Shadow of the Blue Ring

by Jerome Kelly

  “Or if they are expecting us,” Kyrakian added, “how do we know that they weren’t sent here to stop us from finding the Shadow Bringer and are not lying in wait for us around every corner of this ruin?”

  “We don’t,” said James, “but I suppose there is one good thing about the Lataka being here. It means that we’re looking in the right place and that the Shadow Bringer is definitely here somewhere.”

  “Forgive me if I’m not comforted by your optimism,” Kyrakian scowled, “this is an enemy that none of us have ever faced before. How do we know what to expect if we are to end up in a fight with them?”

  “I did a little research on them before we left, I have a couple of tricks up my sleeve,” said James, “come on, lets keep moving. Try to stay out of sight but be ready to fight if we do get spotted.”

  Climbing down from their vantage point and heading back into the low jungle of the city, the group pressed forward. James hadn’t expected the Lataka or the Al’cari to arrive on scene so quickly, he thought that they might have had at least six or seven hours before any other group showed up. While it was a sure sign that they were close to their goal, James slightly regretted having brought Isha alongside him during their search. Even if she was still in the early stages of the pregnancy, the risk of letting anything happen to her was far greater than he would have liked. He could never have left her behind on the ship though, she would not have taken kindly to it at all, she was far too stubborn to be left out.

  “Hold on!” James quickly brought the group to a stop after a few hundred meters, beckoning them to take cover, “up ahead, looks like a scout.”

  There was a single Lataka soldier stood there, likely keeping a watch out for any signs of intruders. As far as James could see, there were no others in sight, it was just one lone soldier.

  “Kalmar, think you can snipe this one off?”

  “It’s not that easy,” said Kalmar, “if I shoot, the others will hear it and they’ll come to investigate.”

  “Then what do you suggest?” Kyrakian asked aggressively while trying to keep his voice down, “it’s a long way around and we risk being spotted every step of the way.”

  “I do have one other option,” said Kalmar, “this rifle has a poison dart launcher, a silent and deadly way to take out a single enemy. We found a couple of vials of extra-potent Sikari poison when we first visited Sharstrom and we used it to make a stealth weapon. One small dose will paralyse a sentient being within two seconds and will result in death shortly after. Crude but effective if we don’t want to be spotted.”

  “Oh, well why didn’t you just say so,” Kyrakian said indignantly.

  “Well it isn’t quite as simple as it sounds,” Kalmar said as he lined up his shot on the Lataka soldier, “the dart only kills with that kind of speed if it strikes the target directly in the neck. These guys have some pretty extensive armaments, we’re one hundred and fifty meters away and my target area is less than two inches in size.”

  “Then try not to miss.”

  Despite Kyrakian’s less than appealing attitude, Kalmar lined up the shot and fired. His aim, just as it had been before, was impeccable again. The thumbs up from Kalmar let them know that he had hit his mark and in the distance, they saw the Lataka soldier fall to the ground.

  “Always happy to help,” Kalmar grinned in the direction of Kyrakian who was trying to hide the fact that he may have been just a little bit impressed with his incredible accuracy. With the coast clear, the group exited their cover and began to press forward. No sooner had they moved, the air was pierced by a loud wailing siren, coming from the spot where the Lataka soldier had fallen.

  “What the hell is this?!” Lucy exclaimed, trying to shield her ears from the sound.

  “Damn, those clever bastards!” said Kalmar, “it’s a mortis siren.”

  “A what?”

  “A mortis siren. It’s a warning signal that is tied in to the wearers cardiac system. Our scouts would wear them when on patrol duty, the bastards must have stolen the idea from us. When the wearer is killed, the alarm activates and warns everyone else in the area that they are under attack. It prevents stealth kills and infiltration teams from being an effective tactic. What it means is… RUN!”

  No one needed telling twice, the group quickly hurried away in the opposite direction to where they had spotted the Lataka soldiers. So much for their element of surprise… they had now alerted the entire Lataka population of the planet to their presence. It would severely complicate the mission and their chances of getting the Shadow Bringer out undetected. As they ran, James heard his commlink beeping… it was Ansare and the rest of the team.

  “Please give me good news!”

  “James, I have no idea what you’re doing over there…” Ansare began, “. . . but you need to get yourselves over here now, we think we’ve found the entrance to whatever is down below the city.”

  “Right, we’re on our way,” James replied, “but we’re not alone down here, Kaldun, we’ve got company. Tell Julio he was right, the Lataka are working with the Al’cari and they’re here, now. We may have just inadvertently alerted them to our presence too.”

  “Then you need to hurry,” said Ansare, “there is some kind of encryption on the doorway that we can’t seem to get past. Loca and Connolly are trying to get through it now but we might need captain Kalmar for this one. He seems to be the expert on getting past Jaiytid security.”

  “We’ll be there as soon as we can,” said James, “Ok guys, lets make a run for it.”

  The entire group broke into a run, heading as fast as they could towards the other group’s bio-signatures. They had strayed a fair distance from the landing site though and even moving at speed, it was still a long and tiring run and not all of them seemed up to the challenge. Isha was starting to lag and she was slowing them down. She was lacking the stamina she would have had when she was fully fit. This was what James had been afraid of, the pregnancy was affecting her condition badly.

  “Don’t say it,” she snapped at him as she paused for breath, clearly aware of the ‘I told you so’ that was about to come her way, “look, I’m fine, I can do this.”

  “Isha, you’re in no condition to be here,” said Melina, “you should have stayed on the ship, I did warn you that this might happen.”

  “I’m fine!” She insisted again, “I just need a few seconds to catch my breath, thats all.”

  “Perhaps we should have miss Cavallera wait aboard the flyer while we recover the weapon,” said Kyrakian, “she will only slow us down at this rate.”

  “Hell no! I’m not going…”

  “Yes you are, Isha,” Melina stepped in again, “you’re in no shape to fight. Besides, if I go with you, I can keep the flyer safe. If the Lataka find it before we get back we’ll be stranded anyway.”

  “James…” Isha said angrily, “. . . don’t you dare…”

  “I’m sorry, Isha, she’s right, you need to stay safe,” James said apologetically, “I know you don’t like it but you’ll be thanking me when you come out of this unharmed.”

  Isha just huffed, almost lost for words. For someone who was as brave as Isha was, and not to mention a good fighter after some combat training with the Earth Nations Fleet, to be confined to the flyer while everyone else did the work was almost an insult to her. Even with Melina insisting on her staying put, she gave James a very dirty look as Melina lead her away, James almost feeling sorry for having to let her go back.

  “Ouch, that one has to hurt,” Lucy giggled, “I think you might be sleeping on the sofa tonight.”

  “As long as we get out of here and have sofas to go back to, thats fine with me,” said James, “it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t like it now, she’ll realise that I’m only doing this because I care about her that much. Lets just get this done and then we’ll worry about who sleeps where.”

 
; The four of them remaining, James, Lucy, Kalmar and Kyrakian, broke into a jog once more, heading to where the other group had found the entrance to the lower structures that would hold the last piece of the Shadow Bringer. Without Isha, they were able to move a lot faster but after a minute or two, there was the audible sound of shouting behind them. James looked around to see a couple of Lataka soldiers in pursuit, albeit a few hundred meters behind them, but gaining on them steadily.

  Without warning, two more jumped out of the growth to one side of them, taking a shot at the group. James hit the floor immediately, dropping to avoid their gunfire, the others springing out of the way of the incoming assailants. He drew his gun and rolled out of the way, lining up a shot and hitting the first slow-witted Lataka soldier twice in the chest. It’s armour mitigated some of the damage but it still stumbled back, clearly having suffered some injury. Before it could turn to take a return shot, Kyrakian had drawn a Vulian blade-master’s sword and struck the Lataka soldier across the neck, instantly killing it and sending it crumpling to the floor. Without a second to pause, he swung his blade back towards the second soldier, striking the gun from it’s hands as it had been about to shoot him, bringing his blade around for a second time to sever it’s head from it’s body. More surprising than his show of close combat skill, he offered James a hand, helping him to his feet, Kalmar and Lucy exchanging a surprised glance.

  “Shall we call it even now?” he said as James composed himself after his fall.

  “Yeah, I call that fair,” James agreed, “you can gloat later though, we’ve got more incoming.”

  At least ten more Lataka soldiers were now in sight, running towards them from about two hundred meters away, the thick undergrowth of the jungle slowing them but not deterring them. They would quickly be caught without a way to make a quick escape… which, as usual, James was able to provide for them.

  “Lucy, give them a flash-screen grenade, that should slow them down. Everyone cover your eyes!”

  Lucy threw the small object into the path of the oncoming Lataka soldiers that were quickly bearing down on them. Making a run away from the impact point, all four of the group shielded their eyes towards the ground as a blinding flash filled the way behind them. There were cries of anger and of pain from behind them as the Lataka soldiers nursed their eyes, blinded by the bright explosion. Following it up, a thick, grey smoke had spread through the jungle behind them, blocking all line of sight in their direction. It was their cue to make a run for it, out of sight of the Lataka.

  “That one of your girl genius’s inventions?” Kalmar asked as they made their run towards the second group, their escape covered by the smokescreen.

  “The girl is a miracle worker,” said James, “I’ve lost count of the number of times her inventions have saved our lives now. Even if their eyes do recover quickly, the smoke should still be blocking their line of sight. They should have no idea where we are by the time that happens.”

  “I hope she still has a few tricks up her sleeve, we’re probably gonna need them to get out of this one.”

  Continuing through the ruins of the old city for a few more minutes, James finally came across the rest of the group around a small alcove below a collapsed building. Saavoy, Ansare and Julio were all keeping watch, rifles out, while Morelli, Connolly and Kosare were huddled down, trying to work out how to open the way down to the underground facilities.

  “Any luck?”

  “None so far,” said Morelli, “we’re not sure how the mechanism on this one works.”

  “Let me take a look,” Kalmar made his way through to examine the Jaiytid mechanisms that were blocking their way. It looked like the entrance to an underground bunker of some kind, established, or rebuilt, after the bombing of the city. James and the rest of his group joined the watch as they scanned the area for any incoming Lataka soldiers. There was no way they could hide their presence, it was now all about how quickly they could find what they need. At least James was safe in the knowledge that Isha was out of harms way with Melina able to pilot her and the flyer to safety if their landing site were to be discovered.

  “I think it’s another bio scanner,” Kalmar said finally as he examined the machine, “it doesn’t work the same way as the last one though, maybe it needs something different…”

  He took a small blade from one of his pockets and pricked his finger, drawing a small amount of blood which he placed on what looked like the screen of the Jaiytid scanner. Within a second, it lit up and the door began to open. Not a second too soon either, James could hear the angry shouts of Lataka soldiers in the distance getting closer to their position.

  “Quick, everyone get inside,” James ushered everyone through the doors, keeping his rifle pointed in the direction of the Lataka soldiers that would soon be on top of them. Just as the last of the group made it inside, one Lataka got close enough to fire a shot at him. Quickly ducking down, James rolled out of the way and through the doors, the rest of the group sealing them behind them as he did so.

  “Think that’ll keep them out?”

  “If they could have got through, they would have done so already,” said Kalmar, “that bio-scanner required actual biological material to protect against devices that can trick DNA scans. It’ll be Jaiytid specific so they wont be able to get through unless they have access to Jaiytid blood and I can bet they don’t exactly have a supply of that where they come from.”

  “Lets hope so,” said James, turning to observe the pitch black corridors behind where they were stood, “so where do we go from here.”

  “Down underground I would suspect,” said Ansare, “they’ll have wanted to bury this thing pretty deep to stop any surface bombardments from reaching it. The facility is probably designed to lock down should any type of force be used other than the Jaiytid scanner. Thats probably why the Lataka haven’t tried to blast it open yet.”

  “Sounds about right,” James agreed, “better start heading down then. Everyone get your flashlights on.”

  With the muffled sounds of Lataka soldiers trying to get through the door behind them, the group headed down the dark, underground corridors. Right on cue, there was a large set of staircases heading down, deep under the city, their flashlights unable to see down to the bottom. James began to lead them downwards, almost breaking into a jog as he headed down, jumping the last few steps of each flight of stairs as he came to them. He didn’t want to have to spend a minute more than he had to in this place. Despite his experience of dark, underground corridors, they still gave him the creeps.

  Keeping their flashlights up, the group made their way down the many flights of stairs, probably down as far as three or four hundred meters before they finally reached the bottom and the stairs opened out into another long dark corridor. It was just like Raylia all over again, back when they first discovered the magnificent underground hangars that won them the war against the Vulians. Jaiytid ruins all over the galaxy seemed to be full of mysterious underground facilities holding all kinds of secrets.

  “If it’s anything like the ones we’ve been to previously, there should be some lights somewhere around here,” James said as they finally reached a large open area at the end of the corridor, “check the walls, see if you can find anything.”

  A few seconds of rummaging around brought them to a single panel with a trigger switch on it. One press triggered several rows of very bright lights that lit up the large underground room. This one was different though, there were no fleets of tach’ika fighters, no leftover weapons caches, it was just a large, empty, underground room with nothing unusual about it at all.

  “So where do we go from here?” James looked to his experts on the matter, Kalmar and Kosare, who he hoped might have some clue as to where and how the Jaiytids had hidden this final piece of the weapon.

  “I have nothing I’m afraid,” said Kalmar, “the other two sites both had a clear path to the de
vice mapped out for us but this one looks like a dead end.”

  “Could it be a fake?” Morelli asked, “an empty facility designed to deceive us?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” said Kosare, “they wouldn’t have had a security system that only allows Jaiytid descendants to pass otherwise. In each of the previous facilities we found, the entrance was hidden in plain sight, we just needed the key. On Raylia, it was that little device Kaldun found in the sand. On Sharstrom, it was the DNA scanner and here we had the bio-scanner. Once inside, the path was hidden behind the old AI machine consoles. The Jaiytid riddle said that the weapon is only to be retrieved by Jaiytid descendants so we’re definitely on the right track. We’re close, I can feel it.”

  “I don’t see any AI systems here though,” said James, “it’s just an empty room. Jaiden, was there anything in the clues we found on Sharstrom that might give us a hint at how this one has been hidden. Maybe we missed something.”

  “Well the Jaiytid riddles told us where we needed to be,” said Kosare, “in a spring that was a father to us all, at the roots of our very being. We’re here, on Alatennia, beneath the surface of the world, right where it told us to be. There was more though… ’It shall stay safe from harm and from those who would seek to unleash it until it be found in a virtuous light by the second coming of the children of Caedius.’ We already know that the part about the second coming means the descendants of the Jaiytids but what does it mean by ‘in a virtuous light’? Wait a minute… the lights! James, is there another switch on that console that turned on the lights?”

  James quickly examined the one single console in the room that had had brought the lights to life. There was nothing but a single switch that triggered the lights. He rummaged around looking for something unusual, any kind of hidden function that may have directed them towards what they were looking for.