CHAPTER 4: Trip to the circle
Location: Sol system, on route to Titan
Date: May 22th 12:47 PM
'The natives had found the site'
That was what the eye-bots had transmitted and it had caused Zao's migraine to redouble its efforts in causing him as much pain as possible. Rubbing his throbbing temples he breathed through his teeth as he reviewed the footage again and again. Watching the recording from his pip-boy; the green light shining on his dark necrotic skin and straining his eyes in the dim light he saw as a notification on the eye-bots HUD alerted it that the motion trackers for their first mining site had been tripped. The robots responded immediately flying through the trees at frightening speed; lasers ready to fire and neutralize any wildlife before they stopped, discovering that it was in fact two of the natives and one of the large flying creatures the scientists had taken to calling banshees due to their loud shriek had been what tripped the alarm. But what was most concerning was that the natives seemed to have some form of control over it.
As the recording continued the eye-bots identified the two natives; one male one female if their bodies were any indication, their large eyes reflecting back into the camera's lens like a cat as the male was pulled onto the back of the banshee by the female. And through the enhanced night vision the object of his confusion revealed itself as he saw the female attach what appeared to be a long coil of her hair to one of the creatures head tails before quickly flying off, their dark image contrasting against the bright light of Polyphemus.
That beyond all else had caused Zao a great amount of confusion and concern as he repeated the scene over and over. What ability could explain this? From recordings taken from a tribe on the plains of Pandora they had seen these aliens had also domesticated horse like creatures which looking back now in hindsight should have tipped them off that something was going on.
Though Domestication of animals was nothing new if he used humanity as an example, so it would made sense that the aliens would as well, but whatever method they used was unlike anything he or any scientists that had reviewed the footage had seen and knowing now that their domestication extended to banshees required them to rethink their strategy and move ahead of schedule. In two weeks they would be leaving, at half strength with the second half set to arrive at the original date.
And it was because of this that once again Zao found himself inside another transport shuttle though this one was quite a bit different than the standard and for where he was going he could understand why. Most of the walls was lined with seals of purity; prayers of protection inscribed on the paper as they rustled slowly in the recycled air.
In the center was a large bronze incense burner filling the cabin with the sweet scent of broc flower that thankfully helped somewhat with his headache as wisps of smoke flowed out and swirled around the cabins roof before being sucked away. Turning from the incense he moved his attention to his fellow three passengers.
Directly in front of him was sword scribe Anthony. Wearing his familiar red robes as he too fiddled with his pip-boy, his brow furrowed as he gazed at the holographic screen most likely reviewing the same recording as himself. Closer to the pilot were two that made his temper flare. One was in white robes, eyes shut and hands clasped together while his bodyguard to his left stood as a living wall as her black power armored frame slightly obstructed his view of the priest.
He never understood the Church of Atom, and the fact that it had become so large so quickly made him slightly disappointed in mankind. How could people see what had happened and see it as something good let alone an act of God. It wasn't God who burned the world, it was men… men like him.
"I still don't understand why we're going here, whatever ability these aliens possess could easily be attributed to some natural phenomenon" Anthony asserted; pulling Zao from his memories as he saw the scribe finally remove his eyes from his pip-boy, said eyes looking as bloodshot as his own.
"Natural or not this is too important to leave to chance; now that they know we are coming we will need to leave sooner than we would like and to do that we need to gain as much information as we can. Including information that cannot be gained through conventional means" Zao stressed even as the thought of interacting with more 'believers of Atom' made his skin crawl.
"And I still don't see the reason behind us leaving so early. Even with their flying mounts they would be no match for us. Not to mention that this early departure will mean only a third of the retrofitted suits will be ready" Anthony argued his hands rubbing together in anxiousness.
"It is something we will just have to deal with and besides the first half of the expedition should be enough to get the eezo flowing and protect the miners" he reasoned having already gone through this debate back on mars when they first learned of their discovery.
"Exactly my point; we will be leaving at half strength, if you feel this discovery is so dangerous than why not just sent all the soldiers first and have the miners sent on the original date?" Anthony said not letting up as this sudden change in plans had disrupted the careful schedule he had made for his men.
"Optics" Sullivan said dryly cutting into the conversation as he turned his head to the agitated scribe.
"If we go there with only soldiers, the media would have a field day portraying it as an invasion and from what little I've heard about the miners, some of them will be tunnelers. I don't know how much you know about tunnelers Anthony but believe me when I say they are far from helpless" he explained, shocking Zao by how correct he had been in his assessment.
"Be that as it may, why you are even here with us" Anthony sneered; his face showing its age as he turned his head to Sullivan as Ophelia looked at the scribe, leveling her visor to look back at him in what he could only guess as a reciprocal glare.
"Because the high confessor asked that I serve as his representative in this matter as well as the powers our Admiral desires to employ being not of this world. And might I remind you, it was your brotherhood who agreed to our involvement in the construction of the Circle" Sullivan declared finally lifting his head to look Anthony in the eye.
"Pfft, Elder Lyons greatest mistake; she was always too friendly when it came to you bomb worshipers. And if it had not been for the 'founding fools' you rad suckers would have been put down before your insanity was allowed to spread" he hissed causing Ophelia to turn herself fully towards the scribe, her visor almost seeming to glow in the dim light as she marched towards Anthony, her armored boots slamming into the metal floor with hard clangs causing the pilot to turn back in worry as she bared down on him.
"You will not speak such blasphemy about the Founders you cog foundling piece of… ENOUGH!" Ophelia roared before Zao issued his own, the almost feral growl drowning the shuttle in silence.
"What's done is done and like it or not we're all on the same team. And if we want any hope of this mission succeeding we cannot be at each other's throats before we even get there" he berated, as Ophelia stood like a statue over Anthony who Zao could see had his hand wrapped around his laser pistol; Still in its holster but ready to strike if pushed.
Finally Ophelia relented as she marched back to her spot and Anthony released his grip on his pistol. Several minutes passed before the pilot's voice was heard over the intercom stating that they were nearly there. Her voice cutting through the static of the intercom as the shuttle rocked slightly as it entered the upper atmosphere. Standing up from his seat Zao walked passed the brazier until he came to the window where the darkness of space gave way to the moon of titan. One of Saturn's moons the surface was brown and rocky with high cliffs and deep crevasses like a dry lake bed marking its surface. Above the ground the sky was filled with so much dust it gave the planet an almost perpetual dusk, the orange colour stretching all the way to the horizon and their destination.
The circle; one of the most classified locations in Republic space, its inspection could be traced back nearly sixty years during the initial mass distribution of the Institutes strain of FEV. After being injected a small percentage of recipients would begin to show signs of psychic powers that ranged from shooting fire from their hands to controlling animals and telepathy. The subjects sometimes however developed a range of mental disorders that put them and others at risk and the governments of the world had been quick to cover it up though with the new plague beginning to resurface, the threat of the feral tunnelers and the ethical dilemma of the sapient ones the media already had their hands full allowing for the cover up to be surprisingly easy.
After that and under the recommendation of the Sole Survivor, Lone wanderer and the prophet from the Pan African republic a commutative effort between the brotherhood of steel under the control of Sarah Lyons and the soon to be first high confessor Jericho we made to develop an institution where their powers could be studied and keep them protected.
As they crested a cliff, in the center of a large valley was a massive complex of domes and tubes that evoked the image of a snowflake. The domes were like New Lowell's but at a fraction of the size and their solar panels on their outer shells shined like flood lights in the dusty air and in the center; sprouting from the ground like a tree was a large spire that loomed over the complex like a mountain surrounded by hills. Its size shrouded the small vessel as they got closer until he saw a part of the spire peel away like the chitinous plates of an insect revealing the telltale shimmering blue veil of energy as they passed through replacing the dusty browns of rock and dirt with steel and concrete as the shuttle landed gently in the hanger with a dull thunk as the engines shut off.
With a hiss the door opened revealing the rest of the vast, empty hanger bay. Zao had only just stepped a foot of the shuttle when he heard another hiss as a door to his right at the far end of the room slid away to reveal three people. The one in the center wore simple robes of green and blue. Like a crown he wore a psychic nullifier that wrapped itself around his head from his forehead all the way around and two strips of metal that arched over.
Flanked on either side of him were two men in power armor similar to that worn by the Ionic sisters but had taken the knightly aesthetic to an extreme. The silver armor was silver and flawless, polished to a mirror sheen; on the pauldrons were carved glyphs of warding, runic symbols meant to protect against psychic attacks and on their breastplate was the image of a sword, it point reaching upward with laurel wreath acting as its cross-guard. In their hands were plasma rifles with arcs of electricity that danced through the frontal tube as they rested their guns in their arms like a mother might swaddle a baby and their fingers tapping absent mindfully on the carbon fiber housing.
'Templars Zao thought to himself as they made their way of the shuttle, Anthony giving the other two a wide berth.
"Admiral Zao, I am first enchanter Irving and I welcome you to the Circle" the man in robes announced bowing his head in respect. On closer examination the man seemed middle aged; past his first century certainly, the lines around his eyes and forehead and his graying beard that hid his neck made it clear.
"A pleasure to meet you Irving, I hope my message reached you" Zao answered reaching out his hand which Irving took firmly.
"It did; she is waiting for your evaluation, follow me" he politely commanded which assured Zao as Irving turned back around the Templars continuing to flank him as they all of followed behind.
"What level is she?" Anthony questioned, the reason for his involvement brought to the fore.
"Upon her initiation she was ranked as a gamma class." Irving answered plainly causing the scribe to begin quickly typing away on his pip-boy again, the resources and precautions necessary for her involvement dancing through his mind.
"Has she been told the nature of the evaluation" Zao questioned as they left the hanger, the dull grey being replaced with the beige of wide and spacious hallways with vaulted ceiling evoking the inside of a cathedral and with yellow lights hanging from the walls, illuminating the path as the rhythmic sound of metal boots echoed out.
"She has" Irving answered as the group returned to silence but as they continued on with empty hall after empty hall something seemed of too Zao. There had to be several hundred magi yet he had only seen Templars. And it seemed he was not the only one who noticed.
"Where is everyone?" Sullivan asked; the priests head swiveling around looking down adjacent halls shrouded in the same yellow glow as Irving looked back with a face of apprehension.
"One of our aspirants is presently undergoing their last trial. Until it is done all but the Templars and senior staff have been restricted to their living quarters." He whispered; eyes down cast as though just speaking of it might jinx the outcome.
"May Atom give them strength" Sullivan intoned as he and Ophelia each brought their hands together in prayer eliciting and audible grown from Anthony. "I thank you, it is in their hands now" Irving said as they pressed on until they came to a large set of stairs leading both further up the spire and down.
"Why bother with so many stairs" Ophelia questioned as Zao could do nothing but agree, the mere appearance of so many evoking a pulsing phantom pain in his knees.
"It is meant to teach patience and perseverance to the young aspirants… it also doubles as good exercise" he said as walked to side of the inner wall and placed his hand on a scanner causing a section of the wall to shift to the side revealing a large elevator.
"Luckily I'm too old for both" he quipped, Zao quietly thankful as they piled in and descended down.
Several moments later the doors reopened to a large atrium that served as the circles library. Rows upon rows of books staked on shelves twice the height of a deathclaw looping all the way around. In between them were large metal tables and chairs for studying aspirants.
"Such wasted space" Zao could hear Anthony say, confusion and irritation mixing in equal measure. He was right, Zao had to admit it would make more sense for it all to be digital and make the atrium a fraction of its original size.
Finally they made their way to the exit where Zao saw something that even in his nearly four centuries of life gave him pause. There sitting behind a large wooden desk was a blue skinned Meta-human in a polka dot dress with big puffy shoulders that strained to keep their muscled form in. On their head was a straw hat and goggles that hid their eyes. Their mouth was held open by straps revealing their teeth and turning their face into a constant snarl. Above them on the mantle was a massive blade, larger than he was tall that looked like it had been taken from an aircraft of some kind, its handle wrapped in aged leather and edge still sharp.
The meta-human seemed to be absorbed in reading only noticing when they got close as their head flicked up quickly.
"Hello Irving how are you today, have you been eating well" She said in a high gravelly voice that radiated an odd but welcome maternal aura as she put her book down and stood to her full height, the chair creaking under shifting weight as the humor of a Meta-human in a dress slightly dulled by her sheer size that loomed over them at over eight feet tall.
"I'm doing well Lily and yes I have" Irving replied with a huff of weightless annoyance, bereft of any true irritation.
"Wait; Lily the Lily" Ophelia gasped as her eyes bulging as she gazed at the meta-human as though she were made of gold.
"Yes sweetie, that's me" Lily confirmed, her strapped mouth contorting into a rough outline of a smile. "And aren't you just adorable in your armor, like straight out of a story book. Now what's your name?" she asked either not knowing or caring that they were on important business.
"It is an honor to meet you ma'am; I'm Ophelia, I used to read all the stories about your adventures as a child I…" Ophelia babbled as even through her helmets speakers her voice reaching a pitch usually reserved for teenage girls before being shut down by Irving.
"I am sorry Lily but we must be going" Irving said as he walked past her, silently pulling the rest behind him.
"Oh always work with you; ah well it was nice meeting you Ophelia, here take this" Lily said in a gravelly voice as she reached into a large fishbowl and handing Ophelia a piece of candy that the sister took as if she was just given the Eucharist.
Leaving Lily behind, further and further they walked past the library giving way to another large chamber filled with teleportation pads. Once everyone stood in the center of one the first enchanter keyed away on his pip-boy before a bright flash of light and the crack of thunder filled their eyes and ears.
When the light finally abated Zao found that they were in a smaller room with walls painted an azure blue and lined with shamanistic murals of animals and people. At the other end of the room was another hallway, hexagonal in shape like a honeycomb, shrouded in the same yellow light as the group carried on.
"We are in the hall of spirits now, so I ask that you be as quiet as possible" Irving whispered as they neared a door that with a silent swish opened to reveal another viewing room similar to those found at the citadel. Approaching the glass Zao could see a large circular chamber where in the middle was a woman, cross legged and head turned to look at the ground. Around her were three rings each larger than the last filled with runic scripts and along the walls were similar glyphs of warding that hummed in rhythmic blue pulses.
The woman; clothed in thick, red and gold robes made no motion to indicate that she noticed their entrance but Zao had the feeling she had known of their presence for some time.
"Before we begin I must say, that what is to come might not give you what you seek" Irving admitted to Zao. "The spirit world is tumultuous at the best of times".
"As they say; nothing ventured, nothing gained" Zao said, realism tempering his confidence
Nodding his head Irving pressed his finger to a small button just below the glass as her voice pierced through the static of the speaker.
"Are you ready to commune with the spirits Wynne?"
The woman looked up towards them, her eyes hard and determined as she answered.
"Yes First enchanter" she said as the two Templars removed themselves from Irving's side and marched towards a side door that led them into the chamber. One Templar approached the magi taking great pain to not disrupt the runes as he clasped iron shackles to her wrists, each bolted to the floor as she offered them without complaint. After that each Templar then took up position slightly behind and to the side, looming over her like birds of prey.
Slowly Wynne loosened the strap around her neck and removed the nullifier, her eyes squinting in discomfort as her mind came into contact with the spirit world. Gently placing the device down in front of her she raised her hands back up pulling her hood over her head and obscuring their view of her face. As the hood settled over her, nodes of tesla coils began to bounce arcs of psychic energy between them as the chains retracted into the floor pulling her arms taut.
"Oh Atom; Lord of mutation, Radiant Father, creator and destroyer of all I beseech you. Grant me your glow that my mind might pierce the veil of darkness. Send unto me your spirits of wisdom that I might know truth from lie" Wynne evoked with holy reverence, her voice barely above a whisper though held a power that washed over them.
Several moments went by in silence as Wynne swayed from side to side like a ship at sea before she finally spoke.
"Far, far away, a world draped in shadow and mystery…Pandora" she said eyes still glued to the floor. Zao nodded his head in confirmation to no one but himself as soon he would have his answers.
"Its surface is awash with colours unseen and sounds unheard, a Garden of Eden… but its heart is dark." She spoke quickly as her breaths grew haggard and the runic circles began to glow bright bathing the chamber in blue and painting shadows of the Templars against the walls.
"Tethered minds and shackled souls, a world frozen in time. It hides beneath the colour, swims beneath the surface like a bloodworm." She continued as the runes grew brighter and brighter, the glyphs on the wall beginning to glow as well as she pulled hard against her bindings with streaks of frost forming across the glass. The Templars in turn leveled their plasma rifles at Wynne ready to fire should the worst came to pass.
"E pluribus unum, the mind the binds is bound in kind" She choked out, as if she were being strangled before she lifted her head to the glass for the first time and Zao's heart skipped a beat.
Her face was a river of sweat and tears, each flowing with equal ease. Her eyes had rolled into the back of her head leaving her orbs as white as her skin that had turned a pale green like a ghost or a corpse drained of blood.
"But there is hope, a light in the darkness. A native whose soul cries out for more and who may yet be the stone that ripples across the placid lake, heralding change" She croaked, throwing her head back as if she had been struck, her hood flying off as the psychic energy dissipated and the runes and glyphs dimmed once more. She babbled a few more incoherent words before finally going limp, kept from falling fully thanks to the shackles that left her hanging like a puppet.
The room was left in dead silence as they watched the Templar's tentatively stepped over the runes and remove her restraints. Her body being caught and lifted away into an adjacent room, the whooshing sound of the closing door finally making Zao release a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
As Zao looked around he could see he was not alone in this, Sullivan and Ophelia praying in unison as Anthony stared slack jawed at where Wynne had once been. Even Irving looked unnerved by what he had seen.
"What was that?"
[LATER]
"This is quite troubling, are you certain you wish to go through with this" Marcus questioned as his holographic form flickered in a dark room.
"If even half of what Wynne has said is true, this only increases the need to get to Pandora as quickly as possible. If this… thing or whatever it is already knows we're coming, giving it more time to prepare will only endanger our men further" Zao answered, his eyes steely and cold from the experience of that room.
"That assumes it isn't already" Marcus stated.
"And if we drag our feet, it might make any future attempts impossible. And the eezo forever out of reach"
The two we silent for a moment as Marcus pulled a cigar from his breast pocket. Lighting it he took several puffs before he spoke, his voice deadly serious.
"Is the magi stable" he asked, tapping ash from his cigar.
"She is sir; once she regained consciousness she was determined to accompany us, even though Irving initially protested it." He answered, himself admiring the woman's resolve.
"I trust your judgement Zao, don't make me regret it" he said with a deep sigh.
Saluting; Zao ended the video call shrouding him in darkness as he left. He had been given answers to questions he had yet to ask leaving him even further in confusion. But he had a mission to accomplish and he would see it through one way or another.
Author's notes
So an ancient thing has been discovered, will Zao and the republic prevail or will they be its latest victim, also a cookie for anyone who knows where I got the names for the magi.