Broken Stars (Universe on Fire Book 1), page 15
CHAPTER TWELVE
Aiko sat in her command chair watching and waiting for the Prometheus to reach its destination. She wasn’t yet used to the realities of space travel. Even though traveling through a wormhole shortened the trip for the ships passing through, it still meant that they spent a lot of time without really anything to do. Kane had his squad to train, but she had very little to do other than the boring reading of reports and delegating. Most of the work was done by her executive officer, but she had managed to get into an uneasy routine.
But now, as they approached their destination, she felt again the rush that came with knowing that they were about to arrive somewhere where no human had ever been before. It was a feeling that had quickly become her favorite thing about commanding a spaceship. Being the commander of a naval vessel had never been like this. It was suffocating in a way, in part because the Yasnaya had been a glorified ferryboat, and in part because she always knew that there was nowhere where people had not gone before. But now, she felt the thing she had always heard the older generations talk about, the thrill, the drive to explore. It was intoxicating. She’d realized in these few months on a spaceship just how much the Qash’vo’tar had stifled humanity. The stars were where they belonged, and she felt a renewed anger toward the Qash’vo’tar for wanting to deny them their place.
“Ten seconds until arrival,” the lieutenant at the navigation board announced, jolting Aiko from her thoughts.
She focused on the screen and waited as the counter ticked down, and then their ship left the wormhole and arrived in their target system.
“Scanners, full sweep,” Aiko ordered.
“Single class F star, thirteen planets and numerous moons. It matches the map we were given, Captain,” her sensor officer announced.
“Good, do we have the target in sight?” Aiko asked.
“Yes, Captain. It is four hours away from us at half burn.”
“Set a course, Lieutenant,” Aiko said.
***
Kane sat inside the Leviathan as it was launched from the Prometheus, alongside the rest of his team. They had arrived and the Prometheus was currently in orbit over the planet. They’ve been told the rough area of their target, but also that they would recognize it once they saw it. The Prometheus’s sensors had detected a power source on the planet at the same location that Jaquil had provided them, so they were now heading there.
“All mechs, blink into the atmosphere now,” Kane ordered over their comms. He blinked the Leviathan, and steeled himself for the inevitable turbulence as they hit the atmosphere.
They appeared several kilometers above the ground and engaged their thrusters, setting into a gentle curved fall/landing. As soon as all four mech-frames touched the ground, Kane ordered them forward. They walked over the rocky surface of the planet toward their destination.
The sky above them was gray, filled with thick clouds, and the ground was lifeless rock in shades of brown and black. Jagged mountain peaks could be seen in the distance and a large cloud of black smoke rose from somewhere on the horizon. From what the Prometheus’s scanners could tell, the planet had suffered a very recent seismic event, probably caused by the eruption itself. The ground still shook often. It made everything around them seem depressing.
There was also too much interference inside the atmosphere, so they had no communications with the ship in orbit.
“Are we sure that we will recognize the target?” Lieutenant Darko Kovac asked over their comms.
“We will find out,” Kane answered as he engaged his thrusters to jump over a taller ledge. The rest of his squad followed and did the same.
“Kovac is right, Captain,” Lieutenant Imari Okoye said. “The alien trader has been rather vague about what it is we are looking for.”
“Right?” Lieutenant Kovac said. “I mean, old tech can be anything! We have no way of knowing what would be useful.”
Kane nodded to himself, but didn’t respond as another quake shuddered all around them. He grabbed the rock to his side with the mech’s hand to keep steady. It passed quickly, and they continued forward. Kane thought back to his team’s concerns. He had the same ones.
Jaquil had assured him that anything that came from the ancient Zhal’Qash was valuable. But even so, Kane didn’t like the alien’s offer, nor did he trust him. His explanation about why he chose to send them had some merit. But it was not enough for Kane to be completely at ease.
They finally came close enough to their target that they should have been in visual range. Kane took the Leviathan up the cliff and looked over.
“I think that we have arrived,” Kane told them.
“Holy crap,” Lieutenant Kovac whispered, and Kane agreed with the sentiment.
Below them was a large chasm, and the side directly across from them was completely collapsed, revealing what had been buried deep in the rock.
“The earthquakes must’ve uncovered the structure,” Lieutenant Commander Erika Hansen said. “What is it?”
“The scanners are having difficulty penetrating the surface of the structure,” Lieutenant Okoye reported. “It is as if it isn’t even there. I am getting a power reading, but it doesn’t make any sense. It reads as if it’s coming out of the rock, deep below the structure.”
“Something down there is still operational,” Hansen said.
“Let’s get a closer look. On me,” Kane said and jumped off the cliff using his thrusters to glide down and land near the structure. As soon as his feet hit the ground he felt another quake, which made his mech nearly fall.
He regained his footing and moved forward toward the structure wall. It was embedded in the rock, or rather still half buried. It was also slanted at an angle. He turned his scanners on it and watched as the results came back with nothing. The surface of the structure seemed to be made out of something metallic, with a dark green tint to it.
“Spread out, see if you can find something of interest,” Kane ordered.
He stayed at his original position looking at the structure. He zoomed in on the surface with his visual sensors. It looked almost as if the surface was covered in tiny writing, too small for the naked eye to see. There were clearly defined symbols, but he couldn’t discern anything. It was a strange feeling, he could see the symbols clearly, but it was almost as if they just didn’t register inside his mind. He tried to focus on them and suddenly he felt lightheaded. He shook his head but a voice over the comms forced him to abandon his efforts.
“What is it?” Kane answered.
“I think that I found something, Captain,” Hansen said.
“On my way.”
Kane turned and walked the Leviathan over to Hansen, noticing a small rectangular section of the wall that looked smoother and different than the others.
“Any idea what it is?” Kane asked.
“It is obviously not damage, the entire surface of the structure is perfect. Being buried doesn’t seem to have damaged it in the slightest.”
Kane had Leviathan crouch down and get closer. The surface was small compared to the mechs, but it was large enough for people to pass through, which made him think that it might be the entrance. The only problem was that there was no obvious way for them to open the doors.
He raised one of the Leviathan’s hands and leaned it on the smooth surface, intending to see if it had any give. Instead as soon as Leviathan touched the surface it melted away, making a hole leading down into darkness.
“I guess that we have a way in,” Kane said and then called the others to gather at his location.
“Well, that is not creepy in the slightest,” Kovac said as he peered down, the lights on his mech’s head illuminating what looked to be a long tunnel leading down at an angle.
“If we are to enter, we will need to do so on foot,” Okoye said.
“Let’s go,” Kane said and opened his cockpit. He disengaged his control spell and climbed out of the mech-frame. The planet itself had an atmosphere in which they could survive, but he was still wearing his CES suit. He grabbed his rifle—the RS-7—from its place behind his seat and jumped out. His team followed suit and dropped out of their mechs as well.
Kane turned toward the Leviathan and stood still as he reengaged the control spell. It required a lot of mental focus, and was not something that he could be using while he moved about. It required stillness. And that was far easier to achieve from the inside of the mech-frame. The spell itself had a range of several hundred meters, but the mages on Ethorria rarely used it because of how vulnerable they had to leave themselves. That was not really an issue for mech-frame pilots, since they were protected inside the constructs they were piloting.
He walked the Leviathan a few meters away from the entrance, his team did the same. Then they turned and slowly walked inside. The lights from their helmets illuminated only a few meters in front of them but enough that they could see their path.
“This looks preserved, there is not even any dust,” Okoye said.
“If it still works, why aren’t there any lights?” Kovac asked.
“Maybe because there is no one home?” Okoye suggested.
“Yeah, I’m still going to be looking out for weird face hugging aliens,” Kovac added as he adjusted his grip on his rifle.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” Hansen said. “If this structure is Zhal’Qash, then it is thousands of years old, yet there doesn’t seem to be any decay, everything looks new. And I don’t even know where to start on the power. A power source that can still be operational after all this time…”
“We know that the old Zhal’Qash were far more advanced than anyone else now,” Kane said.
“But how could they just lose all that knowledge? I mean their war couldn’t have destroyed everything,” Kovac asked.
“They don’t know much about the war,” Kane said. “Those that survived were simply forgotten. Without support from the greater empire they collapsed and were forced to regain their place among the stars. They found this area of space a desolate ruin.”
“It makes you wonder what their enemies were like,” Kovac added.
“I doubt that we will ever know,” Kane answered.
Finally they reached the end of the tunnel, which led into a grand round chamber.
“What is this place?” Okoye whispered reverently.
All around the room were large statues, at least three times the size of a human. The beings depicted were aliens that Kane was not familiar with. They had two legs, and two arms like humans, but their necks were shorter, and they were slightly hunched over, with pronounced spines visible above the curve of their backs. Their heads flowed from their back and they had a short snout, reminiscent of Earth lizards although they were clearly covered in fur. The statues themselves somehow looked lifelike, and were fully colored. The aliens’ fur was dark orange and short, and looked sleek.
He approached one of the statues and put his hand on one of them. It felt solid like a rock, yet it still somehow conveyed lifelike qualities. The aliens depicted each had a different type of garb over their bodies, some wore robes, others something that looked much like medieval human armor, and a few others wore tighter, more ‘advanced’ suits. Beneath each of them was a plaque with words etched on it.
Kane tried to read one, but just like with the symbols on the wall he couldn’t. He could see the words, but they just wouldn’t register in his mind.
“Hansen,” Kane called. “Can you read this?”
She walked over and leaned down to look. Her helmet was currently in the clear mode and he could see her face, so he noticed when her face scrunched up in a grimace.
“I… it’s like I can see the letters, but I can’t picture them in my head. They are just a smudge, noise.” She shook her head and tried again.
“Don’t,” Kane stopped her. “I don’t know what it is about it but you will only make your head hurt. Try to record them, and we will see if people back on the Prometheus have the same problem.” He followed his own advice and recorded a few plaques and took some pictures.
“Captain.” Okoye’s voice grabbed Kane’s attention. “Come take a look at this.”
Kane walked over to where she was standing, in front of a larger statue that seemed to be featured more prominently. It had a small altar in front of it, and in its hands was a box.
“I’m getting a reading on that box,” Okoye said. “Whatever is inside is giving off light power readings.”
Kane looked at the box, but immediately realized that it was covered in writings, so he looked away not wanting to get a headache. Instead he focused on the altar, which now that he had a chance to take a proper look he realized was in fact a terminal of some kind.
“Any idea what this is?” he asked.
Okoye took a step closer and raised her hand, typing away at the computer attached to her forearm. “It does resemble Qash’vo’tar tech, but… It also doesn’t. It is clearly far more advanced. I can see only six access keys, and something that I have no idea what it is.” She took a closer look and saw that one of the keys had something slotted inside of it. She reached out and gently pulled it out.
“What is it?” Kane asked.
“I have no idea, my computer can’t connect with it, if it is indeed something like that.” She shrugged then put the small rectangular key into the small compartment on her thigh.
Kane looked around the room. There didn’t seem to be a door leading anywhere else, except the one they came through. But that meant nothing, they might just not be able to see it.
“This looks like some kind of a temple,” Kane said, voicing what had been bothering him since they came inside. Everything about the structure had made him feel strange. It was only just now that he had put his finger on it.
“A temple to what? Or to whom?” Hansen said as she walked over to them.
Kane looked around. Kovac was standing on the other side of the room close to the exit, studying one of the statues. But Kane couldn’t see anything other than them that was of interest. The statues themselves didn’t seem like they were depicting gods—but then again he had no point of reference for what alien gods could look like.
“I don’t know, but we’ve come here for a reason.” Kane glanced around. There didn’t seem to be anything of value inside the room except the box. “Can you tell if there are any traps around that box?” Kane asked Okoye.
“No, Captain, I can’t tell you anything for certain. Everything inside this structure is strange.”
“Guys?” Kovac’s voice came over the comms. “I think that I hear—”
Kane was in the process of turning around when he heard a short hissing sound, followed by a short flash of light and then screaming.
He looked toward Lieutenant Kovac and saw him on his knees holding the stump of his left hand. The hand seemed to have been melted away along with half of his rifle, which was on the ground. Kane barely had time to react before three armored figures entered the room.
“Take cover!” Kane yelled out as they raised their hands toward them and weapons attached to them lit up. He jumped behind one of the statues, but not before he saw one of the figures—which looked exactly like the alien statues—point an arm at Kovac and fire a quick beam of purple light through his abdomen.
Kane got behind cover in time, and the purple beams cut through the air where he had been just moments before. The next few beams struck the statue’s base with no apparent effect. Whatever the statues were made out of seemed to be strong enough to take the attacks.
Suddenly a strange noise filled Kane’s ears. He could tell that it was coming from the aliens, but it was unintelligible.
“We don’t want to fight you!” Kane yelled out through his speakers, doubting that they could understand him. In any case he didn’t think that it would work anyway. The aliens had attacked first and had probably killed one of his people. There was no way that he was going to let them go.
Again the noise filled his ears, and Kane felt his head feel light. It was as if he heard them but his mind just didn’t want to register the words.
He risked a peek around and nearly lost his head as the aliens fired, but he managed to see that all three figures were now in the middle of the room and approaching quickly. Kane hefted his rifle and put it over the cover of the statue’s base, firing blindly in their direction. They hadn’t brought any special ammunitions for their weapons, so all of their ammo was regular bullets. As he fired, Hansen and Okoye did the same. And Kane peeked over the cover and focused his fire on the figures.
They had stopped in the middle, not firing, but his squad’s fire did not have the effect he had been expecting. Every bullet that came in close proximity to the figures hit a solid wall sending out white ripples around them. For a moment Kane thought that he was seeing magic, but he quickly realized that it was not, he could not feel any from the aliens. They had some kind of shielding technology, and Kane’s squad’s weapons had no effect.
Kane, Okoye, and Hansen each emptied one entire clip into them, with the same result. The aliens shields prevented any of their fire to pass through. As soon as their weapons fire stopped, the aliens moved again, pointing their arm-mounted weapons toward them and firing again. Kane ducked quickly behind cover again.
“Magic free, push rifle firing power to the max!” Kane ordered over the comms. He pushed the setting on his rifle to its max, and cycled the spells in his launchers, setting his left forearm to a shield. Then, he stepped out and cast his shield.
The aliens fired and their purple beams struck his shield sending sparks of blue magic dancing around him. Kane felt the drain, and knew that the shield wouldn’t hold for long so he aimed his rifle and fired. He fired three bullets, and each exploded out of the rifle with enough power that the air around them shimmered with heat. The first bullet struck the alien shield sending out a yellowish ripple, the second hit the same spot and the ripple changed color to a darker orange. The third bullet broke through whatever shield the alien had and hit it in the shoulder sending pieces flying away and making the alien stagger backwards. Kane saw that it did damage the armor but did not penetrate it. Okoye and Hansen took the opportunity and fired as well, focusing on the same alien. Their shots hit the alien too, denting and breaking the armor, but not penetrating.
