44: The Storm

The night sky was alive with a dazzling red light. From a distance, it looked almost like an aurora, with gleaming waves and pulses of eerie light that danced across the night sky. However, this one was not at some high altitude like the northern lights of Earth, but rather appeared to be exuding from the ground itself. More specifically, from the remains of the mountain at its source, seemingly having fallen into itself in a tumult of crushing rock and landslides of raw earth. The sky had been overcast previously, typical of this time of year for Langara's northern hemisphere; now, those clouds were glowing an angry, pulsing red that only continued to spread further outwards from the remains of the mountain. Arcs of red lightning danced across those clouds, and the phenomenon now covered at least a radius of forty kilometres from its central point. Or so the scanners on board the makalvari transport denoted, and that rate of spread was growing.

To John, it looked as if the very gates of Hell had opened up. Part of him could not help but think that yes, that was exactly what was happening. Flying about the outskirts of this atmospheric disturbance, the shuttle kept low, enough so that it almost skirted along the forest canopy. Despite the late hour, flocks of alien birds had been disturbed across the region, and their cries echoed across the night as the panicked creatures fled the growing, unnatural storm. There were other animals running from it on ground level, and occasionally John would get the odd glimpse of some form of land mammal darting for safety through the gaps in the canopy.

A strong breeze buffeted the shuttle and was all the more pronounced with the rear ramp lowered. John stood at the opening, hand clasped around one handhold on the wall beside him. Behind him, Elsie was laid out on a makeshift stretcher. Natalia and Aithris were seated to one side, Sha'pek and Hur'par to the other. The pilot had circled the edges of the skyborne phenomenon more than once, and he had to raise his voice to be heard through the sound of the blasting wind and the crack of the unnatural red lightning above.

"We can't get any closer," the pilot announced, his voice carrying with it a worried edge and that raspy quality so common amongst makalvari males. "The winds are getting far too strong. And the energy pouring out of that thing is already interfering with the controls."

"Any idea what it is?" John looked back at the others. They had tried to make contact with Daniel and Jonas and Kav'rak but were yet to receive a response. The interference this red storm was producing was wreaking havoc on their communications. The pilot glanced back at John, giving him the very human gesture of a shrug.

"Sensors can't make sense of it," the pilot said. "Just that there's a whole lot of power pouring up from what's left of that mountain."

"How far off from the mountain did the others get dropped?"

"Right up close. The entrance to the underground facility was at the mountain's base."

So, there was a good chance that the others had been buried underneath the rubble of that mountain. John was not about to simply accept that, however. If he had to, he would get as close as he could on foot to search for Daniel and Jonas. Even for Kav'rak, despite how little he truly trusted the makalvari Major. Whatever was going on down there had to be a result of their intervention, which at least made it clear that they had very much discovered something strange. John would not leave, not until he had some solid answers as to whether or not those three were alive, or even as to what they had found.

"Circle us around again," John ordered. He hit the control pad by the rear doors, inciting the ramp to slowly rise back into place. This offered some relief from the howling winds and the warm air that blasted from whatever weird phenomenon was occurring out there. He turned to face the others, all of whom were dirtied and tired. Elsie was looking a little better, despite the injuries that marred her face. A bandage covered where her left eye had been. She was awake, and she met John's gaze with a small smile of her own. Despite everything, the Lieutenant appeared to be in good spirits.

"We might have to go down there," John told Aithris. He knew the Nomad would be the first to volunteer to search for the others. Aithris looked to him, his expression grim. He gave John a small nod, more than willing to take whatever risks necessary.

"Of course, Colonel. You know I've got your back."

"They could be dead," Sha'pek said. John turned to the makalvari Captain, well aware that he made a valid point. Even so, John simply shook his head.

"Maybe. But I'm not leaving until I'm sure." He stepped past Natalia and Elsie, before coming to the cockpit. There was an empty co-pilot's position here, and so he sat down at the pilot's right-hand side and strapped himself in. Through the canopy, the forest spread out below, now cast in the red glow spilling out of the remains of the mountain. Computer displays here noticeably drew hazy every so often, a hint that the energy pouring out of the epicentre of the phenomenon was providing some interference.

"Colonel, I'm getting something." The pilot glanced at him, before he tapped at the headset he wore. "Sounds like it could be the Major."

John nodded, before he picked up the spare headset left upon the panel before him. He held it to one ear, attempting to listen in to whatever call was coming in. The voice he heard crackled with static, and for a moment there he could not discern what was being said. After a few repeats, he was able to recognize it as Major Kav'rak, and he was starting to sound increasingly worried.

"This is Major Kav'rak to Transport One," he said. "Can you hear me, Transport One? I need immediate pickup. Myself, plus two others." They had to have seen the shuttle at some point. John looked to the pilot, who was already in the process of attempting to trace the source of the call.

"Can you find them?" John asked him.

"I've got a general area," the pilot answered. He glided the ship on a westward heading, taking them further from the red storm. The shuttle shook suddenly then, when one of the arcs of red energy struck its hull. John put a steadying hand upon the terminal in front of him, his eyes darting about with some measure of concern. Displays flickered and became laced with flecks of interference, only for them to recover seconds later.

"A glancing blow," the pilot remarked. He looked to one display in particular, where a map of the region below had appeared. "Looks like the Major's call is coming from several kilometres west. It's quite some distance from where I dropped them off."

"You think he could hear me?"

"It's worth a try."

John put the headset to his ear again, before he opened the channel and spoke into the receiver: "Major Kav'rak, this is Colonel Sheppard. We can hear you, but we cannot pinpoint your location." There followed a short pause. Suddenly, Kav'rak's voice filtered through the headset, sounding a little clearer now that they were drawing closer to his position:

"Colonel?" He sounded surprised, but that surprise quickly gave way to relief. "I hear you, Colonel. Jonas and Doctor Jackson are with me. We're outside the entrance to an old underground train tunnel. We'll fire some shots in the air to get your attention." There quickly followed the rapid, familiar pulse of a makalvari carbine firing. John shifted his gaze towards the canopy and the forest below. From somewhere distant, he saw the yellow bolts darting up from amongst a cluster of trees, not far from a stout, rocky hill. They were clear against the darkening sky, unmistakable even at this distance. There came another burst of fire, and then another. The pilot set the shuttle on a path straight for it.

"Is anyone injured, Major?"

"Not seriously. We're all in good shape." That was a relief. John did not need to tell the pilot to get them there quickly, and if anything he was more than pleased to put a greater distance between them and the storm. Looking at the scanner display, John could see that the storm itself was creeping outwards, slowly but surely. How much longer until it made its way to the nearest settlement? Would it even get that far? What if it went as far south as the Kelownan capital?

Kav'rak, Daniel and Jonas were taking shelter at the edge of a small clearing. Even this far out from the source of the storm, the winds were at gale force, trees swaying and leaf litter and clouds of dust getting kicked up all around. John made his way for the rear ramp once again, opening it as the shuttle descended. It levelled off a few feet from the long grass of the clearing. Jonas and Daniel hurried over, with Kav'rak limping along a short distance behind them. All three were visibly dirtied, with the odd bloody mark from where they had been scratched, be it on the face or neck or hands. Aithris joined John at the shuttle's ramp, helping the trio into the craft. As soon as they were on board, John raised the ramp again and the pilot took off, sending the shuttle soaring over the canopy of the rainforest and onwards in a southerly direction. Back to the city and, more specifically, the makalvari embassy itself.

Kav'rak was eager to simply park himself in a vacant chair, running a hand through the thick plume of black feathers that sprouted from his head. Daniel grabbed a handhold above him, turning to regard John and the others with a mix of curiosity and concern. Jonas appeared especially troubled, the usual optimistic light in his eyes glaringly absent. John sensed the dour mood from all three of them, and after a moment in which no one said much of anything, he finally posited that nagging question:

"What happened down there?"

The shuttle tore on homeward bound, putting the unnatural storm far behind it. Daniel explained what they had found below the mountain, within the defunct facility and even deeper beyond it. The trap that had been laid by Gorum Kavul, and in turn the encounter with the Watcher that had followed. And then there had been the gateway, and the experiments being conducted on plague victims. Langara was a foothold for the ancient enemy, the Scourge that had sought to establish itself within the galaxy. It was no wonder Jonas was in such a morose mood; he had recently discovered that his people had been rendered into little more than 'biological material' for a malevolent alien force. Thousands were dying to an engineered plague, whereas those few who survived it were being turned into monsters to further fuel the enemy's war machine. And now this 'red storm' was a result of that gateway being damaged, or even intentionally manipulated by the defeated Watcher. It was hard to tell whether it was one or the other, or even a combination of both.

"We escaped on an underground tram," Daniel said. "The tunnel took us to another exit some ways from the facility." He nodded to Elsie. "Will she be all right?"

"She'll live," John said. Of course, that did not take into account what her life might be like from here onwards. After all, she was short an eye and with disfiguring wounds across one half of her face. Not many people could honestly put up with living with such a thing. Elsie was strong, there was no denying that, but how much of that strength was simply a façade?

"What about Jonas?" He dropped his voice a little, leaning in close by Daniel. Jonas was sitting nearby, but he appeared to be staring at the wall, so deep in his own thoughts that John probably could have spoken at full volume and still not been heard by him.

"I don't know," Daniel replied. John reached into a pocket and pulled out the vial he had found on the General, which he held up for Daniel to see.

"I think this could be helpful," he said. "Found it on the General. Could be the cure we need."

Daniel took it from him, holding it up to the light for a closer look. After a moment, he passed it back, seemingly satisfied with what he had found.

"You think so?" He asked.

"I'm hoping it is," John said. "I mean, after everything that's happened, we need a win. A real win. From what I can see happening out there, we've got ourselves a whole lot of terrorists running around and the gates of Hell itself spilling open. The least we could do is save Langara."

Daniel nodded in agreement. Few others within the shuttle spoke. The mood was hardly right for light conversation, and the weariness they all carried only added to the overall reluctance to talk. A rest was the first thing John was hoping to get, once they made it back to the embassy. And yet, John got the distinct impression that their problems here on Langara were far from over.

People filled the streets of the Kelownan capital. None seemed concerned with the plague that was being spread around, even less so when faced with the man who had arrived proclaiming a cure available for all. Indeed, Gorum Kavul had entered the city with a hero's welcome, riding in an open-top car whilst the sun set far off on the horizon, the sky above turning a deep purple orange. Police were nowhere to be seen, and the handful of soldiers on the street made no attempt to stop Kavul's entrance to the city, nor that of his scores of armed followers. As per orders left to them by the late General Karn, Kavul and his people were to be allowed unrestricted access to the city. And in return, he would distribute a cure for the plague. Of course, he neglected to inform those expecting his arrival that there was simply not enough of that cure to go around. This was a problem that could be tackled later, once the city was under his control and whatever pockets of dissidents remained were quelled.

The looting had begun a few hours before. With the collapse of the civilian government and Karn's coup d'état, much of the police force had broken down and abandoned their posts altogether. After all, police officers were people too, and they had families to tend to and protect. It was becoming a free-for-all in some districts, with streets and alleys barricaded, shopfronts cleared out of goods and entire buildings now ablaze. Columns of smoke rose up high from dozens of points across the city. Even the government district was not immune, for someone had set the House of Assembly's main complex ablaze and no firefighters had appeared to try and stop it.

Passing that building in his makeshift motorcade, Kavul could only smile. He had dreamed of seeing that place burn to the ground and like with anyone witnessing a dream come true he felt nothing but joy in his heart. Finally, the people were taking matters into their own hands. Kavul's convoy, comprised of several heavy-duty trucks and dozens of men who followed along on foot, worked its way through the government district before coming to a stop in the city square. Fires burned from a row of shops at the square's opposite end. There were dozens of people milling about here, some at work trashing the police barricades that had been left unattended, others making off with whatever plunder they had gained from looting the government buildings themselves. As Kavul and his followers halted, many of those citizens on the rampage here stopped what they were doing, their attention drawn to the notorious insurgent leader and the many armed individuals following him.

Kavul rose to his feet, before he climbed onto the hood of his car. Behind him, the trucks had stopped. Canvas flaps at their rears were being pulled open, revealing metal crates packed full of munitions. Before him, he saw a crowd out for blood, a mass of people searching for guidance and someone upon which they could pin the blame for all their woes. These were the people he had intended to liberate of the corrupt regime that had held them under its thrall. The plague, the coup, all his actions over the past year had been building to this point. He would wipe the slate clean and build a newer, stronger Kelowna. They would ascend, they would be elevated into something better than human.

"Fellow citizens," he called, his voice echoing across the square. All heads here were now turned his way. "Some of you may know me as a terrorist, to others a hero. Regardless of your views, let it be known that I come before you all as an equal. I see you have begun to throw off the shackles that our corrupt leaders forced upon you. A good start, but it must go further."

He turned around and stepped off of the hood of the car, before taking a few long strides that placed him upon the vehicle's trunk. The rear of the nearest truck was in reach, and from there he stepped onto the platform, placing him even higher above the crowd gathered around him. From an open crate, he pulled a Kelownan-made automatic rifle, an older but reliable model with wooden furniture and a slightly curved magazine. The truck was full of these, and he slid a full magazine into the weapon before he racked the charging handle.

"There are outsiders among us who must be eradicated," he declared to the crowd. Those closest to the truck were being held back by several of his followers. From the way these people were looking at him, they simply could not wait to help themselves to what lay within the trucks. "Anyone who joins me will receive the cure to the plague. Anyone who wishes to free Kelowna from its corruption and the alien influence that has fallen upon it will receive the means necessary to fight that battle. I come as a saviour, and I promise those who follow me will be rewarded further."

He turned to the crowd, rifle clasped in one hand, the barrel pointed skywards.

"The alien influence can be found at the embassy. I intend to take the fight to their gates. Any who wish to join us in this righteous battle, come forwards. I have everything you need to wipe the outsiders from Kelowna altogether."

The crowd was getting rowdy. Some were hollering, others were outright cheering. Those closest to the front were itching to get through. Others appeared doubtful, unwilling to throw in with those who had been convinced by Kavul's words. That was fine, he already had plenty of fighters at his disposal. To get more now was to guarantee his success.

"Come forwards, brothers and sisters," he called. He motioned to those fighters of his who were holding the crowd back from the trucks. They took the hint, stepping aside to allow the first throng of people forwards. He threw the loaded rifle to the first of these people, a forty-something man who looked both amazed and terrified at the weapon that had just landed in his grasp.

"Automatic rifles, for everyone!"

Far above the blue and grey sphere that was Langara, swirling white clouds obscuring the various landmasses, a hyperspace window flashed briefly into existence. It was gone in seconds, and from it was spat forth a squat, grey metal spacecraft the size of an aircraft carrier, bearing with it a general ovular shape. A wing-like extension protruded from either side, carrying additional engines and weapons emplacements. A patchwork of purple paint saw two broad strokes carried along its underbelly, with the upper hull adorned with a more intricate purple and green toned pattern that denoted the ship's place within the interstellar navy of the Republic of Makvar. The ship was in relatively good condition, having only recently been refurbished after receiving some minor damage during a skirmish with a Calsharan patrol a few months before. Overall, this was one of the newer makalvari cruiser-class vessels, a Gevrak-class named for a famed and long dead General of the Republic. Now, it served a somewhat different purpose than its previous role as a ship-of-the-line. The Captain, now relegated to second-in-command, answered to Brigade Leader Tav'kar.

The ageing makalvari officer, fully outfitted in a deep green uniform adorned with ribbons and medals, sat comfortably within the Captain's chair on the cruiser's bridge. He was at the centre of the numerous consoles positioned around the command centre, nestled deep within the forward section of the ship. Holographic displays covered much of the wall ahead. The interior was illuminated under comfortable yellow fittings, neither too bright nor too subdued. The temperature within was maintained at a comfortable level, calling on the kind of pleasant warmth one would find within the tropical rainforests that surrounded the capital city back home.

The Captain, a younger officer with blue skin, lighter blue eyes and a dark head plume, was seated at the executive officer's position a short distance to Tav'kar's left. Captain Keru'vak had made his displeasure at being put under the Brigade Leader's command clear from the start, but the Brigade Leader was of a much higher rank and his complaints had been ignored. As such, he endured the change in circumstances under sufferance, doing his best to put forth a pleasant demeanour whenever he dealt with the ambitious Brigade Leader.

"We're in stationary orbit over Langara now, sir." Keru'vak turned to the Brigade Leader. The older male was sitting back in his seat, the very picture of relaxed. One clawed hand scratched absently at his chin.

"How peaceful it looks," Tav'kar muttered, watching the real-time image of the planet on the feed before them. "Do we have contact with our people on the ground?"

"We're getting a positive ping on the embassy's beacon, but so far our hails have gone unanswered." The Captain sounded worried. Tav'kar, on the other hand, could not care less. "They could be getting jammed down there."

"Anything else unusual?" Tav'kar had brought them here upon receiving word that the embassy on Langara had requested support. The planet, or rather the nation of Kelowna, was falling into chaos. A hasty evacuation may be in order. However, Tav'kar had not come with an evacuation in mind. Rather, the irritating rival that was Major Kav'rak was down there, and here he saw an opportunity to potentially rid himself of that nuisance. Kav'rak portrayed himself as a monarchist, but Tav'kar had known him for far too long to believe that. He curried favour with the Regent and his ministers whilst plotting against Tav'kar and his associates. The game had carried on for months now and Tav'kar grew tired of it.

The monarchy was old and ineffectual, and with no clear heir it seemed the right time to finally do away with it altogether. Tav'kar had been laying the groundwork for this change. He had assumed Kav'rak might be on board with him, only to find very early on that the Major still held some connection to those old traditions. It probably came with being the son of the Captain of the Royal Guard. A childhood spent in the royal palace had no doubt endeared Kav'rak with ideas well above his station, and this much had become clear when it came to the subspace bomb project. Kav'rak had continued that work on the sly, months after it had been officially shutdown. And what had surprised Tav'kar the most about this was the fact that some genuine progress had been made.

"We're getting unusual readings from the northern reaches of Kelowna." Captain Keru'vak eyed his console, before he directed the junior officer manning the scanner terminal ahead of him to make some adjustments. The feed on the main display zoomed in suddenly, plunging their view of the world down to a smaller region of roughly one-hundred square kilometres. There was certainly something unusual going on down there, as a sizeable portion of the forested hills were being swamped with a blazing red light.

"What is that?" Tav'kar asked. He sat up in his seat now, both enraptured and fearful of the sight before him. He had never seen a lightshow quite like this one, a literal lightning storm of red that appeared to be growing in size, slowly spreading itself out further and further.

"The scanners aren't giving us much, sir," Keru'vak said. He skimmed through the readouts on his screen, before he simply shook his head. "There is a great deal of power output, but a lot of the readings we're getting can't be properly identified."

"What do you mean, Captain?" Tav'kar turned to the Captain, unsatisfied with the answer.

"I mean, sir, is that some of the energies we're seeing can't be identified. There is something there, on a subspace level, but it's not like hyperspace. Not as we know it."

Tav'kar returned his attention to the unusual lightshow, unable to really make sense of what he was seeing. There appeared to be an epicentre to it, yet whatever was there was not discernible through the blazing red light.

"Is it dangerous?" It certainly looked as much.

"It's hard to say, sir." Now the Captain swivelled about in his chair, turning to Tav'kar. "What about our people at the embassy? We should send someone down to see if they're all right."

"We should," Tav'kar repeated, without really thinking deeply about it. "What we should do, Captain, is drop a probe into that storm. I want proper results, not guesswork." His tone adopted a meaner edge to it, and he shot the Captain a glare. To his credit, the younger officer did not look at all perturbed.

"Take care of that. I need to go and check a few things." Tav'kar rose from his seat. He adjusted his uniform, which felt a little tight around the waist, before he turned and left the command centre. Heading down the corridor outside, he passed a pair of guards who saluted him as he went by. Towards the end of the corridor was a lift, and it was into here he went, keying in the button that would take him down to the cargo section.

Within the bowels of the cruiser, Tav'kar emerged into a large chamber packed with towering aisles of shelves upon which metal containers of varying shades of blue, green and red were securely placed. Some of the personnel down here, maintenance and logistics sorts, were milling about on their duties as Tav'kar crossed the central aisle. Those he passed by stood to attention and saluted him, but he otherwise ignored them, so set he was on his intended destination. It was through a secure door at the far end of the hold he came to, and by placing his palm against the scanner by the door it unlocked, slid open and thereby granted him access to the smaller, somewhat bare space beyond.

Normally, such a space would be used to hold more sensitive cargo, particularly anything that might require additional shielding. For this trip, there was a single container inside here, and Tav'kar strode over to it. The lid was partially open, allowing him to simply put his fingers through the gap and push it aside.

Within was a metal cylinder, about a foot in width and six in length. It looked somewhat unremarkable, carrying with it no warning labels, no visible armaments, nothing that would suggest it had any offensive power at all. Tav'kar stood over it for a moment, eyes fixed upon the object and the one open panel in its side. There, a small console was present, the screen settled upon a light blue 'standby' screen. It was hard to imagine that contained within this device was a weapon powerful enough to disrupt the fabric of reality.

The scientist, Ver'tuk, had protested when Tav'kar and his guards had stormed the laboratory and acquisitioned the bomb and the scientist's research materials. This here had been Kav'rak's pet project, no doubt intended as a means to heighten his prestige in the eyes of the Regent and his ministers. To allow such a weapon to remain in the hands of Kav'rak was unacceptable, and so Tav'kar had swooped in and made claim to it for himself. When the project had started many years before, he had hoped that such a weapon might be used to see the monarchy end. He may not even need this bomb for that now, but he very much preferred to have it kept close to him. Intrigue was always afoot within the higher echelons of the makalvari government.

Tav'kar activated the communicator he wore about his left wrist. He put himself through to the weapons officer, some further insurance coming to mind then. After all, the bomb was as good as ready. He had already put his own science team on the task of making more.

"This is Brigade Leader Tav'kar," he said, once the channel was open and the officer in charge of the ship's weaponry was on the line. "I need at least four of your men in the subsidiary cargo hold. I have a special payload I wish to be moved." He was not so sure where he might test the weapon, but something told him that the planet below would make a suitable enough testing range.