by Adair Hart
“What … what are you doing here?” asked Gi.
“We have come looking for my ship. We suspect the monsters, as you call them, have taken it. If we run across them, we will deal with them.”
Gi perked up. “You’re … going to fight them?”
“We are,” said Evaran with his head raised a bit. “What they did to your world is unacceptable.”
Dr. Snowden ran a hand across his mouth. “They’ve been at this for a while it seems. How big was your civilization?”
“We had cities with thousands. Our technology was far inferior to what the monsters had. They had staffs that could shoot purple beams and metal devices that shot small pieces of metal. Some even drained our body fluids. I don’t know what happened to the major settlements, but every city and village within a four-hour walk has been crushed.”
Evaran shook his head. “Count Boris and Caltorus will be held accountable for this.” He motioned off in the distance. “Did your species design the fort structure?”
Gi nodded. “It was one of the first structures to fall.”
“How did the rift door get here?” asked Emily.
“We don’t know,” said Gi. She raised her arms. “It just … appeared from the sky, and then the monsters came. Many believe it is Nanya punishing us.”
“Nanya?”
“The god of punishment.”
“Oh,” said Emily.
Evaran knelt and looked Gi in the eyes. “We are going to help in any way we can. Do you need food or water?”
Gi shook her head. “The jungle sustains us. As long as we hide, we’re safe, but we miss the open fields.”
“Understandable,” said Evaran.
“You remind me of Gara, the god of balance.”
“I assure you, I am no god,” said Evaran. “However, balance is what I intend to restore. We will take our leave of you.” He stood and began to turn, then pivoted back around. “Once we remove these monsters, how can I get in contact with your species?”
Gi swished her mouth around for a moment. “We will be watching.”
Evaran pointed up. “I will shoot a light into the sky. Will that suffice?”
Gi grimaced as green tears began to flow down her face.
Evaran’s eyes softened. “Know that you are not alone.”
Gi rushed over and hugged Evaran’s leg.
He laid a hand on her back as she cried.
Emily realized it was probably the first alien Gi had seen that did not want to kill her. The fact that Evaran spoke with confidence probably gave her hope, something in short supply on this planet, it seemed.
Gi stepped back. “Go, hope bringer, and may Gara guide you.” She wheeled around and then scampered off into the jungle.
Emily dabbed at her eyes. “Why would anyone do this to them?”
“I do not know, but we will find out. Let us go,” said Evaran. He clenched his jaw for a moment.
They headed back to the jungle path. After ten minutes, they arrived within viewing range of the fort. They took a moment to observe.
“According to V’s scan, it does not appear to be heavily guarded, but there are many tunnels underneath that he cannot scan from above,” said Evaran.
“So we just gonna enter it?” asked Emily.
“We are. However, V has also identified the southeastern tower as one we can enter from. He will neutralize the two guards there, and it will give us an advantage.”
Dr. Snowden exhaled from his mouth. “Lightly guarded fort? That sounds … deceptive, especially after the guard posts.”
“Maybe they aren’t expecting an attack,” said Lee.
“It is possible,” said Evaran. “However, it may give us information on this planet, Count Boris’s reach, and, more importantly, whether the Torvatta is here.”
“Are they Raskarian or Caltorus’s guards?” asked Lee.
“It appears to be a mix,” said Evaran. He tossed out a remote viewing orb. “V is now going underground.”
Emily watched as V flew through the tunnels. It was like a maze. There were a lot more guards than she expected. She noticed that there was advanced technology tacked onto the walls throughout. It looked like they were hastily hung, without much foresight into aesthetics. Skeletons littered the hallways. The tunnels were rounded and had smooth walls, as if they were punched out with a cylindrical device.
“A fusion of high and low tech,” said Jake. “I feel so bad for Gi’s people.”
“I do as well,” said Evaran. “I plan to come back to this world after finding my Torvatta, and then I will remove the rift door.”
“Makes sense,” said Jake.
“Look!” said Emily, pointing at the projection. It showed a room with high-tech workstations in it.
“A control center of some type,” said Lee. “That should be our target.”
“I concur,” said Evaran. “Let us head out.”
After a half hour, they had reached the outskirts of the fort. They were right at the intersection between the jungle and the fort grounds.
Emily observed that although the fort was made of black crystal, it had purple wooden sections on the outside with silver plant life swirling around it. The southeastern tower they needed to get to was the closest to them. The smell was different around the fort’s edges. It was a mix of something burning with the strong odor of the jungle. It was a new scent to her, but not one she particularly enjoyed. There were also small insects flying around everywhere. Hopefully they did not have stingers or suck blood. So far they had not bothered her, but that could have been due to her body armor.
Evaran motioned to the base of the tower. “V has neutralized the guards. We must hurry.”
They hustled to the base. Evaran shot up a grappling beam and extended a hand out. “I will take each of you up. Lee, you are first.”
As Evaran took Lee up, Dr. Snowden bumped into Emily. “Wish our PSDs had a grappling beam.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too,” said Emily.
“I think I might invest in one,” said Jake.
Dr. Snowden tossed a hand out. “We should have gotten it on our last adventure. Ahh well. Better late than never.”
Evaran returned and then took each of them up to the tower.
Emily studied the two downed guards. Like the others she had seen, they were taken by surprise. The crystal that the fort was made of was not as slick as she thought it would be. It had a slight friction to it.
Evaran rooted around one of the bodies and pulled out a small device. He scanned it with his ring. “It appears this is a communication device. I do not know what their check-in schedule is or if they even have one. However, there is nothing in that regard on this device.”
Lee looked out into the empty courtyard area on the ground level. “So we descend this tower, enter the lower levels, and head toward that control center.”
“Yes, and in order to do so, we need to head to the southwestern tower. From there, we go north toward the northwestern tower. Halfway there is a ramp to the command center level. I suspect we will be fighting below. Prepare for a battle.”
Jake grimaced as they descended the southeastern tower stairs. Per Evaran, that would lead them to sublevel one. The control center they needed to get to was on sublevel two, and on the other side of the fort. V had been ordered to stay above ground and maintain surveillance. It was times like this that Jake wished V were coming with them. Although the display in his helmet of V’s view was not as advanced as Dr. Snowden’s or Emily’s, he liked what he could see when it was active.
The stairway they were in winded down, and even descending it single file, he still bumped into the walls a few times. Shadows danced in the flickering light of the torches scattered around on the walls.
When they got to the bottom of the tower stairs, they paused.
Jake observed that everyone was ready to fight. More importantly, the tunnels were large enough to support that, a nice change from the claustrophobic stairway
they just came down.
Emily and Dr. Snowden had their shields and PSDs out. Evaran had his shield out as well, and his utility handle was extended into a baton. Lee had a small weapon in each hand.
All Jake had was his blaster, and he hoped it would be enough. Looking down the tunnel they had just entered made his mouth dry. It was quiet, except for the occasional sound of footsteps in the distance. He knew the Raskarians would smell them in time.
Evaran put a finger to his lips. The group followed him. When they got to the first intersection, he raised a hand.
A Raskarian guard turned the corner and was hit in the chest with Evaran’s baton. The guard crumpled as blue arcs danced around his body.
Evaran faced everyone and whispered, “Although they may sense us, they will not know exactly where we are. However, I would expect that we may see more on our way.”
“Let’s hope they go down as easy as this one. I wish V were our eyes down here,” said Lee.
“V is ensuring that we are not surprised from above.”
“I understand. He makes things a lot … easier.”
“Acknowledged,” said V over the comms. “Emily has stealth capability, but her enhanced nanobots are noticeable by nonhumans.”
“Yeah, let’s not do that,” said Emily.
Jake enjoyed the light moment. His muscles were tight, and he had to focus to loosen them up. He had forgotten that Emily could stealth, but V had a point. It would be the same if Dr. Snowden had stealth, but Jake found the idea of having nanobots still worth the risk. Maybe he would ask Evaran about getting some at a later time.
They continued until they reached a medium-sized room. Multiple cubicles lined the walls, each one containing a casket and set of small tables around it.
Jake had seen this before. When Lord Noskov had taken him to visit another ancient vampire, they were low-tech and headquartered in a cave, and they had a similar setup. Maybe the Raskarian and ancient vampires were not as different as they imagined.
Evaran examined the environment and then waved everyone forward.
When they reached the other side, Dr. Snowden said, “This is almost too easy.”
“Yeah, it is,” said Jake. “Then again, they wouldn’t expect an attack here.”
Lee shook his head. “I’m with Dr. Snowden on this. It doesn’t … feel right.”
“It could be a trap,” said Evaran. “However, I believe we can handle anything tossed at us.”
“Yep, I’m not worried,” said Emily.
Dr. Snowden shrugged as they continued.
When they arrived at the southwestern tower, they paused.
Evaran extended his hand and shot up a projection from his ring. It showed the layout from what V had mapped. “The ramp is halfway between here and the northwestern tower. Going up the ramp takes us to the courtyard, down will take us to sublevel two.”
“Woulda been nice if they had that on the other side,” said Dr. Snowden.
“I concur,” said Evaran. “Once we are on the second level, the control center is under the courtyard and only a bit away. Let us move.”
They continued to just outside the ramp area that led down to the second level.
Jake searched for signs of activity but did not see anything. He knew this was a critical point. If they were spotted here, then reinforcements could rush in from four directions.
Evaran motioned at Emily. “Although V’s assessment of your enhanced nanobots may be accurate, you would need to be close to them. Long range, you should be okay. Use your stealth and scout the ramp.”
“Acknowledged,” she said with a smirk.
“Analysis. That is my line,” said V over the comms.
Emily smiled as she shimmered out of view and headed down the ramp.
Jake liked Emily’s playfulness. He was thankful to be given a glimpse of what it would be like to travel with Evaran.
Emily came back after a few minutes. “It’s clear. This place is very lightly guarded.”
Evaran pointed down the ramp. “Let us move.”
The group headed down to sublevel two.
As they progressed through a hallway toward the control center, Evaran paused and raised a hand. He tilted his head. “Something is coming.”
Jake’s heartbeat ramped up as two quadrupeds came into view. They reminded him of boars, except with a wolf snout. Their rough-hewn scales and unusual-looking eyes caught his attention. These creatures were not from Earth.
Evaran extended a hand. “We mean you no harm.”
The creatures growled, then charged.
Evaran fired two quick stun beams from his baton.
The creatures crashed into the wall and stopped moving.
He approached them while scanning. “Intriguing. These creatures are showing high levels of mutation.”
“You think they’re doing experiments down here?” asked Jake.
“Perhaps. It could be that this is just how the creatures are, but I am doubtful of that.”
Lee cleared his throat. “Count Boris is known to have dabbled in … genetic engineering. If he has established himself here … it would not be a stretch to assume he is studying it without any oversight … especially if it’s with shadow-matter creatures.”
“I see,” said Evaran. He looked forward. “The control center is just ahead.”
Jake had expected there to be a lot more guards or officers in the control center when they arrived there. The three workers in the room were quickly disabled by a series of stun beams. He almost felt sorry for them. As he passed by one of them, he noticed they were not quite like the other Raskarians he had seen before. He knelt as his eyes searched the body. “Evaran, I don’t think these are Raskarians. They look human, but the skin and face is weird.”
“They are human, with some slight modifications.”
Dr. Snowden raised his eyebrows. “What types of modifications?”
“Their brains have an unusual configuration. They have been tampered with.”
“Oh … so these were like mindless drones or something.”
“I believe so,” said Evaran. “The fact that they did not try to fight back suggests to me that they were only focused on their task. What that task would be, I do not know. They were definitely not using these advanced consoles.” He placed his UIC on one of the consoles.
Dr. Snowden licked his lips. “I guess then we just got real lucky that this fort was barely defended and manned by only a few Raskarians and mindless drones, and oh, two genetically manipulated creatures.”
“I understand your concern,” said Evaran. “We should check in with Agent Malz. I do not believe we are in danger for the moment.”
Lee accessed his wrist device. He tapped at it a few times. “Agent Malz isn’t responding.”
Evaran interacted with his ARI. “V, check it out.”
“Acknowledged,” said V over the comms.
Evaran tossed out his remote viewing orb. It shot up a projection of V’s view.
“I never get tired of that,” said Jake.
“Me either,” said Dr. Snowden.
“Look!” said Emily as she peered into the projection. “Can you zoom in?”
Evaran tapped at his ARI.
The projection zoomed in to the path. It showed a mass of Druuz guards marching up the path toward the fort. Large scaled quadrupeds with crocodilian snouts accompanied them along with several smaller flying Druuz.
Evaran rubbed his chin. “The Druuz.”
The projection then showed the rift door and the INRA agents on the ground with various wounds on them. They were not moving. Druuz were pouring out of the rift door.
“V, can you zoom in on the agents?” asked Lee.
The projection zoomed in over the fallen agents.
“Agent Malz,” said Lee. He closed his eyes and dipped his head forward as he placed both his fists on his forehead.
Evaran placed a hand on Lee’s shoulder. “I am sure he did not go easily, and I am sor
ry for your loss.”
Jake gulped. “I got a bad feeling about this.”
The projection zoomed in on a group that seemed to be protected by a ring of soldiers.
“Caltorus,” said Lee. “And looks like some of his group. He’ll pay for this!”
“He will, but first, we need to leave this place,” said Evaran. “V, scout out the rear of the fort and locate a suitable place to go.”
“Acknowledged.”
Evaran grabbed his UIC and remote viewing orb and placed them on his belt. “The only information on these systems pertains to the genocide that Count Boris is doing, and some of his experimentation with the local population. I do not think my Torvatta is here. If it were close enough, I could sense it.”
As they all began to exit the room, Evaran stopped. He looked down for a moment, then faced the group. “It appears Count Boris is approaching from the rear with a large amount of Raskarian soldiers, and they are also covering the sides. We will be surrounded shortly and must get out of this place.”
A pit formed in Jake’s stomach. Although he felt certain they would get out of the situation, it might not be without casualties. He gulped as he followed Evaran.
Dr. Snowden took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. Although he had been in tough fights, this was one he did not think they would win.
Emily laid a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll be okay. We always are.”
“This one … feels different. This was a trap,” said Dr. Snowden.
“Maybe. I’m ready,” said Jake, cracking his neck.
“Let us move,” said Evaran as he continued down the hallway out of the control center.
The group followed him.
Dr. Snowden’s eyes widened when they got topside and entered the open area through the western interior archway. Raskarian soldiers were coming in through the north and south gates. Looking up, he observed they were also filling the walkways. The soldiers had batons with a glowing end on them. He figured they were probably stun sticks. If they had used weapons, he knew their group would not hold up to all that firepower coming from so many directions. It was apparent that they were wanted alive.
