D'mok Revival: The Nukari Invasion Anthology

by Michael Zummo

  How did this work again?

  Mimicking the demonstration Eyani gave before they left, she squeezed the trigger. A gel oozed out the front tip of the gun-shaped dispenser. The goo quickly coated the finger, lifting it out of the crack as it encased it in a protective blob. Allia picked it up and studied it from various angles.

  “Anything else down there?” Seigie called down.

  After putting the sealed finger in her pocket, Allia’s eyes scoured the ground, looking into other cracks. She was about to give up when her feet stepped on something. Lifting her foot, she saw part of a metal emblem, still mostly covered in the black soot. Repeating the process, she encased it with the gel and stowed it in her pocket.

  Loud clicks echoed from above, before the roar of engines became deafening. Ichini drew closer to Allia, who looked around, confused. Atop the crater she noticed Seigie peering into the distance. A sudden thunderous boom sounded just before Allia saw a ship streaking in the sky overhead.

  “What’s going on?” she yelled to Seigie.

  “The other ship on the landing pad, the one next to ours, just took off,” Seigie called out. “Anything else down there?”

  Allia looked around one last time and shook her head. “No, we’re coming back up.”

  She bounded onto Ichini’s back, and her companion retraced his path down. In moments, they were back next to Seigie.

  “You’re a mess,” Seigie said as Allia hopped down. Gazing at her blackened feet, Allia wondered if Toriko would mind the ship getting messy.

  “Here, hold still,” Seigie said, pulled out a blue gem and charged it. Allia noticed a pained expression cross the matriarch’s face as the gem broke and released a thin blast of water that cleaned Allia’s feet. In fact, she realized, Seigie seemed to have that expression anytime she charged a gem lately.

  “Please don’t do that,” Allia said, concerned.

  “Do what?”

  But Allia knew Seigie got the message.

  The whir of a vehicle grew from down the paved road.

  “They’re back,” Seigie said. “Come on,” she motioned, and headed toward the gateway into the complex.

  * * * * *

  “We were able to verify much of Telik’s information,” Seigie said, looking down at the data pad. “Ten or so main structures, including storage areas. Most of it was destroyed, but more survived the attack than I thought there would be.”

  “Anything of interest?” Mencari asked.

  “Some supply sheds were left standing, though the fires that destroyed the complex left the contents damaged or all but unusable. Nothing to salvage there I could tell.”

  Seigie paused and looked back to the far end of the outpost. “Some robotics. Most automated builder units from their assembly building,” she pointed in the direction of the structure. “We also found blast holes in the floor.”

  “What’s unusual about that?”

  Her ancient brow cracked as she pondered the question. “They were perfectly spaced, as if in a pattern. There was only dirt underneath, but—”

  “—they must have been searching for …” Allia fumbled with realization.

  “This way,” Seigie said, and led the group to a deep crater.

  “That goes down pretty far,” Mencari said, curious.

  “Were they looking for this one?” Allia asked.

  “It makes sense now,” Seigie said.

  “They knew,” Allia added. “Then that explains the footprints.”

  “What footprints?” Mencari said.

  “In the ash—and dragging marks.” She pointed.

  “Someone’s already been down there, and emptied it out,” Seigie said.

  “What was down there?” Mencari turned to Telik.

  “There’s nothing in the records about lower levels. Though—” Telik gazed over at the ruined satellite dishes. “Looking at the outpost’s configuration, I thought the communications array was a bit oversized.”

  “More communications systems?” Mencari said, allowing the notion to wash over him. “So there might have been more than a simple technology exchange going on here, whatever that might have been.”

  “And the Nukari knew?” Allia said.

  “We should have Eyani check to see if the other locations attacked had similar lower levels like this one,” Seigie said.

  Mencari agreed, nodding. “We need to find out more about these Nurealians. If the Nukari are already targeting them—”

  “They could be a useful ally,” Seigie said.

  The communicator on Mencari’s chest illuminated, then a hologram of Eyani appeared before him. “Rhysus,” she said.

  “We were just talking about you—”

  “We have a report of those creatures attacking again,” she said with urgency. “One planet out from where you are.”

  “Playtime!” Naijen said, sprinting toward the ship.

  * * * * *

  “Are you sure this is the place?” Mencari said, reviewing readings.

  “We had confirmed reports from multiple sources,” Eyani’s image said.

  “On the display,” Allia said, pointing. Tiny, erratic blips moved a few clicks from their current position. “They’ve just moved the fight.”

  Mencari adjusted course and headed toward the battle.

  Allia looked out the window at the bursting blasts of energy. “Pretty!”

  “It’s like fireworks dancing,” Mencari agreed.

  “Or swarms of fireflies!”

  Streaks of silver and blue clashed and circled. Pulses of blue and white energy blazed brilliant trails of light against the black canvas of space.

  Gazing at the radar, the dots scurried fast, changing direction in radical and organic ways.

  “Those can’t be ships,” Mencari said. “Eyani, are you getting this?”

  A projection of Eyani appeared. “It’s all coming through. The blue streaks match what we know of the creatures the Nukari encountered.”

  “Cross-referencing for information on the silver phenomena,” Bob’s voice said.

  “Can you get closer? Get footage?” Eyani asked.

  “Let me out!” Naijen said. “I want to get in it!”

  “Get in what?” Seigie said. “We don’t even know what’s going on out there.”

  “I don’t care, I just wanna fight!” Naijen bellowed.

  “Sit down!” Seigie yelled.

  “I’m gonna go!” Naijen moved toward the airlock.

  Mencari was about to protest, when he heard a pained grunt from the warrior followed by the slinging of blades. Seigie had stood, her stony hands around Naijen’s throat. The warrior had drawn the Skar, but was at a disadvantage fighting a woman made of crystals.

  “You’re not going anywhere until we know what’s going on,” she said, a hellish red blazing in her ruby eyes. “Now—sit!”

  She shoved him back. Unbalanced, he fell into his seat. Mencari held his breath, wondering what Naijen would do. The matriarch held her hellfire gaze, one returned with an icy glare from the warrior. Only the electric buzz of the onboard systems filled the air.

  The growing look of disgust on Naijen’s face, along with the popping veins, worried Mencari. The Skar began to quiver in his hand. Mencari’s mind spun with what to say to prevent his team from turning on each other.

  An alert called out to Mencari, drawing his attention down to the proximity display. Additional dots were appearing. “Something’s happening out there.”

  “Then … find … out!” Naijen barked, squeezed the Skar and allowed the blades to retract.

  Seigie sat back down and reviewed the changing display.

  “Don’t touch me again, stone lady,” Naijen snarled.

  “Yeah? Don’t be a meathead and I won’t have to.”

  “Let’s focus,” Mencari said. “Naijen, I’m taking us closer to get some answers.”

  Mencari maneuvered the ship in. Despite the new entrants, the mass of dots continued to move farther away.
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  “It’s like two swarms, duking it out,” Allia said.

  Seigie observed, “It doesn’t look like either side has an advantage.”

  “They’re breaking off!” Mencari said. The groups of dots had clustered and were rapidly moving in opposite directions. Parting shots of energy whizzed at the opposing faction. Large blips appeared next to one fleeing group.

  “Ships!” Mencari said. “I’m not getting any signatures though.”

  “Let me at ’em!” Naijen stood.

  “We’ll never catch them,” Seigie said, not bothering to stand.

  The ship burst forward as Mencari sped toward the fleeing groups.

  “Get as much information as you can, Rhysus,” Eyani said. “Systems are recording data on all channels and frequencies.”

  One group appeared to be loading into the newly arrived ships, as the other vanished in a pulse of energy.

  “The ships are pulling away at amazing speeds,” Seigie said.

  The vessels disappeared off the proximity display.

  * * * * *

  “Bob confirmed the other Nurealian locations attacked had similar underground levels,” Eyani said, her violet eyes steeped in concern.

  “What do these Nurealians know that’s drawing the Nukari out like this?” Seigie said, perplexed. “Who was fighting the Nukari creatures?”

  “Does Eden have any contacts with the Nurealians?” Mencari asked.

  “They’re a relatively new race,” Eyani said.

  “The Trade Federation of the Be’Inaxi’s data hub reports the Nurealian Articles of Recognition are still being processed.” Bob’s holographic body appeared next to Eyani. “However, within the last three hours, communications with the Nurealians have been lost.”

  “What do you mean, lost?” Mencari said.

  “Formerly established lines of communication are no longer functional,” Bob explained. “Their ambassador and supporting staff have also disappeared.”

  “Something’s going on here,” Mencari said.

  “An envoy was already being dispatched to the Nurealian homeworld,” Bob said.

  “Standard procedure for both the Articles of Recognition, and a loss of contact,” Eyani said. “There’s nothing more you can do now. Bring your team home, Rhysus.”

  * * * * *

  “I can’t believe you’re gone,” Toriko said, gently stroking the grayed fur on the professor’s peaceful face.

  Her mind wandered back to the first time they met, at the academy. Those were hard days, just weeks after her parents had died in an accident. At least that’s what she and her sister Maro were told.

  I felt like no one cared I was there … worse, like they were all judging me. Like I wasn’t worthy to be there.

  She sat in the front row of the professor’s class, not because she wanted to, but rather because no one would move their books from the chairs next to them. The topic: Advanced Artificial Intelligence, something Toriko loved.

  At the end of class, the professor came up to her and said, “I like how you think—solid questions. You sure you’re a freshman?”

  The kind words still made her smile.

  “You’ve got it—I can tell,” he told her.

  Her eyes began to burn.

  “When no one else cared—you did,” she said, still stroking his fur. The smiling face in her memories replaced the lifeless one before her. “Thank you for believing in me.”

  The fur under her own eyes felt matted, she didn’t care. A sickly swell of sorrow rose from within her. Her hand drew close to her mouth, attempting to contain the sob.

  “What will I do now?” she whispered.

  Spark pawed at her leg, whimpering.

  Her creation took on a blurred form as she gazed upon it. The Terconian network—she needed to tell her friends back home what happened. Wiping her eyes, she sat back, and then held out her hand. A floating holographic cube formed. She tossed it into the air, and the cube burst into a virtual interface. It took her moments to patch into the Trading Post’s guest network and tunnel into her sister Maro’s network back on Tericn.

  She logged into their social hub, MeMeMe. The clinical, almost sterile interface appeared. Like an old friend. She recalled her belief it was one of the cleanest interfaces possible. Under an overly posed, almost cartoony picture of herself, was her online name, Master Tecra. Her geocaching days and her claim-to-fame on the Terconian net seemed a lifetime ago. Even her handle felt as obsolete, just like her old XoXo garb.

  Tiny icons were tagged by a staggering count of friend requests and posts. Countless private messages asked where she had disappeared to, when she’d be back. While it was nice to be remembered, she didn’t care to respond. Her old life didn’t matter anymore, not after the Nukari and losing the professor.

  Toriko pulled up his personal MeMeMe page. Frantic posts asked if he was okay, if rumors of his kidnapping were true. The last post that wasn’t an inserted ad banner was over a year old.

  A year? Is it possible?

  Her sense of time was distorted. Perhaps all the days on the asteroid base were more numerous than she thought.

  She began to type.

  “The professor is …”

  Pausing, her eyes read and then reread the short phrase.

  What’s the best way to say this?

  What else was there to say? But there would be questions, lots of them. How would she answer them? Tell his friends and family he was a spy, murdered by the Nukari that had control of Tericn and the Bansa Corporation? Who would believe that? Then again, who would believe he’d be kidnapped and killed?

  An icon appeared in her peripheral vision. A smile broke her mottled lips when she recognized Maro’s digital signature. Reaching out, she touched the emblem. A hologram of her sister stretched outward.

  “You’re hacking into my network and you don’t even say hello?” Maro said.

  Toriko smiled. Maro still had on that crazy suit with the inlaid lights. Toriko wanted to say hello, say something. Instead, she bit down on her lip as a torrent of emotion crashed over her. In an instant, the world was a blurry haze, as tears welled.

  “Toriko?” Maro said. “Are you okay?”

  She couldn’t answer. She could only shake her head back and forth.

  “What’s going on?”

  Toriko’s eyes turned to the professor, lying on the slab next to her. A strange paralysis overcame her. All she could do was stare.

  “Toriko!” Maro said with angst. “Please, tell me what’s going on.”

  Toriko’s mind reached out through her neural network, sharing the images from her eyeband. The response was instant.

  “Eudora,” Maro said. “Is that …”

  Toriko nodded.

  “Toriko … I’m so sorry.”

  Tears flowed over saturated fur. Anger crept into her heart.

  “They killed him,” she said, looking back to her sister. “They killed him, Maro.” Her words were bitter, yet deep guilt drowned her inside. “It’s all my fault,” she said, no longer able to contain the sobs. “If I … if … I hadn’t told him … just ignored what… what I found. Just had listened when others said it was nothing.”

  “Toriko, no,” Maro said. “But you did find something, and he wanted to understand what it was. He chose to, Toriko.”

  Images of that black beam shooting into space appeared. Moments replayed of the countless hours she and the professor toiled to uncover the energy’s secrets. He was interested, very interested.

  Mencari’s voice echoed in her mind, Eyani said he was one of their agents.

  Was that it? she thought. Beyond just an interest in helping her, his actions had helped in his function as an Eden agent?

  That would make sense. Maybe he knew what was going on, but didn’t have good leads until she exposed that transmission beam to him.

  The realization buffered her agony. She had helped him—in something he was trying to do anyway. What if the other things he looked in
to drew the Nukari’s attention to him? The beam would still have been a factor, but it wouldn’t be the only thing that would have led to this result.

  “This would have happened either way,” Toriko said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

  “What would have?” Maro said.

  Toriko shook her head. “He deserves a proper burial. I’m not going to leave him here.”

  Her eyes wandered as her mind pulled together a plan.

  “I’m bringing him home.”

  * * * * *

  “Good work,” Eyani greeted the others as each climbed out the hatch of the docked ship.

  “I have the goodies!” Allia bounded with Ichini over to Eyani and Bob. “When you’re done, can I get the ring?”

  “I think she likes the gem,” Seigie said, amused. “I can understand why.”

  “Let’s see what everything is first,” Eyani said, looking into the bag. “I’ll keep you posted on what the lab techs find.”

  Exiting, Mencari glanced back into the ship. “Naijen, coming?”

  “No.”

  “Somebody in a time-out?” Seigie said, unimpressed.

  “Shove it, stone lady.”

  “I already did, or did that pea brain forget already—?”

  “Seigie,” Mencari interrupted.

  “Are we going to see Toriko and the professor?” Allia said, to draw focus from the building tension.

  “Toriko’s not here,” Eyani said.

  Mencari looked over, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  “She didn’t tell you? She took the professor’s body back to Tericn,” Eyani explained. “They left a few hours ago.”

  “She never said anything,” Mencari said.

  “Maybe she’s still mad?” Seigie said, jabbing Mencari in the side.

  “Communications to Maro indicated the desire for a proper wake,” Bob elaborated flatly.

  “She’s going to host a funeral?” Seigie said.

  “That would be my interpretation … stone lady,” Bob said.

  The red glow in Seigie’s eyes expressed a displeasure her crystalized face couldn’t. A scoff came from inside the ship.

  “My name is Seigie, bug,” she corrected.

  “My apologies … C-G, colloquialism misinterpreted,” Bob choked. “Removing reference from future use.”