Harry's Sacrifice

by Bianca D'Arc

  Cormac 7 clasped hands with the newcomer and received a smile in return. He didn’t quite understand the nuances of human expression, but he thought the smile was meant as some form of approval.

  “I am Cormac 7, leader of this expedition. I had heard rumors of your existence and am glad to have them confirmed.” He looked from the male to the female expectantly.

  “I am Roshin 72, assistant to Councilor Markus,” she said in a light, lilting tone that appealed to him as much as her beautiful face. “I’ve been sent to document whatever happens next.”

  It was clear to Cormac 7 that she had little knowledge of the mission.

  “There is a dead spot here where electromagnetic interference has been a problem. My chain of command ordered me to put together a team of battle engineers, cold-weather experts, a climbing team and other assorted personnel to find the reason why our technology does not work properly in this region. We climbed into the crevasse over there.” He paused to point to the excavation area. It looked vastly different than it had when he’d first climbed down there. “We found the source of the disturbance, but we are still unsure of its true nature. Whatever is interfering with our instruments is locked behind a portal we have been unable to open.”

  The woman was taking notes using a stylus and paper. Old fashioned as they were, such tools would not be affected adversely by the electromagnetic distortion field. She looked up at him expectantly when he paused, and he realized he had been distracted by watching her. Definitely an odd occurrence.

  “So why did they send me out here?” Hara asked, prompting Cormac 7 to continue.

  “It seems only you may be able to access the portal we discovered. Please come this way. I will show you the inscription.”

  Cormac 7 signaled to the soldiers to fall back. He would take their guests from here. He led them quickly down the path that had been carved, toward the gleaming portal. Lights had been set up to combat the increasing darkness. Night was almost upon them, but work would not cease now. Not when the answer to opening the portal might have just arrived.

  The walk downward was accomplished in silence. The workers around them stopped to stare in a most unprofessional manner as their small party passed. There was a tension in the air that even an unemotional Alvian could feel. Something was about to happen and everyone collectively paused to see what it might be.

  Having a Breed roaming free in their midst was probably enough to make most Alvians take a second look. Having him in the company of the mission commander and a strange female—the only one in this harsh environment—was worthy of a third and fourth.

  “As you can see, the portal is plain but well defended. There is no handle or visible locking mechanism, yet it remains firmly sealed. The design is reminiscent of ancient Alvian exploration vessels and I theorize this may be part of the ship that brought Hara the Explorer and his team to this planet.”

  Cormac 7 halted a few feet from the portal. Roshin 72 stopped beside him. But the young Breed called Hara walked right up to the door and touched the surface with one open palm. The look on his face was indecipherable, but it made Cormac 7 yearn once more for something that could never be. As a student of history, he’d read all the accounts of ancient Alvia. The wars started by hatred and love. The concepts had always fascinated him, though he could never fully understand them.

  In his secret heart of hearts, he wanted to. He wanted to know what it felt like to feel, treasonous as such thoughts were. He kept the desire to himself, but it was there. It always had been, and all ways would be.

  At length, Hara stepped back. He didn’t look at Cormac 7 when he spoke, concentrating on the inscription.

  “Can you tell me what it says?” he asked.

  Cormac 7 read out the ancient runes, watching the man’s face. It was a face with many expressions, so unlike the usual Alvian mask.

  “So I’m supposed to know how to open this, huh?” Hara said after Cormac 7 had finished reading. “I am Hara’s genetic heir. His DNA bred true in my father as it does in me.”

  It sounded almost as if he was thinking aloud, and Cormac 7 enjoyed the peek into his thought processes. He also was interested to hear more about his DNA inheritance, but perhaps that conversation was best saved for later. Right now, they had a mission to complete.

  “I have not detected any sort of DNA scanning device on or near the portal,” Cormac 7 supplied.

  Hara turned to him, squinting as he thought. “I inherited nothing from Hara except my DNA and…” One hand went to the closure of his thick cold-weather parka. Gloved hands made it difficult to release, so he discarded his gloves before opening the protective clothing.

  Cormac 7 thought it unwise to disrobe in this climate with night coming on, but he did not object. The man obviously had something in mind. Of course, if his actions created a circumstance where he was in real danger from the falling temperatures, Cormac 7 would step in to preserve his life. Hara DNA was too precious to waste.

  “This,” Hara said, pulling a gleaming crystal from around his neck. “This was passed down through my line, supposedly from the Hara himself.”

  He held it out toward the portal and Cormac 7 was surprised to note that not only did it appear to be a shard of the home crystal—a precious and rare commodity—but as the crystal shard dangled on a fine silver chain, it began to hum. Then it began to move, spinning slowly at first, then gaining momentum as it leaned visibly toward the portal. Its chain, held in the Breed’s hand, was the only thing holding it back from making contact with the surface of the pod.

  Hara didn’t let it go, but he moved closer to the door, moving the crystal up and down, using it as a sort of magnet to help him discover the hidden keyhole. For there was no doubt in Cormac 7’s mind that the crystal shard was some kind of very specific key designed to open this portal. Otherwise, it would not have responded so violently.

  After a few moments, Hara honed in on one spot on the door, near the center, where the pull was strongest. He allowed the crystal to touch the skin of the portal. The force of the pull had the crystal sitting at a ninety degree angle to the door, so that only the point touched at first.

  Then it began to sink into the hull of the ship, and Hara’s eyes widened as the crystal was absorbed, turning the surface of the portal first translucent and then transparent like flowing liquid ice.

  An image appeared as if in the distance. An ancient hologram of an even more ancient Alvian explorer. Cormac 7 recognized his face from his history collection. It was the original Hara. Hara the Explorer. The one who had found this planet for his people.

  The hologram’s hand made a gesture and the liquid ice of the door formed a protrusion shaped like a small cup. Words formed in the transparent ice of the door in the ancient tongue. Cormac 7 translated.

  “It requires a drop of your blood. I would hypothesize that the mechanism will perform a DNA test to be certain you carry at least some of Hara’s genetic material.”

  The Breed held out a hand. “May I borrow a knife?”

  Of course, they wouldn’t allow a Breed to be armed. Cormac 7 should have realized that and anticipated his requirements. He remedied the situation by handing the man his own small knife. It was the sharpest one he carried and would do the job quickly.

  Hara did not hesitate, and sliced his arm in such a way that the wound would not interfere with action, should action be required. Obviously, the Breed had had some training in the past. Either that or he was naturally forward thinking and situationally aware. As a warrior, Cormac 7 admired that. His respect for the Breed increased.

  Hara held his arm over the small bowl and allowed the blood to drip. It was a shallow cut, so it took some time for a droplet to form. It took a few seconds longer for it to drip from his arm and hit the bottom of the collection cup.

  As the single drop made contact, the collection cup enveloped it and disappeared back into the deceptively transparent surface of the portal. The single red drop of blood could not be seen. Undo
ubtedly, it was being sequenced and analyzed by the technology contained within.

  Less than a minute later, the hologram disappeared and the portal’s density dropped drastically. It became more like a force field. The precious crystal shard dropped free to hang quietly from its chain. Hara grabbed it before it could fall, displaying sharp reflexes to Cormac 7’s trained eye.

  “I believe you may now be able to enter,” Cormac 7 ventured.

  Hara tested the idea using one of his gloves. It was stiff enough to hold out about six inches in front of him and it slid through the barrier with ease. When Hara released it, they could see it lying on the floor on the other side of the thin energy barrier.

  “Do you think this door goes both ways?” Hara asked.

  “We will have to test it to be certain, but I would say probably.”

  “All right. I’ll go through, but I’m taking Ro with me.”

  Cormac 7 didn’t have any time to ask who or what Ro was. Hara took the woman by the arm and pulled her through the portal with him as he jumped through. Cormac 7 made a grab for her and the momentum of the move took him through as well. They landed in a heap on the floor inside the pod.

  Surprised by the situation, Cormac 7 tried the energy field to see if it would let him out, but it sparked against his hand, delivering a small shock.

  “I cannot get out,” he reported, still kneeling on the floor while the other two straightened and stood behind him. “I do not understand your actions, Hara, but I will not allow you to harm the female.”

  “I brought her with me to keep her from harm, Cormac.”

  “I am properly addressed as Cormac 7.” He had a hard time understanding the Breed’s motivation.

  “Trust an Alvian to stand on ceremony at a time like this.” Hara made a sound Cormac 7 interpreted as disgust, though he still didn’t understand exactly what was going on.

  “Sir, are you all right?” Fergal 51 was on the other side of the energy barrier, attempting to get through without success. His voice was muffled and even when he pushed with his shoulder on the energy field, applying all his strength, he was rebuffed.

  Cormac 7 stood up and dusted himself off. “I am fine, Fergal 51. Please stand by.” He shouted to be heard through the barrier and then turned back to the Breed. “Explain yourself, Hara.”

  “My name is Harry. I won’t answer to anything else, and I’ll be damned if I’ll call anyone by a name that has a number attached. You’re on my turf now, Cormac. As are you, Roshin.”

  “I do not understand what you have in mind, but I will comply, Harry.” The woman’s voice was shy and sweet. She was attractive in every way, but Cormac 7 could not afford to be distracted by a pretty face.

  “I’m not sure how much either of you know about me,” Harry spoke even as he began to look around the entrance chamber, touching a few things here and there. Lights began to go on throughout the room and in rooms beyond. Cormac 7’s curiosity was engaged. He wouldn’t leave now, even if he could. “My mother is Mara 12, the well-known geneticist. My father is Justin O’Hara, a human survivor of the line descended from your explorer, Hara, and his human family. My mother had me as an experiment. She wanted to see what the mixing of Alvian and human DNA would produce. She didn’t know at the time that the few survivors of humanity were all hybrids already. Only those humans descended from that original Alvian exploration party so many centuries ago were able to survive the cataclysm. The mixture of human and Alvian DNA produces psychic abilities. That’s why every so-called Breed you come across has some sort of psychic talent. Telekinesis, telepathy, foresight, empathy. These are just a few of the many abilities we have that you don’t. Your ancestors probably didn’t have them either, though they did have one thing you sorely lack. Emotion. They could feel.”

  Harry lit a console that began to hum. The girl stood quietly, watching all. Cormac 7 was at a loss, unsure how to proceed. He observed, as was his nature, looking for some opening to turn this situation in his favor. But Harry held all the cards, as the humans would say.

  “Since I am a direct cross between human and Alvian, I seem to have a stronger dose of psychic talents than most. I’ve seen this room in a vision. I didn’t know where it was or what it meant at the time, but now that glimpse of foresight is starting to make sense. Caleb O’Hara—the one they call the Oracle—is my uncle. He’s been having strong visions of this future for weeks now. His information, coupled with mine, tells me what I have to do next. Like it or not, you’re both along for the ride. It would be best if you didn’t make trouble.”

  “What are you planning?” Cormac 7 had to ask before agreeing to anything.

  Harry looked up from the console he was consulting to meet Cormac 7’s eyes. He had a peculiar smile on his face.

  “To paraphrase one of my favorite old books, the sleepers must awake.”

  Chapter Five

  Harry pressed a control on the panel he’d seen many times in his visions of the future. He hadn’t known where or when he would see this panel, but all those little glimpses of things to come were finally starting to make sense. The time was now. The location was here. What would happen? Harry wasn’t exactly certain, but it would be epic, whatever it was.

  Holding his breath, he pressed the button and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. A corridor opened behind him and lit up with a dim glow.

  “I think we need to go that way,” Harry said to his companions.

  Ro perked up and moved toward him. She was an obedient little thing, and though he hadn’t expected to have a woman along on this quest, she was a welcome addition. The other guy was another story. He’d tagged along on his own. Harry didn’t really want him here, but it looked like there was no way to get rid of him. Harry knew without even trying that the portal wouldn’t let any of them out—especially not Harry—until he’d done whatever it was he was supposed to do here.

  “At least test the barrier to see if it will let you out,” Cormac insisted. “It would stand to reason that since we were all connected to you on the way in, the barrier somehow recognized you as Hara’s heir and allowed whatever you touched to enter.”

  Harry let out an impatient sigh. “Fine.” He stalked over to the portal and tried to put his hand through it to no avail. The energy sparked against his hand gently but did not allow him out. “It won’t let any of us out until we do what we came here to do.”

  “You knew this?” Cormac accused.

  “I guessed. Foresight isn’t like seeing a movie and knowing the plot.” Cormac seemed confused, so Harry looked for a different metaphor. “It’s not like reading a book in a linear fashion. We don’t always see things in context or in order. I saw this room, for instance, but I had no idea when I would come to it or where. I saw the console and knew what buttons to push because I’d seen it in a vision. I don’t know what it does, only that I came here to do it. As events unfold, I’m piecing together more and more of what Uncle Caleb and I have seen. I don’t expect you to understand it, but since you’re stuck here with me, I would appreciate fewer interruptions. The sooner I do this, the sooner we get out of here.”

  Harry stalked back across the room to the dimly lit hallway and waited there for Ro to join him. No way was he leaving without her. Not with the Neanderthal back there.

  The dude was four inches taller than Harry and twice as wide. Warrior stock, but with a scientific edge. Harry had read up on the Cormac line since meeting its Prime early on in his studies. Cormac Prime was an older version of this guy. Tall, imposing, with a shock of almost white-blond hair and blue eyes like laser beams that could see right through you if they wanted.

  Mara 12 had let Cormac Prime observe Harry as a youngster. He was the only warrior allowed such privileges, and that only because the Council had wanted to study the battle effectiveness of human-Alvian hybrids.

  If the straggler back there was anything like his Prime, Harry would have to deal with not only a fully capable Alvian soldier, but one with a scientific
mind. A deadly combination.

  Ro joined him without a word and took his hand when offered. Harry felt a little tingle when their skin touched but dismissed it. He had never touched her before. Not skin-to-skin. Something was different about her, but he was too preoccupied with the moment to fully analyze what it was. The ancients were waiting and Harry felt a sense of urgency to get to them as quickly as possible.

  He led the way down the dim corridor, Ro’s right hand in his left as she walked a pace behind. The hallway was shorter than he expected, and when he stopped, he was aware of Cormac bringing up the rear. Good. He wanted to keep an eye on that guy.

  When Harry paused, a pedestal slid out from the wall in front of him and lit up. All around the chamber, a gentle thrum, just barely discernible, increased. Machinery. Alien tech from a time past. It was still running and coming to renewed life at Harry’s presence.

  He recognized the markings on the pedestal from a vision, but not what they meant. He turned to Ro.

  “Can you read this?”

  She shook her head. “Not much. It’s an ancient script no longer in use by our people.”

  “I can read it,” Cormac said from over Harry’s shoulder. The guy was as silent as an assassin, and Harry did his best not to jump. “They are names. Each row of controls has a name above it.” Cormac moved to Harry’s side and pointed as he read. “Dugan, Percival and Hara. Shards!” The last was a curse.

  “What?” Harry noted the agitation in Cormac’s voice that was about as excited as most Alvians ever got.

  “These are stasis readings. Dugan is dead.”

  “Stasis?” Ro’s expression came as close to shock as an Alvian’s could.

  “But Percival and Hara are still with us, right?”

  “They are still alive but in deep hibernation. This podium will control their reanimation,” Cormac confirmed. Ro was writing furiously in her little book, recording what she could of events, as was her duty. Harry found her dedication endearing.