Metamorphosis Alpha 2

by Craig Martelle

  “But the crew could be in danger!” Lila complained.

  “…and it is the job of command personnel to see to their safety, not yours,” the implacable machine replied. “Is there a medical anomaly I might scan for you?”

  “Oh, for fu…” Lila paused in midsentence. She was capable of out-thinking a mere machine.

  “Please scan for any life-forms not found in our database,” she requested, trying a new tack.

  “Access to the catalog of known life forms is restricted to security and command personnel,” the stubborn machine replied.

  Lila knew that different species carried a wide variety of bacteria in their mouths and digestive tracts. If the reports of a ‘Lamia’ sighting were accurate, their internal flora and fauna should show up as the very anomaly she sought. “Micro-biologic life forms? I’m concerned that a disease has broken out among the crew.”

  There was no immediate reply from the AI. Eventually it spoke only a single word, “Scanning.”

  Check-mate!

  “Anomaly detected,” the A.I. stated as the screen first cleared, and then reoriented, showing a map. The map depicted the Central Elevator and its immediate surrounds. A small red light glowed within the main elevator. Hope leapt in Lila’s chest.

  “What is the mass of that anomaly, Warden?” she asked, purposefully calming herself.

  “The microbial mass is less than 100 grams,” the computer replied, in perhaps a slightly less silky voice than usual.

  The computer was obviously responding only as it must. Caution was called for if Lila was to garner further information. “Is it respirating?” Lila asked.

  “Yes,” agreed the computer flatly.

  “Does it appear to be feeding, according to your scans?” Lila ventured.

  “It’s mass is increasing over time, although infinitesimally,” the computer acknowledged with reservation.

  “Are there local life signs other than this microbial mass?” Lila asked, risking the progress she had already made. The reply was less than she had hoped for.

  “There are,” agreed the computer, parsing the information into as small a portion as possible.

  Lila knew she’d have to risk it all. “Can you identify any of those life signs as members of this crew?”

  “Information regarding the whereabouts of crew members is restricted to command and security personnel,” replied the AI, the silky sweetness returning once again to its voice.

  Lila knew she would get nothing more. Besides, she had a meeting to prepare, and she’d had more than enough of this cat-and-mouse game. “Log off Warden,” she replied as she left to gather her things.

  Bahal gathered the salvage he had discovered in the lair of the strange creature and once again eyed its strangely-formed club. He had tried using it to throw rocks, as a bat to propel rocks, even as a makeshift catapult to launch rocks, but none of his experiments had projected a rock with the force of the one that had grazed him when the creature had attacked.

  He raised it once again and tucked one end of the strange device into his shoulder as he had seen the creature do when he approached.

  Still nothing.

  He hooked his finger into the rigid carrying handle halfway down the club’s length and was surprised when a loud popping noise came from the center of the club. He moved a bit, repeated the action, and the popping noise again shattered the stillness of the lair, this time accompanied by the sound of breaking glass.

  Bahal looked over his shoulder and was horrified to see that the square light that had displayed the War Don had shattered, and that its surface now put forth several fiery sparks. As he watched in horror it grew slowly dark and the sparks ceased. Holding the gun at the same attitude, he slowly turned his body to face the screen and gripped the rigid handle one last time. To his amazement a smooth stone exploded from the end of the club, slamming into the now broken square light. He had destroyed the shrine of the War Don!

  “Oh great War Don,” he chanted falling to his knees. “Forgive my mishandling of this great artifact. I have heard your call, and I shall answer. I shall use this strange club to defeat your enemies, and rescue the fair Rani. My gratitude is boundless.”

  Bahal rose and stepped outside the small cave that used to function as a lair. Several popping noises over the next several minutes attested that Bahal had learned the use of his strange new weapon. Now to find Rani!

  Lila knew she’d have to be careful. There was an open call for security personnel to abandon Deck #9 and return to the command level below. If she created a panic, she’d likely wind up searching for her missing scouting party alone. Still, she had to ensure no one presumed that she needed them to ‘find her boyfriend’, but that the need to discover the fate of the missing scouts was extreme.

  About two dozen people lounged impatiently in the assembly area, fiddling with equipment, cleaning their fingernails, or just looking frustrated and bored. Lila knew it was now or never.

  “As many of you know,” she began, “we have been trying to locate food sources on Deck #8 that can be used to resupply our valiant comrades on Deck #10.” A slight grumbling amid the crowd caused her to pause. It quickly subsided. “In pursuit of this, I dispatched a group of three to investigate the farms down there about a week ago.” She knew a bit of coloring was needed to hide the terrible truth of the first scouting party. “They have yet to check in,” she fibbed. “I sent a second party as a rescue group two days later.” All faces now turned to Lila as the mention of missing people was an unexpected revelation. Lila paused, allowing their concern to build. “They also have yet to check in, and do not answer repeated coms.”

  “That explains the blaster from Commander James!” one of the grunts interrupted.

  “I do not believe he appreciates the gravity of this disappearance,” Lila scolded, looking right at the offending grunt. “I think we have people hurt down there that need our help. That’s why I’m looking for a dozen volunteers.”

  A chorus of murmurs passed through the audience. Not one hand raised.

  “I will be going along in the event they need immediate medical attention,” she added hurriedly. Still no hand stirred.

  “…and I’d come and get any of you if you were lying out there hurt,” she finished, doing her best to shame the security personnel. They knew she wasn’t bluffing on that score. Slowly, two hands were held aloft, and then seven more. It would be enough.

  “Thank you all for coming,” smiled Lila appreciatively. “Those volunteering please linger for a bit as I’ll want to have several pieces of equipment retrieved from storage for our journey.”

  As the others turned to leave she swiftly added, “…and you’re in charge until we get back Frank.”

  By the next morning, she had her troupe assembled. Two antigravity sleds were loaded with portable stasis chambers to preserve the wounded, laser rifles and spare batteries, provisions, and even a small robotic crane in the event that something heavy needed lifting. They were as prepared as they could possibly be. Lila looked proudly at the nine assembled grunts that had volunteered.

  “Let’s go and get Mike,” she announced to a chorus of cheers.

  Bahal had entered a field of chaotic vines and was lost before he realized it. Frightened, he stopped and sat down, considering his options. Perhaps if he simply turned around, and walked in a straight line, he’d find his way out. That would be great if he could tell (while in this leafy morass) what a straight line was. Perhaps he could leave trail markers. A noise just out of the range of his vision sent him into a ready crouch, clutching his strange new club for comfort. The noise was faint, but he was sure he’d heard something. There it was again! This time, it sounded like a voice.

  “All is well, little one,” a soothing voice said to him, wafting gently over the vines like a breeze. “All is well — perhaps you could relieve yourself during this safe, quiet moment.”

  “What??!” thought Bahal in shock. Voices in his head asking him to do… w
ell… intimate things. This was absurd. He did, remarkably, feel a sudden urge.

  “Nothing could be safer than this spot,” the voice continued. “You certainly don’t want to be caught short when there is danger about, do you?”

  Bahal was certain he was losing his mind. There was nothing near him that could be speaking! Still the urge was becoming quite powerful now. “Who are you?” he asked experimentally.

  “Your new best friend!” replied the voice. “I’ll keep watch; you go ahead now.”

  Bahal could resist the urge no longer. He quickly stripped off his harness and watered the local vines.

  “Thank you!” said the voice in his head. Realization quickly dawned upon the flustered Lamya.

  “You’re a vine?!” he exclaimed as he began to don his harness and gear.

  “Is that a problem?” the voice in his head asked, sulking. “You have something against vines in general?”

  “No, that’s not it,” added Bahal quickly, “I’m just not used to vines being able to communicate.”

  “You must have led a sheltered life,” sniffed the voice, somewhat mollified.

  “Now who’s making generalizations?” Bahal retorted.

  “Oh, all right,” acquiesced the voice. “I’ll admit it; most of the vines I know have no sentience. The thing is… I do.”

  “…and…” prompted Bahal waiting for the inevitable pitch from the strange creature.

  “…and I can help you. My roots stretch for quite some way, and I know this area,” the vine finished.

  Maybe this strange plant had seen Rani! He could not pass up such a chance, however remote it might be. “Have you seen someone like me in this area? Like me only larger?” he asked hopefully.

  The vine was silent for a moment. “We’re not actually speaking you realize, I am simply reading your thoughts and responding directly to your brain,” it finally replied. “I understand that your kind communicates by making sounds at one another, but the thought patterns that manufacture these sounds I can read. I’m afraid I do not understand the thought you have of this word, ‘see’.”

  “Have you sensed the presence of another like me only larger?” Bahal explained, becoming impatient.

  “Ahhh, ‘sensed’ I understand,” the plant agreed. “Yes, there is one like you only larger about 60 yards away in the direction my upper vine is waving.”

  To Bahal’s amazement the vine at his feet was actually waving in a given direction. It was unnerving. “And what’s your end of this deal?” he asked, expecting a disgusting reply.

  “Just promise to bring me more fertilizer, and we’ll call it a deal,” answered the vine.

  “After,” insisted Bahal. “I’m ‘out’ of fertilizer right now.”

  “Really? What strange workings you mobile beings have,” pondered the vine. “Very well, after. You’d better go now,” the vine advised. “The being you seek is moving.”

  Bahal took off at a run, jumping over vines, heedless of his footing. It wasn’t long before one of the vines tripped him, and he fell flat on his face. His new club went tumbling off into the maze of vines. Cursing, he began to rapidly extricate himself from the rope-like vegetation.

  A roaring sound caused his gaze to travel skyward as the shadow of a twelve-foot-tall fur-covered creature fell across his vine-ensnared predicament.

  It was a scene of absolute devastation. They had seen the anti-gravity sled at a distance and had double-timed it to the grounder’s camp only to find the four corpses of their dead comrades positioned in various grotesque and horrifying positions. She’d found Mike, his corpse holed by a laser, and had wept silently before rejoining her comrades. They had been wise enough, or perhaps compassionate enough, not to mention her condition. The grounders quickly bundled their comrades into body bags and began collecting their gear.

  “Wait!” commanded Lila, “leave their gear where it is. We may get some inkling of what happened here.”

  “It’s the demons, just like the rumors said!” cried one of the grounders.

  Jon was his name. Perhaps a bit of shaming would give Jon a grip. “But the Lamia, according to the Warden database, remove the heads and drink the blood of their victims,” she scolded. “They also aren’t known as crack shots with a laser rifle, at least from what I have read.”

  Jon was not quite finished being hysterical as yet. “But what about that massive spear? What besides a demon could throw that thing?” he retorted.

  Lila did her best to restrain herself. “I don’t know, specialist, and neither do you! That’s why we need to investigate,” she finished.

  Delta, a fairly reliable security specialist as far as Lila was concerned, backed her up. “Get a grip you whiney bastard,” she hollered at Jon. “We need to figure this out like Doc says.”

  A chorus of ‘yeahs’ accompanied her statement, and Jon calmed down, although he had a look on his face that would have soured milk. Lila ignored him and began piecing the puzzle of the scene together. “Delta, do you remember the position of the bodies?”

  “Sure thing Doc,” Delta replied, walking forward with a snort in Jon’s direction.

  “Show me,” Lila instructed.

  Lila and Delta spent nearly an hour recreating the placement of the bodies and noting the angle of the wounds. There was only one answer.

  “The attackers must have gotten off the elevator,” concluded Lila.

  “Agreed,” nodded Delta. Other heads in the group bobbed in agreement as well.

  “Let’s take a look in there and check the log. It should tell us where they came from, or at least what deck they came from,” proposed Lila.

  “…and then we teach them not to mess with grounders!” added Jon, now eager for action.

  “…or we run like hell…” whispered Delta to Lila. Lila only nodded.

  Bahal instinctively rolled to the side as the heavy club of the creature made a significant dent in the ground he had most recently occupied. He scampered sideways, trying to judge the nature of this behemoth. It raised its huge metal club to strike again, and Bahal jumped backwards, anticipating the blow. He landed on something hard.

  The mace-like weapon crashed mere inches from Bahal’s head; the impact so great it felt like the nearby ground had risen several inches. Bahal grabbed wildly for the hard thing he had landed upon. It was his strange new club!

  As the hirsute monster raised its club yet again, a sudden and singularly painful headache suddenly assaulted Bahal, causing him to reel to the side gripping his temples. He managed to keep his grip on his club and his unexpected collapse saved him from yet another would-be devastating blow. Ignoring the pain, he rolled to his side and aimed his club at the hairy giant, depressing the trigger.

  The shot connected, causing the creature to lean backwards, but now it seemed all the more furious. Bahal panicked, depressing the trigger repeatedly, three, then five times. Shots disturbed the furry coat of the beast all over its torso, and one managed to pierce its right eye.

  The behemoth fell to earth like a mountain, and Bahal had to leap to the side to avoid being buried beneath its massive bulk. It lay still, unmoving, as its blood formed a pool amid the vines. He approached it cautiously, barely daring to breathe.

  Unfortunately for Bahal, it still breathed. Bahal, driven mad by fear, pulled forth his blade and stabbed the inert form repeatedly, turning the fallen giant into a hairy, bloody, mess. Exhausted he collapsed atop the still form.

  He awoke only a short time later, his preservation sense prodding him that this was an inadequate resting place. Bahal, now famished, carved himself several chunks of the monster and immediately ate them. The meat was passable, and he felt his energy returning. He grabbed a few more chunks before checking the corpse for loot. He’d not leave another strange club behind. His current had saved his life!

  Sated, Bahal wrinkled his nose at a nearby, unpleasant smell. He recognized that smell. The monster had lost control of its bowels as it died. Bahal carefully wrapped
some of it in a piece of the creature’s fur and walked back to the vine that had advised him to head this direction.

  “You’re back!” said a jovial voice in his brain.

  “No thanks to you, vine,” snapped Bahal. “How was that creature even remotely like me? You almost got me killed!”

  “It WAS like you!” insisted the voice. “It was mobile and eats meat,” the vine finished, somewhat put out. “Of the several thousand living things within 100’ of you right now, it was the only one that shared those traits.”

  Bahal truly wanted to disagree, but found he couldn’t. The cursed plant was correct. He was amused in spite of himself. “Here’s your reward,” he smiled, throwing the fur-wrapped feces to the ground, “but perhaps I’ll be a bit more particular when I ask for information next time.”

  “See that you are,” replied the vine. “…and this is really good fertilizer, by the way. Thank you.”

  A strange notion played at the edge of Bahal’s thoughts, soon becoming a fully grown idea. He was a member of the Protector’s tribe, the Lamya, and although this plant had a voice, he should please the War Don by continuing to protect it. He could use every break he could get. Besides, this vine might just prove useful. “Say vine,” he asked, slowly playing out his words, “you ever wonder what it’s like to move around?”

  “Is everyone ready?” Lila asked nervously.

  A number of affirmative grunts came from various discrete vantage point/hiding places.

  “Open the doors Delta,” commanded Lila.

  Delta inserted her wristband into the elevator’s reader. A long crack appeared in the wall as the door began to open. A silky-smooth voice greeted this motion. “Welcome Security Specialist Delta Blume. How may I help you today?”

  Specialist Delta Blume made no reply as her mouth stood open in horror and amazement. Just inside the elevator, lying in a pool of dried blood, was the still body of a giant reptilian creature. Its green scales, smoothly-muscled torso, long tail and wicked, 6”-long teeth were like a nightmare from her childhood. When she had been a child, that nightmare had been termed a demon — a demon known as a Lamia.