Chapter 17: The Shrike Contingency
A horseshoe of men and women, some wearing black robes and some in white coats stared down at them from a low sandstone dais inside a circular enclave. Rays of light extended from small portholes around a low domed ceiling.
A tall woman with sky blue hair and dark sunglasses stood at the center. She placed her hands on a stone pedestal and smiled at the pair standing before her.
"Karmann and Verbius- fighting together at last. How poetic."
"What is this," Royce asked.
And who the hell is Karmann? He thought.
"We are the Khanian high council. I am minister Hyyroc. We report to Elder Hachi on matters of scientific importance. Which I must say- both of you certainly qualify."
He nudged Diana, "you said they'd get us on a flight back, right?"
"That's what they said," she growled through gritted teeth.
"Are we free to go," he took a step forward.
"Of course. We towed your space-plane to Andross and it's being refueled. We can't thank you enough for saving Sogne. Without your efforts I expect the U.N.F. would have flattened whatever that monster left standing."
"You can thank Kristoff." He stared at the woman. On her face was a smirk. Like she had a trap ready to spring at any moment.
"Kristoff?" she asked.
"The body- in the truck."
"Oh, yes. We'll send his remains-"
"Why did you bring us here?" he interrupted the woman.
"Just to express my gratitude, and confirm my suspicions." She produced a white band with strange blue markings and held it at arm's length.
He stepped forward and studied it. "Is it- a transceiver?"
"Yes. You might find it more useful than the ones the Serilonans gave you."
"Why's that?"
"Do you know how transceivers work?"
"How?"
She sighed, "a gene therapy allows neurons to produce two types of enzymes. These enzymes come from luminescent organisms- one comes from fireflies, the other from plankton. One enzyme transmits light when signals move through it, and another one responds to light to produce signals. Some people produce more of one or the other. In other words, some are better transmitters and some are better receivers.
"They call this process- optogenetic therapy. It was developed by a long time ago, then re-developed during the Plantation era, then re-re-developed by a scientist in Serilona.
"We Khanians developed the transceivers. It's our country's primary export. That white band is a set of light sensors that detects patterns emitted by optogenetic neurons. It reconstructs these patterns and relays those thoughts to…your plane, your co-pilot… your special friend-"
She raised her eyebrows, then she continued.
"As I said," she explained. "They can transmit and receive. But some people are better at transmitting, and others are better at receiving."
Royce rubbed his head. "So- you need both the therapy and the transceiver?"
"Yes. With one exception: rare mutations do occur. Some people's neurons emit small light signals naturally. For instance: Diana- her neurons naturally emit light. But at a different wavelength, and it requires a special transceiver to pick it up properly.
"Until recently- we believed she was the only one. That is, until we learned about you, Royce. And about the Klaxosaurs- isn't that right, Diana?"
She cringed, gripping his wrist tightly.
He glanced at her. She was staring at the ground.
"I could understand it." She said. "The Klaxosaur- the way the light was pulsing. It talked to me. It was angry. It wanted to stop the drilling. And it was looking for something- something you stole from it."
"Ah- so our suspicions were correct."
"How do you know all this?" he yelled at the woman.
"Oh- how cute, you don't know what she is, do you?"
"I don't care what she is. I care who she is."
"Believe what you will. But you should know that both she and her transceiver are special."
He had so many questions rushing through his mind he could barely settle on one to ask.
"Why is it special? What's this got to do with you? What's she got to do with any of you?"
"Come on-" he felt a tug on his wrist. "We're leaving."
"Wait-"
She spun him around and looked deep into his eyes. Hers glowed a violent red. Then she twirled again, still holding his wrist and dragged him out the door.
"Wait! Diana, this is all crazy."
"Why?" she said without turning her head as she burst through a heavy sandstone door with ease. "They never told you how optos work?"
"Not really. I just knew they could read your thoughts. I had no idea- but wait, are you some kind of-"
"I don't know what I am. I don't care. I'm alive, for what little time I have left. And as long as you are too, that's good enough. As long I have some hope of finding my darling, I'll be fine." She stopped and turned to face him.
He thought for a minute while staring at her, then nodded. She released his wrist, and interlaced his fingers. She smiled. Then she took his other hand, intertwining her fingers with his.
"You're confused, aren't you? I love seeing you all confused." He felt trapped and mystified.
She pressed herself close to him, and whispered in his ear, "maybe I can make you more confused…" She looked at him deviously and then nibbled on his ear. He tilted his head back and she kissed him.
A wave of peaceful silence washed over his body and he was overwhelmed with happiness. She kissed him again and again in the middle of the foreign city, but it didn't matter where they were. It was all gone. The world was all dark and only she remained.
He tried to reach around and hug her but she held his fingers tightly with her own, moving around to kiss the back of his neck, her cotton candy hair brushing over his face and the intoxicating scent drove him to the brink of madness.
"Verbius- Verbius!" came a woman's voice, first faint, then louder.
He heard Diana audibly growl with anger, "what do you want?"
He opened his eyes and peered around. Pink strands clouded his vision and he gently wriggled his hands free from hers, then as much as his mind and body protested, he wormed his way out of her tight embrace.
"Yes, uh- yes? Who are you?" he stammered out. His mind was still foggy.
"Come on, Darling- don't bother with these liars. They can't be trusted." She whispered in his ear, still peering over his shoulder at the intruder to their special moment.
The middle-aged woman had short blonde hair and wore a white lab coat. She gave off an expression of cheerful curiosity, a sense of relentless fascination. Like a curious young scientist who just wanted to observe and question. A stark contrast to the wild eyed woman behind the stone podium who seemed obsessed with scheme and plot.
"Karina Saxon," she replied. "It's an honor to meet both of you. I've heard you're both extraordinary pilots."
"Uh, thanks." He stammered. "What can I help you with?"
"Both of you, we suspect, share a rare genetic trait. One which I've been studying. I'd like to show you something! It's what I've been working on for nearly fifteen years."
"Show me something," Diana said coldly. "You people have showed me enough of your experiments for a lifetime. I'd rather go. Come on Darling." He felt a cold hand grab onto his, but he resisted the pull.
"Wait, Diana, she seems friendly enough. Why don't we just see what she wants?"
"Yes," the cheerful scientist motioned for them to follow. "Come on. It's just this way, we'll need to take a short tram-"
She pulled a bottle of water from her pocket and handed it to him.
"Here- I thought you might be thirsty after the long trip."
"Thanks," he took it hesitantly and sipped.
Diana grabbed it from his hand and sniffed the contents, then handed it back.
"Well- am I going to die?" he asked her.
"Nah. But I still don't trust these sneaky bastards." She glared at Karina.
Karina smiled back awkwardly, "You're our guests."
Diana growled in frustration as Royce followed her across the concrete pavilion toward another small organic sandstone dome.
Morisato slammed his fist into Captain Sobu's desk in a fit of rage.
"Are you FUCKING serious?"
The redheaded staff officer looked no older than twenty. He scurried his chair backwards from a cluttered desk.
"What do you mean- 'just hang out?'"
"I- uh-"
Cho stood against the door equally enraged but far more collected. He stared at the pair in contemplation as Morisato raged.
"Ishigami said to wait for his orders." Sobu pleaded.
Cho pushed off from the door frame and approached Morisato, placing a hand on his shoulder and easing him back from the desk.
"Let me make something clear, Captain Sobu. Because I know you're not from around here. Half our squadron is down in enemy territory. The rest are either in the hospital- or in orbit. So let me ask you: when's the last time you heard from the commander?"
"Uh- before he left."
"Then I suggest you get him on the line."
They walked into the command center and as soon as Sobu touched the console- a siren blared through the room, followed by a triangular yellow sign that said:
"EMERGENCY! YELLOW ALERT!"
Cho smacked his face with an open palm, then he gently pushed the staff officer away.
"What is it?" he clicked off the alarm and leaned in to the console's microphone.
A nervous-looking man wearing a black jacket in a dark room looked back at them from behind an orange holographic display.
"Sunbird Team! Ash Cloud, U.N.F. strategic command - reporting new contact designated R.T.C. Genista One! Gutenberg-Class Cephalopod approaching from the East!"
"Shit- it's here?!" he yelled, then ran out of the command center with Morisato behind him.
They stared down the long runway flanked by fields of green grass. Beyond the runway's overrun was a sheet of wine-dark water punctuated by a black pinhead on its horizon.
"Son of a-" He slapped his Morisato on the back and ran toward the hanger. "Come on. We've got to get out of here. Go get Victor and Kimi prepped. Wake up the cadets and get them manning RAPCON!"
"Kimi!? Your girlfriend?"
"You heard me. She's a trained pilot. Get moving!"
"Shit," Morisato ran off. Cho continued toward the hangar.
He saw technicians and soldiers running around, rushing to fuel transports and fighter planes for launch.
Come on, Royce. Kristoff. Diana- If you're alive, we could use your help. And if you're not, we could really use a miracle here.
"You have got- to be shitting me." Royce gasped.
They stood in a large excavated cavern with hard caged lights shining down on them. A massive rock dome stretched above their heads. Half a dozen other monstrous humanoid mechs stood in similar rock recessions around the massive cavern.
He stared up at a monstrous blue and yellow creature recessed into the hundred-foot high rock wall surrounded by huge plates of powder-coated steel and hydraulic piston locks.
"This is Project Shrike." Karina stood facing the mech. "Khania's response to the U.N.F.'s Tracer experiment."
He was speechless. He dropped an empty water bottle from his hand. It clattered to the ground.
Diana held his arm.
"Is that-"
"The Shrikes are made from captured radiotroph clusters, like the one you defeated at Sogne. It's integrated with modern machinery and fueled by magma. We call this one: Fenghuang."
"Everything you people did to me- this is why?" Diana said in a low growling voice.
"Yes," the scientist looked at the freshly excavated ground. "I've heard the stories about what happened. You must understand- in all the legends there was only one thing that could defeat the invaders. The monsters buried underground, led by a beast and her prince. But these thing we built wouldn't respond to our transceivers. So- we needed to find, or create- someone who could pilot them."
"How did you know she could pilot?"
"Dr. Karmann, a brilliant geneticst figured out how to create a human chimaera with the Klaxosaurs. His work left a dark stain on our project. But I still believe he was-"
Karina reached in her pocket and pulled out her phone, then grew alarmed.
"Please- we need to hurry. Khanian high command just issued a warning- a rogue Serilonan commander has entered the Lamarck Club and broken the encryption on Ash Cloud's master computer. He's activated a homing beacon."
"What does that mean?" He asked.
"It means the invaders are returning."