by A A Warren
B’Turo groaned again, and rose to his feet. Blue spittle flew from his lips as he narrowed his pale, white eyes. Another animalistic growl escaped his lips as he charged toward Talon, swinging the shattered pipe through the air.
Talon darted to his left. Again the pipe slammed into ice, missing him by inches. B’Turo howled, and continued his frenzied attack.
“B’Turo, stop this madness! I don’t want to hurt you!”
He dodged another clumsy swing of the pipe, and lashed out with his fist. The blow snapped the old man’s head back. B’Turo paused. The joints in his neck popped and cracked as he rolled his shoulders. Then he turned and glared at Talon, his dead white eyes reflecting the fiery glow of the plasma axe.
B’Turo stalked forward, raising the pipe to strike again.
“Damn it, old man,” Talon muttered. He raised the axe to block. But before the blow could connect, the ground tumbled beneath them once again. An explosion of ice and debris streaked across the room. Something was moving underneath them. Something fast…
The ice rippled and exploded under Talon’s feet. The shockwave tossed the two men through the air like rag dolls. Talon struck the ice with a loud thud, and he rolled several meters across the ground. His axe fell from his grip, and clattered just out of reach. As he came to a stop, his fingers reached out for his weapon.
Before he could grab it, cold, bony fingers dug into his ankle. Something dragged him away from his fiery weapon.
He spun around and saw B’Turo standing over him. The old man held the metal shard over his head. Cursing, Talon rolled to his left as the jagged edge swung down into the ice. Grabbing the metal fragment with his right hand, Talon kicked out hard, slamming his boot into the old man’s knee.
B’Turo moaned in pain and let go of the shard. As he staggered backwards, Talon pivoted his body, swinging his legs in a powerful spinning kick. The blow swept the old miner’s legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the ice.
A loud crack echoed through the ruins, as B'Turo's skull slammed into the cold, hard ground. A groan exhaled through his lips. He did not get back up.
Talon leapt to his feet. His breath was ragged, sending puffs of steam into the cold air.
He squinted at B’Turo, then kneeled down next to the old man. He touched his neck, checking for a pulse.
The miner's heart pounded in a rapid, frenetic beat. Despite the cold, his skin was burning up, as though he were suffering a fever. The veins on his forehead throbbed, and his pale white eyes twitched back and forth in their sockets.
“Iberon’s harem,” Talon hissed. “What happened to you, old man?”
B’Turo uttered another pitiful groan. He grabbed Talon’s arm in his claw-like fingers. “He… hel… Help me!” His groan turned to a howl of pain.
Talon stared in shock, as the old man’s jaws gaped open. Something was moving, slithering up from his throat. Talon stepped back, as the pulsing, quivering thing extruded itself through the old man’s mouth. The worm undulated across B'Turo's chest, leaving a trail of blue slime that stained his jumpsuit.
It’s one of the larva, Talon thought. The dorokuma… B’Turo was infected this whole time!
He paced over to his axe. Hefting the burning blade in his grasp, he watched the as the creature flopped and thrashed on the ice.
It was different from the other larva he had seen. It was smaller for one thing, less than half a meter long. And its flesh was pale white rather than blue. But still…
“This thing was inside you,” Talon muttered to the groaning old man. “Controlling you, somehow. Time to send this abomination back to—”
Another wave of agony seared through his skull. Screaming in pain, he dropped the plasma axe. The weapon hissed and smoked as it burned through the ice. Talon fell to his knees, clutching his head with both hands. His crimson eye pulsed with a blinding glow, piercing the shadows on the ruins with an intense red light.
The ground exploded around him. Whatever was moving under the ice, it was circling the two men, throwing a cloud of snow and frost up into the air.
Talon spun around and picked up his axe, holding the weapon in a defensive grip.
“You want me?” His challenge echoed through the cavernous ruins. “Then come face me!”
The ground shook and rumbled. He staggered backwards as he lost his footing on the shifting ice. A geyser of snow erupted before him. One of the dorokuma worms exploded out of the ground. Its massive body reared up, and nearly burst through the collapsed roof and mangled beams of the building. Its armored snout split open, slashing at the air with razor sharp mandibles.
The creature's roar was deafening. The sound shook the snow and ice from the rafters of the dilapidated structure. Talon staggered to his feet, holding his axe in a double-handed grip.
“If this is where it ends, so be it,” he muttered. “Victory or death!”
He spun the axe, then raised it above his head. The worm roared as it threw its massive armored bulk towards him.
NO!
The voice exploded around them, louder and more powerful than the shockwaves caused by the worm. A pinpoint of blue light, as bright as a star, blazed between them. Before Talon could even move, waves of energy burst from the glowing ball of light. The rippling blue force struck him like a tidal wave, launching him backwards through the air.
He slammed into a bent metal beam and tumbled to the ice. Lifting his head, he blinked… his vision was hazy, unfocused. Hot blood dripped down his cheek. All he could see was a dark, blurry landscape. The ice worm, the colossal dorokuma, lay sprawled across the frozen ground. The wave of energy had struck it as well.
Then he closed his eyes. Darkness engulfed him. He was falling... A familiar blue light surrounded him. He plunged into the depths of the shimmering tunnel, unsure what would await him on the other side.
Wake up, my warrior… there isn’t much time.
Talon groaned. His eyes fluttered open.
“Salena?” His voice was a hoarse rasp.
We are not Salena.
Talon winced. The sounds echoed though his mind, a strange chorus of rasps and clicks shaped into a semblance of human words.
His vision cleared. He was lying in a vast cavern of ice. A violet glow illuminated the chamber, shimmering off the glistening stalactites that hung from the cavern’s roof. A shadow moved over him. More detail came into focus.
Salena was not there.
Instead, a dorukuma worm uncoiled before him. It hung from a glowing spire of purple crystal, one of many that that surrounded them in the cavern. The worm’s four hooked beaks parted, and he could see row upon row of white fangs within its glistening maw.
Talon leapt to his feet. He swung up his arms up in a defensive position, only to find his hands were empty. His axe was gone.
You do not need your weapon, human. This place is a memory. Nothing can harm us here. But perhaps you will find this form less threatening…
The worm slithered to the cavern floor. As it lowered its bulk through the air, the crystal spires glowed brighter, filling the cavern with a pulsing violet light. Talon squinted as the worm moved closer. The purple light was blinding, filling his gaze, blocking out all other sight. Then a woman emerged from the glow, and the light faded.
She was tall and lithe, and her skin was as pale as the snow and ice on the planet’s surface. A simple robe of blue fur draped over her shoulders. Her hair was shimmering silver and hung down loose down her back. It flowed behind her as she approached him.
She stopped close enough to touch him, but her hands remained clasped in front of her, as if in prayer. She focused her jet-black eyes upon him. He met her dark, unblinking stare. His jaw dropped in surprise.
“What dark magic sorcery is this? You look like… you look like her. Katara.”
This form comes from our distant past. After the coming of the First Ones, my people were the initial spark of life born into this universe. As other races grew and flourished, we evol
ved beyond these simple bodies. And we shall continue to evolve until this universe ends. Please understand, we mean you no harm.
“Is that so?” Talon muttered. “A few moments ago, you were trying to crush me and my friend to a pulp.”
That was before we realized… before we sensed your bond.
Talon let his muscles relax. “My bond is not with you. How are we speaking like this?”
The woman in your thoughts, Salena… She has touched you deeply. Through her, you are connected with loved ones from your memories. Those who have left this plane of existence. Orex Griff. And your moth—"
“My past is my own, worm. Are you saying Salena brought us here?”
She has allowed us to share her bond, so we may communicate.
Talon thought for a moment. “Then it’s true. It is her voice I’ve heard in my thoughts.” He looked up at the pale, beautiful woman standing before him. “Salena's not dead?”
The woman tilted her head and smiled. "Dead? Our understanding of this word is different from yours. She is in another place, another state of being. She is very far away, very distant from this world. The link you share is only a faint spark, but it is enough to bridge the gap. You care for her, do you not?"
Talon nodded. “I do.”
Is she your mate?
He shook his head and smiled. “It… it is not that simple. We’ve shared things. Thoughts, memories. We shared our greatest pain. We understand each other, in a way no one else can.”
The woman nodded. For my kind, this is normal. I did not realize humans do not always share such bonds.
“Most do not,” he admitted. “But we did.” He glanced around the cavern. “Where are we now? If this is a memory, it isn’t mine.”
This place is a part of me. I was born here. And I returned here to plant my young. Deep in the ground, near the planetary core.
The woman’s thoughts flowed over him, like a warm wave on a tropical beach. The creature’s strange speech continued to echo through his mind.
The crystal you know as black jade… it was rich in these strata of rock. It would provide them with sustenance. I thought… I thought they would be safe here.
A deep rumble rose in the distance. Talon glanced up as the cavern shuddered. Snow and ice crashed down around them.
"It’s not safe here!” Talon shouted. “The core of this planet is unstable. It’s falling apart!"
It was not always so. Not until she came… Katara.
Talon leap back as a giant ice crystal shattered next to them. The woman appeared unconcerned, even as the rumbling grew louder and more intense. Suddenly, the wall of the cavern gave way. A massive energy beam tore through the chamber behind them.
“An ore-slicer,” Talon whispered.
The gigantic vehicle tunneled through the cavern wall. Its spinning beam disintegrated the rocks and ice, blasting them into sparkling bits of rubble. Talon heard screams. The high-pitched shrieks drowned out the roar of the energy maelstrom.
Our young… At first, the humans were content to slaughter us. Scores of my sisters fell before their death machines. But then, they found the black jade. They found our eggs.
The scene before them shimmered and faded. Talon saw a dead worm, its carcass torn open across the ground. Some men emerged from another ore-slicer. They wore heavy environmental armor, to withstand the extreme pressure and temperatures deep within the planet.
They sifted through the rubble, sorting out the black jade particles. One of them held up a small translucent crystal… it sparkled in the light, like a black diamond. The view zoomed closer… inside the shimmering prism. Talon could see a tiny creature, squirming in a sac of purple fluid.
The larva…
“They’re not after the black jade,” Talon whispered. “They want your larva. Vaki said Katara was experimenting, altering them somehow. Why? What does she want?”
Katara has taken our young. She has changed them, perverted their essence. She kidnaps our sisters, and uses them to birth more of her abominations.
The man held the crystal up to the lights blazing from the ore-slicer's hull. Talon could see his wrinkled forehead and dark eyes through the clear visor of his helmet.
It was B’Turo.
“B’Turo,” Talon whispered. “He said something was wrong, something he couldn’t remember. And he had one of your larva inside him."
The creature inside him did not spring from our eggs. It was created by Katara, and her cursed bio-mancers. They have tampered with his mind, erased his memories.
Talon watched as another tremor rocked the chamber. The workers recoiled as another gigantic worm smashed through the cavern wall. They opened fire with pulse weapons, but the bolts were useless against the creature’s armored hide. Its pale white flesh thrashed around the chamber, crushing men beneath its massive bulk.
B’Turo sprinted for the open hatch of the ore-slicer. Talon saw the old man’s panicked eyes glance over his shoulder, as a sinewy blue tongue darted from the worm’s maw, and snatched up a worker running behind him. The dying man’s screams echoed through the crystal chamber, then were silenced as the worm’s beaks clamped shut.
As the ore-slicer’s hatch closed, the creature wrapped itself around the massive vehicle, smashing at the armored blades with its mandibles. Four more tongues darted from its gullet and pried at the cylinder’s structure. They tore off sections of armor plating and hurtled them through the air.
A deep hum arose from the machine. The prow of the vehicle began to glow…
Talon shield his eyes, as the ore-slicer’s forward beam ignited, blasting the frenzied worm in two.
The image rippled and faded away.
Gone… so many of us gone. Katara has hunted us to extinction. Once, hundreds of my sisters roamed beneath the ice of this planet. Now, there are less than a dozen of us remaining. And the young…
The creature’s thoughts dissolved into a cacophony of clicks and groans. The sounds of loss and pain were beyond words, beyond human thought. It was primal, and Talon felt an aching sense of emptiness welling up in his chest.
“I… I am sorry for your loss. When you attacked us, you must have thought…”
We thought you had come for our last clutch of eggs. The last of our untainted young rest here, deep below the ruins.
"Why didn’t you attack the Toho complex and retrieve your eggs?"
Some of our sisters tried. But Katara has surrounded the colony with a shield. The energy field is powered by black jade, and we cannot penetrate it. Even our great strength is not enough to breach her defenses now. And if we could, to what end? As you said, Neros is on the verge of collapse. Soon, all will be destroyed. The young, the old… We shall not live to pass on our memories to the others of our kind.
Talon clenched his jaw and thought for a moment. The ethereal woman watched him in silence.
Finally, he spoke. “You say Salena’s bond links me to others, from my past. You spoke of my trainer, Orex Griff?”
Much of your past remains hidden. But in the memories we share, we see this man. Orex trained you. Cared for you. He was like a father to you.
Talon’s eye glowed bright, pulsing with a warm crimson glow. “That he was. So listen to his words now. A battle is not over until it has been fought. My friend, B’Turo… he is a Toho engineer. He may know a way to get through the shield. You say there are more of you left?
Yes. I can summon my sisters. If there is a way to save our larva, we will do anything we can to help.
“Katara promised us a ship, in exchange for the black jade. I'll need to bring back some crystals, or she won't let us get anywhere near the colony. Can you spare any without endangering your young?
We razed this colony to the ground, but it was all for naught. The eggs we recovered from the humans were altered. They were abominations, created by Katara… they had to be destroyed. We have gathered the last of our healthy larva here, in this cavern. They wait for their time to awaken. But there are so f
ew…
Talon’s mind reeled. He stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, overcome with a crushing sense of loss and pain. He pressed his fingers into his temple, as his crimson eye throbbed. He closed his eyes tight. He felt cool fingers move across his skin, and brush his forehead. Slowly, the dizziness passed. He opened his eyes.
The pale woman kneeled over him, her face half hidden beneath her silvery hair. She smiled, and took his hand in her own. Then she stood, and pulled him to his feet as if he weighed nothing.
You may take the black jade. Do with it as you wish. But we must warn you, Katara is not what she seems. She can control our larva, just as we do. The blood of our sisters flows in her veins. She has altered her own flesh, as well as that of our young. She is no longer what you would call human.
Talon grimaced, as he remembered his last moments with the queen. “There are many things I could call Queen Katara,” he muttered. “‘Human’ would not be my first choice.” He looked up at the woman. “We have an alliance then?”
She nodded, and brushed her hair back from her face, peering at him with a dark, inquisitive gaze.
Through your bond, we have seen your heart. We see bloodshed, violence… Pain. But we also see honor, and compassion. There is good in you, Talon. So we will fight by your side.
“There’s one thing we still need. A vehicle... something that can get us back to the colony.”
The woman lifted her arms. Her robe fell from her naked flesh, and her body glowed with an inner light. Talon squinted, shielding his eyes as she dissolved into a trail of blinding particles. The glowing specks rushed towards the crystal spires and reassembled into the great worm. The creature’s armored scales rasped across the ice as its dropped from its crystal perch, and slithered deeper into the cavern.
We know of something that can help. Come… follow…
Talon narrowed his eyes as the massive creature disappeared into the darkness. He took a step toward the shadows at the end of the cave. As his foot touched down, he felt himself tumbling, falling… the ground vanished beneath his feet. There was only darkness. A ring of blue light surrounded him. The bond had been severed, and the memory of the cavern dissolved into wisps of shadow. He closed his eyes, and plunged into the light.
