Awoken (8 page)

“Ohm!” Oa exclaimed, kneeling next to him to see what was wrong. Getting no response, he tried something else. “Fred?”

“Yes, Oa?” Fred replied in his curt monotone voice.

“What’s wrong with Ohm?” Oa asked.

“He has fallen asleep,” Fred replied bluntly.

Oa was troubled.
How can Ohm be asleep?
he thought to himself.
He had no Void infection, unless …
’

Oa grabbed Ohm’s handless arm and peeled back the bandages. To his dismay he saw that the appendage was infected with the oily black splotches of a sleeper. Suddenly Oa remembered the murkiness he had seen before, when he had tried to heal Ohm. It had not just been fatigue. Why had he forgotten such a vital piece of information?

“Explain this, Fred,” Oa demanded, upset and startled.

“It is not my place, Oa. You will need to wait until Ohm reawakens,” Fred replied cryptically.

Oa grunted in frustration as he gripped Seeker and knelt down. He reopened himself to the universal programming and gazed upon Ohm’s injuries with his inner sight. A fierce presence lashed out from within the murky depths of the virus. The attack knocked Oa back and threw Seeker from his hands. He instantly rolled over and retrieved the orb. He scuttled back into the outcropping, shocked at what had happened.
I can’t heal this infection; I couldn’t do it with Buri either. Why?
Oa thought to himself in confusion.

Oa peeked out around the edge of the outcropping, whispering to Fred in agitation, “Well, I can’t heal Ohm; all that’s left to do is be patie—” He was silenced by the sight of the two Legion soldiers rounding the corner. They were headed toward his hiding spot. Oa pulled himself back so sharply that he lost his balance and fell against the wall.

“They found us!” Oa whispered urgently to Fred.

He looked up; and across the narrow gorge they were in, he spotted a slim ledge. He wondered if they could hide on the ledge as the Legion passed by underneath.

“I have a plan, Fred,” Oa said reassuringly to the pack, though the statement was truly to reassure himself.

I have to be quicker than I have ever been
, Oa thought to himself as he sent Seeker up to the ledge. Grabbing on to Ohm with one arm, Oa reached out his other hand toward the ledge where Seeker was attached.
Now!
Oa thought to himself. They burst from the outcropping, zooming toward the ledge. Oa kept a mental hold on Seeker as they passed over it. The invisible tether between Oa’s mind and Seeker slingshot them straight down onto the cliff mantle, landing with a hard thud. Oa felt as if he had crushed every alloy in his body, but they were safe. He looked down to see if the Legion had noticed them. They had not.
So far, so good
, Oa thought.

He rolled over and looked around the stone sill they were on. It was small and barely had enough space for the trio to lay on. Suddenly, the rock wall they were up against disappeared revealing a long dark tunnel cut into the stone. There was a crackling bark from inside the tunnel, followed by a harsh shushing. A female voice whispered “Quick! Hide in here!”

Oa didn’t know if it was his fear of the Legion or a sincerity he heard in the female voice that convinced him to trust the mysterious tunnel. He grabbed Ohm and dragged him into the cave. The wall re-materialized behind them, returning the ledge to its former obscurity.

Episode 05 - The Heist

Oa dragged Ohm through the tunnel opening in the side of the cliff. A second pair of hands reached from the darkness and grabbed Ohm, helping Oa carry the weight.

“Here, let me help. You don’t want to be outside when those red eyes are around,” the female voice advised. There was a short pause. “Don’t worry. There’s no need to thank me; but if you want to, my name is Kai.”

“Thank you, Kai,” Oa blurted, remembering the importance of being polite. “You rescued us from quite the predicament. My name is Oa, and this deadweight here is Ohm.” He was relieved that the stranger seemed so friendly.

He could not see Kai in the dim light of the tunnel, but together they dragged Ohm down into the corridor.

“This guy wouldn’t be so heavy if he didn’t have this mega-dense pack,” Kai grunted.

“That’s Fred his water fusion pack,” Oa replied.

“Ohm and I have always been together,” Fred spoke up.

“Oops, it’s alive! Well I hate to be the one to break it to you, Fred; but you’re heavy. This guy’s a champ, lugging you around all the time,” Kai said humorously.

“It’s how we were created” Fred replied curtly.

“How did you know we were out there?” Oa asked, cutting into the conversation before Kai could rattle Fred any further.

“Susan was getting antsy, so I knew something was up,” Kai replied casually.

The corridor brightened slightly as they turned a bend, arriving in a room lit by soft yellow light.

“Let’s put the big guy over there on Susan’s cot,” Kai instructed. The pair dragged Ohm to a mound of glimmering fabrics piled by the entrance of the room and set him down on it. Oa turned to look at Kai and the room they were in. Before he had a chance to take in his environment, a large beast pounced from the roof of the cave, bowling him over. Oa struggled instinctively as the weight of the creature flattened him on his back. The beast barked, a happy yip that crackled and popped like far off rumblings in the sky. Oa couldn’t see anything around the creature that had pinned him to the ground. A gaping mouth opened in front of his face; and a broad tongue of stormy vapor lolled out. It dragged across his faceplates, sending purple sparks of energy flying. The feeling was quite unusual and caused Oa to laugh.

“Susan, get off of him,” Kai commanded sternly from the other side of the room.

The strange creature gave a reluctant growl and bounced back off of Oa, floating lightly to the floor. She lay her head between adorably big paws and stared at Oa with eyes of blazing violet light. A long, billowing tail snaked across the ground behind her, wagging softly.

“Sorry about Susan. It looks like she can’t contain herself around strangers. We never get visitors,” Kai called over from a work table she was sitting at. Oa realized that his crash into the tunnel entrance must have interrupted her work. She had already refocused on a task he couldn’t see from his spot on the floor.

“She’s fine,” Oa said, bewildered but still grateful to be out of danger. He looked at Susan “What is she?”

As if noticing his gaze Susan propped herself up on her paws. She puffed her chest out proudly and looked away with aloofness. She was a wispy creature; made entirely of cloud and energy.
Like the sky,
Oa decided. A lightning of deep violet crackled about her edges, containing her body of roiling grays and dense clouds. He looked closer and the shape of the strange creature became clearer. She had a pointed snout and features that carried a wild beauty. Above her strong jaws, two pointy ears stuck up. One of the ear tips bent slightly, making her face less intimidating and more endearing to Oa. Behind the fluffy head, an equally downy neck curved down to thick shoulders. The shoulders carried a pair of blunt round paws. The remainder of her body wound gracefully into a bulging tail. Susan’s body and tail filled half of the room as she posed nobly, floating lightly above the ground. The tail was the only part of her body not surrounded by the purple energy, and it billowed out in curly tufts. Violet light pulsed from deep within the Susan’s chest. Strands of lightning snaked out of her core to light her eyes and mouth. Other tendrils wound through her shoulders and down to her two paws, while a thick spine of light flowed down through her tail.

Susan’s mouth opened in a yawn. Her smoky tongue rolled out, sparking with her purple essence. Concluding her yawn, she looked over and released a loud bark in Oa’s direction. The noise was accompanied by a compressed explosion of violet sparks inside her mouth. The energy holding her body together brightened briefly.

“Susan is a lightning varl,” Kai replied cheerfully, still working diligently on the project up on the table. “I ‘ve heard some wild stories about other varls that used to exist, but I think Susan is the most special. She’s the only one left, and she’s my best friend …” her voice trailed off. The slightest hint of melancholy filled the air. “Come here you!” she called lovingly to the beast.

Susan paused to stare at Oa briefly. Her wild eyes enraptured him. He had never seen anything like her. Susan was a dichotomy between the terrifying power of nature and the adorable spirit of a loving companion. The young Awoken wanted to hug the varl, but he kept his distance. He did not want to overstep his bounds in the creature’s territory. She curled her paws in close to her chest and bounced lightly through the air as she floated over to Kai.
She is immensely heavy, yet she floats everywhere she goes
, Oa observed as he sat marveling at the varl. Susan’s undulating body swelled then compacted as she narrowed her frame and shrunk down to lay just off the floor, encircling Kai and the table. The varl’s body hemmed Kai in like a protective wall.
She is able to conform to whatever size she needs,
Oa realized with awe.

He looked up from his seat on the floor to survey the room. Light drifted down from strips of glowing white panels inlaid in the smooth high arching stone ceiling. He reasoned that the ceiling’s highest point must be at least three of his body-lengths tall. The light reflected off of golden yellow veins in the smooth stone walls, casting the soft glow he had seen upon entering. In the warm light, Oa could take full measure of the room. Ohm lay on Susan’s cot next to the entrance. The work table Kai was at, sat towards the far end of the chamber. A myriad of tools and machine pieces hung from racks bolted to the walls. Directly across the room from the entrance, an opening led to a second tunnel. A collage of papers had been pinned across sections of the walls; diagrams and charts of all sorts were drawn on the sheets. Oa quickly realized that the drawings were designs of various machines and structures. He stared at several, trying to decipher their purpose. With his curiosity fully piqued, he stood up and walked over to the table Kai was working at.

Oa took a brief moment to observe his rescuer’s appearance. Kai had a slender white head divided into three sections by a Y-shaped, rust-colored face plate. Her alloys were scratched and scuffed. They gleamed dully in the light. Two round visual receptors glowed softly from the faceplate. Bolted to the top of her head was a tattered piece of purple cloth that hung down to one side, framing half of her face. From the chest down Kai wore a baggy brown jumpsuit. The drab colored fabric was stained and patched in places. Over the jumpsuit. she wore a fitted gray jacket. The front of the jacket was open to reveal the gleam of a soul ember as well as the dented and scored plates of her upper chest.

Kai looked up at him abruptly, halting her work. Their gazes met.

“So your friend’s got some serious bandages. You must have put a stasis ring on him to deal with the wounds, huh? Kai asked, staring intently at Oa. “I just ask because I almost mistook him for a Sleeper. Susan tends to get a bit rough with Sleepers when they go rabid.” There was a sharp undertone to her casual words.

Oa paused before responding. Kai’s warning was clear, but he decided that he would not lie to her. “I wish it was a stasis ring. Ohm collapsed just before you rescued us. I found the Void infection underneath those bandages. He is my friend, though; and I trust him. He isn’t like the others. Fred won’t say anything, but I will demand answers from Ohm when he wakes up.” He took a half step back towards Ohm as he finished speaking, nervously looking at Susan.

Kai laughed. “Don’t worry Oa. Friends are safe here. Susan will wreck whatever tries to hurt us.” She shifted her gaze back down to the table.

Oa was relieved and slightly taken aback at the response. Kai was clearly confident enough in her companion to not be bothered by Ohm’s condition. Oa accepted the good fortune and leaned over Susan to see what was on the table. It was cluttered with sheets, most of which were blank. Kai was drawing on one of the larger parchments with a slender needle-shaped tool. A bright red light at the end burned her strokes into the parchment. Oa examined the drawing. In the center, Kai had drawn what appeared to be the layout of a dwelling. Around the central layout, more detailed drawings depicted the rooms from various angles to better display the architecture and design of the structure. There were figures drawn into some of the rooms. He quickly spotted depictions of Kai and Susan. There were two other figures as well in the drawings that he did not recognize.

“It is very detailed. What is it?” Oa asked politely.

“This is home, or at least it will be when I get Cale and Jess to help me build it,” Kai responded. She tapped the end of the drawing utensil idly against the table as she considered how to finish her work. Picking a blank spot on the page her hand began to rapidly draw in the final room of the dwelling.

“Who are Cale and Jess? Do they live here too?” Oa asked looking over at the tunnel that led further into Kai’s home. “Will they mind Ohm and me hiding here?”

“No they are back in …” Kai paused in her drawing to contemplate something. “I just have to find them again,” she sighed. “It’s been so long that I don’t remember where they are. It was a big place with lots of tall buildings, almost as impressive as mine.” She motioned to the drawings hanging from the walls.

“Ohm and I were just in Bolleworth. Maybe your friends were there?” Oa offered helpfully.

“No, no, that’s not the right place,” Kai said after mulling the city name over for a moment. “Who cares what the name of the place is, though? I have a ship now. It will help me find them. Come see.”

With a flourish of her wrist, Kai finished her drawing. She jumped up onto the chair, drawing in hand. She hopped over Susan to stand next to Oa. He noticed that he was just barely taller than Kai. Susan had been napping and was startled awake by Kai’s sudden movement. The lightning varl uncurled from around the table and rolled onto her back. She stretched out, sparking slightly as her tail uncurled across the room. Her body expanded then contracted down to the size of an Awoken. Susan floated up next to Kai. The inventor turned and picked an empty spot on the wall, then slapped her drawing up in the blank space. The picture stuck to its new home, held by unseen adhesive.

Kai grabbed Oa by the hand and hurried him down the other tunnel. This tunnel was shorter than the first one; and when it opened up, Oa could tell he and Kai were in a much more open room. Kai punched a panel on the side of the wall, activating strips of white lighting panels in the ceiling. The same familiar warm yellow glow filled the space as the light reflected off of the veins in the rock. The room was more of a cavern. There were many tools and pieces of equipment scattered about the area. Shelves and cabinets lined the walls, holding more of Kai’s odd trinkets. What caught Oa’s attention most though was a large ship, resting in the center of the cavern.

Oa reasoned that he must be staring at a vehicle meant for flight. The vessel’s main structure was a thick disk bisected by a central hub, which sat at the forefront of a powerful engine cluster. The upper right side of the ship was enclosed in scored, gray-metal panels. Oa could tell that the craft had once been adorned with a deep matte-blue and glossy-gray color scheme. Several rough patches of the colors remained in various places along the hull. A gleaming cockpit window made up the forward edge of the ship’s right side. Behind the cockpit, the structure cut inward, making space for a broad wing. The wing was folded back behind the cockpit next to the engines. The other side of the vessel was a half-circle, open-decked platform with only a skeleton of support beams. There was no metal paneling on the left side of the ship, but there were a few translucent panels covering the front of the deck. A rectangular piece of the deck lowered down through the bottom of the floor, serving as an entry ramp.

Oa and Kai walked up to the ship, but Susan did not follow the pair. Instead she began nosing about the room. She inspected the familiar floor and corners as if to make sure the chamber had not changed in her absence. Standing beneath the vessel with Kai, Oa got a better sense of its scale. The ship rested a body-length off the ground on three sturdy landing pads. Oa ducked slightly as they walked under the craft. The underside of the vessel was covered with the same worn metal panels that clothed the upper half of the ship. The hull curved down into a broad flat underbelly. Several blue glyphs had been recently painted on the bottom of the ship, right next to the landing ramp.

“ARI,” Oa said, reading the glyphs aloud.

“Yup! That’s it’s name—ARI,” Kai agreed energetically. “I found it scratched into the pilot’s console. I think it’s a great name for a ship like this.” She ran her hand across the underside of the hull and leaned up close to peer at the seam between two of the plates, inspecting it.

“Did you build this?” Oa asked.

“No, I rebuilt it,” Kai corrected as she grabbed a nearby tool from a cart, using it to patch the weld she had been inspecting. The instrument blazed white-hot as its pointy tip sparked and burned. Kai finished her work and tossed the device back onto its tray.

“I found the wreckage of this hunk of junk scattered in the canyons; most of it buried. Susan and I hunted down all the pieces and dragged them to this cave. Then I rebuilt it. The blasted thing took a billion or so cycles to reassemble. I’m still missing a piece, so it doesn’t work yet. Come here; I’ll show you,” Kai explained as she grabbed Oa’s hand, pulling him up the ramp after her.