by A. K. DuBoff
I looked down. “Guess I had it pretty easy.”
“You were hurt when you were young, right? Something with your shoulder?”
“Yeah, but that’s not remotely the same thing,” I replied, feeling a little ashamed that she’d draw any parallel between our experiences. “That was me making my own dumb decisions and paying the price. In retrospect, I’m glad it happened because it forced me to confront the reality that everything can change in an instant and we don’t always get our own personal ‘do-overs’ when we mess up. I treated resets like a game. That round, I lost.”
Maris nodded. “In many ways, it’s the mistakes and hardships that shape us more than the victories.”
“For sure. I can’t imagine how insufferable I would have been if I hadn’t learned some humility through that experience.”
“That’s what’s important right? The person we grow into in the end. The path along the way is always rocky and unexpected.”
“Some rockier and more treacherous than others.”
She smiled. “The test of character is how we deal with those challenges.”
“I’m impressed with your positive outlook, Maris. I honestly had no idea you had it so rough.”
“Nah, could have been a lot worse.”
I raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. “You were supporting yourself at seventeen. That’s not insignificant. By comparison, I’m embarrassed by how spoiled I was.”
“Having a good home life isn’t something to be embarrassed by,” she replied. “You clearly appreciate what you had and didn’t turn out all stuck-up and self-centered.”
“I’m sure it helped having a therapist as a mom. Hearing stories about what some of her patients were going through—anonymously, of course—did help keep things in perspective.”
Maris looked me over. “It’s more than that. You have the sort of innate confidence I admire, Elle.”
I shook my head.
“No, really,” she insisted. “You’re the kind of person who’s a natural leader—you have vision and focus, but you still think of the team and greater good. There was a time I would have said I was envious of those qualities, but considering that we were transformed into our ‘ideal selves’ or whatever, I know I must not need that in myself to be happy. But, it’s… inspiring to have you on the team.”
I smiled. “Thanks. For what it’s worth, I can’t imagine the Dark Sentinels without you.” I paused. “I know we didn’t get off to the best start.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “I’m well aware I didn’t make a great first impression.”
“Those initial shoes you picked…”
Maris laughed. “I’ll never admit there isn’t always room for being fashionable, but okay… those were not a good choice. More than that, though, I didn’t act like a member of the team. You tried to include me, and I resisted at every turn.”
“It was a tough situation to be thrown into.”
“That’s no excuse. All of you faced the same thing.” She took a deep breath. “I think I was just used to having to take care of myself and needing to have my guard up.”
“I don’t blame you.”
She was silent for several seconds. “That’s why I was so excited to get that shield. It’s beautiful, but also powerful—a tool I could use to keep away anything that might hurt me.”
I nodded with understanding. “It’s not just a shield or an artifact. Something symbolic.”
“Yeah.”
I took a moment to reflect on everything she’d told me. I’d gotten the wrong impression about her. “I’m glad you opened up, Maris. I know some of that must be difficult to talk about.”
She smiled weakly. “Thanks for listening.”
“Always! I’m sorry for not making a better effort to be friendly earlier.”
“Don’t worry—that was on both sides.” Maris got a wistful look in her eyes. “It’s interesting which abilities we each manifested, even beyond our alignment with the disciplines. I always wished I could have a protective wall around me and to grow up faster so I could get away, and I ended up being able to cast magical shells and change time perception.”
“Stars, I hadn’t thought about it that way.” I reflected on my own abilities in that context and realized that many of my abilities were centered around things I couldn’t do because of my injury; I even wielded my sword lefthanded.
Maris held up her hands and studied them. “Maybe my desire to protect myself is what’s driven me to help others. I hope I can find a way to use this healing magic.”
I didn’t have the heart to remind her that we would likely lose our abilities after the universal reset. “I know you will.”
The lounge door hissed open and Kaiden entered, flashing a warm smile.
“Morning jolt?” Maris offered him.
He shrugged. “Sure, may as well.” A green wave washed over him, and he noticeably perked up. “I don’t know why we don’t do this all the time.”
“Because it’s only special when it’s a treat,” Maris replied matter-of-factly.
“Yeah, I guess.” Kaiden looked around. “Hey, where’s Toran?”
“I was wondering the same thing,” I said.
“He dropped by a few minutes ago and muttered something about ‘contingency plans’, then headed to Central Command,” Maris replied.
I exchanged glances with Kaiden. “Should we follow him?”
Maris shook her head. “He said he’d be right back.”
“All right.” I plopped down at the table. “Any more thoughts on what we discussed last night?”
“I really think we should go,” Maris responded, sitting down across from me. “I had a long talk with Hoofy.”
“About what?” I asked.
“It started out as a discussion about our mission, but he ended up telling me more about his experience with the other planes, and about the Saps.”
I raised an eyebrow. “If he knows so much, then why didn’t he say anything sooner?”
Maris pursed her lips. “He wanted to make sure we wouldn’t use the information for our own gain.”
“How?”
She dropped her voice to a whisper, beckoning us closer. “Apparently, the Saps have some pretty interesting tech that’s powerful enough the beings on higher dimensions have taken notice.”
I cocked my head. “What does higher-dimensional tech look like?”
“I’m guessing it’s more complicated than a toaster,” Kaiden replied.
Maris groaned. “This isn’t a joke. It’s not just the tech itself but how they use it. It sounds like there’s some kind of energy grid.”
“Like, the crystalline network?” I asked.
“No, Hoofy said that’s in a higher plane. This is something in 6D where they reside, but it does offer a link to the higher dimensions. The Saps themselves can’t access the higher planes, but the energy grid is tied to them, and it will be a threat if it’s left unchecked.”
My brow knit. “How would that even—”
“Our sense of place and time is different,” Hoofy interjected in my mind. “Paths and doorways aren’t the same to us.”
“Neither are thoughts, apparently,” I muttered.
“I am not reading your mind, Elle. That would be a violation.”
I wasn’t sure I believed him, but I didn’t want to belabor the matter. “Okay, so there’s this 6D tech. What does that have to do with us and our mission?”
“Because I know where you can access the core of their energy grid,” Hoofy replied.
Kaiden’s eye widened. “All right, I’m intrigued.”
“Okay, yes, that sounds like a genuine lead,” I admitted.
Maris nodded emphatically. “Last night, he walked me through how we get there. We can do it.”
“Did you tell Toran about it already?” Kaiden asked.
“Yeah, we both got here early this morning,” she said.
I looked to Kaiden. “I’m guessing he jumped the gun and messaged something to Colren, and now the Hegemony is making plans without us.”
Kaiden nodded. “Remember when Colren was asking about tech before? Any hint of a real lead and I bet they’ll get all starry-eyed.”
“Is Toran trying to get them to back off or collaborate?” I wondered aloud.
“He cares about his family more than anything. He wouldn’t make a deal that undermined our ability to get back to our loved ones—I’m sure of that,” Maris said.
I crossed my arms. “Well, he better not promise anything without running it by us first. When we’re inevitably running for our lives after doing whatever it is we end up doing, I don’t want him to say, ‘Wait, we need to do this thing I said we’d do’.”
“Like they can actually hold us to anything,” Kaiden pointed out. “Our best-case scenario is performing a universal reset. No one is going to remember what we did or didn’t do, anyway.”
“I will remember,” Hoofy said.
“Unless you plan to file a full report with the Hegemony about whatever we do, the unicorns remembering the fine deeds of the Dark Sentinels doesn’t change much for us,” I shot back with more bite than I’d intended.
“Elle…” Kaiden began soothingly.
I took a deep breath. “Sorry, I just really don’t like the idea of us trying to get weapons or tech from the bad guys. We all saw what they’re capable of.”
“The Black Cloud of Death is awful any way you look,” Kaiden agreed.
The door hissed open, and I snapped my head around to see Toran taking up the doorway.
“Sorry I’m late.” He entered.
“Please tell me you didn’t sell our souls to the Hegemony,” I said.
Toran’s brow knit. “I think I missed something.”
“Your impromptu meeting in Central Command,” Maris supplied. “Elle and Kaiden got it in their heads that you were striking a deal with the leadership about stealing alien tech.”
He leaned on the table next to me. “I’ve been gone for, what, fifteen minutes? That didn’t take long for you to jump to some strange conclusions.”
“Not conclusions,” I backpedaled. “Just, uh… notions.”
Toran looked me over. “Right. Well, I wasn’t making clandestine deals, sorry to disappoint. I actually went to talk with Colren about the comm issues we’ve been having on many of these worlds with alien activity.”
“That makes a lot more sense,” I murmured.
“Any remedies?” Kaiden asked.
“I couldn’t sleep last night, so I was thinking about the interface for your pendant,” Toran explained. “Before, we were only looking at the connection between the crystals in terms of frequencies and signals, but now that we know the network is hyperdimensional, I started wondering if we could augment the standard hyperdimensional comms using a crystalline connection.”
Kaiden came to attention. “As in, use my pendant as a booster for the comm signal?”
“Yes, that’s the gist of it,” Toran replied. “And the viewing-sphere is already on board, so it could be tied into the ship’s long-range communication suite.”
“I have to say, I’d feel a lot better about our seventh-dimensional plan if we had a way to talk to the Evangiel,” I said.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Kaiden agreed.
“Okay. Then, I guess we’re proceeding with the plan to do the flyby and trek through 7D,” Toran said.
I suppressed the urge to second-guess our decision. “How long will it take to get everything set up?”
“Should have it ready by the time the Evangiel reaches the planet,” he replied.
I nodded. “Okay, let’s get ready to go.”
Kaiden, Maris, and I spent the next hour chatting with Hoofy about his knowledge of the Saps and what we could expect to encounter in the seventh dimension along our route. Whenever he started discussing his home plane, I couldn’t help imagining a fairytale land filled with unicorns and dragons and rainbows. I got the impression the last one was a reach, but the other two… Well, it started to get pretty clear where the ancient lore came from—maybe some travelers had somehow ascended to a higher plane or of the supposedly mythical beings had once dwelled in normal spacetime. I was looking forward to witnessing the ancient majesty firsthand.
As the time for our transition through the viewing-sphere neared, we met up with Toran in the secret chamber near Central Command. He was in the process of testing the new connection when we arrived.
“I think this will actually work,” he said, admiring the product of his labors.
“Won’t know for sure until we’re wandering around 7D.” I placed my hands on my hips.
“We’ll be at the drop point in two minutes,” a familiar voice said behind me from the doorway. I turned to see Colren watching us.
“If this goes as planned, it won’t seem like we’ve gone anywhere,” I said to him.
“Then it feels a little silly for me to say I’ll see you soon.” He cracked a smile.
“I’ll never turn down well-wishes.” I flashed a smile back, then approached the sphere.
“Good luck to all of you,” Colren said, passing his gaze to each of us in turn. “May you find your way safely back to us.”
We’d made a calculated decision to keep Hoofy’s existence to ourselves, and this wasn’t the moment to reveal that we’d have a hyperdimensional guide. “We’ll do our best,” I told him.
Maris got in position near the viewing-sphere. “It feels weird to be leaving without our gear packs.”
“I dunno, this will force us to up our magic game,” I said.
“That it will.” Kaiden stepped up next to me. “So, how do we do this?”
“Same as last time, I suppose.” I drew my sword, knowing now that it was a key aspect of making the transition to the higher planes. “Imagine what we want to happen, and hopefully it will.”
“Here’s hoping,” Kaiden murmured.
“I’m all set with the comms,” Toran announced. “We can transition whenever we come into optimal range.”
Colren studied the info panel on the side wall. “Just over a minute to go.”
“Okay, you know our target,” I said to the rest of my team.
“I will guide you,” Hoofy said in our minds, unbeknownst to Colren.
“Ready whenever you are,” Maris replied aloud to both of us.
We stood poised around the viewing-sphere, waiting for Colren’s acknowledgement that we were in position.
At last, he nodded to us. “It’s time.”
Gripping my sword, I reached out to the sphere with my free hand in unison with my teammates. “Here we go.”
16
As my hand made contact with the smooth crystal, a tingle ran up my arm then spread through my body. My vision fractured and unfolded into different facets. On one of the distorted planes, the majestic form of a unicorn came into focus.
“This is the path to the plane you seek,” Hoofy instructed.
I willed myself toward the facet where he stood waiting for us.
Though I imagined myself passing through the facet like a doorway, I instead sensed my awareness expanding until I unfolded out into the seventh-dimensional plane. The sensation disoriented me, unhinging my sense of self. I fought to imagine a physical form—something familiar for me to latch onto. Slowly, a new perception of reality unfolded.
A bridge stretched out in front of me, seemingly suspended in midair. Soft, diffused light came from every direction, casting no shadows. The bridge itself was barely perceptible, a mesh of translucent filaments that reminded me of spider silk. Based on appearance alone, it looked like the bridge would bend underfoot, but it felt as strong as if I was standing on stone.
Toran, Kaiden, and Maris appeared around me in the same configuration in which we had been standing on the Evangiel, with the viewing-sphere suspended at th
e center of the bridge between us. Hoofy was standing in full view several meters away.
Kaiden immediately rested the end of his staff on the bridge and placed his free hand on his stomach. “That was way worse than last time.”
Maris looked a little green. “You’d think going to a lower plane would be easier.”
I took a steadying breath and sheathed my sword, seeing no immediate threat. “We still have a lot to learn about how these transitions work, but that can wait.”
“Yes, clock’s ticking.” Kaiden caught himself. “Or, maybe not. I suppose we’re outside the normal flow of time in our plane, aren’t we?”
Maris shook her head. “I don’t want to think about it. Hoofy?”
The unicorn tossed his head and snuffled. “The energies of this plane are difficult for your kind to focus on. Now that you are here, the discomfort will dissipate.”
“Well, that’s a relief,” I said.
“And while, yes, we are above the flow of time here, it is not prudent to delay. Follow me.” Hoofy loped across the bridge away from us.
I broke into a run, finding my movements easy and natural, just like they had in the eighth-dimensional window maze. If we found ourselves in an engagement, at least I’d know how to handle myself.
Just as I’d experienced on the hyperdimensional planes before, distance was distorted and difficult to judge. For that matter, my sensation of time passing was also impaired—like my internal clock was off. Were it not for my rhythmic strides as we ran across the ethereal bridge, I’d have had no confirmation that I’d traveled anywhere or that any time had passed.
“What is this place?” I asked to break the silence.
“This is a thoroughfare connecting the worlds,” Hoofy replied. “The closer to an inhabited place, the more possible branches and drop-out points.”
“So, we really could walk between planets,” Kaiden murmured.
“Yes, though even here, I do not know if your kind would have the patience for the journey. To walk a path of that length leaves one alone with their thoughts, and not everyone would welcome that kind of prolonged introspection.”
