Initially, many thanks to the reviewer who pointed out the multitude of clone reviews. I wasn't notified of even the first of them, and hadn't noticed. At this point they should be deleted, or at least the site claims that they were.
In regard to the last chapter's title, I believe it was justified. I never claimed that anything was coming together (though an observant reader will make connections long before the characters), merely that there were more puzzle pieces.
Poor dialogue? Interesting. To a certain degree I intended it to be such, and some of the dialogue's nature is very important. But if it is distracting, then it is clearly faulty, and should be changed. Were this a novel, I would work with that. Please tell me what you think of the dialogue in this chapter to see if it develops as it should. If the complaint remains through the next several chapters, then perhaps I should do some rewriting; I rarely settle for above par.
This chapter is somewhat of an experiment in an attempt to work with 's new uploading specs. The changes, which I had done inadequate research into, make my work look sloppier than it should.
Chapter 5: Echos of the Past
Affixing the metal line to the shattered power coupling, Tal soldered it together then glanced over his work. It would do, though he was pretty sure it would burn out after a few light-years. Samus didn't need more than a few, though. Pulling a gray roll of tape from the bag beside him, he began wrapping wire and coupling together in it.
Long ago, it had been called duct tape, he knew. Wonderfully useful stuff, for just about anything. This version was perfect for working with parts as sensitive as the engine of a spaceship, it was really quite fortunate that the escape pod had some. Then again, any escape pod without it would have been considered under-stocked.
The days had passed quickly, as Tal basically awoke, worked on the ship, then slept again, eating being no more than a sidelight. Their situation was overall good, he decided, but food stores were running a bit low by this point. If not for the escape pod's computer, he would long ago have lost track of time. In any case, he and Samus had been working together for quite a long time.
Of all the people he could have been stranded on a wasteland planet with, Samus now ranked highest on his list. Not that that meant anything, for the scum that he was familiar with. She was pretty good with tools, and also a wickedly good shot with the photon gun he knew was in her bio suit. It was also helpful she wasn't the most extroverted person, which could have made the situation unbearable. Tal could see she was an intelligent person, yet she didn't speak as if she held way too many degrees. Such a far cry from everyone he knew.
"You never really explained about your past," Samus spoke up, breaking the silence between them. "What happened?"
Tal sighed deeply. He had known this question would come up eventually; it was just a matter of how best to answer. "There isn't a lot to tell, because I don't remember a lot of my early childhood. I've mentioned it many times, but I'll say it again: I grew up around scientists."
"Yeah, you've said that. What about your parents?"
"I practically don't have any," Tal answered bleakly. "I have no idea who they are. Maybe some of the scientists were my parents, or maybe they died when I was very young; I'm not sure, I was never told. Even if they were there at the station, I never had any real parents. They're almost certainly dead now."
"Oh. Sorry for bringing that up."
"No, it's alright. I'm used to it, by this point. I've never really been around normal people, but I'm sure they'd think I'm pretty strange."
"You aren't that strange."
Glancing up, Tal looked at Samus carefully, but she was bending down inside the fuselage of the escape pod, working on something. She meant it, he knew. Small comfort.
"Thanks, I guess."
"There's no such thing as normal," Samus continued. "We're all human, aren't we?"
"I would certainly hope so."
"I'm afraid this is as far as we can go."
"What was that?" Samus asked, bringing her head out of the back of the escape pod.
"We've done all we can do with these parts. We need to find some real technology now."
"And you're certain you can't cobble together replacements?"
"I'm certain."
With a sigh Samus stood up completely. "Then I suppose we have to see if those ruins you were talking about have anything. Are you ready to go?"
"I'm fine." Tal shrugged. "If you're ready we can go now."
"Then let's go."
In silence they left the escape pod, closing and locking everything and then beginning the journey across the wastes. Samus's map didn't extend to the ruins Tal claimed he saw, but she had recorded where he had been found, so it would probably be easy to find them. It would be somewhat of a long trip, though, especially since Tal couldn't move as quickly as she could.
From the corner of her eye she watched him as they continued walking. Surprisingly, he had healed completely from his original injuries, his skin looked as if it had never been so horribly burned. He had a great healing system, Samus had to give him that. The icy wind blew sand past them, and Samus was certain it probably stung his skin. Yet, as always, he didn't complain, just braced himself and kept going. Admirable determination.
They went on this way in some time, neither speaking, both trudging forward. Eventually everything around started to look the same to Samus, though she trusted her internal mapping features. Just to prevent herself from being totally bored, Samus began monitoring the area around. Desolate, freezing cold, close to inhabitable to life. The air was probably hard on Tal's lungs, Samus realized; it was rougher than the air most humans breathed. Another thing he didn't complain about. Above most things, Samus hated a whiner; it was quite fortunate that things happened this way. If she had believed in fate, she might have thought it was destined.
"There." Tal's words broke through her thoughts. He was pointing toward the horizon. Seeing nothing, Samus raised an eyebrow, then switched her visor to binocular mode. Sure enough, she found herself looking at what appeared to be ruins of some sort of building. He must have had pretty sharp eyes to see it without enhancement.
"So it is," Samus agreed. "Let's hurry."
Both broke into a steady trot, and the building came quickly into view. It was pretty dilapidated, Samus realized, but very obviously the remnants of real technology. For that matter, it seemed to be relatively recent, too. Where had it come from? In any case, the ceiling was gone, and one of the walls was rubble.
Moving through the door, though it wasn't much of one, Samus glanced about the inside of the house. Sand had built up, over time, but she recognized many common items. It was as if this had once been a home. Everything seemed completely normal, as if the occupant had intended to come back soon and then forgotten.
"Oh." She turned to see what Tal had found. To her surprise, she found he was crouched on the ground, glancing at one of the fallen sections of the wall. Looking over his shoulder, Samus found that he was looking at something beneath the fallen rubble. A small lizard, the first life she had seen on this planet, was trapped beneath the stones, its tail firmly clamped in place by the remains of the wall. Seeing them, it hissed and struggled, but couldn't make its way free.
Getting to his feet, Tal gripped the side of the wall. Samus raised an eyebrow; he couldn't lift a stone wall, could he? ...never mind, he did it. The lizard instantly scurried away, now free. Within seconds it had vanished into the shifting sands, and Tal let the wall drop heavily.
"Well, that was sweet of you," she commented dryly, arms folded.
Turning, as if seeing her for the first time, Tal shrugged somewhat sheepishly. "It would have starved."
"I'm not questioning what you did. Just as long as it doesn't come back a lot bigger and try to eat us. Let's see if there's anything in here we can use."
Nodding, Tal moved into the house, and began to search through the bits of technology that remained within the house. Samus began poking around as well, but her mind was still on what had happened. She hadn't really expected him to be the sort to do something like that, and she wasn't sure what she thought of it. More interesting was the fact that he had lifted a stone wall by himself. Of course, she could have, but to lift a wall without any sort of assistance was a feat most humans weren't capable of. Interesting.
Those thoughts fell from her mind as she spotted something on a counter. It was a data recording device, she recognized, if a somewhat old one. Picking it up, Samus thumbed the power button, just out of curiosity. The screen flickered on and off a bit, then remained on with a sickly green glow. Obviously it didn't have a lot of power left.
Quickly looking at what was stored, Samus found it seemed to be an electronic journal, probably written by whoever had lived in this house. She quickly opened the first entry.
The escape pod malfunctioned today, we're not sure what all that entails. There's still food to last for four days, but I hope we don't need all of it. Adam managed to salvage the radio portion of the ship, and he's continued to send a distress signal. The computer said there was a station floating around the planet, but its ignored everything we've sent, so it must be a mistake or something.
I hope things don't go too bad. With three mouths to feed our supplies are running out very quickly. Using the remains of the pod and anything we can get our hands on, we're constructing a makeshift home...
Ignoring the rest of the message, Samus scrolled down to a more recent one. She didn't have any time to learn useless information, she needed to know more about this planet. Something caught her eye, and she scrolled back to read the entry.
We've found a set of caves some few kilometers east from here. Adam thinks there might be a former civilization within them, but I'm hesitant. Then again, I didn't go with them, so I can't be certain. They want to go again, but I'm going to put my foot down. Our gas masks are being worn down by this planet's atmosphere, and I want to save them for a more important time.
I think all of us have given up on any sort of rescue. They keep the radio going anyway. What does that mean for us? Why do we keep going? I think...
Interesting. Samus nodded slowly, tucking that information away. A few kilometers east, about where she'd found caverns; she'd have to remember that. Quickly she flipped to the last entry and began reading.
Call me morbid, but I think this will be my last entry. If I see another day, I'll be surprised. We're out of food, and they haven't been able to scavenge for any more. Like I said in my previous letter, I'm starving. Joey is still dealing with the same feelings I was referring to earlier. This could be the end.
They tried to go to the caverns again, against my best wishes. This time, they barely came back alive. I demanded they tell me what happened, but they wouldn't tell me anything. Adam had three bloody gashes across his chest, but wouldn't tell me how it happened. I've been seeing things at night lately, and I'm getting worried.
I'm cold all the time, they tell me it's hypothermia. We're all so very cold. And hungry. The gas masks failed, and now it hurts to breath any time. Living hurts. I'm not sure I want to-
The recording device blipped out, running out of power. Cursing, Samus smacked the power cell and gave it another shot, but apparently it was completely out of power. That was alright, though, she had gotten some useful information out of it. Setting it down, Samus glanced back around the house to see if there was anything she could do.
Tal was standing by the door, carrying a number of parts. Guiltily Samus realized that she hadn't helped him actually find anything. He didn't seem accusing, though, and she merely followed him as they existed the house.
"Did you find everything?" she asked. He shrugged.
"Enough to make the ship fly, but I wouldn't want to risk it unless we absolutely had to. We have no stabilizers, and we're missing a navigational system that works properly. Also, what I'm going to use as an internal pressure gauge I got from a toaster, so there's a chance the ship will spontaneously combust on us."
"...I see."
"If necessary, we could try to fly it. But if I can find more parts, that'd be safer."
"Ah, I might be able to help you there. The occupants of the house wrote something about a cave a ways away; they think that it had some sort of technology in it. We could go there."
"Is that what you were looking at?"
"Yeah."
"Well, good work. After we get those parts installed, we should check that out."
They moved on in silence for some time, then Samus decided to ask the question. "Aren't you cold? Doesn't this air hurt you?"
Blinking a few times, Tal cocked his head to one side and then nodded. "Yeah, it hurts. I have a very high tolerance for pain, though, I'll be alright."
"Really? That's odd, for someone who grew up around scientists."
"It is, isn't it?" Tal responded, telling her absolutely nothing. When she glanced at him, though, she saw his eyes were pained, and decided not to press the issue. As soon as they got off this planet, though, she was interested in figuring out a bit more about all this. They continued on in silence.
"Do you want to risk it then?"
Samus merely nodded. "We have enough food for a few days yet, and I don't want to take any unnecessary risks. If there really is more technology we can use in those caves, we need it. And if there isn't, we haven't lost much."
"Good point. Let's go."
Silence passed easily between them, a fact Samus was again grateful for. Quickly they collected everything necessary, and then they began the trip to the caves. It was a long way there, considering they had to return to the house, then make their way using fuzzy directions. Once fully prepared, they set off.
There had only been three living things on the planet up to this point, Samus reflected. Herself, Tal and that one lizard. Surely a planet as close to a Terran world as this would support more life than that. Then again, most alien life Samus had run into was pretty hostile, so perhaps that was just a blessing.
Nothing happened along the way, another blessing. Eventually they spotted a land formation ahead, and Samus quickly discovered it was the opening to something, via her binocular vision. Now with a goal in mind, they picked up the pace, quickly reaching their destination.
It was a rocky formation that jutted up from the ground, a rare sight on this planet. Quickly marking its location on her map, Samus began looking around it. The formation's most obvious characteristic, however, was a large hole in the side that quickly descended into the earth. Inspecting it closer, Samus immediately noticed that it was too angular, too artificial a construct. Soon after, she recognized it for what it was: a mineshaft. This explained why there was some inhabitation of this planet, and offered a much better chance of actual technology.
Clapping a hand on Tal's shoulder just as he was about to walk in, Samus stopped him. He glanced at her questioningly. In answer, Samus pulled a hand-held energy pistol from her bio suit and handed it to him.
"Just in case," she answered before he could ask. "You can never be too sure in abandoned mines. Sometimes they were abandoned for a reason." His expression continued to be blank. "You do know how to use one of these, right?"
"I haven't a clue," Tal responded. At least he was holding it in the right direction.
"Really? You've never seen an energy pistol before?"
"Never."
Rolling her eyes, Samus took it from him, then aimed it properly. "Keep the safety engaged at most times so you can keep your finger on the trigger. When you need to fire, shift this switch to the left. This is a semi-automatic, so all you have to worry about it not making the barrel overheat. I'll just have to hope you can aim. Does that make sense?"
"Sense enough," Tal took the gun back. "Let's just hope I don't have to use it."
"That sounds like a much better option."
Without further conversation they entered the mine shaft, which quickly dropped down beneath the surface. Within minutes it became too dark to see, so Samus switched on her bio suits exploratory lights. Surprisingly boring, for an abandoned mine, Samus found herself thinking. She was used to such places being dangerous and monster-infested. Not everywhere in the universe was dangerous, she reminded herself.
Ironically, this came the very moment that Tal yelled "Look out!" pointing down a shaft to their right. Even caught off guard, Samus turned, saw the alien flying in their direction and got off a shot before Tal had time to raise his gun. One was enough to take down the tentacled beast, which instantly crashed to the floor. A bit shocked, Tal glanced at her, both eyebrows raised.
"That's what it means to be a good bounty hunter, huh?"
"Affirmative. Stay alert. If there was one, there are probably more. This type likes to hunt in packs."
"Ssh!" Tal held a finger to his lips, and Samus instantly shut up. What was this? After a moment, Tal nodded. "There are more coming down the shafts above us. Crawlers of some sort, if I hear them properly."
Cocking her head, Samus failed to hear anything. Shrugging, she primed an explosive, then latched it onto the overhead shaft he referred to.
"I'll just trust you on this one."
"More!" Tal informed her grimly. "Coming from every direction but where we came."
Eyes tightening, Samus leveled both barrels toward the open passageway. It seemed things always went like this. There probably weren't too many, but she couldn't use her more powerful weapons for fear of bringing the mine down around them, and Tal was an extra liability.
Soon Samus could hear the scratching as well, obviously monsters moving toward them. The instant she spotted some alien life forms in the shaft above them, she triggered the bomb, completely wiping out the shaft. One less problem to worry about.
Then they came, running in waves from nearby shafts connecting to the room Samus and Tal had entered. It was a bad spot for a battle, Samus reflected, as their opponents could come from several directions. As soon as they came within range, Samus began firing into the crowd, taking out as many as possible.
Tal fired as well. Samus almost winced at the inaccuracy of his shots, but there were so many targets flooding the corridors he was almost guaranteed to hit something. Very quickly, however, the wave of aliens overcame them, forcing evasive action. Activating her jet packs, Samus flew herself to the ceiling, got a good grip, and began firing down below. Seconds later, she realized she had left Tal against the monsters alone, but realized with relief that he had leapt away, landing on a level a bit higher. He wasn't completely defenseless, then.
Unfortunately, he also wasn't looking behind him. Just as the creature raised its claw, Samus shot from across the room, her energy bolt nearly touching Tal's shoulder and destroying the alien behind him. He nodded to her in thanks and kept firing. Good.
The battle was swift and brutal. Samus only had to worry about picking off the flying aliens that came at her, as the rest weren't organized at all. Tal didn't hold his own, of course, but Samus only had to save his life four or five times. Not bad, given the circumstances. Letting go of the ceiling, Samus dropped to the ground, which was by now littered with alien bodies.
"Can we expect more of them?" Tal asked. Samus nodded grimly.
"There will be more. For now we're probably safe, but I'm sure we'll run into more aliens. But now that we know this is a mine, we can be certain there's probably technology we can use. We have to keep going."
"Makes sense to me."
Down they went, both now carrying weapons at ready. When she was honest with herself, Samus realized she was actually happy now that there was something to shoot. It had been so long, she had worried her aim was getting rusty. Apparently not, though. Now that there was a bit of danger, however, she was in a much better mood.
They entered a long, thin corridor that stretched on for some time. Already Samus had a pretty good map of the mines they had explored built into her bio suit. Unfortunately, at this point they hadn't run into anything useful. That was somewhat strange for an abandoned mine like this.
"Behind us," Tal whispered to her. Without hesitation Samus whirled and planted a shot through the alien following them down the corridor. Checking there were no more, Samus again turned, then raised an eyebrow at Tal. Realizing he couldn't see it, she instead vocalized her confusion.
"What was that about?"
"I knew there was an alien life form behind us, but I'm a horrible shot. I figured you could do it better than I."
Shrugging, Samus continued on. If not exactly good with a weapon, Tal was certainly useful for his senses. Pretty sharp, to have heard it all the way back there. Perhaps even useful enough to make up for the liability that he was.
Nothing else attacked them for some time, and they made their way into a large open room. It appeared empty, but Samus had long ago learned that appearances could be deceiving. Or outright lies, depending on where they came from. Just to check, Samus flipped to thermal view, and was surprised by what she saw.
"S---!" she yelled. "Jump aside!"
Both of them leapt in opposite directions, to opposite walls of the room. Soon after, the golden rift Samus had seen in the rock split open, and molten lava flowed from the rock, directly down the center of the room. How fortunate it registered quite nicely on her thermal sensors. This caused another problem, however, as she realized they were now on opposite sides of a flowing river of lava.
On the opposite side, Tal shrugged. "What now?"
"Wait a second," Samus yelled back. "I'll fly across the lava flow, then-"
She never got to finish her sentence. The lava had managed to burn away the supports for much of the ceiling, and several tons of rock smashed into the lava, creating what was in effect a stone wall between them. Lava splattered, and Samus quickly backpedaled, avoiding most of it. A bit struck her bio suit, causing some damage, but it was quickly shaken off.
D---! Now Tal was trapped on the opposite side. Her bio suit protected her from the excessive heat radiating from the lava, but Tal didn't have any protection. Something more grim occurred to Samus, and she swore loudly. Without the light from her suit, Tal was completely blind. With her luck, there were probably monsters nearby.
Never having been one to waste time being angry, Samus switched one arm of her bio suit to drill mode and began working on the wall. It was weak rock, fortunately, but she had to drill her way through a lot of it. Gritting her teeth, Samus set herself to the task.
