by Adair Hart
Andia shifted in her seat. “But we’re from the future, so we know what happens. This time travel event is a part of Kreagan history.”
“In this instance, that is correct. However, a rift could appear and change everything after we left, or even during this time. Rifts do not obey the rules of space and time. They can come and go and are the main reason for timeline changes.”
Andia tilted her head. “A rift?”
Dr. Snowden half grinned. “A tunnel that can connect two points in space, time, and elsewhere. They are random in where they appear. Me and Emily got to see that firsthand.” He glanced at Emily, who nodded.
Andia turned her head toward Dr. Snowden. “Okay, but we didn’t see anything like that. If we had failed here, we would never have come here in the first place, because we wouldn’t have existed.”
Dr. Snowden shrugged as he glanced at Evaran. “Yeah, I don’t know.”
Andia jerked her head back as she turned her head toward Evaran. “So what would happen to us if a rift had appeared and stopped us getting the cure or if one came after we left and changed everything? Would we just fade away?”
Evaran shook his head. “You have been in the Torvatta, which means you would be immune to any timeline change for a short while. If you had never been in the Torvatta, yes, you would simply not exist anymore. However, since you are immune for now, everything would have changed and you would have to adjust to any changes. For example, Kreagus could be the planet of another species, and Fredoria might not even exist. You could even possibly meet another version of yourself.”
Andia ran her hand over her mouth as she stared at the table for a moment, then looked at Evaran. “That’s unsettling to think nothing is guaranteed, not even our existence.”
Everyone stared at Evaran as he narrowed his eyes. He clenched his jaw in a circle, then glanced at Andia. He drew his lips flat and ran his hands through his hair. “You would be surprised at how often the timeline changes.” He looked at Dr. Snowden and Emily. “I try to undo rift impacts when I can.” He gestured at Dr. Snowden. “For example, the rift allowing the Krotovore to abduct you and Emily. Instead of you teaching class now, you are sitting on a ship on an alien planet. That rift did not exist in your history until it did.”
Silva, Rakar, and Andia stared at Dr. Snowden.
Dr. Snowden swallowed hard. “As much as I hate that rift, I’m glad to be where I am.”
Evaran nodded.
Silva leaned back into his chair and took a deep breath. “I never imagined I would be a part of our history, even if we aren’t mentioned. Was I born … to save my people? I existed before I existed. It gives my existence … a new perspective.”
Andia exhaled through her nose. “Mine too.”
Evaran nodded. “We now have two of the three crystals. One more to go. Take a break, and we can convene in two hours to discuss the third one.”
After a quick nap, Dr. Snowden walked into the conference room while rubbing his eyes. He loved the fact that he could take a fulfilling nap, something that he always found difficult to do. Evaran was at the head of the table as always. To his left were Silva, Rakar, and V. Dr. Snowden went to the replicators and got a cup of coffee, then headed to his normal seat. He nodded at everyone as he took a sip of his coffee.
Evaran half smiled. “You seem to be well rested.”
“Yeah. Love napping on the Torvatta,” said Dr. Snowden as he surveyed the room. “Where’s Emily and Andia?”
“Emily is showing Andia her running program. Apparently, Earth humans must endure physical activity to keep in shape,” said Rakar.
Dr. Snowden chuckled. “Isn’t that how Kreagans do it too?”
Silva shook his head. “Not at all. We have a pill that can be taken once a month that keeps our body in shape. Although we have been genetically engineered for fitness, the pill gives us the benefits of physical exercise without actually doing it.”
“So it’s like an exercise pill or something?”
“Not quite. It removes toxins and excessive fat deposits and provides continuous energy to the muscles.”
“Well, dang. Where do I get some of that?”
Evaran half grinned. “You do not need it, Dr. Snowden. You have the ability within you to do it yourself.”
Dr. Snowden drew his lips down and glanced at Evaran as he took another sip of his coffee. He cleared his throat. “Right. Perhaps you can show me sometime, then.”
“I can do that.”
Emily and Andia walked into the conference. They were freshly showered and had on clean clothes. Emily sat next to Dr. Snowden, and Andia went to the replicators. Andia grabbed a purple-colored drink for Emily and a cup of an orange drink for herself, then took a seat next to Emily.
“So, on to the next one?” asked Emily as she took a sip.
Evaran nodded. “Yes. The last one is on the planet Gaziss in Draidjen territory. We have arrived already and are stealthed. While everyone rested, I took us to the past and back to verify where the colony ship landed, and we are over that spot now.”
“Another infiltration mission?” asked Rakar.
“Not this time. We will need to do this one in the present.”
Silva narrowed his eyes. “Why? It would be much easier to get it in the past.”
Evaran drew his lips flat while looking at the table. He then turned his head toward Silva. “There were several Draidjen ships in orbit. They were monitoring the colony ship.”
“That seems like even more of a reason to go back. How do you know we were not meant to help them?” asked Silva as he sat on the edge of his seat.
Evaran exhaled out his nose and tapped at the table console, which then shot a projection of a forest with large holes in it. He pointed at the projection. “Does that look like Kreagus to you?”
Silva eyed the projection. He sat back in his chair and huffed. “So if we do help them, we could alter the timeline drastically is what you’re saying. They were not meant to populate this planet, apparently.”
“Correct. The Torvatta’s scans show that it is down there now in that cavern system. It is possible they moved and left it behind.”
“Not likely with Draidjen ships in orbit. They would have exterminated them and blew the ship up. Typical Draidjen,” said Rakar, smirking.
Andia tilted her head at Evaran. “Okay, so we are going to go into one of those holes?”
“Yes. That is the current plan,” said Evaran.
“How would it survive after all these years?” asked Andia.
“The Arkaron crystals are very durable. They can survive for half a million years at a minimum.”
“That place looks very uninviting,” said Dr. Snowden.
Evaran nodded. “This area appears to have a karst topography. We will need to find a sinkhole large enough for us to land in.”
“A what topography?” asked Andia.
Dr. Snowden gestured at Andia. “It’s a landscape formed out of soluble rock. Lot of sinkholes and caves.”
“I see. Sounds like water would be needed for that, something Fredoria has very little of. Thank goodness for matter replicators.”
Evaran touched the table console, and the projection shut off. He stood up and looked around the room. “Okay, time to find a landing spot.”
Everyone proceeded to the command center and took their usual spots.
Dr. Snowden looked out the window and noticed the size of the landscape. It stretched farther than he could see and was pockmarked with cliffs, caves, sinkholes, and canyons. It looked like rivers carved tunnels right out of the landscape. He figured there was probably a large body of water somewhere in the distance.
The front right screen showed the ground beneath them. The various holes on the surface were being highlighted red as they crossed over them. One of the holes outlined in green.
Dr. Snowden tilted his head at Evaran as a soft beeping sound chirped out. “Looks like we found our entrance.”
“I concur. Your suits and my ring wil
l be able to show us the direction and distance we need to go.”
“Should be pretty easy to get, then?” asked Dr. Snowden.
Evaran extended his hand. His ring shot up a holographic depiction of an arrow with some text off to the side that acted as a distance meter showing two miles and increasing as they flew toward the green outlined hole. “Possibly, there are no sinkholes for us to go through near it. There is an elaborate cavern system that connects all these sinkholes, so we should be able to navigate to it.”
Dr. Snowden sighed. “And I’m sure there aren’t creatures down there wanting to eat us.”
“Well, at least we have suits now to even it up,” said Emily.
The Torvatta approached the green outlined sinkhole. After a few moments, it reached the top of it and began its descent.
Dr. Snowden noted the immediate change in the environment as they descended. He noticed there were smaller holes on the side of the wall with stones jutting out. They reminded him of footholds. Was there sentient life down here? He shuddered to think what might have evolved in an environment like this. The size of the holes would suggest whatever it was would be small, and the placement would mean they could either climb walls or fly.
The Torvatta landed on a damp, rocky floor. Small mechanical rods with luminescent orbs at the end extended out from the small black panels dotting the ship, illuminating the surrounding environment. The front right screen showed a view of their surroundings, but with wire textures and various text labels.
Dr. Snowden scrutinized the front right screen. He saw that the air was breathable, the ground was damp, and there was life here, but nothing larger than a mouse. He saw Emily shiver a bit. She probably saw the insects that seemed to be flying around in the lights and showed up as little red dots swirling around the ship.
Evaran stood up and gestured toward the research lab. “We will need some additional gear for this trip. Follow me.”
Silva stood up. “I’m coming on this one.”
Dr. Snowden nodded at Silva, who nodded back. It was apparent Silva was beginning to loosen up around them. He figured that the last trip must have really changed Silva’s perspective.
Evaran went to the research lab while the others went to get into their suits. They assembled in the main room of the research lab, where Evaran was placing items into several slim metallic backpacks. After a few minutes, he zipped them up and handed them out to everyone.
Dr. Snowden slipped the backpack on over his suit. “This is pretty light.”
“Your suits are helping that. There is food, water, and some additional gear we may need,” said Evaran. He gestured toward the research lab entrance. “Everyone ready?”
They nodded and then followed Evaran out of the research lab and exited the Torvatta. Once they were outside the protective shielding of the Torvatta, they paused. Evaran pulled off two illumination orbs, activated them, and then tossed them into the air, but they paled in comparison to the Torvatta’s lighting.
Dr. Snowden rankled his nose as the smell of stale air and something decaying wafted around. He saw a small hole on one of the sides, with something scurrying into it. He squinted as the reflection off the walls from the Torvatta’s lighting stabbed his eyes. Looking around, he saw the Torvatta was on a raised part of the floor. Evaran had headed off toward a large tunnel. It appeared to be the only way out other than the way they came in. Dr. Snowden noticed everyone else had their helmets on, so he pressed the left button on his neck, causing his to shoot up. He interacted with the suit interface and navigated to the scan section. Activating the crystal scanner popped up an arrow and distance meter on his HUD.
V flew over to Dr. Snowden. “Dr. Snowden?”
“Oh, yeah. Was just caught up in looking around.”
“Acknowledged.”
Dr. Snowden remembered that V liked orb mode, though he thought the body mode would have been more useful. He wondered if Evaran made the decision or if V was given a choice to decide which mode to use or if it was decided on a case-by-case basis. He was hoping they would not run into anything. If they did, he knew Rakar had some heavy firepower. On top of that, they had the repulsing weapon on their suits. He wondered why the suits and the Torvatta had no lethal weapons.
They wound through several large interconnecting tunnels for the next fifteen minutes and entered a large chamber with an opening at the top. The opening was too small for the Torvatta to have come through.
Evaran raised his hand. “Test your repulsing beam deployment. Rakar, please set your weapon on stun.”
“Stun?” asked Rakar.
“We do not want to kill if we do not need to.”
Andia tilted her head at Evaran. “Be hard with a repulsing beam, unless it hit them into the air or something.”
“Or if you placed it close to a vulnerable area,” said Dr. Snowden. He recalled how easy it punched through the transformed creature’s head back on the second colony ship.
Evaran nodded. “If we can minimize that, it would be ideal.”
Rakar sighed as he interacted with a digital interface on his weapon.
Dr. Snowden tested his repulsing weapon deployment, then retracted it back into the suit. Emily and Andia did the same. He noticed Silva looking at his wrist, so he went over and showed him how to do it.
Silva waved his hand around with the repulsing weapon deployed. “I like this, it’s light.”
Dr. Snowden caught his arm mid wave. “Just … make sure you don’t point it at one of us, please.”
Silva nodded and then retracted his weapon. “Got it. These suits are impressive. I like it. We have a similar suit on Kreagus, but it doesn’t have a repulsing weapon on it and is a bit bulkier.”
They entered the large cavern, with the illumination orbs lighting it up, showcasing the ground floor. It was pockmarked with small holes covered with a mesh-like substance.
“V, scout mode.”
“Acknowledged. Scout mode engaged.”
V flew over the ground scanning it while Evaran scanned the immediate surrounding area with his ring. After a few moments, he pointed to the wall. “Stay close to the wall.”
Emily tilted her head at Evaran. “What’d you find?”
Evaran picked up a small rock and tossed it near one of the holes.
Dr. Snowden jumped back as a rustling noise echoed out of the hole and a tubelike creature shot up. A secondary tube filled with sharp teeth protruded out of the main body and grabbed the rock. It then retracted back into the body. The creature sank back into the hole and then rustled the mesh-like substance back into a cover. He was glad they didn’t have those on Earth, as far as he knew.
“We should avoid those,” said Evaran.
Emily gulped and deployed her repulsing weapon. She hugged the wall as they advanced along the side.
They exited the chamber, and after thirty minutes of traversing the cave system, they paused in a small room that had several tunnels branching out.
Evaran extended his hand. A projection showed the arrow pointing ahead.
Dr. Snowden scrutinized the arrow. He pointed to it while looking at Evaran. “Is it me, or is it glowing brighter?”
“It is. Although there is a distance metric, I have adjusted it so that the luminosity increases as we approach the third crystal.”
Dr. Snowden nodded. So far there had been no issues. There was the occasional creature they startled, and they came across a smaller cavern with more of those tube creatures. He could see how easy it would be to get lost down here, and without any type of light, it’d be downright dangerous.
Evaran walked over to Dr. Snowden’s backpack and pulled out several containers, which he passed out. “Drink up. You should stay hydrated.”
They took a break and then headed deeper into the caverns. Several of the tunnels were descending.
Dr. Snowden noticed as they went deeper, the temperature reading went up. He pulled up the suit interface and turned on the mapping feature. It spawned a m
ini map with a red dot indicating their position. They were not too far from where they needed to go.
After thirty minutes, they reached a medium-sized cavern that had a large hole in the middle.
Evaran walked over to the edge and scanned the ground with his ring. He waved for everyone to come over. Once everyone was assembled around him, he pointed at several burn marks in the ground. “These are recent and formed by jump jets. It appears we are not alone down here.”
Emily peered over the edge of the hole. “Quite a drop.”
“Yes, it is,” said Evaran as he walked over to her backpack. He pulled out two cylinders with flat circular ends that extended past the cylinder’s circumference. He pulled them apart, which showed a small glowing ladder between them. He tossed one of the cylinders over the edge and put the other cylinder on the ground, which then buried itself, forming a natural anchor. He pointed down. “Descend one at a time. I will head down first.” He turned and jumped over the edge, with one of the illumination orbs following him.
Andia gasped as she peeked over the edge. “He’s okay and waving at us. How is that possible?”
“He’s a lot stronger than he looks,” said Emily with a smile.
Rakar glanced at Dr. Snowden and shook his head. He gestured at Andia and Emily. “You two go first. Silva and Dr. Snowden can go next, and I’ll go last.”
“Well, aren’t you a gentleman,” said Emily as she smiled at Rakar. She turned around and then crawled down the ladder. After a moment, she was over the edge.
After ten minutes, they were assembled on the ground floor.
“We can leave the ladder for now and grab it on the way out,” said Evaran.
Dr. Snowden scrutinized the ladder. He wondered what material it was made of, and if the glow was natural due to the material or something else. The rungs were solid as he had descended, and he wagered that given it was Evaran tech, it would probably be more durable than he imagined.
They walked for several minutes through more tunnels.
Dr. Snowden noticed these tunnels were wider and that the temperature shown on the HUD was decreasing. He thought it was odd, but it did not impact him since his temperature control was on.
