Terranus: Renaissance: Book two of the 'Terranus: Origins' series.

by Joe Crouch

  “That’s the hive ship you were held hostage on,” Taris said, audibly gulping at its presence. It’s towering, triangular prism form flooded back many memories he had buried deep within and locked away forever. Four long cephalopod limbs flailed about almost aimlessly in the space surrounding the city-sized ship. He remembered, barely, the odd sensation the outer skin of the ship had, it was cracked and breathing like a living organism, under its pitted surface flowed an ocean of a viscous green liquid.

  “We’ve gotta go,” Sean barked, hyperventilating at the sight of the hulking structure, “We’re goners if we stay here.” Unfastening her harness, Taris stepped over and gently massaged his shoulders.

  “We’ll be fine,” she whispered into his ear, “Let’s just get to the planet and then we’re halfway done, can we do that?” With a deep breath and a loud sigh, he calmed himself.

  “Sure,” he said, “Let’s just get this over with.” Hours now raced by as everyone was on edge. Drawing close to the inner system, detailed scans of the signatures that filled the space became available. With the flick of a switch, a holo projector flashed into life in the centre of the console, selecting the cluster of stations that orbited Chaon V their visual representation flickered into life within the field. The massive structures sat idly as tubes snaked out from their hull down towards the surface, with a questioning glance towards the captain, Fez shrugged his shoulders in response, not knowing what these funnels were. Sean marked them within the computer for closer inspection by Ioution intelligence and went on his way.

  Their target, Chaon III, closed fast. The stealth systems were holding up well as the crew began popping pills to keep them awake as a flood of Xuron contacts came into view. A sea of limbs danced about in space as a vast armada of ships sat in a disorganised formation. Grabbing the controls with sweaty palms, Sean took a deep breath and guided the small craft between the ships. They stuck their noses up against the front window, watching as the naturally fractured, organic hulls of the enemy passed above. It seemed they remained undetected – For now, but any slight slip in their systems would bring the full might of the flotilla down upon them

  Packs of Xuron fighters streaked across the night sky in a tight, circular formation as they patrolled between the larger ships. As a single pack drew closer Sean held his breath, trying not to make any noise as they zipped overhead. He knew they could be having a disco and it wouldn’t make a difference, but it just felt natural to him.

  Their destination engulfed their view, they began a loose orbit around the dark green, jungle-covered planet. With a quick glance at his sensors, Sean couldn’t see anything of interest on the surface, but he knew their scans were most likely negated by the overgrown flora. With a casual shrug of his shoulders, he gripped firmly at the two spheres within the console and pushed the ship downwards. Flames licked the outside of the ship as they began their descent through the abnormally thick atmosphere. They were rocked violently as the world strained to block their arrival, he clenched hard, watching as Taris closed her eyes and whispered under her breath. Their shields created a magnificent light show as the hot plasma continued to dance across their cockpit window, bathing the compartment in flashes of bright blues and oranges.

  With little warning, the roller-coaster ride abated and allowed everyone aboard to let out the breath they had all held onto, with a congratulatory tap on his leg from Taris, he turned to see her coated in sweat and breathing heavily. Laughing, he brought the ship to a gentle glide through the atmosphere, but suddenly a loud snap tore across the hull, “What the hell was that,” he yelled, watching as the console began to scream at him with various warnings. Accessing the neural interface, he brought up the ship’s diagnostics, the problem soon became apparent. Gulping, and with a worried look, he turned back to look at Fez, who knew something was wrong.

  “What have you done?” the captain sighed, looking down at his feet.

  “Nothing much,” Sean lied, “It was only the stealth generator that broke off, no biggie…” he coughed, turning to look back out the window.

  “Wait,” Remulus interjected, “Your stealth systems are down, how are we meant to get off the planet?” With a long pause, he bent his head back around the corner with a sarcastic smile.

  “My breath-taking piloting?” he squirmed, sinking within himself, “Blame the shoddy Ioution engineering, nothing would just snap off on a Terran ship!” he went on the offensive.

  “Because everything you make is made from heavy, primitive alloys,” Fez barked, “No grace, no sophistication.”

  “Alright shut up,” Taris yelled, “Let’s land and figure this out, alright?” With a huff, Sean brought up his sensors once more and scanned the surface, looking for any unnatural signs of life. Time passed slowly as they were exposed to not only the elements but also the vast armada that sat above them in orbit, he knew the ship’s hull was designed to dissipate most signals, but it was a lot of trust to put into unproven, alien tech.

  After a short while, a notification displayed within the terminal screen beside him, sensors had detected something alien, it was only a faint signal and close to five-hundred miles away, but they had to check it out. They soared over the towering canopy of the thick, sprawling jungle which extended at least to the horizon, trees even stuck out the sides of the massive mountains which reached past the clouds. It was a beautiful sight, the different shades of green with flecks of reds and yellows mixed in to provide variety to the otherwise repetitive view. Long, raging rivers flowed through the middle of the dense jungle as torrents of water splashed hundreds of meters into the air creating a light mist that hung around the trees giving the area a haunted atmosphere.

  There was a constant banging that reverberated through the ship, the tips of the trees brushed against the hull as he tried to fly as close to the surface as possible. He was wary about flying again, but it was like riding a bike, his fighter experiences came flooding back as he guided the ship with precision and guile.

  “There,” Taris shouted, pointing out the window. A long, black streak of charred trees and ground was cut neatly into the jungle. With a sharp movement, he brought the vessel to a stop, they hovered in place as he activated the more powerful, focused sensors aboard. Within moments a detailed picture of the landscape below was projected above the console, “That looks to be it,” Sean said, pointing to an oddly shaped rock-looking object, “We can’t land close, so I say we land… here,” he said, pointing to a larger clearing about a mile from the proposed ship.

  “Sounds good, bring us down,” Fez said. Caressing the controls, Sean lowered the ship down through the thick jungle. Their view morphed from the light blue of the sky to the dark, overgrown green of the canopy. Tree trunks as wide as buildings stood proudly as they towered towards the sky. With a gentle jolt, the landing struts of the ship touched down on the planet’s surface. Excitedly, he unfastened his harness and shot to the back of the ship, passing everyone as they threw their restraints off and made final checks on their breathing equipment. With the push of a button, a thin, transparent shield wrapped around his face as a breathable atmosphere was pumped into his tight suit. Looking back, he got a thumbs up from the captain, so with no preamble, he slammed his fist down onto the ramp’s release. With a deafening hiss, it morphed out from the hull and slowly lowered until it touched down outside.

  “Wow,” Sean said, stepping out onto the ramp, “Look at this place.” A thick layer of detritus covered the compacted and fractured dirt underfoot. Light shafts struggled to penetrate through the thick canopy, but the thin light that illuminated the explosion of colour which came from the impenetrable mixtures of bushes, vines, and trees was startling. The mask filtered out the toxic gases from the surrounding air but allowed the sweet, pungent smell of the greenery to flood through as he took in a deep whiff. “Reminds me of places back home,” he declared, getting to one knee and scrubbing the mess of the floor aside to watch as tiny critters scurried away. A loud wooing sound came
from the distance, followed by a gentle but deep tweeting. He looked up into the mess of branches overhead which interconnected providing a type of highway for all animals to move about on, but he couldn’t see anything, he knew many animals were most likely in hiding.

  “Our signal detects foreign material in that direction,” Fez declared, setting foot onto the world for the first time, “It isn’t too far, we should be there soon, follow me.” The small team gathered around the commanding captain, they looked on in amazement at the flora which covered almost every inch of the area. Luckily for them, the path to the crashed object was direct as its rough landing cleared a trail straight to it as decimated trees lay toppled over as life began to grow over the trunks. Looking over at the team, Taris was her usual, upbeat self while talking to the stonewall that was Remulus, he knew she knew that telling her jokes was a futile effort for laughter, but including her was a smart move.

  “Look, over there,” Zarid whispered, pointing towards a bright, purple bush. A set of glowing, yellow eyes blinked at them from between the dense brush leaves, getting to one knee, Sean heard the animal huff and snort as it detected their scent.

  “Don’t worry ‘lil boy, we won’t harm ‘ya,” Sean said, holding out an open hand of friendship. From between the leaves, a large snout appeared followed by the animals rounded face. Its fur was a dark brown and it walked towards him with all five of its misplaced appendages scuffing up the ground, it looked a ferocious beast with its muscular build, but it ambled over with the gait of something curious, even gentle.

  “Hey, come join us,” Taris said, but as she got to one knee the animal snarled with a high-pitched growl before galloping away at extreme speed, “What did I do?” she asked.

  “Have you seen your face?” Sean said, pushing himself up off his knee, “I’m surprised we’re even allowed to shop where we live.” With a slap on the back of his head, they carried on down the scorched path towards their target. Pulling out a handheld device, Fez connected back to the Mar’Ell’s mainframe and tracked the signal.

  “We should be close,” he declared, waving the device around himself to get his bearing, “It seems to be around two minutes in this direction.” They followed the ever-increasing frequency of the device’s sounds until they were supposedly right on top of the signal, but looking around revealed nothing more than overgrown brush. Fanning out, they split up to cover more ground. Sean pushed his way through the bushes and overgrown thickets to go deeper into the jungle, apart from a wide selection of alien life, he found nothing of interest, it was only when Remulus called them over that something of note was discovered.

  “This seems to be of Veterum design,” she stated, pulling away a large branch to reveal the battered hull of a ship, “We should clear this area before proceeding.”

  “Agreed,” Fez replied. They worked as fast as they could to clear the thick growths which had taken hold all over the small, cylindrical vessel, the more they cleared the more Remulus was certain that her people had built it. A large pile of detritus formed behind them as they continued to work, but the yelling of Zarid soon brought them to a stop as he declared his findings.

  “Come over here,” the Fre shouted, “I think I found the way in.” Circling the vessel, Sean stood beside the hot, panting alien and ran his hand over the ship. His tactile senses felt a slight gap in its construction that could have indicated a door or a ramp which lowered from there.

  “Do you see any way to get this open?” Sean asked Remulus who stood cold-faced, inspecting the design closely.

  “Veterum ships are almost always coded to recognise its captain, or in the case of a smaller craft like this, its sole pilot, and will only react to their presence, I’m afraid there are no levers for emergency access,” she replied. With a sigh, he slumped back and sat on a large, stone outcropping.

  “Can we shoot it open?” he asked, perking up at the thought.

  “Yeah, if we want to melt everything on the inside,” Taris said, “Luckily for you, I brought these.” Pulling a pack from her shoulder, she knelt and cracked open the small box inside, it opened out into three sections to reveal a variety of metallic instruments. Smiling, the captain grabbed a device in the shape of a crescent and placed it against the side of the ship. Bright green sparks begin to fly as the instrument came to life and sliced through the solid exterior with ease. After a few minutes of waiting, the neat square Fez cut fell away and crashed down into the ship with a loud, reverberating thud.

  Jumping off his rocky throne, Sean stood but heard the faint sound of twigs snapping behind him. He turned in a flash to see nothing through the overgrowth, what was that he wondered as he stepped over the fallen tree and brushed aside a yellow bush to see a small opening beyond. With a quick glance around he saw nothing that jumped out to him so put it down to the cowering local fauna once again and carried on back to the shuttle.

  “No,” Remulus said, standing halfway in the hole Fez had cut, “I’ll be the one to go in, I know the systems better.” The two continued to argue back and forth for a moment before the captain conceded, waving for her to go in alone and inspect the vessel. Sean craned his head around the door frame to get a better look inside a real Veterum ship, and to his surprise, it seemed rather basic. A single seat sat alone at the back of the ship, it was surrounded completely by screens as a reinvention of the flight stick extruded out from the floor. The walls were modular and grey with coloured pipes that ran along the ceiling. But most noticeable was the mess, boxes were strewn across the floor with their lids ripped off and thrown across the ship, it looked as if the entire thing had been gouged of all its supplies.

  “It’s been ransacked,” Sean said, pulling himself out from the ship, “How is that even possible with the door so tightly locked?”

  “Maybe it was the pilot?” Taris replied, taking a quick look inside, “I doubt an animal would possess the know how to open such secure looking crates, but judging by the overgrowth on the exterior whoever landed is almost certainly dead.”

  “Our species age differently to your own,” Remulus shouted through the echo-chamber of a ship, “If this crashed here less than two-hundred of your Earth years ago, it is possible they are still alive.” The team stood outside and glanced at each other with a worried look before turning to check their surroundings, scanning the outer perimeter cautiously. An hour passed as the Veterum rifled through the ship searching for the device piece, the team relaxed outside, laying in the baking warmth from the dual stars which circled above. A loud crash from their left, Sean jumped to his feet to see Remulus throwing a box out of the ship, “I cannot find it anywhere,” she shouted, kicking at another, “It has to be here somewhere, it’s a small crystal looking… thing.”

  “Well, we’re not gonna find it with you making more of a mess,” Sean said, picking up the box from the floor, “We need to stay calm and think it through, could the pilot have escaped and taken it with him?”

  “It’s possible,” she declared after a moment of thought, “But unlikely.”

  “Well,” Sean began, turning to face the crew before freezing as he saw two glistening green eyes staring back at him from the bushes. Locking eyes, they stared at each other for a moment before the shadowy figure got up and ran away from the crash site. He threw the box to one side and gave chase. He jumped over the large fallen tree and pushed the dense greenery out of his way. The chase was difficult as he bolted as fast as he could through the dense overgrowth, avoiding the massive trees which he weaved around. Out in front was the quick alien, it ran with its back up straight as it took long, elongated movements as it raced away from Sean.

  They ran out into a large open clearing, a small river meandered through the opening, its banks were covered in smooth, rounded rocks which sunk into the wet, soggy mud. The alien, in all its athletic might, leapt off one foot and soared across the gap, landing on the other side with ease, as it peered back with worried eyes, he noticed its radiant, deep red skin.

 
With all his muscles clenched, Sean launched off from the bank of the river and closed his eyes, he felt the rush of wind through his hair as he dropped quickly and came crashing down onto the rock covered, gooey bank on the other side. Scrambling about, he grabbed handfuls of mud as he pulled himself out from the river’s clutch. The shadowy figure stood watching before darting away once more. He heard the screams and calls from his crew echo through the jungle as they searched for him, but he knew he couldn’t lose their best lead, not now. So he crested the bank and pushed on, sprinting at his top speed as he followed the being, rounding the colossal trunks which were buried deep into the planet’s surface.

  After a brief few minutes of chase, his body was drenched in sweat as his pace begun to slow, the figure out in front appeared to struggle with the physical demands of the pursuit, too. But the alien managed one last feat of athletics as it scaled a huge felled tree with a single leap, in all his confident wisdom, Sean attempted the same, but his foot caught a loose piece of bark which sent him tumbling to the ground. He looked up, panting heavily as he watched the alien rush into the mouth of a cave and away from him.

  “God dammit,” he groaned, rolling over onto his back willing for the ground to swallow him up as it felt like his heart was about to explode, “I’m gonna have to go in there, aren’t I…,” he said to himself, wishing for anything but.

  Chapter 18

  Sean sat alone on the fallen tree dusting down his suit as he waited for the others to catch up. At the base of the cliff which towered over him was a crack just large enough for someone to squeeze their body through. Small rocks broke free from their holdings above and tumbled down its face to come crashing to the ground a few meters behind where he sat. With an uninterested look, he turned to inspect the entrance closer, at one point it appeared to have been covered by a thick build-up of vines that clung to the crag, they climbed up to its lip and curled out into the jungle beyond.