Eye of the Abyss

by Michael Formichelli

  Nero hoped the mission to disable the defense system would get him in reach of Login. He longed for a chance to strike back at the corrupted Praetor for the loss of his starship and the quarantine breech. He was no longer of the Abyssian Order, bound to fight the VoQuana and contain them, but Login and Daedalus had made this personal, and he would see it through to the end regardless of his official status.

  Well, our enemies have given us plenty of reasons to fight, Prospero said. We’ve got to get ourselves a free path for the Katozi Slynn to take off without getting blown to bits in the process. Then we can take this battle to them.

  If they tried to leave now the Abyssian battle stations in orbit would obliterate them as they did the annihilator and the Akanda. They couldn’t leave without shutting down those defenses. It was going to be a difficult mission, and one he couldn’t afford to be distracted on, yet that’s how he felt now.

  Maybe you’re worried, Prospero said.

  “About?”

  Sorina. You have feelings for her. I know you’re seeking yourself here, but it’s apparent now that Kae can only tell you about the man you were on Savorcha, which certainly isn’t the man you are now. I think you’re going to have to learn about you on your own. You can start by opening up to her, and yourself, about what you feel, Prospero said.

  “This coming from you? You’re opposed to personal relationships on the job.”

  As you are fond of thinking, you are not on the job anymore. You’re not an Abyssian, and I have to accept that. What Daedalus did to you, to us, it’s monstrous. I have come to the conclusion that the best thing you can do for both of us is start living as a man. Get over your fears and just do it.

  Living as a man, not a tool of an all-powerful digital entity. There was a concept. That’s a bit of a change for you.

  How so?

  I think I know what you mean, and haven’t you been against that from the start? He asked.

  I am a heuristic computer.

  Um…

  It means I learn, you ignorant barbarian, Prospero said.

  Heh, it’s a miracle.

  Before Prospero could retort he felt a flux in his electromagnetic field sensors. A moment later Sorina’s arms came up from behind and fastened themselves about his waist. Her body pressed into his back, and he smiled.

  “It is amazing to me how many of my people choose to miss out on a view like this,” she said. “I bet Kaeden and Ameluan look at this together every time they are up here.”

  “It is pretty.” He put his hands on top of her laced fingers and pulled them open, using one to guide her around to stand in front of him. “I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to you.”

  Her ears moved from side to side as she waited for him to speak. He could just see the boxy form of Kaeden’s ship sitting on the gray stone floor to his left. He swept his eyes across it, making sure there was no one around.

  “We’ve been busy getting ready over the last few days, but that’s no excuse.”

  “No excuse for what?” she asked.

  “I need to be more honest with you, more open.”

  Go ahead, Prospero urged. This is your chance.

  “More open?” Her ears twitched.

  “You’ve been brave to share your feelings with me, and I haven’t been the same. I mean, a little, sure, but not like you have. You’re better at this than I am, clearly. Ah—” His throat constricted. For a long time he just stared at her, working his jaw to no effect. “Screw it.”

  He pulled her into him and wrapped his arms around her lithe form. Holding her tight, he pressed their lips together. Her cinnamon scent was thick in his nostrils as they opened their mouths. Her tongue met his, sweet and hot. He felt tremors vibrate through is body as he tasted her, and shivered when her hands slid up his sides to wrap around his back. They were like two quiet bellows, one filling, the other emptying in a perfect cycle as their bodies pressed against each other. He was tingling and on fire at the same time, but it felt good and right in a way that he knew he forgot could exist. The excitement of it made him press forward. Sorina pushed against his lips for a moment, then broke the kiss and nestled her head into his chest.

  “Sorry, I got carried away,” he said.

  “Do not apologize.” The point of her ear tickled his chin. She turned her head so her eyes were facing the mouth of the cave and the city in the valley below. “This is almost perfect.”

  “Almost?”

  “We do not have time for more.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ameluan has to go to work soon. Tonight is it. That is why I came to you, though I am pleased by the surprise you had for me.”

  The warm feeling in his gut faded. He sighed. “How are we with the virus?”

  “I have three variations ready, though I cannot guarantee they will work.” She tightened her grip on him.

  “There are no guarantees in life. I can live with that. You’ve done an amazing job.”

  He turned his head, bringing the city back into view. His eyes settled on the dark patch where the Akanda met her end. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it. At first he was angry at the loss of his home, but as he held Sorina in his arms, he had to wonder if it was yet another thing passing away from the illusory life that was his career as an Abyssian. He was being reforged, not as the man he was before Daedalus, or as the Abyssian he was in its service, but as the man he was becoming. In a strange way it filled him with hope to think that this mission was a path to becoming his true self. Maybe it all had meaning when viewed in that light.

  “How do you feel about it?”

  She propped her chin on his chest. “About what?”

  “About taking a VoQuana off Zov,” he said.

  Her ears twitched. “We are going to break the law.”

  “Are you bothered by that?”

  “Not so much as I thought I would be,” she answered. “Maybe I would be more bothered if he was as monstrous as the legends about his people say, but Ameluan has been nothing but sweet since we met him. Rune adores him as well.”

  “You trust Rune to judge? He’s ten,” Nero said.

  “Relaen say a child’s mind is less cluttered. They see things adults do not.”

  “Are you sure you know about ten-year old humans?”

  “I know you do not.” She flinched against him. “Sorry. I did not mean to offend you.”

  “You didn’t, and you’re right. I don’t even remember being ten.” He sighed. “Judging people takes experience, though. How much could the kid have?”

  “Your friend seems the type to live a varied and interesting life.”

  Point for Sorina, Prospero said.

  “He’s right, you have me there I guess.” He shrugged. “Ameluan does seem like a good person, but remember they share minds. There’s just something about that I don’t trust.”

  “We do the same with our cerebral computers.”

  “It’s not the same thing.”

  Her ears flopped. “Maybe.”

  “We’ll just have to keep an eye on him,” he said.

  “Forever? Where can he go in the Confederation where he will not be hated, arrested, or maybe killed? How long can he stay hidden?” she asked.

  “I don’t know, but that’s really Kae’s problem I guess. He’s the one making this deal. I need Kae to go with us, both as a witness against Baron Revenant and for personal reasons.”

  “We have been with him nearly a week. Has he told you more of your past?”

  Nero shook his head, feeling a weight press down upon him. “He’s told me military stories, tales of how our unit attacked this ridge or took that plateau on Savorcha. He spoke about the hell of basic training, though I didn’t know him then, and of how we met when he signed up for the Star Jumpers. He told stories of adventures we had and a handful about Orithia, the sister I can’t seem to remember, but none of it touches the stuff I need to know. None of his stories release me from Daedalus’ memory lockout.”
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  She reached up and touched his face. He resisted the urge to flinch away.

  “After this I’ll have to find Orithia, I guess,” he said.

  “I’ll?” Her ears twitched.

  “We’ll find Orithia,” he corrected himself. “I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to the idea of having you in my life like—well, like you are now.”

  “I have been in your life already.”

  He hugged her tighter. “Not like this.”

  She smiled and pulled back from him, taking his hands with her own. “This is taking getting used to, is it?”

  Nero, I sense a trap, Prospero said.

  “Not like that, I mean—well—”

  She leaned in, silencing him with a kiss. “I tease.”

  “You do.” He smiled.

  “Perhaps we will all be fugitives after this.”

  “Fugitives?”

  She cast her amber eyes towards the floor. “Daedalus will still be after you. The CSA and Daedalus will be after Kaeden and Ameluan, and after both of us for letting them escape. Once it is known, we will all be fugitives.”

  He sighed, the moment of happiness dying in his chest. “You’re right. We’ll figure it out after all this is over. Maybe if a baron favorable to our mission assumes power we can get a pass.”

  The sound of Athame walking down the Slynn’s ramp drew their attention. Behind her Rune followed looking as serious as his decade-old face allowed.

  “It is time,” the boy said. Athame nodded.

  “I will get Ameluan the virus program.” Sorina turned to the ship’s ramp, but paused when she saw her target descend towards them.

  His gaunt body crossed the distance between the ship and Nero with bold steps. Green sparks in a field of glossy-black swept over them.

  “This is not going to work.” He drew himself up within arm’s reach. “It cannot be done.”

  “It can,” she said. “Once the virus complex is in place it will open the system to us. I can show you how, but it is not easy.”

  Ameluan stared at her, the circle and line tattoos on his face distorting as he gritted the teeth in his small mouth. At length he nodded. “All right, show me, but with your permission I would like to do it my way. It is faster.”

  “Your way?” Nero frowned.

  “Mind to mind contact.”

  He tensed, about to speak but Prospero cut him off. It’s her decision.

  He looked at Athame, seeking an ally, but she stood passive and silent.

  “It’s okay. He and dad do it all the time,” Rune said.

  Sorina glanced back at Nero, ears twitching. “I do not know. I have never done this before.”

  “Kae tells me it is more intimate,” Ameluan said. “But I will not pry past what you show me.”

  Nero gritted his teeth. Rune stared up at him as though trying to figure something out.

  “Intimate? Why do not I just tell you how?” she responded.

  “I am not a computer expert. My kind does not use them as much or in the same way as yours does. We do not put them in our minds, we are not part machines as you are. Your words are wasted. Show me instead, if you are willing.”

  Nero watched Sorina’s ears twitch before, to his shock, she nodded.

  “Okay, but only what I show you.”

  “Of course. I am not a monster,” Ameluan said.

  “Are you sure?” He half-growled the words.

  It is her choice, Nero, Prospero reminded him. Try and let go of this.

  “It will be okay,” Rune said.

  He gritted his teeth harder.

  “We have to get off this planet,” she said to him. “This is our only opportunity to do so. I will do it.”

  Ameluan nodded. “It will feel weird, but it won’t hurt. Still, brace yourself. You may become dizzy.”

  She nodded and moved so that her back pressed against Nero’s chest. She grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her. He planted a kiss on the coppery braids between her tall ears and held her tight, trying to ignore the burning sensation in his gut.

  Ameluan moved within 30-centimeters of them. “Try to relax. I need you to remove your device.”

  She reached up to her throat and released the choker she received from Athame. A moment later she gasped, trembling in Nero’s arms as she swayed on her feet. He frowned, staring at Ameluan, watching him for any sign of betrayal—as if he could tell. His hand twitched towards his gun.

  “My apologies. Our abilities cause a shift in equilibrium in other species. It is a phenomena similar to static due to the dissimilarities in our brains,” Ameluan said in a half-whisper. “Relax, show me the steps. Do it in your mind as though you are doing it for real. Yes, I see.”

  Sorina’s ears vibrated, tickling Nero’s jawline. It seemed to go on forever, each moment ratcheted the tension in his gut higher, though his chronometer did not advance much past a minute.

  “Do you understand?” she asked.

  Ameluan stepped back. Nero felt Sorina sag in his arms.

  “I do. I see.”

  “Are you all right?” Rune asked her. When she nodded he looked relieved.

  Behind him Kaeden came down the ramp.

  “Are you okay, Luan?” Rune asked.

  “Fine, don’t worry. I understand now. I will do as you ask. I’ll message you through the network when it is done.” With that Ameluan inclined his head and headed for the exit, pausing at the base of the ramp to kiss Kae before moving on.

  “Everything all right?” Nero asked Sorina.

  “Yes, it was just strange. A new experience,” she said, breathing hard. “I will be fine in a minute.”

  “See, I told you,” Rune said. “Luan wouldn’t hurt people.”

  Kae walked over, gesturing for him to head back into the ship. The boy ignored him, pushing out a defiant lip.

  “I want to stay.”

  Kae rolled his eyes. “Kids. Look, Nero, I know that was weird, but it’s how he learns best—”

  “No need to explain.” He didn’t want to hear another word about it. He released Sorina to stand on her own and tried to swallow the tense, angry feeling that now filled him. “We have a mission to get done. Right?”

  Kae stiffened but nodded. “Right.”

  He looked out over the city. “We’ve got to be cautious.”

  “What are you thinking?” Kae asked.

  “We give Ameluan some time to get situated and put the virus in the system. Then we’ll move in from the sewer system.”

  Kae frowned. “You won’t leave Luan in the lurch will you?”

  He glanced down at Rune, then moved over to Kae and put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t dream of it. We’ll head right over to the ziggurat, and hopefully with the virus in place, get your man and meet you topside to get off this damn planet.”

  Rune smiled.

  Kae frowned, but nodded. “All right. The kid and I will get the ship ready for takeoff.”

  “Who’s the kid?” Rune asked.

  Kae chuckled. “I forgot, you hate that.”

  Rune stared hard at Kae, hooking his thumbs into his belt.

  “Thank you,” Nero said with a nod. “Athame, load up. We’re heading out.”

  The grate came free with a metallic snap and clattered into the corridor above with much more noise than Nero would have liked.

  Be a little louder, please. I’m sure we won’t get caught otherwise, Prospero snapped.

  Can it. He pulled himself up through the square aperture into a narrow, fastcrete passage above. Old pipes, some badly corroded, ran up and down its length. There were no lights as maintenance robots saw by heat, but so could his cybernetic eyes. There was a foul smell, something between wet rot and rust that tickled his nose and throat with every breath of the cold, slimy air.

  “You’d think they’d keep this area in better shape,” he whispered. He reached down to pull Sorina up. Athame leapt up on her own after he set Sorina on her feet.

  �
�The city shows signs of decay everywhere. It is like they do not care,” Sorina whispered back.

  “It is a society-wide, pathological response to the depressed conditions enforced by the quarantine,” Athame stated. “Many basic services were observed to fall out of practice as the years went on.”

  Nero drew his pistol and started down the passage. According to Kae, the third door they came to would lead into the back of the server room where they were to meet Ameluan. This should be a quick in-and-out mission as long as things went according to plan.

  “Why let it go on? Why not help them recover?” Sorina asked.

  “Daedalus decided they should experience his influence on a daily basis. It was calculated the VoQuana might consider rebellion if they were not reminded of their situation,” Athame responded. “Though historical context for such actions has not shown positive results for extended time periods under such conditions, those situations were with different species.”

  “That sounds like a poor justification,” she responded.

  “I note that these conditions are nearly identical to those on New Bimini before my parents lead the rebellion,” Athame said.

  He frowned, reminded of something Setha once said about Daedalus. “I’m starting to think the quarantine has become the act of something that can’t see past its own ego.”

  Or Daedalus is manipulating them into a rebellion so it can have an excuse to wipe the VoQuana out, Prospero added.

  He shivered, remembering what Athame revealed of the digital entity’s plans for the citizens of the Confederation. He still wasn’t sure what they could do about it, but every new thing they learned about Daedalus seemed to cry out for action.

  He crouched down when they reached the third door. It was about half the normal size, requiring one to squat-walk through. Ameluan was to knock four times on the door to indicate he was present. Nero reasoned he shouldn’t be long. He already had hours to assess the situation and find a free terminal to implant the complex of viruses. Even if he failed to find an opportunity, he was still supposed to meet up with them here. The lack of direct communication limited their ability to set a specific time, but it should be soon.