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Rei sat down in her seat and looked around the bridge. All the stations had at least one hand at them, even though many of the screens were dark. People were eager to see where they were firsthand. By now, rumors of what they were seeking this far out had circulated the ship and, in turn, the betting pools had kicked into overdrive.
Ietata loomed before them. Rei’s hand pulled at the neck of her leather coat only to find no relief as the tension filled the air. The Kathya rumbled as it began its descent and she couldn’t help but lean forward and watch the heat hit the shields. It faded as they progressed through the cloud layer, green lighting streaking past as it danced from cloud to cloud. Several of the instruments went wild; the interference of the storm wreaked havoc on the sensitive equipment, including the navigation. Foniac struggled to keep the ship steady while Aede worked to recover everything. Moments later, the screens came back to life as though nothing happened.
At last, the Kathya broke free beneath the swirling, dark grey wall. Below them a silent, temperate world. Grasslands blended into forest dotted with rivers and mountains. Rei tore her eyes away from the passing landscape and looked at the others around her. Eyes were darting between their screens and the large main one at the front area of the bridge, expressions schooled to not look eager about this new planet. The large projection map sprang to life off, she stood to make a closer study of it. The entire planet was laid out before them minus the location of the cities.
“Bank right, Foniac,” Rei said after some consideration. “Once we pass over the next mountain range, we should be close to where we want to be.”
Foniac adjusted their course in silence. Rei took up position behind her. The peaks slowly appeared out of the clouds. A few muffled gasps came as the bottom of the ship came dangerously close to skimming the tops of them.
“Fonaic, you idiot!” Chia’s voice came over the general address system. “If you get that close to something again, I’ll make you help me down here for a month!”
“Remind who our Captain is again?” Yeke chuckled quietly.
“I heard that, you addle-brained ape! Maybe I should make you fix this thing if she decides to try to bounce it off mountains like a stone on a pond. It’ll be the perfect payment for your gift to me yesterday.”
Yeke and Kuv winced. “Okay, Chia, your point is made,” Rei said before turning to them. “What did you do?”
“We might have had a race around the cargo bays and crashed into one another...” Yeke explained.
Rei opened her mouth to chastise them, “Captain!” Aede breathed. “Look!”
Rei’s focus whipped back to the forward screen. The mountains parted to reveal a vast city tucked in a small valley, its stone buildings rising as one with the mountains around it. Massive walls lined the outside rims despite the natural protection. A fire lit in Rei’s heart, one she had been lacking in the weeks since they left Bruatin.
“Find the nearest field,” Rei said. Her brown eyes tried to take in every detail they could at this distance. “But I think this is where we’re going to start to look around.”
Yeke gave the map a passing glance. “Looks like there’s one on the other side of the mountain range.”
“If we can trust our sensors,” Chia countered over the comm. “This city didn’t show up and those sensors have yet to fail us.”
“We are talking about Essence experts. Maybe they have a way to fool Essence based sensors,” Yeke pointed out.
“Let’s hope not,” Aede chimed in. “Otherwise, we might have more trouble than we thought finding this stuff.”
“Then everyone will have the same problem,” Kuv said, “which means that there’s a high chance no one will be trying to fight us for it.”
Yeke eyed his friend with a raised eyebrow. “That’s oddly optimistic coming from you, Kuv. What gives?”
“Perhaps it’s just something about the adventure here.” Kuv turned on his heel and strode across the room.
Slowly the view became more land than sky and Rei turned to the crew at large. “All right, I want a skeleton crew to remain behind just in case things fall apart out there. I imagine some will want to stretch their legs and that’s fine, but don’t go far from the ship. This is supposed to be a quick visit so we don’t have time to chase everyone all over the planet.”
Everyone on the bridge nodded and Rei left them to figure out who drew the short straws and had to remain on board. She had no doubt Yeke would be with her searching the city, but the others could go either way. On the armory level, she made a pit stop at a door that remained locked at all times. She used her Essence to enter the combination, Chia not one to trust the tried and true methods of simply entering the code.
The blue Ornian glyphs slid across the display as she searched for the correct one. Once found, it flashed as it selected before the cycle began anew. A series of clicks came from the door once the last glyph was inputted and it parted with a hiss. The lights revealed shelf after shelf of trinkets and weapons. Most were in various stages of development, but all were ready for use in the field and such a non-demanding mission would be perfect to put some through their paces.
She tossed a bag on the table. In it, she placed a gun Chia had come up with to ascend heights and several explosives designed for precision excavation. She also added a few flat devices that could expand and carry decent loads instead of having all of them strain themselves or their power levels to haul things back to the ship along with a few other promising toys. After one last look around, she zipped everything up and locked it down before bounding down the hallway toward the lift to the cargo bay.
The bay itself was awash with activity. The adults were arranging food on long tables, making sure there was plenty to go around. Meanwhile, many of the older children were busy using the balls to entertain the younger children while the adults worked.
“Yeah,” a little girl cried as one was carried past her on a small vortex. “Just like that! Now, let’s try this...”
Rei smiled and continued down the ramp.
The planet’s surface was bright despite the thick cloud layer and forced her to squint in the light. Foniac had chosen their parking place well. A wide, cobblestone road spanned the area as far as they could see, despite being well in the process of being reclaimed by the grasslands. Thunder rolled overhead, but the scent of rain was absent.
Rei studied the mountains in the distance while she waited for whoever was going to join her on this trip. The city that had seemed so tall and large from the air revealed nothing from this perspective. The Rei of past weeks would have scorned this inconvenience, but not now. So far away from the discoveries that had shaken her understanding of what had happened to her, she was enjoying the exploration this adventure offered.
A soft touch to her arm caused her to jump. Yeke offered her a wide smile as he came to a stop beside her, armed with rifles and some tools along his belt. Rei returned the smile earnestly. “I figured you’d be joining me.”
“Of course, why would I stay behind?”
“Do you know who else is coming with?”
“What, you don’t want to get lost in an ancient city with just me?”
“I doubt no one in this crew will let that even be a possibility.”
“Correct,” Chia’s voice came from behind them. They turned to find Aede beside her. Both carried their own bags, Chia’s bulging on her back. “An ancient city full of wonders and you think we’d let just you go? Even if the tech is out of date, they still might hold something valuable. After all, for all their claims of power and greatness, the Federation doesn’t care to learn from the past so it gets left to rot.”
“Why Chia, you sound like a budding Classicist,” Yeke teased. “Keep this up and you’ll end up securely among the ranks of us history buffs.”
“Is this everyone?” Rei asked before Chia could retort.
“I think so,” Aede said. “Foniac was asked to stay by Kuv in case we need a quick escape and he’s staying so more can enjoy our time here
Rei led the way down the ramp, the others close behind. The families had started to filter into the immediate area around the ship.
“Captain!” Cyluan, a daughter of one of their medics, raced toward them. “We’re having a bit of a tournament between four teams. Do you want to join us?”
“No, not today, but thank you. I have something else I need to do, but when I get back I better hear you kicked butt.”
“All right! And you will!”
Rei watched the girl rush back to the others before setting her first footsteps upon the ancient road. The stones felt uneven under her feet, even where the plant life leveled things out by filling in the cracks. An oddly dry wind, given the thunder and lightning overhead, whipped across the grassland at them. Each long blade thrashed back and forth with a fierce rustle. Rei continued to scan the horizon, taking advantage of her companions’ unusual silence to fully appreciate where she was. Far on the horizon sat the ruins of what appeared to be a few scattered farmhouses. The outlines stood proud against the dark sky, but it was clear a good portion of each had been demolished.
“Even back then the Federation used the same dirty tricks,” Yeke muttered.
“What are you talking about?” Aede asked.
“Those houses,” he pointed, “look like they took some of the same damage I noticed in that city we’re going to. It was from an aerial assault.”
“How can you tell that from this far away?” Chia demanded.
Yeke shrugged. “I’m ex-military. I won’t know for sure until we get a look at the debris field, but still. And if the books are true and this civilization was destroyed by the Federation, then their tactics haven’t changed over the years.”
“Is it any different from what we do, in a way?” Aede asked. “Go in and damage the ship while we take what we came for? They’re just after land and not goods.”
“We’re not targeting innocent civilians who could have survived the destruction of one of their cities,” Yeke replied, his voice cold. “We don’t actively seek to kill, only disable so we carry out what we came to do in peace. Nor do we participate in a bloodbath like this was. In my opinion, that’s all the difference.” He strode down the road.
Rei watched his retreating back for a moment before sighing. “It was such a worry-free day, too.”
“Sorry,” Aede winced. “I didn’t realize making the comparison would strike such a cord with him.”
“Don’t worry,” Rei said. “He’ll be better once we get to the actual city. It was a valid comparison. We do borrow some of their tactics. We can’t help it considering Yeke and Kuv have Federation training and train everyone else on the ship. He just doesn’t like the reminder.”
~*~
The road turned sharply to go along the edge of the range in both directions. Yeke waited for them here, his aggravation visibly faded for the moment. “Now what?” he asked as they joined him.
“We find the entrance,” Chia replied.
“Why doesn’t the road lead to the city?” Aede asked. “The place was huge enough to be a capital.”
“It might have once upon a time, but the passage could have been changed due to geological forces or the bombardment we saw evidence of,” Yeke answered. “Whether or not there’s another answer, who knows.”
“So, we’re looking for some sort of opening.” Rei eyed the range, first right, then left. “These mountains are tight, almost a solid wall, but there has to be something we can use to get to the city.”
They split up, Yeke and Chia going one way while Aede and Rei went the other. “Are you sure it’s wise to let those two be together?” Aede joked as they wandered along.
“Sure,” Rei replied. She poked her head into a promising opening in between the rocks. It dead-ended a short way in. “Maybe they’ll annoy one another until one just blows the damn range open for us.”
Aede chuckled and examined an opening of her own. “That is true. They do have a habit of antagonizing one another.”
They continued to walk in silence, pausing here and there so they could closer examine a gap that led within. The longer they walked, the more Rei was convinced the four of them wouldn’t be enough and they’d have to scour the whole range. Just as she was about to turn to Aede and tell her to call the others to join them, she saw it. The opening was a tight fit, but it went deep within the rock.
She motioned for Aede to join her. “Shall we?”
“I’ll call the others to start toward us while we check it out. That is if they haven’t found anything first.”
Rei nodded and started to make her way through the crevice. She held her breath as she maneuvered past the tightest point. “Maybe they only had this passage to get to the city. If it’s this annoying for us, imagine how it is for an army,” she commented to Aede.
“Yeah,” Aede agreed. “One by one we march on.”
Rei stepped up on a low, narrow ledge that formed on the ground. Her foot slipped and wedged into the gap between the two rocks. She maneuvered her other leg behind her and tugged with all her might. The appendage popped free and sent her flying into the wall on the other side. She heard Aede’s muffled laughter as she took a quick inventory. Besides a bit of scuffing on the boot, the foot was damage-free. Rei readjusted her pack while she waited for Aede to navigate the area, and she did so with every ounce of grace Rei had lacked.
They continued through the cavern; the walls increased in height until they came together with just a sliver between them. Their footsteps echoed through the passage, the only sound besides the muffled thunder. Eventually, they had no choice but to move sideways with their packs in their hands to keep going. Rei was becoming more convinced they had fallen for a dead end when light came from ahead of them. She faintly heard Aede give instructions to Chia and Yeke as they quickened their pace.
Before them, the city they had seen from above unfolded. They stood on a ridge that was just below the highest point of the remaining walls. The top was dotted with lookout posts and other siege defenses. Inside, many of the buildings rose even higher, an interconnected web of passages between them making it difficult to see where one began and one ended. A small field lay outside with a path in the center that led to the towering main gate.
Rei grinned at Aede. “Told you we’d find it.”
“Incredible,” she said.
Rei smiled at the faint shouts that echoing through the passage behind them. Yeke and Chia had managed to find their way inside without issue. Her foot tapped against the stone as they waited for the others. Excitement that had been high outside now reached insufferable levels with the city in sight.
“What do you think we’ll find in there besides the target?” Aede asked.
“I’m not sure,” Rei replied truthfully. “I’ve tried to picture it ever since the client told me about the job, but the way they made it sound makes me feel like what I’m picturing doesn’t even come close.”
“I wonder what they had for computer parts?”
“Trying to pull a Chia and convert five rooms into your personal cargo bays?” Rei asked with a smirk.
“I’m not that bad!”
“Yet, if we let you, you’d have all of those empty rooms around your workroom as your personal cubbyholes.”
“Cubbyholes?”
Rei winced. No matter how long she’d been away from her homeworld, its terms still leaked into her speech. “It’s a word for a small space... usually used for storage.”
“I see. Why not just call it what it is? Does it need a special name?”
Rei shook her head. “Remind me to give you the crash course in the joys of not calling everything specifically what it is one day.”
A groan drew their attention to the opening and Yeke emerged. “That... was ridiculous.” He proclaimed before his gaze found the city. “Holy crap.”
“Let me see!” Chia jumped out behind him. “Oh my...” Her speech descended into an endless string of Ornian.
“My sentiments exactly,” Rei said. “Shall we?”
“Lead on, Captain,” Yeke replied.
~*~
The dust on the path kicked up around Rei’s feet. It coated her boots and turned the black dingy. The walls loomed overhead; imposing and smooth, they were mostly untouched despite damage near the gate. It had looked to be solid from a distance, but indeed a large chunk was missing near the topmost hinge. “How are we going to do this?” Yeke asked as they came to a stop.
“Maybe if we can kick it, the door might just fall down,” Chia said. She crossed her arms while they gaped at her. “What? That’s usually everyone’s method for these things.”
“Somehow I don’t think that even crossed our minds here.” Aede rolled her eyes.
They began to debate methods while Rei continued to stare at the gate, the sound of their conversation fading to the background. Her head tipped as she considered everything about it, the weight, the material... She had never tried to use Essence that way, but the devices she had brought with her wouldn’t help them move it. Rei’s eyes narrowed and she sent her Essence out toward one side. It covered the entire thing in a thin layer. Slowly, the gate scraped along the ground before coming to a stop. Her arm shook as she attempted to add more power to move it along, but it remained stubbornly in place.
“Rei!” Yeke shouted. It broke through her concentration. Rei’s Essence snapped back to her and she staggered into him.
“You couldn’t just wait?” Chia demanded.
Rei pushed off of Yeke gently but kept a hand on him while she made sure her legs were steady. “I honestly didn’t think it would work.”
“It shouldn’t have! The weight of the door—”
“I didn’t open it that far, Chia,” Rei interrupted as she surveyed her work. It had moved enough for two people to go through if they were walking side by side. Her gaze fell toward the ground, the earth had piled up behind it to form a natural doorstop.
“Well, it’s good enough,” Yeke said. Chia marched through with Aede close on her heels. Rei stayed back a moment.
“Are you sure you’re fine?” Yeke asked.
“Yeah, it just came back to me too fast.” He smiled sympathetically at her and she straightened up.
“Come on.” He took her hand and led her to the gate. “Before Chia raids the whole town for herself.”
Buildings lined the cobblestone street in a neat line. The plants had yet to really take hold here, and the streets were even and clean as though waiting for morning business to come again. Their heads swiveled around as they walked up the sharp incline.
Rei took in the intertwined buildings. Their towering presence was even more prominent on the ground, their roofs piercing the sky in sharp peaks. A variety of balconies and parapets came off from all directions, a sharp contrast with the order on the ground.
Unfortunately, the damage that marred this otherwise pristine relic of a city was extensive. As the four rounded a bend in the main road, a wide crater opened before them. Cobblestones littered the street in all directions, while the surrounding buildings were little more than rubble. A small pond where rainwater had collected over time rested in the center. Rei led them over the remnants at the edge of the crater. It crumbled beneath their feet, sending pebbles down into the water where they landed with a dull plop. The other side revealed an intersection where they drew to a stop.
“This is going to be a while,” Yeke commented. He took a swig from his water canteen and looked around.
Rei studied the buildings around them. A glint of light caught her eye. “Maybe...” She took a few steps to the left and forward, just enough so that she could see what it was. “But I’d say that has promise.” She pointed.
The others scurried toward her. From where they stood, they could see the long staircase approaching a door that seemed tiny compared to the windows and doors of the other buildings.
Rei didn’t wait for their agreement and set off toward it. As she drew near, she could see statues gracing one side of the steps as though they were the first line of defense. She had to struggle not to take the stairs two at a time, but Yeke and Chia quickly overtook her before commencing a miniature race between themselves. She glanced over to see Aede trying the same trick with her. A grin lit up her face and she put on a spur of speed.
When they reached the top, she watched Yeke reached for the door only to have an Essence shield spring up around it. He glanced over his shoulder at Rei. “Do you think...”
“Are you sure we should let her? She might blow it to splinters,” Chia pointed out.
“I can unlock doors.” Rei glared. “That was one time ten jobs ago. As if you never had experiments go awry. You’re just jealous you won’t be able to try it.”
Aede calmly clamped a hand over Chia’s mouth as Rei set to work. There were a few safeguards in place for potential thieves, but their power was so minimal she easily pushed them aside. Bit by bit, she played with the locking mechanisms until there was a noticeable click and the shield fell.
The inside of the building was dark as Rei led the way through. Aede formed a fistful of flame in the palm of her hand, the light bouncing off the walls and into the arching ceiling. They walked between pillars that indicated the main walkway.
Then, Rei found it—the only exit in the room, a staircase that led into the depths of the building. Their footsteps echoed eerily, a reminder that they were the first living people to step foot in this place in centuries. Chia coughed and swatted the dust they were kicking up away from her face.
“How is it going?” Kuv’s voice asked over their earpieces. The group jumped.
“It was fine,” Chia hissed for them. “Until some idiot decided to scare us half to death.”
“We’re just checking out some of the buildings now,” Rei broke in. “How are things on your end?”
“All quiet so far,” he replied.
“Good. If we find anything, we’ll let you know. Rei, out.”
As she closed the channel, Rei felt something just at the edge of her senses. She put it to the back of her mind and resumed walking. Several more steps down, it brushed against them again. With a cocked eyebrow, she watched the others looking around, undisturbed. She released her Essence out in ripples, reaching farther and farther until she was sure she had spread her sense through the entire city.
There! Far below in the depths of the ground was something taunting her, beckoning her to come to it. Rei frowned, trying to shape her senses around what the thing was before blindly charging in.
The ground beneath their feet heaved and steps rose until they became miniature ramps. Each of them struggled to keep their footing, only to be sent sliding toward the walls. Rei watched in shock as the wall behind Chia opened and the engineer vanished into darkness. Seconds later it was back, looking like nothing happened.
“Get away from the walls!” she called.
Aede was the trap’s next victim, the section of wall swallowing her despite Rei trying to grab onto her. Yeke slid down several steps, then rolled away toward a bend in the stairs. Rei lost her own battle. Her last sight before the wall closed on her was him disappearing from sight.
~*~
Rei blinked, allowing her eyes to adjust to the darkness around her. For a moment, she panicked as her mind tried to take in and make sense of what happened. Her breathing became ragged as she scrambled to her feet, blaster free and ready to fire. Her feet propelled her backward of their own volition until she hit a wall. The deep breaths calmed her, but nothing could stem the rising panic entirely.
A flame similar to what Aede had used revealed that while her bag had remained with her nothing else had. She was alone in an enclosed space that was barely wider than a closet. The flame left her hand and hovered beside her as she holstered her weapon. Her hands skimmed the wall in search of a release of any kind. No luck. Rei allowed her head to fall back and stared into the darkness above her. No visible ceiling; there was no telling how far she had fallen either.
There has to be a ventilation system of some kind, they’d want whoever tried to break in kept alive so they could question them. If I could use that... She shook her head. That’s an idiotic idea, Rei. Chances are it’s not nearly wide enough. Her eyes scanned the walls again, trying in vain to make out some exit she could use. If I can’t find one, I need to make one.
Rei threw her bag on the ground, pulled out one of Chia’s demolition devices, and activated it. The device counted down and Rei took cover along the opposite wall, crouching low and hoping that she was far enough away and her shield was strong enough. Minutes passed and nothing. She chanced a look at the device to find the last glyph in the countdown blinking back at her. Rei quickly placed a shield around the dud and retrieved another from her bag. The timer set, she settled back to wait, this time ensuring to keep an eye on the countdown. Once more it reached the last glyph—nothing.
A growl escaped her throat and she pulled the gun from her holster, aiming for the device. Her finger eased back the trigger, but it clicked with each attempt, despite the Essence filling in the chamber.
Her eyes widened. No tech works in here...
She shoved the weapon back in her holster. Another shield was placed around the second device and she pushed both out of the way. Back on her feet, she gradually released the control she had on her Essence. It radiated outward until the energy came off her skin in blue waves of energy. The fire went out as Rei’s entire being became her main source of light. An orb of pure Essence energy appeared in the palm of her hand. She extended the hand outward, focusing the energy toward the wall. Slivers of rock flew everywhere. Some scratched at Rei’s face, but she continued her attack. Slowly, she advanced as more of the wall was carved away.
Sweat beaded on her body from the effort, but she only stopped when a bit of fresh air washed over her. She poked her head through the opening she had made. A long hallway ran along the outside of her prison as far as she could see.
“Well, at least I have a place to go,” she muttered, then set to work widening the opening so she could get out.
Free, Rei closely examined the hallway. It was made the same smooth stone as the room she had found herself in. A hand absently went to her comm in her ear. “Yeke? Chia? Aede?” She released it and tapped her foot. “Can anyone hear me?” Silence continued to be her only answer.
Rei debated the two possible directions before choosing the right path since it was more likely to lead her close to whatever she sensed when they were above. The others were capable and she was better off trying to accomplish something productive since she wasn’t sure where to begin her search. If she found them while doing it, then it was the icing on the cake.
The hallway was unending; there were no other paths, just turns and twists that made her disoriented. The longer it went on, the more Rei felt her frustration mount.
This is like being stuck in a nightmare, she thought. These people definitely knew what they were doing to discourage criminals. If they made it out of the room, most of them probably gave up after the first twist. She stopped dead in the center of the hall and chanced a small probe of the immediate area. Instantly, the illusion she kept constantly around her vanished and a wave of Essence washed over her body. Rei couldn’t help but gasp as she looked down to see the claws menacing glinting in the light she cast off. She would have just hidden them again, but something told her it would do no good. Instead, she focused on her revealed surroundings.
I need to choose a direction and go. She examined the doorway off to the left, the top edge had alien writing carved into it. Rei glared at it as though she could force it to divulge its meaning. A faint clicking noise came behind her; Rei whirled around and stared into the darkness before she resumed her consideration of the text. The sound came again and Rei turned to see a pair of pincers descend into the ring of light around her. A hiss came from the fanged mouth of their owner. The body resembled that of a beetle, and its many sharp-edged legs dug into the stone as it fell to the ground. Rei whipped out her gun, her Essence flooding the chamber. She attempted to fire, but it still just clicked. Resigned, she shoved it back in her holster as she continued to backpedal.
A vortex of wind formed between her and it. The creature simply lunged through it, pincers clicking as they tried to grab onto any part of her body they could. Rei attempted to set it aflame, but it barely singed the exoskeleton. She put on as much speed as she could manage and formed another energy orb in her hand. She threw it at the creature with all her might, and then another. It faltered, stumbling as it hit its leg. More orbs flew from her hands, striking just above where she figured the eyes were. The exoskeleton cracked. Lightning streaked across the room from the gathering power in the palm of her hands. A loud shriek escaped from the creature as they crash to the ground before falling silent.
Rei paused, breathing hard. Well, no one should have any trouble finding me now. The threat dispatched, gave it a good kick before going down the corridor with the writing she couldn’t translate.
~*~
Far down the new hallway, Rei could feel the thing she had sensed beckon to her once more. She was definitely going the correct direction, but it still felt like it was somewhere beneath her. At every new intersection, she carefully looked down the passages, but nothing gave her an indication it was the correct path to get her where she needed to be. At last, the hallway became a sudden dead end. Her hands felt the surface, the claws at the tips of her fingers digging at the faint outline in the stone.
“A door?” she whispered.
The wall seemed determined to keep its and Rei raced back the way she came. She turned down the first hallway that she had ignored. She was midway when a sound echoed through the corridor. Rei skidded to a stop, her head whipping toward the ceiling in expectation of another creature. Instead, the noise, now clearly a whistle, grew louder by the second from somewhere in front of her.
Rei debated what she was going to do when four spears flew toward her from the darkness ahead. They hit full-on, forcing her shielding to fall. Before she could recast the shield, she felt a searing pain rip through her right arm. Rei cursed her slowness under her breath as she resealed the barrier.
She darted forward as more spears flew at her, this time exploding against her shield in a spray of flame and sparks. Rei rounded the corner to assess her wounds; the cut on her right arm was deep, but the bleeding was already starting to slow. She could feel herself growing a bit weary as she set out again, the injuries and Essence use finally getting the best of her.
The sound of hurried steps drew her attention. Rei checked her shielding before an energy orb formed in her hand. She fell against the wall, keeping a brightly lit section of hallway in her line of sight. The footsteps grew closer, increasing in intensity as charged Essence orbs flew out to strike the wall close to Rei. Through the haze of rubble, Chia emerged from the lit section of the hallway.
“Oh, hello!” Chia called.
A huge automaton crashed between them where the orbs had struck. It turned to Rei with yellow glowing eyes. “Elim...in...ate... threat.” The robotic voice was faint.
“Sounds good,” Rei agreed. She threw the orb of Essence, it tore through the chest, traveling through the system to its head. The remains collapsed to the ground and went dark.
“You couldn’t have just disabled it?” Chia demanded. “I was hoping to study it.”
“We’ll get you another later.” Rei stepped over the body. “Have you seen Yeke or Aede?”
“No, and why are you lit up like a nebula?”
“Huh?” Rei looked down as Chia pointed at her body with a smirk.
“Well, at least we won’t need light.”
Rei eased the Essence back under her control until the glow was only visible through her scars. Chia formed a new flame orb as she finished the process. “I forgot about it,” Rei explained. “I had to use some drastic measures to get out of where I landed and then met a bug with an attitude problem.”
“You get all the fun. I only found the room of automatons so far.” Chia folded her arms in front of her. “What now?”
“I’m going down, there’s something there. I can sense it from here.”
“I saw some stairs, that way.” Chia pointed in the direction she came. “But shouldn’t we wait for the others?”
“Do you know where to look?”
“No.”
“Me either so I imagine they’ll be along soon.” Rei used a claw to carve out a rune on the wall and flooded it with Essence, a secret message the crew used to use to give their location when needed. “There. Now, are you coming with me?”
Chia considered it. “Why not. Those other automatons will keep for now. Follow me.”
~*~
Rei looked around as the stairs opened into a wide cavern with low lights she imagined ran off of the natural Essence around them. It was filled with large stacks of papers, electronics, paintings, and gold. She paused at the bottom of the stairs, taking it all in.
“And this is all ours...” she said in a whisper.
“That’s what you said the client told you,” Chia replied. “Hopefully, they keep their end of the deal because I’m curious as to what’s all here.”
“No doubt there are things that’ll keep you busy for a while.” Rei started them forward again. “You can’t take it all, though—I want to keep some safe here. Besides, I doubt even you could modify our engines to carry so much weight.”
“Fine.” Chia’s voice betrayed her disappointment. “Where do we start, then?”
Rei remained silent as she led them past the piles of gold and treasures, carefully casing each one with a critical eye. “Does it strike you odd,” she said at last, “that this place is so open? I thought it would be more guarded.”
“We might have gotten lucky. That, or they probably figured all the things above would take care of whoever tried to get down here.”
They rounded a larger pile until they stopped where the ground sloped down to where a large diamond sat atop a tall pillar.
“It seems too easy to just walk up and take it, but whatever.” Chia marched toward it, but Rei grabbed her arm.
“Exactly. So, let’s be careful, huh?”
“Well, what do you suggest?”
This close, the gem was a beacon of Essence. Despite it appearing harmless, Rei kept a respectful distance. She scanned the gem and pedestal, but couldn’t sense any defenses around it.
“Say, did you grab something that looked like a scope for a gun from the private armory?” Chia asked.
Rei set her pack on the ground and dug through until she found something like what Chia was describing. “This?” Chia nodded and Rei tossed it over.
Chia aimed it toward the pedestal. An invisible dome around it wavered and reflected the beam from the device back to the ground.
“A trap?” Rei asked.
“A very well hidden one; I sensed nothing around it.”
“How do we get past it?”
The engineer’s hand ran over the curve of her chin. “I’m not sure... There has to be something to turn it off around here somewhere.”
Chia wandered to examine some of the surrounding treasures while Rei took a closer look at the pedestal. Some of the glyphs she recognized from above covered the surface and she vaguely remembered history lessons about ancient cultures leaving instructions, often warnings, on artifacts like this.
“Chia, come here.” The engineer wandered over. “I know you’ve been looking up what you can on the Riate, can you read this?”
“I can manage a few words. Why?”
“Humor me.”
Chia coughed and eyed the writing. “Knowledge. Let only those who...” Her eyes narrowed in concentration. “Clear mind and heart... worthy.” Chia looked up at her. “Sorry, there wasn’t too much of their writing left for me to study
“That’s fine. It told me more than enough.”
“Which was?”
Rei glanced over at the engineer, “That this is what our client was interested in. Just do me a favor.”
“What do you need?” Chia asked.
Rei smiled. “Whatever happens, let it.”
“Rei! What are you doing?”
Rei took a deep breath and stepped through the barrier. For a moment, her body stood frozen in the midst of it, every muscle tensed as she fought not to struggle and break free. The spell pushed open her mental protections and she knew, if she weren’t already frozen, she’d be shaking under the invasion. Memories and emotions swirled through her mind so quickly that it made her head spin.
Then, it was over and she felt solid ground beneath her hands and feet. She rose to find herself at the base of the pedestal, now lowered as though she had passed a test. Rei groaned.
“Rei! Get out of there!” Chia bellowed.
Rei ignored her. She wasn’t going to turn back now that she was so close to their target. All she had to do was release the information the gem held and Gen would lose a bit of his power over them. Her hands wrapped around the diamond tightly. It felt heavy in her grip.
“Ikal-cul!” she cried. Light exploded around her as the power within the stone released the information held. Images of facts and figures, dates, and recordings of battles long gone filled the cavern. Rei watched the display in spite of herself until she noticed light creeping up her arm from within the depths of the gem. She attempted to drop it, but her fingers remained locked, frozen within the light’s thrall. Farther and farther the light climbed, using her body like a vine might use a building. Essence permeated the cavern thanks to the data, but the amount in the light made her nervous. Rei’s mouth opened to call to Chia for assistance, only to find her voice wouldn’t cooperate. Her vision began to grey as the light reached around her neck. Her body pitched, though she felt as though she was floating. Her last sight before it all faded was the images above her and the faint sound of someone calling her name.