Spring Changes, page 7
I’ll let everyone here tell me when we’re ready for that, but I don’t want Edward settling back into his life. I don’t want Frenk or the others at risk for that length of time.
What kind of deadline?
I thought about what I really wanted, to get out there right now and shove his face in the dirt. But Hiroto and the others were right. I had to be totally ready for this. Three days, I said. Hard deadline the third day’s evening. We’ll have one check over everything and the area. Then I’m going for breakfast.
We stood outside four buildings. They didn’t look too bad either. Just overgrown. Something similar to ivy climbed up the side of the wall. Flowers blossomed here and there.
“Careful,” Tyto said as I approached. “The plant life isn’t friendly either.”
“How do you even know that?” I asked.
He pointed down. Where he had stood there was now a vine about to wrap itself around his leg. Quill drew his sword without thinking and slammed his foot on the vine, then was about to chop it off.
“No!” I heard someone scream.
I whirled around and saw a figure ahead of us, I glanced back to the guys and noticed Tyto had his gun aimed. “Where the hell did that person come from?”
“We’ve watched every angle we could,” Tyto said. “I have no idea.”
I looked back, noticing the figure’s lithe form, long dark hair spread out behind her. What I’d first thought might be a uniform I realised was just clothing. Shirt and trousers, almost the same colour of the grasses around us. That explained at least why we hadn’t seen her.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she said. “I mean you no harm. I was just getting into place in case I had to protect myself.”
I glanced down to the vine which Quill was still standing on.
“Quill,” I said. “Step slowly off the vine.”
He raised an eyebrow at me but did as I asked, slowly moving to step off the vine. When his weight moved, the vine retracted, straight towards the young creature before us.
“Who are you?” Tyto asked and although he was wary, he lowered his gun.
“I am the life that inhabits this area.” Her facial expressions relaxed without the threat.
I motioned for him to lower it further. “Weapons away.”
“But—” Quill started, but I glared his way, then he complied.
I took a tentative step towards her, my own hands outstretched. “You inhabit this area?” I waved around the base.
She nodded her eyes following my crazy hands. “Yes, all of this is me.”
I glanced at Quill and Tyto. “I never thought this planet would have a dungeon, let alone life on it like this.”
Tyto looked to the bunkers that were covered in vines. “You cover everything,” he said.
She nodded and also took some more steps towards us. “This really is all me,” she said. “Are you staying?”
One of our shuttles drew in, and the one on the ground took off. “Yes, is this going to be a problem for you?”
“I have been here alone for a long time, but I am not against sharing, if you perhaps can help me?”
“Oh.” I looked back to the buildings around us. “Can you give us clear access to the bunkers?”
The vines shifted across the buildings like a magical curtain. “I need the space, but I can clear the windows and doorways, allowing light back inside and so you may enter safely.”
“That was amazing,” I said and smiled at her. “What about the whole area?”
She stepped closer, and I could see into her eyes, the same colour as the flowers around me, yellow and pinks. Pretty, but there was also something very deadly to them. I could see it.
“What help do you want?”
“There’s a nest of movalite in the far bunker.” She pointed to one of the other buildings. I followed her finger. “They come out at first light only, but they eat, and they eat a lot of me.”
I glanced at Quill. “You can take on some of the local wildlife, right?”
His lips curled. “I think that would be something we can do. Don’t want to be sharing a bunk with them anyway, right?”
“Are there many?” I asked.
“Parents and little ones,” she said. “Not many, but they are growing.”
“How big do they grow?” Quill asked.
“The adults are about twice your size, but they are slow in daylight like this, only be wary first thing when they are hungry.”
“We’ll clear it now,” Quill said, and nodded in the direction of the bunker. “Kyle?”
“Okay, if it helps, and you will make this area safe for us?”
She nodded, so we moved out towards the bunker at the end. When I looked back, she had gone.
Quill reached the doors first, Tyto flanking the other side a moment later. “You take point. We’ll close behind you.”
Figures I’d be bait again. “On my mark, then.”
I drew my sword, sparking the kenosi to life in a shower of blue sparks. I took a deep breath and then nodded. “Mark!”
The doors opened on what appeared to be an empty hangar.
A sharp cry pierced my ears. I almost covered them, until I saw the creature lunging at me.
7
“Move!” Tyto shouted. The antlered creature bore down on me. The panic I’d felt on Tolsa when the M-Wolf attacked rushed over me, fresh as the day it happened.
This time, however, I was a fair few levels above being a newb. I stepped out of harm’s way, dodging the furry giant. I brought my sword up, and sliced the creature along the flank. Blood spurted everywhere, barely missing me. I must have gotten an artery or something. It seemed to go down really fast.
When the other ran out in similar style behind it, Tyto and Quill were quick to dispose of it.
“What size do you think the babies are?” I asked.
Quill shrugged. “I hope nothing like their parents.”
That was when we saw inside once more, and it seemed to shift before my eyes. The whole hangar moved, and I swallowed. “Guys, that doesn’t look so good.”
An almighty stomping of many hooves rumbled through the floor and the mass that moved inside lunged for us. I wouldn’t have said they were any bigger than Quill. But there were so many. Tyto and Quill moved back behind the door. They rushed towards us.
Once they came into the light, I almost felt sorry for the creatures. These little ones had no horns and seemed to rush around in panic.
One that almost had sprouting horns pawed at the dirt and looked at me, its eyes ablaze with anger. When it ran at me, I raised my sword and decapitated it with one swing. The rest went down with little resistance.
The ground rumbled in the distance. That meant the shuttle was landing. I heard whizzing sounds and felt the wind as cleaner bots arrived. “I asked them to take the bodies—good eating, I believe—so they’re going to store them for us,” Hiroto said.
I motioned to Tyto and Quill to move inside and let the bots deal with the carnage we had left. This bunker was by far the most damaged on the inside. The critters had made a huge nest in the centre of the mech bays, and there was a stench I couldn’t describe. It penetrated through the breather even though it was fully working.
Quilled leaned to one side, and he vomited all over.
“Just more to clean up,” I said. “They really are rank.”
Vines sprouted out of the ground itself. The vines wrapped around each other tighter and tighter till a figure stood there.
“Thank you,” she said. “My name is Besta. I will fulfil my promise, and this area will be free from all plant life that will get in your way.”
A breeze shook everything outside, all the grasses swayed, moved and then retreated, leaving the areas we would use the most open for us to see in full. All the green had gone. Everything. There was also nothing left of the metal which I knew used to be on the buildings. “I took the space up that I need to be able to still get the nutrients I need from the ground and the sun. You just don’t see anything metal anymore.” She seemed to chuckle with that, and I could do nothing but grin at her. She seemed as bad as Xe.
I resent that thought, Xe said.
You know I don’t mean it, I replied to her laugh. Tease!
“You’re okay with everything we’re going to be doing here?” I asked her.
She stepped towards us and I realised she wasn’t walking but gliding along the vines she already had in place running through here.
“I will leave you alone, and you will not be disappointed in our working relationship.”
“What else would you like from us?”
She walked around us. “Nothing. With you here, I will be able to thrive and not worry about spending energy healing or chasing creatures away. I can be me.”
“Seems a little too easy,” Tyto said.
“He’s right,” Quill added. “This does seem too easy.”
She laughed, and it was eerie. “I won’t come for you in the night, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m not a meat eater. I prefer the wonderful rays of the sun; the only other thing that compares is kenosi.”
“Ahh, so there might be another reason for you to hang around?” I asked.
“There was a reason many years ago as to why we loved this planet and the denti who trained here. Any stray kenosi was left freely for the taking. So in that sense, I am glad you are returning to my area of the world.”
“That doesn’t seem too bad,” I said. “Thanks for your honesty.”
She dipped her head. “As the sun sets, you will see my flowers and I will be retired for the night. If you ever have a need for me, then you may just ask throughout the day. I will be active then.”
With a flourish, the vines all collapsed, and she was gone.
The cleaner bots had also fully done their job outside. As we started to make our way out, they entered.
“Things are so fast,” Tyto said.
We all stood for a minute as they literally sucked in all the debris inside. The smell I can also say dissipated. Interesting.
I turned to the others. “Let’s go help with the shuttle emptying and get us at least somewhere for the night.”
Walking back to the first hangar was interesting. I honestly couldn’t believe how clean and just plain different the whole area was. The grasses going had exposed the whole flat of the training ground; it stretched on for what looked like miles. I’m sure it didn’t though. But there were some deep holes in the ground. Hiroto, did you get a good look at what’s under the grounds here? I asked.
It looks like it is part of the dungeon. I was thinking maybe vents for the creatures that live down there.
I should make a plan to go down and see about talking to it again at some point. I wouldn’t want to cut off the oxygen to things down below that might need it. Besides, if we could get it to close up the holes without us doing so, it would also save us some manpower.
We should do that tomorrow, maybe after we’ve eaten.
I explained to the others as we walked right across the training ground to the building what I’d do to hopefully fill in the gaps. “I think I can do that, if you’d let me take a couple of the other M-Wolves with me.”
“Of course.”
I smiled at him. “I think we’re all more than capable of doing other things around here, I might be the one you come to and trust, but I’m also . . .” I hesitated to say it. “I’m also not one that can make all the decisions right now.”
Quill glanced to Tyto. “We’re all suffering right now.” He lowered his head. “I had respawned before; of course it’s not easy. But to spawn into what we did, there’s no words.”
I took a step towards him. “You are not alone. None of us are.”
I hadn’t expected to see emotion from him, but his eyes were brimmed with it. His kenosi was rich and it flowed around him with such amazing intensity.
“You’re an amazing person, Kyle Ranz,” Quill said.
“We are amazing,” I said. “All of us. Together. We’ll each work through what we need to in the next few weeks. We’ll hit highs and lows, but no one here is alone. We’re just a message away. Right, Ty?” I looked to my second, whose face dropped. “Yes, no one is alone. Any time of day or night.”
“Thank you,” Quill said. “I find that, as second to Los, I have no one of my standing to turn to. The fact you are both as strong and as open as you are fills me with hope that this is something we can learn and accept.”
“Hey guys! Come on!” Naylar’s excited voice carried over to us in the middle of the training ground. “Dinner’s going to be served, then we’re going to do a couple more hours before we hit the sack.”
I motioned them forwards and we walked past the mech outside—which hadn’t moved—and through to the hangar. No dust, everything shone. Fabricators now lined one side and were spitting out sheets of metal for us to use.
“How did you get the roof so clear? The windows just seemed to appear.” Naylar asked.
“Long story involving a sentient plant and some critters we chased off.”
“You already did that? I was hoping to get in on some hunting!” Los said, also coming up behind her.
“Yes, sorry. It was a needed job to do before the base was going to be secured.”
Los’s lip curled, but she didn’t ask any more questions. “Dinner smells good. Whatever it was you killed has been fast roasted outside with us in mind. So I thank you.”
“Nice.” I patted my belly. “Worked up an appetite. Let’s go, it smells delicious.”
Quill couldn’t do anything but agree, his lips drooling from here. I chuckled at him and myself but followed the both of them out past the mech bays and towards a large outdoor area.
I joined the small queue and was handed me a plate of meat and what looked like mashed potato. I went and sat down next to Dylan while I ate. “You doing okay?” I asked.
“Busy, but yeah. I’m good. Cleaner bots should be through with the bunks in a little while. So this food now is welcome. I am almost ready to sleep on a rack without a mattress or blanket.”
Naylar opposite us chewed a slice of meat and nodded. “I feel the same. We’ve done a lot. Hitting the racks for a while would be wonderful.”
“Shower units and everything else up and running?” I asked, looking towards Denn, hopeful.
“I’m not sure till the bots are done. The generators are good. We didn’t need to alter them too much—they just needed some wires replacing. It was pretty easy, to be honest.”
“So the shield’s already running again?” I looked up but couldn’t see anything from here.
“Yes. You really should all rest, hit the ground running tomorrow,” Denn said.
“You’re saying we shouldn’t work after dinner?” Dylan asked her.
I waited for her to answer but she just looked at me, so I shook my head. “No, we’re all running close to empty all the time. We need to get these couple of days done best we can, but also best for us. When we tackle Edward, we’re going to be under some scrutiny. He will have no idea how we survived, and neither will anyone else. I think there will be a ton of questions thrown his way. I’m not going to answer any of them. But what I will do is make the challenge.”
“What challenge?” Stan asked. He approached with Abi, a plate of food for each.
“Well, we’re going to see the guy who killed us in three days. It will not be easy, but I want us to focus on what we’re going to do with him, rather than that moment of actually wanting to kill him. So I will verbally make the challenge. Then I’m going to give us two weeks to master what we need to.”
“That’s pretty tight,” Tyto said. “I’m not sure it’s feasible right now.”
“How long?” I questioned, but didn’t want a truthful answer.
“Make it three and you’re on. We can then take just that little bit more time to see Doctor Pious, and deal with the actual act of training.”
I nodded at him. “I think that’s a compromise I can do.”
It was always nice to sit around a good meal and talk. The engineers were excited to get the hangars and the rest of our area up and even more up to date, and the mech guys were like me; they all wanted their units here and working in the bays. It would be something to get inside them. Their difference was obvious to me, but I wondered if the others would feel it. Could the older mechs actually help us form a full merge without the full thirty-six? Remote Control was an amazing skill—could I teach it to the others?
I wanted to try to work that out myself. That also meant I needed to get back to it and delve deeper on the molecular and design levels.
When the sun started to set, a sweet smell washed over us. Even Paul looked up, then we all did. The vine’s beautiful flowers were closing, their pollen escaping slightly as they did so.
“That’s wonderful,” Paul said. “I’ve never smelled anything as nice in my life.”
I noticed something else with the pollen though—there was kenosi floating with it. That, as I watched, I could see entering my friends’ noses as they breathed.
The vines shimmied to my side, and I looked over to them. “Good night, Kyle and team Metal Titans. May you sleep wonderfully.”
I felt tired myself now, and the thoughts of the mech drifted from me. Walking with Quill and Los, though, I found the others had just gone to bed. Most were snoozing already. Their forms settled in bunks. I needed a shower, no matter how much I wanted to sleep.
I wandered through to the empty room and fumbled with the controls some. Hiroto laughed, and within a second, the soft spray was cleaning a pretty grubby me. It felt wonderful, and I was as relaxed as I could be. I put my head down, washed my hair and then rinsed.
When I was done, everyone else was well asleep. Now I was wide awake.
You should go to bed, Hiroto said.
