by J. N. Chaney
“Right,” I said, following the eager padre. Heights weren’t exactly my favorite thing in the world. Traveling in the massive seed ship was easy. I’d had tons of steel around me. Right now, scaling the outer rim of the broken ship without any kind of safety harness was something entirely different.
“Oh, what did you do today, Dean?” I muttered to myself as I searched for handholds on the shell. “Oh, nothing much. Talked to a gecko man, went head to head with an alien rhinoceros, and then climbed a spaceship.”
“What’s that?” Lou called down.
“Nothing; just enjoying the view,” I told him.
Lou smiled back at me through his white beard and continued upward. The speed at which the man pulled himself up made me think I needed to figure out what kinds of drugs he was on and start taking those too. Lou was a machine, carefully picking his footing and handholds, then pulling himself up to find the next.
We climbed four stories on the perimeter of the Orion before Lou took our efforts just inside the colony seed ship. True to his word, he used the elevator shafts. A few meters inside the elevator shaft where we stopped, someone had cut a series of square holes in what was now the elevator ceilings. Not only that, they had secured metal bars on the side of the walls to act as ladder rungs.
“Who had time to do all this?” I asked.
Lou gave me another of his manic signature grins in response.
“How long did this take you?” I asked.
“It’s not that bad,” Lou said with a shrug. “I just used a torch to cut out the sections leading one elevator shaft to the next then welded a few bars in place to act as ladder rungs.”
“How long?” I insisted, not letting him dodge the question.
“Who knows?” Lou stuck out his lower lip in thought. “I got the call as soon as we landed, then went on the excursion with you and then worked on it again. A few weeks?”
I was left standing inside the hall-like elevator shaft, the edges of the Orion and the setting suns of the planet only a few meters to my left.
Lou seemed to think our conversation was over. He climbed the steel rungs in front of us and disappeared into the next level.
“Come on, we’re almost there,” Lou said. “Only another twenty shafts to walk through.”
“What did you mean when you said you got the call?” I asked. “Hold up, maybe I don’t even want to know.”
“You know like when you feel like you’re being led, like when you’re doing something you know is right? Instinct, but on a deeper level,” Lou called back.
I spent the next few minutes climbing through shaft after shaft and the narrow headspace in between the elevators. These were maintenance halls that had been set up in case we needed to get to elevators without disturbing the machines from carrying passengers.
Sweat gathered at my brow as the lack of any kind of air-conditioning made the inside of the Orion warm and stuffy. I followed Lou the rest of the way in silence. Half of me wanted to ask him more about what he believed. The other half refused to pull the thread on that ball of crazy.
Slowly, the ground beneath our feet began to curve to the right, following the circular shape of the Orion. We were getting closer and closer to the top of the ship. To my right, I could look out of the different shafts and dead spaces we traveled through to track our progress.
Lou wasn’t wrong. The higher we went, the better the view we had. The planet opened up before us like some kind of map. The jungle to our north, rolling meadows to our west, and the forest to the south.
The swamp lands beyond the forest were too far away to see. My imagination picked up that empty piece of the map and filled it in for me. The stories Doctor Allbright had told us when we found her. Creatures in the mist snatching up survivors was truly something out of a nightmare.
“Here we are,” Lou called from the shaft above me.
I was glad we’d made it to the top. My arms were getting fatigued from climbing the different levels and pulling myself up through the square openings.
I dragged my body through the last one. What I saw took my breath away. Lou was being modest when he said a few had gathered here. There were at least two dozen individuals who looked at me, nodding. They stood, sat, or sprawled in the elevator shaft disappearing far back into the tunnel-like room. Lights were strung on the walls, powered by a small generator. They even had music playing, something old and soft.
Pillows and blankets were on sections of the floor, as well as tables and chairs further to the rear.
“Lou convinced another sheep to join the fold?” A woman came up to us and extended a hand.
“No, this one’s no sheep.” Lou grinned at the young woman like a proud father. “He’s more like a wolf on our side.”
I took the woman’s hand and gave her a firm shake. Her hands were calloused like my own. That meant years of manual labor or perhaps even some kind of training.
“Good to meet you,” she said with a grin my way. “My name is Eleanor Hughes. Lou dragged me up here a few days ago on my break. Been spending most of my time off here now. It’s a climb but worth it.”
“Dean,” I said, releasing her hand.
Eleanor reached to her hip and pulled out a Farsight. The cylinder-shaped scope extended in her hands. “Here, take a look for yourself.”
I accepted the Farsight. Turning, I lifted the scope to my right eye. I wasn’t disappointed.
7
I’d seen it before as I climbed, but the view through the Farsight was worlds apart from what the naked eye could make out. This high up and with the Farsight, I could see grass blades in high definition. The vibrant shades of green that marked foliage to the deep rustic brown tree trunks were made from popped out at me.
I still couldn’t see the sea to our west, but I had a feeling it was just out of sight. I scanned the forest to the south. The Farsight was strong enough for me to see little animals running up and down branches. The creatures reminded me of fat squirrels with six legs.
“Look to the north,” Lou coaxed. “To the center of the jungle.”
I didn’t really want to, but I could guess what I was going to see. He had told me as much. I swung the Farsight to the jungle interior and followed the directions, looking over at the center of the foliage.
My eyes landed on a giant stone monument shaped like a lightning bolt. From this distance, even with my vantage point and the Farsight, it looked like a tiny needle poking up out of the tree line.
Memories of racing through the jungle crossed my mind. I had seen the monument close up for the briefest of moments, when Legion was on my heels and I couldn’t exactly stop to take in the sights.
“That’s where we need to hit him.” Lou’s normal carefree voice took on a dark tone. “That’s where we’ll defeat him. At the heart of his being.”
I lowered the scope, taking a steadying breath, then handed the tool back to Eleanor. She gave me a knowing grin.
“Lou’s so sure about things, huh?” Eleanor smiled over at the older man. “In a world where nothing is, sometimes it’s nice to hear something so direct.”
Lou was about to open his mouth to protest, when a friendly voice called his name.
“I’ll be right back, excuse me,” Lou excused himself, going over to the man and engaging him in conversation.”
“I like Lou,” I said, pursing my lips. “Don’t get me wrong, I really do. Sometimes he just asks a lot. He’s got faith I don’t.”
“You’re preaching to the choir.” Eleanor chuckled. “I guess in a world where aliens exist and there are virus strains capable of controlling animals and people, we could all use a little more faith.”
“Maybe,” I said, looking down at my own hand. The lightning-bolt scar that was part of me now was a direct match to the monument I had just seen in the jungle.
You’re seeing what you want to see, I thought to myself. Aren’t all lightning bolts the same shape anyway?
“You’re the famous gladiator t
oo, right?” Eleanor asked. “Don’t worry, I don’t want your autograph or anything. That clinic you put on in the cafeteria a week ago spread like fire in our small community. What I want to know is how you ended up here.”
“The long version or the short version?” I asked.
“I’ll take the short version.” Eleanor looked out past me to the alien sky. The suns were nearly past the horizon. Darkness was coming on quickly. “I need to climb down before it gets too dark.”
“Being a gladiator didn’t really work out,” I said, thinking it wasn’t a lie at all. “I trained as a mechanic, and when they needed bodies to man the Orion, I stepped up. You?”
“Classic story of not being able to get ahead in life.” Eleanor shrugged. “When there was a chance at a new start here on the seed ship, I jumped at the offer. Not just me, but my extended family as well. They couldn’t get on the Orion, but they’re scheduled to leave on a different seed ship. I think it’s called Titan. I was pissed we couldn’t all go together at first, but after what happened to us here, I’m glad they didn’t come.”
I nodded along with her words. Rustling behind me made us both pause our conversation. A thick bird that looked too fat to fly rested on the floor of our level. Its beak reminded me of a parrot.
I took a step back, not trusting anything this planet had to offer.
“Don’t worry,” Eleanor said, reaching into her pocket and coming back with half a biscuit. “They’re harmless.”
She tossed the biscuit to the chubby bird, who caught it in midair and flew away despite its bulk.
“You’re welcome,” Eleanor shouted to its back. She turned to me. “Well, I’m going to say goodbye to the rest of the crew up here. It was nice meeting you. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
“You too, Ms. Hughes,” I replied.
I thought about going over to Lou and saying goodbye, but the padre was deep in a conversation with a small group of people. I had seen what he wanted me to see. That was enough for him.
I made my way back down the Orion, thinking about everything from the scar on my hand to the words Lou shared. The jungle interior did seem to be where Legion started. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that something there could be his downfall. I needed more information first.
Tong would have to tell us how to defeat this virus—if it could be defeated at all. Didn’t that gecko alien say his people went into hiding until the virus died out? That would mean they couldn’t fight it.
The suns were already down by the time I reached the ground. I walked toward the tent Ricky and I shared. It was early for bed, but I was feeling every bump and bruise from the day. Just lying down for a while before actual sleep felt like a small slice of heaven.
My path took me by Arun’s tent. She was just stepping outside when I walked by.
“Doctor Allbright said you went to see her.” Arun looked down, squinting through the night to try to get a better look at my hand. “Are you okay?”
“Just a scratch,” I said, trying not to get involved in another conversation. I didn’t want to be rude, but honestly, I needed a shower and some rest.
“Actually, I’m glad I ran into you,” Arun said. “Elon and Stacy are on their way. We need to come up with a plan.”
“Great,” I said, edging past her. “You all have fun with that. I have a date with a hot shower and a bed.”
“We want you in on this,” Arun said as if she were already telegraphing my excuses and swatting them aside. “We need you in on this, Dean. Like it or not, people are starting to look up to you. After the show you put on in the cafeteria tent, and what you did with that alien beast that crashed through our gates—you’re a hero to these people.”
“I’m not trying to be anyone’s hero,” I told her with a shake of my head.
“And that’s what makes you the perfect hero.” Arun gave me a tired smile. “Come on. I don’t have the energy to argue with you. Elon and Stacy will be here any second.”
Arun waved me to follow and disappeared into her tent.
I sighed. Sleep wouldn’t be in the cards for me tonight.
The thing I hated most about this entire conversation was that we both knew I was going inside to hear what the plan was. The need to stay out of things was slowly evaporating. At the end of the day, I realized I would rather know what was going on and be part of the solution than a bystander kept in the dark.
“It’s hard to recognize you after your haircut and shave, especially in the dark,” Stacy said from somewhere behind me. “I’m used to seeing you with that long hair and beard. Kind of miss it actually.”
I turned around to see Stacy and Elon approaching down the dirt path to my right.
I ran a hand through my short hair and then over the even shorter beard that was beginning to grow back over my face.
“I don’t miss the hair, but I was thinking of bringing the beard back,” I said. “I don’t even recognize myself when I look in the mirror anymore.”
“I think we’re all changing inside and out,” Elon said, opening the tent flaps for us to walk inside. “After you.”
Stacy took the lead and followed. The inside of Arun’s tent was longer than it was wide. There wasn’t a bed, which led me to believe she was one of the few who still slept aboard the Orion. Her tent had a couple bookcases, hard-light emitters for Iris, and a desk on the far side of the tent with a chair for her and two chairs facing her.
No one really felt like sitting. Arun leaned against her desk while we all stood quietly, lost in our own thoughts.
“Where do we even begin?” Stacy asked all of us.
“We begin with what’s most important,” Elon answered. “We need to secure this base as well as we can. Boss Creed is leading the mechanics in reinforcing the gates and walls. The twin watchtowers he’s building will help as well, but we need better weapons.”
“I agree with everything you’ve said, brother,” Arun said, biting her lower lip. “However, we can’t forget about the expeditionary force led by Captain Harold. They never returned and it’s been over a week now. We have to send someone to find them.”
“Iris, have you been able to bring anything up using the long-range scanner you have in place?” Elon asked the empty air around us.
A moment later, the Cognitive materialized. Thanks to the hard-light emitters set up in Arun’s tent, she was able to take on a physical appearance.
“I have been unable to thus far,” Iris answered. “The communication section of the Orion Captain Harold and his expeditionary team were sent to recover is still there as far as I can tell.”
Iris brought up a map of the area around her. It floated above her open hand in a bright green light. On her map, the Orion appeared, as well as the mountains to the east and the communication section of the Orion.
“Tong’s people must have had some way to communicate and some kind of weaponry,” I said, pointing to the map over Iris’ hand. “I say we talk to our friend, but the best bet is to swing east to see what happened to Captain Harold, and then go south to where Tong’s people are sleeping.”
“If Ricky can get the crawler back up and running, we can make that entire trip in a few days’ time,” Arun said out loud.
“We?” Alon asked. “You should stay here and—”
“Not this time.” Arun’s voice was firm. “You went out on the last run and nearly got killed. It’s my turn to go while you stay and defend the base.”
Stacy and I shared a look before glancing at the siblings. Both their eyes were as hard as blue diamonds. Elon finally gave way.
“The only reason I’m giving in is because you’re right. I did go last time. I also know you can use a break from running the Orion. You look horrible,” Elon said with a sly smile to his older sister.
“Good,” Arun said, giving her brother a hard stare. “We’ll take a small team and leave as many here as we can to defend the base. “I’ll check with Ricky and make sure the crawler is ready to go fir
st thing in the morning.”
“I’ll get us supplied and put someone in charge of the Civil Authority while we’re gone,” Stacy volunteered. “Hannah would be my first choice. She has previous military experience. Right now, we need that more than a Civil Authority Officer trained to deal with urban situations.”
All eyes swung toward me.
“What?” I asked. “I just wanted to sleep.”
“Maybe you and Iris can inform Tong of the plan,” Arun suggested. “We’ll need him to come along with us if we’re going to travel to his installation.”
I glanced at the holographic map Iris still held in her hand. She didn’t show the section of the mist swamp beyond the southern forest, but I knew it was there. If we were serious about reaching Tong’s installation, our path went right into the unknown.
8
Sleep came without a problem that night. After the hot shower, I basically fell into a coma. Even better, there were no nightmares of the past. Ricky was gone when I fell asleep, working on the crawler. When I woke, his bed was still empty. I guess I had damaged the crawler worse than I originally thought.
The alarm clock by the bunk beds Ricky and I shared stood on one of the few pieces of furniture in our tent, a four-drawer dresser we shared, which contained the few changes of clothes we owned.
The alarm numbers stared at me bright red in the darkness, showing an ungodly early time. I elected the night before to get a solid night’s sleep and talk to Tong in the morning. The others would meet me at the alien’s mountain base, and we would leave. Iris had already informed Tong of our plan. My going was more out of courtesy than anything else to make sure the alien was ready.
I yawned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. My cargo pants and long-sleeve shirt would work for another day. The fleeting idea that they needed to be washed came and went as I shoved my feet into my black boots.
Outside, only the suits on guard duty and the very earliest of risers were about. Cooks in charge of preparing breakfast walked down the road with large containers and supplies. A shift of mechanics that worked around the clock were busy on the watchtowers by the front gate.