by Alex Guerra
“Dotty can you navigate these tunnels? Help us find a way out,” I said.
“Working on a custom map now,” said the A.I.
A pulse emanated from my helmet as it began probing the length of the tunnel. It overlayed a digital lattice briefly as it scanned the surroundings. Dotty placed a three-dimensional image over the radar in the corner of my HUD, showing the pulse’s findings growing with more detail.
“The pulse will only work up to thirty yards. You will need to keep moving to uncover more data,” it said, continuing the mapping sequence.
Garvo began to stir more. He placed a hand on his head and groaned. “What happened?” he asked. “Is Bon okay?” he said looking around.
“I’m right here, big guy,” said Bon, patting him on the shoulder.
“You have a concussion. I can give you something for the headache in the meantime,” said Ellar, fishing out a skinny device. He placed the tip in the crook of the giant’s elbow and activated it. The device hissed momentarily before the medic pulled it away.
“Oh…oh, yeah—that’s better,” said Garvo. He slid down the wall a little with the comfort of the drugs.
“Well, this sucks,” said Kayton. “What do we do now?”
“Our only choice right now is moving further into the tunnels,” I said, pointing my chin down the path.
“Let’s take it slow. We don’t know how stable any of this ground is. Don’t bunch up. There could be another cavern right below this tunnel for all we know,” said Seya, brushing herself off. “I don’t want to do that again.”
“Agreed,” I said. “I’ll take point. Ellar, Del, you help Garvo until he’s stable again. Tal, you stick with Bon. Let’s go.”
We pushed further into the tunnel as our priority shifted from looking for Yau tech to finding a way out of here.
TWELVE
Navigating the tunnels was a dizzying chore. With Dotty only able to map the place thirty yards at a time, we hit a snag when the tunnels began to fork.
“Which way?” asked Seya.
“Not sure, both look to be the same at this distance. Come with me, we’ll scout this one for some ways before returning,” I said, pointing down the left path “Could be a dead end for all we know.” I shrugged. “The rest of you take a breather.”
“Tal, go with them,” said Kayton. “Tal’s a pathfinder, she can help you where Dotty can’t.”
“Pathfinder, huh?” I said. “Alright, Tal, you’re with us.”
The woman set down Bon against the wall; his ankle was slowing him down.
I was thankful I wasn’t claustrophobic. Otherwise, this would be pure hell. The three of us traveled some ways, with the steady pulse guiding us. The ceiling rose gradually, and the tunnel opened into a giant chamber. At its center was a wide hole, maybe forty feet across. Taking a knee, I careful looked carefully over its edge. It was deep; the pulse couldn’t find a bottom past its thirty-yard range. On the opposite side was another tunnel.
Kicking a rock into the opening, I listened for the sound—waiting almost six full seconds until something I heard something.
I let out a low whistle. “Damn…” I said, impressed.
“I can’t solve this for you,” said Dotty.
“Save it, I’m not sending the team down there,” I said, gazing across the chasm at the other tunnel. “We may have to cross this if the other forked path doesn’t work out. You think you can get across that?” I asked Tal, pointing at the other tunnel entrance.
The trooper wondered as she lay prone and reached an arm over the edge. Her fingers probed for handholds. “It’s a bit slick in some areas. Can’t be too sure about its integrity. Would hate to use a climbing drill and have a whole chunk break off. It’s doable but risky,” said Tal, standing up and brushing the loose soil off her gloves. “Luckily, it’s not too far to scale.” She pointed her chin towards the other side.
“You have enough rope to make a bridge?” asked Seya.
“Wouldn’t be a great pathfinder without a lot of rope now, would I?” she joked.
“Okay let’s head back and see where the other tunnel leads. Hopefully, it will be a bit easier than this,” I said, turning to go back in the direction of the team.
Upon reuniting with the others, Kayton stood up.
“What’d you find?” she asked.
“A big hole,” I scoffed. “There is a tunnel on the other side of it. Tal says she may be able to get across, but it’s risky. We’re going to check out the other tunnel real quick, then decide from there. Everyone doing alright? Garvo, you still with us?”
“I’m here. Head’s kind of spinning though,” he said in his gravelly voice.
We set off down the second tunnel. There was an obstruction marked on the map ahead of us. I continued forward wanting to see it for myself, which turned out to be another cave in. It was too much to move—the only way out was over the hole it seemed, and hopefully, the opposite tunnel continued on.
“The path made the decision for us,” I informed the team. “We’re going over the pit. Let’s move out, it’s a bit of a journey,” I said.
The team grouped up at the edge of the hole once we reached the pit. They were as impressed—or surprised—as I was.
“Okay, Tal, you’re up,” I said.
She took out a small pack the size of a long skinny sock.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“This?” asked Tal, grabbing both sides of the pack. “It’s the rope.” She tore open one side of the pack, and the looped rope expanded and grew to an enormous size.
“Holy shit, how many feet is that?” I asked.
“This is 500 feet, more than enough for this task,” she said.
“How is that even possible?” I asked, amazed.
“I don’t know. They’ve been around for decades—not these packs—the technology. Someone smarter than me explained it to me once, but it’s just a rope, right?” she said with a shrug.
Checking her dataslate, she verified the air was not toxic but thin. Tal removed her gloves and placed them back in the bag, the cuffs of her gauntlets would squeeze enough to prevent an air leak. Clipping a few tools to her belt, she gathered the length of rope, finding its ends. Using one of the tools, she drilled a loop into the tunnel exit where we were standing. Brushing past us, she placed another loop about fifty feet back, placing the remaining slack around Garvo, who would be the anchor. The rest of us would help hold the rope for safety.
A few quick knots around her armor, and she was set to go. A small canister on her side remained open. Dipping her hands into a gooey substance, she spread it all over her fingers and palms.
“For grip,” she said before I could ask. “You all ready?”
“Go for it,” said Kayton.
Sitting along the edge of the pit, she keyed a button on her gauntlet which made spikes protrude from her boots’ soles. Twisting over the side, she slowly reached down. She was out of sight, save for the rope steadily moving in small increments. It wasn’t until she was around the eight o’clock position of the pit before us, where her helmet came into view over the edge. Pausing from time to time with a good foothold, she shook her arms loose, resting from the arduous task.
Scanning the wall for her next move, she attempted to reach out to the next suitable handhold. It was just out of reach. “Gods…be ready on that rope!” she said, preparing herself.
I zoomed my visor in on the free-climbing trooper and let the rope slide through my fingers with guided ease.
Squatting a few times, she looked to have a solid foundation. Eyeing her target, she bent her knees and threw herself at the handhold in one strong leap. Hands outstretched, Tal dug into the crevice with a flat knife-hand and made a fist. Body swinging and boots scraping gashes along the dark surface of the pit, she slowed herself and got a good footing.
The team let out a collective sigh of relief after seeing she made it. A safety rope was in place, but it didn’t ease the situation for me in the
least.
Tal continued scaling the wall, making her way to the opposite side. When she neared the eleven o’clock position of the pit, she began moving with speed. Exhaustion playing a key role in wanting to finish the deed, as she leaped the final few feet and caught the edge of the tunnel opposite of us.
We let out a cheer as she pulled herself up onto the edge, rolling onto her back. Tal threw a fist up in the air as her chest heaved. Standing up moments later, she gave us a bow.
“Way to go Tal!” shouted Bon.
She pulled some slack and drilled the rope locks. “You can tie off your end now,” she said, waiting for us. After we secured our end, she made a few quick knots and pulled the rope taut.
“Do you see anything over there?” I asked.
“It looks like it goes on for a while with no obstructions throughout the first bend,” she said.
“I’ll go first to scout it out with Dotty, and then let you know if it’s clear to come over,” I said to the team.
Tal hooked a clip onto the rope and slid it back to us with ease. I secured myself and leaned back, throwing my legs over the rope. Hand over hand, I pulled myself across the pit. Keeping my eyes focused on Tal, trying not to look down. Blood rushed to my head, and my helmet began venting the heat building up inside. I could only imagine Tal’s suit went into overdrive during the climb to keep her cool.
“Your bridge works,” I said, bringing myself down on the opposite end of the gap and giving the trooper a pat on the back. “We’ll scout ahead and report back. Someone, try to see if you can raise Nadu or Habi on comms.”
We walked further into the new tunnel, and Dotty’s pulse beginning to map more of its length as we pressed on. Relief came with each step of not seeing anything blocking the path on the map.
“Good job back there, by the way,” I said to Tal “That was impressive. I doubt I could’ve done that.”
“Thanks, I was always good at climbing since a very young age,” said Tal. “Glad to help.”
The tunnel twisted in all directions. Studying the walls, I deduced that their formations were natural and not touched by hands or tools. There wasn’t as much sand down here as there was on the surface. Only a light layer of dust in the air was apparent. If I had to guess the history of the planet, water most likely carved out these tunnels long ago before it turned into Mars’ ugly cousin.
Something changed on the map. Stony surfaces gave way to piles of something off in the distance.
“There’s something up ahead,” I said to Tal.
Upon reaching the piles, we discovered that they were full of rusty and jagged pieces of metal.
Examining the pieces, Dotty piped up, “This metal is of Yau origin.”
“Really?” I asked, carefully removing the topmost pieces of scrap.
“Yes, most likely remnants of the original escape pod,” said the A.I.
There were certain angles cut out of the remaining thin strips of metal. “These were hand cut. I bet if we keep looking, we will find the rest of the ship somewhere,” I said, switching to my comms. “This is Art, you guys should see this. We found parts of the Yau escape pod here.”
There was no response.
“Guys? Hello…does anyone read me?” I asked over the comms.
“Looks like the rocks are preventing even short-wave communication,” said Tal. “Not good for someone who gets lost in here.”
“Okay let’s go back and flag the others,” I said, tossing the metal piece back into the pile with a clang.
*****
“Something is messing up long-range communication down here, but we found Yau remnants. Start making your way across,” I said, once we reached the pit.
“You found something? That’s good,” said Kayton. “Figured the comms were being jammed by something. Still nothing from the pilots.”
“Let’s hope they don’t fall down here like we did,” I said.
The team made their way across the rope one by one. Tal did a good job with the bridge; the line was so taut, that it barely dipped under Garvo’s size.
I led the team back to where we found the remnants.
“Looks like we’re on the right track,” said Seya, looking over the scrap.
There was nothing of note as we carefully dug through the piles for anything that stuck out. A few cut up boxes that were once consoles appeared. Their shapes allowed me to recognize them, as similar consoles were on The Pillar.
A sudden crash of metal on metal came from one of the piles when it fell over, splashing along the rocky surface of the area we stood. Glancing over to it, none of the troopers were nearby.
“Possible contact,” I said, unslinging my rifle. Edging towards the pile, I scanned and found nothing. A few feet back, the glow of two large eyes poked out from behind a recess in the tunnel. I flipped the safety off and raised it slightly. “Who’s there? Show yourself!” I ordered.
The creature took off down the tunnels.
“Wait! Stop!” I ordered. I turned to the team. “After it!”
Taking off at a brisk pace, Dotty marked its possible location ahead of me. It was fast, whatever it was. I hoped it was something worth chasing and not a big Garos rat. The pulses sped up with the increased movement. Feeling safe I wasn’t going to fall into a hole I didn’t see, I continued sprinting after the blip nearing the edge of the radar’s range.
Seven pairs of boots stomped after me as I led the chase through the tunnels. “Stop running!” I shouted, fruitlessly.
A dim glow came from the end of the tunnel—a way to the surface I hoped. Once I reached the end, I realized that the glow was coming from artificial lights hanging around a cavernous pocket.
“Wait,” I said, slowing down and putting an arm out. The troopers stopped behind me and slowly came forward into the room.
Teal glow brightened and revealed someone’s—or something’s—small encampment. Makeshift cots pressed against the wall. Boxes littered the encampment, some opened with tools and other parts thrown in without order. Remains of the Yau escape pod littered the area, either as walls, support beams, or hung on the rocky walls as “art”. A large piece was still intact towards the back of the room. It’s size versus the tunnel’s entrance meant that someone brought it here piecemeal and reassembled it.
“We are Galactic Conglomerate forces, show yourself!” I shouted into the room. The troopers began to fan out and cover all directions.
“You can speak Yau?” came a strange voice from somewhere in the back.
“Yes, and we’re not here to hurt anyone, but do not come out with a weapon,” I said into the room.
“A-alright, I’m coming out, please don’t shoot,” it said.
Two red hands popped out from behind one of the makeshift walls. An insect like creature came out hunched over with fear. I lowered my weapon away from the creature as it slinked out into the open. I recognized it to be like one of the crew members on the recovered video.
“You’re a Yau?” I asked.
It dipped its head slightly, its large eyes scanning over us. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Are you alone?” I asked. It was hesitant. “We’re not here to harm you or anyone else. Everyone, stand down.” I waved my arm down, and the troopers relaxed by a fraction.
“I-I’m here with my daughter, that’s it,” said the Yau.
“It’s just you two?” I asked.
“Yes,” it said, beckoning to someone unseen. A small Yau, yellow and green in appearance, exited from the same spot the creature came from.
“Daddy, who are these people?” asked the child, nervously.
“My name is Arthur Holland, and this is the rest of my team. We are here to help you. And who might you be, little lady?” I smiled, doing my best to put the child at ease.
The little girl stood silently, partially hidden behind her father’s leg. “I am Entosh,” the father said, placing a hand on his daughter’s back. “This is Piki.” A pang of guilt hit me as I realized I had
likely frightened the girl half to death by chasing her down the tunnels.
I crouched down to the little one ever so slowly, meeting her at eye level and said in a low, quiet voice, “Hi, Piki, nice to meet you. I’m sorry for chasing you earlier.”
“It’s okay…” she said shyly, hugging Entosh’s leg.
There was an uncomfortable pause between us as the two parties studied each other.
Breaking the silence, Entosh cleared his throat and then spoke up, “You’re not here to kill us…that’s good. Although, I must admit that after so many years without seeing an outsider, I wondered what the result would be should anyone ever come.”
“We didn’t think we would actually find anyone still alive down here, to be honest,” I said.
“How did you get down here? There isn’t a way to the surface from the direction you all came,” said the Yau.
I was glad to hear that there was a known exit to the surface and that we weren’t trapped down here after all. “We came from the crash site. It…caved in beneath us,” I said.
“Oh my! Are you all alright?” asked Entosh.
“Yes, we were lucky nothing too serious happened,” I said.
“Wow…just wow…I’m sorry, I am a bit in shock,” he shook his head with a chuckle of disbelief. “I wished that someone would come eventually, but I had lost all hope of ever seeing it for myself. It’s amazing that you know how to speak our language,” said Entosh. “How did you learn?”
“I didn’t, an artificial intelligence created by your kind is translating for me. Say hello, Dotty,” I said.
“Hello, Entosh and Piki. It is good to finally reunite with my creators,” said the A.I. through my helmet’s speaker.
Entosh’s eyes grew wider—something I didn’t think was possible. “Are you one of the artificial intelligences created during the escape from our planet?”
“Precisely,” replied Dotty.
“My parents told me that such things were created. I didn’t know what to think of it when they talked about those stories. How did you find this place?” asked Entosh.
