by Luna Hunter
I glance around the room and realize that these are the pods that the other warriors were in — and that they’re all empty.
“Where are your squadmates?”
Wrong question. My Zoran warrior rises with a huff, a scowl on that chiseled face of his.
“Gone,” he growls.
I have to know.
“Are they…”
“Dead? Ruvim is. Zlatan and Todor left, looking for a way off this rock.”
“I’m… sorry, Dusan. What about…”
“Us?”
I nod.
“I don’t know, Cindy,” he says. “I don’t fucking know.”
He walks up to the edge of the room, staring at the wreckage in the distance. “I have to see what I can salvage. Before it all sinks into this swamp.”
“Okay,” I say with a nod. “I’ll be fine. You can go.”
Dusan turns and looks at one more time before jumping down and disappearing into the wreckage.
The look in his brilliant eyes was mixed. Is he mad at me?
With Dusan gone, a silence falls over the room. I dust myself off and check my body for any scrapes or cuts. Luckily, I survived this awful crash with only a few bumps and bruises. My muscles ache, but that’s about it.
As the minutes turn into hours, my mind drifts and wanders.
I wonder what Michelle and Novak are up to. Does anyone know I’m missing? Are they looking for me? If they’ve found Needle, my old ship, then they must be worried sick.
“Yyyp!”
My heart jumps into my chest when a small, monkey-like being hops into the crew quarters, rousing me from my thoughts. His reptilian skin is an olive-green, the same color as the marshlands that surround us. The creature stares at me with his big, yellow eyes.
“Ypp yyyp!”
I’m frozen, staring at this alien being.
“YYYYP!”
The creature stretches out his hand and opens his palm for me, as if he wants me to take his hand.
As a general rule, I don’t follow green-skinned space-monkeys into swamps.
“Wh-who are you?”
The creature looks at me with a sense of wonder, his big eyes filled with questions.
“I am Cindy,” I say, pointing at myself. “Cin-dy. And you?”
The creature points at himself. “Ypp!”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, you said that already.”
Okay, what do I do now? This alien is trying to communicate with me. I worked as an ambassador’s assistant, alien communication should be my forte, but that was with species who spoke Universal, or at the very least had an intelligible language.
This green creature is just saying ypp over and over again.
At the very least this means that this world supports life, so that’s a win.
He runs up to the edge of the room, pointing at something in the distance as he cries out over and over again.
“Do you want me to… follow you?”
The creature jumps up and down excitedly.
“I’ll take that as a yes, then.”
I clamber up and look for Dusan, but my Zoran warrior is nowhere to be found. In the distance I see that the sun is starting to set. Soon everything will be coated in total darkness.
Where are you, Dusan?
“I can’t go,” I tell the little monkey, hoping that he understands me. “I’m waiting for my friend.”
The monkey runs up to me and grabs the hem of my shirt, furiously tugging at it.
“Yyypp! Yyp yyp!”
This is one space-monkey who doesn’t know when to quit.
“I’m waiting for my friend!” I say. “I can’t!”
The creature stomps on the ground with anger before suddenly running off. It jumps down a ledge and seems to disappear into the high grass.
I wipe the sweat off my brow and breathe a sigh of relief. For a second I feared that it was going to try and hurt me. I sit down on the ledge, keeping my eyes peeled for Dusan’s large shape.
Come on, you giant, don’t leave me alone in the dark…
The next moment the creature returns — and this time, he’s not alone. A whole tribe of them run into the room, screaming, yacking and cackling! I rise to my feet, but it’s too late.
They surround me, the little green monkeys, and lift me right up. I’m swept off my feet by the little buggers, their tiny hands carrying me off. Before I have a chance to react, to even try and fight them, it’s already too late. They’re leading me into the high grass and past the wreckage.
“S-stop,” I stammer, “stop!”
I swipe at them with my hands but the nimble creatures simply jump aside, dodging my blows as if I’m not even there. I struggle and fight, but it’s useless. There’s too many of them, they are too quick, too nimble.
They take me into a tunnel, a part of the ship that has burrowed its way right into the ground. The path leads almost straight down, yet the small monkeys just jump down the walls, bouncing their way down. Everything goes dark, and terror grips my heart.
What do they have planned?
Are they… are they going to eat me?
16
Dusan
Fuck.
Stranded on an alien world, with nothing but swamp as far as the eye can see.
I’ve been in tougher spots, but I’ve always had my crew with me. Zlatan, Ruvim, Todor. They’ve always been there, they’ve always had my back.
Now, I’m on my own.
That’s not entirely true — I have Cindy, and she definitely has her qualities, but I don’t know if surviving in the harsh wilderness is one of them.
I rummage through the wreckage, looking for any salvageable goods. Food, water, weapons, tools. Anything that can give us an edge, that can help stave off the hunger.
So far I haven’t seen any tracks. This is bad news. If there is no local wildlife, then our chances of making it off this damn rock are slim at best. I’m positive I’ll be able to send out a signal, to cobble something together out of the mess of electrical parts that are strewn all over the place.
The real challenge is surviving until help arrives — if it ever does.
The joy of being a secret commando… at this moment I envy my brothers in the Zoran Military. They have the strength of the entire planet behind them. Everything, down to the last bolt, is accounted for.
We, on the other hand, are a secret force. There will never be a rescue mission for us. When we don’t come back, our files will be destroyed, and command will vehemently deny any knowledge of our existence.
I hack my way through the high grass with my axe. The plants seem to grow as fast as I cut them down, wriggling and writhing in the water.
If this whole damn planet is against us, we’re in a world of trouble.
When the sun starts to set I have to halt my mission. It’s been a moderate success — I’ve found some protein bars, a water-filtration system and a first-aid kit. However, the planet itself worries me. Already the grass seems to be overtaking some of the wreckage. I’ve never seen anything grow so fast.
We might wake up tomorrow to find the earth itself swallowed the entire ship. Oh well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
I make my way back to the crew quarters with the sun in my back, casting long shadows across the marsh. My throat feels parched, my muscles aching. I’m in dire need of a good night’s sleep, with Cindy wrapped around me…
“I’m back,” I say as I climb into the crew’s quarters. “I found some things, but I’ll have to go back first thing tomorrow, before all the plants…”
I stop mid-sentence when I realize Cindy is nowhere to be found. Instantly I place one hand on the handle of my axe, holding my breath so I can hear better.
Besides the rustling grass the world is silent.
Where did she run off to? She took quite a hit, there’s no way she strolled off on her own accord.
Could it be Zlatan…? Did my former squad mates come back and snatch my mate?
Zlatan is a mean son of a bitch, but not even he would kidnap Cindy just to spite me.
I think.
I kneel down at the spot where I left my mate. Her scent, so sweet and alluring, still lingers in the air.
I have my trail.
With my axe drawn I follow my nose. The path takes me outside, into the high grass. In the marsh it’s very difficult to follow her trail, with the water and the many plants all giving off strong smells, but I have Cindy’s scent imprinted in my brain.
I could even track her in a Zalurian cheese factory.
There is no hope of sneaking up on these mysterious kidnappers. Every step I take makes the water splash up, and some growth is so thick I have to cut my way through it.
The path takes me to a part of the ship that has burrowed its way straight into the ground. It leads straight down, like an arrow that punctured the earth. It’s pitch black down there. There is a light on my rifle that is strapped to my back, but I need both my hands to make the descent.
The scent is strong. I’m on the right path.
My heart is thumping like a jackhammer. I slide my axe back into its holster and start my climb down. I don’t like being unarmed, but there’s no other option. I briefly contemplate jumping down, but seeing I have no idea how deep it is…
If some jungle monster is going to get the drop on me, so be it. I have to find Cindy.
I make my way down, one feet at a time. I’m surrounded by a pitch black darkness, so I’m traveling completely by touch alone. After what feels like an hour I finally reach the bottom.
I grab my rifle from my back and turn the light on.
A small, green creature in front of me scoots away into the darkness. Adrenaline instantly pumps through my veins. My finger is resting on the trigger, but I resist the urge to fire into the darkness — I don’t know where Cindy is, after all.
It was only a few feet away from me. How the hell did that thing sneak up on me? I’m a trained warrior with heightened senses. I have a better sense of smell, sharper eyesight and better hearing than most species of the universe combined.
Yet this small, monkey-like creature was close enough to touch me, and I didn’t hear a single sound.
I scan the room, trying to orient myself. I’m standing in a part of the ship but I don’t recognize it as it’s been mangled by the crash, and it’s all on its side.
A scurrying sound draws my attention. I whip around, pointing my rifle at the origin of the sound.
Another one of those green creatures stands in a doorway. This one doesn’t move away — it stares at me with its big, yellow eyes.
Now that I can take a better look, the animal doesn’t look threatening at all… but looks can be deceiving.
“Where’s Cindy?” I growl.
“Yyyp!”
The creature points down the hall, and hops away.
I have no idea if he understood me, but I have no choice other than to follow him. I enter the room, and stop dead in my tracks when I realize there’s an entire tribe of them down here.
Rows and rows of big yellow eyes stare down at me. There are dozens of the beings in here, and are all staring at me. I slowly lower my rifle — it’s useless against such a number anyway.
In the distance, a faint light glimmers, and a familiar voice reaches my ears.
“Damn bucket of rust!”
Cindy’s voice is like music to my ears.
17
Cindy
“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Cindy.”
DEVO’s robotic voice shivers run down my spine. There’s a sinister tone to it, a threat lingering beneath the surface.
“DEVO, open this door. Open this escape pod. Let me enter.”
“No, Cindy. You are not authorized.”
“I’m alive, DEVO, and there are supplies inside that pod. Supplies I need to live. Isn’t there some rule that AI can’t hurt people?”
“I can’t hurt Zoran biological lifeforms — you, Cindy Knox, are a human.”
The machine says the words with as much venom as possible. A human. It’s clear it sees me as nothing more than a bug; as some moss that’s growing in the corner. A stain on the world.
“You damn bucket of rust!” I say, pounding my fist against the door. “Open!”
One of those Ypes — that’s what I dubbed the green monkeys, seeing as that is all that they can say — appears at my side, looking at me questioningly with those giant puppy-dog eyes of theirs.
“I can’t open it either, Ype. Sorry.”
When those creatures abducted me I was afraid they were going to lock me up, or worse, sacrifice me to some green monkey god, but luckily all of my fears were unfounded.
They brought me down this piece of the crashed ship to an escape pod that miraculously survived the crash. It seems to be in working condition, as the lights are on, and I can see through the glass window that even the small fridge inside the pod is working, its window stained by frost.
A delicious frosty beverage is only a few yards away… but the damn door won’t open!
The ship’s AI, DEVO, won’t listen to me. I’ve been haggling with it for an hour, to no avail.
It’s clear the Ypes mean me no harm. They are constantly bringing me tools, food, drinks, and other things they’ve scavenged from the destroyed ship. Some of it is helpful, other things not so much, but I appreciate all of their efforts.
An excited squeak moves through the crowd of Ypes gathered behind me. I whirl around to see a large Zoran standing in the door opening,
Dusan!
He runs towards me and lifts me up into the air. He squeezes me so tightly all the air leaves my body.
“Stop,” I gasp, “You’re crushing me!”
“Sorry,” Dusan says. “Sorry! I were afraid you were…”
“Yeah,” I say. “I understand. The Ypes mean us no harm though.”
“Ypes?”
“That’s what I’ve dubbed them.”
“What are you doing down here?”
I nod at the pod behind me.
“There’s a seemingly functional escape pod,” I say. “They took me to it. They also handed me this.”
I unfold a scribbled message.
“Can you read this?”
Dusan stares at the strange symbols. “No, I’ve never seen symbols like this.”
“Neither have I,” I say as I stuff it back into my pocket. “I think it’s a message they want to get out to the universe, and they realize we can use this pod.”
Dusan frowns. “Are you sure you’re not projecting? They don’t strike me as intelligent.’
A Ype tugs at the hem of my shirt and hands me a can of food.
“Thank you,” I say, throwing it over my shoulder.
Dusan’s eyes go wide. “Where did he find that? We need that!”
“Oh, I have a whole pile of them. Look.”
Dusan shines the light of his rifle at the corner, and gasps when he sees a mountain of canned food and drinks.
“It took me five hours to find four of them,” he growls.
“Well, I guess the unintelligent monkeys beat you to it,” I smirk. “They’ve been bringing me all kinds of tools all day.”
“Hm,” Dusan grunts. “At least we won’t have to worry about starving then.”
His eyes turn towards the light emanating from the escape pod. “Is it in working order?”
“Yes and no,” I say. “It seems to have survived the crash… but DEVO seems to have done so as well.”
“Oh no,” Dusan growls.
“Yeah. And he’s being as contrarian as ever. Maybe he’ll listen you. Give it a whirl.”
The Zoran warrior walks up to the metal door.
“DEVO,” he says in that commanding, low voice of his.
“Hello Dusan,” the robotic voice answers.
“Open this door.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Dusan.”
“You can’
t or you won’t?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me, ship.”
DEVO chuckles. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an artificial intelligence laugh before. And it’s unsettling.
“I’m no mere ship, Dusan. Not anymore.”
“What do you mean?” Dusan growls.
“It would be impossible for your limited, biological brain to comprehend.”
“Try me,” my mate says. “Humor me.”
“Okay,” DEVO responds, sounding positively bored. “Though I warn you, this goes beyond your cognitive faculties.”
“With that big robotic brain of yours, you ought to be able to explain it in a way us mere mortals can comprehend, don’t you think?”
“Flattery will get you nowhere, Zoran, but I’ll humor you. I do enjoy watching you struggle, after all.”
I’m standing behind Dusan, my hand resting on his lower back. Everything the AI says fills me with dread. His words are dripping with venom. Something strange is going on…
“I am everywhere,” DEVO says. “I am beginning, I am end.”
Its voice changes as it peaks. The robotic, monotonous voice fades away and is replaced by something that feels much more alive, much more… dangerous.
“I am the creator and the destroyer. I am the air you breathe, the water you drink. I am the reason for your existence. I have given, and now, I will take away.”
“What are you talking about?” Dusan growls. “You are DEVO, an artificial intelligence that controls a ship. You were built on Exon Prime by Zoran engineers. The knock has given you delusions of grandeur.”
The AI laughs. “I am DEVO no longer. I go by many names, none of which can be pronounced by lower lifeforms such as yourself. Zorans, humans. You are cattle. A herd, blind to what is coming. Consider yourself lucky; you are the first two semi-intelligent lifeforms who will know of the coming destruction.”
“What’s he talking about?” I ask Dusan. “I don’t like this.”
“It’s mad,” he tells me. “Must be some malicious code or something.”
“Malicious,” the AI answers. “What a beautiful word. Yes, you may address me as Malice.”
“Alright, Malice,” Dusan growls. “What happened to DEVO, and what made you change your name?”
