by Adair Hart
Emily examined the projection. “How many Voss are in the way?”
Evaran swiped through his ARI. The projection lit up with several dozen red dots. “There are quite a few. However, I believe I have a solution. There are sensors in the bottom area that indicate if something is malfunctioning or … if the capsules are opened without authorization. I believe I can make it appear as if they are all open. That should cause an evacuation of the base.”
“You can try,” said Emily.
Evaran tapped at his ARI.
The alarm fading in and out made Dr. Snowden jump. Although he knew he was in the holo room, he could imagine being there right next to Evaran. He watched the screen near Evaran as it showed personnel rushing around.
“I have my diversion,” said Evaran. “It is time to move.” He exited the room out a side corridor. As he crept along, the flashing lights distracted Dr. Snowden. He wondered if it could be filtered out in the holo room. The nonstop blaring did not help things.
Evaran came to a halt near the entrance to another large room. Voss were scrambling around inside it, tapping at consoles and checking various devices. He motioned at V.
V flew into the room, and the door behind him closed.
Dr. Snowden watched as the Voss exited the room. Once they were all gone, the door opened and Evaran stepped in.
Evaran marched over to one of the workstations and placed his UIC on it. He interacted with his ARI, causing a floating screen to appear next to him. “According to this, it looks like the top half of the base is now evacuated or close to it.”
Dr. Snowden noted that the floating image next to Evaran must be a part of his ARI being shared somehow. It showed the facility divided into levels with a series of numbers and some metrics off to the side. The higher numbers had a green box around them. He figured that was what Evaran referred to in reference to the levels being evacuated.
“The path is now clear,” said Evaran. The floating screen faded as he grabbed his UIC and put it back on his belt.
Dr. Snowden wondered how long it would be before the Voss figured out that nothing was wrong.
Evaran reached the enclosed area two levels down after fifteen minutes of creeping through various ramps and corridors.
Dr. Snowden kept expecting Voss security patrols to pop up, but none came. He noticed that there were camera-like devices in the corridor. Maybe whoever would be looking through them was not around or Evaran had disabled them.
Emily tapped Dr. Snowden’s arm. “You seem tense.”
“You’re not?”
Emily smirked. “We’re in the holo room, away from the action.”
Dr. Snowden admired Emily’s steady and fearless nature. It reminded him a lot of her dad. He had seen glimpses of it before, but now it seemed to be a major part of her persona. He made a resolution to join her in her morning trainings. Although he had the nanobots to help him in a combat situation, he knew he was nowhere near Emily’s level in terms of combat knowledge and situational awareness. It had been his hope that traveling with Evaran would be full of learning and observing. There were moments like that, but there were moments like this as well. He shook his head.
Jane wrinkled her eyebrows at him.
Dr. Snowden smiled. “I was thinking.”
“You do that a lot.”
“I know … it’s who I am,” said Dr. Snowden.
“That’s why we like you,” said Jane with a grin.
Dr. Snowden’s stomach fluttered.
Evaran stood outside the enclosed area and placed his UIC on the door console. After a moment, the door slid open, and he entered, grabbed his UIC, then sealed the room.
Dr. Snowden surveyed the room. The walls he had thought were solid surprised him. They were one-way mirrors of some type. The edges of the room were packed with workstations, and there was a sunken area in the middle. A table with holographic projections on it sat in the middle of the room. It reminded him of the conference table on the Torvatta.
Evaran placed his UIC on the table. After the UIC had stabilized, he browsed his ARI.
The projection changed on the table to show a view outside. It showed Voss hustling out of the facility.
Dr. Snowden noticed that the Voss had separated into two groups that were facing off with each other. “What’s that all about?”
Evaran rubbed his chin. “I am not sure. There is a monitoring pillar nearby.”
Dr. Snowden leaned in as the voices rang out.
The leader of the first group pointed at the second group. “Get back in there! It’s a false alarm.”
The leader of the second group snorted. Others behind him growled and shouted. “You go back in there if you want to, but we’re staying out here. We know what’s down there! And now they’re loose!”
The first group leader snarled. “And you’ll join them if you don’t do as you’re ordered.”
The second group leader replied, “I’m sick of this. You aren’t Voss. We don’t know what you are. You look like it, but you’re one of those … abominations.”
A large male Voss exited the building. He wore metallic armor, unlike the rest of the Voss. When he walked toward the second group, the first group cleared a path for him. He pointed at the second group. “You will get back in there. Now. This is your last chance.”
The second group leader raised his head and bared his teeth. “You are not Voss! We defy you, in the name of the Voss Imperium!”
The large male Voss smiled. “Your choice.” He turned and headed back toward the facility. As he passed the first group leader, he said, “Kill them. We will use their corpses as hosts.”
The two groups began to fight.
The projection blinked out.
Dr. Snowden raised his eyebrows. “Okay … so it seems not all Voss are on board with the whole conversion thing.”
Evaran placed his fingertips together and pressed them against his lips. “It would appear so. I have the Voss control communication set up. V is going to fly back to the Torvatta now and run it through a deciphering program. It should not take long and should be available for use by the time Billozein gets here.”
“That big guy looked like he was coming back in,” said Emily. “Maybe he knows the situation.”
“He is aware of it and is headed this way,” said Evaran. He pulled off his UIC and handed it to one of V’s extended arms. After opening the door to the enclosed area, he pointed out. “V, go. It is time for my surrender.”
V hovered for a moment.
“V?” asked Evaran.
“Acknowledged,” said V as he flew off.
Dr. Snowden could see that even V was not fully on board with Evaran being captured.
Evaran tapped at his ARI. “I am transferring the holo-room visual from V to my chest and shoulder sensors. Unfortunately, it will only show you what is in front of and above me. You will still be able to see my face from the side.”
“It’s better than nothing,” said Dr. Snowden.
Evaran closed the door to the room as a projection shot up from one of the workstations.
The projection showed the big Voss from before. “I’m not sure how you got in there, but I’m linked to the control center of this facility. It seems I now have visual and audio back. Nice diversion, but I’m also linked to the systems below.”
Dr. Snowden had wondered if maybe they had listened in, but it seems Evaran had already anticipated that. Watching Evaran was like watching a grand master chess player sometimes.
“With whom do I speak?” asked Evaran.
“Jeetrozein.”
“You are related to Billozein, I assume,” said Evaran.
“Of course. He’s my father,” said Jeetrozein. “He warned me and my brothers and sisters about you. He said you might show up one day, and here you are.”
Evaran cleared his throat. “I have come to make a proposal. It will require Billozein’s presence.”
Jeetrozein’s eyes narrowed. “You can tell me, and I�
��ll relay it.”
“Then tell him I propose a trade. I’ll give him what he wants.”
“And what’s that?”
“I do not think he would want you to know.”
Jeetrozein snorted. “You know Father quite well, but if you think I’m going to let you sit in that room until he arrives, then you don’t know me at all.”
Dr. Snowden looked out through the one-way walls and saw Voss and humanoid robots assuming positions around the enclosed area.
“I will surrender, and expect you will put me in constraints,” said Evaran.
Jeetrozein paused for a moment, then said, “Maybe you do know me after all. Come out with your hands up. We have special constraints for you.”
Evaran sighed, then exited the room with his hands up.
One of the Voss kicked Evaran in the back. “Kneel, dog!”
Evaran stumbled forward and then kneeled.
“Put your hands behind your head!”
Evaran complied.
After five minutes, Jeetrozein arrived. One of the Voss next to him was carrying a set of metallic wrist constraints.
Jeetrozein motioned at Evaran.
The Voss applied the constraints to Evaran.
Jeetrozein sneered. “Just for you.”
“I can see Billozein has had time to plan for this.”
“Oh … he has. Now stand. Let’s go. We have a special cell for you too.”
Evaran stood and was escorted out of the room by several Voss pointing weapons at him.
Dr. Snowden watched for the next hour as Evaran was led through various corridors and levels and a trip down the elevator. Evaran was moved into a room that had a cell with four pillars in the middle of the room. The cell had translucent shielding with a slight red glow between each pillar. Dr. Snowden remembered seeing that red glow on a bounty hunter weapon in a previous adventure. It was Palisin energy, one form of energy that Evaran was weak against. It seemed Billozein was taking no chances if Evaran were to reappear. He had surprised him before.
One of the walls dissipated, and Evaran was ushered in. Once inside, the shield went back up. He sat on a chair and looked around.
Dr. Snowden noted the room was empty. He hoped they would not have to wait long for Billozein to arrive. He glanced at V. “So … how long until Billozein arrives?”
“Unknown,” said V.
Dr. Snowden sighed. “Well … I guess we wait then.”
“Acknowledged,” said V. “The Torvatta is within scanning range of any ship that arrives or departs. Once Billozein’s ship is detected, I will notify you.”
“Evaran, can you hear us still?”
Evaran nodded.
“But you can’t say anything in case the place is bugged, right?”
Evaran nodded again.
Dr. Snowden glanced at Jane and Emily. “I guess we can get lunch while we wait.”
Emily clenched and unclenched her jaw. “You two go ahead. I’ll keep Evaran company.”
Dr. Snowden saw fire in Emily’s eyes. He knew her instinct now was to go in there and bust heads. Sitting still while Evaran was locked up was not in her nature anymore. Despite that, he knew Evaran would not want anyone to worry about him and everything was going as planned. “Want us to bring back anything?”
Emily pursed her lips together for a moment. “Sure, a vitamin drink would be good. Use ‘Emily’s morning drink’ pattern. It should be there.”
Dr. Snowden saluted with two fingers. “You got it.” He gestured toward the conference room and looked at Jane. “Shall we?”
“Lead on,” said Jane.
They entered the conference room and picked up lunch.
Dr. Snowden was hungry for hot dogs. One thing he appreciated about his nanobots was that he could eat whatever he wanted and the nanobots would make sure it was efficiently used. His weight had dropped some since traveling with Evaran. He noticed that Jane still avoided meat and was having some type of vegetable dish he did not recognize.
Jane took a seat at the table. “Still with the meat desires, huh?”
Dr. Snowden smirked. “I don’t think I’ll ever give it up.”
“I understand,” said Jane. She took a bite of her dish. After swallowing it, she glanced at Dr. Snowden. “I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but … well … what do you really think of this plan?”
Dr. Snowden chuckled. “You don’t like the amount of unknown variables.”
“Well … yeah.”
“You’ll get used to it. One thing about Evaran is that regardless of how unpredictable a situation will become, he’ll adapt. I have seen him in several situations now where he has adjusted on the fly, and it worked out.”
“Always?”
“All except maybe on the last adventure. I don’t think he saw that coming,” said Dr. Snowden. “I mean … it did work out, maybe not as well as he had hoped. I wouldn’t worry about it. Yes, this plan is risky, but with Evaran, and us, we’ll come through.”
“You’re right, of course. I’ll adapt.”
“Of course,” said Dr. Snowden with a grin. “We’re human, past and present, it’s what we do.”
Jane smiled as she dove into her dish.
Dr. Snowden mulled over Jane’s concern. He understood it, since he had his doubts as well. Having Evaran held did not sit right with him. There were many possible situations where it could go horribly wrong. However, trying to find someone in a vast empire could be time-consuming and ultimately futile. Hopefully Evaran would not be there for too long. He took a bite of his hot dog as he looked off into the distance.
Dr. Snowden leaned over the waist-high light-blue semitransparent guardrail on the Torvatta’s roof. It had been two days since Evaran had surrendered. Dr. Snowden shook his head. Half the day was gone, and he had eaten his lunch already. Billozein was taking his sweet time in getting there.
Emily spent most of her time either training or sitting in the command area and talking to Evaran. Although Evaran could not talk back, he would occasionally nod or shake his head.
Dr. Snowden had spent time in the command area as well, but it looked to him like Evaran was often in some type of meditative state. Not having to eat or drink probably made things a lot easier. The lack of need to relieve himself intrigued Dr. Snowden. It was not something he had really thought about until this event. He glanced to his right and observed Jane staring out into the sky. Her brown hair flowed effortlessly onto her shoulders. He smiled as he thought of running a hand through it.
“You’re thinking again,” said Jane.
Dr. Snowden gulped. “Oh … umm … I was wondering how you’re liking your first outing as an official companion.”
“I have learned a bit more about Evaran. He doesn’t need to eat, drink, sleep, or do anything a human would need to do, apparently.”
Dr. Snowden chuckled. “That’s actually what I was thinking about. Well, to be more specific, never having to relieve himself.”
“It’s amazing. It makes me think … well … probably sounds crazy … but it makes me think what we see is just a suit. It’s like Evaran is something else on the inside.”
Dr. Snowden cast a sidelong look at Jane. “That’s not too far from the truth. I do know that this is a form he had to take on when he came to this plane.”
“Plane?”
Dr. Snowden chuckled. “Oh … you’ll learn more about all that traveling with us. Apparently, our universe is one of many, inside a plane. And to make it even weirder, that plane is in a plane system. Evaran’s true form exists between the planes, but I’ve never seen it. We were actually planning on checking it out, then got this summons.”
Jane turned her head toward Dr. Snowden. “I can’t wait to find all that out, but you’ll have to explain the summons to me. I don’t think I’ve heard that mentioned before.”
“The summons,” said Dr. Snowden, pulling his lips in while his eyes darted around. “I won’t lie and say I fully understand it, but the Torvatta issue
s these summonses from across time and space, and Evaran investigates them, then renders a judgment. The most recent summons was to Roeth.”
“Huh … so that was the reason you came to Roeth.”
“Yep.”
Jane chuckled. “What I don’t get, though, is how does the Torvatta know to do these summons. I mean … how does it know what’s happening across all of time and space?”
“Got me,” said Dr. Snowden, adjusting his glasses. “It makes me think sometimes that the Torvatta is more than it appears. Even Evaran doesn’t know, but he trusts it based on the summons he has done. I keep learning something new about the Torvatta every time we head out somewhere. For example, on our last outing, when we were dealing with the Purifiers, I learned that it has data from the future in the replicator database. It’s time stream aware.”
Jane jerked her head back. “That sounds … interesting.”
“I’m not sure I fully understand how that’s possible, but I saw it with my own two eyes. Someone from our future, who had met us before, but we had just met them, came into the Torvatta and ordered a drink. I couldn’t see the drink pattern, nor could Evaran, but this person could.”
Jane shook her head. “I have a lot to learn.”
“You’ll probably get to see parallel timelines … other dimensions … pocket universes. You never know. This summons was urgent, from what I understand. It makes me wonder if that urgency was because the Torvatta knew we would be picking you up.”
“My brain is going in circles.”
“It’s a lot to take in.”
Their attention was diverted to V, who had floated onto the roof. “Billozein’s ship has arrived.”
Dr. Snowden glanced at Jane, then hustled after V to the command center. When he and Jane got there, they took their seats. He saw Billozein’s ship outlined on the left screen with a real-time view. It looked rectangular in design with wings off to the side and boosters on the back. The nose tapered off to a point. It reminded him a bit of a space shuttle. The right screen showed a deeper analysis of the ship. It had a wireframe view with a listing of detail cards hanging off it. He pointed to one of the cards. “That one says it has a temporal aura.”
