Bender of Worlds

by Isaac Hooke

  And then the ground between Tane and G’allanthamas erupted with tentacles.

  “Kraals!” Jed said.

  Tane activated his energy blade and hewed through the tentacles in his path. Sinive was at his back, firing into the ground as more of the tentacles emerged.

  Jed leaped ahead, cutting a path through the slimy appendages for G’allanthamas. The dweller was moving faster now—funny what the spur of a few kraals can do to an exhausted alien.

  The dweller reached the arrowhead-shaped shuttle and the ramp opened. G’allanthamas climbed while Jed waited at the entrance for Tane and Sinive. Cutting and blasting away, the latter two arrived at the ramp and hurried inside with Jed as it closed behind them. Within, the blue veins in the walls glowed, providing light.

  “Go!” Tane said. He stepped out of the White Essence, letting his energy ax fade.

  The cabin shook as the shuttle took to the air.

  “Look at this,” G’allanthamas said.

  Tane received a share request and accepted. A video window appeared on his HUD, and he redistributed it to Sinive and Jed. He realized he was looking down at the landing site, and watched as a huge tentacled kraal emerged from the ground where the shuttle had resided only moments ago. The craft quickly accelerated away as the tentacles swatted at the craft.

  “Well, at least we know where the kraals were hiding!” Sinive said.

  In moments they were heading rapidly away from the lake and the city it contained. Not to mention that huge kraal.

  Tane dismissed the external video feed and seated himself on the edge of one of the gaping holes in the floor. He kept waiting for G’allanthamas to report alien pursuers, but the announcement never came.

  “Why aren’t they following us?” Sinive said from where she sat beside him, her feet dangling into the hole adjacent to his.

  “I don’t know,” Tane said. “Maybe we caught them off guard?”

  “The city is still in a state of confusion,” G’allanthamas said. The alien was resting inside a hole in the floor near the forward area. “I’ve been listening in on their comm chatter. Your Volur friend has done well... his false sightings have stirred chaos all over the city. And, this is good: I don’t think they’ve realized we’ve destroyed the patrol that discovered our shuttle yet.”

  “So, for once we’re actually going to get away without having to fight for it?” Tane said.

  “Oh, we fought for it, as far as I’m concerned,” Sinive told him.

  “But the city’s security forces haven’t followed. That’s pretty lucky, I’d say.” Tane glanced at Jed, who was seated on the far side of the hole across from him, but the Volur didn’t say anything. The man merely looked grim.

  “Not going to make one of your usual comments?” Tane continued. “Like: ‘luck seems to follow you, Engineer?’”

  “We haven’t gotten away just yet,” Jed stated. He sounded extremely weary. Tane didn’t blame him. His own fatigue was starting to come to the forefront.

  “That’s right,” Sinive told Tane. “There you go, jinxing us again.”

  Tane sighed. “All right.” Now that he was sitting down, Tane finally released the beam hilt and attached it to the loop at his utility belt. He expected to be hit hard by the reduction in Endurance, but it wasn’t too bad, actually. It helped that he was sitting, he supposed.

  He glanced at the alert notification in the lower right of his HUD. He’d been ignoring it since boarding the shuttle, but decided now was as good a time as any to review the alerts he’d received during the escape.

  Level up. Your overall level is now 9! Neural pathways have been enhanced and reinforced! You now have an attribute point to allocate.

  Attribute up. Dexterity +1. Current Dexterity: 13

  He felt slightly disappointed that he hadn’t leveled in any related skills, like Beam Hilt Control.

  How many alien heads do I have to chop off?

  He applied his attribute point to Endurance, hoping to lessen his feeling of fatigue. It helped a little. It brought his total to nineteen, or thirty-one with the beam hilt and Chrysalium rings equipped.

  The onboard AI released a series of screeches and clatters.

  “The shuttle is detecting a vessel,” G’allanthamas said. The alien paused. “I’m receiving a signal. It’s Gia.”

  “Can you connect us?” Tane asked.

  “She’s online,” G’allanthamas answered.

  “I’m coming in hot!” Gia’s voice sounded from a hidden intercom overhead. “A dweller starship entered the atmosphere at my landing sight and started firing at me out of nowhere. I was forced to flee. They’ve got an Essence lance.”

  “An Essence lance?” Tane asked. “How are you still airborne?”

  “With difficulty,” Gia said. “I’ve already had two near misses from that lance. Second one scorched the outer hull. My ship is slightly faster than theirs under atmospheric conditions... I’ve pulled out of range, for now. I’m going to have to slow down so you can hot dock with me, though, so I won’t be out of range for long.”

  “Hot dock?” Tane asked.

  “Yes,” Gia replied. “Dock while airborne. I’ll match your speed.”

  “But you have no bays that will fit my craft,” G’allanthamas protested.

  “I never said anything about docking your craft,” Gia said. “But yourselves. You’re going to have to fly alongside and leap across.”

  “Wonderful,” Sinive said. “You know I hate heights, don’t you?”

  “Don’t worry,” Tane said. “It’s too dark to see the ground.”

  “Even better,” Sinive said. “Told you that you jinxed us!”

  “I’m increasing our altitude to prepare for the transfer,” G’allanthamas reported. A moment later: “Gia has pulled her vessel alongside. The AI is lining us up with her airlock…”

  The shuttle’s wide ramp opened a few seconds later, and Sinive and Jed made their way down, with Tane and G’allanthamas following behind them.

  The Mosaic’s airlock ramp resided just across from them, its furthest extremity separated by about a meter from the bottom edge of the shuttle’s ramp. Light from within the Mosaic illuminated the airlock opening, but the rest of the ship was otherwise dark.

  Sinive gracefully leaped across, followed by Jed, whose vault was decidedly less nimble, and almost clumsy: he slipped after landing on the Mosaic’s ramp, sliding down on his knees, and for a moment Tane thought he was going to fall off. But then he scrambled to his feet and steadied himself before continuing up the ramp. The Volur was definitely drained from the fighting.

  Tane approached the lower edge of the shuttle’s ramp. The distance between the two opposing ramps fluctuated between one and two meters. He felt the pull of the atmosphere gushing past his suit.

  “You’re going to have to reposition the shuttle next to the cargo bay to board,” Tane told the alien.

  “I know,” G’allanthamas said.

  “What happens to your shuttle?” Tane said.

  “I’ve programmed it to land after I’m gone,” the alien said. “It’ll be exposed, however, and out in the open. The dwellers will track it down eventually, I’m sure. And if not, the kraals will find it.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Tane said.

  “Don’t be,” G’allanthamas said. “It served me well.”

  Tane leaped across, then scrambled up toward the airlock. Near the top, he turned to look back at the shuttle, but it was already gone, repositioning near the cargo bay. The Mosaic’s ramp was sealing behind him.

  Tane connected to the Musenet as he passed through the inner hatch of the airlock and into the ship proper. The light panels were bright here, unlike the dim glow from the shuttle, and since his Night Vision hadn’t yet worn off, he was forced to gate down the illumination levels his helmet allowed through.

  Since the airlock compartment could only fit one of them at a time, Gia had left the inner hatch open, and instead had closed the breach seal in
the passageway just beyond, essentially extending the airlock. Sinive and Jed were crowded there in the passage in front of him.

  The airlock hatch closed behind him, and he spotted white mist erupting from vents along the bulkheads close to the floor as the passageway pressurized.

  “G’allanthamas is aboard,” Gia said over the Musenet. “I’m accelerating to full speed again.”

  The breach seal abruptly opened in front of them, and the trio began the trip to the cockpit. Jed paused at a side passageway along the route.

  “I think I’ll be resting in my quarters,” Jed said.

  Tane nodded, and then hurried with Sinive toward the bridge.

  Gia was still wearing a full spacesuit. No doubt as a precaution in case Tane and the others carried microcrillia aboard via their own suits. Tane hadn’t seen any obvious decontamination tech at the airlock, so until they passed through to their own universe, an act that would instantly vaporize any microcrillia stowaways, it was probably safest to wear a suit at all times, even if the internal environment was pressurized.

  “The pursuing ship is coming in again,” Gia said. “Muse, raise our shields!” She glanced at Tane and Sinive. “Hang on! I’m taking us to jump altitude.”

  “Energy shields are down to forty percent,” Muse said a moment later.

  “What the hell hit us?” Gia said.

  “We’re being bombarded by surface-to-air plasma attacks from the vicinity of the dweller city,” Muse said.

  “Evasive maneuvers,” Gia said. “Keep climbing.”

  “You got it,” the Mosaic’s AI said. Then: “Enemy ship is within Essence lance range. They’re firing!”

  “Hard right!” Gia said.

  “The lance narrowly missed,” Muse said. “It scraped our starboard side... it’s turning around, but it should dissipate by the time it catches up to us again.”

  “If they’re close enough to fire their Essence lance...” Tane began.

  “Then they’re close enough to Disrupt our jump,” Sinive finished.

  “We’ll have to shake them again,” Gia said. “I’m taking us back down. Return fire, Muse!”

  Tane felt his stomach flip before the inertial dampeners could compensate for the sudden directional change.

  “Energy shields are down to ten percent,” Muse said. “Due to the gorewar lasers fired by the pursuing vessel.”

  “Keep zigzagging!” Gia said.

  The next five minutes were spent slowly pulling away from the enemy vessel while staying as close to the planet’s surface as possible.

  Eventually, the enemy craft moved beyond the horizon, and Gia accelerated directly forward for a jump attempt.

  The dark threads that emerged from Tane’s body became thinner with each passing moment.

  “Approaching jump altitude...” Muse said.

  “Now!” Gia said.

  The jump chamber lit up, and as a hum filled the air, Tane felt the nausea more strongly than the last time. He thought it was because he was already drained from using both Essences. He shot out an arm against the nearby bulkhead to steady himself.

  The light faded, as did the humming noise, and Gia slumped. “We’ve jumped.”

  The dark threads had completely vanished from his body.

  “Where are we?” Tane asked. “Anteres?”

  “No,” Gia said. Her head lolled toward him. “Too far. That’ll be our next jump. We’re in Hegemon Two.”

  “I can take us to Anteres right now,” Sinive said. “Or whenever we get close to a gravity well, I mean.”

  “Muse, status report?” Gia said. “Any enemy ships nearby?”

  “Hegemon Two is completely quiet,” Muse said.

  “Then set a course for the closest planet,” Gia said. “And engage engines.”

  “Closest planet is H33,” the Mosaic’s AI said. “Setting course and engaging.”

  Sinive went to Gia and helped her out of the jump chamber.

  “By the way, how went the hull cleaning?” Sinive asked her.

  “Got almost all the crillia off,” Gia answered.

  Sinive lowered her to the deck.

  “Jed just reported in to sickbay,” Muse said. “You might want to check on him.”

  Tane exchanged a worried look with Sinive and Gia.

  “What happened to him out there?” Gia said.

  “I don’t know,” Tane told her. “He seemed fine after we boarded. A bit tired.”

  “Well he’s not fine now.” Gia scrambled upright on wobbly feet. Even with the strength-enhancements offered by her spacesuit, she was still too weak to stand without leaning heavily on the bulkhead.

  Sinive offered Gia her shoulder as a crutch, and the tired woman took it.

  Tane led the way down the passageway toward sickbay. No one felt more responsible for Jed than Tane himself.

  If something has happened to him, I don’t know what I’m going to do.

  S’Wraathar stared at the empty region of space where the vessel had resided. He’d found the Doomwielder’s ship and attacked it, but the craft had cowardly run. When it rendezvoused with a shuttle of dweller design, S’Wraathar had realized too late that the Doomwielder had made a visit to the city after all. Judging from the chatter he heard on the comms, the Doomwielder had taken the artifact and escaped.

  I should have headed toward the city immediately.

  His sensors had only picked up the alien shuttle when it arrived to dock with the ship. He had to wonder, if he had in fact detected the smaller craft earlier, would he have recognized it as belonging to the Doomwielder? Or simply assumed that it was owned by a member of another tribe on a nighttime jaunt across the planet?

  Well, it didn’t matter now either way, did it?

  The human starship with the fake thermals had come into view above the horizon only moments before. It had barely been within the range of his Disruptor, but before the AI could get a fix, the ship had jumped.

  It had been a good race, but in the end the Doomwielder’s vessel had simply been too fast. Too nimble. At least within an atmosphere.

  S’Wraathar might have to talk to his patron about giving him a ship that performed better in atmospheric conditions sometime. But until then, he had some TSN communications to spy on.

  Another day, Doomwielder. You will be mine. Very soon.

  28

  Tane hurried inside the tight compartment that represented sickbay. Sinive and Gia followed just behind. The three of them crowded around Jed, who lay on the only bed.

  The Volur had removed his chest assembly so that his entire upper body was exposed. He’d shrunk down his leg and hip assemblies so that they were little more than a pair of tight metal pants.

  His hair seemed grayer than ever, if that was possible. The wrinkles on his face also seemed deeper, and his features hollower: his piercings left shallow depressions in the skin, as if the supporting tissues underneath had wasted away.

  “Jed!” Tane said. “Your chest… what about microcrillia infection?”

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Jed said.

  “What do you mean?” Tane pressed.

  Jed lifted an arm to reveal his side.

  Shocked by what he saw, Tane took an instinctive step backward.

  “What is it?” Gia said. “Let me see. Move!”

  Gia shoved past with Sinive’s help, and forced Tane away. She gasped.

  “Oh no,” Gia said. “No.”

  Underneath the arm, along Jed’s ribcage, the skin had gone putrid. It was completely black. Dark veins spread away from the wound, expanding outward via the capillaries underneath.

  “One of the Amaranth got me while I was leading them away,” Jed said. “With those black smears of theirs. Dark veins spread across the armor in my side, and cracked it open. The armor healed before I drowned, and my suit cycled out the liquid hydrocarbons. I thought I was fine, that the armor had absorbed most of the blow, until I boarded the shuttle. That was when I ran a full medical check and realize
d I hadn’t been quite so lucky. The medical robot has confirmed I’ve suffered third degree burns to my right rib region. And that I’m infected with microcrillia.”

  “Why isn’t the medical robot helping you?” Gia said. She spun toward the far side of the sickbay, but Jed firmly grabbed her wrist.

  “I can’t be treated by conventional means,” Jed said.

  Gia turned toward Tane. “You’re the Bender of Worlds. You can heal him, right?”

  “I have some healing,” Tane said cautiously. “But I doubt it’s powerful enough for this. I’ll certainly try, though.”

  “You have to try, yes,” Gia said. “When we reach the planet—”

  “No,” Jed interrupted. “He’s at level one in Healing. Two with his necklace. It’s not enough. He’s wasting his time.”

  “Maybe we could Link?” Tane said. “Like we did when Lyra healed Sinive?”

  “I can’t Link, not now,” Jed said. “With microcrillia flowing through one’s veins, it becomes very difficult to step into the Essence. Even if we get close to a gravity well, I’m useless to you.”

  “Then I can link with Sinive and Gia,” Tane said.

  “They’re too weak in the Essence to be of much use,” Jed said.

  “What if I Siphoned through the hull of this ship?” Tane turned toward Gia. “I can access the Chrysalium hull via the jump chamber, right?”

  “Yes and no,” Gia said. “Any Essence you Siphon there has to be directed up into the focusing array, otherwise a failsafe will kick in and a protective energy field will close over the exposed hull section, cutting you off. There’s no way to shut that down.”

  “Fine, then I’ll just have to clamber onto the outer hull,” Tane said. “And bring Jed with me.”

  “What about the ship?” Since said. “If you do this, and destroy the hull…”

  “I won’t Siphon long enough to disintegrate the hull,” Tane said.

  Sinive nodded, but she seemed doubtful.

  “What’s the point?” Jed said. “You don’t understand. It won’t matter. You can send immensely powerful waves of healing through me, but the microcrillia will remain untouched. Because unfortunately, this is the type of work where brute force won’t help, and where skill makes all the difference. The healing Branches and Leaves have to be directed precisely… the final Branchwork of the Lumina tree you create isn’t set in stone, you’ve learned that much, haven’t you? Without the experience, you won’t heal me, even if you have the biggest TSN warship as your Chrysalium source.”