Braedon peered out the front viewport. “Where are all the cities? There were millions of people on this world,” he said. “We should be right above the capital city. There should be shops, restaurants, homes… Even the transport station is gone!”
Iza let out a forced breath. She glanced over and caught the wonder in Cierra’s eyes. She seemed more fascinated than disturbed by the apparent changes to the planet. “I suppose you don’t see a problem with this?” she asked, her steely gaze on Cierra’s round gray eyes.
“I assume you mean plant life? I do not. I think if it were possible, every planet in the Taran Empire would be better off with this kind of ecological development.” Cierra pursed her lips.
“Redevelopment,” Trix corrected. “This planet was already engineered by Tarans from its natural state to support colonization. However, it has now been redeveloped. Transformed. The process is unlike anything in my database. And the changes are not only on the surface. The crust of the planet has been reshaped.”
“What could possibly transform a planet so quickly?” Karter asked from the back of the shuttle.
“It is beyond known Taran science,” Trix replied.
Iza held in a swear. She’d known better than to respond to the distress call, but they were here now. There was no way the others would leave without getting answers. “All right let’s focus on making contact with the people down here. Keep us low.”
“You got it,” Braedon said and banked to port, dropping them to just above a row of crumbled buildings with trees sprouting from the rubble.
“These trees show years of growth,” Cierra observed.
“Are you sensing anything?” Iza asked.
Cierra closed her eyes then shook her head.
“Of course not; that would be too easy. Trix, just put us down as close to the distress signal’s origin as you can manage.”
“That is going to be very difficult.”
“Why? Don’t we have the coordinates?”
“The coordinates now read at sixty-four meters below the surface of the ground. There, near that large body of water.”
Braedon gaped. “This planet didn’t have any oceans—just the underground water reservoirs in the caverns. What’s going on here?”
“It might be a good time to invest in the new waterfront real estate,” Karter said in a flat tone that Iza couldn’t tell was a joke or not. “What was their primary industry?”
“Uephus had very few exports,” Trix said. “Their primary industries were textiles manufacturing and archaeological research.”
“Diggers?” Iza asked.
“Yes, and notably, the homeworld of Raquel Calveras.”
Iza ground her teeth together to keep from saying anything more about the woman. Three months ago, she’d betrayed them to Victor Arvonen, kidnapping her and turning her over to the man for his sick experiments. How had I missed the signs? Rachael had come on so strong, it should have given her away. She’d made Iza feel like she’d been missing something, not having another woman as a close friend with whom she could share her feelings. But that friendship was a ruse; her real goal had been the sphere.
Iza had to pull herself away from the tarnished memories to focus on the lush foliage of the trees and the grass growing wild as if it had been there for decades. The only evidence of the old Uephus were the tops of several crumbling buildings sticking out of the ground. They’d once been the tallest buildings in the city.
“Is it safe to land?” Karter asked.
Trix evaluated the newest set of readings. “The tectonic activity appears to have subsided. However, I advise we continue monitoring the planet’s climate, since we do not yet know the cause of the changes.”
“Let’s keep this visit short,” Iza said. “Put us down there.” She pointed to a small clearing surrounded by trees.
Once they were safely on the ground, Cierra was the first to climb out of the shuttle with her bag of medicinal supplies. As her bare feet touched the grass outside, she closed her eyes and took in deep breaths.
Iza followed her out with Atano on her heels, curled tail wagging. When he saw the grass, he started dancing around, anxious for permission to explore. “Go on,” Iza said, pointing toward a nearby clump of trees. The dog didn’t hesitate dashing off, the curl of his white tail an identifying flag in the distance while he kept his black nose to the ground.
“It’s real,” Cierra said with wonder as she touched the leaves of a nearby bush.
“It’s hot.” Iza removed her jacket and tossed it back to Braedon, who was still on the shuttle.
“It may not have happened the same way, but it feels as real as the gardens on Leveckis,” Cierra continued as if Iza hadn’t spoken. “The leaves and the trees are all doing what they would if they had been planted here, but they aren’t native to this planet. In fact, most of the plant life here is not native to this part of the galaxy.”
“So, where did it all come from?” Karter asked, his pulse handgun out as if ready to confront any unknown adversary.
Cierra eyed him. “What are you worried about? Getting snuck up on by a tree?”
Karter seemed to realize his mistake and returned the gun to its holster.
Iza stood still, listening to the light breeze that lifted the ends of her hair. Strange that a planet so lush had no other sounds on the wind. It was as if it were plucked out of the pages of an old book. It was exactly like the small colony that Cierra had settled and cultivated. No wonder she was smiling and practically dancing for joy in the meadow where they’d arrived.
“How many people are supposed to be on this planet?” Iza asked.
“This planet is home to over three hundred million people and seventeen thousand species of animals,” Trix answered.
Iza didn’t like the way things were going. “Scan for communications signals. We need to find those people.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Karter held out his hands. “There’s no one here.”
“I hate to agree with Karter as much as the next guy, but maybe a tree ate them.”
“I never said—”
Iza cut off his next words, her nerves on edge. “Well, the Enforcers should be here, at least. An entire planet can’t just be transformed without anyone knowing about it!”
“We must be the first ones to receive the distress signal,” Braedon said. He turned in a slow circle. “Hello!” His voice died on the wind.
Iza strained to hear a response, but none came. The sweet smell in the air and the light breeze should be comforting. Yet, the world was too eerily quiet and still. There wasn’t a bird or insect in the sky.
Her shoulder’s tensed, and she called the dog as they began to roam away from the shuttle to look for clues. She walked along the edge of the meadow with the dog trotting at her side until she saw something that didn’t seem to fit.
Braedon moved to pick it up. “Is that a—”
“A child’s shoe.” Cierra took it from Braedon. She held up the small red shoe with two fingers to examine it, then she looked around as if the child it belonged to would step out from behind a bush with one barefoot.
“I don’t like this,” Braedon said. “What if whatever happened here happens again?”
Iza’s thoughts circled the same question. Whatever had caused this level of change might return to finish the job of wiping out every bit of life left.
“There is a faint communications signal coming from the building ahead,” Trix announced, pointing in the direction.
“Lead the way,” Iza said, and the others fell into step behind.
“How long should it take to alter the environment of a planet like this using current technological processes?” Iza asked the android.
“Decades, most likely. So, when it comes to Uephus, I am aware of no technology that could have so rapidly reshaped this world. This is what scientists call a catastrophic event of epic proportions.”
“This place was engineered.” Cierra dug her toes into the di
rt and sighed. “The design elements are obvious. There isn’t enough of the wild visible in the landscape or the formation of the tree lines. Walking barefoot, you get used to certain things—pebbles, jutting rocks displaced by animals, plants pushing upward in their fight for life. This feels new, untouched, unnatural.”
Cierra halted, holding up a hand to indicate they should all stop. “There’s someone here.”
CHAPTER THREE
Iza and the others followed Cierra as she glided around branches and over bushes, careful not to disturb anything larger than a blade of grass. The strange distress call and the altered planet with no wildlife had warning bells going off in in Iza’s head, driving her to keep a more cautious pace as she trekked toward the unknown.
Cierra led the way through the dense and eerily empty trees toward the buildings in the distance. She stopped at the tree line, and the others fanned out to her sides. She whistled for Atano to stay close at her side; she wanted him nearby in case there was trouble.
Several meters from where they stood, a half-swallowed building jutted out of the ground. Vines and leaves clung to the bottom and snaked up the sides to the second row of windows. Based on the architecture, the building must have once scraped the sky. Most of the windows were missing or broken, and Iza thought she saw a small pale face in one before it darted back into the shadows.
A small group of people covered in gray dust, dried blood, and tattered clothing spilled out of one of the archways leading into the building. Iza was grateful to see their hands were empty. They were probably in shock and hadn’t thought to protect themselves against anyone who might be coming to take advantage of their misfortune.
Iza chastised herself for thinking the worst; living in the Outer Colonies her whole life had made her jaded and cynical.
She raised her right hand in the formal Taran greeting as the group approached. “Hello. We received a distress call from Luxi Song. Is she among you?” Iza asked scanning their shocked faces for the one she’d seen on her holodisplay.
“Yes.” The response came from a woman at the back of the group. The people in front of her parted to make room as she limped forward, leaning on a long metal pole for support. The metal vibrated with a slight clang as it led her across the fresh grass. “I’m Luxi Song.”
Like the others, Luxi was covered in gray dust from head to toe. A trickle of blood had dried and crusted on her temple, where it then trailed down the side of her narrow face. If she hadn’t come forward, Iza wouldn’t have recognized the woman even close up.
Luxi coughed into her hand, and Cierra stepped forward to offer her a canteen of water. Luxi drank it down without hesitation.
“Thank you.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “We haven’t even organized a group to collect water yet. There are too many wounded.” She nodded to the gathering crowd pressing in behind her, looking thirstily at the empty canteen. Many more were coming out of the shelter of the building.
“Trix, test the local water and begin collecting a few barrels so these people can have something suitable to drink,” Iza instructed.
“Aye, Captain.”
“There’s a large barrel inside,” Luxi said, but shook her head and moaned. “Filled with water, it’s too heavy for any one person to carry. I’ll send some of the men with you.”
“If someone can show Trix where to get the barrel, she can take care of the rest.”
Luxi let her eyes linger on Trix. “An android? I’ve never seen one up close.”
Iza nodded to a man who raised a finger in the air, indicating he knew where to find water. Then, she turned back to Luxi. “I’m Captain Iza Sundari. We retrieved your message and came straight away. What happened here?”
“Your guess is probably as good as any we have. Perhaps we should go inside where we can all sit down.” She took a wobbly step.
Cierra handed off her supply bag to Braedon so she could assist Luxi. “My name is Cierra Quetzali,” she said as she took Luxi’s arm to support her. “I’m a Healer. Where are your injured?”
“I’ll take you to them. Follow me.” Luxi pulled away from Cierra, shifting her weight to the pole, even though she clearly needed medical attention herself; her hastily bandaged leg bore a patch of blood.
Two doors hung off their hinges on the front of the partially engulfed building. The hallway beyond looked like a school; both sides of the corridor were lined with doors to classrooms. Iza recognized the institutionalized setup from the years she’d attended before her mother Left.
As Luxi led them through the first level, her metal pole clanked against the tiled floors. She’d tied off the pole’s end with cloth strips, but it did little to soften the echo.
She paused at a wide staircase on the left, which led to the upper floors. “This used to be the labs and upper study floors of the University’s science buildings. This is all that remains. The injured are recovering here.”
She pointed to a classroom on the right filled with people. A dozen men, women, and children waited in chairs, lay on tables or were resting on the floor. All of them were covered in gray dust and were actively bleeding or covered in dried blood. Some of their arms or legs were in makeshift slings and splints.
Cierra pushed up her sleeves and directed Braedon to put the bag down on one of the empty tables. She didn’t waste any time setting up at the end of the room closest the window. Most of the patients had edged away from the exterior windows, where the vines and brush had taken root, blocking the sun outside.
Luxi limped further down the hall, and Iza nodded to Karter and Braedon to stay and help Cierra.
“What about you?” Iza asked as she hurried to catch up to the woman. “You need treatment.”
“I’m fine for now. Let the Healer help the others first,” Luxi said. “Come with me.”
Iza followed Luxi to the end of the hall, where two doors still on their hinges were propped open. The windows here also were half-covered in ivy and moss. Someone had pushed a large desk, the only unbroken furniture in the room, to one side to make room for a circle of ten chairs. The seats were occupied by five men and four women. Another chair was brought into the circle for Iza, while still others stood lining the walls of the room.
Iza took in the group of dusty and bruised adults as she sat down. The arrangement of chairs and the absence of children gave the impression they were the ones making the decisions for the survivors.
“We’re all that’s left of the University. We’re mostly lecturers and professors, but there are a few businesspeople and local government workers,” Luxi explained. “The others among us are students, staff, or visitors on campus.”
“What happened here, exactly?” Iza asked loudly enough for the others in the circle to hear.
“What happened is that you’re too late!” a gray-haired man replied, slapping his hand against his thigh.
An older woman seated next to him put a gentle hand over his, and he clamped down on whatever else he’d planned to say. He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms.
The woman spoke to Iza. “Sorry, we appreciate you coming. It’s only we’re still grieving over what we’ve lost. It happened so fast.”
Another man with dark features and a cut on his bald head spoke next. “One minute the ground was solid beneath us, the next, grass started sprouting up everywhere we looked.”
There were murmurs of agreement as he continued.
“You have to understand, at first the sight of all that green was breathtaking. We had no idea that Uephus could sustain anything so lush and alive. But it didn’t stop. Soon, bushes were popping up as if they’d been there all along. The ground started to reshape itself. Our scientists gathered themselves virtually to determine what was going on, but everything changed so quickly they couldn’t keep up. When entire cities started to be swallowed whole…” His voice broke.
Luxi Song took over the narrative. “The trees grew as tall as buildings and the air became so thick with humidity it wa
s like being smothered by a heavy wet blanket.”
Another woman from the opposite side of the circle, with short curly hair and a dusty gray lab coat spoke up. “Our people are accustomed to an arid climate. Between the fear and the rise in humidity, it was impossible to have a coherent thought.”
“The ground came up over the ridge and engulfed most of this city in a matter of minutes,” the man with the dark features continued. “The water springing up out of nowhere became an ocean. It drank everything the shifting land had left behind. There was no escaping it. We’ve always been reliant on outsiders for transport, so we didn’t have ships of our own for escape.”
“Are you all that’s left?” Iza asked. She wasn’t sure she was prepared for the answer. When Trix walked in the door, Iza breathed a sigh of relief that she’d be there to hear it, too.
Luxi hung her head. “We don’t know, we haven’t been able to locate or contact any others. We believe our world leaders retreated underground and are buried there.”
“We might be able to help there. We can use the Verity and my shuttle to see if we can pick up anyone sending out a latent signal.”
“The Verity? What kind of ship is that?”
“H3X-Z500 Legacy Class cargo ship. Its drive is—” Trix started to answer.
Iza raised her hand to stop Trix from giving out all of her ship’s specs. “What we have is at your disposal.”
“Thank you. We appreciate any assistance you have to offer.”
The sight of their hopeful faces made Iza uneasy.
Braedon hurried across the room to her; she hadn’t seen him approach the doorway. When he reached her, he put a light hand on her shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You’re doing great, Iz. Want me to join the search party?”
Iza nodded, both relieved and distressed he could read her expression from across the room. “Take Karter with you and maybe a local who knows the area. I need Trix to remain here for now.”
“Got it. Where will you be?”
“There’s something strange going on here, and I intend to find out what it is.”
On the Run (Verity Chronicles Book 3): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 3
