by Adair Hart
“We fled our planet based on the great selector communicating to us through the Arkaron. We wouldn’t be here otherwise,” said Silva.
“Yes, but you prepared for a space invasion. Why didn’t it tell you about the portals specifically instead of being vague? Is it really that complex for a”—Dr. Snowden made air quotes with his hands—“god to add an additional sentence to the warning?”
“You mock me. I can see tolerance is something you lack,” said Silva, smirking. He turned and then stormed off to the elevator.
Andia half smiled. “The great selector is a divine being in Kreagan culture. As I mentioned before, they firmly believe they were the first humanoids created by it, and that gives them a superior status among other humanoids.”
“I know, and I think it’s ridiculous.”
“Maybe. Kreagans are physically and mentally stronger than any other humanoid on average, so there may be some truth to them being selected. They are also the oldest known humanoid civilization.”
“They may be older and different, yes, but superior? Please tell me you don’t believe that.”
Andia drew her lips flat and squeezed Dr. Snowden’s arm. She glanced at Rakar, then headed to the elevator.
Emily glared at Dr. Snowden. “You know, you can be a real jerk face sometimes.” She hustled after Andia.
Dr. Snowden rolled his head around. “What the hell just happened?”
Rakar smiled and put a hand on Dr. Snowden’s shoulder. “I appreciate your ability to speak what’s on your mind without fear. As for Silva, he is a devout follower of the Way of the Great Selector, an organization dedicated to interpreting how the great selector wants us to live. He already deems humans beneath him, and to be questioned in that manner after actually seeing the great selector was deeply offensive to him. Essentially, you ruined his moment.”
Dr. Snowden shook his head and sighed. “If he is so easily shaken by a question, it makes me think maybe he isn’t as solid in his belief as he thinks.”
Rakar nodded. “I agree with you. While I acknowledge the great selector had an impact on our formation, I do not acknowledge the Way of the Great Selector’s interpretations. If the Arkaron can truly communicate with the great selector, the power of interpretation shifts to the emperor, as it was in the old days.”
Dr. Snowden turned toward Evaran. “Well, what was Andia and Emily all about?”
Evaran smiled. “You know that Fredoria was a planet populated by former human slaves. It is part of their culture that they are not on the same level as the Kreagans. The Kreagan language is the default language spoken throughout the empire, even on Fredoria. It is not something they talk about openly from what I have researched, especially in front of Kreagans.”
Dr. Snowden exhaled. “And I tossed it in her face in front of everyone. Great.”
“I like you Earthlings,” said Rakar, laughing.
Evaran nodded. “They are more feisty than Dr. Snowden lets on. Let us head on back to the command area.”
Rakar slapped Dr. Snowden on the back, and they proceeded to the elevator.
Evaran, Dr. Snowden, and Rakar took the elevator down and then walked over to the command area. They took their respective seats.
Dr. Snowden looked at the ground, then glanced at Andia. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Andia smiled. “It’s okay. You didn’t know.” She looked at Emily. “He really didn’t know. Don’t be angry with him. It’s okay.”
Emily smirked. “He’s just being himself.”
Dr. Snowden looked at Emily, who was shaking her head. He could see she had a strong bond with Andia. He looked over at Silva to say something, but Silva’s deep scowl and narrowed eyes made him decide not to for now.
“V, take us down,” said Evaran.
“Acknowledged.”
Dr. Snowden’s breathing staggered when the Torvatta descended through cloud cover. He walked up to the guardrail and took in the view as a jungle-filled world opened before him. It should be ice, and even if it did have an atmosphere, definitely not a jungle. “This is not quite what I expected.”
“Something is at work here. V, run an atmosphere scan.”
“Acknowledged.”
A listing of percentages and gas names appeared on the front right screen. The temperature showed it to be about seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit.
“It has a breathable atmosphere? And there’s sunlight with no sun? How is that possible?” asked Dr. Snowden.
“We will find out soon,” said Evaran.
The Torvatta skimmed the jungle as they approached a mountainous region. A highlight appeared around a structure carved into the side. The Torvatta flew toward it.
“There appears to be an energy source there. That looks like a good place to start. V, scan for life-forms,” said Evaran.
“Acknowledged.”
Pockets of red dots overlaid on the screen. “Multiple life-forms detected.”
Dr. Snowden looked at Andia. “Have you seen anything like this before?”
Andia shook her head.
Dr. Snowden looked at Rakar.
Rakar shook his head. “I have never seen a rogue planet with this type of environment. It shouldn’t be possible. We should tread carefully. Something isn’t right here.”
“Agreed,” said Evaran.
As the Torvatta approached the structure, Dr. Snowden could see it had large statues carved into the mountainside around the entrance. The statues looked like an upright armored ant, with an extra set of arms and a bizarre set of weapons. It reminded him of extended claws. In front of the entrance was a large stairway, and before that an open area that faded as it met the jungle.
Evaran pointed to the open area. “Land us there.”
“Acknowledged.”
The Torvatta descended to the open area.
When it landed, Evaran stood up. “I will investigate.”
Andia stood up. “Uh-uh. We’re coming with you.”
Silva smirked. “By we, she means everyone except me. I will stay here, unless that is also an issue for Dr. Snowden.”
Dr. Snowden drew his lips flat and sighed as he looked at the ground.
“Very well. Those who are coming, follow me to the research lab.”
Dr. Snowden, Emily, Andia, and Rakar followed Evaran to the research lab. Evaran walked up to one of the tables with an odd assortment of gadgets and devices. A rubberlike substance covered part of the table. On top of it was a circular base with raised edges. A hologram appeared above it as Evaran interacted with his ARI. The hologram showed a small object with a belt clip on it.
Four of the objects appeared on a replicator pad that sat on a side table to the right. Evaran grabbed them and handed them out. “These are temperature shield generators. They won’t prevent anything from getting through physically, but they will maintain a consistent temperature around you.”
Dr. Snowden looked at the generator. “Why do we need these? The temperature seems pretty decent.”
“As far as we know. If it changes, things could get bad.”
Rakar half grinned. “My suit can handle temperature changes. I don’t need this. The others, though, probably do since they aren’t wearing space-worthy suits.” He handed it back to Evaran.
Andia narrowed her eyes. “How does it maintain temperature but then allow physical objects through?”
Evaran smiled. “It uses a type of energy you would be unfamiliar with. Its properties allow it to maintain a spherical bubble at a constant temperature. While it will not protect against extreme temperatures, it can handle small variations. I do have full space-worthy suits if you prefer.”
Dr. Snowden shook his head. He did not want to wear anything bulky if he could avoid it. “If these things work, then it and the PSD will be all I need.”
“Same,” said Emily.
Evaran nodded. “Dr. Snowden and Emily, remember that your PSDs have scanning capability that generates an augmented reality view.”
Emily pulled her PSD out and pressed the top button on it. When it expanded, she held it up to Rakar and pressed the scan button. Readouts floated on the screen around Rakar’s image. “Whoa. It shows a lot of information.”
Andia stepped behind Emily to peer at the display while placing a hand on her hip. “We have something similar on Fredoria. It is a visor mounted on a helmet, though, unless you go for implants. What did you call it? A PSD?”
“It is a personal support device. It possesses some functionality that there is no equivalent of at the Kreagan level of technology,” said Evaran. He gestured toward the ramp. “Let us head out.”
Dr. Snowden, Emily, Rakar, and Andia followed Evaran out of the Torvatta, with V flying in orb mode.
Dr. Snowden immediately noticed how much dimmer it was compared with when they were descending in the Torvatta. The jungle on the perimeter looked ominous. The sounds caught his attention. Whispering punctuated by shrieking made him rub the goose bumps on his arm. “Sounds crazy out here.”
“No kidding,” said Emily. She pointed her PSD around, which had a wide luminescent beam shooting out of it.
“Good idea,” said Dr. Snowden as he opened his PSD and selected illumination.
Evaran pulled off two illumination orbs and activated them. He tossed them into the air, and they took off.
Rakar pressed on his shoulder pads, and light beams shot out from the devices on his shoulders.
Andia pulled out a device and activated it, causing a light beam to shine forward.
Evaran nodded toward the structure carved into the mountainside. “V, scout mode.”
“Acknowledged. Scout mode engaged.” V took off scanning up the stairway.
They walked up the stairway for fifteen minutes. It had several landing areas where they stopped to rest briefly. Each landing pad had a statue on each side, similar to the ones carved into the mountainside.
At the first landing, a creature swooped at Rakar but flew off with a few warning shots from his weapon.
Dr. Snowden was scanning everything in sight. He noticed that the stone stairs seemed to be in good shape. His nose caught the faint hint of the jungle, which he thought was odd. Given how strong it was before, it was almost as if the smell had been swept away.
Emily scanned one of the statues at the first landing. “Wow! According to this scan, this is over three hundred and twenty thousand years old. This statue should have been long gone by now.”
Dr. Snowden half grinned at Emily. “The history major in you comes out.” He walked over and scanned the statue.
“So … you like older things, huh?” said Andia, smiling at Emily.
Rakar and Andia laughed.
Dr. Snowden shot a look at Andia and then scanned the statue and verified Emily’s findings. He did a double take after another scan. “Umm … weren’t the eyes on this statue facing forward?”
Emily looked up and jumped back a bit. “They were. They couldn’t have moved, though. It’s stone.”
Evaran walked up to the statue and scanned it with his ring. He narrowed his eyes and looked around. “I suspect who we are looking for is nearby. Come, let us head up to the entrance.”
They walked for another fifteen minutes up the stairway, pausing at each landing to catch their breath. Dr. Snowden noticed that Andia was struggling. He could feel strength in his legs even with all this exertion. Emily was doing okay, and Rakar was able to keep up as well. He had never mentioned the nanobots to anyone since Evaran had instructed them to keep quiet, but their effect relative to Andia was noticeable.
They stood at the entrance to the large stone structure. The entrance was large, and massive stone pillars stood equidistant from each other to the side of it, ending at the statues.
Andia leaned against one of the pillars, then slid down. “Whew!” She looked at Emily. “You don’t even look winded.”
Rakar half smiled. “I had no idea how fit Earthlings were.”
Andia smirked. “Well, we could have probably used the ship to drop us off up here instead of walking up all these stairs.”
“It was good for us to check out the environment and scan before getting to the entrance. Top-level scans do not always capture everything,” said Evaran.
Andia rolled her eyes. “I guess.”
After a few minutes, they entered through the large entrance. Dr. Snowden and Emily began scanning. Rakar moved ahead of the group and began checking out the room’s interior. Evaran and Andia walked behind Rakar.
Dr. Snowden took a look around the large room they were in. The illumination orbs had flown to the top, but dimmed, as the room appeared to have its own illumination. He looked around to find the light source and traced it to advanced-looking wall sconces. “Evaran, check this out.”
Evaran walked over to Dr. Snowden and then scanned the sconce with his ring. “It appears this structure is maintained.”
Dr. Snowden shook his head and turned around to see what was in front of them. He noted that the stone walls and flooring had a tiled stone texture. Looking ahead, he saw a central pathway from the entrance to farther back into the room. The room itself appeared to be one of many stretching forward, joined by smaller entrances. Statues lined the walls. He thought it was odd that for a place so old, it was fairly clean, but if it was being maintained as Evaran had said, maybe not so odd. The question then was who was doing the maintenance.
Crack!
Everyone jumped when the front entrance sides reached out to each other in a fluidlike manner and sealed up the entrance.
“What the heck was that?” said Dr. Snowden, stepping away from the entrance. He swallowed hard as he felt Emily’s death grip on his right arm.
“I think whom we seek knows we are here. Do not panic. If they can do that, they would have done much worse if they were malicious,” said Evaran.
Andia gulped. “Easy for you to say. Stone should never move like that when in that state.”
Rakar nodded with wide eyes. “I agree. The stone moved like a fluid.”
“It appears we are to move forward into the next room. Come,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden admired Evaran’s confidence. Stone just moved like a fluid, and it did not even faze Evaran. He was always levelheaded and calm, even in the worst of situations. Dr. Snowden figured if he had the knowledge Evaran possessed and his physical might, he would probably be that confident as well, although the experience gap would definitely be noticeable.
They walked through several rooms until they came to the last room. It was large, with a throne centered in the back. A purple ornately decorated rug ran the length from the room’s entrance to the throne. Large pillars stood to the side of the rug. Statues lined the walls as in the other rooms. They were similar to the insectoid statues Dr. Snowden saw outside.
Emily jumped as the wall sconces lit up when they entered the room. She walked up to one of the sconces near the entrance and scanned it. She jumped again as the room entrance closed like the main entrance had. She ran back to the others.
“Well, what now?” asked Dr. Snowden.
Evaran pointed toward the throne. “I suspect we are to approach the throne.” He walked toward the throne, with Dr. Snowden, Emily, and Andia directly behind him. Rakar took up the rear.
As they approached it, a grinding noise echoed throughout the room.
Dr. Snowden turned around and saw that the statues in the room were beginning to move toward them. “What the heck?”
Andia pulled out her sidearm and fired at one of the statues. It crumbled where the shot hit, but then slowly reassembled itself. Her eyes widened. “These things can reassemble!”
Evaran ran over to Dr. Snowden and Emily and gestured toward them. “Let me see your PSDs!”
They handed their PSDs to Evaran. He opened both of them up and clicked around the interface. The PSDs shot out a thin metal rod from their ends. Evaran handed it back to them. “This should help. The rod is a lot stronger than it looks.” He looked at
Andia and Rakar. “Gather around me!”
V projected holograms of various creatures, and even duplicates of the group, but the statues ignored them. Dr. Snowden and Emily ran behind Evaran. Rakar and Andia flanked him and were firing at the approaching statues.
Rakar had unloaded a huge burst of weapon fire on the statues. One of the statues was completely smashed to pieces, then began reassembling itself. Evaran had extended his utility handle into a staff and was firing repulsing shots, which were knocking the statues back and smashing them. The statues kept reassembling and coming back.
Evaran gestured to the throne. “Get around the throne!”
Dr. Snowden and Emily ran up to the throne. A statue approached from behind the throne. A wave of fear shot through Dr. Snowden. His heartbeat ramped up and his legs froze. He stared at the statue as it came within a few feet of him.
“Uncle Albert! What’s wrong with you?” said Emily. She swung at the statue repeatedly with her rod, knocking it to pieces. The statue did not reassemble.
Dr. Snowden shook his head and squinted his eyes. Paralyzing fear crept through him. All he could think about was fleeing. “I … I don’t know!”
“Evaran, the statue doesn’t regenerate if we hit it with our rods!” said Emily, turning to look at Evaran.
Evaran ran over to Dr. Snowden and Emily. “Good. Keep them at bay.”
Rakar and Andia had joined Dr. Snowden and Emily at the throne. Andia looked at the smashed statue. “Why does that work and not our weapons?”
Emily shook her head. “I don’t know!”
Rakar stepped forward to bash one of the statues as it approached the throne. The statue’s arm cracked and fell off. In a flash, he disappeared, and his armor and weapon fell to the ground.
“Rakar!” said Dr. Snowden. “Where’d he go!”
Evaran scanned where Rakar had last been seen. “Hmm, there appears to be a disturbance in the air where he was.” He scrutinized his ARI. “He may have been teleported. That indicates either a high level of technology or that whom we seek has the ability to do so. You three defend yourselves. I am going to clear them out.”
