Honoré zoomed in on the structure that had set the alarm off. The building was constructed in the shape of a six-pointed star with transparent exterior walls. He realized it was teaming with Kurun on every level. As he looked in several of the many windows, he could see them walking about back and forth. He moved the camera between two buildings and could see a flurry of airborne and underwater craft moving about their business driving between sets of illuminated poles that seemed to mark the driving lanes. Instinctively, he moved the Nommo off the directed course further away from the city and redirected the guidance system.
“Water view and sky view in the same building. How innovative is that?” He asked impressed by what they were witnessing from afar.
“I’ll take the water view.”
Honoré moved the Nommo under the surface. “Well, you’re about to get it. That city seems larger in person. The stories weren’t exaggerated,” Honoré noted.
“Great! When we are done, I’ll see if I can get you a room,” Sachi replied.
A deep tone came from the guidance system. “Looks like we are here,” Honoré said as a section of the massive mine came into view. He gingerly set the Nommo down on the fringe of an underwater mountain range. The peak was flat and the landing was smooth. The Nommo’s landing gear burned four holes into the rock allowing the base of the legs to penetrate the surface. At the base of each leg, four quarter-round metal wedges extended outward, locking onto the rock securing the craft to the landing location. In the event of an increase in undertow or current, as was known to occur on Giobi, this would help prevent the Nommo from being pushed off the ridge.
“Are you sure that you are up to this? Conditions, especially in Gahn, can change in the blink of an eye. Calm one second and the next you are being pulled out by the current.”
“Well, I guess you will come and get us…won’t you?” Sachi asked with a bit of sarcasm.
“When I send this frequency, it will trigger an alarm. The Kurun will think that a portion of the mine has had some breach or mechanical failure and is taking on water. They will lock it off and evacuate the other parts of the mine. Because the area is a radius around Dag, I am hoping that they will leave him there to die, but I am not sure how many workers are around him. I can only assume that he is alone since his heart rate is low and he doesn’t seem to be involved in any kind of strenuous activity. Maybe it’s the worker’s sleeping quarters…I don’t know. You know what to do from there. I can guide you to where Dag is and give you cover.”
“The alarm is going off. Look, Dag’s heart rate just went up.”
After a second, the section surrounding Dag illuminated. A few minutes later, it appeared that Dag was not being moved. Sachi gave Honoré a nod and exited the Nommo from the base. The rotary motor kicked in at the rear of the Wattn glider and she was cruising down the side of the mountain and across the ocean floor.
“Can you go three degrees to your right?” Honoré asked. He could see on the display and the projected path that she had made the adjustment. After a few minutes, she approached the rim of the mine and slowed down.
“He’s about ten feet to your right,” Honoré watched as the two orange lights drew closer. “Stop. He is two feet behind you.” In a few seconds, she was directly under what they both hoped was Dag Borghild.
Sachi pulled a bure from a sheath on her right thigh then quickly extended it. The gloves made setting up the bure awkward since she was used to working with bare hands. Grabbing the tip firmly out of fear of it slipping, Sachi turned the tip clockwise locking the sections into place. The cutting tool was four feet in length and she hoped that it was long enough to reach through the floor as per the accuracy of the intelligence on the structure. Wrapping her hands around the handle at the base, Sachi squeezed it mildly initiating the bure. The tip began to glow a bright red-orange and the saltwater hissed at the introduction of the heat. She closed her eyes and said what amounted to a prayer, took a deep breath. and pressed the tip to the metal and applied mild pressure. To her delight, it began to burn through the metal and push upward into the floor. Sachi felt the pressure release and realized there was an airspace. She continued to push the bure upward and found a second area of resistance and realized there was a second level. She continued to push the bure until the resistance subsided a second time.
“Dag knows you are there. His heart rate went up again.”
Sachi retrieved a camera that was attached to a stiff but flexible cable and unrolled it while panning the area. She straightened it and slipped it through the opening. The backside of the glass on her mask came alive. She watched as the camera slipped through the second hole. It was dark and there was limited visibility. The infrared automatically turned on making the room visible. She turned the camera and saw a man strapped in a chair in the exact location Honoré had told her. A swollen and bloody face stared back at the camera. She zoomed in and was still unable to positively identify the man due to his condition.
“What did they do to him?” Honoré asked looking at the incoming video.
Sachi lifted a three-inch round plasma charge between the massive three feet thick beams that supported the cantilevered section of the mine. She reached up and mounted it to the underside of the first section of metal then set two more in an area of about three feet. Sachi twisted the top sleeve, moving it a quarter of a turn activating the charge. Within seconds the metal was glowing and melting away. The ocean boiled around the charges and quickly ascended toward the surface. A thick triangular section of plate metal fell to the ocean’s floor and kicked up a large cloud of sediment that engulfed her and greatly reduced visibility. There was very little current as the cloud lingered and she knew that there was no time to wait for it to settle. Sachi repeated the process with the second layer. The much thicker section fell and made a loud noise as it met the other piece of metal. A new wave of sediment kicked up and reduced the visibility to nearly zero.
Sachi reached up with the camera again and the man was now looking in her direction. As she turned the camera, she could not see anyone or anything in the room. She realized that there was some sort of surveillance but hoped in the midst of the chaos of the evacuation there would be a sliver of opportunity that no one was watching it. She pulled herself up into the floor and was climbing through when she felt something grab her by the ankle. She gasped and looked down to see the glowing golden eyes of a Kurun in the water looking up at her. Instinctively, she grabbed the bure, squeezed the handle initiating the cutting end and drove it lengthways into the arm of the Kurun burning a hole from the hand through the elbow. The alien gyrated in pain and tried to pull free from the cutting torch in its arm. Sachi sliced the bindings on Dag’s arms and gave him the knife to free himself as she fought the creature.
Dag released the bindings and looked down at the Kurun. Even with the limited light, she could see the rage in his face. Despite being beaten, tired and hungry, the mighty Dag rose to his feet and walked over to the wounded Kurun that was attempting to swim away. He wrapped his huge hands around the creature’s neck and picked it up out of the triangular hole in the floor. It flopped like a fish that was just plucked from the sea. With an effortless tightening of his grip, the golden eyes began to bulge and seep a green liquid. Dag increased the firmness of the grip nearly squeezing the Kurun’s head off. He swung the beast over his head and slammed it into the metal floor. Bodily fluids splattered in all directions.
“Hey, we need to get out of here,” Sachi said as she pulled off her headgear.
Dag looked at her and seemed less interested in leaving than killing more of the Kurun. “We need to kill them all. The little green devils,” he looked and sounded like a man possessed by hatred and a need for vengeance.
“Honoré is out there providing cover. We need to get out of here,” she said firmly.
Dag simply stared at her for a second, squinted his eyes as if in deep thought, then turned toward the door. Sachi ran after him but was too slow. She helple
ssly watched as Dag punched the control and considered diving back out through the hole in the floor. The door slid open and before them was a domed area so large that they could not see where or even if it ended. The apex of the structure was made of transparent panels that seemed to reach out of the water and allow for natural lighting to enter the mine. Large arching tunnels led to the underground deposits of telenium buried beneath the ocean’s floor. The quadrant was vacant. Unless everyone had gone underground, the entire chamber appeared to be abandoned. Large pieces of telenium were on conveyor belts that were no longer moving.
“There’s no one here. Everyone is gone?” he said in disappointment.
“We set off the alarms. They think that this quadrant has a breech. I guess they are trying to find it,” Sachi said anxious to get Dag to follow her.
Dag looked back at the hole in the floor, “Alright, let’s go,” he snorted while holding out his hand. Sachi pulled the extra underwater mask with a built-in re-breather from around her arm and tossed it to him. Within several seconds, they plunged into the water. The cool temperature of the water immediately influenced Dag’s breathing. While he was not at risk for hypothermia, the cool water had taken him by surprise.
The visibility seemed to be far worse than she remembered. Sachi had secured the Wattn glider near the opening and was able to fumble around and find it. Dag was on her heels. She activated the glider and the turbine motor came to life. She froze at the realization that she didn’t know if she was pointed in the right direction. The murky water made navigation nearly impossible with the naked eye, “Honoré, I can’t see. Where do I go?”
“All I can see is a murky cloud. Until you move, I won’t be able to know. But, whatever you do, do it quickly. Looks like a team has worked their way to this side of the mine. Several are headed right toward you. They are interested in the area of disturbed water.”
Sachi throttled the motor forward and it came to life on the monitor, “Wrong way. Thirty-degrees port,” he instructed.
She made the turn and was headed for him. Inexplicably the Nommo shook as if struck by something. Honoré searched the scanners and realized that several of the Kurun had found him. He had no idea where they came from but realized that the Nommo had been discovered. The Nommo shook a second time and a third as they tried to shoot their way into the craft. Honoré punched the button that released the anchors embedded in the rock. He jerked the controls upward and spun the craft around. The Kurun were famous for being amphibious and were very fast and agile in the water. He aimed and fired off several rounds that took out one that exploded into small pieces. He fired at the second and third, but they were too fast. They looked to be mounting explosives to the Nommo. He punched the accelerator and shot toward the surface. As soon as the Nommo was airborne the two fell back to the ocean’s surface. Honoré rolled the craft and nosed dived back in the location from which he came. The two Kurun were in front of him and he fired off a sonic charge. He watched as the impact of the pulse crushed the side of their bodies. He continued to observe to make sure that they were dead. Their yellow eyes were lifeless and their heads were deformed as one side had been crushed. It was the first time he had used such a weapon and the results were impressive.
“Help, we need help. They are all over us!” Sachi’s voice came over the speaker. Dag was hanging on to her ankles, but his weight made the glider too slow. The Kurun surrounded them. Sachi nosed the glider up attempting to escape. She felt the release on her ankles and a surge in power of the glider. She shot out from the top of the murk and realized that Dag had let go. The respirator trailed behind her and was intact, “I don’t think he is with me anymore.”
Honoré directed the Nommo to where she was and looked on in anticipation that Dag would emerge. He looked at the monitor and could tell by the tracker’s activity that he was fighting something. He questioned how long the rebreather could sustain Dag. Honoré looked up in time to see Sachi dive back into the murk.
A swarm of Kurun guards swam out from under the mine in the direction of Sachi and Dag. Honoré realized that there were simply too many to fight. The expectation of getting Sachi and Dag was now too unrealistic. Guilt engulfed his emotions. With nothing to lose, he reached over to fire the torpedoes in the location of the exit point to stop the outflow. He unintentionally hit a purple button. Instantly the Kurun stopped and reached for their heads. They screamed in agony and were incapable of doing anything but trying to protect themselves. Honoré looked back at the button and wondered what was happening. He had no idea what was going on but was thankful for the result. Sachi popped back out of the murk with Dag and seemed as if she was not affected. She located him and darted toward the incoming Nommo. Honoré opened the rear hatch as she pushed Dag in, tossed the glider out to sea and climbed in. With the rear sealed, he began to head to the surface.
“You have to take out the mine,” Dag said through clenched teeth while trying to raise his body temperature.
“We just need to get out of here. I don’t want to kill innocent people,” Honoré barked back.
“Blow the place up. If there is anyone in there, you would be doing them a favor. Those people aren’t living…they have no life. They are walking, breathing, corpses. Do you know how many attempt to kill themselves every day? They would welcome death…put them out of their misery. I can hear their screams in the chambers around me all night long. Their cries as they are being beaten and tortured. This place is hell. You must destroy it!”
Honoré looked at Sachi who was not offering an opinion. He could not read her expression but knew she would not be in favor of destroying the mine if it meant potentially killing innocent people. The quadrant Dag was in seemed to be empty, but they were unsure about the other sections. She would want to get them out and to safety, not be responsible for their horrific death. Honoré turned forward as the Kurun were in full retreat.
“Think of how much the loss could hurt them. All of that telenium lost for years, maybe decades if all the underground mines fill with water. What would this do to their wars…conquest? This mine is vital to their war effort. Flood it!” Dag commanded.
He turned and looked at the massive dome. Despite the clarity of the water outside of the murky cloud, he couldn’t see half of the circular structure as it seemed to extend out into infinity disappearing into the blue water. It was like an underwater city. He moved the Nommo to get a better angle and looked at the scanner. It did not reveal anything living in the area in front of them. Honoré knew that did not mean that the entire mine had been evacuated. He knew that Dag was right about the damage it would do to the Kurun. Honoré wasn’t looking to be a hero, but he wasn’t aspiring to be a murderer either. The scanners came alive and they were running out of time. He needed to decide. Do as much damage as possible to the Kurun or allow them to continue to hurt and torture innocent beings in the mine.
“Looks like we have incoming. I guess they’re from the city we passed,” Honoré reported anxiously.
He closed his eyes seeking clarity about the right thing to do. Dag impatiently reached over and punched the controls firing off a series of small torpedoes that cut effortlessly through the water in a straight line toward the dome. The mine's defense systems began firing back attempting to take out the torpedoes, but they slid left and right avoiding the incoming volley. Before a second round could be launched, the torpedoes slammed into the dome structure simultaneously. The explosion opened three holes twenty feet in diameter in the roof. The pressure from the weight of the water coupled with the pressure of the incoming water seemed to rapidly expand the size of the openings as it flooded the mine. He quickly ascended, tapped on the display, and fired off several more rounds. The rounds moved in an arcing pattern and detonated at the apex of the domed structure destroying the transparent panels. Massive air bubbles raced for the surface as water flooded the mine and tore at the roof in other sections.
“Now, son, it is on me. I did it so that you didn’t have to. L
et my conscience deal with it. This was not you’re doing. If there is a price to pay, I will pay it. This had to be done,” Dag said in a very calm tone satisfied by his actions. “Now, let’s get out of here.”
Honoré closed his eyes, what have we done? he wondered before thrusting the Nommo forward in the opposite direction of the incoming watercraft. It was gaining fast. Despite being designed as a subsurface vessel, it was surprising that the Kurun craft was faster. He needed to get into the air where the Nommo might have a better chance to fend off whatever was approaching.
The craft shot out of the air at ninety degrees and the Nomo gained altitude with enough G-forces to pin them to their seats. A fraction of a second later, to his disappointment, the missile broke the surface and continued to hone in on them. To the north, he could see the huge glass and stone structures in the city reaching to the sky. Honoré set the Nommo in a barrel roll and arched back, went into a corkscrew spin and headed back toward the city. The missile adjusted and was still hot on their tail. Honoré nosed down, banked to his right and put the Nommo in a very tight opening between two buildings. The move didn’t shake the missile. At the end of the alley stood a massive structure that either belonged to a very wealthy Kurun or was some sort of official government building. He waited until the last second and aggressively jerked the Nommo up with just enough room that the centrifugal force didn’t send the belly of the Nomo crashing into the building. The missile was unable to make the turn and detonated on contact. He looked on the rear monitor to see the explosion.
Glass and metal projectiles pelted the buildings in the area. Several floors of the structure were instantly ablaze. Honoré kept the Nommo pointed upward just inches off the building’s exterior and aimed for the atmosphere. Unexpectedly, the building began to tilt in their direction. Honoré adjusted the Nommo left attempting to get out of the falling structure’s way. The Nomo slid between two buildings, but the toppling structure followed. Glass, metal, and stone seemed to seek them out as they attempted to escape. They had nowhere to go and no option but to outrun the toppling structure.
Universal Code Page 48
