by J. N. Chaney
Tara’s earlier question about whether the water was safe for us echoed in my ears. I would have preferred to have some protective eye gear, but that wasn’t an option so I just kept them open.
The water, cool but not icy, didn’t sting at all. I followed the glow from Havu’s sword and had to put in some work to keep up. His powerful tail acted like a propeller of sorts, and his body had a fluid movement to it. We continued for a full minute until he rose up and broke the surface. When my head was clear, I found the others taking a breather.
“You good?” I asked Tara.
She treaded water, moving her arms in gentle circles. “Fine. I swam for one year in high school. Wasn’t my thing, but I know what I’m doing. Riva wasn’t kidding though. The Volcuri can move.”
“I noticed,” I said, my response dry.
Riva glanced over at me, then Tara. Understanding made her expression somewhat contrite. “Ah, I see. Nami and I will slow down a little to avoid separation. We’re nearly there.”
None of the Volcuri showed any signs of fatigue. I wasn’t tired either. Keeping up with them had taken me nearly to the limit of my lung capacity, but I had already recovered. It looked to me like the only reason for the pause was for us humans. With Riva and Nami hauling Tara, I was itching to get going.
“We should keep moving,” I advised.
With everyone else in agreement, we set off once more. As promised, the pace slowed enough that I didn’t have to work quite so hard. Havu’s glow gave off enough light for me to see the underwater surroundings.
Where I’d expected to see only rock, I found life. A small group of cave crustaceans, pure white from a lifetime of sunless existence, clung to the bottom. The light gave them a blue cast, and I thought that they were both alien and eerily familiar at the same time.
Tara had once told me about trips she’d taken as a child to the zoo. Her explanation that such a place existed at all, let alone that it was available to the public for education and entertainment, had baffled me.
She’d described seeing something like this. Unable to fathom it then, I stared at the creature in front of me, transfixed. When my head collided with something hard and immovable, I realized my mistake. I’d let myself get distracted.
Disoriented, I snapped my head back and forth, looking for the others. Havu had disappeared, along with his light. I saw then that the glow came from the creatures themselves, and without Havu, the light was much weaker.
But there were more. More thankful for my enhanced eyesight than I could ever remember being, I was able to pick out the way in the shadowy darkness. The course had curved, which was what I had missed while staring at the creatures.
For a scary second, I wasn’t sure which way I had come and which was the way forward. If I picked wrong, going back might be a death wish. My lung capacity was good, but it wouldn’t last forever. Going with my gut, I took off to the left.
Adrenaline rushed through me as I pumped my legs. This section of the water tunnel didn’t have as many of the crustaceans, and my visibility went to almost nil. It forced me to grope the wall as a guide or risk smashing my head again. When my lungs started to burn, I kept my calm to preserve oxygen. Spots began to dance around my vision, or at least I thought they did—it was hard to tell in the dark.
I put all my focus into moving forward until I couldn’t any longer. Something blocked me, and I began to grope frantically for the right way. The only thing I found was the way I’d come. Maybe I could make it back… Even as my mind formed the thought, I knew it was impossible.
Which way was up? If there was a pocket of air, I could at least get my bearings. I wanted to take a breath, but that meant certain death, I knew that much. My limbs didn’t want to move anyway.
Time had run out.
Suddenly, I was moving up, fast. The feeling of being pulled was my last semi-coherent thought as the black closed in.
The startling sensation of something sucking on my mouth startled me. I sat up in a rush, sputtering. “What the hell?” Well, that’s what I tried to say. What actually came out sounded something like “bwat da ell?!”
“Shut up!” a voice hissed.
A familiar voice. Wiping water from my face, I squinted in the dark and saw Tara centimeters from my face with her finger over her mouth. The shock wore off in an instant, and I went stone still, straining my ears.
The familiar tongue of the Volcuri people reached my ears. It only took half a second to realize I couldn’t understand it.
“Translators are dead. The water,” Tara explained.
I scowled, annoyed that hadn’t occurred to me before taking the dive. Then again, it wasn’t like we had anything watertight to pack them in. I drew the weapon from my back and found that it still worked, but I turned it off immediately to take stock of our new situation.
We were in a tiny cavern. Light from an outside source spilled into the space just enough that I could see. The three Volcuri were grouped together at a stone egress. I assumed they were listening and keeping watch. Behind me, the water I’d been pulled out of was still making tiny waves. That meant I hadn’t been out long. Thanks to my body being able to heal faster than average, I was more or less back to my usual self.
As quietly as I could, I moved into a crouched position, then leaned over to whisper to Tara. “What’s out there?”
“The supply chamber we saw from the lab,” she replied, her voice so low I barely caught it. “I think the nearest patrol heard you because they’re coming back.”
I went quiet again so I could hear. Sure enough, the voices were closer this time. With Riva and the others already taking up the space at the opening, all Tara and I could do was wait. That didn’t sit well with me, someone used to going through—or out—the door first. My grip on the weapon tightened, and I went into lying in wait mode.
For me, that meant going utterly still and reducing all signs of my presence as much as possible. The voices outside our hiding spot had gone quiet, indicating they were aiming for stealth. It didn’t make too much of a difference because Makin’s people still made plenty of noise while walking.
Stepping lightly in the forest was something Riva’s people excelled at. Apparently, that trait didn’t transfer over, especially on terrain like this. Their talons dragged on the floor with a screech. I tensed when they were a meter away and closing. Riva’s position just inside the rocky arch gave her the best advantage she was going to get.
The spear in her hands was dark and angled down.
Weapon glow splashed on the wall and reflected off the water. This alcove being much smaller than the one where we’d entered the first pool, our hole lit up as if someone had thrown a switch.
Riva made her move in the same instant that the enemy came into view. Her spear came to life like a brazier being lit, and she was gone, leaping through the opening and diving headlong into the enemy with a battle cry.
I was already moving when the first clash of weapons sounded. Nami beat me outside but only because she was right on Riva’s heels.
“Stay with Havu,” I ordered over my shoulder.
In the next room, Riva was locked in combat with a Turned soldier. A big one. He towered over her, and I judged him to be around two and a half meters tall. Nami had engaged a smaller one, female from the body type. Of the two, I judged Riva as needing more help.
Her opponent wasn’t just tall. Thick muscles bulged in his arms and legs. The armor he wore didn’t cover it all, which I considered a break. Riva rushed forward, spear pointed straight out. The guard lifted a war hammer and swung.
His follow through was good, and I had no doubt that if the hit had connected, Riva would be laid out. Instead, she ducked and slid under, using her tail to keep from falling over. Rage colored the rebel leader’s every movement.
That wasn’t good.
With Andro’s death so fresh in her mind, she was liable to fight angry rather than smart. The broken translators just made matters worse because we c
ouldn’t work as a team.
I decided it didn’t matter that Riva passed in front of me before lunging at the giant’s leg to leave a slash of red when the blade cut. I saw her back, and it reminded me of the words we’d exchanged only a few hours ago, if it had even been that long.
She trusted me at her back.
“Riva!” I called out her name knowing she wouldn’t understand what I was saying, but so she knew I was coming.
I blazed by as she danced out of reach of the hammer again. The guard looked momentarily confused by my presence but reacted quickly. He continued with the swing and brought it around full circle. It was predictable enough that I went low, just as Riva had, and used Makin’s staff to drive a blow into his upper thigh.
The blue glow flared upon contact, and I heard the sizzle of burning flesh. The acrid smell of burnt skin filled the air, but I ignored it. The guard went down on one knee with a resounding thud. I raised the staff like a club, prepared to strike, when a frantic call made me look up.
Just in time to see the thick tail flying toward my head. I dove for the ground, but the big guy was finally learning. The tail smacked into me with all the force of a moving car, and I narrowly avoided eating a mouthful of rock by rolling with the momentum.
Riva screamed something in Volcuri to get the guard’s attention. It worked, and he limped in her direction. I’d had the wind knocked out of me and struggled into a sitting position before getting to my feet.
The guard tried to lash out with his tail again. Riva dodged it with graceful ease and brought her weapon up to find a weak point in his armor. The blow caught his arm and cut to the bone. Blood arced through the air and hit the ground. It gave me an opening to dart in and swing with all my considerable force.
It rang his bell and the soldier swayed as if drunk, then sank to his knees. I strode forward and grabbed his helmet to wrench his head. For this, we didn’t need words. Riva raked the spear across his neck and finished it.
I stepped back and let the body fall.
Riva shot me a nod. A grunt to my left caught my attention. I turned and saw Nami pulling her glowing blade from her opponent. With the two Turned guards down for good, we were free.
“Tara!” I called. “The coast is clear.”
She and Havu came out and surveyed the carnage with little surprise. I took a few seconds to study our surroundings. The crates were stacked efficiently, and a large bay door took up most of one wall.
“What now?” asked Tara. “These supplies aren’t going to help us get out of here.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” I jerked my chin to where Havu stood. Tara’s gaze followed the direction and went wide when she saw what the other Volcuri had found.
Tucked away in a dark corner was a glorious sight: the PEVs that had been left behind on our first visit.
“I hope they still have some juice,” Tara commented. “Not to mention there are only two of us who know how to handle them. What do we do about that?”
For once, I had an answer. “Won’t be a problem as long as they have enough charge. The PEVs have tethering and autopilot features. It’s in case you’re using one to haul something.”
They started up without a problem, and the displays showed they all had at least half a charge. The only thing left to do was attempt to explain my plan to the Volcuri in our party.
It took a fair amount of miming and more than a little frustration, but we figured it out. Five too-long minutes later, we were on the move. Riva sat behind me at the front of the line with Havu on the tethered PEV. Tara drove that last one, and Nami would ride with her as soon as the bay door opened.
We waited until the last minute because it might set off some kind of alarm. No sooner had we mounted up than a door banged open on the other side of the supply chamber.
Half a dozen Turned guards rushed in carrying the ranged handheld weapons. Riva yelled something to Nami, but the Volcuri was already working on the panel. It rose up, though much too slow for my taste.
I started the PEV. The second its sensors and systems kicked on, I directed it to the bay and bent down to get under without hitting my head. Riva followed my example, and I hoped that Havu took notice. The small craft’s headlight illuminated a wide path ahead that must have been used to move the supplies and bigger items that wouldn’t fit through one of the standard doors.
My gut told me it led outside. I looked back to see Nami jumping on behind Tara and signaled that I was about to haul ass. Tara nodded. I hit the accelerator as the first enemy blast blew past me and hit the opposite wall.
The PEV jumped forward under my command and raced down the corridor. It was dark, but our beams cut through it and lit the way. More blasts of blue dogged us, one of them coming close enough that I felt the heat.
The way curved just ahead, so I called out the warning to Tara.
A howl of pain answered, then a high shriek that I recognized as Tara. Risking a look, I saw that Nami was hunched over, one hand gripping my second’s shoulder. Bright spots of blood bloomed where Nami’s talons dug in, but Tara hung on.
I couldn’t see in that instant how bad or where she was hurt, but it didn’t matter—we couldn’t stop. The three of us barreled around the turn and hit another straightaway… that led to a dead end. To make matters worse, my PEVs navigation didn’t even recognize it.
We had about a hundred meters before we hit the wall, but I only slowed the vehicle. Tara came level with me, pain etched into her features. Blood leaked from Nami’s side where a blast had found its mark.
The Volcuri warrior had removed her talons from Tara’s shoulder, but the wounds there still bled freely. That put two of our fighters out of commission. Havu, so far, hadn’t shown any fighting ability, and I didn’t think he could be counted on. That left Riva and me if the Turned caught up to us.
“Well, this sucks large,” Tara yelled over the motors.
“This doesn’t make any sense.” I pointed to the holomap. “We see the tunnel end is coming, but it looks clear. Besides, this passage is for supply runs. Why wall it off?”
Tara studied the dead end as we drew closer, then looked down at her PEVs display. “What if the sensors aren’t messed up? Maybe it’s a dupe.”
We exchanged twin glances of understanding. “It’s a blind. Maybe their version of a hologram. Only one way to find out.”
“Chief, I hope you’re right about this,” Tara said with feeling.
“Look at it this way, Perez. If I’m wrong, we’re dead either way.”
“Right. Positive thoughts.”
Riva was watching us talk but had no idea what we were discussing. I did my best to explain. Using hand signals, I indicated the wall with one hand and the PEV with the other, then made a show of ramming the PEV through and out the other side. She seemed to get it but looked skeptical.
The sound of running feet echoed in the distance, alerting us that the Turned were nearly to the curve. I nodded at Tara and accelerated once more. This time I kept the pace a little slower in case my theory was off.
My body tensed as the rock wall drew closer. It sure as hell looked solid. Solid enough that my assuredness wavered ever so slightly. Gritting my teeth, I aimed the PEV straight for it. The Turned fired, evidently having us in their sight. Their blasts hit around us, but I swore most hit nothing but thin air.
I had to be right. No longer concerned, I gunned the PEV again when there was less than a meter to go.
We sailed straight through and out into the bright sunlight.
19
Almost as soon as we were out, the PEV’s alert system went off. I thought maybe it was damaged by an errant shot but saw the incoming signal icon instead.
A wave of relief washed over me as a familiar voice spilled out of the onboard audio system. “PEV rider, this is AMI. Command AI of the colony ship Exodus Ark. Identify yourself.”
“AMI, this is Kent, Chief Mission Ward of same colony ship.”
“Wright feared you we
re dead. I guess we can cancel the rescue mission. Or do you need assistance?”
I cast a surveying eye around where the tunnel had spit us out.
“You got a lock on us?” I asked.
“I do, Kent.”
“We’ve got just over a quarter fuel charge. Send us coordinates that we can reach that will get us to the closest friendlies.”
The display gave a little ring to alert me that the map had been updated with a route and offered me the choice to switch to auto. I declined. If something happened and I had to take control again, I didn’t want to be messing with settings.
“Your ETA is around thirty-one minutes, Kent,” AMI informed me. “You’ll be met by a transport.
“Got it. Let whoever know that we’ve got injuries to treat.”
We hit the edge of the forest without being shot at again and threaded our way through the trees at the pace AMI recommended so as not to drain the fuel cell before hitting our target location. Since no one gave chase and we put a decent distance between ourselves in the mountain, I went along with it.
Nami was in pain but holding up well. Havu had only suffered a cut on his face from the blasts tearing into the wall and sending out jagged shards of the rock. Behind me, Riva stayed silent. AMI could have translated since we had the PEV’s comm systems available, but I didn’t think she was interested.
Now that we were out of danger, she slumped dejectedly and the fire had gone from her eyes, replaced with grief. I didn’t lose my brother, but our team had suffered three losses. Getting captured before we even had a chance to launch our part of the defensive got marked down as mission failure in my book.
I wanted to ask AMI for an update on the other two teams, but now wasn’t the time for a debrief. It was a small consolation prize that the outposts were under our control and that Makin had fewer soldiers at his disposal than anticipated.
My mind still took everything that I had learned since landing on the planet’s surface for the second time and tried to order it into some semblance of a new attack plan.
