by Trevor Gregg
“Alright, now we’ve got a timeline. Let’s go over what we know and see if Leicara provided us with anything useful,” Kyren said, sitting down at one of the consoles and bringing up a directory.
Benjam was excited. They were making progress, they had a timeline. Now to just figure out how to pull it all off. But they would. He knew they had succeeded once before, after all, if the messages on the data core were any indicator.
33
Master Dralok
Kyren was relieved at Benjam’s revelation. At least they had some time. Would it be enough, though? He could only hope. But, he knew they needed to move fast. Their list of tasks was actually pretty monumental, especially given the fact that they were outsiders here. They would need access to the Azorian’s military infrastructure in order to locate and gain access to Skotty’s station and the giant robot, the Gaidan.
Hopefully Leicara had actually granted them enough access to find what they needed, but he doubted it. Kyren was grateful to have been accepted as an ally, but he was still suspicious, and couldn’t believe Leicara wouldn’t be also, even if she didn’t show it. They would just have to do the best they could with whatever she had given them.
“Okay, so the first thing we should do is catalog what we have access to. Give us a better idea of research priorities, and help us see how forthcoming Leicara is actually being,” Kyren suggested.
“What do we want to tackle first? The station? The robot? Tharox’s mind mapping? And has anyone thought about how we get back to our time?” Alis said, sounding a little exasperated.
“I have been giving it some thought,” Benjam began hesitantly. “The energy needed to bridge two points in spacetime is astrophysical in magnitude. We’re talking the sum power of a black hole’s emissions, or a supernova captured in an instant. Whatever, or whoever, the Traveler was, found a way to generate enough power.”
“So we just need to find a power source capable of generating a time portal, then?” Kyren proposed.
“Yes, and hopefully the Azorians’ advanced technology will hold the key,” Benjam affirmed.
“Great, so let’s use the rest of today to get an idea of what we have access to, then we can start fresh tomorrow morning,” Kyren proposed.
“There’s one other thing we need to find,” Alis said enigmatically.
“What?” Kyren and Benjam both asked simultaneously.
“Remember where we were when we recorded the messages to ourselves? The waterfall room, we need to find it. And I suspect it’s here on the grounds,” she posited.
“Okay, so we’ll also need to explore the grounds. I don’t think we should ask Leicara about it, at least not until we know how far we can trust her,” Kyren offered.
Alis’ ears went flat as she snorted in derision, “not far, I’m sure.”
They spent several hours reviewing the systems they now had access to. There was quite a few new networks they could reach now, and one of them seemed to be military in nature. At least she had given them something, hopefully they would find what they needed there.
Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Kyren said, “Let’s finish up, I’m starving.”
“I too am a little peckish,” Benjam offered, turning off the holopanels and squiggling to the door.
They returned to their quarters to find trays of food, piles of small cakes and strips of some pale root vegetable, and pitchers of a sweet tea. They grabbed their food and gathered in Kyren’s room.
“We’ve got access to a military network, we’ve got their public network, and it seems the compound’s private network, too,” Kyren said through a mouthful of one of the small, sweet cakes.
“I found a medical network, as well,” Benjam informed them.
“And I’ve got a map of the compound, too,” Alis chimed in.
Kyren picked up one of the strange vegetable strips and hesitantly took a bite. It was crunchy, like a carrot. But it tasted like a mushroom, cooked in grease. It was surprisingly good, he promptly devoured his remaining sticks, following up with gulps of the sweet tea.
“Let’s get some rest and start fresh in the morning. Alis, let’s take a self-guided tour of this place around sunrise, while you can get started on research, Benjam,” Kyren instructed, yawning.
Alis and Benjam returned to their rooms, and Kyren stretched out on the bed. He was tired, exhausted in fact, but could not fall asleep. Their tasks were so monumental and they didn’t even know where to start. Hopefully things would fall into place, hopefully they would discover the information they needed. They had succeeded, after all, since they had left themselves the messages on the data core.
Kyren’s mind ran over their problems, again and again. Eventually, he fell asleep, drifting into troubled dreams. His dreams were interrupted by a knock on the door. He sat up in bed and reached for the pistol he had stashed in the headboard.
“Master Kyren,” a soft voice called out.
Replacing the pistol, he threw on some pants and answered the door. An Azorian, a lowly Dras, stood just outside, holding folded white garments. It was Heston.
“Hi, what’s with the early morning wake-up call?”
“Master Dralok requests your presence, for your training is to begin today,” he said, bowing slightly and handing Kyren the garment.
Heston then went to Alis’ door and knocked as well. Moments later a groggy looking Alis answered the door, wrapped in her sheet, hair askance. She glanced at Kyren, their eyes lingered on each other for a moment. Then she accepted the garment and disappeared back inside. Kyren returned to his room and donned the toga-like garb he had been given. When he emerged, Alis and Heston were standing in the hall, waiting.
“So what’s Dralok training us for?” Kyren asked curiously.
Thankfully, Heston knew, and answered, “You will begin battle training, with Master Dralok.”
“What kind of battle training?” Kyren questioned.
“The Master will address that question,” Heston replied meekly.
“Let me tell Benjam where we’re going first,” he said, knocking on Benjam’s door, which opened a moment later.
“We’re going to go train with Dralok,” Kyren informed him. “Go to the vid-itorium, we’ll join you when we’re finished.”
They left the residence and followed Heston across the compound. They stopped before a large structure, walls curving away to either side of a large, open doorway. “Strength in Honor” was carved into the stone above the archway. Heston motioned for them to enter, then turned and strode away without a word.
“Well, shall we?” Alis asked hesitantly, looking a little unsure.
“Let’s see what Dralok has in store for us, eh?” he said, striding confidently into the building.
They followed a narrow corridor and emerged in a spacious open arena, a raised platform bearing a large ring etched in the floor.
Dralok stood in the center, in a similar garb, and spoke at their approach, “Welcome, Kyren and Alis, to your battle training. We begin with hand to hand combat.”
He motioned them up onto the platform and into the ring. Dralok began to perform a series of moves, kicking, punching, throwing elbow strikes and other seemingly devastating attacks. He whirled and dodged, blocking invisible opponents and counterattacking. He finished with a yell, locking into a fighting stance for a moment before returning to his upright posture and bowing slightly.
“Someday you may know mastery of the Eso kata, among others. For now, we learn the basics,” Dralok began.
They spent the next several hours teaching them combat stances, helping them to learn how to be more stable on their feet, to keep their center of gravity low and to use their whole body when moving. By the time they stopped, Kyren’s muscles were trembling.
“Tomorrow, we continue your training,” Dralok said, bowing before leaving the arena.
“C’mon, let’s go find Benjam,” Kyren said, walking on shaking legs to the edge of the platform.
“
Can we rest for a minute? I’m dreading the walk to the vid-itorium,” Alis admitted.
Kyren sat on the edge of the platform and Alis joined him. Alis looked around to make sure Dralok had left and they were alone.
“Does this seem like a waste of time, to you?” Alis questioned.
“Yes, and no. If we cooperate, they should cooperate. Or at least that is the plan for now. I mean, it’s not like we have anywhere else to go. If we can be allies with Leicara, maybe we’ll have the resources needed to accomplish our goals.”
“Pfff, Leicara. You trust her too much, Kyren.”
“We have no other choice. And no, I don’t trust her either,” Kyren intoned, noticing Alis’ ears twitching in annoyance. “This is where we are supposed to be, I think. If we can find that waterfall room, we’ll know it’s right for sure.”
34
Jellified
“Gah, my legs!” Alis lamented as they reached the vid-itorium.
“I know, I’m all jellified,” Kyren agreed.
Alis was grateful that she wasn’t the only one who had been worn down by the training. She hadn’t really had any hand-to-hand combat training, so she was looking forward to learning more. On one hand. On the other hand, this Dralok was going to take up a large chunk of their time. Their mornings would be shot if today was any indication.
“Benjam, how goes the research?” Kyren called out as they entered.
Benjam squiggled over and answered, “Still just cataloging information, I’ll be digging into what I’ve selected shortly. How was your battle training?”
“Fine,” Alis answered, more annoyance evident in her voice than she had wanted.
“Yeah, it was fine,” Kyren concurred. “But it was really basic. I have a feeling Dralok’s got long-term goals for us.”
“It’s okay, to a point. I just don’t want to spend all our time training and make no progress on our own problems,” Alis elaborated.
“I agree. But we should take advantage of his training, nonetheless. We’ve got one hundred days, right Benjam?”
“Well, ninety-nine now, but it could be minus four days so let’s just call it ninety-five,” he squeaked in response.
“Great, ninety-five days. We’ll keep it up with Dralok and keep making progress here,” Kyren suggested. “And if Dralok impedes us too much, we’ll stop training.”
Alis was satisfied, for now. She put her frustration out of mind and began to delve into the information Benjam had compiled. She found ship logs, maintenance records, and craft schematics. After several hours she felt she had a decent picture of the Nevthifar space fleet. At least the one Leicara wanted her to see.
There was just something not adding up, she felt the numbers didn’t reconcile. There was a big hole in the picture, data indicating something was missing. It was as if there were a number of ships missing from the roster. The supply records seemed to indicate more ships than were listed.
The other thing she noticed was a steady ramping up over the last twenty-five years. It seemed they were mobilizing for war, and had been planning for quite some time. She wondered if the Halifax had been doing the same. Perhaps it was an arms race between the two factions?
“Hey guys, I’ve got a picture of the Nevthifar space fleet,” she said, explaining her findings. “There are ships missing. No data on them, so who knows what the Azorians’ full capabilities are.”
“So Leicara is indeed holding back,” Benjam said quietly.
“No surprise there. Let’s just keep that in mind as we investigate,” Kyren recommended.
Alis was pleased that Kyren was still wary. But she felt he was giving away too much, and what they were getting in return didn’t measure up.
They worked well into the evening until they were exhausted. Alis was ready for bed by the time they reached the residence. She ate a quick bite, and then dropped to the mattress, falling asleep in moments.
The next morning was the same as the previous, more battle training at dawn, focusing again on stances. Then research in the afternoon, and exhaustion again at night. This continued on for a good ten days before their training regiment shifted abruptly, and Dralok began to teach them strikes and blocks.
Alis decided to up her training, and after those ten days was starting to find her stride. So she went for a run to the beach. And thus began her evening ritual, a run, sometimes to the beach, sometimes around the compound. Occasionally Kyren would join her, but only when he wasn’t nose deep in holoscreens.
The research was coming along, but they still hadn’t found anything they could act on. Until day fifteen.
Benjam squeaked excitedly, as they entered after their training with Dralok, “I think I figured something out.”
Alis felt a swell of hope. Finally, something to go on!
“I think I know how we can get back to the future, or rather, our present time. I’ve not found anything regarding a power source vast enough to create a time bridge. But I did find information on another tech.”
“So there’s another way to cross the span of seventeen thousand years?” Kyren asked rhetorically.
“Yes. We live them,” Benjam said after a dramatic pause.
“Huh?” Kyren asked.
“I’ve discovered schematics for a cryostasis pod,” he said, pausing dramatically again. “We could put ourselves in stasis, and wake up when it’s time.”
“So let’s say we can get some stasis pods. Won’t they need a power source that’ll last seventeen thousand years? And where are we going to put them, so nobody’ll screw with us?” Alis asked skeptically.
“Well, I’m working on both those problems. So far I think a zero-point generator could power the pods, but it would need to be quite large. And as for a hiding place, I need to find a way to correlate the Azorian star-charts with a known reference point in our own coordinate system. Otherwise we won’t be able to find ourselves,” Benjam explained.
“But how’ll we get off world once we wake up?” Kyren questioned.
“I think we’ll need a ride,” Benjam squeaked excitedly. “And I think we’ve already arranged for it.”
“My mom!” Alis cried. “That’s where we sent her. To pick us up!”
“Indeed,” Benjam confirmed.
35
Eastern Garden
Alis had bruises. Kyren had bruises. He’d even had a dislocated shoulder. Of which Alis had been tremendously embarrassed about, having been the cause. Dralok’s training had moved from mere stances and positioning, into actual fighting. Of course, that meant pain.
Kyren had been hesitant, at first, when Dralok had insisted he try to hit her. But then she had hit him first. Not intentionally, of course, but she scored a blow, bloodying his lip. Kyren still pulled his punches, but he actually went after her. They were fairly evenly matched, but with Kyren bearing a little greater reach and strength.
Alis made up for it in speed and ferocity, though. Dralok taught them strikes, kicks, grappling, and throws. That was how she had dislocated Kyren’s shoulder, trying to send him sailing across the combat floor. But instead, she had merely wrenched his arm from its socket.
Dralok had reset the shoulder, then injected Kyren with the contents of a small syringe. Nanites, as Dralok had said, that would heal any residual damage. Kyren and Alis limped their way to the vid-itorium after their latest training session, chatting aimlessly about their predicament.
“What do you think about all this timeline stuff, anyway?” Kyren asked her, his head cocked.
“Well, it’s a little mind-bending and all. And a little intimidating. How many days has it been? And we have no actual progress? I think Leicara is using Dralok’s training to distract us,” she replied, unable to conceal her frustration.
“Yeah, I’m feeling that too,” he agreed. “But I have a feeling we really don’t have much choice. I think their cooperation is dependent on ours. I don’t think we can refuse without escalating the situation.”
“True. But there may
come a time for escalation. Let’s just be ready, okay?” Alis grumbled.
“Of course,” he affirmed.
They strode into the vid-itorium, Benjam oblivious to their entry, enthralled in whatever mental rabbit hole he was running down.
“Hey squiggles, your mother was a squid!” Kyren yelled, then burst out laughing.
Benjam squeaked and turned around in surprise.
“Who’re you calling a cephalopod, you hairless ape,” he shot back in mock anger.
“Okay boys, now that you’ve got that out of your system, how’re our plans coming along?” Alis said, realizing she sounded a lot like her mom.
There it was, the sharp pain of separation. She just had to have faith that they would figure out this cryostasis stuff and her mom was really waiting for them on the other end.
“Well, I’ve nearly completed my designs for a brain scanner. The Azorians have advanced mind-mapping technology. The trick was adapting it into components that can be installed in a wall,” Benjam explained. “Speaking of mind-mapping, I did find something unusual. Or rather, didn’t find it. The link between mind-mapping and artificial neural intelligence is an obvious leap.”
“I don’t understand? Are you saying that Leicara left something else out, beyond the fleet inconsistencies?” Alis asked, concern beginning to fill her.
Were they going to find subterfuge at every turn? What game was Leicara playing?
“Yes, something is definitely missing. A whole branch of research, a whole topic of study, just absent from the data,” Benjam continued. “I also had an idea. Kyren, will you fetch the data core?”
“Yeah, sure. It’s gonna be a while, though. I’m not moving too fast right now, thanks to that massive charlie horse you gave me, Alis,” Kyren groused, clutching his thigh dramatically.
“You deserved that, you know,” she retorted. “You were showing off, using your greater reach to toy with me. So I went for the only target you gave me.”