themselves up, they didn't stare at Nida with suspicion and surprise.
No.
Something close to awe.
Though Harya looked as though she was in the presence of a goddess, Cara's reaction was more measured. Still, he could see the clear wonder flickering through her gaze.
‘You've been touched,’ Cara said simply, directing her words at Nida.
Carson stiffened.
This wasn't the reaction he'd been expecting. For a race as technologically limited as the Vex in this period of history, Nida's display should have appeared like dark magic.
‘Hold on,’ he said in a shaking voice, ‘you've seen this before?’
Cara turned her gaze on him, and for the first time it appeared she didn't want to kill him. Instead, only a bare flicker of suspicion remained. ‘Is this some kind of test? Of course we have not seen a touched before. But we have heard of them. Everyone has. Why didn't you tell us?’ Cara now spat.
Carson looked across at Nida.
She shrugged her shoulders, indicating it was up to him to manage this conversation. He deserved it—he had been pulling rank on her, after all. He was the lieutenant, as he kept on reminding her. So it was up to him to decide what to do now.
He swallowed hard. ‘We didn't know whether we could trust you,’ he began.
Cara wiped a hand down her brow. ‘You should have told me. I would have never attacked had I known.’
‘You didn't exactly give me much of an opportunity to speak,’ Carson noted through a huff.
Cara raised an eyebrow at this.
She had a regal sense to her. Her tall form and elegant body were perfectly suited to staring down her nose at people.
Now she laughed though. It was bitter and it was short, and when she was done, she stared at Carson again with the same intense gaze.
No one had ever looked at him like that—with so much barely-contained power and force.
It made his stomach kick.
‘We should get out of here,’ Nida said quietly from his side.
He still held onto her hand, and suddenly realized he really had no reason to, as she appeared stable enough to stand on her own. As if to confirm that, she broke free from his grip and took several steps towards Cara and Harya.
‘If you help us, we will help you,’ Nida said plainly.
There was an odd quality to her voice, and just for an instant, it appeared the entity would take control.
But then that note of ancient authority disappeared, and Nida shivered.
Cara did not thrust forward and push Nida back.
Instead, she did something entirely odd.
She dropped to one knee.
Right down into the muck.
‘Of course,’ Cara said simply. ‘You have been touched,’ she said by way of explanation.
Nida clutched a hand to her implant, and breathed heavily before finally nodding and backing off towards the door. ‘We need to leave before anyone comes looking for us,’ she turned her head to the damaged ceiling and gestured to it.
‘These tunnels are no longer used,’ Cara assured her as she stood, not bothering to wipe the muck from her armor. ‘Though you did make a lot of noise, we should be fine. That being said, we need to act quickly. I'll take you to the resistance.’
. . . .
Really?
Was that all it took to gain Cara's trust?
The prospect that Nida had been touched?
Suddenly Carson wanted to ask the determined alien woman what on earth that word meant. He didn't though. Instead, he decided that at the first chance, he would ask his scanner. Hopefully it would be able to pick up something off the airwaves. And if that didn't work . . . he'd figure something out.
‘Come,’ Cara commanded as she strode through the door into the corridor.
Harya walked behind her, giving Nida a wide berth but at the same time staring at her with transfixed wonder.
‘You're touched,’ Harya whispered again.
The way she said it made the hairs on the back of Carson's neck stand on end.
But that was likely nothing to what Nida felt; she was turning pink from all this attention.
Which was nice considering her skin had been bone-white after the entity had corrupted.
Stepping in beside her as they made it into the corridor, he drew his face close to hers and whispered, ‘what do we do?’
Though he was the lieutenant, and he was more than capable of making the decisions, he was starting to realize that unless he asked Nida, the entity might get involved if it didn't like his plans. And he simply could not afford to have it waste any more of its energy.
Nida blinked her eyes closed, and somehow she didn't fall as she strode forward.
‘I . . . we'll follow them. See where they lead us. Find out about this resistance. And what it means to be touched,’ she added with a croak as she opened her eyes.
He nodded.
Then, despite the situation, his lips kinked into a smile. He didn't think anything was funny; he was merely possessed with the desire to show her some much needed compassion.
With Cara powering along before them, he didn't have the opportunity to pull Nida aside and tell her everything would be okay, so he hoped his expression would convey that instead.
Their group walked in silence. They strode through the tunnels. Everything was dressed in shades of drab brown, slate grey, and off white.
It all looked industrial. There was no color, no life, no verve.
Which was quite appropriate considering where Nida and Carson had found themselves.
This point in Remus 12's history appeared to be a violent one.
But what point in its history they had found themselves in was a pertinent question. Though Carson knew from Academy records that it was likely the inhabitants of this planet had killed themselves in some man-made cataclysm, he would sure like to know exactly when that had been.
He wanted to believe this period in history was too technologically limited to provide the kinds of weapons a race would need to obliterate all life on entire planet, but he couldn't confirm that for sure.
Which meant that at any moment he and Nida could simply cease to exist. Some enormous, powerful weapon could be set off, engulfing the surface of the world and destroying everything in its path.
It was a chilling thought, and it made him appreciate the dull colors of these halls in a different way. It also made him appreciate that this resistance Cara and Harya were leading him to would likely fail. Or, quite possibly, they would succeed and be the ones to set off the weapon that obliterates Remus 12. It didn't matter who did it though—the fact remained that Remus 12 and every one on it had a death sentence hanging over their heads.
Eventually Cara led them down through a winding set of tunnels into a large room.
At first glance it appeared to hold machinery, and Carson could guess it would have once acted as some kind of generator room.
Now everything was either rusted red or glinted a dull grey.
Boxes of junk littered the floor, and pipes and chunks of metal dangled free from the walls.
Though the rest of the tunnels had been barely lit, this room had several tapering lights set into the high ceiling. They gave out enough illumination to lengthen the shadows and accentuate the glint of metal, but that was it.
Still, Carson had enough illumination to note something else: there were people in here.
Staying close to the shadows, as soon as Cara strode into the center of the room and announced her arrival, the other Vexians drew forward.
Carson had to try hard not to reach around and clutch for his gun.
Things were happening too quickly now.
He had to ensure there were no more accidents,
no more traps, no more mistakes.
Earlier in the tunnels he'd made the decision to take his armor off, or at least let it draw back into the bracelets on his wrists.
He'd been sure to do so when both Harya and Cara had turned away from him.
He didn't want them to note how smoothly his armor operated. Even though they were both more than aware of its existence, he still had to hold onto what secrets he could.
Now, as the resistance moved around him, he wondered whether he should set his armor to full once more.
It was never a pleasant experience to be swamped by people you didn't know, especially when those people looked as battle weary and gritty as the Vexians around him.
He saw so many scars he gave up counting them or wondering how they'd been wrought.
He also saw an unnerving number of weapons.
While he did not immediately know their functions from glancing at them, he could guess they were all deadly.
The people around him didn't seem to be the kinds to knock people out and hope for the best.
Before Carson could think of something to say, Cara whirled on the spot and pointed an armored hand at Nida. ‘She's touched,’ she announced in a booming voice that echoed around the cavernous room.
Nida blinked wildly, and automatically took a step towards him.
He stiffened his back and stared over at Cara warily.
He would have to play this very carefully. He'd only come here because Nida had suggested it. If it had been up to him, he would have knocked Harya and Cara out.
But whilst he had gone along with Nida's wishes, that did not mean he was going to drop his guard. At the first sign of trouble by any of these resistance members, Carson would act.
He'd do whatever it would take.
‘Touched?’ The question was picked up and repeated through the resistance in hushed, awed tones.
If Nida's skin had gone pink at the prospect of Cara and Nida's rapt attention, now she looked thoroughly sick. He half wondered whether she would throw up.
She didn't though. She simply stood there and stared out at the group around them with a wary, watchful gaze.
He had to remember that whilst it was Nida on the outside, the entity was never far from her. Not only could it take control of her voice, it could control her body too. If threatened—like she had been on the Farsight—Nida and the entity were capable of devastating power.
He still shook at the thought of what she'd done to those Barbarians.
No, he corrected himself firmly. Not her. The entity. And it had only been trying to protect itself, he reasoned automatically.
‘Are you sure?’ Someone asked as they walked towards Cara.
As they strode through the crowd, Carson realized it was a man. Probably in his mid-thirties, he sported cropped black hair, a wiry, strong frame, and wore an outfit remarkably similar to Carson's—a scuffed leather jacket, a simple hessian-style shirt, and pants.
The man shot Carson a curious look, then returned his attention to Cara.
Though the guy looked standoffish, it was all too easy to see the interest flickering in his gaze as he watched Cara.
‘I know what I saw,’ Cara spat. ‘She is touched,’ she pointed again at Nida. ‘If you don't believe me, go back to section 5f of the tunnels and see for yourself.’
The guy shrugged his shoulders, his lips kinking into a sneer.
‘Please, Varo, she's telling the truth. I was there. I saw it,’ Harya suddenly said as she pushed through the crowd towards the man, Varo.
Varo acknowledged Harya with a nod, then turned his gaze back on Cara. ‘Are you sure she is not a spy?’
Cara's lips slowly pulled back from her teeth. It was categorically an intimidating move. ‘Varo, you know I would never lead a spy to our headquarters. Don't jest with me,’ she added in a warning tone.
Everything Cara said and did was imbued with so much fire and passion, standing near her felt like standing on the crater of a volcano.
Now was not the time to be impressed by how boisterous she was though.
Now was the time to find out whether this group was trustworthy, Carson thought as he took a step forward.
He made sure his move was smooth and non-threatening. Nonetheless, Varo suddenly twirled on his foot, plucked something from his belt, and pressed it against Carson's neck.
Carson could have doubled back. He could have reached for his gun and shot Varo before the man had even blinked.
But he didn't.
Instead, he simply stood there and stared into Varo's eyes, not a hint of aggression or even shock crumpling Carson's brow. ‘Really?’ he asked calmly. ‘Is that how you treat a guest?’
Varo slowly smiled. It wasn't a friendly move though—it was laden with warning and menace. ‘Why are you here?’
‘Because . . . she's touched,’ Carson managed.
He didn't know what that meant, but he sure as hell hoped it was his ticket to getting these people to trust him. If he could convince this Varo and the resistance to help Nida, then maybe Carson could complete this mission sooner. Maybe he could find out where the next time gate was, or even better—where the dimensional bridge was.
Swallowing, despite the fact there was a blade pressed into his neck, Carson strengthened his resolve. ‘You're going to help us, and we're going to help you.’
Varo considered him in perfect silence. In fact, no one in the group spoke until Varo finally let the knife drop.
He took several steps back from Carson, considered him, then turned sharply to Cara. ‘This is on your head. If they turn out to be spies—’ he began.
Cara responded by spinning on her foot, grabbing the knife from Varo's hand, and yanking it free with such force, the man tumbled forward and stuck the floor on his knees.
‘Was that really necessary?’ he asked as he picked himself up, glowering at Cara.
‘You jest,’ Cara rebuked again. Then she turned to stare first at Nida, and finally at Carson.
Carson felt the need to stiffen under her watch. She appeared to have the ability to look right through him, and it made his back itch.
‘Look, we can help you,’ Carson began.
‘How?’ Varo asked, a calculating look crumpling his brow.
‘They have technology,’ Harya interrupted. ‘Devices I’ve never seen. We could use them to finally win against the governor,’ Harya clasped her hands together as she pleaded with Varo.
Varo snorted. ‘Is this true?’ He turned to Carson.
Carson didn't answer.
Yeah, sure, he had technology, but there was no freaking way in hell he was going to let anyone from this time period have it.
It was bad enough that Harya and Cara had seen his device and armor in action. He would not add to his temporal misdemeanors by giving this resistance access to technology from thousands of years in the future.
‘Is this true?’ Varo repeated, a vicious note to his voice.
‘Yeah, but no,’ Carson managed. ‘I can't give you my technology,’ he said, thinking fast, ‘I need it to help her,’ he nodded towards Nida.
Varo considered this possibility.
‘He wears a Goddess tear,’ Cara suddenly noted, nodding down to the device on Carson's right hand.
Varo stared at it, and for the first time, his expression slackened with something other than anger.
He looked impressed.
Then, in a flash, he also looked greedy.
‘A Goddess tear,’ Varo said slowly. ‘What else?’
‘He possesses some kind of armor I have never seen nor heard tale of. The government do not have anything of its like. It must also be a gift from the Goddess,’ Cara concluded.
Carson remained silent.
He did, however, close his fingers around the majority of the device over his right hand. He also let his left arm hover close to his pocket and his gun.
‘Armor? What kind of armor?’ Varo questioned, his gaze once again igniting with greed.
<
br /> Carson didn't like this.
With every passing second, his back slicked with sweat and his teeth locked harder together.
He wanted to get out of this room now. He wanted to leave Varo and the resistance far behind him. Hell, he even wanted to get away from Cara, despite how intriguing and frankly attractive she was.
‘A gift from the Goddess for the protection of the touched,’ Cara now snapped, striding forward as she did. She faced Varo and glared at him. ‘Stop these games. We must help them. If the government were to find out about her,’ she gestured at Nida, ‘you know what they would do.’
Carson felt cold.
Very, very cold.
He didn't like the sound of that. What exactly would the government of this corrupt and violent regime do to Nida? Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pleasant.
A fact Nida likely realized as she shuddered again.
Every movement she made was watched by the group—every breath, every blink, and every shiver.
It was as if they half expected her to burst into flames.
Carson swallowed.
He had to find out what was going on here.
He had to take control of this situation before it took control of him. He strode forward. ‘Cara is correct—these are gifts from the Goddess for protection of . . . the touched,’ he managed, though it was hard to force that word out. ‘I'm not going to give them to you. I need them. But we can still help you.’
‘And we can help you,’ Cara began.
‘Do not make decisions for this group,’ Varo warned. ‘I speak for this resistance cell.’
‘But you do not speak for the whole resistance,’ Cara spat. ‘If you would like, I am more than happy to share this news with Commander Xu. Unlike you, she will know what to do.’
Varo bristled.
Cara simply smiled.
As for Carson, he stood there and he waited. Completely on edge, he didn't know what Varo would do, but he did know he could not trust the man.
He'd seen the greed burning in his gaze, and as Varo now glanced over to Nida, the look he shot her made Carson sick to his stomach.
‘You can either help us, or we leave,’ Carson snapped, taking a step back and aligning himself close to Nida.
‘We will decide whether you can leave,’ Varo said dismissively.
Ouroboros- The Complete Series Page 39