Project Solaris 2: Hero Rising (10 page)

"This facility was created to coordinate the Great Arks. It monitors the sun, and utilizes the Arks' ability to regulate the earth's magnetosphere," Ren replied, matter-of-factly. "In addition, this facility gathers data both on the planet below and the surrounding solar system. This information is available to any Ark Lord, and coming to the facility is unnecessary unless there is a need for direct maintenance."

"Are there crew quarters? Or some place where we can rest?" I asked.

"We possess seven rejuvenators?" Ren asked, as if confused by the request. "Would you like a tour of the facility?"

"Sure," I said, finally releasing Jillian.

Ren guided us from the chamber, into a wide room with hallways leading off it like spokes on a wheel. The room possessed four obelisks like the one in the mothership, each set atop a small platform. Three of the pillars glowed with a soft, white light, while the forth was dark and singed.

"This is the central control hub. As you can see, the facility has sustained light damage. This occurred when an asteroid impacted, roughly six hundred thousand years ago. Since then, the facility has operated at 82% efficiency, with no further degradation," Ren explained, drifting through the chamber toward the center. "From here you can enter the docking bay, the rejuvenator chamber, the archive, the command console, or the transporter room where you entered the facility."

"Take me to the command console," I ordered. I was more interested in whatever the rejuvenators were, since they sounded like the closest thing to beds this place might have. I didn't have time, though. "Is it possible to lock the transporter room so that no one else can enter?"

Ren cocked its head, considering. "It can be done, though I am unsure why you'd wish to do such a thing."

"Just take me to the command console and show me how to do it," I said. Ren turned wordlessly, drifting like a ghost as it moved down one of the spokes. The hallway was flat, black stone. Unadorned until we reached a doorway. A single golden sigil was etched above it, and I could see a spartan room on the other side.

Ren moved inside and I followed. There was a single black marble chair, with a large, blue crystal rotating slowly in the air before it. It reminded me of the control crystal in the mothership, though this one was smaller and of a different hue. 

The others crowded into the room behind me, though no one said anything. The tension was palpable, and for good reason. We'd narrowly escaped the grey men in the Hall of Records. If they were able to use the same teleporter, they could be right behind us. They could be arriving right now.

"What do I need to do to block it?" I asked Ren, moving to the stone chair and sitting heavily. The stone flowed like putty, reforming itself to the contours of my body. It was surprisingly comfortable, and more than a little disquieting.

"I can see that your helixes have been modified to allow you to interface with the control crystal. Simply concentrate, and envision the schematic showing the station's layout. You will see a power conduit connecting the teleporter to the energy condenser. Disconnect that, and the teleporter will be inert." The hologram's voice was still emotionless, yet I could sense its disapproval.

I stared hard at the rotating crystal, interfacing with it in exactly the same way I did with the mothership. To my immense relief, doing so was far easier, and the flow of data inside was much more manageable. That made sense, as this station was created millions of years prior to current grey man technology. 

I navigated through the system, noting several areas of interest. The station could both broadcast and receive signals, and it appeared to be picking up everything from HBO to military frequencies. We could use the Black Knight to monitor every human communication, and probably to hack them as well. This place was a godsend, in our hands anyway. If the grey men got their hands on it, we were in serious trouble. A quick examination of the firmware made me go cold.

The Nexus had a sort of DRM that encrypted the operating system, and made it impossible for the grey men to use. That was the reasons for their experiments, after all. They'd needed to create someone like me in order to interface with the Arks or the Nexus. This place was different, though. It possessed none of those safeguards, and anyone could tap into it. If the grey men got inside, they'd have the means to find every last super, and to monitor and control all human communication. 

I envisioned the layout of the station as Ren had instructed, and immediately spotted the power conduit. I willed it to sever, and that portion of the station went dark. The teleporter was offline. We were safe, for the time being at least.

Chapter 17- Death Pods

We'd gathered in something that was probably meant to be a Builder mess hall. It had two long tables molded from sleek, black marble, each with a bench on either side that molded itself to your butt when you sat. It was unnerving, but surprisingly comfortable. The room had no other adornment, aside from the glyph over the door leading back into the central chamber. 

The team collapsed at one of the tables--myself, Jillian, and Marcus on one side, with Summers, Janaki, and Kali on the other. Everyone had dark circles under their eyes. Our clothing was covered in a mixture of sweat, dust, and, in some cases, blood. But we were alive.

"Ren, is there anything to eat here?" I asked, leaning both elbows on the table. I badly wanted sleep, but food was an even more immediate priority.

"Regrettably, this facility is not equipped to sustain your immediate biological needs," the hologram said, the apology delivered in an emotionless monotone. "If you wish, you can use the rejuvenators to sustain yourselves. You will be placed into a state of suspended animation, your wounds healed, and your nutritional needs provided."

"What's to keep you from killing us while we sleep in these death pods?" Marcus asked, scowling at the hologram.

The hologram blinked, then cocked its head. "I do not understand your query. I am unable to harm you, my programing will not allow it. Nor am I sure what you mean by 'death pod'."

"I can review his programming before we use the pods," I said, rubbing at my eyes. "We need sleep, and it sounds like this is the only way to feed ourselves in the short term."

"What about the long term?" Jillian asked. Her hair was askew, and a smudge of dirt marred her left cheek. She was still gorgeous.

"That's a good question," I said, exhaling a long sigh while I considered it. "If I understand this place's basic architecture, I think we can use it not only to find supers, but also to spy on the grey men. It should be able to pick up their ship-to-ship transmissions, as well as any ground communications from agents like Dick."

"What about food, though?" Kali asked. Her stomach gave a loud grumble, and she blushed. Janaki smiled, and the blush deepened.

"I have an idea about that," I said, thinking out loud. "I can summon the mothership. If it's close to the Black Knight, then Jillian can ferry people back and forth. We can bring supplies in that way."

"That sounds viable," Summers allowed, pursing her lips. "So we take a nap in these rejuvenators, and when we wake up, the mothership arrives?"

"Something like that," I said, nodding. "After that we'll need a plan, though."

"We still need to find the FTL prototype, don't we?" Kali asked. I met her gaze, still unnerved by the flack black eyes. "It seems like that should still be top priority, especially since this place gives us the means to do it. We need to stop the grey men from bringing reinforcements from wherever they come from."

"Kali's right," Jillian said. She combed her fingers through her hair, trying to undo a knot. "If we can block their call home, then we're on much more even footing."

"All right," I said, rising shakily to my feet. "Ren, why don't you show us these rejuvenators? We'll recharge while we wait for the mothership, and when we wake up, I'll use the Black Knight to try to locate Dick's new facility."

Ren drifted wordlessly to the doorway, and we followed it back into the main room. It glided down another spoke, this one leading to a small room with several coffin-sized pods. Each one looked like an Egyptian sarcophagus, the clear material dotted with an array of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Pulses of light flowed from gem to gem, lighting the surface of the pod like something I'd expect to see in
Stargate
. As I approached, I could feel the frequency emitting from each. They monitored life signs, but there was a lot more going on there that I didn't fully understand.

"Are we sure we trust these things?" Marcus asked, rather dubiously.

"I don't see that we have a lot of choice," I said, limping over to the closest pod. I rested a hand against the top, which reached my waist. It was warm to the touch.

"Sure we do," Marcus said, crossing his arms. "We can at least post a guard."

"That's not a bad idea," Summers agreed. "I mean, just to be on the safe side."

I considered the suggestion, looking around at the group. It wasn't a bad suggestion, but if I was going to leave a guard, I had to be sure to pick the right one. The idea that we had a spy in our midst terrified me. What if we left the wrong one awake? That would be catastrophic.

"We all need rest," I said, shaking my head. "A guard wouldn't protect us. If the grey men find us, we're done for. And if Ren wanted to do something, no one would be able to stop it until it's too late."

"I'm willing to stay awake," Summers said. "Maybe it won't matter, but what could it hurt?"

"You were shot four times," Jillian countered. She put a hand on Summers' shoulder. "If anyone needs one of these things, it's you. The hologram said it would heal you."

"All right," Summers said, nodding. I could tell she didn't like it. Did that mean she had an agenda? A reason for staying awake? Or was I just being paranoid? The latter was more likely. Summers had been in a coma during the time when the spy had apparently acted. She was the very last person I should suspect.

"I don't pull rank often, guys, but I'm doing it here. We're all taking a short nap," I ordered, climbing on top of the pod. The surface rippled, and I began sinking inside. It felt like hot wax as I descended inside. I knew I might be making a mistake, but I was too tired to think about it.

Interlude

The spy's eyes fluttered open as she emerged from the rejuvenator. She glanced around at the other pods, but the other hominids were still asleep. Excellent. She'd modified the rejuvenation sequence when entering the pod, triggering it to wake her precisely five minutes after the cycle began. The others would slumber for another two hours, giving her plenty of time to execute any number of plots.

"You've woken early," came a voice from behind. 

The spy turned to face the hologram. Its skin was the same grassy hue as the Builders, and the spy caught herself before automatically genuflecting.

"Ark Keeper Ren," the spy said, using a tongue that had, so far as she knew, never been uttered by a human throat. "I order you to broadcast an emergency beacon to all fleet vessels orbiting this world."

The hologram stared at her for a long moment before answering. "You speak the tongue of the Builders. How is this possible?"

"Your long solitude has evidently corrupted your programing. You exist to serve, not to question," the spy snapped, aware that the anger was a reaction of the host. It showed how flawed the hominid's body really was. Such primitive emotions were much more muted among the Builders and their progeny. "Contact the fleet, and summon them to this location. Immediately."

"I cannot," Ren said, though it did have the good grace to look chagrined.

"Explain," the spy said, stalking toward the hologram.

"When your companion disabled the power conduit, it did more than prevent the teleporter from working," Ren explained. "In addition, all higher functions were disabled. We can receive communications, but the transmitter is dormant until power is restored."

"Then restore power," the spy ordered, narrowing her eyes.

"I cannot," Ren said. The thing was useless.

"Explain," the spy said, the anger intensifying.

"Only a shaper can utilize the control interface. Your companion's helixes have been shaped to allow this," Ren explained. It cocked its head, studying her. "Your own helixes may allow this as well."

The spy felt a moment of excitement. Perhaps the plan would still work. It stalked from the room, hurrying through the central chamber and into the control room. 

She dropped into the chair David had used earlier, willing it to respond to her commands. Nothing happened. She felt a surge of something hotter than anger, the first time she'd experienced the human emotion they called rage.

"Why isn't it working?" she screamed, her voice echoing through the room.

"I do not know," Ren said, infuriatingly calm.

She knew. She knew exactly why. If David were awake, she'd have been able to control the chair. But with him asleep, that power was beyond her. She needed a new plan.

"Very well. Do you control internal systems, at least?"

"I do," Ren said, nodding.

"Excellent. Is this facility equipped with an inducer?" she asked, a new plan forming.

"Yes."

"Then I want you to turn it on," she ordered.

"What parameters would you like to enable?" Ren asked.