D'mok Revival 4: New Eden

by Michael Zummo

  “Real-time updates directly from their internal sensor arrays,” Toriko finished, triumphant. “Maybe they scrubbed their data, but the infrastructure here is still working. I can see the entire station.”

  “Purg sisters 1, Nukari nothing,” Maro said with a celebratory high-paw.

  “You know, we did help,” Minea added.

  “Until you got hacked,” Toriko chided.

  Minea’s face grew dark. “Oh no, you didn’t just say that.”

  “I think I did.”

  “For one thing, it was Bob’s—”

  “Guys—guys!” Mencari was staring at the map.

  “What do you want?” Minea said, annoyed.

  “What is that swarm of little red dots?”

  “Um … that would be a mass of soldiers … just on the other side of that door,” Toriko said, pointing to the far wall.

  “Katen—any other Nukari beasts?” Naijen asked.

  Katen shook his head.

  Naijen pouted. “Man, this is gonna be too easy.”

  * * * * * *

  “Run, ya cowards!” Naijen bellowed as he chased the last of the Nukari soldiers down the corridor.

  Mencari watched the dots on the map. Naijen needed to be more careful. He could be headed right into an ambush. What if the Nukari had gear that prevented even their own internal scanners from showing them? Naijen’s white dot intersected with the little red dots, moments before making them blink out. The reds all disappeared one by one.

  “If there are prisoners here, the area with the highest probability of alien containment would be here,” Bob said as the large room filled with purple dots highlighted one floor down.

  Mencari stared at the display. The dots were tightly packed, and not moving. He found himself fidgeting with his wedding band. He couldn’t shake that odd feeling. Was Rhyiel here? That same old question began to echo in his mind, Will I find them today? Something inside him kept answering back, Yes. “Are you sure they’re people?”

  “Sensors indicate beings of various types. They appear distinctly different from the Nukari detected elsewhere in the facility.”

  “Then we head there next. With all that appears to be left behind, there must be someone in charge. If we get to the prisoners, we’ll make that person appear. If we can’t get data, then we’ll capture one of the Nukari. Let’s move out.”

  * * * * * *

  “This ain’t even a challenge,” Naijen bellowed.

  He was right, Mencari thought. There were no Nukari Beast Warriors or enhanced soldiers. Maybe the Nukari had already moved out, leaving the station with this skeleton crew. Normal soldiers were no match for the D’mok Warriors. In no time they stood before a short corridor that ended in thick steel doors. On the other side was the large room with the purple dots. Only two red dots appeared on the other side.

  He noticed Allia looking around, scanning along the walls as if searching for something. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. It’s just … I don’t know. It just feels funny.”

  Her words haunted him. She felt the same thing he did when they arrived. “What feels funny?”

  “Sometimes I feel creatures around, but then it goes away.”

  Katen said something similar as well. What was going on here? “Toriko, anything on the station scanners?”

  She shook her head. “Nope.”

  “I think your little head got smacked too many times,” Naijen said. “If you’re scared, go. Leave it to the real warriors.”

  The sound of a generator revving filled the air. Mencari noticed small arcs of electricity jumping between Toriko’s gloved fingers. “What’s happened too many times?” she said, her tone dark and sadistic.

  Naijen flinched, then barked, “Let’s stay focused.”

  Mencari looked to Katen and thought, Disable the guards.

  With a menacing grin, Katen closed his eyes and responded telepathically. By your command. A lavender aura radiated from Katen’s body. His face contorted in a silent snarl. “So much interference … wait … I can feel them.…”

  A terrified shriek came from beyond the door. The two red dots on the display blinked out.

  Katen half bowed and said, “The room is now Nukari-free.”

  Wielding Katen’s abilities made many things so much easier. Perhaps it should have bothered Mencari that his beast ally used mind control to terminate the two Nukari, but it didn’t. This was war, Kiyanna would agree, and you did what you needed to. “Now we get through there,” he said, pointing to the thick metal doors.

  “Gunna blast through!” Naijen howled, his golden aura radiating.

  “No!” Mencari said grabbing his arm. “If those are prisoners, your blast or the door fragments could kill them.”

  “So how you wanna do this?” he snipped.

  “Can’t you just hack it open?” Allia asked Toriko.

  Toriko shook her head. “I don’t have any command-level access. If it was possible I’d already have it.”

  “I have another idea,” Maro said, pulling a small vial from a concealed pocket.

  “What, you gunna swallow that and turn into a robot or something?” Naijen said.

  “Hey, that’s actually a cool idea,” Toriko started before Maro waved her off.

  “They’re called nanites,” Maro snipped. “Remember the black cloud that attacked you when you went up against me on Tericn?”

  Mencari remembered. It was like a swarm of black insects, biting into whatever they touched.

  “I don’t really see nothing,” Naijen scoffed.

  “What’s the plan?” Mencari asked.

  Maro whispered just loud enough for him to hear. “They’ll eat through the door. Toriko’s mini-drones can go in and make sure there’s no additional surprises inside.”

  “Decreta, Cogeni, Katen, keep the corridor secure,” Mencari said. “Naijen, follow my lead. Toriko, be ready to fly your drones in.”

  Naijen snorted.

  Toriko touched her armguard, and pulled out two small spheres. “Spinning up the drones.” The balls extended into doughnut shapes, with the bottoms glowing with a gentle blue light. They floated into the air, and hovered. “They’re good.”

  “Whenever you’re ready, Maro,” Mencari said.

  Maro shook the canister with a smile. In a moment it was a blur whizzing down the corridor. A crack, followed by the rain of shrapnel, echoed as the contents spread across the metal doorway and surrounding wall.

  Mencari saw a dark film forming at the impact area as an eerie, almost sizzling sound filled the hall.

  “Give it thirty seconds, and the whole thing will be ready to fall,” she said.

  CHAPTER 8

  The Snare

  The dissolving remnants of the metal doors clanged to the floor, and Toriko’s drones whizzed inside. Through the augmented reality band, Mencari saw multiple night-vision views of the darkened room beyond. He also noticed new radar displays projecting beside Maro and Toriko.

  “No energy signatures,” Toriko said.

  “Negative on additional soldiers,” Maro added.

  “The room is clean,” Toriko yelled.

  Mencari yelled, “Move!”

  The world around him fell into a blur as he led the charge. He couldn’t get inside fast enough.

  Rushing in, the room was cold and smelled like a ripe latrine. Tiny spotlights mounted in the nearest corners provided the only light. There laid the bodies of the black-clad Nukari soldiers. Both remained motionless, twisted in unnatural poses. The whirring from Toriko’s drones zipping away made the room feel large and cavernous.

  “Let’s light this place up!” he said, allowing his golden aura to swell around him. The others followed suit. In moments, pulsing glows illuminated the area around them. He could see clusters of prisoners lashed to the sides of tall, thin pyramid-like structures. Aliens both strange and familiar were haphazardly mixed together. Tattered clothing draped from their bodies, discolored and saturated in a brine of their
own making. Rivers of dark, clumpy sludge ran from the pyramids and joined in channels grooved along the stone floor.

  “Looks like twenty prisoner clusters,” Toriko said, reviewing the projected radar view before her.

  He cautiously approached the nearest one, and found himself staring directly into the face of an African Human. A spark of hope flared within him, along with a sense of horror. His wife and son could yet be among these captives. He looked into the African’s eyes and saw a distant, glassy gaze above a gaping mouth. The man was alive, but in some sort of altered state. Questions flooded his mind. Drugged? Could this be how the Nukari transport their prisoners? Or maybe this is how they keep prisoners while hostage? Is it permanent? Could Anaka and Rhyiel be like this? Would they be all right?

  “What do we do?” Allia asked.

  Given the number of units, with four prisoners each, that would be eighty prisoners. “We get them down. But we’re going to need to help them out of here.”

  They couldn’t do this alone. “Una, contact New Eden, tell them we’ve found around eighty prisoners,” he said into the air. “New Eden needs to send more people and ships—now.”

  “Understood, Rhysus,” Una said. “Maybe our find will convince them to find more resources.… I’ll contact New Eden and get us help.”

  A vision of his wife and son strapped to the pyramid contraption overran his thoughts. Their eyes were glassy, mouths open. A swell of horror turned into an outcry. “Anaka! Rhyiel!”

  Nothing. No response at all. But if they were drugged, like the African, they wouldn’t be able to respond. The feeling of his son being near grew stronger. Panic overwhelmed him. Instinct drove him forward, running madly through the maze of prisoners.

  Where are you? I know I can feel you.

  Passing cluster after cluster, his desperation grew. Please be here. With each Human, his heart leaped, only to burn with disappointment. You have to be … The final cluster of pyramids was upon him. Four left. Anaka? Three left. Rhyiel? Two left. Please be here. His stomach soured as he approached the end pyramid. Please.

  The plea faded as he saw the face of the last prisoner. It wasn’t Human. Its gentle, sloth-like face reminded him of Eden’s fallen Commander Tenrl. He stared for a moment, somehow hoping his eyes just deceived him. He blinked with the false hope the alien was really his wife or son. The aching reality set in. They’re not here.

  His conscience echoed with patronizing comfort. This isn’t the first time, and won’t be the last. They’re out there somewhere. I just have to keep looking.

  But even now, the feeling of his son near was so strong. Maybe it was just a delusion—wishful thinking. It didn’t matter; whatever he thought he’d felt, it was wrong.

  His eyes glanced back at the pyramids of prisoners. He learned one thing from his quick tour: the Nukari prisoners were in bad shape. The foul stench seemed even stronger at this end of the room. The grooves in the floor grew larger over here, and emptied into some sort of sludge pool against the wall.

  “This one’s too heavy for me to move alone. He looks bad too,” Maro said.

  His mind prodded him. They need you. Stay focused and get going.

  The glow around him strengthened, casting light on more prisoners as he headed toward Maro. “Cogeni, we’re going to need your healing abilities here.”

  “I’m coming,” returned through the communicator.

  As he reached Maro who was undoing the prisoner’s lashings, he noticed Allia staring at the walls. “Allia, can you help me?”

  She ignored him, continuing her deep gaze.

  “Allia!” Mencari said, demanding.

  “Sorry! Yeah … but … I just … something’s not right.” Shaking her head, she led Ichini over to help free another prisoner.

  Pressure built around his chest, as if it was being crushed by a large hand. Allia was correct, something was wrong.

  The more he thought about mission, the more he worried. The Nukari station had few defenses and not many guards. Even if they were scuttling the whole thing, why leave so many living prisoners behind, just to be relocated?

  He undid the last of the restraints and helped the scale-covered alien to sit. A pure white glow surrounded the alien as Cogeni knelt beside it, praying, an ancient relic held tight in his hand. The alien’s body seemed to soak up the light, and with that, a spark of life returned to its eyes.

  “Help is on the way, Rhysus. They should be here in minutes,” Una said through the communicator.

  “Let’s make this fast. I don’t want to be here any longer than we need to be.”

  Katen’s voice echoed in his mind. I will help. No sooner had he heard it, Katen dashed into the room, going over to the nearest prisoner.

  Despite Cogeni’s healing, the prisoners remained oddly lethargic. At least most of them could walk with little assistance now. Mencari had them gather by the exit door as they continued to work their way deeper into the room.

  They’d only freed twelve prisoners when the lights in the corners began to flicker.

  “Rhysus,” Allia said, her tone thick with concern.

  She was staring into the darkness on the far side, her body rigid. A foreboding covered him like a damp blanket. He’d seen that very look on her face before—and it was never good.

  Rhythmic clacking came from the darkened side of the room. Then a hellish chorus of grunts and muffled screams echoed.

  Minea’s voice squealed through the communicator. “There’s a swarm of new lifeforms pouring into the far end of the room.”

  With a motion, Toriko called up a display. Even at a distance Mencari could see swarms of green dots flooding in. The Purg sisters cried out, “Eudora!” in unison.

  “Soldiers?” he asked.

  “No. Creatures. Get out of there!” Minea yelled.

  With a wheeze and a click, Bob added through the communicator, “Affirmative: biologically similar to creatures encountered on Argosy and Abunai.”

  He gripped his fists, and summoned more of his power. Pushing his protective golden aura, his radiant glow cut deeper into the darkness. In the light at the fringes were shiny black creatures scampering about on all fours. Powerful forward legs were longer than the back, with longer claws that made that clacking noise as the creatures moved. The beasts looked almost cat-like, similar to the ones encountered on Naijen’s world when they first visited. One looked his way. It wore some type of techno helmet, which dug into its skull. His golden aura danced upon its two large, solid-black eyes. A ravenous overbite of serrated teeth dripped with saliva, as twin tails fanned with interest. Bob was right; it also resembled creatures found on Argosy, Nikko and Cogeni’s world.

  The beast turned and lunged at one of the bound prisoners, its teeth ripping deeply into the flesh.

  He should have known something was wrong. Only a few guards for protection, Katen saying there were too many minds, Allia looking at the walls. If the creatures were there the entire time, then the scanning systems Toriko and Maro tapped into were not configured properly, or … We were set up.

  “Outta my way!” Naijen said, barreling into the room, Skar bared. His golden aura split the darkness as he ran at the nearest beasts. Running into a cluster of the creatures, he began to cleave them apart.

  Katen, likewise, dashed along. He threw a handful of seeds, then lifted his staff. The crystal that sat atop it glowed, and the seeds burst into tiny sprouts. Like a river of green they grew large, and covered in thorns. They rammed into a growing horde, skewering some through while tangling around others. Those snared were chopped to bits as the thorny vines twisted and constricted the prey.

  Mencari’s heart pounded. What do we do? He looked at those still bound, then at those freed—who now cowered behind his team. Who knew how many creatures there were, or if they’d be able to make it out in one piece, much less get any of the freed prisoners out?

  “Rhysus …” Allia was backing away from the approaching creatures.

  I know, I
’m thinking. It wasn’t possible to save everyone. He didn’t like it, but he had to triage the situation.

  “Minea, is the corridor clear?” he asked.

  “So far, yes!”

  “You’re not thinking of leaving the others!” Allia protested.

  “Everyone, fall back into the corridor! Protect those we’ve already freed.”

  “But—”

  Mencari cut Allia off with, “Move now!”

  “I ain’t leaving,” Naijen snarled as he cut down another beast.

  “That’s an order!”

  Without missing a beat, Naijen sliced through two more beasts and scoffed, “Kiyanna ain’t here.”

  Katen and the others retreated into the corridor.

  “They’re still flooding in—there’s no stop to them!” Minea cried.

  They only freed thirteen captives. Thirteen is still better than zero, Mencari thought. Right now he had to focus on keeping them alive. Waiting for Naijen’s change of heart was something he couldn’t afford. He focused, gathering his power. A radiant ball of white light formed in his upturned palm. He reached toward the ceiling. The ball of light distended and ruptured in a blazing beam of light. Making a slow arc, the beam cut into superstructure above. Sections of ceiling began to crash down.

  “What are you doing?” Allia yelled.

  He ignored her and continued. Naijen cried out, dodging around the falling debris. A few of the creatures followed, but were cut down even as Naijen retreated.

  “What’s your game—friendly fire, Rylie?” Naijen said, enraged.

  “Back to the landing bay,” Mencari barked. “GO!”

  Just a little bit more. As the last of the ceiling collapsed, Mencari turned and followed.

  “Naijen, Katen, Cogeni, take the lead. Decreta and I will take the rear. Allia, Ichini, Maro, Toriko, Cerna—help the prisoners.”

  “New enemy starfighters have appeared. Our Be’Inaxi escort is moving to intercept,” Una said through the communicator.

  The out-of-hand situation was getting more so. “Where’s our support ships from New Eden?”