Bender of Worlds

by Isaac Hooke

  Tane glanced around, looking for his companions, but didn’t see them, at least at first. He checked his overhead map and switched to a top-down perspective to get a better idea of where they were in 3D space, and using that as a guide, he spotted the dark spheres of Sinive and G’allanthamas sinking below him. They were barely discernible, appearing dim, and blending in well with the environment. He vented oxygen to propel himself toward them.

  As he closed, Tane was able to discern them much better: G’allanthamas hadn’t been kidding when he said they would have to hide from any patrols.

  “What’s the density of these liquid hydrocarbons?” Sinive said. “Shouldn’t we be floating or something?”

  “This lake is not formed of pure hydrocarbons,” G’allanthamas said. “Different tribes prefer different densities. Overall, this particular combination is about half the density of water. For something to float, it has to be less dense than the liquid underneath it. So you’ll be less buoyant in this lake than you would water.”

  Sinive tried to kick her legs and paddle with her hands, but she continued to descend. “It’s like slogging through thin mud. Or something.”

  “Not for me.” The dweller began to use its legs and tentacles to propel itself forward. Large flaps of skin unfolded from the bottom parts of the legs, so that the alien could move the different appendages like long paddles. Tane and Sinive meanwhile vented oxygen to accelerate after him. They drifted downward as well, falling toward the crystalline structures below as they advanced.

  “Kick your feet, Engineer,” Jed said. “You’ll get more mileage that way. And use your arms to steer.” According to the map, Jed was located ahead of G’allanthamas. He was staying within the twenty-five meter maximum broadcast range.

  Tane started kicking. He tried to move his arms, too, in a waving motion like he had seen swimmers do. He wasn’t sure how effective his movements were, because while the liquid provided some resistance, it was definitely not as thick as water. He was reminded of when he had boarded a dweller ship to rescue Sinive and found himself in a liquid hydrocarbon environment. Back then he had cranked up his suit servomotors to full strength, which allowed him to move just as easily as if he were in an atmospheric environment. He did the same thing now, wondering if it would improve his swimming efficiency. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference.

  In a few moments they reached the lakebed between two of the crystalline structures. Tane could see tunnels leading inside either crystal. He didn’t spot doorways of any kind. The more privacy-minded dwellers would have energy fields installed at the entrances to keep out unwanted visitors, Tane knew from Tiberius’ memories.

  The party continued along near the bottom of the lake, using the glowing structures around them to provide general coverage. In addition to the O2 he expelled behind him, Tane kept having to vent oxygen downward to prevent himself from sinking to the lakebed: the liquid was slightly more dense at this depth, but it wasn’t enough to give him any more buoyancy. He also had to occasionally vent to the left or right to swerve between the structures.

  As such, he was burning through the oxygen in his tanks at a steady rate, but he thought it was less than what it would have been if he were traversing actual water. By his estimate, he would have more than enough for the return trip when this was done. If he was wrong, he’d have to get Jed to perform an oxygen transference at some point, like the Volur had done when they were trapped together in deep space. Sinive would probably need some O2 as well, though, if it came to that.

  Keeping a wary eye on the crystalline structures and the alleys between them, Tane continued experimenting with kicking his legs and moving his arms as he followed the dweller along the lakebed. He found that he could alter his direction slightly by the positioning of his arms, so much so that he could sometimes swim around crystal structures without having to expend any oxygen from his side vents. “Steering,” like Jed had said. Also, kicking did seem to make a difference to his overall speed when combined with the oxygen venting, especially now that he’d upped his servomotor output.

  Eventually a notification appeared on his HUD.

  New skill learned.

  Swimming. Level 0. Swimming newbie no more! You’re actually able to control yourself in liquid environments. Nicely done. You can only get better from here!

  He felt a moment of pleasure at that, and then mentally kicked himself. It was the chipmaker’s way of getting him addicted to the dopamine rewards of leveling once again. Upon reflection, he hadn’t actually learned anything close to resembling swimming. Sure, he could direct his course slightly while venting oxygen behind him, and boost his speed a little by kicking at the same time, but that was about it.

  “This planet isn’t populated in the human universe, is it?” Tane said as he gazed at one particularly tall crystal beside him.

  “No,” Jed said.

  “Do these structures also exist in our universe?” Tane pressed.

  “The answer is also no,” Jed said. “These were created by their Builders. Crystals and metals alternately held together and formed by the Dark Essence. And like the kraals and dwellers themselves, they do not exist in our universe. You’d have to carry one of these structures through a rift if you wanted it back in our realm.”

  “Did you know the Builders are almost a slave class to the Cre’ite?” G’allanthamas said. “They keep them in chains, and regard them as little more than organic 3D printers.”

  Tane thought of the sponge lifeforms that humanity used to provide Essence to their planet-side distortion gates. “We do something similar.”

  “The gate sponges?” Jed asked.

  “That’s what I’m thinking of,” Tane answered. He returned his focus to the alleyways between the crystals, scanning for signs of dwellers, ready to take cover or attack if necessary.

  “But those sponges are not sentient,” Jed said.

  “The Builders are very sentient,” G’allanthamas added. “My tribe always considered them equals. Unfortunately, there aren’t very many left. Of my tribe, I mean. Other than my grandkids.”

  “What happened to your tribe?” Tane asked.

  “The majority died when the Hated TSN destroyed our homeworld,” G’allanthamas said. “Along with the other tribes inhabiting that particular planet. The rest of us are scattered across the galaxy, like the members of this colony. As for my immediate descendants, my frequent trips around the galaxy with my mate and Tiberius ensured that I established roots throughout the Umbra.”

  Jed spotted a small school of dwellers apparently on patrol a short while later, and the team took cover between two large crystals as the creatures passed overhead. Tane watched them move their limbs like G’allanthamas, swinging them in wide, sweeping motions.

  When the dwellers were gone, the party continued.

  Jed pulled ahead once more to resume his scout position. He was still invisible, but Tane momentarily spotted the telltale bubbles of vented oxygen as the Volur advanced. Those bubbles would be apparent to anyone who got close, but no doubt Jed would cease venting if aliens came near.

  Tane hadn’t noticed before, but in this quarter, electrical bolts occasionally sparked between the upper portions of some of the structures.

  “The hell was that?” Sinive asked during one such outburst of charge.

  “Power generation,” G’allanthamas said. “The potential energy builds up in the crystal as the free electrons in the liquid composite rub against them. When the potential energy reaches a critical mass between two adjacent crystals, a plasma channel is created between them and the bolt you witnessed appears. A special collector at the base of the crystals captures the generated electrons, converts them to a useable form, and transmits the energy to the rest of the grid.”

  The waypoint was within fifty meters when Jed reported in from the forefront.

  “Found your artifact,” Jed said. “Unfortunately, it’s guarded by a few of their spider robots.”

  “How
many are we talking?” Tane asked.

  “Ten,” Jed replied. “They surround a clearing, with the artifact located at the center. They all face outward.”

  “Gall, I’m guessing you dwellers use some sort of ping technology like we humans do?” Tane said. “With a command and control center of some kind ready to respond if ten robots suddenly drop off the grid?”

  “Correct,” G’allanthamas said. “My contacts tell me that security forces will be dispatched to investigate. Once the robots go down, we’ll have about five minutes to retrieve the artifact and leave.”

  “That should be more than enough time for our needs,” Tane said. “We destroy the robots, I take the artifact, you jump us back to the shuttle.”

  He truly hoped it would be that simple, at least.

  “I’m going to make a circular sweep of the area and confirm no other ambushers are lying in wait. I could be a while—in some spots I’ll be in full view of the robots, and I’ll have to avoid venting O2. That’ll slow me down.”

  “A while it is,” Tane said.

  Jed’s signal on the overhead map froze as he moved beyond the limited twenty-five meter comm range. It took about eight tense minutes before his indicator updated once more.

  “Okay, I swept the area,” Jed said. “It’s clear on the streets.”

  “You didn’t go inside any of the crystal structures bordering the clearing, did you?” Tane asked.

  “No,” Jed admitted. “That’s a little too risky even in my book. All of the entrances face the clearing. It’s likely protective energy shields sheath the openings as well. I’d have to damage the fields enough to enter, which would set off alarms in the associated crystals. And the robots would notice the flash of the fields as I broke through.”

  “The entrances all face the clearing,” Tane said. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “One or more of the structures could house ambushers,” Jed agreed.

  “Any word on a potential ambush from your contacts, Gall?” Tane asked.

  “None,” G’allanthamas responded. “According to the latest information I have, the surrounding crystals are all owned by private residents. In theory there won’t be any security forces lurking inside any of them, but it’s likely the Cre’ite have stepped up their watch on the known artifacts. So I would expect there to be some sort of surprise. But you knew this before coming here, and you were okay with the risks then. Don’t tell me you’re having a change of heart after coming all this way?”

  Tane didn’t answer, not immediately. In truth, he was in fact getting cold feet. He wasn’t afraid for himself, but for his friends.

  “Okay, just to confirm, you have a distortion tunnel in reserve?” Tane said. “Because as soon as I retrieve the artifact, I want to rush through that tunnel to the shuttle and leave.”

  “Yes, a distortion tunnel is part of my reserves,” G’allanthamas said. “I can deploy it when necessary.”

  “Good.” Tane glanced at the overhead map. “So. Ten robots. That leaves two or three for each of us. I think we can manage it.”

  “I’m transmitting their locations,” Jed said.

  The red dots appeared on the overhead map, forming a circle around the clearing between the crystals ahead.

  “Any tips on taking the robots down fast?” Tane transmitted.

  “Did you happen to ID the model of the robots?” G’allanthamas said.

  “Don’t you already know, thanks to your much vaunted contacts?” Sinive taunted.

  “No,” G’allanthamas said. “Volur, the model?”

  “Yes,” Jed said. “Tarkwail.”

  “Then to inflict the maximum damage, I would suggest targeting the centers of their carapaces,” the dweller said. “The power cores of the Tarkwail models are located close to the surface there, and are less armored than the AI cores. Keep in mind that Tarkwail models are also protected by energy shields. If you intend to use plasma weapons, you’ll probably have to concentrate fire from multiple weapons on the same targets to break through the shielding. Unless of course your plasma weapons are extremely powerful.”

  “I suppose my D18 won’t make the cut?” Tane asked.

  “Send me the specs,” G’allanthamas said.

  Tane did so.

  “Great against kraals,” the dweller said. “Not so great against the energy shields of these robots.”

  “I’ll take these three,” Jed said. On the overhead map, a trio of the adjacent red dots became highlighted. “I won’t be using a plasma weapon.”

  “These are mine,” G’allanthamas said. Another three changed color.

  “I’ll take the final four,” Sinive said. The remaining four became yellow.

  “Funny,” Tane said. “I doubt the plasma pistol you’re carrying can penetrate their shields alone, if my D18 can’t.” Tane highlighted two of the yellow dots, marking them blue. His color. “These two are mine. Trying to take away my fun, are you?”

  “I wasn’t sure you could handle it…” Sinive retorted.

  “I think she was actually trying to show off to you, Doomwielder,” G’allanthamas said. “As in: ‘Look at me, I can take on more robots than either a Volur or an alien! I’m the best!’”

  “You got it all wrong,” Sinive said. “I was trying to show off to you, honey.”

  “Ooo!” the dweller said. “My tentacles are curling in excitement. My bifurcated mandibles are bunching up in anticipation! It will be the first mating between a human and a dweller. And a glorious mating it will be!”

  “Not now you two, please,” Jed said.

  “Yeah, if you two are done with the sarcasm, I’d like you to send your pistol data to Gall, Sinive,” Tane said.

  “Why?” Sinive said.

  “Because you still have two dwellers marked as your targets, and you don’t even know if you can take them down or not,” Tane told her.

  “Oh I’ll take them down,” Sinive said. “Eventually…”

  But she sent the data on.

  A moment later G’allanthamas said: “Like yours, her weapon won’t penetrate the shielding on the first hit. I would suggest concentrating your fire on the same opponent. If you unload a full thirty-round burst from the D18 and follow up with three pistol shots, the shield will fail. I estimate it will take another two pistol shots to finish the spider off, if you target the center of the carapace.”

  “All right, so that’s one between Sinive and I,” Tane said. He marked one of the remaining yellow dots with blue so that it was half each color. He removed the yellow marking from the second dot Sinive had highlighted. “And three entirely for me.”

  “That’s not fair,” Sinive said.

  “Maybe not,” Tane said. “But necessary. We’re going to split up, stalk our assigned targets.”

  Tane double-checked the range of the crystals surrounding the perimeter. Once the team members were in position, they would still be within the twenty-five meter comm distance. Good. Though that meant of course their signals might be picked up by the robots, or by any other transmission detectors the dwellers might have placed in the area as part of their surveillance of the artifact. Well, the ability to coordinate was the most important thing right about now, so he’d just have to risk it. If the robots weren’t taken down quickly, and had time to send out a distress signal, Tane and company would soon have a whole lot more enemies to deal with.

  But they’d probably have to face an ambush sourced from the crystals either way. So again, no point in reducing the broadcast range. Best to get in there as quickly as possible and leave just as fast.

  “Move into positions,” Tane said. “Spread out, and approach your designated targets from behind. Wait until I give the word to attack. Maintain radio silence until then, unless I address you. Gall, how close can we get before the robots’ visual algorithms recognize us through the blurring?”

  “About ten meters for these particular models,” G’allanthamas said. “I would stay beyond that range or out of sigh
t until you’re ready to fire.”

  “Hope you heard that everybody,” Tane said as he released O2 to thrust forward.

  As he neared the edge of the clearing, Tane jetted sideways, skirting around the crystal structures there. He kept well beyond the ten-meter figure G’allanthamas had mentioned, and was careful not to pass into the line of sight of his targets for too long as he darted from crystal to crystal, just to be on the safe side.

  He took his place behind a crystal adjacent to the clearing, and next to his three targets. He positioned himself three-fourths of the way up the structure, about five meters away from the robots according to the overhead map, though he couldn’t see them at the moment.

  He latched onto the exterior of the crystal, readily finding purchase on the bumpy lattice that composed it. He made his way toward the edge of the structure until the clearing was in view. He could see some of the spider robots on the far side. Their backs were to him—the robots were facing outward, watching the approaches between the large structures.

  These models reminded him of the spider robots that had joined the attacking faction of dwellers on Remus, whose members had distracted the Amaranth long enough for him to escape. True to their names, they looked like big spiders made of black metal. The main carapace was about as big as a human torso. A head protruded from it, also as big as a human’s. From it emerged two smaller pincers, used for gripping captives he guessed. Eight long legs emerged from the carapace, and gave each robot an overall height that seemed just under his own. Their weight kept them secured to the lakebed.

  On the head regions, just above the pincers, it looked like retractable laser turrets protruded from either side. Attached to the carapace, above where the legs joined the main body, were two long tubes: missile launchers. He counted four dark missiles per tube. Those deadly weapons were another reason to end this fight before it could begin.