Chapter 6
Kayleen was completely unprepared for the view outside Nakmar’s ship. It had set down inside a huge, rocky cavern. It was dark, lit only by the ship’s running lights and iridescent spots on the rocky walls that rose all around her. The floor was fairly flat, but the walls were bumpy and irregular, and plants grew at odd intervals all over it, although how they survived underground was unclear. The air was a little chilly and totally still; as Kayleen walked away from the exit ramp, she could hear nothing but the sound of her own boots against the rocky ground.
Once she was far enough from the ship that it no longer blocked her view, she scanned the upper reaches of the chamber. There was a ceiling right above her, but it extended backwards for a long distance, curving upward before bending out sight maybe a mile away. Kayleen shook her head in confusion. Landing a ship underground? What could possibly be the reason for that?
The only other noticeable feature in the cavern was a cave, directly across from the ship’s exit ramp, and she made her way toward it. She had seen no crewmembers on her way out of the ship, and nothing moved in the cavern now. By the time she reached the entrance to the cave, she was starting to wonder if Viper was expecting her to find the way in on her own. Then, suddenly, something moved up ahead.
“Hello?”
Her voice echoed off into the tunnel. It was even darker in here, away from the ship’s lights, but there was a sort of skittering sound ahead, like many feet shuffling in the cavern.
“Who’s there?” she demanded. She had to remind herself that she was in friendly territory to keep from drawing the blaster from her boot. When no one responded, Kayleen moved forward again. Behind her, she heard the ship’s landing ramp being retracted. The tunnel wound ahead at a slight downward grade. As she moved, Kayleen’s eyes became accustomed to the diminished light, and the luminescent spots in the rock were enough to show that the tangled plant matter was becoming more and more prevalent. Finally the tunnel bent, and Kayleen came face to face with two green, insectile creatures, who regarded her blankly with glowing red eyes.
“Kayleen Rax,” one of them greeted, its mandibles twitching as some kind of device on its uniform translated.
Kayleen was taken aback by the sudden appearance of these odd aliens, but she straightened and nodded. “I am here to see Dark Viper.”
“He awaits you. We will take you to his chamber.” And without a further word, her guides skittered down the tunnel, using all six limbs to climb along the walls, leaving the path ahead clear for her. It got warmer as they descended, and some kind of moss appeared among the vines. The plant matter increased in frequency and density until the entire surface of the tunnel was covered in vegetation, floor to ceiling, broken only by the pale light pods. Sometimes the vines hung down in front of her, and Kayleen had to part them like a curtain. She found their surface damp, although where the water came from she could only guess.
The passage split off a few times, and the creatures paused to make sure she took the correct path, but other than that they made no attempt to communicate with her as she made her way through the subterranean jungle. Kayleen felt grateful when the floor started to flatten out and the carpet-like moss began to dominate over the vines. They walked only a short distance like this before stopping. One of the Vortak turned to her and spoke.
“The Viper waits for you ahead. Follow this tunnel.” With that, the two creatures turned and started back down the corridor the way they had come.
Kayleen took a few deep breaths to slow her heartbeat and then began to walk again. The passage curved a bit to her left, again cutting off her view of the way she had come. A faint, green glow became visible ahead, and Kayleen guessed that she was nearly there. After a few moments she came up against a wall of hanging vines that completely cut off the tunnel. The green light shone brightly from whatever lay beyond them. She stopped again. This eerie journey had dispelled some of her giddiness, but standing so close to the source of new power made her feel excited again. Of course, with the power came an association with Dark Viper, which was not to be taken lightly. And whatever assignments he gave her would involve serious risks. But that was hardly relevant; anything was possible for a Plasma Master. She looked around, fully absorbing the moment – essentially her last as a normal person. After a deep breath to steady herself, she parted the vines and entered the room beyond.
Dark Viper’s “throne” room was certainly different from the one he had used on Venom. It was similarly dark and spacious, but here the strange plant life replaced cold metal. A large mass of vines hung down from the center of the ceiling and spread outward over some kind of metal lattice, forming an open dome over Viper’s seated form. The green light was emanating from a bulb set into the vine just above the top of the dome, but the shadows of the vines below it hid Viper in darkness. He made no movement as Kayleen entered the room, but she could see the green glow of his eyes watching her. “Changed,” Nakmar had said. It was starting to look like he had understated the situation.
“Kayleen.” She recognized the voice, although it sounded harsher, raspier – almost inhuman. She took a few steps forward, then stopped as Viper’s dark form rose and moved toward her. Kayleen tried not to let her face show her reaction as she saw just what Nakmar had meant when he had said that Viper had changed. Although his facial features were basically recognizable, his body had become reptilian in form. His skin was covered in smooth scales, and where his hair had been was merely a bony crest running back from his forehead. His clothing was the same he had worn before, but his hand no longer glowed green. Just his eyes. “Welcome home,” he said.
“It’s good to be here. Thank you for bringing me.”
“I imagine you have come with questions.”
“A few, yes.”
“I need you, Kayleen. I need you to help me destroy them.”
She smiled. That was the Dark Viper she remembered. “I’d like nothing better.”
“Come closer.”
She walked up to him and looked into his eyes.
“How long has it been since you used the Plasma, Kayleen?”
“A couple of years.”
“You want it back.”
“More than anything.”
“A change is coming, Kayleen. A revolution. Four thousand years ago the Anacron Plasma force was put to rest by warring factions that could not take advantage of its power enough to destroy each other. They sealed it away, and it has slept ever since. What we did before with the Plasma Crystals – that was just a game. It was nothing; I see that now. The Plasma does not need Crystals to control it. It needs people who understand. I understood much then, but the timing was wrong. There was too much opposition for us to learn everything we needed to know. But since that time I have learned everything. The Plasma will determine the destiny of the universe. And I am going to determine the destiny of the Plasma.”
“How? What are you going to do?”
“The power is everywhere, Kayleen. It is a reflection of existence itself. Every object, every event has a reflection in the Plasmic ether. It links itself to our plane of existence through the minds of those who understand it, and through the devices they create.
“Like the weapons you built for Anacronian ships.”
“Yes. That is what the Crystals did for us before. The loss of the Matrix Crystal was a great blow to me, as I’m sure you understand. But I could not let that fool have the power, or give it to someone else. I destroyed it, and I fled as the universe came apart all around me. The very power I had commanded was unraveling, and I could not escape the explosion. I was… consumed.
“But somehow, I survived. I came awake on this planet, disoriented but surrounded by power. You see, I had used it so much and made it so much a part of me that even without the Crystal’s power I could sense the Plasma. I was weaker, but once I regained my strength I found that I had been brought here for a purpose. The Crystals had presented me with a test, and I had passed it.”
“A test? From people who died centuries ago?”
“Yes. They knew they could not be there to choose their successor, but they imbued the Plasmic ether with patterns to look for. An algorithm to search for a successor. You understand how the Crystals bonded with us as we used the Plasma. That was to let the power flow freely through us, but it was also to let the Crystals watch us and monitor how we used that power.”
“They were watching us? You mean we were being spied on all that time?”
“Not exactly. After all, there was no one left to watch. But our actions fulfilled certain requirements that lead toward unlocking further information about the power.”
“But why wouldn’t we be told about those requirements?”
“Some tests only work when the subjects are unaware they are being tested.” It made sense, but then Viper gave Kayleen a smile that was oddly mischievous, as if he were reveling in some secret guilt. “However, it is very likely that we were intended to know a least a little more than we did. You see. I was not the one who originally found the Matrix Crystal.”
Kayleen’s jaw dropped. Viper had never been very open about how he had found the Crystals, but he had clearly stated that he had found them among some ancient ruins. The thought that he had been lying unsettled Kayleen, but she was not about to accuse him to his face.
“I did not exactly lie to you. At least, not very much. I was part of the group that found it. We were looking to expand our world’s territory, and we came across a ruined civilization – there was nothing left but some runes and a glowing green Crystal in one of the buildings. We were planning to take the Crystal back and study it, but one day our leader told us that the Crystal had bonded to him and given him power. He claimed to have had visions about an ancient empire that wanted him to restore it. He used the power, but for all the information he had been given he seemed to be quite lacking in real vision. He could form things, repair things. But I knew there was more to the Crystal than that. I tried to convince him to use it for military purposes, but he refused, saying that he needed to learn more before he used it openly. We were not at peace at the time, and we saw many of our people killed while this fool sat idly by, keeping the power to himself. Finally I decided the Crystal needed a more worthy Holder. It certainly needed a new one after I killed its old one.”
Kayleen shook her head in bewilderment. “Wait, what do you mean you wanted to expand your world’s territory? Before the Alien war, Anacron was at peace for a long time.”
Viper smiled again. “You mean you still haven’t figured it out? I am not an Anacronian.” He held his arms out as if to offer his appearance as evidence.
“Wait, you mean… this is your normal form? I assumed you had altered your appearance after leaving Venom.”
“Whatever power transported me here restored my original appearance. When I first seized the Matrix Crystal and learned what it could really do, I decided that my own world was too wrapped up in its own problems to offer me much chance of taking a real advantage. I needed to operate from Anacron. A change of appearance seemed prudent, in the interest of gaining people’s trust. After all, how many non-humans did you see appointed to the Imperial government?”
“Wow,” Kayleen said. “So how long ago was this? Your personal records go back your whole life.”
“You need to understand, my command of the power came slowly. These visions that the Crystal’s original Holder had did not come to me for a long time, and even when they did, they were unclear. It was as if I had stepped in on someone else’s training after missing all of the basic principles. I knew it would take a long time to master the Crystal’s power, so I came to Anacron as a very young man. Fabricating records was not hard for someone who could fabricate an entire body.”
“So, Trelan Thendrak – that was all a concoction to let you use your power on a larger scale?”
“And to avoid the inconveniences of my home planet.”
“What planet is that? Who were you before?”
“I come from Klaustridion. I will not blame you for not recognizing it; it was all but destroyed in the Alien war. As for who I am, you know better than to ask me a question like that. I am the Master of the Plasma force, and that is all that has ever mattered. But if it helps satisfy your curiosity, I have actually been quite open to you about my identity. My original name cannot be pronounced by your vocal chords, but ‘Dark Viper’ is an adequate translation.”
“Amazing. So this… is the real you.”
“I am who I have always been. At least, who I have been since I claimed the power. But it was the Vortak who really changed things.”
“The Vortak?”
“The enemy from the Alien war. You met two of them on the way in.”
“What? Those are the Aliens?”
“Yes. My initial exploits disturbed one of their outposts, and they decided the Anacron Empire was an unacceptable threat. I’m afraid my own experimentation with the power nearly saw us all destroyed. Fortunately, by then the four of us knew enough of the power to use it against our enemies and drive them off.”
“And now they’re following you?”
“The Vortak are a simple race. It is not hard to control them with the right motivation.”
Kayleen looked around, wondering if it were safe to express her thoughts. “Don’t they… resent you for before?”
Viper merely smiled. “It’s not an issue. You will come to understand that as you work with them.”
“Work with them? How?”
“I will give you a ship and assign you a crew. I’m confident you will find them to be quite effective servants. You see, the Vortak have a long history with the Plasma.”
“You mean they can use it too?”
“Not directly. But I believe they were created by the ancient Plasma Masters as vessels of their power. They can be imbued with Plasmic energy, and it affects their abilities.”
“Okay, now I have to ask. What are these abilities? Nakmar refused to tell me anything about his power.”
“Oh, I think Nakmar did an adequate job of explaining it.”
Kayleen looked down, feeling a little guilty. She supposed she should have expected that Viper would have monitored their conversations. Hopefully she had not gotten Nakmar into too much trouble by pressing him for information.
“Understand,” Viper went on, “I was alone when I arrived here. Alone and confused. But there were records. A history of how the Plasma was developed, and explanations of how it was used. I studied alone for a long time, searching for a way to access the power I had lost. Blast Plasma was too complex for me to recreate; essentially the ancient Masters had created a huge reserve of power that the Crystal could access. Without a reserve, I had to use the Plasma in the ether as a source. Tapping raw heat seemed like a logical choice.” Then he gave her an eager smile. “And now we come to the purpose of your visit. Our enemies are powerful, Kayleen. One cannot be harmed, and the other was so strong that she cut through even my power before. I will need agents who are equally powerful. Agents who are willing to do whatever it takes to destroy everyone who stands in our way.”
Kayleen nodded solemnly. “I am ready.”
“I know you are. That is why I am going to entrust you with my greatest discovery yet. But first, I need you to give me your armor’s activator pin.”
Kayleen was taken aback. When she had lost her power, her suit had been severely damaged, and she had deactivated it. Without the Plasma, she had been unable to reengage it, but she had brought the activator pin with her, expecting to be able to use the armor again as Viper’s servant. “Why?” she asked. “I’ll need it.”
“You will be able to protect yourself in other ways. That is the last remaining suit of armor, and I have another use for it. Consider it the price for the restoration of your power.”
Hesitantly, Kayleen reached down into her boot and pulled out the pin. The yellow and black armor had been her identity as the Blast Master; it wa
s all most people ever saw of her. And it had protected her against attacks that would have killed a regular person. But it had also been a gift, and Kayleen had to believe that Viper’s next gift would compensate for its loss. She handed it over.
Viper tucked it into his belt and then nodded. “Give me your hands.”
Kayleen extended her hands, trembling with excitement. She hardly noticed the claws or scales as Viper’s hands closed around hers. For a moment she stood there, looking into the glow of his eyes. Green light flared where their hands touched and began moving up her arms and across her body. She had to close her eyes against the light once it reached her eyes, but still she could see it; it seemed to be spreading through every cell in her body. Her breathing quickened in anticipation. Then abruptly the light flared even brighter in a flash that turned pale blue, almost white. Kayleen felt a surge of intense cold rush through her, and in the next instant she felt nothing at all. The light was gone, and there was only silence. She opened her eyes, still feeling numb.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust. At first she thought the room had gone dark, but after a moment she realized that she could indeed see. But it was different. It was as if she were seeing things with someone else’s eyes. “What happened?” she said aloud, but the sound, too, seemed clear but distant. As if she had read it off a screen rather than heard it with her ears. Then she looked down.
She stepped back in shock. Her arms were transparent, as if her body were made of crystal, pale and blue like the light had been. Her clothing was frosted and opaque but also composed of crystal. She felt her arms, then her face. Her sense of touch also seemed foreign. “What did you do?” she asked, maybe shrieked; she could not tell.
“I have infused into you the matrix of the Ice Plasma,” Viper declared, almost reverently. You have become more than just a Master of the Plasma. You have become its incarnation.”
“But I can’t feel anything!”
“Your senses are not lost, Kayleen. They are enhanced. You are experiencing the world with a new perspective. A Plasmic perspective.”
Kayleen did not know what Viper was saying, but she felt horrified by it. “You didn’t do this to Nakmar!”
Nakmar does not understand the Plasma the way you and I do, Kayleen. He is not ready. And do not worry, this is merely the first step. All that you think you have lost will be returned to you when you have proven yourself.”
“Viper! Change me back this instant!”
“Do not be a fool. You have not even seen your powers yet. Your Plasmic essence will show you an elegance in the galaxy you did not know existed.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “And besides, you have a debt to pay me.”
“What?”
“We have not yet discussed the matter of your failure with Nedward Simmons. It is because of him that things have turned out the way they have, and it was you and Markan who failed to destroy him. Markan has paid with his life, but his brother will finish what he started. But I have decided to give you a second chance. Once you have helped me reach my goals, I will show you such incredible power that anything you ever desire will be yours.”
Now Kayleen understood. Viper had not forgiven her after all. This was his revenge. Rather than die, as Markan had, Kayleen would be Dark Viper’s servant for as long as she lived.
“What would you have had me do?” Viper asked, clearly displeased with her reaction. “Give you a lesser power like Nakmar has so that you could wage petty war with small men like Gerran Marnax? With the Ice Plasma you have the potential to defeat Plasma Masters. You have always wanted power, and that is what you have. That is what you are.”
Viper was becoming agitated, and Kayleen decided that it would be unwise to anger him. She would just have to deal with this situation and come up with a real solution later. “Fine. You win. I’ll defeat Ned and Mirana for you. They ruined my life too; it will be a pleasure.”
Viper nodded, looking satisfied, at least to Kayleen’s numb vision.
“So what exactly is the Ice Plasma? I can freeze things?”
“Stop thinking of it as what you can do. That will come naturally when you understand what your nature is. You do not just lower temperatures. You are the essence of coldness itself. You can command the Plasma to freeze things, yes, just as Nakmar can heat things up. And as he is strengthened by increased temperature, you derive power from a lack of molecular motion.”
“Wait. You mean that heat hurts me the way it helps Nakmar? So people can just shoot me with regular weapons? How is that power?”
“It would take a great deal of heat do damage you noticeably. And think of this. People design their defenses to withstand heat. Heat is practically a prerequisite for conventional weapons, because heat is unbounded but cold only goes to absolute zero, and because heat is easier to produce.”
I’m not sure I understand.
“We all need practice to understand the Plasma, Kayleen. That is why I have invited some instructors. Defend yourself.”
Even as he spoke, Kayleen had sensed the presence of several life forms entering the room from previously-unseen holes in the ceiling and walls. Vortak. Before Kayleen could react to Viper’s warning, the Vortak opened fire with various laser weapons.
Kayleen instinctively dodged to one side, but several shots struck her. She felt a power drain as the laser blasts struck her skin, but the surface of her body was not really skin anymore, and she felt no pain. Instinctively, she extended an arm toward one of the attackers. Excitement exploded inside her as the power rose to her command, lashing out through the air in a pale glow. When it struck, the Plasma crystalized around her target, freezing it in a solid block.
She moved to take cover by the side of the vines draping Viper’s throne, but she was still taking laser fire. She brought up her hand again, raising an icy wall in front of her that stopped several shots. She found that she could feel the presence of the Vortak even though they were hidden behind the ice, and she reached out through the ether, tracking their position. When she had seized the Plasma that corresponded to their positions, she flared it to life, freezing two of them at once, followed by a third a few seconds later. The laser fire died down a bit, and Kayleen moved around the central column, eager to finish off the next two.
Abruptly one of them was moving toward her, scampering across the ceiling so fast she lost the lock she tried to establish. Kayleen fired another blast if icy light, but again the Vortak was too fast, dropping from its perch before the attack hit. It fired some kind of missile in mid-air, and two more Vortak approaching from behind Kayleen distracted her long enough that the projectile hit. She was thrown back, and although she still felt no pain, the power drain stunned her for a moment.
But then that moment was past, and Kayleen let her anger give new strength to her attack. Ignoring the laser fire, she struck with her full force at the Vortak with the launcher, crushing it in the pressure of expanding crystal. Then she turned to find one Vortak right in front of her, swinging a clawed limb at her head. She raised her hand to block the blow, but the force drove the claws deep into her arm, again leaving her momentarily stunned. But her attacker was so close that it took no effort at all to dispatch it with a quick Plasma blast to its chest, and the Vortak behind it lasted just a moment longer. Then Kayleen turned her attention to her arm. Seeing the huge indentation where flesh and bone should have been disturbed her, but she found that the icy substance obeyed her instinctive command, reforming as if nothing had happened. When she was satisfied that she was not injured, she looked around again. The room was silent.
“Well done,” Viper announced, stepping out of the shadows where he had been waiting. “I knew you would have no trouble commanding the power.”
Kayleen nodded. She was still alarmed by the change Viper had wrought in her, but she had to admit that that battle had been exhilarating. “Next time I won’t get hit so much,” she declared. Then she looked around the room. The Vortak still lay among icy shards. “It’s not as�
�� sanitary as fire.”
“A minor annoyance,” Viper said. He held out his hands with palms upturned, and green fire erupted around all of the Vortak at once. When it cleared, there was nothing left. “You have done well.”
Kayleen nodded. “Now where’s Nakmar? We might as well get started with the real work.”
“Nakmar is gone,” Viper said matter-of-factly. “He has another mission that could not be delayed.”
“Well you said something about a ship. I’m sure I can catch up to him if I leave soon.”
Dark Viper regarded her silently, and his voice was calm and very serious when he spoke again. “You seem to have misunderstood. Your work will be separate from Nakmar’s. He is to hold off Gerran’s fleet and draw Ned and Mirana toward me. Your job is to engage them in battle and destroy them.”
“But Markan and I always worked together! We were more effective that way!”
“Your powers were different. The Plasma is polarized now. The Heat matrix is centered around Nakmar, and the Ice matrix is centered around you. I’m sure you can see how it would be ineffective to work alongside your polar opposite. Besides, it would be a waste of resources to send you together when I have multiple enemies to deal with.”
“So you’re going to send me off alone.”
“Not alone, Kayleen. Remember, you will have the Vortak at your command.”
Kayleen’s heart sank again as realization hit her. This was part of her punishment. That trip, the luxuries, Nakmar’s company – that had all been calculated to raise her expectations so it would be clear just how much Viper was taking away from her now. Kayleen did not dare voice her thoughts, but the look on Viper’s face suggested that he may have guessed her attitude. He folded his arms across his chest and regarded her disapprovingly.
“Focus your anger, Kayleen. If you choose to be angry with me, you will end up fighting against the very source of your power. I can accomplish my task without you, but you are nothing without me. Focus your anger on Mirana, and on Nedward if he should dare to return. It is they who stand in the way of your goals. Deal with them, and I will give you anything you ask.”
Perhaps Viper was right. Perhaps the power of the Plasma force was worth the sacrifice she was making. Perhaps she could fulfill her goals best this way. At the very least this would give her the chance to pay back Nedward Simmons for what he had cost her. Yes, that boy had cost her a great deal, and he would pay dearly for it all.
The Plasma Shadow Page 7
