by Luke Norris
She had braided her black fringe out of her face. Her distinctive highland looks were a connection with his past, with Ponsy. It was impossible to know if she really was a direct descendant of Ponsy, there was no way to trace the lineage. Oliver liked to think so, but it didn’t really matter.
“Lenat said we are not going with the wasp,” Shael said inquiringly, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek. She placed her hand on Lego’s armored shoulder. “Hi, Lego. What are you two boys discussing over here?”
Lego’s eyes glowed brightly. Oliver knew he’d taken warmly to her. He hasn’t been planetside in millennia, Oliver reminded himself or had female company. His life was spent in the hold of the Yarn’s juggernaut surrounded by sleeping drivers.
“Rieka wants to talk to us,” Oliver told her.
Lego nodded toward the jungle. “She comes, Cougar.”
They watched in silence as the silver spec grew larger. Rieka zipped above the jungle canopy, then the mores and tussock grass of the highlands. She rode the air currents like a surfer on a perfectly rolling comber, breaking along the beach. It was like the board was a part of her.
Shael rested her head on Oliver’s shoulder, put her arms around him, as they waited. Since the second-stagers had been dealt with, there was no urgency about things. Oliver felt a deep peace he’d not felt for as long as he could remember. He put his arm around her and squeezed.
“Owee,” Shael protested. “Watch it, mister! You’re going to squash a poor girl.”
He still had a lot of work to do to understand this bionic prosthetic that Rieka had given him. It had enormous strength potential and seemed virtually indestructible to Oliver.
“Oh stop complaining, you,” Oliver said, pulling her around to face him. “Or I’ll let this guy squeeze you.”
“Lego knows how to be gentle,” Shael replied pompously, nuzzling her head annoyingly into Oliver's chin, “because he’s a gentleman. You, on the other hand, are just a highland ruffian, with not a gentlemanly bone in your body.”
As always, Rieka was flanked by several drones. One was larger than the others. She descended slowly. Her helmet was retracted, and Oliver could see her examining the three of them. She didn’t alight from her disk board but stayed on it hovering above the alpine drop in front of the stone monastery wall. The large, unusual drone hovered down beside him and Shael.
“Oliver,” she said. “We have not yet spoken together at length since our first encounter. I learned much from Lego, and the Juggernaut’s logs, but there are missing parts of the story surrounding you. Also what became of captain Yarn…” she paused. “And other crew members. You may not have all the answers I seek, but I would very much like to talk with you some more if you would indulge me.”
“I will tell you my story, Rieka.” It was the least he could do. “Should I begin when Lego woke me?...”
“Not here,” she held up a hand stopping him. “Will you come with me?”
Oliver waited. Rieka looked at Shael holding Oliver, recognizing her as the same woman that had held him protectively when she had first descended from the sky. Rieka nodded her understanding, and added, “Shael, will you also come?”
“I go where he goes,” Shael shrugged.
Rieka’s board turned, and she sped away in the direction she’d come. Lego stepped up onto the small ledge, one of the drones shadowed him closely.
“Wait, Lego!” Oliver stopped him before he leaped off into the void. “How should we follow?”
“The bike,” Lego replied. The drone behind him attached itself to his back as he sprung from the ledge, and wings expanded instantly. He banked upwards into the sky, then shot after her, blue afterburners pushing him through the sound barrier in mere moments.
“He must mean this, Oliver.” Shael stood beside the last remaining drone.
Instructions would have been nice. Oliver put his leg over, straddling it like a bike. It immediately changed shape to be quite comfortable. “On you get then.” He nodded behind himself. Shael climbed up behind him, whooped as she felt the seat adjust. She gripped the back of his shirt in anticipation.
“I’d hold on around the waist if I were you,” he suggested.
“Any excuse to…” Shael was cut short as Oliver applied the slightest forward pressure on the handles, and the drone bike shot out over the abyss.
They both whooped at the sudden acceleration and were compressed back into the seat. Oliver realized the drone was responsive to the lightest touch, and he only needed to make micro adjustments to steer.
Lego and Rieka were no longer visible. Which direction should he take? He almost fell off the bike when a display appeared in front of him, overlaying his natural vision. He could see the heat signatures of the other two in the distance.
“Shael,” Oliver yelled behind himself. “Are you seeing this?”
“Don’t yell. I can hear you clearly.”
She was right there was no noise from the drone, and there was some kind of air pocket around them, cutting out wind noise.
“It’s amazing up here, Oliver,” Shael said. “What are you looking at?”
She couldn’t see the artificial lines, numbers, and heat signatures of the others. This was somehow appearing only for him.
He accelerated toward the two protectors. Impenetrable green jungle canopy was interspersed with tributary streams and canyons. They came across the main flow. This must be the source of the Tashka, Oliver realized. The water was much clearer here than hundreds of miles south where it was yellow from the silt. Here it had the blue tinge of glacial water. It was a main catchment valley for the runoff from the black mountains.
Shael was quiet as they flew above the river, following its course above the jungle. The flow widened and became shallow. Soon there were small islands scattered across its width. As the water flattened out like slick oil, they could see the mist rising from some great waterfall.
This was the path they’d taken all those centuries ago from the wreckage site. Somewhere ahead were the terraced farmlands of the ancient Hajar tribe. Probably reclaimed by the jungle.
“There they are,” Shael exclaimed, gripping Oliver with one arm and pointed to the base of the falls with her free hand.
Oliver had seen them long before Shael. Small numbers in his vision were counting down-coordinates to zero as he drew nearer. What was going on? This was something Rieka had done. He aimed the drone down, and then plunged, parallel to the water. Shael gripped him tightly. The controls responded intuitively as he pulled up near the base, to bring it alongside the other two. The vehicle seemed to compensate for any maneuvers Oliver made, keeping their center of pressure squarely on the seat, so there was no feeling they might slip off.
Shael squealed with excitement as she leaped off the bike. “That was so much fun.”
They stood near a shallow pool staring at the thundering falls. Rieka was contemplative and didn’t talk for some time. She crouched and let the water run through her fingers.
“I located your landing craft, Oliver,” Rieka said, looking at the water. “It was buried under five hundred years of silt near the base of the mountains.”
Her words brought the memories back in vivid color.
“Did you learn the identities of those on board?” She wasn’t looking at him, almost as if she didn’t want to learn the information, that it was hard to hear.
“I did.” Oliver replied. “It was a mixture of drivers and crew. I’m guessing you are more interested in the crew members?” She was silent, so he continued. “Yarn, the captain was among them. Shira, the lieutenant, I think they were together.”
“How old was Shira?” Rieka asked, interrupting him.
“She was a similar age to the captain. I would guess middle-aged, in her forties.”
“Mmm,” Rieka nodded him to continue.
Why wasn’t Rieka satisfied with his answer about Shira’s age? Had she been expecting something else? He tried explaining her situation a little
. “She was killed by a local animal, during our trek from the craft. It infected her with something. I was sick at the time so didn’t really see what happened. There was a sergeant, he was killed in a tussle with another driver from Earth. A mercenary was on board, I took care of him after I learned his identity. And, the engineer who I also took care of later.
That was all of the pirate crew members Oliver could think of. Verity had confirmed with him that there were no others.
“No other woman onboard then?”
“Well, Verity of course.”
Rieka snapped her head toward him. She looked genuinely pained. That had obviously been the name she was waiting for, yet somehow did not want to hear. Strange.
“What became of captain Yarn?” Rieka enquired. “Did you kill him too?”
“No. He was killed by my wife,” Oliver replied.
“Your wife?”
“Yes, Verity saved me from Yarn, saved everyone.”
“I don’t understand,” Rieka said. “You were with her? She killed the captain? Was she not one of Yarn’s crew?
“She was on the ship with Yarn and the others but was not like them. She concealed her identity from them. Had they learned it, they would have killed her. Yarn tried to kill me, and Verity saved my life. But in doing so closed the last door of opportunity to ever get back to her home. She made the ultimate sacrifice in the end. She was integral in rebuilding, after the wars. And Lego,” Oliver turned to his friend. “She was also very thankful for your sacrifice aboard the ship.”
Rieka closed her eyes. Her expression remained placid, but tears welled in the ducts and then rolled down her cheeks.
“Did you know Verity?” Oliver asked slowly.
“Not personally, no.” She stepped closer to Oliver and took his hand. “But I felt like I knew her, and you have confirmed to me that she was indeed the person I thought she was.” Rieka glanced at Shael, then back to Oliver. “What became of her?”
“She was scared to go into hibernation on the planet, and I told her it would be okay,” Oliver’s voice cracked. “I lied to her.” He felt Shael put her arm around him, “I told her she would be okay, but only I survived.” Oliver held his bionic arm out with the fingers extended and rotated it slowly, studying the lifelike skin. “What becomes of me now?” he asked quietly. I’ve been made a driver, carefully designed to bring destruction and pain.”
Rieka laughed. It was genuine and elated, as though some great burden had been lifted. Mirthful tears glistened on her pale, smooth cheeks.
“Why is that a funny question?” Oliver asked, frustrated by her dismissive reaction.
“I’m laughing at you, calling yourself a driver,” she wiped a finger across her cheek, smiling.
“It’s what I am,” Oliver replied irritatedly. “They made me a driver, Rieka. My body has been changed, even my thoughts have been tampered with. I’ve been psycho-imbued to be good at one thing… You must know that better than anyone.”
“Yes, they changed you,” Rieka said, becoming sincere. She searched his eyes, looking for a glint of comprehension. “But, that’s not what you are. Oliver… don’t you know what you are?”
Oliver looked at his friends, addled by her words. Lego’s eyes pulsed bright blue, and Shael was nodding solemnly. What did they know that he didn’t?
“Oliver,” Rieka said candidly, “it’s so obvious…” when he didn’t respond, she continued. “You are a protector.”
What? He looked at Shael, her yellow eyes didn’t flinch, as she stared up into his. Lego hummed in accord next to him. But the words did feel right somehow. They brought a sense of affirmation, of peace.
“But I’m nothing like you, Rieka. The things you do, I can’t do.”
“That’s true, which makes what you’ve done all the more impressive, and only serves to prove my point. It’s so obvious, Oliver. You are the only one who can’t see it. It’s what you are. It’s the same with Lego. You both took on the responsibility of protecting others when you didn’t have to. You both were prepared to sacrifice everything, and even accept fates worse than death.
“Mmm, Oliver Protector,” he said out loud, testing the sound of it.
Rieka looked up at the falls. The water appeared to cascade in slow motion, from the dizzying heights. “I’m staying, Oliver.”
“What do you mean?” Oliver asked. “Staying here… on Laitam?”
“She does this every time,” An unfamiliar affable male voice said offhandedly, making Oliver jump.
He looked around sharply. “Who said that?” It was just the four of them. “Shael, who was that?”
“Who was what?” Shael said, oblivious to having heard anything.
Had the voice spoken directly into his own mind?
“Rieka, what have you done to me?” Oliver demanded. “Whose voice am I hearing in my head?”
Rieka didn’t turn. “That’s Tin,” she said, as though it were ample explanation for the fact he was hearing voices in his head. “The ship’s computer,” she added.
“Yes, I’m Tin,” the voice repeated, “and she does this on every planet cleanup. She says she is staying. It’s a pattern. I have learned to calculate how long she requires to process these emotions before we depart to our next destination.”
Oliver waited some moments, then glanced at Shael apologetically, and awkwardly spoke to thin air. She must think he was losing it. Could Tin even hear him? “Well, Tin? How long does she normally take? Is she ready to leave yet?”
There was silence. It dragged on. So long, Oliver began to feel he’d imagined the voice of Tin. Eventually, Tin’s voice broke the silence. Except, it was hesitant and didn’t have the same assured tone, as if the computer had struggled to arrive at this answer. “I… don’t believe she is leaving this time, Oliver.”
Rieka smiled. “I swear Tin, you are becoming more and more human.”
“Please do not insult me, Rieka,” Tin said, the teasing tone back in his voice.
“Oliver,” Rieka said, turning to him, “it’s true, there are many things for you to learn, but Tin will help you with those. You’re in good hands with him.”
“Hold on, Rieka,” Oliver said. “What are you saying exactly? Why will Tin be helping me?”
“For one, there will, unfortunately, be Terrasian politics for you to deal with,” Rieka said apologetically. “I’m afraid it comes with the territory. Blazing hydrons, it’s uncomfortable for me, and I trained on Terras. I can only imagine what how uncomfortable the politics will be for you. But Tin will help you navigate this asteroid belt, to some degree. It’s unavoidable I’m afraid. You’re on the front line of new planet contact, and every Terrasian wants a piece.”
“What territory? What are you talking about?”
“The territory that comes with being a protector,” Rieka continued. “There’s something I’ve had trouble bringing to the attention of the right people in Terras, maybe you’ll have more success with their games. In fact, I have a funny feeling you will.”
Oliver’s heart was beating faster. He crouched down on his haunches, as he struggled to focus on what she was telling him. This feels right though, he conceded. The things she was saying were fueling a tiny spark deep in his conscious mind. Purpose.
Rieka spoke on, oblivious to Oliver trying to mentally absorb the information overload and emotional shock of what she was telling him.
She continued, in her utilitarian manner. “There are some who believe that the ‘third-stage myth’ is simply that,” Rieka told him, “a legend. Others think maybe there was once a third-stage society, and the phenomenon we’ve found scattered throughout the Terrasian federation are relics of an extinct society and way of life. There are some people in Terras,” she paused for effect, “a growing contingent of people including scientists, that believe maybe third-stage are a society so advanced, so far beyond our comprehension that they are living among us. In our midst, surreptitiously going about their lives, but living by their own laws.” R
ieka let the silence hang.
“Are you telling me,” Oliver said aghast, “that there are people out there more advanced than you?”
He had literally just seen her surf through the sky, and these so-called E.T.s, or pirates, land in their midst in aircraft that were, by anyone's standard, invisible. What could possibly be more advanced?
“What kind of technology are you talking about here, Rieka?”
“I don’t know exactly,” she conceded. Her smooth features and pale porcelain skin made it impossible for Oliver to guess her age, she could be anywhere between twenty-five and fifty. A furrowed line appeared faintly now on her brow, as she considered her words. “Second-stage scientist developed faster than light communication a long time ago. Instantaneous transmission of information across the galaxy. However, this is only at an atomic level, particles and waves. We have not managed to reproduce this on a larger scale.”
“Larger?”
“I mean as large as a person… or a ship.”
“Wait a minute! Are you talking about wormholes?” Oliver asked now hanging on her words. “The kind where I step through a portal to some other place, some other planet… like Earth?” he added.
“We don’t know for sure,” Rieka said. “I don’t know if I’m in the boat with the conspiracy theorists, but I’ve seen some things, Oliver. I’ve seen the most advanced drone technology the U.W.F. produced made to look like toys. I can’t honestly say if its a hostile or not, there is very little known. Triton knows, I’ve probably seen more than anyone in Terras, and I’ve seen almost nothing. But as protectors, we need to know about threats to the federation.”
“Rieka,” Oliver stopped her. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I will not be with you when you encounter these things. You’ll have Tin though, and he will guide you, and teach you. He has more information than you can comprehend right now. You will even have access highly restricted U.W.F. archives…”
“What is Tin?” Oliver cut her short. “I mean where is he? Just in my head? Is he somewhere in space, or in Terras?”
