by Lee Watts
"SHANIA," Pipaluk screamed in terror.
Shania didn't know how she heard that one voice over the torrent of other sounds, but it was completely clear, and she knew right away who it was. Looking up, the Guardian saw Koraden stalking nearer the defenseless girl. His murderous intent was evident, and immediately Shania sped toward the stairs. Seer Rew made his way in front of Pipaluk in a futile but noble attempt to protect her. Blackened eyes boring past the seer, Koraden swung a blade hard, slicing deep across Rew's arm sending the mortal toppling to the ground level. Pipaluk had nowhere to run and turned away in fright as Koraden brought his weapon high, preparing to attack her.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Shania still had to traverse halfway across the room's ledge to reach Koraden, but there was no time left. Turning, she saw Koraden begin stabbing the screaming child.
***
As the sea predator raced closer, Jaiden didn't know if the rocket pack of his environmental suit would work underwater, but in desperation, he fired it anyway. To his relief, it propelled him forward quickly. Giovanni also activated his pack, but, wearing the backpack with heavy battery cables attached to the hull, he went only a meter before being yanked like an animal on too short a chain.
Hearing an abruptly-ending yell, Jaiden turned back to see the tail end of the creature fading into the shadows of the deep. In panicked flight, he turned back around and sped from the monster. A few moments later it occurred to him that the farther he ventured from the ship, the less the chances of finding it again. The thought made him realize he may have gone too far already. Quickly turning around, he headed back, for what he hoped, was the way he came while keeping a wary eye out for the sea creature. Each second of the return voyage added to his mounting tension. After thirty seconds, he realized he'd gone off course. Fear threatened to overtake him. Except for his own quivering breaths, all was silent. The light from his suit was the sole source of illumination. Terror pressed on him with greater weight than the waters of that far depth.
"J- Jaiden to Fortune," he called over the suit's radio. No response. "Giovanni? Giovanni this is Jaiden, come in." There was no answer to his call. Suspended amid the waters, he floated weightless and helpless.
"T--s is -ei go ahe-- -iden," came a static-laden voice over the radio.
It sounded like Shen Mei.
"Mei! Mei! It's me. A sea creature attacked Giovanni and me. I think it got him. I can't find the ship! I-"
More static came from the speakers. He couldn't make out what Mei was saying. It was some kind of instructions, but he didn't understand.
"Repeat, Fortune! Please repeat, I do not read you."
Silence.
He waited several seconds, nothing.
I lived my whole life in that jungle, and now, to die here at the bottom of the sea, he mused as a sense of hopelessness descended on him. He thought of all the things he'd been through: the dangers he'd faced in the jungle, the journey across Acatus he made with Alexander, the battle in the asteroids, and the short time he'd spent on Theera. He felt his life was finally starting, and now it would end, here, on the floor of the sea… The floor of the sea, he repeated to himself as a ray of hope dawned on him. Realizing the Fortune was near the bottom, Jaiden inverted himself and began descending. After several moments, the light beam from his helmet shown upon the sandy sea floor.
Now, the question is, which way from here? Elder, help me. Guide my steps, now more than ever, he pleadingly prayed then set off in an arbitrary direction. Just over a minute later he came upon a great hole, a hole in the bottom of the sea. Knowing the Fortune was only a few hundred meters from the hole, he'd never been so happy to see something in all his life. Activating his rocket pack, he began searching by making ever-widening circles around the deep crevasse. Dimly, as if playing with his imagination, he thought he saw tiny lights ahead of him. Advancing, the luminaries continued and gradually brightened, the exterior lights of the Fortune.
Thank you, Elder. Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.
"Fortune, this is Jaiden, do you read me?"
"Jaiden," exclaimed Shen Mei. "Thank goodness, we thought you were lost."
"I was."
"How did you find us?"
"I had some help."
"Help? Explain later. Listen, is Giovanni with you? We can't raise him on the radio."
"Negative. A sea creature started chasing us, and we got split up. I don't think he… I'll head back to where we were working and check."
Rounding the hull, Jaiden's fear for Giovanni was confirmed. Only the upper half of the man remained and now floated aimlessly while still attached to the hull by the one battery cable linked to the backpack. Jaiden shut his eyes, trying to block out the horrid image. Knowing he must finish what he came out there to do, Jaiden reopened his eyes and quickly loosed the battery pack from Giovanni's remains. Shivering from the grotesqueness of it, Jaiden tried to focus on the task at hand. Grasping the second battery cable, he twisted it onto the remaining port until it locked into place. Hitting the activation switch, the pack sent a charge to the cargo bay doors. Once powered, he unfastened both cables and hit the switch to close the doors. Slowly, the panels began to respond.
"Job's done," Jaiden announced. "I'm heading back to the torpe- WHOA!"
"Jaiden?! Jaiden what is it?"
"IT'S BACK," Jaiden shouted as the sea creature whipped its powerful tail giving the animal a great burst of speed.
Firing his rocket, he barely escaped the clamping jaws of the beast. The enormous, eel-like creature turned and charged him again. Zooming around the hull, Jaiden prayed the creature didn't double back on him, or he'd wind up running straight into it. SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! The hungry beast clamped at him repeatedly, each second gaining on him. Jaiden knew there was zero chance of taking the time to slide into one of the narrow torpedo tubes before the monster made a second course out of him. Knowing the danger of heading away from the ship, Jaiden poured on all the speed he had while racing for the closing cargo bay. His only hope of survival, he prayed the doors weren't already closed. Prayers answered he dashed inside the bay that was two-thirds full of water.
"Whew," he panted from the race and rush of adrenalin. With less than two seconds to spare, the beast rushed into the bay with him, and the massive doors clanked shut behind it closing them both inside the bay.
***
Gradually, Alexander's eyes adjusted to the extreme low light of the cavern caused by the bluish-green fungus. The hot air came in gusts bringing with it the smell of sulfur and strong whiffs of other, unrecognized gases. It made him dizzy. Guessing the fumes were likely toxic, he quickly donned his breath mask. As the passage continued to gently slope downward, the path became smoother and so easier to traverse. Rounding a curve, he noticed a light source reflecting off the curved wall ahead of him. Unlike the soft glow of the plants in the higher levels, this light was strong and yellow. Since it didn't flicker, he deduced the source wasn't a fire. Silently, he pulled apart his battlestaff and continued to move forward. Cautiously, he rounded the corner and beheld an artificial light panel on the wall and a heavy metallic door that combined seamlessly into the dense granite. Embedded next to the doorway was a control panel with an indented print of a human hand. Overlaying his hand on the print, the door clanked as it recognized human DNA and unlocked to slowly slide open. Warily, Alexander proceeded in, the heavy door automatically closing and locking behind him.
Alexander proceeded cautiously through the wholly artificial cavern. Unlike the sulfur-laden fumes of the rocky tunnels on the other side of the door, the air of that place was breathable, so he doffed his breath mask. Smooth polished metallic walls angled inward forming a trapezoid-shaped tunnel. Etchings of alien script adorned the walls; the symbols resembled those on the bracer passed to him by his father, the bracer his half-brother Salazar desperately wanted. A bright light strip on the narrow ceiling fully illuminated the corridor. Slowly, he moved forward through the curving passage until comi
ng to its end. There he stopped to gaze in awe upon the most magnificent structure he had ever beheld. Center of an enormous opening in a great cave was a magnificent ziggurat, seemingly made entirely of crystal that jutted out from a surrounding pool of lava. A wide stream of the molten, glowing rock poured in from openings to the left and right of the crystalline structure. Extending up from the magma, the alien building was shimmering hues of sapphire and emerald. Atop the edifice was a heptagonal obelisk of black stone more than ten meters high. From his angle, Alexander could see writing on two of the sides. Engravings on one panel were the same style markings as in the corridor. A narrow bridge, constructed of identical crystal, connected the passage to the ziggurat top. With lengthy, arched supports reaching into the glowing lake below, the bridge was three meters wide and had an enormous crystalline statue of a bird creature on each corner.
Alexander wanted to stop to take in the grandeur of the place, but the pressing of his purpose forced him to deny his curiosity and continue his search for the Guardian. He didn't have to look long, for the immortal was waiting for him.
"Athalian tulasha slivolith," shouted the Guardian stepping into view from behind the obelisk.
Alexander couldn't understand what the immortal said and slowly walked across the narrow bridge as the holy warrior repeated the words. Drawing out the blades of his battlestaff, Tycon took a deep fighting stance as Alexander approached.
"Wait! Wait! I'm not a Dridmor," Alexander assured quickly, trying to clear up the misunderstanding.
Furrowing his brow in confusion, the immortal nonetheless kept his stance.
"It's alright," Alexander announced as he stepped onto the ziggurat's top. "Here, I'll set down my weapon." Gingerly placing his battlestaff on the ground, Alexander then took a step away from it to demonstrate his good intent. "I'm a friend," Alexander explained. "A friend of Merrick."
"Merrick?" the Guardian repeated in recognition of the name.
"Yes, Merrick," Alexander repeated, glad to make a connection. Tycon sheathed his swords and unclipped a palm-sized device from his belt and tossed it to Alexander. The mortal caught it and looked to the Tycon for a clue as to what it was. The Guardian held his fist to his mouth indicating it was some sort of a translation device. Holding the device near his mouth, Alexander spoke into it.
"I am Alexander Lyons of the planet Theera - a friend of Merrick's."
"I am Tycon," came a voice from the device as the Guardian spoke. "You say you are a friend of Merrick's - prove it."
Stumped, Alexander didn't know what to do. A thought occurred to him, and he pulled from under his shirt the slender chain holding the stone Merrick had entrusted to him.
"Where did you get that?" Tycon demanded.
"Merrick gave it to me before he left. He told me it mustn't fall into the wrong hands."
"Left? Where is he now?"
"I… I don't know. Merrick was captured by a Dridmor named Koraden."
"Koraden," Tycon hissed.
"Listen," Alexander said, "there's not a lot of time to explain. The Dridmor have recollected all but this crown stone and the one you have. We have to get you to safety before they find you and take yours."
"We? Who is with you?"
"Merrick's teacher."
"Teacher?"
"Yes, another Guardian. We got separated in the tunnels, but I know he'll survive and make his way here."
"Who?" Tycon asked insistently.
"Imenand," Alexander answered.
Tycon's eyes grew wide.
"Imenand!"
"THAT'S RIGHT," Imenand shouted from the far end of the narrow bridge, "AND I'VE FINALLY FOUND YOU!"
Alexander looked at Imenand in confusion. Striding nearer, the Dridmor separated his weapon and formed it into a burning staff. In shocked disbelief, Alexander turned back to the Guardian.
"You fool," Tycon said to Alexander. "You've led them right to me."
CHAPTER 50
"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee… – Isaiah 43:2
Flashing as a strobe light, Ian's rear shield indicator warned his defensive screen was on the verge of collapse. Slowing so the pursuing Hateeg craft would hit him instead of the tizanite-rich moon, Ian scrambled to find a way out of the labyrinth-like rock. Pulling hard on the controls, he corkscrewed his way through the passage, but the Hateeg ship was not as agile and slammed head-on into an unforgiving mound of granite. To Ian's relief, the ship crumbled but didn't explode. As rock pelted his ship, it reminded him that the Hateeg was only half of his problems, the other being the fact that the moon was collapsing in on itself. Zooming around raining boulders, he, at last, saw the stars and slammed his throttle forward, jetting out into the blackness of space.
"What kept ya?" came Dakota's familiar twang.
"You did this didn't you?" Ian accused.
"Hey, you said make sure nobody sees us. Trust me, those guys aren't tell'n nobody nothin'."
"Come on," Ian prompted. "We need to get back to the ship before more Hateeg head this way."
"Way ahead of you," Dakota answered. "I mean that I left half a minute ago; I'm way ahead of you."
"Blast it! Why didn't you wait for me?"
"To be honest, Ironman, I thought you didn't make it. I tried calling you, but there was no answer."
"Must have been all the interference from the tizaninte," Ian reasoned. "Anyway, I'm on your tail. Hey wait a minute, check your scope. Do you see what I do?"
"Negative, I had to eject my main power core. I'm running on only battery right now. I've diverted all power to the engines, so my long-range sensors are inop."
"There's a string of ships out there. Looks like some fighters and a shuttle are close behind that cruiser chasing the transports."
"A shuttle? That doesn't make any sense," Dakota said in puzzlement.
"No," Ian agreed. "Hey, I'm reading some wreckage. Looks like the cruiser took out one of the transports."
"Do you think they've spotted us?" Dakota wondered.
"I doubt it. We're too small and far away. I'll start jamming anyway. That way they can't get a signal back to the rest of their fleet here. Wait a minute, I'm not picking up the Indomitable."
"They're probably just taking cover on the far side of the planet," Dakota reasoned. "Come on. Hateeg fighters are a lot slower than us, let's see if we can catch up and shrink their numbers a little bit."
"Right with you, Fireball."
***
Inside the ‘borrowed' Hateeg shuttle Colonel Ortiz lowered the life support levels to the bare minimum so he could pour more power into the engines.
"They're still gaining on us," Sergeant Sanders reported from the co-pilot's position.
Spitting orange beams, the lead of the four Hateeg starfighters hit its target. Everyone in the shuttle slammed forward, and the ship rapidly lost speed. Cheyenne shrieked, interior lights extinguished, and the vessel began listing in uncontrolled flight.
"All systems are out," Ortiz exclaimed. Activating a flashlight, Sergeant Sanders got out of his seat and quickly dropped to his back. Ripping off a panel under the control console, he hastily tried to rewire the ship to get at least emergency power.
Lining up the drifting shuttle in his crosshairs, the lead Hateeg pilot tensed his finger on the trigger preparing to fire, then his ship exploded. In half a heartbeat the remaining three Hateeg fighters came under heavy attack from the two Realm ships behind them. Within five seconds, the green Hateeg starfighters were eliminated.
"Alright," Dakota cheered. "Now, let's go take out that shuttle."
"I'm way ahead of you," Ian answered. "Locking on now."
"It's Realm ships," Aulani shouted looking out the back glass of the shuttle.
"Must be the two recons," Ortiz realized. "Just in time too."
Lights in the battered shuttle flickered as power was restored.
"Good work, Sergeant," the Colonel said. "Oh no!
"
"What is it," Aulani asked.
"I'm picking up a missile lock from those fighters, they think were Hateeg!"
Quickly punching the buttons of the communication panel, Ortiz called out a message.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FIRE! THIS IS COL-"
Streaking forward, Ian's missile dashed for the shuttle. It was half a second later when the shouting voice on the radio informed him there were Realm people on the targeted craft, including the queen mother. Slamming his throttle, Dakota pushed his ship for every ounce of speed it had and positioned himself in the path of the missile. The explosion blotted out Ian's view of his wingman.
"DAKOTA," Ian shouted, but as the ball of flame faded, he saw the battered, Dagger class ship had survived the impact, barely. Over the radio came a mix of static and a country accent. Ian couldn't make out all the words, but he got the meaning. Dakota was alright, and he'd no doubt take great pleasure in relating this part of their mission to every person who would listen.
"No time for chatter," Colonel Ortiz called to the pilots. "Form up. We've got to get back to the Indomitable."
"I still don't see it," Ian said.
"The admiral wouldn't have left," Ortiz assured. "Keep moving forward. We'll find him, or he'll find us. He's somewhere near that planet."
The Indomitable was not necessarily near, but more correctly in the gas giant world of Entauri VI. Concealed within the thick clouds of the planet, the enormous battlecarrier was hidden from the sensors of both the approaching transports and its pursuing Hateeg cruiser.
"Time?" Balin asked.
"Transports passing by now," answered a bridge crewman. "Cruiser within range."
"Stand by," the admiral ordered. "I don't want to give them any time to react."
"Sir, I'm detecting an energy spike from that ship. They're preparing to fire on the next transport."
