by Isaac Hooke
But he was certain he’d weakened those shields enough to follow up with a grenade. He removed an energy variant from his harness and threw it.
Yep. That did it. The explosion wore away the remaining charge in their shields, and tore through their suits. They collapsed as their liquid environments misted away through the rips.
Tane glanced at the compartment behind him, and confirmed that the dwellers he’d felled remained down. He glanced at the small bore he’d cut into the overhead, but so far the dwellers up there hadn’t enlarged it to pursue him. Maybe they were afraid?
They should be.
He shook his head.
Try not to get too overconfident, now.
Funny how the nerves he had felt before the battle were nothing but a distant memory.
Tane approached the exit and peered past. He spotted three more dwellers lined up in a row in the tight passageway outside and quickly ducked behind the edge. They all had energy launchers.
He waited until his D18 was fully charged, then he leaned past and unloaded the full thirty rounds into the closest dweller. The shield failed around the twentieth impact, and the remaining bolts tore into the suit. Tane took down the second dweller in the same fashion. When his D18 recharged and he leaned outside to take out the third, he discovered that the alien had fled.
The passageway was clear.
He glanced at his overhead map. The blue dots representing Lyra and Jed were still updating, which meant they weren’t out of range, not yet. They had made it to one of the cargo bays.
“Is she there?” Tane asked over the comm.
“We’ll know shortly,” Lyra said. “There’s a little resistance.”
“I thought you were going to draw them all away for us, Farmer,” Jed said.
“I tried,” Tane said. Feeling suddenly cocky, he added: “Sorry, Bander Man.” He cringed as the words left his mouth.
Jed didn’t answer for a few seconds. When his voice came over the comm, he didn’t sound pleased: “Don’t call me Bander Man.”
Tane decided it was best if he kept his mouth shut.
He plotted a route on his map and made his way toward the cargo bay.
He remembered the small, beetle-like robots the aliens had used at his farm, and he wondered if the dwellers would employ them against the intruders at some point. Probably not: he doubted the tiny robots operated very well against shielded targets like himself.
When he reached one of those two-hundred-seventy-degree double-back corridors, he peered cautiously around the edge and spotted three more dwellers approaching in single file. To eliminate them he used his previous tactic of unloading the full thirty rounds of his D18, ducking behind cover, waiting for the recharge, and unloading another thirty.
With the aliens cleared, he squeezed past the dead bodies filling up the passageway. He had to deactivate his shield to fit, and reactivate it when he was past.
This ship wasn’t really designed to defend against boarding parties, at least not by the dwellers themselves.
The aliens would probably be sending smaller, mechanical shock troops their way at some point. Or maybe there would be traps hidden somewhere. He’d heard some TSN battle cruisers had automated laser rifles that could emerge from mounts in the bulkheads to repel boarding parties, after all, so it made sense that the aliens would have something similar. His shields definitely wouldn’t be able to hold up to an attack like that, which might explain why he hadn’t encountered anything of that sort—it would kill him. Not something the aliens would want to use if they wanted to capture him alive.
He eventually reached what at first seemed a dead end, but when he looked at the overhead, he could tell by the slightly recessed design that a breach seal resided above him. The octagonal crystals forming the adjoining bulkheads protruded by different amounts, creating grips he could use to climb up.
He felt rested enough to try the Essence again. He slid the strap of the D18 over his shoulder, disabled his shield, clambered up the bulkhead—it was tricky in those bulky gloves—and retrieved the hilt from his belt. He reached though the Chrysalium to the Essence, and when the brilliant blade emerged, he plunge it through the ceiling once and withdrew the weapon as the now familiar yellow liquid spewed forth.
He released the Essence and waited for the flow to diminish. When it was reduced to a lingering mist he reactivated the sword and cut out a full circle. A crystal plug fell away, leaving a gaping hole.
Tane deactivated the weapon and secured the hilt to his belt. Then he pulled himself up onto the same deck he had left before. He reactivated his shield and checked the charge levels.
Shield strength 90%.
Decent.
He reached another two-seventy-degree bend and peered past. The passageway continued for about twenty meters before turning again. Closer, about three meters away, the side bulkhead gave way to a compartment. He spotted an alien in a protective suit lurking inside. According to the map, that compartment didn’t lead anywhere, but Tane would have to walk past it if he wanted to reach the cargo bay.
He ducked from view, fetched the last of his energy grenades from his harness, and pulled up the weapon’s smart targeting user interface on his HUD. He realized he could target the dweller, whose last position showed up as a red dot on his overhead map. He selected the red dot, marking the grenade’s quarry, then tossed it around the bend without looking past.
Though there was no atmosphere to transmit sound, he felt the vibrations in the deck and bulkhead beside him and knew the grenade had detonated. He leaned past the bend and fired his D18 into the compartment, taking out the dweller near the entrance whose shield the grenade had weakened. Then he hurried to the opening, and leaned past to spray another three dwellers with smart targeting mode. He pulled back as other dwellers returned fire, and the energy launchers tore fragments away from the bulkhead beside him.
A tentacle appeared past the entrance: one of them was rushing him.
There wasn’t time to wait for his D18 to recharge. He let it hang from his shoulder, withdrew his sword hilt, and created the Essence blade.
The tentacle bounced from his shield, dropping the strength to seventy.
He hewed down the incoming dweller, and then activated Essence Sight, rotating his body—and thus his perspective—to get a view inside of the room. Memorizing the positions of the four remaining dwellers, he dashed into the room.
With his sword, he batted away the energy bolt that the first one launched at him before it could touch his shield, sending it right into the alien’s face. He leaped at the second, cutting through its shield with his blade and plunging the tip into the translucent dome housing its head.
Wrenching the weapon free, he dove behind the dead body, deactivating his shield so that he could land on his side without draining the protective energy.
He clambered upright as a dweller rushed past the carcass, and he released an Essence Missile, felling the opponent.
He reactivated his shield and stepped past the dead bodies, but the last dweller fled the compartment rather than face him.
Tane made his way back outside and continued toward the cargo bay. His connection to Lyra and Jed was getting stronger. They still hadn’t entered the cargo bay yet, according to the overhead map. The resistance must have been a bit tougher than they expected.
In about a minute he reached another breach seal. It connected to the same section beyond which Jed and Lyra eventually awaited. As such, the liquid environment should already be voided on the other side.
True enough, when he stabbed his sword through the seal, he wasn’t met with gushing liquid. He promptly carved himself a man-sized gap, kicked down the crystal, and stepped through.
The corridor beyond was slightly wider than those that came before. It was also strewn with suited alien bodies. The aliens had definitely thrown everything they had at Lyra and Jed, perhaps wanting to eliminate the only two they were authorized to kill.
Securing the Ess
ence sword hilt to his waist, Tane slid down the D18 into his arms and disabled his shield to squeeze past the bodies.
He glanced at his map. According to the indicators, Lyra and Jed had finally made it into the targeted cargo bay.
“So, she’s there?” Tane asked over the comm.
“No,” Lyra replied.
He couldn’t suppress the sudden disappointment he felt.
Well, guess it means we’ll be in hell for a little while longer.
“We’re waiting for you,” Lyra said.
“I’m almost there,” Tane said.
“I know,” she replied.
Tane passed a particularly large alien body and realized it was likely a Graaz'dhen, the commanding officer these other dwellers had been linked to. Its bigger body barely fit the wider passageway, and he had to wonder why it had gotten so close to the fighting.
Probably just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He spotted what looked like a damaged defense system in the overhead. Some kind of laser turret. So the aliens had anti-boarding party armaments installed after all, and while they might not have used them against Tane, they had no qualms about employing the deadly devices against his companions. Tane could only imagine how much damage their shields and armor must have taken. There were two large slashes down the middle of the turret, as if both Lyra and Jed had sliced their blades through it at the same time.
In another minute Tane reached what looked like a shell of white rock protruding from the bulkhead beside him. According to the map, it lined up with the entrance to the cargo bay.
“This looks out of place…” Tane said.
Lyra’s Essence sword cut through the white rock as he approached, making a man-sized hole. She stepped through.
“Our makeshift airlock,” she said.
There was another hole carved through the bulkhead inside the shell behind her, and beyond he could see some of the alien cargo bay. It looked like it was filled with floor-to-ceiling shelves separated by aisles wide enough to fit a single dweller. Littering them were the dark, pulsating crystals known as Diracs. None of them called out to him, Tane noted.
“Looks like you found the ship’s pantry,” Tane said.
“Indeed,” Lyra told him.
“You didn’t come get me,” Tane said.
“You told me not to,” Lyra said.
“I know,” Tane said. “But I thought you would.”
“I decided to trust my instincts,” Lyra said. “Which told me you had what it took to meet us here on your own. Besides, the aliens want you alive.”
“Oh, not all of them do, trust me,” Tane said. “The self-preservation instinct is strong, even among aliens apparently.”
“You’re the one who told me they weren’t shooting to kill...” Lyra said.
“Guess I was wrong,” Tane said. “When you back a scared alien into a corner, he’s going to be doing some killing, I guarantee you.”
Lyra nodded grimly behind her faceplate. “Then I’m glad you made it.”
“So what now?” Tane asked.
“I want to check the adjacent cargo bay before moving on,” Lyra said.
Tane glanced at his map. There was indeed a cargo bay immediately beside this one. If they could cut directly through the bulkhead separating the two bays, they wouldn’t even have to use the outer passageways to reach it.
“So we cut our way through?” Tane said.
“That’s the plan,” Lyra said. “Come on then.”
Keeping his shield deactivated, Tane ducked through the white shell and followed her inside. He glanced at the Diracs lining the shelves on either side, and kept expecting to feel the urge to pick one up, but it never came.
Maybe it only happens when I’m in the Umbra?
But then why did he have such a hard time getting rid of a Dirac after returning to this universe? Probably because the link had already taken place in the Umbra. Well, he wasn’t about to touch any of these crystals to find out.
Jed was waiting near the far bulkhead past the shelves. His armor appeared damaged in several places, but as Tane watched, the edges of the black, dented areas slowly healed, leaving behind fully-restored metal. And although those surrounding segments regenerated, one of the runes underneath his ribs remained dark, Tane noted.
So not even regenerative armor can heal everything.
Tane checked his overhead map and confirmed that the bulkhead bordered the neighboring cargo bay.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Tane walked past Jed toward the bulkhead and activated his Essence sword.
“No!” Lyra said. “You can’t just cut through. If they’ve stripped her of her suit and instead flooded the bay with a breathable atmosphere, you’ll kill her if you cut through.”
“Good point.” Tane deactivate his sword. What the hell was I thinking? He realized he wasn’t. His mind was still functioning partly on the fight-or-flight level.
I have to learn to hang on to my wits during tense battle situations.
He also realized he still felt like he had to prove himself to these two, and that might be causing him to make errors in judgment for the sake of bravado.
“We have to create an airlock first,” Lyra said.
“An Essencework?” Tane asked, thinking of the white shell he had seen outside the current cargo bay.
“No,” Lyra said. “Technology. Get in close.”
Tane crowded in beside Lyra against the bulkhead.
Jed stepped back and produced a small canister from a storage pocket in his armor. He sprayed foam in a circle along the bulkhead, and it expanded outward. He kept spraying along the edges, forming a white shell around them, finally joining it to the deck behind him.
As Tane watched, the shiny foam began to take on a dull sheen, and he realized it was hardening.
“How long does it take to set?” Tane said.
“A few more seconds.” Jed waited, then returned the canister to his armor. White mist erupted from nozzles at the back of his suit, quickly becoming translucent as it moved away from the Bander.
“What are you doing?” Tane asked.
“Venting oxygen,” Jed said.
A minute passed as that venting continued, but it seemed an eternity.
“Good enough,” Lyra said.
Jed nodded, and the mist ceased.
Lyra activated her energy sword and stabbed it into the bulkhead. No liquid appeared. That was a good sign. There was however a popping sound, which told him that air was rushing inside from the compartment beyond, equalizing the pressures.
The Volur finished carving a human-sized hole and let the cutout fall in.
The trio entered.
This cargo bay proved mostly empty. In the middle was a small metal crate.
Tane and Lyra cautiously advanced. Jed moved out to the side, forming a wide arc in his approach to the crate. He had his sword in one hand, and the pistol the other. Lyra kept her energy sword hilt in hand, though the blade was deactivated.
Tane decided to lower his D18 from his shoulder.
He passed an area of brown sludge covering the deck.
“What’s that?” Tane asked.
“My best guess?” Lyra said. “An open latrine.”
Jed was the first around the crate, coming at it from his wide angle. “She’s here.”
Tane and Lyra quickly closed the distance. The Volur rounded the crate slightly ahead of him, and her gasp was audible over the comm line.
Tane stepped past the Volur, and what he saw stunned him to the core.
Sinive lay with her back propped against the crate. Her eyes were closed. Her chest didn’t seem to rise and fall at all, so he wasn’t sure if she was even alive. The exposed skin above her white dress was completely black.
Tane felt sick to his stomach. Just sick. This was his friend. She had been so attractive. So endearing. And now...
Lyra knelt above her body and held a gloved hand in front of Sinive’s nostrils. “She’s
alive. But just barely.” Lyra glanced at the Bander. “Jed?”
The Bander assumed a guard position near the makeshift airlock they had formed on the far side of the cargo bay.
Meanwhile Lyra holstered her energy sword and retrieved a spacesuit from her storage pouch. She set it down on the deck and unraveled the binding cord. She glanced at Tane. “Help me put this on her.”
Tane and Lyra lift Sinive’s lifeless limbs into the suit assemblies, securing the pieces one by one. Sinive was like a dead weight.
“What’s going to happen to her?” Tane asked at one point.
“She’s not going to become an alien, if that’s what your thinking,” Lyra answered.
“Is she going to die?” Tane pressed.
“Not if I can help it,” Lyra told him.
He was relieved by her determined tone. It told him the Volur would fight for her, which was all he could hope for.
After Tane attached the helmet, Lyra said: “I’m logging into the unit and initializing suit pressurization.” She paused. “Pressure looks good.”
Tane glanced at the crate Sinive had been propped against. “Should we check what’s inside that?”
Lyra shook her head. “No need. On the surface I’m detecting organic material consistent with human-compatible protein sources. My guess is this is what the dwellers used to feed her.”
“Why were they keeping her alive?” Tane said.
“They obviously detected my tracker inside of her,” Lyra said. “Perhaps they were worried if she died, the tracker would notify us, and we wouldn’t come.” She stepped away from the body. “Place her inside your storage pouch.”
“Is it safe?” Tane asked.
“With a suit, yes,” Lyra said.
Tane set down his pouch on the deck, opened it, and with Lyra’s help gingerly lowered Sinive inside. Then he sealed the pouch and attached it to his waist.
“It feels weird, knowing I’m hauling around an important friend in here,” Tane said.
