The elevator grinded menacingly as the gears worked to lift them up to a higher level in the ship. With silence in abundance, every sound was nerve racking. When the Ishimura was active and full of people going about their jobs, the sound of an elevator was normal, but in its current state, the noise was camouflage for the creatures that hunted them.
"Where are we?" Tails asked as the doors screeched open to the top floor.
"Hmm," the vixen pondered as she did her best to get her bearings, "Three levels above the crew deck, two above the morgue. I guess that puts us on the science deck."
Damn it, he swore to himself, knowing they were still over half a ships length away from where he might find Cosmo.
"The communication arrays are on top of the…"
"Flight Deck," the kit cut her off, "I know."
She shot him that look that suggested he should watch what he said. Even through her helmet, Tails could see the scowl.
"Sorry," he added, "I have a lot on my mind."
The labs were surprisingly devoid of life. There weren't even any signs of struggle like there had been just two decks below. Somehow he would have expected the science section of the ship to whip up something real special for them.
"So, this girl of yours, the one that's on your mind. She got a name?"
Tails had been doing his best to mimic Fiona's movement and technique. If he mirrored her efforts they could easily clear a room without exposing their backs to the unknown. Having a partner in this certainly made things easier. Isaac and captain Hammond, however, were still on their own.
"Cosmo," the kit replied, hoping that the mention of her name wouldn't invite her into his head.
"Can't say that I know her."
That wasn't surprising, the Ishimura had tens of thousands aboard and The Seedrian wasn't known for hanging out with the soldier types.
"She's a Seedrian," he added for good measure, knowing there were hardly more than a few, if any, on a planet cracker.
"Ohh, why didn't you say so before," Fiona smiled. "The fragile little thing was always hanging out alone in her lab back in the hydroponics section. A real work-o-holic that one. "
"Sounds like her," Tails agreed.
"You can fix this stuff, right?" the red furred fox asked before checking another corner. "The communications whatever."
"It depends what's wrong," the kit admitted. "Assuming things are only being jammed and that all the equipment still works, it shouldn't take long."
"And then it would still be a day or two before anyone could even get to us," Fiona sighed.
"Well that's only if we fix gravity centrifuge first."
"The what?"
"The part of the engine that keeps us from crashing into the planet," Tails explained as simply as he could.
"What's wrong with that?"
"According to the Ishimura's logs, it ran out of fuel a day ago because no one was around to initiate the refueling procedure. We probably only have a couple more hours before the orbit of the ship starts to decay."
The vixen stared at him blankly, hoping for another simplified explanation.
"Then we'll crash into the planet," he added.
"Huh, well I'm sure glad you're here to fix all that."
Tails smiled back at her, happy for her appreciation even it was purely driven by self preservation. The line that the vixen's suit had drawn on the floor had them cutting through one of the labs to get over to the main hall. Walking up to the entrance, Tails palmed the panel next to the door and stepped through as it opened.
The kit quickly regretted not following Fiona's lead. He had grown complacent after clearing close to ten rooms with nothing in them and it now appeared as if he was going to pay for that.
Loud popping sounds filled the recycled air as his red furred partner sprayed the room with hot plasma, but it didn't do much good against a giant organic claw. Latching effortlessly onto his leg, it had him on the ground in no time.
Tails screamed for help, "Fiona!"
The vixen was nothing but calm and collected as she searched for an angle on their enemy which was now flinging the two-tailed fox around the room like a rag doll. A human would have fared better in this situation. They were heavier, harder to drag, and probably wouldn't fit into the hole it was now looking to haul him into.
Dropping the plasma riffle, he reached out with both paws, trying to get a hold of anything that would prevent the creature from carrying him away. It was useless. He watched helplessly as Fiona disappeared in a narrowing straw of light.
He recognized the inner most parts of the Ishimura's maintenance shafts. They filled the spaces between the ship's many decks. Just like the sewers of a city, they served as conduits for vital systems, which apparently now included mutant tentacle aliens. Tails didn't want to find out where in the depths of the ship this thing was dragging him, because he could only assume it was where everyone else in the science wing had disappeared to as well.
Light once again flooded his pupils. He was in a similar looking long but winding hallway with the snake like tentacle weaving itself around a corner and out of sight.
Think Tails!
The kit had been fighting for control and balance for so long that he had forgotten about his other weapon. Reaching for the plasma cutter still attached at his belt, he freed the tool and did his best to aim a shot at one of the claws that was sinking into his armor.
Immediately it dropped the fox and began to flail about in pain. Before it could launch a new attack, Tails centered the creature in his sights, severing the entire end of the claw off of the rest of the body. In the blink of an eye, the creature was gone, save for the piece of biomass that lay twitching on the floor in front of him. With glee he smashed what remained of the alien into the deck with the heel of his boot.
"Where am I?" he asked aloud, hoping someone would answer.
Nothing but the ominous whispers answered him. The kit was growing nervous in the quiet, where his subconscious forced him to listen to their pleas for attention. Part of him wished he could understand them, but he also recognized the moment he did may also lead to the end of his sanity.
"Fiona!" he shouted, craving the presence of the other fox now more than ever.
"Tails," someone answered softly, only it wasn't Fiona.
"Cosmo?"
"Why are you taking so long, Tails? I need you."
"I'm trying," he pleaded with the hallucination, "but everything here has gone to hell."
"This isn't hell," she smiled back at him, "far from it. Do you have any idea what it's like to be with all your brothers and sisters in one cohesive consciousness?"
"No," he replied bluntly.
"You will soon enough," the Seedrian replied before fading away. "I'm waiting."
At least he was learning to cope with the massive headaches that accompanied her presence, although he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Even worse was the fact that Cosmo was talking to him as if she were already one of these things.
I refuse to believe that.
It was his fear getting the better of him, he was sure of it. Whatever this Marker was, it induced an incredibly powerful state of psychosis in anyone who came too close. As he learned more of what happened aboard the Ishimura, his mind became acutely more afraid of what might have happened to Cosmo, and now it was fueling his hallucinations.
I know you're alive, he assured himself. You have to be, you're too smart to let one of these things kill you.
Worrying for two was difficult. Even he knew the odds were stacked against them, or anyone on board the Ishimura for that matter, but it didn't matter. Tails refused to accept that the Seedrian was anything but alive and well.
"Cosmo?" he said aloud, wondering if she would appear again.
He could hear her giggling, but no verbal response followed. She was teasing him, pushing him closer to the edge.
"Cosmo!"
There was nothing this time.
Yourself Miles, remember you're talking to yourself, not her.
Walking down the long corridor he searched for anything that he could use to get his bearings. Instead of laboratories, there were well-furnished offices with computer simulations still hanging in their projection systems. It didn't look like the bridge, but given the quality he knew he was more than likely somewhere on the flight deck.
"Planetary Operations," the kit said aloud when finally found a sign hanging above a reception area.
Blood streaks covered the floors, leading back to the vents, reminding him of the growing list of creatures that might be lurking in the fatal abyss.
"Slashers," he began in attempt to both create names and list the creatures, "the blade children, infectors, hulks, and..."
His attention had been captured by one of the holographic projectors in a conference room further down the hall. An oddly shaped red stone hung in the air, slowly spinning to show of its twisted shape.
"The Marker," the kit gasped in disbelief.
However, his surprise was not because it was an awe-inspiring object, but because he had seen one before.
"This can't be what's causing all of this."
Or at least he hoped with all his heart that was the case. Mobius, just like earth, had discovered a stone of very similar size and shape. The only difference being that those were black and no one had ever referred to them as Markers. If this crimson rock was the source of the epidemic, why hadn't their planets experienced a similar event yet?
The coincidences were alarming though. Markers such as these were sources of what could only be described as unlimited electromagnetic energy, something, which if tuned to the right frequency, could begin to have adverse effects on both Mobian and Human brains. That, however, didn't even begin to explain outbreak of an undead and mutated army.
"Maybe this one is different," he thought aloud.
In truth, he shouldn't have even known about Markers, but several interested parties had asked him to determine if there was a feasible way to harness all that electromagnetic energy. The governments of both planets had apparently been holding on to them for years, keeping them secret from the public. All research on the subject was classified to a degree he hadn't ever seen.
Aside from limitless energy the stones were inert. They shifted frequencies both rapidly and unpredictably, making them more or less useless to any process that might take advantage of their hidden power. It did, however, raise the question of why The Markers shifted frequencies in the first place. Tails was certain he wasn't the only that noticed that both Mobian and Human stones switched at the same time, almost as if they were talking to one another or relaying messages. The inquiry into to that piece of the puzzle unfortunately belonged to Doctor Ivo Robotnik's research team.
He had never fancied himself all that interested in the unknown, preferring instead to work with well established sciences and materials. There was something about the Marker, however, that beckoned his attention. Walking up to the display he probed for more details.
Everything he was reading suggested that they knew the location of the device well before the Ishimura had even arrived. Robotnik and his team had figured out a way to follow the signals and reveal the location of other nearby Markers. This certainly helped explain the presence of such a large Unitoligist research team aboard. They had been sent here with the explicit idea of retrieving another Marker.
The sound of blades slashing against steel wrenched his attention away from the screen. Among the battle cries was a human voice, announcing his struggle with an exasperated roar.
"Isaac!" Tails shouted as he raced out of the office and down the hall.
Skidding to a stop, the kit reconsidered as two Necromorphs began barreling down the corridor in his direction. He knew it was impossible to out run them for long. Their endurance knew no bounds. Raising the plasma cutter, he waited until the first got within striking distance before firing a shot to sever the blade from its shoulder. While attempting to regain its composure, the kit reached for the creature's detached limb. If it was sharp enough to cut steel, then it was sharp enough to cut flesh.
Swinging it like a sward he was surprised with the ease it removed the creature's head. Dodging the next fiend's attack, he spun around behind it, cutting its legs off at the knees. Hissing loudly it turned to face him using its arms, but before it could do any more Tails drove the tip of his ill-gotten blade into the Necromorph's skull, splitting it open in a brutal fashion.
All the parts of him that weren't disgusted with his actions were proud, wishing more than anything for someone to have seen his impressive feat.
"Fiona would have enjoyed it," the kit summarized as he thought about her recent endeavors with a blade.
Now that it was quiet enough to focus again, he could hear the cycle of an air lock somewhere further down the corridor.
"No, Isaac, wait," the two-tailed fox screamed at the top of his lungs, knowing full well his voice would never carry into the vacuum of space.
From the tiny porthole window next to the two-chambered airlock, Tails could make out the man walking quickly across the ships exterior towards the vast array of antennas.
"It's useless Isaac, there's something jamming it," the kit said to no one but himself.
Placing his palm on the pad next to the door, Tails set out after him, waiting for the lock to cycle.
Space walks were not fun. The idea of getting separated from the ship and drifting helplessly into the endless abyss of space was not amusing. He had to trust entirely in his magboots and his suit's rudimentary thruster system.
Only the sound of his own breathing filled his RIG suit. A new type of silence was upon him, one that not even the whispers could penetrate.
Isaac still had his back to him, now at the base of a satellite array. Admittedly everything looks thrashed, and in need of attention, but even if the man could fix the damage no messages could be sent until he found the source of the jammer.
Looking in the opposite direction, Tails did a 180. He knew it as soon as he saw it, "There!"
Jammers had to overcome the power of any signal that were sent within their range, effectively drowning out any coherent signals before they could reach receivers. A jumble of power cables snaked there way from dozens of different points on the ship into a high-powered omni-directional antenna.
"This is enough power to jam communications on an entire planet!" he shouted to himself before remembering that was probably the point. Aegis VII hovered ominously behind him, its red surface a far cry from the more familiar blue and green hue of Mobius. No one that remained on the surface of the lifeless planet would be able to communicate either.
Powering down the device was as simple as removing the power. Twisting the cables he freed their connections and set them adrift in space one by one.
"Anyone there?" he said over his shortwave after he unplugged the last one.
Nothing but static returned his inquiry.
I'll do my best to keep these going. Anyone have any ideas on what they want to see? I have some fun ideas, but I am all for incorporating what my readers want as well.
Tonight's chapters posted for Fatal Abyss and Resistance: Aftermath are brought you by six letter words that begin with the letter 'S'.
Sassy Static
Cheers,
M.D