by Clara Woods
Even so, it was clear that Uz wasn’t any more successful. Next, Lenah tried English. It wasn’t that she actually spoke it. It was a dead language, and she’d spent years in class translating ancient documents, never actively talking, but she knew how to greet.
The drone didn’t react.
Meanwhile, the fighting sounds grew louder from where Cassius was breaking apart stone figures with his enhanced arm. Around twenty statues were trying to get past him, and another ten or so had reached Doctor Lund, their arms outstretched toward his throat. His face was red from being choked, and even though Persia was swinging her hammer around, leaving stone parts scattered all over the floor where they evaded Cassius, the number of attackers grew greater instead of fewer. The strange thing was that the statues were only targeting Doctor Lund, and merely trying to get by Cassius and Persia. Lenah turned to help out, but felt utterly useless without a weapon. With a shattering sound, the measuring instruments Doctor Lund had been holding all this time fell to the floor.
And just like that, the statues ceased their attack. The little android next to Lenah spoke again, but all she could decipher was that this hiss sounded different from the ones before.
They all stared at each other. Cassius breathed heavily as he stepped out of the small mountain of stone debris surrounding him. Persia was already helping the doctor up from where he’d fallen to the floor, sputtering and heaving for air.
Luckily, Lund seemed all right, apart from being out of breath. Cassius stepped close and collected the tools that had fallen to the floor, but he never got to lift them up fully. The moment he touched them, the statues started attacking again. One moment they were standing still, unmoving, as you’d expect of stone statues; the next, they were all over him. Cassius dropped the measuring tools and launched into another attack, but it wasn’t necessary. The statues had fallen back into their passive state.
“What the —” Cassius murmured. Carefully watching the statues, he bent down and picked up one of the tools. Instantly, the statues moved. He let it drop, and they were quiet again.
“Now this is weird,” Persia said.
Lenah couldn’t agree more. Who had ever heard of stone statues coming to life and converting into killing monsters whenever… what, a seismic activity reader? – was close by? It didn’t make sense.
Persia shook her head. “It doesn’t like your Universe Science Order’s technology, it would seem.”
33 Kahoot The Hairless
“That’s nonsense,” Doctor Lund grumbled, though his voice didn’t come out well. In fact, his throat looked quite mishandled. Red streaks indicated where stone fingers had grabbed him, and he was bleeding at the back of his neck as if someone – something – had ripped away a chain.
“I lost my necklace,” he said, confirming Lenah’s thoughts.
“It’s right here.” Cassius pulled it out of the mountain of stone parts, but before he could hand it over, the statues were moving on him, launching straight for his hand. He dropped it and they stopped.
“Okay, that’s even weirder.” Persia was holding up her hammer, spinning in a circle. There were too many targets to protect them from. “They don’t like technology or adornments?”
Uz kneeled down to study the necklace, but was careful to not touch it. “Uhm, Lund, does all your stuff have the USO rune on it?”
“The what?” Lenah and Doctor Lund said at the same time.
“The rune. This one.” Uz pointed, and as Lenah stepped closer, she could see an intricate pattern of curvy lines carved out of gold, hanging from the chain. “It’s an ancient rune. Potentially pre-first-generation Cassidian. My ancestors,” Uz said.
The sound of shouts made everyone jump. During the fight, Lenah had forgotten that they weren’t alone in here. Now she worried if they’d been detected.
“We need to move,” Cassius said, lifting his gun.
“Can you go through without any of this?” Lenah asked, turning to the doctor.
“Leaving all my stuff behind?” He seemed scandalized that she even suggested it.
“The alternative is you waiting here.”
For the Queen’s people to find him. Lenah didn’t say it out loud, but the doctor seemed to come to the same conclusion.
“But we have to come back here to get my stuff.”
“We can try. Just see if you can pass now,” Cassius grumbled, seeming to have little patience. “I won’t defend you again if you choose to pick anything up.”
That seemed to have an effect on the doctor. “Yes, yes. You’re right, of course.”
“Glad that’s settled.”
Lenah turned around, facing the drone that was still hovering there. It hadn’t moved or started talking again. Since it seemed to belong to the temple, not the people they were in here with, she decided to leave it be. Apart from attacking Doctor Lund, or rather his strange rune, nothing here had harmed them yet. Hopefully, the stone would be enough of an invitation.
She picked up her pistol and took position next to Cassius as he stepped further into the corridor. Even though nothing happened, Lenah couldn’t relax. The light shone eerily through the long room. They walked in silence for several minutes, always passing row after row of motionless stone Syrr. This room must be several hundred meters long. Despite their distance, the blue eyes of the angel at the entrance never seemed to stop penetrating her shoulder blades, and she kept turning to make sure the angels hadn’t jumped down from their pedestals.
The drone followed her group at a distance, but otherwise made no move to come closer or attack them.
Finally the last row of statues came into view, followed by a massive gateway, its doors hanging crookedly on their hinges. A few stone statues were missing limbs here, and the remains were scattered on the floor. Cassius went to inspect one.
“This might have happened recently. Looks like—” He stopped talking when shouts, this time nearby, sounded again. Cassius crept up toward the broken doors and peeked through. Almost instantly, he pulled his head back.
“They’re here,” he whispered. “At least twenty. Armed.” He motioned them over to the wall.
Lenah tiptoed over to peek her head out into a giant hall. It had a domed ceiling, like the ones visible from the outside of the temple. The room was empty except for a structure in its center, leading upward.
Their destination? A staircase wound around a box in the front that looked like a tiny elevator leading up into a walled platform. Her gaze moved on.
The walls were impressive. They were filled with detailed depictions of scenes carved out of the stone, or used to be. In several places, people working with small chisels were taking them off. By the way they were handling the pieces, they were more interested in destruction than preservation. She was no archaeologist, but seeing such destruction of preserved history hurt.
A group of five or so people stood close to the center of the hall, engaged in a lively discussion. She immediately discovered a familiar face among them.
Kahoot. He was hard to miss, with his thinly braided hair hanging over his ears.
“—already saw my ship. The Rambler is here. Just let me take a few of my men and we’ll go check it out.”
“Enough,” Kahoot said. He had a high-pitched voice that didn’t seem to go with his fierce look. “I don’t give a damn about your ship. You’re the one who let two women take it. Now go back to your post. If they’re here, they’ll come, as there’s only one way into this damned place.”
He lifted an armed hand to wave in the direction of a hole in the thick wall. Up close, it showed the burnt edges caused by being cut open with lasers.
They hadn’t realized that Lenah and her group were already in and were about to come at them from the other direction. Good.
The other man, apparently the owner of the Star Rambler, stared at Kahoot for several seconds. Then, slowly, he lifted his weapon. “Kas, Karthi, you come with me. Let’s go get my ship back.” He turned around and stormed out of
the room.
Kahoot laughed after him but made no gesture to prevent them from leaving. “That fool’s going to get himself killed. They have a cyborg and a mind mage. He doesn’t stand a chance.” Then he waved two of his people over. “Follow them. Keep me updated.”
Lenah tucked her head back as if burnt. Had Kahoot said mind mage? She’d never heard of such a thing, but couldn’t shake the suspicion that he meant her and her talent at influencing people. Was it called mind magic? But why had Lenah never heard that definition in all her searches?
“This is our best chance. They’re down five people,” Cassius whispered back to the group, but his serious eyes darted over to Lenah, and she was sure that he’d understood some of the implications of Kahoot’s words as well.
“We have the advantage of surprise, so let’s use it.” He motioned for Lenah to take position on the opposite side of the door, then Persia behind her, and Uz behind him. On his count of three, they opened fire. They hit several smugglers before a commotion from the back interrupted them. Lenah was knocked over, and could barely avoid smashing face-first into the floor. Her gun slipped out of her hand, and she turned around in confusion. Hands of stone came for her, swallowing her up in a mass of little bodies. She rolled out of the way and got up, only to stumble into someone. To her shock, it wasn’t anyone she knew. The smugglers from the hall, encouraged by their distraction, had entered the room.
The man caught her easily, as Lenah had been stumbling off-balance anyway. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed that the rest of her group were in similar situations. Lenah held herself motionless in the man’s grip, assessing her possibilities. He was holding her at arm’s length with one hand, while his other hand reached for a knife at his belt. Lenah reacted instantly. She threw her body sideways, kicking up with both legs at the same time. She managed to hit him square in the chest. While he didn’t crumple to the floor helplessly as she’d hoped he would, his grip on her lessened. Unfortunately, the few seconds it took her to land and take position again were enough for him to get hold of his knife and point it at her.
“Should na’ have shot. Did ya na’ realize th’ statues attack?” he said with a grin of dirty teeth while they circled around each other. She hadn’t, as it hadn’t happened on the other side of the hall. Then again, they hadn’t actually used their weapons there, had they? Only Doctor Lund had been using his readers.
Behind her, she heard Cassius grunt, followed by thumps. She hoped that meant he was taking care of many of their attackers. Unable to use their pistols, he and Persia would be the only ones armed. He still had that knife, and Persia never seemed to go anywhere without her hammer.
Lenah watched her attacker, pulling up memories of her lessons with Cassius. This man was taller and bigger than her, but he wasn’t Cassius’ size. Even with the combined length of his arm plus the knife, her leg should be sufficient to reach. He chose that moment to bolt forward, pointing his blade first. Lenah evaded to the side and tried to turn in time to kick him, but he was already coming at her again from the other angle. She’d have to be less obvious next time.
He didn’t lose time, stabbing toward her again, and she tried to stay in place as long as possible, hoping to give him a sense of success before launching her next attack. Unfortunately, she calculated her evasive step a half second too late, and pain erupted in her right arm as he cut her. Hissing out, Lenah tried to stay cool. If she got nervous now, she’d just make it easy on him. He followed up with another attack, snarling at her. Adrenaline gave her perfect timing this time, and she whirled out of his way. As soon as her feet touched down, she launched a kick, taking him in the throat. He made a strangled sound, pitching backward to the floor. He caught himself at the last second, getting upright with arms outstretched for balance. Lenah ignored the pain in her arm and followed up with the next kick. It hit him in the face, and when he went down this time, he didn’t get up again.
Lenah turned to pick up his knife. Just in time, she saw a second man coming for her. She evaded his stab and rolled out of the way. Her back bumped painfully into stone limbs lying on the floor, and it almost took away her momentum to jump up again. Her hand closed around the hilt of the first attacker’s knife on the floor. She stayed low and launched at her adversary’s legs. He didn’t seem to expect her unconventional method, and struggled to jump out of the way – and straight into the waiting arms of a cyborg. Cassius caught him and, lifting the man up, flung him several meters high toward the wall.
Cassius gave Lenah an appreciative nod and came to help her up from where she was still crouching when the ugly visage of Kahoot appeared right behind him, followed by the also-familiar sight of the cyborg who’d chased them on Lunara Station.
“Cassius!” she yelled in warning and shock. He whirled around in time to deflect a blow from Kahoot’s enormous knife. His triumph didn’t last long as the cyborg stormed toward him, his face contorted into an angry mask. Apparently, he hadn’t taken well to them getting away on Lunara Station.
Cassius lifted his enhanced arm again, but two metal arms had already grabbed onto him. The other cyborg went straight for his chest, squeezing down on him. A huffed breath escaped Cassius as he struggled to get out of the hold.
Too late, Lenah realized that Kahoot had recovered and was looking for his next victim, now that the cyborgs were engaged with each other. She jumped up, lifting her own knife, which looked pathetic compared to the size of his. Something bumped into her shoulder and she saw Persia there, holding her hammer. Kahoot stopped, an almost happy look on his face.
“Oh, two ladies with such nice hair,” he grinned, before nimbly jumping around Persia’s incoming hammer and aiming his knife toward Lenah, who parried his blow with her own blade. It impacted painfully in her wrist as her small weapon caught his larger one. She ducked away, almost stumbling into the way of the fighting cyborgs. Cassius had managed to break the iron grip on his chest and they were rolling on the floor, exchanging blows. At least Cassius didn’t look terribly outmatched, despite being less enhanced than this military cyborg.
Lenah focused on her own fight again. Kahoot had turned away from her and was attacking Persia now. She was swinging her hammer, keeping him from getting close. Lenah watched his movements for a few seconds. He was fast, and while defending himself from Persia’s blows, he always managed to keep Lenah in eyesight. Deciding to change that, she took off in a sprint just as Persia came in with her next swing. Kahoot seemed to realize what she was doing, so instead of evading, he stayed in Persia’s path, barely ducking away. Persia’s hammer hit him in the shoulder, but his knifed arm shot out toward her. Lenah stopped and jumped toward his injured side. Her knife went into his ribcage easier then she would have expected it to, and he fell to his knees before falling face-first to the floor, leaving Lenah standing over him, panting.
“Are you hurt?” Lenah asked Persia, who shook her head.
“Just a scratch. Bastard ruined my sweater, though.”
Lenah looked around the room. Uz was helping Doctor Lund up. He’d been crouching next to the wall, but apparently some attacker had found his way there. His unmoving figure lay next to them on the ground.
“Lenah,” Cassius said, his voice strained from still fending off the cyborg. “Go up the stairs. I’ll keep the cyborg occupied.”
34 The Stone’s Message
They crossed through the tall chamber without further interruptions. While Lenah wasn’t happy to leave Cassius behind to deal with the cyborg, she couldn’t argue with the logic of it. Uz strayed away from them, and Lenah saw that her attention had been drawn to a giant wall painting to their right. She motioned for everyone to follow Uz, wary to split up their group. The smuggler leader who called herself Queen must still be here somewhere. Hadn’t Cassius once said that Kahoot was her personal bodyguard?
Lenah joined Uz at the wall. Chunks of it had been cut off in neat pieces by Kahoot’s men, but the majority was intact.
Small Syrr pop
ulated a world that was being attacked by large winged creatures with gleaming purple eyes, and unmistakably Cassidian complexions and antennas. They came through the cities, leaving them empty and frozen over.
“Are these Cassidians? Flying Cassidians?” Lenah whispered, pointing to the population defending itself against the angels, and thinking of the message from Lunara Station’s hard drive. Uz nodded, then shook her head, seeming affected by what she was seeing.
“I mean, no, not really.”
“Not really?” Lenah said, confused. Why were Cassidians attacking these little people?
“The Great Purge of the God Mage,” Uz said after a while. “Eighteen thousand years ago.” She shook her head again. “But what are they doing here?”
“Who is that, Uz?” Lenah said.
Doctor Lund and Persia had walked up. “What’s the hang-up?” Persia asked, unaware of Uz’s distress.
Lenah pointed to the carvings.
“Exactly how old are the Cassidians, Uz?” Persia asked, after looking at the scene for several seconds.
Uz cleared her throat before answering. “We’re one of the most ancient known races. Eighteen thousand years ago, a terrible fate came over my people. Our God Mage Cassandral, the only Cassidian to ever unite both magics, ruled over Cassidia, which had become a center of power and brutality. The most powerful mages, Cassandral’s own one thousand sons and daughters, were enhancing themselves with artificial means – technology, you humans would call it. They were cruel and power-hungry, and wanted to become Cassandral’s equals. So the God Mage made a difficult decision. He created the Cava Dara – Winged Frost, in G-Standard – to wipe out the guilty population. Cassandral’s immortal army killed all Cassidians. Then the king created new Cassidians, a peaceful race with a natural hatred for power. My race. Those statues outside are Cava Dara, though I didn’t see their gyrums, but what are they doing here? Why are they attacking the Syrr? This stuff can’t be eighteen thousand years old.” She shuddered, and didn’t continue.
