The Stars of Eden
Four. Ally
The mission would have gone smoothly if he hadn't blown himself up. Maybe not to pieces, but he was thrown across the room and knocked unconscious. His clan would undoubtedly shake their heads and turn their backs on him after this failure. One press was required to activate the bomb, he forgot a second was needed to add the timer. It was so easy infiltrating the alien vessel, he had gotten cocky and careless. All of his years of experience and training. Faith and loyalty. It all meant nothing now because of a stupid mistake. The flames grew towards him, but he did not wake.
A powerful blast hit the engineering bay doors and tore a hole in the center. Two large arms slid through the opening and pulled the doors apart. Graveheart stepped through and shielded his face from a flash of heat. The smog was thick, but he could still see the damaged bulkheads hanging from the ceiling and the ruined energy reactor. A trio of Ice engineers ran inside holding fork like guns. When they fired, a blue and white mist engulfed the flames. The mist seemed to move on its own as it extinguished one fire then moved onto the next.
"Cinder!" Graveheart crouched and scanned the ground. He saw a silhouette leaning unconscious against the far wall.
"Why wasn't the nanonite system activated?" Shouted one of the Ice men. "It should have detected the explosion."
It was a good question. Graveheart dodged a falling piece of metal and dropped beside the sprawled figure. He pulled back the hood and frowned slightly, not recognizing the species through the smog. His eyes slowly widened. "He's Mist." The scars on the alien's face looked like they were purposely put there. Three crescent shapes were branded on his forehead as curved lines fell down his cheeks like vines.
"Over here!" One of the Fire engineers dragged a body from the Ember chamber that was consumed in flames. It was Cinder. The embers of his face were red hot, but the flame on his head was weak. If he had lied there any longer, the flames around him would have consumed the remaining oxygen in the room.
Graveheart threw the unconscious Mist over his shoulder. "Let's get them out of here." The Fire engineer seemed to have a little trouble carrying Cinder. A nearby panel exploded and knocked the two of them to the ground. Graveheart dashed forward and scooped up Cinder over his other shoulder.
"I'm alright," the engineer said struggling to get to his feet. His eyes rolled wearily and he swayed sideways. Graveheart caught him before he fell over. The three Ice engineers were working furiously to cool down the main reactor, but it appeared ready to explode any second.
The temperature was unbearable. Sweat poured from Graveheart, and he was finding it more difficult to breath. An Ice worker knelt in front of him and wrapped a filtering mask over his mouth. Graveheart shook himself and drummed up the strength to throw the third unconscious person over a shoulder. He hurried towards the exit. "Can we depressurize the section and throw it into space?" Graveheart struggled to speak.
"Not a good idea. Emergency seals haven't been implemented. Decupling this section would risk breaching neighbouring sections creating a cascade through the entire ship. Our only hope is activating the ship wide nanonites that will purge the fires we can't get to."
"Then get to it."
The worker looked like he had more to say, but changed his mind and hastily ran out the door. Graveheart's knees started to buckle as he reached the corridor. His shoulders started to burn and tighten from the weight. He closed his eyes, teeth gritted. Every step forward was agony. He fell to his knees. The brief moment of relief on his body made him think he was about to give up, lose all hope. What if he couldn't make it? What if the Ice worker couldn't activate the nanonites in time? What if the ship was destroyed and everything the Alliance had worked towards becomes all for nothing? He shook his head. There was no time for that kind of thinking. His right shoulder suddenly felt lighter. Then his left. He opened his eyes and saw a group of Quarriors standing before him. Three of them were now carrying his heavy burden. Jade helped him to his feet and smiled. If her expression spoke, it would have said "figures".
"Jade? What are you doing?"
"Mayhem, destruction, prospect of certain death. You didn't really think I'd miss out did you?"
"Is everyone evacuated?"
"Once those three are onboard, yes."
"Tell Cryos to undock once they are. It's too dangerous for them to wait for us."
Jade nodded and opened communication to the Aurora. "Cryos. Once the last of my men are onboard, get as much distance between you and this ship as possible."
There was a slight pause then Cryos responded. "And what about you two?"
"We've been through worse."
There came an exasperated sigh. "Very well. Although I was dissuaded from offering my personal assistance, I'm deploying several escape pods to dock with the flagship. Anything goes wrong, you better be on them. Cryos out."
"So," Jade crossed her arms, "how are we diving into this mess?"
A new voice blared through Graveheart's com and sounded short for breath. "Graveheart I've manually discharged one of the nanonite chambers."
Graveheart frowned. "What do you mean one of?"
"There are two other nanite chambers we have to activate. I'm on my way to the one on deck thirteen, the other is on five."
"We'll take the other one," Graveheart replied. He faced Jade. "Quickly, we don't have much time."
She nodded, and they both sprinted down the corridor as the metal floors rumbled beneath them.
. .
Ambassador Phi appeared on screen in his usual imperialistic posture. "May we be of assistance?"
"You are aware of what is happening?" asked Cryos.
"Yes. Our abilities allow us to detect wave distortions in the ether that arise from heightened emotions."
Cryos had no idea what that meant, but it wasn't important. "We have people on our ship trying to fix the problem. I suggest you and your people move to a safe distance in case of an explosion."
Phi was pressing keys on his console, completely ignoring what he was saying. "Nonsense." His large blue eyes blinked calmly. "I detect a level thirty-nine destabilization in the main reactor. I'm sending a small party to resolve the matter. Your technology is uncomplicated, it should not take long."
"We... appreciate your assistance." Cryos now understood the emotional context of Jade's earlier transmissions. "I'll inform Graveheart that you will be docking–"
"There is no need. Our party has already phased onto the Alliance ship and is now moving to neutralize the reactor."
"Phased?"
"The ability of our bodies to pass through solid objects with the help of our technology. We resort to these measures in emergency situations."
The transmission ended and Cryos was left with a strange feeling of hope and bewilderment. The Mist people appeared to be much more advanced than the Alliance. Whether this would prove to be a good or bad thing was something the Ice king could not be certain of. For now, it seemed, they were an ally.
. .
A giant panel from the ceiling had fallen in front of the entrance and was engulfed in a huge fire that violently licked the corridor walls. Jade and Graveheart shielded their faces from the intense heat.
"Next time, I get to choose the romantic getaway," Jade said.
Graveheart coughed through the smoke. "The nanonite chamber is on the other side of that door."
"And I've got the key right here." Jade raised a large two-handed gun to her hip.
A calm voice spoke from behind. "Wait."
A Mist walked through the metal doors behind them wearing an extravagant green colored armor that protected his entire body. Unlike the robes they wore, long strips of arcing metal wrapped his body like ribbons around a glass ball. The blue mist emitting from his skin was trapped inside and created a thick cloud. He raised a small grey sphere that appeared to float between his hands. It shook violently and started to glow yellow. Jade and Graveheart looked at each other and decided it was a good idea to move out of its path. A beam of light exploded from the device and struck the fiery obstacle blocking the doorway. Within seconds, the fire was extinguished and the charred bulkhead had dissolved into metallic dust.
"It is safe to cross now," the being said.
Jade lifted a brow. "Not bad."
They darted forward and entered the nanonite room. The blue light inside flickered erratically making it hard to see the controls.
"There." Jade pointed to half a dozen tubes about the length of a person. The transparent material of the tube showed the faint glow of blue plasma inside.
"We need to inject them into these port holes." Graveheart grabbed one and was surprised by how light it was. With a grunt he quickly pushed the tube into the hole. He went to pick up another then stopped to glance at the Mist. He was just standing there, his large eyes calmly staring back at Graveheart. "We could use a hand." The alien looked at the tube by his feet then looked back at Graveheart. He didn't move. You can miraculously put out a fire without a sweat, but you can't lift up a hunk of metal? The alien's eyes narrowed slightly as if he read Graveheart's thought.
When the tubes were finally injected, an Ice worker informed Graveheart that a group of Mist beings had entered the engineering bay and stabilized the main reactor. Apparently, it was an "amazing sight". With the reactor saved from destruction, and the remaining fires extinguished by the nanonites, the Alliance flagship was saved. Much gratitude was owed to the people of Mist, but there were still questions to be asked. The explosion was no accident and Graveheart wanted answers from the Mist ambassador.
. .
It was bad luck the elevator was delayed due to a small malfunction. Pyrus had no choice but to sit in the only empty sit next to one of the ambassador's hooded guards. Every so often, the guard would give Pyrus an uneasy glace and shift uncomfortably in his chair. Tekla looked at Graveheart who had an expression of deep concern. The time of restless peace had ended.
"Where is he now?" ambassador Phi inquired.
Jade spoke. "Locked and secured in our containment facility."
"I'm afraid your facility is inadequate," Phi studied Jade as if sensing her hidden emotion. "Once he has gained consciousness, he will attempt to phase through the walls and find a means to gain control of your vessel."
Cryos and Graveheart exchanged glances. "He has already recovered but has not yet attempted to escape." Cryos paused. "Strangely, the infiltrator has been cross legged for hours just staring at the wall and has not spoken a single word."
Pyrus laid his hands on the table. "Cinder said he heard him say 'we are Forsaken.' What does that mean exactly?"
Ambassador Phi sighed. "My sovereign had wished us not to involve your worlds into our conflict, but it appears we have no choice." He paused to regain his thoughts. "The Forsaken is a cult that believes in following the orthodox ways of our ancient religion. Highly resourceful and skilled, they constantly infiltrate our government installations to destroy our research facilities. New technologies, scientific breakthroughs, all are reasons enough for them to attack us and further setback the progression of our species. The markings you see on his face and neck are self inflicted scars that are an indication of his experience and loyalty to his clan."
"People unable to let go of the past," muttered Pyrus softly.
"Their primitive way of thinking would only become our unravelling if they ever got their way."
"So they must see our Alliance as a sharing of knowledge and technologies," Graveheart said. "By attempting to destroy our ship, we would have put the blame on you shattering any chance for an alliance between our worlds."
"Um excuse me." Everyone looked at Femur. His obnoxious voice was always able to break the steady flow of any discussion. "Am I the only one worried about these psychotic monks appearing out of no where and blowing up anything they want? They could be on any one of our planets planting booby traps left right and center."
"My brother raises a valid point." Sternum rubbed his chin. "How are we to protect ourselves against this ... phasing ability?"
"We have moved our world to a safe distance from the Alliance for now. We will–" The ambassador abruptly stopped speaking and looked downward. His eyes slowly shifted side to side. After thirty seconds of awkward silence, Phi slowly nodded.
"Ambassador?" Graveheart said looking concerned.
Femur glanced at Tekla and gestured his head. "Jeez, someone needs to lay off the bath crystals." She smiled.
Phi regained his posture. "It is agreed that we will provide your worlds with anti-phasing technology. In return, you will help us in our fight against the Forsaken."
Jade gestured a hand. "Did I miss something?"
Cryos spoke. "We are very grateful for everything you have done for us. We owe you a debt, that is clear, however, perhaps now is not such a good time. I believe you haven't formally met princess Tekla." he opened a palm towards her. "She is the last surviving person of her world that was devastated by an unforgiving enemy known as the Beast."
"The Beast..." Phi muttered, unfamiliar with the name.
Cryos continued. "Although quite recently, we have discovered she may no longer be the sole survivor."
"Then," Phi folded his palms in empathy, "her people are lost somewhere in the galaxy and you wish to find them?"
"On a ship, on another side of a wormhole to be precise," said Tekla.
"Stable wormholes are indeed a rare phenomenon," Phi said. "Where exactly is this one located?"
Tekla reached for a device at her side. She was surprised at the ambassador's openness towards the situation. They seemed like such a self serving race, cold hearted. Judging other people intentions wasn't something she did well, but she was hoping to change that. She had to always remind herself to look past the surface of right and wrong, of truth and deception. The past few years had taught her that.
"Here." She laid the device on the table and it opened a holographic, three dimensional grid of star systems. "It's somewhere in this grid location." The image zoomed into a blinking red section and revealed the bluish outline of the spinning black hole. "The sensory data from the Tek ship I retrieved it from is sporadic. I can't get a fixed location. Most likely because the systems were damage."
Phi's eyes narrowed. "No. Your readings are erratic because the wormhole is in a state of subspace flux."
"How do you know?" Pyrus asked.
"Because we've encountered it before."
Tekla's eyes widened. "You have? Did you detect anything... anything on the other side?"
"We spent a long time studying the strange wormhole. Indeed, it is a spectacle of nature. But we were never able to get any substantial data because it would jump to another location every time we tried to send a probe though it." His gaze lowered. "We tried to stabilize it, prevent it from jumping. It did not end well." He was silent for a moment, falling into a similar trance as before. He frowned and the expression slowly faded. "We will help you find a way to traverse the wormhole. Perhaps with our combined efforts we will be successful. There is still the concern regarding the Forsaken. Our cooperation will only further aggravate them."
"Then you will have the help of my Quarriors," Jade said.
"The people of Fire will do their part."
"It seems we require each other's assistance," Graveheart said. "If it's alright, I'd like to try to talk to the Mist prisoner again before we release him to you."
Phi's gaze lingered over him and he gave a nod. "As you wish."
There was talk as people left the briefing room. A new sense of purpose was restored to the Alliance, one that hadn't been felt since the war of the planets.
. .
Tekla returned to the Aurora's engineering room, a comforting atmosphere for her mind. Much work had to be done and she didn't really know where to begin.
"Voxx, upload the anti-phase shield schematics ambassador Phi gave us to the main computer."
The floating sphere plugged itself into the computer port. "Uploading."
She rested her chin in her palms. Her large eyes blinked. Are you there father? Did you survive afterall? The Salvation was the royal ship, they would have found a way to get you onboard. Am I being too hopeful? What if I am just setting myself up for disappointment?
The engineering bay doors slid open and Graveheart walked through. "Figured you'd be working instead of resting."
She laid her palms on her lap and smiled. "Rest, at a time like this?"
"I've been talking to Phi. He's very adamant about not allowing anyone to meet Mist's sovereign. Don't you find it a bit strange to be allied with a world but still have yet to meet its ruler?"
"Perhaps, but I find many of the customs on your worlds strange as well. What else did Phi have to say?"
"He's going to send one of his top scientists to work with you on the wormhole. They have a ship that's specially equipped to analyze these sorts of things. The rest of us will be keeping the Forsaken at bay. We can't afford to have another incident like before. We need to install the anti-phasing shields around our ships and the telepads to our world engines as soon as possible. Phi is working on getting us intel on the location of the Forsaken base."
"Graveheart." She held the side of her arm and felt her emotions start to surface. "If we do make it through the wormhole –"
"When we make it through."
"I do not know what to expect." The words sounded silly to her. Of course no one knew what to expect. "I mean I do not know if I will be..."
Graveheart knelt down in front of her. "Hey. Just let me handle everything. It'll be fine." He smirked. "I think I've gotten used to it." There was no spite in his words.
The corners of her mouth sagged slightly. She didn't want him to feel like he owed her anything. Those years had forced Graveheart to change into someone he did not think he could be, and now that he was that person, a part of himself was left behind. The part that took him a step back before taking two forward. It had been more of an asset than anyone realized.
"What if–"
Graveheart laid a hand on her shoulder. "No more what ifs. No more worrying. Whatever we face out there, we face together."
A part of her wanted to listen to him, but how could she? The thought of finding herself all alone again if her hopes shattered was something too much to bare. She weakly smiled and gave a nod. "You better get going. There are many important things to do." He returned the nod.
The doors closed behind him and she was left to her thoughts once more. The metal plating of the engineering room blurred, and a distance tree surrounded by a field of dirt appeared in her mind. The stranger's face was dark, she could not completely remember it.
"Exquisite is it not?"
Tekla frowned. "It is dying."
He laughed softly. "Being around these ever dwindling forests, I have developed a unique fondness for them. Both in their lushness, and in their final days before death."
She shied away from his smile. "They infringe on our cities. Their organic structures are opposite to our own."
"Does that mean they do not have a place on this world? Should opposites not exist because one opposition demands it? We should live in harmony with nature. As night and day. As fire and water."
She had never met anyone like him before. A few more hours talking with him would have no doubt intrigued her, but the day was getting late.
"I must go now. I am expected at the palace."
The images faded from her mind, and she found herself staring at a computer screen. I regret now, not asking for his name.
"Shall I run the data analysis?"
She focused her gaze on the information in front of her. "Yes Voxx. Let us begin. We have a lot of work to do."
