by C H Gideon
She didn’t, though.
After several moments, the bubble appeared to solidify, and the alarm lights faded. Jiya checked the sensors.
“Life support is working fine in here, and the scanners aren’t identifying any sort of threat emanating from the bubble that’s sealed us in. In fact, there seems to be atmosphere inside the bubble. It’s stable, from what I can tell.”
That was when the ground gave way beneath the shuttle and it plunged into the ocean.
“You were saying?” Geroux gasped, clinging desperately to her seat.
Seconds later, the ship slowed, and the swirl of golden sand that had dropped away around them cleared from the water.
Encased in a see-through bubble, the shuttle hovered in place, nothing but crystalline water surrounding them.
“Sorry for the unexpected drop,” Flor said over the comm, opening the channel once more. “The shielded craft you are currently docked on will take over the journey from here.”
“A little late for the warning,” Geroux muttered.
“Sit back and enjoy the rest of your trip,” Flor told them. “I will meet you in the docking bay once you’ve arrived.”
“Arrived where?” Reynolds asked.
“The capital city of Ocelora, of course,” she answered.
“Of course,” Jiya responded, exasperated.
“See you soon,” Flor said, cutting the connection.
“No one’s claustrophobic, are they?” Reynolds asked.
“Probably should have asked that before we left,” Jiya shot back, shaking her head.
“Not like it comes up in normal conversation,” Reynolds argued.
“Neither do chats about underwater cities and floating bubbles, but here we are,” Jiya retorted.
“Wow!” Maddox blurted, interrupting them.
The general stared out the window, wide eyes reflecting the blue of the ocean.
The crew joined him, all except Geroux. Reynolds was as impressed by what he saw as Maddox was.
While Reynolds had expected fish and other lifeforms to inhabit the water, and there were certainly plenty of those in evidence, they weren’t what Maddox was so enthralled by.
Bubble craft, which looked as if shuttles had bred with glass, surrounded them as they made their way toward Ocelora.
Reynolds could see the pilots inside them, the front of the craft like the giant eyes of an insect. The pilots’ dark skin stood in sharp contrast to the glassy composite of the ship, which looked as if it were a bubble being squeezed by a giant hand.
The metal frame of the ship had turbines it used as engines, leaving a swirling wash in their wake, and it also carried a number of weapons. The most obvious was a large harpoon gun mounted on the bottom.
“I hope that’s for fishing,” Jiya said.
“It’s more likely for popping the bubbles of asshole visitors,” Maddox suggested.
“I feel better already,” Geroux whined.
“That shade of green looks good on you,” Ka’nak told the young tech.
“It’s going to look good all over you if you don’t hush,” Geroux warned while trying to disappear into her computer.
Ka’nak surrendered and let her be.
“That must be Ocelora over there,” Maddox announced, pointing.
“It’s beautiful,” Jiya said, awestruck by the unique and alien architecture.
Reynolds studied it intensely, amazed at the sprawling underwater metropolis taking shape in the distance. He hadn’t known what to expect, having never before seen a city under the waves, but he was certainly impressed.
A great bubble similar to the one that enclosed the shuttle encircled Ocelora, rising from the floor of the ocean as if it were a pair of hands cradling the city. All sorts of marine life swam around the protective bubble, but they stayed clear, never getting too close.
Reynolds wondered if there was something out there warning them off or if it was simple instinct, the animals realizing death lay beyond the barrier.
Either way, it was a sight to see as schools of brilliantly-colored fish skirted the underwater dome and veered off like sparkling flocks of sparrows.
“That’s impressive,” Maddox said, continuing to stare at the city as they drew closer.
Buildings towered inside the barrier, easily as tall as any Reynolds had seen in cities built on solid earth. He could see tiny craft flitting about, much like the fish in the water outside, skirting the edge of the dome while staying just within its boundaries.
Lights flickered beneath the dome, reflecting off the buildings and the darting craft. Distorted by the water and the hazy, ethereal nature of the barrier, it looked as if the makeshift sky were filled with tiny floating suns.
“If we could miniaturize this technology,” Geroux said, overcoming her fear of the water long enough to sneak a glance at Ocelora, “we could use it for a host of applications, most of them not having to do with water.”
Reynolds grinned at her, glad her love of technology had overcome, if only temporarily, her terror of the sea. He wondered what she and her uncle could come up with if they were to get the technology for the barrier.
As they drew closer, the automated bubble craft guiding them smoothly along, Reynolds began to notice cracks in the façade of Ocelora.
“Is that…” Jiya started to ask, then went quiet.
“Scorch marks,” Maddox confirmed, inching closer to the window for a better look. “There are more over there,” he pointed out, “as well as some damage near the top of the buildings.”
“The place looks…bombed out,” Jiya stated.
“It does,” Ka’nak confirmed. “Guess Flor was serious about the Orau threat.”
“Looks that way,” Reynolds replied. More and more damage jumped out at them in stark contrast to their first impression.
Much of it looked recent. Some of it had been patched or repaired, but there was so much damage that it made Reynolds think there was an ongoing siege and not a one-time event.
That explains the haggard looks on the faces of the representatives, he thought.
“What could have caused all this?” Jiya asked.
“If I had to guess, I’d say a bombardment,” Maddox answered. “Given the damage high up and the similar angle most of it appears to originate from, the city has seen several missile strikes over the past few months.”
As the shuttle drifted toward a circular docking port jutting from the side of the dome, Reynolds saw even more damage. Much of it looked older now that they’d drawn closer and could better pick out details.
“Looks like it’s happened a lot,” Geroux muttered.
“I don’t know if constant is the right word,” Maddox started, “but it certainly happens regularly, given the nature and amount of the damage done. There’s no way this is all recent.” He gestured toward one of the taller buildings they could see. “That one there has been hit multiple times, based on the different materials used in the repairs.”
“Lots of patches, no real repairs,” Reynolds clarified, examining the surrounding buildings and seeing much of the same thing.
“I’m starting to get a good idea as to why they let us down here,” Jiya offered, whistling. “Given all this, I can see an automated defense system sounding like a miracle right about now.”
The shuttle slipped into the docking port with a gentle thump, quieting the conversation.
The crew stared out the windows to watch the process of docking.
The bubble craft eased through a short tunnel that connected the external dock to the city inside. As they reached the far end, the water in the docking tunnel drained away, pushed into the ocean behind them.
Once it was all gone, momentum carried the bubble craft through a thin, hazy barrier and into the city with an audible pop.
A platform rose from the ground and cradled the shuttle. It lowered the ship slowly. As it did, the bubble around the shuttle retracted into its base, disappearing completely by the time t
he shuttle settled on the landing pad. Then the platform wheeled the shuttle out of the way of the docking port and parked it near the edge of the tarmac.
A vehicle pulled up and several of the dark-skinned aliens, their uniforms resplendent, emerged. Smiles creased their faces.
Reynolds thought the expressions looked forced, but at least they were trying.
“Okay, people,” he said, “let’s go meet our hosts. Play nice,” he added.
Jiya chuckled and triggered the shuttle’s hatch and ramp. Once it was open and extended, Ka’nak went out. Reynolds followed with the rest of the crew behind him, Maddox bringing up the rear.
They left L’Eliana in the craft to watch over it and offer assistance as needed. She shut the hatch behind them, sealing herself inside. The host representatives came over as it closed, Flor leading the way.
A half-dozen guards walked rigidly beside her. While they kept their weapons holstered, pistols hanging at their sides, it was clear they were ready to use them if necessary. Their hands hovered lightly near their weapons.
“Greetings again,” Flor said. Of all the manufactured smiles, hers looked the most honest, although Reynolds could still see the worry that creased the corners of her eyes.
“We’re honored,” Reynolds told her, and she nodded in reply. Reynolds thought he saw a flicker of appreciation in her eyes before she glanced away.
She motioned for the crew to enter the vehicle. “Please, step inside and be seated. I am to take you to President Jaer Pon directly.”
The crew did as instructed and clambered inside. Reynolds went in last, settling on a seat beside Jiya. The soldiers climbed in afterward, with Flor entering the vehicle last and taking a seat across from Reynolds.
Now even closer than they had been before, Reynolds was able to more clearly see the weariness in her. She defied it with perfect posture—chin up, chest out—but there was no mistaking the exhaustion that lurked behind her eyes.
Reynolds knew he’d made the correct choice when he’d offered Gorad’s defense system to the Krokans.
They needed it.
Chapter Four
The ride to the presidential compound was uneventful, but Jiya and the crew got a much better look at the city than she suspected the hosts wanted.
Before they’d even left the tarmac, she’d spotted dozens of blast holes in the asphalt and charred ground all around them.
While she hadn’t seen anything more than holos of the various wars that had been waged on her homeworld, she immediately recognized the damage done to the underwater city.
It was just as Maddox had said: bombardment.
The Orau had apparently done far more against the Krokans than simply invade from space. They’d tried to eradicate them by bombing the city and its people. The Orau were willing to kill civilians.
Attacking the innocent in their homes. The Orau were quickly gaining a new mortal enemy in Reynolds.
Away from the landing area, the damage was worse.
Jiya could see where repairs had been made, and many places where they were still in progress, workers on the streets doing their best to patch walls and fill holes.
The workers turned to stare as they passed, and Jiya noticed the same tiredness in their expressions. Whatever they had been through of late, it had worn on them.
“Is it…always like this?” Jiya asked, gesturing to the battle-worn city.
Flor sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding all the while. “The Orau invaders have assaulted us for many years, but they’ve recently become more aggressive, more hostile, and more free in selecting their targets,” she explained. “While we used to be forced to fend them off only a few times a month, it has become a near-constant thing of late.” She sighed. “About every other day now.”
“That’s horrible,” Geroux exclaimed.
Flor nodded her agreement. “It is for this reason President Pon wishes to speak to you,” she explained. “He is not one to meet with visitors, but he believes your appearance might be fortuitous.”
“Among other things,” Reynolds suggested.
Flor shrugged. “He is not one to take chances, Reynolds,” she told him. “He will see you and hope that you are telling the truth and offering our people a true means of defense against the Orau. If not…” She let her sentence drag out into silence.
Ka’nak slapped his hands together, startling everyone in the vehicle. “Boom?”
Flor grinned but didn’t dignify the Melowi warrior’s comment with a reply.
It was clear, however, that the unfinished sentence was a threat, and Jiya knew to take it seriously. These people were in the middle of a war they were losing. Their humor had fled with the arrival of the Orau.
Living as they did under the ocean, there was no escape.
As they traveled, Jiya’s thoughts bouncing from theory to theory as she plotted escape routes, the Krokan vehicle slowed and entered the presidential compound through a tightly-controlled corridor.
It reminded her of her father’s palace, and she felt a knot forming in her stomach at the thought.
She hadn’t meant to think of him, but she kept noticing similarities in the worlds she visited. They weren’t good similarities either, and that left her on edge.
She snarled under her breath and pushed her memories of her father aside. Jiya had left home to escape him, and she wasn’t going to let him torment her in her own mind. He didn’t deserve to live there rent-free. She made a mental note to visit Doctor Reynolds and discuss the topic.
The guards at the palace entrance waved the vehicle through, a great door opening before them and letting the crew and hosts inside. The doors slammed shut at their backs once they’d passed through.
Inside the compound, there was a distinct military presence, something that had been minimal in the town outside.
If the Orau managed to breach the dome and invade the city directly, the last line of defense would be the presidential compound. As large as Ocelora was, there was little hope of securing all of it quickly and easily.
The presidential compound, however, didn’t have that issue.
Guards manned the walls behind them, and a great number of cannons were mounted within armored boxes that surrounded the compounded. Soldiers in a heightened state of alert watched the vehicle as it slithered past.
They, like all the other Krokans Jiya had seen, looked tired, but that didn’t diminish their edge or their military professionalism.
These people were prepared to go to war at a moment’s notice, and judging by the damage within the compound, it appeared they’d had to do just that more often than not.
The vehicle came to a stop outside what appeared to be a large foyer, an entryway into the main building of the compound.
The doors of the vehicle opened, and the soldiers and Flor climbed out in an organized fashion. The crew followed once Flor had her people in place and waved for them to join her.
While Jiya hadn’t noticed the chill in the air when they’d exited the shuttle earlier, there was no missing it now.
Her breath misted at every exhalation, as did everyone else’s—except for Reynolds, of course.
She was glad of the protective insulation in her armored suit. While it did little to keep her nose and cheeks warm with the helmet retracted, it at least kept the rest of her comfortable.
She could deal with a little chill on her face. It reminded her of camping.
Flor led the crew into the foyer through a pair of wide doors that opened as they approached. As Jiya had expected, there was a squad of soldiers just inside.
Their hosts weren’t taking any chances.
Jiya looked them over as Flor ushered them in. The Krokan soldiers didn’t so much as blink as the crew walked by, their steely gazes following each movement of Reynolds’ crew.
Once past the wall of armed soldiers, Jiya relaxed and took in the sights.
Jiya had been surprised when she had initially seen the town outside
, before she’d gotten close enough to see its true condition. She was equally amazed by the beauty of the compound.
Art of all kinds adorned the walls, bright and cheery against the dull white paint of the walls and tiled floors.
Geroux gaped at it.
Statues of what appeared to be great warriors were situated in nearly every corner, dark-skinned heroes brandishing their weapons and standing defiantly. They had a slightly roguish appearance, as if those immortalized there had been more than great people; they’d been great characters, too.
The craftsmanship was superb, and Jiya could see the boldness of the subjects, the ferocity in their expressions.
What she didn’t see was the tiredness of the Krokans surrounding her.
The artists had either chosen to smooth those blemishes away, or it hadn’t been there when the statues had been commissioned.
Jiya felt the latter was more likely.
“These are the great leaders of our past,” Flor explained, gesturing to the statues. “We have a storied line of successors to the throne.”
“The throne?” Jiya asked, catching the monarchial reference. It contradicted the current Krokan leadership role of president.
Flor offered an embarrassed smile. “Forgive me for not being clear,” she said. “Our people were once ruled by a monarchy, but no longer. Not being used to strangers among us, I rarely find myself corrected since the people know of whom I speak. My apologies.”
Jiya smiled back at her. She was beginning to like Flor despite the slight mousiness of her approach.
“President Jaer Pon is just this way,” Flor said, waving them through yet another pair of doors that opened at their approach.
Again, guards stood at attention on the other side, ready to defend their president. Jiya wondered how well trained and effective they were, and she knew Maddox and Ka’nak were thinking the exact same thing.
It wasn’t that she wanted to fight them to find out, she was simply curious.
They’d entered the lair of the unknown unarmed, and while nothing so far had made her feel threatened, she couldn’t help but think about an unseen risk to her life.