Destiny Reckoning

by Trevor Gregg

  “What did you see?” Benjam squeaked curiously.

  “I saw the Kirugi. It was laying waste to my planet, my capitol. And it was launching it’s eggs back into space. But there was Kyren, controlling the Gaidan, defeating the beast.”

  “But what about the eggs? What happens to the eggs?” Kyren asked urgently.

  “They are destroyed, all of them. We have to hunt the last one down, though, as it will slip through our cordon. But without the Computer, we can’t find it,” she explained desperately.

  “I know where it’s going. The computer showed me its destination before we triggered the self destruct. You see, that’s why I needed to steal the Gaidan,” Kyren said emphatically.

  Alis knew they needed the giant robot. But it would have to survive a battle with the Kirugi, not once, but twice. Was it up to the challenge?

  “Yes, I’ve seen it warp away,” Leicara informed him flatly.

  “It won’t be until I’ve taken down the first Kirugi, though,” he said, looking at Leicara reassuringly. “If we don’t stop it here and now, those eggs will overrun the galaxy. As it stands, just one is enough to threaten everyone.”

  “There is something else I’ve seen, as well,” Leicara responded, hesitantly at first. “I’ve seen what we have to do next. I have to help you get back to the future, your future. That is why you were researching stasis pods, I gather, Benjam?”

  “Indeed, if we can find a power source long-lasting enough to power the pods for seventeen thousand years, then my idea will work. That, and we need to be undisturbed, as well, until it is time to awake,” Benjam explained.

  “I happen to know just the place,” Leicara admitted. “I’ve seen it. It took a while to understand it, but now I know why we go there.”

  “Where? Where is it?” Alis demanded.

  “A long-abandoned colony, on a world with a forgotten name. There is a fade-gate here that once connected to that world. I should be able to activate it. There’s just one small problem.”

  “Great, what problem?” Alis groused, annoyed that Leicara was being so damned elusive.

  “The local fauna, they are quite deadly. One of the reasons the colony was abandoned, you see. But if we are quick, and quiet, we should be able to escape their notice.”

  “Benjam, do we have stasis pods and a means of transporting them to a fade-gate?” Kyren questioned.

  “Indeed, we have the pods and there are several grav-conveyors that levitate via anti-gravity. They are large enough to carry a pod.”

  “Excellent. Benjam, let’s load up the pods. Leicara, will you lead us to the fade-gate?”

  “Yes,” Leicara replied, shakily standing.

  Much to Alis’ chagrin, Kyren reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, steadying her. Benjam spent some time using drones to load the pods onto the grav-conveyors. They were surprisingly easy to push along, despite the pod’s great weight.

  Following Leicara through the darkness, they each pushed a cart loaded with a sleek stasis pod. Kyren kept his rifle slung over his back and he wore his wrist blade on his left wrist. Alis was equally alert, her wrench already configured in sonic emitter form.

  They reached a large domed building in the center, in which Alis had never entered. Large arched doorways led into a massive rotunda. Lining the walls were dozens upon dozens of fade-gates. Some were active, others dormant.

  “Wow, where do they all go?” Kyren wondered aloud.

  “All over the kingdom, both Nevthifar and Halifax territory alike. That is why so many of them are dark. They link to Halifax territory, so we’ve placed inhibitors on them, to prevent them from being made active,” Leicara explained, leading them across the great open space.

  Alis was on high alert as she followed Leicara. Ever since she had heard that damnably wonderful music, things had changed. Now she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching her.

  Leicara reached the far wall and bent to a deactivated fade-gate. She toyed with the device until the holopanel flickered to life. She manipulated the interface until an energy field rippled into place.

  “Kyren, I’m going to deactivate the inhibitor. The gate will reconnect. I’ve got no idea what’s waiting on the other side, if anything. So be ready,” Leicara instructed somberly.

  “Wait, what do you mean anything?” Alis cried.

  “The local predators may be just on the other side. If they are, we may need to deter them from crossing over while I shut it down.”

  “Got it, ready when you are,” Kyren affirmed, readying his rifle.

  Alis scrambled back to her grav-conveyor and took cover, training her sonic emitter at the energy field. Leicara disabled the inhibitor and a portal sprang to life. The wall now opened into a large chamber, similar in design to the one they were currently in.

  To Alis’ great relief, the far chamber was empty, no sign of alien predators. Her ears twitched nervously, panning and searching for any sound of threat.

  “Let me go first, okay?” Kyren said, stepping forward and through the portal.

  He stalked into the other chamber and looked around, panning his rifle back and forth. After a few moments, he lowered his rifle and motioned for them to follow.

  Once they had approached, Kyren began to speak in a low voice, “Leicara, where are we going from here?”

  “We need to find a suitable location for the pods, but since I’ve never been here before, we’ll have to just look around,” Leicara said while closing the gate behind them.

  “You don’t remember anything about this from your experience with the computer?” Alis questioned.

  “Unfortunately, nothing that makes any sense. Perhaps I will recognize something as we search.”

  Alis felt like growling but suppressed it. She couldn’t help her ears, though, which went flat.

  “There’s the exit, looks like daylight,” Kyren said, making his way over, rifle raised.

  Reaching the tunnel that lead out, Alis could indeed see daylight. But something faint reached her ears and they twitched in response.

  “Wait!” she hissed in a whisper. “I hear something.”

  Straining, she could make out a faint whump-whump-whump sound. It was almost imperceptible, nearly sub-sonic. They continued on, creeping to the exit and peering out.

  Poking her head out, she took a look around. A weathered stone city, overgrown by trees, grass, and brush, stretched out before her. The domed building they had just exited sat upon a hill overlooking a small walled compound. The gate was askance, having sustained some unknown damage. It was hanging at an extreme angle.

  “We need to find a building with an exposed power conduit,” Benjam suggested. “What power system does this colony possess?”

  “It has a zero-point quantum generator,” Leicara informed him.

  “It must be truly massive to power a compound of this size,” he replied, sounding awestruck.

  “It was designed to power a much larger civilization. It is buried deep within the planet’s crust. It was warped there, after being assembled in space. It should have sufficient power to spare for your purposes,” Leicara posited.

  “And the nature of the generator means it will provide energy in perpetuity,” Benjam confirmed.

  “Let’s scout first, then we’ll grab the pods,” Kyren suggested.

  “Don’t you hear that?” Alis asked him, cocking her head and panning her ears.

  She watched Kyren straining, but he didn’t seem to pick it up.

  “Oh, I think I know what you’re hearing. The creatures inhabiting this world, they trigger on seismic disturbances. You are hearing the preemptive measures in place. With the perpetual power supply, it seems they are still in operation,” Leicara explained.

  They spent some time exploring, cautiously. Kyren and the others finally heard what Alis had picked up so early on. There was a distant thumping that could nearly be felt through their feet.

  “Here! That building, I recognize it,” Le
icara informed them excitedly.

  It was a large stone building, maybe two hundred feet long. Alis could tell, based on its height, it was likely one story with vaulted ceilings. Kyren crept to the door cautiously and hit the control panel. It groaned for a moment, then began to slowly retract into the wall.

  Inside, a spacious interior greeted them. The building appeared to be an empty shell. However, on the far side, Alis could see many exposed conduits. There had been some serious tech here at one time, she could tell. This would do nicely for the pods.

  They stalked inside, Kyren turning back and forth, covering all angles with his rifle. The room indeed was vast, and indeed was empty.

  “Alis, check these conduits for live power,” Benjam prompted.

  She converted her wrench into a scanner and went to work. There were many interfaces with the base, and yes, power as well.

  “We’re good.”

  “Great, let’s get those pods over here and get them installed,” Kyren commanded.

  It took them some time to move the pods and for she and Benjam to hook them up. Benjam keyed up some commands while Alis took readings with her scanner.

  “Looks green to me,” she informed Benjam and the others.

  “Great! Now let’s get out of here before we run into anything,” Kyren said, striding out into the street, illuminated by the fading evening light.

  63

  Skeevers

  “So what are these predators that you warned us about?” Kyren asked Leicara as they made their way back to the portal.

  “They’re called skeevers. They’re sort of like a crustacean crossed with a primate,” she explained. “But the fact that they have armored exoskeletons and crushing pincers is second only to their speed. They can move so fast they can barely be tracked.”

  “You mean can’t be tracked by our eyes?” Benjam asked. “Yes, let’s hurry back indeed. Oh dear.”

  Kyren felt even more nervous, scanning around, head on a swivel. He kept his rifle raised and finger on the trigger. Suddenly there was a scrabbling sound and a blur of movement from a side alley. A dark shape blurred into the street and nearly reached them by the time he squeezed the trigger.

  His rifle barked energy pulses that streamed into the creature. Carapace shattered and internal goo was flung all over the street. Its body fell, several huge holes oozing pulpy green goop.

  Looking around, he noted Alis’ ears panning to the left side of the avenue. Trusting his instincts, he dropped his rifle and ignited the energy blade on his wrist. Whirling, he lashed out and the blade bit into the approaching skeever’s head, shearing off a huge chunk of chitinous skull.

  It crashed into him, lifeless, but its momentum carrying its body on. He toppled to the ground and scrambled out from under the beast. It stood a foot or so shorter than himself, and was covered in bony carapace. The head was flattened and wide, mandibles surrounding a tooth filled maw.

  He realized now that it had four arms, in fact. A smaller pair lie beneath the large claw-tipped arms. These smaller hands, unlike the claws above, were indeed humanoid.

  “Shhh,” Leicara said in a whisper. “Walk lightly.”

  Kyren recovered his rifle and they crept the final hundred yards back to the portal chamber. His nerves were on edge and he couldn’t stop seeing movement out of the corner of his eye. To his great relief, they reached the chamber and ducked inside.

  Covering their escape, Kyren was grateful there was only one way into this building. Well, one way from the outside, anyway. Could be any number of portals in here lying dormant, he speculated.

  Dashing through the portal, they made it back to the compound. Leicara deactivated the fade-gate and he sighed an internal sigh of relief. Those damn things had been fast, almost too fast to track indeed. He hoped they wouldn’t have to encounter the creatures again, but he knew they couldn’t be so lucky.

  “What now?” Alis asked, looking pointedly from Kyren to Leicara.

  “I believe I know what we need to do next. I suggest we complete it before any more events overtake us,” Benjam proposed.

  Benjam removed a vid recorder from his satchel and waved several tentacles.

  “Oh, right. I almost forgot. We’ve got some messages to record to ourselves, don’t we?” Kyren replied, admonishing himself for nearly forgetting one of the most crucial parts.

  They made their way to the waterfall cavern and spent some time recording the messages to themselves. Alis encoded the recordings on the data core they had taken from the computer. They added the coordinates to the stasis pods and the location where they would hide the robot.

  “Now we just need access to Skotty station,” Kyren said to Leicara when they had finished their recordings.

  “I believe I know what you are looking for, for I have seen it. There is a base with a potent weapon, one that must be brought to bear on the Kirugi. We need to capture the station and bring it here, to fight,” Leicara explained.

  “So how do we get to it, and bring it here?” Alis questioned.

  “I’m not sure, but you’ll come up with a plan, no doubt,” Leicara began, pausing. “But I’ll tell you what I know. The base contains a jacobian sphere, capable of emitting a deadly frequency of long-range alpha decay. I’ve seen the beam blasting the eggs from space, sending them back to the planet’s surface. It’s what stops them from spreading to the rest of the galaxy. All of them, except the last, that is.”

  “You still haven’t said how we get to it,” Alis groused.

  Kyren noted how she still scowled at Leicara. He didn’t understand it, really. It’s not like he had feelings for Leicara. Sure he was concerned for her well being, he knew she was a valuable ally, but he definitely didn’t feel that way about her. He wasn’t so sure how he felt about Alis, though.

  Her kiss had felt as if it had woken him up. Like there was a universe of new possibilities. Only they weren’t new, they were familiar, comforting. They had been through so much together. He had nearly lost her several times. He swore to himself he wouldn’t leave her again.

  “Well, you are going to have to figure out how, but the doorway to the base is the Gaidan control room. The control room itself resides within the station you seek.”

  “So we’re gonna have to “hack in,” eh?” Kyren said sardonically.

  “Do you have access to the schematics of the base, Leicara?” Benjam squeaked. “It might be possible for you cut us a hole, right Alis?”

  “Yeah, but if I’m cutting through bulkhead it’s going to take awhile,” as she spoke, Kyren watched her raise her hands to her head.

  “Alis, you okay?” he asked, concerned at the look of discomfort crossing her face.

  Alis paused and held her head, sinking to her knees, “I’m hearing something… not the music, something different.”

  A flicker caught Kyren’s eye and he looked skyward. A great ball of fire bloomed as a massive object began atmospheric entry. The massive meteor-like object streaked through the sky, burning brightly and leaving a huge trail of fire behind.

  “Oh no, it’s here!” Alis shrieked.

  The Kirugi continued its trajectory, passing over them and over the western horizon.

  “That’s the direction of the capitol, isn’t it?” Kyren guessed.

  A tremendous flash burst over the horizon and a massive mushroom cloud began to rise.

  64

  Infiltration

  “Well,” Kyren said somberly. “Looks like it’s time. I’ve got to get the Gaidan on line. Then we’ve got to get Skotty station here. I’ll get to the control room and get the Gaidan programmed. Leicara, do you still have your AI?”

  She nodded and produced a data core, handing it to him.

  “Benjam, Alis, go get our things, get that brain scanner for Tharox, and anything else we need. Bring the brain scanner and tools to cut through bulkheads, and take the rest to the rotunda and the fade-gate to our pods. Stage it because I think we’ll need to make a quick getaway.”
>
  “The base is controlled by the remnants of Dralok’s forces. It will be heavily staffed, with both Dralok’s men and a contingent of bots. How are we going to take control of it, that’s impossible,” Leicara said despondently.

  “I’ve got an idea, but we’ve got to act fast,” Kyren responded confidently.

  He knew it would work. It had to work. After all, they had made it to the future. Unless they hadn’t. He realized his logic was flawed. What had they accomplished? They had obtained the Gaidan and built the brain-scanner components for Tharox’s mind scan. They had the data core, and a way into the station.

  All of that, it had all made its way to them via the data core. So that much had happened. But what if they didn’t make it to the pods? What if the pods failed? Fear crept in and his confidence blew away like dust in the wind. He realized there was no guarantee they would survive, only that they had made it this far.

  Benjam and Alis left to get their gear while Kyren and Leicara made their way to the building containing the bot control rooms. He walked somberly, in silence, mentally running over his plan again and again. A short time later, they were standing in the Gaidan’s control room.

  “I’ll help you into the control rig,” Leicara said, moving toward the two pillars and the apparatus between.

  She stopped short when she saw Dralok’s body, impaled on his staff and pinned to one pillar. He felt sorry for her as she began retching.

  “Not yet, I’ve got to do something first,” he replied once she seemed to have regained her composure.

  Kyren slotted the data core containing the AI into the data terminal. The screen flickered to life and the Azorian hologram stood before him.

  “Hello Skotty. I can call you Skotty, right?”

  “While I am designated Skotinicene, you may call me by a pseudonym if you so choose,” the AI replied cheerily.