by A. K. DuBoff
“Stars…” My stomach clenched. Some people had suggested a reset on that scale might be possible, but I never imagined that it may have already happened. “Is there any way to know for sure?”
“Unlike the interface consoles with the colonies, there aren’t dates attached to the Master Archive—at least not using a code we yet understand,” Colren continued. “The only reason we began to suspect the Archive records extend beyond real-time is because we noticed that certain branches of the records have blank spots corresponding with worlds getting consumed by the Darkness, and those blanks continue for some undetermined amount of time before resuming again.”
“So, we beat this thing?” Toran asked.
The commander nodded. “We hope so.”
Kaiden squinted. “Wait, you said that no regular people could go into the Archives, and we’re the first modified people to have a chance of entering. How have you seen any of that?”
“Like I said, it’s not straightforward. We can’t get into the vault, but we can still observe parts of it.”
“How?” Kaiden pressed.
“There are certain… relays, which enable us to access parts of the data contained within the crystals. We only know of four such devices—one of which is on this ship.”
“And that’s how you first got the tech for jump drives and the rest?” I asked.
Colren inclined his head. “That was almost two hundred years ago. The Hegemony uncovered the first device on one of the moons in orbit of the Capital world, and we’ve been following the breadcrumbs ever since. Though use of the crystals dates back to our people’s earliest records and we’ve had the rudimentary control mechanisms we use today, it wasn’t until the discovery of the interface device that we started to understand how the crystals work and where they may have come from.”
I leaned forward. “Which is…?”
“We don’t know,” the commander admitted. “Whoever made them did it a long time ago using tech far more advanced than we can comprehend.”
“I always thought the crystals themselves were natural formations,” I said.
“Yeah, same,” Kaiden murmured.
Toran tilted his head. “Meaning, these new abilities come from some kind of tech rather than magic?”
“It’s not a clear distinction,” Colren replied.
Kaiden smiled. “Whatever makes it possible, I’ll take it.”
“Says Mister Fireball,” Toran ribbed.
“Hey, we all got to choose our skills.” Kaiden shrugged.
Toran folded his arms, causing his biceps to bulge. “I regret nothing.”
“Me either,” I said, but I wasn’t convinced. The idea of having magic-like abilities still called to me, but a lot of that may be due to not having had the chance to test out the new skills I did have.
“The question remains, will you help us?” Colren pressed.
I met his gaze. “I will.”
Kaiden nodded after a slight pause. “Yes, I’ll never shy away from a challenge.”
“I’m in,” Toran agreed
“Thank you.” The commander looked genuinely relieved.
“Probably best not to thank us yet,” Kaiden said. “We have no idea how to do what you’re asking.”
Colren nodded. “Willingness to try is the first step.”
“Do we, like, take a shuttle down there, or…?” I prompted.
“Yes, acquire your gear and arm yourselves, then proceed to the hangar,” the commander instructed.
“Is there someone to walk us through that, or—” I started to ask.
“I trust that you don’t require supervision. Kaiden knows where to go to get everything you need. Dismissed.” Colren marched back to the bridge.
“For being the universe’s last, best hope, isn’t it a little weird that he’s turning us loose on the ship to do our own thing?” I whispered. “Shouldn’t we have escorts, or something?”
Kaiden shrugged. “I was a little thrown off by that when I first got here, too. What I’ve realized is that it’s safe here, and all of the control rooms are staffed. If we can’t be trusted to fend for ourselves on the ship, we’d be hopeless planetside.”
“True.”
We filed out of the conference room back through the bridge to the corridor.
When we were alone in the hallway, Toran let out a long breath. “Also, for getting answers, why do I have even more questions now?”
Kaiden chuckled. “The feeling is mutual.”
I shook my head. “This entire thing feels ridiculous. I mean, the tech that they’re talking about here…”
“Saying it’s from ancient aliens?” Toran sighed. “What are they going to tell us next?”
“Honestly, I’m kind of relieved,” Kaiden said. “I’ve always liked the idea of magic—“
“I know we just met, but that was pretty obvious by the fact that you picked the wand,” I interjected.
He rolled his eyes. “Well, yeah. But even liking it, it was strange to think of something like a fireball materializing out of nothing. Though that explanation we got doesn’t begin to explain how it’s possible, it does at least indicate that someone at some time figured out how to make it work. That means there are rules, so it can be controlled.”
I crossed my arms. “I hadn’t thought about it that way.”
“Yeah, I hadn’t before, either,” Kaiden admitted. “I got caught up in how fun it was to have the power at my fingertips, and then I realized that by not understanding it, I might eventually do something really bad. But if there’s science behind it, there’s also a pattern. If I can understand enough of the inner workings, I can maximize the abilities without losing control.”
“I like the idea of you not accidently exploding a fireball on us,” I said.
Toran nodded. “Yeah, start that studying ASAP… however you’re supposed to go about doing that.”
“Says the person who ruined all of the seating in what was supposed to be our lounge room.” Kaiden raised an eyebrow at Toran.
“At least my practicing didn’t involve lobbing balls of flaming energy at an exterior bulkhead.”
I spread my hands flat at waist-level. “How about we just agree to no more magical attack spells on the spaceship?”
“Fine, so long as other practice doesn’t involve destroying furniture we might not be able to replace,” Kaiden replied.
“Okay,” Toran agreed.
“Great.” I smiled at them. “Now that we have some ground rules, I guess we should get down to that planet and figure out what we’re supposed to do.”
“You’re forgetting something,” Kaiden said.
“What’s that?”
“You.”
I tilted my head, brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Seems like we should establish some guideline for using your abilities, too,” he stated.
“Yeah, well, I don’t actually know what those abilities are yet.”
“You’re supposed to have strength and fighting abilities, right?” Toran asked.
I eyed him. “Maybe, but you seem to have the strength thing covered.”
“I think we’re all stronger,” Kaiden pointed out. “Toran was doing the chair-bending, but it looks like we’ll also be able to take a beating.”
I crossed my arms. “What other stuff?”
“Move fast, jump, strike, I dunno.” Kaiden shrugged. “The only way to find out is to try.”
“We already agreed no chair-bending, so Elle doesn’t get to, either,” Toran said.
“Fine, we’ll figure out some other strength and agility tests when we get planetside,” the other man agreed. “Really, I didn’t start to figure out what I could do until I played around. The first few things just kind of came to me.”
I grinned. “All right, then, I guess we should gear up.”
4
Getting equipment for a planetside mission wasn’t as straig
htforward as it sounded in my head.
Following Kaiden’s directions, the three of took a lift down four decks to an area that was presented as ‘the place where you get stuff’. Despite that description aligning with our present needs, I was immediately skeptical of us being able to get anything useful when Kaiden led us into an empty room.
“Take a wrong turn?” I asked.
He flashed a knowing smile. “This is it.”
I looked around the plain space—approximately five meters square. “What am I missing?”
Toran sighed. “Don’t we have enough to worry about without you messing with us?”
“There’s nothing in here,” I said. “I was hoping for a sword and some stylish armor, or something.”
“Step onto the scanner,” a female synthesized voice stated over hidden speakers.
I jumped with surprise as a ring of white lights a meter in diameter appeared in the center of the floor.
“Step into the scanner for equipment fitting,” the voice said.
“Huh.” Toran nodded. “I stand corrected.”
“Colren mentioned the 3D printer when I first got here, but I haven’t tried it out yet myself,” Kaiden explained. “I guess it’ll scan us and adapt any of its built-in patterns to our size.”
Toran glared at him—a terrifying look from someone of his proportions. “You mean I could have had a shirt this whole time?”
Kaiden took a step backward. “I kind of thought you didn’t want one.”
“Nah, man, it’s cold! The jumpsuit just didn’t fit well.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s note this as an example of why open communication is important.”
“My, you’re a sage advisor for someone your age,” Kaiden commented with a smirk.
“Hah!” I laughed. “No, my mom’s a therapist. It rubs off.”
He smiled. “I know how that goes… the moment you realize you’re starting to become your parents.”
“Oh, stars, don’t remind me,” Toran moaned. “Just wait until you get a little older and see it really start to come out.”
I looked him over, realizing that it was impossible to get an accurate reading of his age—not to mention the fact that all of us were in different bodies than the ones we were born into. “How old are you?” I asked.
“Forty-two next month,” Toran replied.
Kaiden tilted his head. “Really? I guess the transformation took off a few years.”
Toran nodded. “I was also skinny and thirty centimeters shorter, so there’s that.” He laughed.
“And, Elle, you said you just graduated secondary school, right? So, you’re… eighteen?” Kaiden asked.
I nodded. “A teenager with no life experience—I know, exactly who you want on the team tasked with saving the universe.”
“Stars, I’m only twenty-two and I won’t graduate from the Academy for another semester,” Kaiden revealed. “Not exactly the image of experience over here, either.”
“What were you studying?” I asked.
“Agriculture.” He laughed. “How’s that for useful in what we’re doing?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t have guessed that.”
He shrugged. “My family hauled grain for a living, so I decided I’d rather be on the production end and get to stay put.”
“I understand the appeal,” Toran replied. “You traveled a lot as a kid?”
Kaiden nodded. “I was on Falstan II for an internship when all this went down, but I spent most of my childhood on a freighter.”
My eyes widened. “Wow, that’s…” I couldn’t help but feel envious. The notion of being mobile all the time and getting to live in space was something I’d dreamed about since I was a kid.
He smiled. “Whatever you’re thinking, it wasn’t. A lot of crowded living quarters, bland food, and not nearly as dramatic a view as you’d imagine.”
Annoyance over his nonchalantness lodged in my chest, but I let his words sink in for a few moments. He was being sincere, and I shouldn’t fault him for that. Maybe traveling on a freighter wasn’t everything I’d dreamed about. “I guess living in a small town isn’t all bad,” I said after a pause. “Having an orchard in the backyard is nice.”
Kaiden got a wistful look in his eyes. “There were times I would have done anything to have that.”
“Same with me getting to travel around in space. I always wanted to go to Tactical School.”
“Ah, the age-old desire to want what you don’t have,” Toran chimed in.
I swirled a length of my fuchsia hair around my index finger while looking over Toran’s exaggerated physique. “I guess we’re kind of walking personifications of that now, aren’t we?”
Kaiden held up his hands as electricity crackled between his fingertips. “I have no complaints about the upgrades.”
“What about you, Toran?” I questioned the other man. “Did you have a career and family before you were pulled here?”
He took a deep breath and looked down. “Yes, a wife and five-year-old daughter. I’ve been trying not to think about where they are right now.”
A sharp pang struck my heart as emotion flitted across his face. I was worried about my own family, but they weren’t reliant on me to keep them safe in a way a child needed parents. Toran couldn’t do anything more to help his wife and daughter if he was frozen in suspended animation with them, but it was clear from his expression that he felt responsible for them all the same.
“They’ll be fine,” I tried to assure him.
“I was an engineer by trade, so I’m not one to sugarcoat facts,” he replied. “I know we’re in deep here. We can’t measure what we don’t know, and I haven’t heard anything about our enemy that tells me what we’re up against. Whatever happens, I’ll be fighting for the well-being of my family. They’re my universe.”
I swallowed hard, wishing I had a more tangible person or thing to fight for. I wanted my world back—my family, my friends, my last summer of being carefree. But, even after defeating the Darkness, I still wouldn’t have those things; I’d be leaving home. However, just because my life would change regardless, that didn’t mean others’ lives were in transition. People like Toran deserved to be reunited with their loved ones, and if I could help make that happen, I needed to do everything I could to make it a reality. After all, I’d wanted to be a Ranger. Now that my body was healed, all I had to do was prove I was ready to put others before myself.
“We’ll get them back, Toran,” I said, more confident this time.
He softened, cracking a smile. “I don’t think they’ll recognize me.”
I smiled back. “There’s more to a person than how they look.”
“That’s assuming these new bodies are permanent,” Kaiden pointed out.
“You also half your size back home?” I ribbed.
He smirked. “No, aside from the new magic, this is pretty much me. And you?”
I pointed at my fuchsia hair. “Not my natural shade.”
Kaiden laughed. “Right.”
“Aside from that, though,” I looked myself over, “pretty close.”
But I did feel different, even if my appearance only had minor cosmetic changes. I was energized in the way I always was right after a cliff jump—filled with a sense that I could tackle any challenge. My injury hadn’t held me back from trying most things, but now that it wasn’t pestering the back of my mind, it was like a weight had been lifted that I hadn’t even realized was there.
I didn’t want to admit it to the others, but I was actually excited to face off against an unknown enemy and to have the chance to use abilities that normally were fanciful dreams. I’d been given the opportunity to be a new version of myself unburdened by my past. It would be a genuine adventure.
“Whoever we were before, we have strangers counting on us now,” Kaiden said, echoing my private thoughts.
“I’ll give it my all,” I said.
Kaiden nodded. “Same. I don’t know what that commitment means exactly, but the three of us are in this together.”
I was silent for several seconds. “We’re all kinda screwed, aren’t we?”
“Probably, but magic.” Kaiden waggled his fingers.
“I can’t wait to get back home and loom over the guys who made fun of me in Physical Ed at school back in the day,” Toran said.
“Just a touch petty,” I commented.
Kaiden cast me a sidelong glance. “Don’t pretend you’re not thinking of all the ways you could show off now.”
My thoughts flashed to Adrianne and her aerial acrobatics—such a frivolous activity under present circumstances, but more than a little part of me wanted to see how much I could out-maneuver her now. “Okay, maybe there are a few things I’d do myself. Not that I even rightly know what I can do now.”
“Right! The equipment, and the mission.” Kaiden pointed at the illuminated ring on the floor.
The computer had remained silent during our conversation, and I’d gotten so wrapped up in talking with my new associates that I’d almost forgotten why we had entered the room in the first place.
“Who goes first?” I asked.
“Congratulations for volunteering. Go on ahead.” Kaiden flourished his hand.
I eyed the illuminated ring. “Any idea how this thing works?”
“Haven’t a clue,” Kaiden replied. “But it’s unlikely to vaporize you.”
“That makes me feel way better, thanks.”
“Only way to test out the interface is to do it,” Toran said. “We’ll be right here.”
Knowing now he was a parent back home, I could hear the measured patience and assurance in his tone. That little girl of his had a good dad, even if she wasn’t old enough to know it yet.
“All right,” I agreed, stepping into the ring.
The moment I was stationary inside, a pleasant chime sounded and a downlight bathed me in a white glow. A moment later, a holographic projection popped up at torso height, wrapping one hundred eighty degrees around me. The screen had multiple menu items, ranging from weapons to armor and other accessories.
