At his feet, Mencari noticed the cave’s stony floor had turned to sand. Waves lapped the shore a few meters away.
Nikko looked around. “I thought all the beaches had eroded away—”
A sudden howl sent Mencari into a defensive stance.
“We don’t know what’s out there,” Seigie said. “Give me the light crystals so we won’t be noticed as easily.”
While he swiveled his head to take in the sights around them, Mencari noticed Seigie collect the crystals, drain away the energy, and then stow them away. Again a howl filled the air.
“It came from that way.” He pointed. The toxic fog hung thinly near the water. “There are buildings over there too. What’s over here?” he said to Nikko and Cogeni.
Again, both shook their heads. “Nothing, as far as we know,” Cogeni said.
Mencari inched forward, going around structures in the sand. One jutted hundreds of feet into the water. A crude metal mesh ran along the top of the walls, with spiked barbs leaning in across the very top.
Tracing the sound of the cries, Allia pointed. “Something big, moving around in the water.”
Farther inland were more fenced-in areas, with a horde of the cave creatures lumbering within.
“What is this place?” Nikko whispered.
A familiar cry rang out across the water. Tube-like arms stretched into the air, then disappeared behind the walls.
“The creatures that attacked the pier?” Cogeni asked, stunned.
Mencari trained his eyes across the partly submerged barrier. “Hey, I see a breach in the fence….”
As he spoke, one of the creatures found the opening, came through it, and trundled down the beach away from them. “So that’s where they’re coming from,” he muttered.
His eyes fell upon a familiar mark on the fence. “Nukari. This is one of their facilities.”
Cogeni’s face was a mixture of confusion, doubt, and anger. “Same as on the harbor crates. Could it be true that all this time, we’ve been helping something so evil?”
“Do you need more proof?”
The dockworker’s teeth gritted.
Allia said, “So now what?”
The harrowing cries from the water abruptly increased, and a pair of tentacles emerged above the fence’s walls. Bright lights beamed to life at the deepest end of the fence, and the tentacles sped toward the wall. A long, tubular body appeared in a plume of water and bounded into the open sea.
Nikko said, “Did that thing just—”
“—get out?” Allia gasped.
An alarm blared as brighter lights illuminated next to the now-glowing blue pods. The group slunk back, farther into the cave, when soldiers, shouting, ran down previously unseen stairs toward the beachfront enclosure. Mencari’s eyes fell on a soldier with a custom-made facemask and long blond hair, sporting a blue-and-silver trench coat with a maroon sash covered in military-style medals.
Mencari cursed. “I’ve seen that uniform a few times now. An officer from the upper city? Maybe Nukari—”
“That’s the man we saw on the temple balcony,” Allia said.
From farther down the beach came the rumbling of vehicles speeding away from shore.
The officer in the trench coat bellowed into a communication device, “It just shows twelve creatures, not thirteen!”
Another soldier checked a display built into his armguard. “It’s not showing up on the radar, sir.” He called up a different display. “Tracking shows it was moving east before it went out of range.”
Again the officer blurted into his comm unit, “Base, this is Commander Whemel at location A32-1. The creature’s inbound east, toward the platform. Use extreme caution when approaching.”
The communicator crackled back. “Roger that. We’ve detected it. ETA two minutes. Orders are to secure the other creatures, then return to the command post. Our local magistrate awaits.”
“Are you kidding?” Whemel grunted in disgust. “Copy that. I’m on my way.”
“What’s due east of here?” Mencari whispered to Cogeni.
“I don’t know. Just more water …”
The soldiers hastily left, shutting down the spotlights as they went.
“I say we blow tha walls and let all tha beasties out,” Naijen said, his voice a soft growl.
Nikko glanced at him. “What if they make their way to the piers or into the city?”
“I think we’ve seen enough for now.” Mencari gave Naijen a warning look. “We have to get back to the ship, get word to Eyani about this, and try to get reinforcements. Maybe even get the Coalition in on this. I don’t want to risk getting overpowered here.”
“We don’t even know how to get back up there,” Seigie muttered. “Or even if the nebula storm is done. We could still be planet-bound.”
“As long as the Nukari don’t know we’re here, we still have time to figure things out,” Mencari said, leading them back to the cave.
“Why are they doing this?” Cogeni said. “And how?”
“I don’t know why, but the how is easy. All the crates you move probably end up here.”
“But why is this allowed? How do they have a whole operation here?” Frustration grew in Cogeni’s voice. “This would never be allowed.”
“Someone from the upper city has to be working with the Nukari then.”
As they slipped into the cave, Seigie grunted, illuminating a few stones.
Cogeni said, “If they were functioning together, why would they allow the creatures to attack us? All that’s done is slow our work. No, the upper city would never want that to happen. It would disrupt their quality of life.”
“The operation looks sloppy—holes in fences, barriers too low to contain their own beasts,” Seigie said, passing the stones out.
“What if we collapsed the cave entrance?”
The group turned and looked back toward Allia.
“What?” Seigie said.
“Stop the creatures from getting easy access into the city,” Allia said matter-of-factly.
Nikko nodded. “We should!”
“You go on ahead. I’ll make sure it gets closed,” Seigie said.
Mencari looked at her with concern, but knew he wasn’t going to talk her out of anything. She and Naijen shared that quality sometimes. Nodding, he led the group into the cave. In moments, there was a rush of air and a slight rumble, then silence. As the luminance from another light-stone appeared behind them, Seigie reappeared, limping but looking satisfied.
Mencari said, “No explosion?”
“Not when you use a wind crystal to buffer and contain the blast. How do you think I cleared out all those tunnels back on Aeun?”
When they reached the spot where the man was left gored, they found new drag marks and chewed bits of flesh.
Naijen’s eyes twinkled. “Somethin’ still around here. Let’s go.”
“No sense in us chasing the creature,” Mencari countered. “Especially not with those Nukari about. I do not want to encounter them head on right now. Not a chance.”
Naijen’s face contorted as if to snarl, before turning away. He remained unusually silent as they backtracked to the B.P. Hovel.
* * * * *
“The dock is done!” Cogeni looked out over the new-and-improved facilities. The Nukari boat bobbed in the gentle waves, tied to the pier.
“Certainly got you back up and going fast enough,” Seigie said, suspicious.
Nikko sighed. “This is so hard to believe. They were so helpful, so kind.”
“The Nukari usually are, until they take over,” Mencari said. “Just ask my friend, Toriko, what happened on her planet—”
Cogeni held out his hand, stopping the others.
The door to the Hovel was open a crack, and no guards stood outside. Worried, Mencari and Cogeni approached and listened. While not distinct, they heard muttered conversation. Mencari motioned for the others to stay while he went in. Despite his directive, Cogeni pushed in behind him.
/>
CHAPTER 6:
The Power Of Three
Toriko sat quiet, staring without seeing the field of images and videos projected before her. She didn’t need the holograms to remember who Professor FX was to her, or all the ways he touched her life. She expected to feel sad, or angry. Instead she just felt—numb. That was never good, and she knew it. When would whatever she was really feeling rear its ugly head?
“Hey.” Maro touched her shoulder. “How are you holding up?”
She had been so lost in thought she didn’t even hear her sister come in. She could only shrug in response.
“The professor would have been very proud of your tribute today,” Maro said. “There’s even a video of it trending on MeMeMe.”
“Thanks.”
“I think Ujaku, Daleron, and Palo are still talking to the reporters.”
That’s right, she’d forgotten about the small army that descended on the funeral. Everyone wanted to know what happened, and how a respected professor had been abducted and then murdered. Her old resistance buddies stepped in and saved her from what would have been a horrific attempt to explain the already unbelievable situation.
“I’ll have to thank them later,” Toriko said. “I didn’t even think about that….” She noticed Maro staring. “What?”
“I’ve never seen you like this before, I guess.”
“Is there some other way I should be right now?”
Maro sighed. “Hey, I’m not being critical.”
“For once.” Toriko was shocked at the words that came from her mouth. Even Spark looked up, head tilted in curious concern.
“I didn’t cause this. And neither did you,” Maro said. “But I’m not the enemy here.”
Maro did work with the Nukari when the professor was taken. But she didn’t have anything to do with his kidnapping; that part was true. From Maro’s shock when she discovered the Nukari plot that killed their parents, Toriko had to believe her sister didn’t know what the Nukari were really about.
“I know,” Toriko said in the kindest tone she could muster given the situation.
An awkward silence filled the room.
“So,” Maro started. “When are you heading back? “
“I don’t know if I am.”
“What?” Maro gasped. “Doesn’t Mencari need you?”
Again Toriko shrugged.
“Are you still mad he didn’t tell you right away?”
A shrug was becoming habitual. Neither that, nor being short on words, was something Toriko was accustomed to. “We talked about that already. He’s Human, he makes mistakes—we all do. Let it go.”
“It’s not just that.”
“Then what is it, Toriko?”
“I just don’t know what to do—don’t know what good I’ll be.”
“Why? Because the professor is gone?”
Toriko could only look away.
“Nothing has really changed. The professor wasn’t there before and you did amazing things.”
“But I had hope I’d find him.”
“You have to find a new hope. Did Mencari give up when the Nukari killed his family and wiped out his space station? I’ve read the reports. Toriko, the Nukari are still out there. I hope we can stop them before they do this to other people.”
A lecture was the last thing she wanted. Who was Maro to lecture her anyway?
“Maybe I’ll just help you and Daleron here.”
Maro’s head shook in disapproval. “We’re making good progress. You’re needed out there.”
“What if I don’t want to?”
“It’s not about want—it’s about need.”
Toriko knew she was right—about everything. But she wasn’t feeling all that logical at the moment. Since when was she not allowed to feel what she was feeling, or decide what she wanted to do?
But that thought didn’t feel right. The Nukari were out there, and still had to be stopped. Maro strode across the room. For a moment Toriko wondered if she’d made her sister mad enough to leave. Instead, Maro stopped at an alcove in the wall.
“I was going to give this to you before you headed out, but I don’t think it can wait.” Maro’s voice was strangely giddy. Toriko watched, silent.
Maro pressed her hand against the wall. A soft pink light radiated from beneath her hand. When she retracted her hand, a pink print glowed a moment before fading away.
“You wanted to show me a luminescent reactive wall?” Toriko said, confused, and unimpressed.
The lights dimmed. Spark’s visor began to beam an electric blue light around the room, providing light to his master.
“Spark, turn the light off,” Maro said.
To his hesitation Toriko said, “Light off, Spark.”
Swallowed again by the darkness, a strobing purple light poured through expanding slots in the wall. A thick fog rolled from the opening panel as a choir of ohs and ahs filled the room. Inside, Toriko made out a dark object. Sudden, brilliant pink strips of light illuminated what appeared to be a suit of tech armor.
Her heart almost leaped from her chest as she lunged toward it.
* * * * *
Still alarmed, Mencari and Cogeni crept into the B.P. Hovel, ears focused for the slightest sound.
“Guess we’ll go back out now, take a last look around before we head out,” the Nukari soldier said as he pushed through the beaded curtain. “Thanks again for the break.”
Mencari and Cogeni hastily turned to the cubbies, making it look as if they were stowing items. The soldier slowed and waved at Cogeni, recognizing him as a dockworker.
“Seen the pier?” a second guard said as he emerged through the beads, distracting the first one from Mencari. “Best I’ve ever seen it.”
“Thank you again.” Cogeni forced a smile. “Great work.”
Hearing the casual conversation, the others entered from outside.
The soldier stopped and looked back at Cogeni, curious, just as Blupp burst through the beaded curtain. He gave a quick greeting then said, “Need to discuss Nikko’s new routine. Let’s head to the back and talk about it.”
He grabbed Cogeni and Nikko and pulled them through the beads.
* * * * *
“They’re still on the lookout for you, you have to be careful,” Blupp barked at Cogeni.
“We were concerned, there were no guards out front,” he returned.
“We’re in good hands.”
“I’d rethink that stance,” Mencari said.
The group entered the rear storage room to talk. As the door closed, Cogeni explained what they’d discovered.
“So, those soldiers are linked to those horrible creatures?” Blupp said, and began to pace. “Then why did they help us make them stop?”
“The creatures were escaping from where they’re keeping them,” Allia said. “Maybe they can’t control them very well.”
Blupp shook his head. “And to think, we’ve let them come and go all this time—”
A knock on the door was followed by Pultch’s head. He whispered to Blupp, then left in a hurry.
Nikko said, “What is it, Blupp?”
“One of the soldiers wants to talk to Cogi. He’s waiting outside.”
Cogeni’s look at Mencari sent a wave of adrenaline through Mencari’s veins. They knew he was here now: no way for them to easily avoid this. Hopefully their own cover wasn’t blown. Regardless, he couldn’t let Cogeni handle the Nukari alone.
“We’ll all come with you.”
* * * * *
“Are you Cogeni?” a familiar voice said as they approached. The hair was unmistakable; it was the Nukari commander, Whemel.
“Yes. Can I help you?”
“I’m Commander Whemel, special forces. You’ve been a hard person to find.”
Cogeni gave a careful smile. “Why are you looking for me?”
Instead of answering, Whemel lifted a device to his mouth and spoke quietly. Then, he extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, A
rbiter Omura.”
Mencari saw Cogeni tense at the title, eyes panicked.
Footsteps crunched on the dry soil behind Whemel. A small cluster of soldiers emerged from the fog, marching in step around a robed figure. From under the hood that obscured the wearer’s face, a woman’s voice spoke accusingly, “This is where you’ve been hiding?”
Mencari instantly recognized it—the same voice that taunted them before they were dumped down here: De’Genico, the High Priestess. She appeared focused on Cogeni, and had yet to recognize Mencari and his group. Perhaps the protective garb also provided a disguise. Allia started to speak, but Mencari motioned for her to remain silent. Ignoring Mencari and the others, the woman ambled around them to face Cogeni.
“Nothing to say for yourself?” De’Genico blurted. After a pregnant pause she continued. “I’ve gone through a lot of trouble to find you, Cogeni. Do you have any idea how much it cost for Whemel and his crew to search for you?” Her cold stare paused on Nikko. “Please tell me these are sorry souls you are professing to. Especially that—that prostitute.”
Even donning her protective garb, Nikko’s shapely form shown through. Or perhaps it was the exotic make-up that gave that impression.
Nikko ignored the slight and asked, “Who is she, Cogi?”
“Who, indeed!” De’Genico said with disdain. “Well, tell the harlot!”
Cogeni stared, defiant. “Why did you come here?”
“For you, of course.”
He shook his head. “You’re wasting your time. I’m not going back.”
“Yes you are. Too much time has been spent on your game of hide-and-seek. This phase, or whatever it is, is over.”
Cogeni scoffed, his demeanor shifting. “You haven’t changed.”
“And that surprises you? Enough of this, the time has come. The faithful need to know my heir has returned and Demas will continue to bestow blessings upon them.”
Nikko moved next to Cogeni. “He’s not interested.”
De’Genico laughed. “And you are?”
“I am his wife, Nikko Omura.”
“Oh, so you’re my daughter-in-law. How charming,” De’Genico said with a harsh laugh. “Whemel’s men told me of a whore, but—”
D'mok Revival: The Nukari Invasion Anthology Page 41
