by R. E. Weber
He looked back at Larissa, a tear welling in his eye. He had failed her. He had promised her that they would survive, but now that wasn’t possible. In less than a minute, the shield would collapse, and they would be instantly vaporised. At least it would be quick. At least…
Of course, Larissa. There was another power supply in her head, which could power the shield if their companions could be linked. That would at least extend their time. It was a chance.
Theo reached down to his utility belt, opened one of the compartments and pulled out a thin, silvery wire. He snapped off a length of about seventy centimetres, and felt around at the back of his head for the tiny indentation marking the emergency power port. It didn’t take long to find the port at the base of his skull and push the end of the wire through the thin layer of skin that had grown over it, into the hole beneath. As soon as the wire had been pushed in as far as it would go, he felt a click as four tiny clamps locked it into position. He gave it a light tug to ensure the connection was tight. The wire seemed to be holding. He ran his fingers along the wire until the tip was between his fingertips, and pulled it around towards the back of Larissa’s head.
‘Larissa, don’t talk, just listen. I’m going to insert a wire into the emergency power port on your companion. It’s gonna link your power supply to mine so I can keep the shield working for longer. I want you to keep holding onto me. Just say yes if you understand.’
‘Yes,’ whimpered a frightened voice.
Holding the tip of the wire in one hand, he felt at the back of her skull for the tiny indentation with the other. But when his hand found the same position as his own power port, he couldn’t feel anything. Was it actually there? Or was his companion different to Larissa’s?
Threat warning: Companion power reserves below recommended levels. Estimated time until shield depletion, 0.6 seh’nu.
Desperately, Theo ran his fingers around the back of Larissa’s head, searching for the tiny indentation. But there was nothing.
‘Larissa, where’s your companion’s emergency power port?’
‘I… I don’t know.’
‘Larissa, I need to know, now. Where is it? First Mentor must have told you after it’d been installed.’
‘I… I’m not sure, I can’t remember.’
‘OK, Larissa, don’t panic. Take a deep breath and think back to the day you had it installed. Think about where it really hurt after you woke up.’
Larissa was silent for a moment.
‘My eyes, just behind my eyes.’
‘That’s good, Larissa. Anywhere else?’
‘The side of my head. Just above my ear.’
‘Which ear?’
‘Left, I think.’
Theo put his hand behind her temple and slid it back and forth, pressing gently but firmly on her scalp. Nothing.
Threat warning: Companion power reserves below recommended levels. Estimated time until shield depletion, 0.3 seh’nu.
‘No, my left,’ said Larissa.
Passing the wire from one hand to the other, he felt around behind her other temple. Still nothing.
‘Up a bit.’
He ran his fingertips up and down her skull, her shiny hair slipping easily through his fingers. Then his index finger found the tiny indentation. Relieved, he pressed his finger just beneath the spot, pulled the cable around with his other hand and pushed the tip through the thin layer of skin – ignoring Larissa’s yelp – and into the tiny hole. The wire clicked into place and the connection felt firm. The power line was in place.
Threat warning: Companion power reserves critical. Estimated time until shield depletion, 0.1 seh’nu.
For one heart-stopping moment, the message remained visible on his companion, and the terrifying thought that the linkup had failed flashed through Theo’s mind. Then another message appeared:
Alternate power supply detected. Re-routing...
Theo looked at the translucent shield around him, which now seemed to be flickering as if it was about to fail. Then it became steady once more.
Alternate power reserves routed to personal shield. Estimated time until shield depletion, 2.3 seh’nu.
Stunned at how close they had been to being incinerated, Theo let out an audible sigh of relief. Then he looked back at Larissa and smiled.
‘Thanks, Lari.’
Larissa opened her eyes and looked back at him, still clearly very frightened. ‘You’re welcome,’ she said weakly.
They continued to plunge towards the planet and gradually the orange glow around them diminished before vanishing completely. Knowing that the oxygen levels high in the atmosphere would be dangerously low, Theo decided to leave the shield active for as long as possible to allow them to continue to breathe normally.
Threat warning: Companion power reserves critical. Estimated time until shield depletion, 0.05 seh’nu.
The shield was going to fail at any moment.
‘OK, take a deep breath and hold it for as long as possible. And whatever you do, don’t let go of me.’
Simultaneously, they took deep breaths, closed their eyes and held each other as tightly as possible.
The shield around them flickered briefly before disappearing, and a wall of freezing air slammed into them, hitting them so hard they were almost knocked unconscious. The searing pain as the freezing air tore at their bodies was beyond belief, and for a moment Theo felt like Larissa was going to be yanked away from him. However, the hyper-skin bonding of his suit had taken a firm grip of Larissa’s and glued them together. However much pain they were in now, they had somehow survived re-entry. All he had to do now was to figure out how to slow their fall. That had to be easy compared to what they had just done. Or so he hoped.
As they tumbled through the freezing air, Theo continued to hold his breath, despite the burning of his lungs and the dizziness in his head. How much longer before he could breathe? When would the oxygen levels be enough to sustain them? He looked back at Larissa. Her eyes, although closed, were no longer squeezed tightly shut, and her open mouth was flapping around in the rushing air. She was no longer holding her breath. She had passed out.
As panic gripped Theo, he could no longer hold his own breath, and suddenly the air burst out of his lungs. Involuntarily, he started hyperventilating, desperate to find oxygen, and to his great relief, his lungs found something. It was thin, cold and insubstantial, but it was there. There was oxygen in the air. As they continued to tumble through the increasingly thick atmosphere, a rush of air forced open Larissa’s mouth, and she gasped before opening her eyes. She was still alive.
OK, so they were both alive and could breathe, so the next thing was to slow their fall. At the Raltath Cascades, he had used an anti-graviton pulse to slow himself, but with their companion power reserves depleted, that didn’t seem to be an option. His best guess was that they had a minute before they hit the ocean, but would that be enough time for their power cells to recharge? It seemed unlikely – it had, after all, depleted his reserves in a single burst the last time he had used it. The shield might work, but again it drained power very quickly. Would a short burst just before they hit the water protect them? There was no way to know for certain.
As they span through the air, gasping for breath, Theo caught a glimpse of the ocean surface racing up to meet them. He hadn’t realised how close they were. Frantically, he tried to open his companion and ready himself to activate his shield, but there was nothing on the screen. For a brief moment, he stared back at Larissa, the panic clearly visible in his eyes. Then they slammed into the ocean and blackness engulfed them both.
15 – Sink or Swim
Threat neutralisation activated. Reactive hardening engaged. Suit integrity sustained. Protection extended to connected suit.
With a sudden gasp, Theo opened his eyes to see bright sunlight streaming through the thin, wispy clouds above him. He could feel the cool ocean lapping around his face, occasionally plopping droplets of mildly salty water into his mouth
. The air felt fresh, warm and still. Somehow, he had survived, again.
Refocussing his blurry eyes, he read his companion display. His suit had become rigid at the moment of impact and protected him as he hit the water – clearly the reactive hardening required very little power. And because their suits had been joined together by the hyper-skin bonding, the chain reaction had spread to Larissa’s suit, hardening that too. Larissa. Where was she?
Floating spread-eagled in the water, Theo looked to his right. There was nothing but gentle waves of deep blue water as far as the eye could see. Then he looked to his left. Several metres away, he could see a black shape, bobbing in the water.
Panicking at the sight of Larissa’s motionless body, Theo pulled and kicked to turn himself over. Surprisingly, considering the speed he had hit the ocean, there was very little pain. Then he swam towards her as fast as he could.
As he drew close, Larissa convulsed violently as if she’d been electrocuted. Then she opened her eyes. She was still alive.
‘Larissa,’ spluttered Theo as he swam to her side and began treading water. ‘Are you OK?’
Larissa coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of water. Then she pulled herself upright in the water and turned to look at Theo.
‘I… I, oh god, Theo. I thought we were dead.’
‘Well we’re not, unless of course heaven’s really wet.’
‘B... but how did we do it?’
‘We’re still alive because of my state-of-the-art suit. W… when we hit the water, it became rigid to protect me. Because I was stuck to you, it did the same to you as well.’
‘When we were falling and I looked at you, I thought you were going to be the last thing I ever saw.’
‘Good job we survived then, isn’t it? How’s your arm?’
Larissa rolled her shoulder and then flexed her elbow. ‘It seems to be OK. I guess that tablet did the trick.’
‘Good. Our suits should keep us buoyant so we’re not gonna drown anytime soon.’
‘That’s OK, I’m a pretty good swimmer anyway.’
‘Good. Something tells me you’ll need to be.’
‘Have you activated your distress beacon?’
‘No I haven’t but I’ll do that now. Good call, Lari.’
Theo opened his companion and selected the option. Within seconds, a response came back:
Power level insufficient for beacon activation
‘Damn these blasted companions and their power,’ grumbled Theo.
‘What’s wrong? Didn’t it send?’
‘No. My companion needs time to recharge.’
‘Let me try.’
Larissa flicked her eyes from side to side and waited. Then her face dropped.
‘Same. Not enough power.’
‘When I get back I’m gonna recommend better power supplies for these things, even if it means having a dirty great battery sewn into me. Every time I need it, there’s no power.’
As he looked at Larissa paddling in the water, her eyes began to roll as if she was about to pass out. Then she started to retch.
‘Lari, put your hand over…’
It was too late. Larissa vomited in the water between them. She turned away from Theo for a moment, cleared her throat and spat out the remaining sick. Then she turned back to him.
‘Sorry mate, I felt really dizzy. I couldn’t help it.’
‘That’s OK. It’s probably the low oxygen and all that yucky seawater. Just keep still and don’t exert yourself. You don’t need to paddle to keep from sinking. Save your energy. Your body will soon adapt.’
Larissa stopped paddling and let her arms float lifelessly in the water. ‘So what do we do now, just wait?’
‘Afraid so.’
Larissa glanced up into the sky to see a few remaining fragments of the station streaking into the atmosphere and burning up.
‘S… so what happened to the station? Why did it fall apart like that?’
‘We were attacked with some kind of weapon I think,’ said Theo trying to sound as vague as possible so he didn’t let on that he knew more than he was supposed to.
‘But I didn’t see any energy bolts or missiles. All I saw was that glowing ball. Was that part of it?’
‘Yeah, I reckon so.’
‘But it just seemed to, you know, cut the station to pieces. I’ve never heard of a weapon that can do that. Weng’s told me all about the stuff they use in the Affinity Navy, but he never mentioned anything like that.’
‘Yeah, it’s a new one on me too.’
Larissa looked quizzically at Theo.
‘Theo, is there something you’re not telling me?’
‘No, why?’
‘Why? Because you’re supposed to be a technology expert. You’re usually falling over yourself to tell me about stuff like this, but you’ve hardly said a word. You must have a theory.’
‘Well, my best guess is that it’s some kind of enemy weapon. Some new technology we don’t know about.’
‘You mean, the Metah Dah could have a weapon like that?’
‘Possibly, yes.’
Larissa pondered his response for a moment.
‘You know, that’s the second time you’ve nearly died in the last few weeks.’
‘I know. But the waterfall was just an accident. I’ve seen the official report. There was no evidence it was deliberate,’ said Theo, knowing full well that the Star Agency report had indicated the opposite.
‘Sorry, but I don’t buy that and I don’t think you do either. That wasn’t an accident. I think somebody arranged for that to happen.’
‘I don’t know, I…’
‘Once is an accident, twice is deliberate. I’m sorry to say I think somebody’s after you. Ruby and me just got in the way.’
‘Lari, who’d want to kill me? I’m not important enough. All I do is test technology.’
‘Well something’s going on. I don’t believe in bad luck and I know you don’t either.’
‘But I’ve been in the Affinity for over a year and I’ve been perfectly safe. Why now all of a sudden?’ Again, Theo knew full well he was lying.
‘Well think about it. You’ve spent most of your time on Polisium Prime. Everywhere you go, you’re being watched. There are security drones everywhere. But out here, in the middle of nowhere, nobody’s watching us, are they?’
‘Not now the station’s been destroyed, no.’
Larissa glanced back into the sky for a moment, then back at Theo.
‘So how long ‘til we get rescued?’
‘Assuming I can activate my distress beacon soon, a few hours.’
‘A few hours? Anything could happen in that time.’
‘Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Our suits will keep us afloat and warm. We’ll be safe until they arrive. It’ll be boring, that’s all.’
Larissa glanced around at the deep blue water, clearly agitated. Then as she looked back at him, the look of concern changed to one of horror.
‘Larissa, don’t panic. I’m sure we’ll survive and…’
Theo stopped dead midsentence, realising that Larissa was actually looking past him rather than at him.
‘Lari, w…what is it?’
‘Oh… my… god,’ cried Larissa, terror etched onto her face.
His heart thumping hard, Theo turned around in the water. Then his mouth dropped open. About a kilometre away, the ocean seemed to be swelling upwards as if an enormous sphere was pushing its way up and out of the water. Instinctively, he turned on his companion’s zoom and examined the swell. But aside from a few white crests of foam on the swollen mass, there was nothing else worthy of note. Nothing other than the fact that it was moving towards them. Fast.
‘What in god’s name is that?’
‘I... I think it’s a…’
‘A what, Lari?’
‘A…a teracomar.’
‘A what?’
‘A teracomar. They’re like, well, sort of whales, but bigger.’
‘H… how much bigger?’ said Theo, shivering. Then he realised that it was a really stupid question. He could see how much bigger.
‘Three hundred metres long,’ said Larissa shaking. ‘About seven thousand tons.’
‘And what do they eat?’ said Theo swallowing as he spoke.
‘Just about anything. They’re like vacuum cleaners. They suck up everything in their path – plants, animals, the lot.’
As they stared at the approaching mass, a row of sharp fins broke the surface, creating a series of white foamy trails in the churning water.
‘What are we gonna do, Lari?’
‘Well they’re not hunters as such so it won’t come after us. If we get out of its way, w…we should be safe.’
‘But we’ll never…’
‘Stop talking and get swimming, Theo.’
Larissa turned to her left, kicked hard, began swinging her arms rhythmically, and was soon powering through the ocean like a torpedo. She was clearly a very strong swimmer and within seconds was several metres away. Theo took a deep breath and launched himself after her, pulling himself through the water as fast as he possibly could, his arms flailing clumsily as he splashed water everywhere.
Knowing that the low oxygen levels would exhaust her more quickly, Larissa swam in short bursts, stopping every twenty metres or so to catch her breath and allow Theo to draw level.
‘We’re not moving fast enough,’ panted Larissa as she glanced at the gigantic swell.
