Subterranean (26 page)

“You would not understand our concept of time.”

“Right… well, maybe you can tell me how to get to their shields from here, then?”

“I have already mapped the appropriate path from our location.” He said with the procurement of a device from his belt. “However I cannot tell you how many Ravagers are between us and our objective.”

“That doesn’t matter.” Flynn’s fingers wrapped around the familiar handle of his energy pistol. “We’ll get through them.”

Radovan frowned. “I would not advise engaging in any firefights.”

“Why’s that?” Flynn scowled.

“An incident could trigger the alarm, diverting the entire Ravager force aboard this ship to our location.” Radovan crossed his arms. “Even you must understand those odds are impossible.”

“Alright, I get it.” Flynn holstered his weapon. “So we go in stealth mode?”

Radovan raised an eyebrow. “If by stealth mode, you mean attempting to remain undetected, then yes.”

“You are a master of stealth, Flynn,” Rolan quipped up with a smile, “the Ravagers will not know what hit them.”

“Very funny, Rolan.” Flynn turned around to the dashboard controls and pressed down on the communicator. The light refused to shine and only bursts of static spewed from the speaker.

“We have also lost communications with Overseer Vale.” Radovan said, without a hint of stress in his voice.

“What?!” Flynn’s muscles flooded with agitation. “How are they supposed to know when to fire the cannons?!”

“The sensors in the hangar are more than capable of detecting that.”

“Did you show them
how
to do that?” He asked tersely.

“No,” he brought a hand up to his chin, “I assumed it was obvious.”

“Maybe for you!” Flynn slapped his forehead, driving all of his anger into the one place he always blamed. “Okay…” he breathed deeply, “there’s still a chance that maybe they can figure it out.”

“Yes,” Rolan eyed the cockpit that was clearly in no shape to fly, “but how are we supposed to get out of here?”

Flynn shook his head at the ruined surroundings. “I don’t know…” He swallowed hard and spoke bleakly. “I guess we won’t.”

“But what about your world?” Rolan pulled Flynn’s gaze back to him. “You cannot aid them if you are dead.”

“No,” he pushed his way past the fallen equipment and paused at the opening in the hull, “but I can aid them now, by destroying this ship.”

Before Rolan had a chance to contest his logic, Flynn fled out into the anteroom of the mother ship and graced his eyes along the beautiful bosom cocooning him from the cold inhospitality of space. Everything was white and shiny, the walls were tall and curved at the ceiling, and there was a single door that led to a hallway where spotless ivory stretched on for an indeterminate distance. The pure shine of the interior made him snow-blind with such rich, unmitigated lighting reflecting off a clean metal surface.

“Ah,” Flynn felt the feral bite of pain return to his injured arm and he tucked it in close to his chest, examining it empathetically, “damn it…” It wasn’t bleeding any longer, but enough of the skin had been decomposed to reveal muscle fibers.

“You are hurt.” Radovan said as he withdrew some medical supplies from a compartment in his belt. “Allow me to alleviate your pain and dress your wound.”

“No, thanks.” Flynn tried to move past him, but he blocked the way.

“If you will not allow me, then I will be forced to restrain you.” He stood fully erect, chest protruding and authoritative.

“We don’t have time for this, Radovan!”

“You will not achieve your goal with an injury that severe.” He crossed his arms. “Stubbornness may be your prime virtue, but I assure you it will not prove effective in this instance.”

Flynn instinctively felt the urge to protest, but apprehended himself and relented with a sigh. “Alright,” he showed him his arm, electrified with pain, and braced himself for a sudden twinge, “but I really prefer the term ‘curiosity.’”

Radovan placed a device above Flynn’s arm and pressed a button when the small blinking light turned green. From the metal case, a thick green liquid poured out and onto Flynn’s arm, coating it in a layer of viscid fluid resembling mucous. It had a cooling effect to it that virtually eliminated all pain in his arm while it hardened to form a tough gloss around him, acting as a shield from any external threat, physical or bacterial.

“There,” he placed the device back in his pocket and closed the compartment, “that is far better than it was before.”

“Whoa,” Flynn studied his arm through the translucent green coating of the medicine and marveled at its effect, “this is amazing.”

“Indeed, it is a disinfectant, as well.” He aimed another device at Rolan and grunted affirmatively. “You are fine.” He summarily turned around and walked past Flynn, holding a device in his hands at eye level. “This way.”

“This ship is incredible!” Flynn remarked at the hallway, feeling Rolan come up behind him.

“Yes, it is truly a marvel of engineering.” He stared in admiration at the grand walls. “The previous builders must have been quite proud of it.”

“It’s a shame we have to destroy it…” Flynn glided a hand along the sleek metal as he drifted into a humbling nostalgia. “It could be the last remnant of a lost civilization…”

“It is corrupted now.” Radovan retorted. “The Ravagers have perverted it to their will. Destruction will be a long awaited release.”

“Yeah,” Flynn gently withdrew his hand, the mysterious culture of an ancient civilization slowly fading from the fantastical realm of his imagination, “you’re right…”

“Obviously.” Radovan stepped past him. “Now, let us continue.”

“Wait.” Rolan scrabbled around in his pockets for something he said would help them on their mission. “Here it is.” He procured a bundle of flowers, tied together with a fine piece of twine. The petals were soft and very fragrant, colored by a vibrant green luminescence. “This is a sacred plant of my people. It is used in a ritual that gains the favor of Lunnak.” He held it high and with cheer. “I promised my wife I would perform it before we committed any dangerous acts.”

Flynn smiled, snapping his eyesight away and then back to Rolan. “I suppose it’s not
too
late…”

“Thank you, I fear this is the last opportunity we will have. Usually we would perform an elaborate ceremony in his honor before committing to something so dangerous, but time is still of the essence, so therefore our modest prayers will have to suffice.”

He made a gesture towards the sky and began reciting some sort of prayer in front of Flynn. Holding the bundle of flowers to his forehead, he repeated one of the lines, and then brought the bundle down to his chin, where he finally let it rest on his chest.

Flynn tried to understand precisely the words Rolan spoke in his foreign tongue, but they sounded too garbled, too alien to make any sense. When the bundle was passed to him, he did his best to repeat the motions, but he didn’t dare attempt the words; he’d probably end up insulting them by accident.

At the end of it, Rolan produced a small vial filled with water and rocks, having Flynn touch it with his fingers. “It is done.” He said, clearly filled with spiritualism, the certainty of his belief exuding from his body.

Flynn nodded; he wasn’t much for spiritualism, but he appreciated the notion of a blessing from a higher power. He felt worthy enough to accept such a revered sanctification. “Thank you.”

As the air filled with mutual respect, reality manifested itself. “Flynn.” Radovan said impatiently. “Our task is somewhat important. It would be best if we complete it quickly.”

“Right,” Flynn stepped into the hallway and took and deep breath, “to the shield generator.”

Chapter 24

Nowhere to Run

“Vale!” Lisa and Rasina screeched as they ran distraught from the explosion in the tunnel. “The Ravagers are back!”

“Get behind me!” Vale swung them around her and lined up her rifle with the enemy. At the sight of the first Ravager soldier, she unloaded, mowing down a few of them in a barrage of wild blasts. She appeared to have a tactical advantage, as the Ravagers were trapped in a chokepoint with a shower of laser bolts bearing down on them, but from the smoke and pandemonium the foul creatures responded in kind with a fusillade of energy bolts from the narrow channel, as if their numbers on the other side were unending.

“Get something to shoot them with!” She cried out, flinching at each bolt that grazed past her, disintegrating the wall behind her. “Anything!”

Lisa and Rasina snatched up the nearest weapon and began firing, most of their shots recklessly missing as they contended with the uncomfortable feel of something so dangerous. “They keep coming!”

“We need to collapse the tunnel again!” Vale pushed the others to the side, behind a ship platform. “Get inside one of those ships and power it on!” A bolt of energy landed inches away from her foot, kicking up sparks onto her clothes… the Ravagers were flooding through, and she had to move.

In her quick thinking, she shot the power control switches to the hangar and engulfed the room in darkness. With determined steps, she darted into the maze of Subterranean ships and slid behind a platform, where she began to creep around deeper into the labyrinth. Taking the short reprieve to let her weapon cool down, she sensed the dark atmosphere fill with the presence of evil things; Ravagers populated the hangar and could be lurking around any corner. She prayed to Lunnak that Lisa and Rasina would figure out the controls and that she’d soon hear the loud hum of spaceship engines kindling on.

With each second that dragged by, she feared that the warm glow from her skin would be the cause of her demise, as she was literally the only light source in the hangar, save for the faint blinking lights coming from the computer terminals in the control room. She slipped by ship platforms and hid between the smallest spaces she could find while heavy footsteps stomped around the room, the bubbling groan of bloodlust a whisper in the shadow of the cacophonous Ravager officer that commanded the large force.

She‘d lain on her back, sandwiched underneath a ship in a tight space, and watched one of the haunting figures stamp past her, when suddenly it stopped and began to breathe heavily. It searched around for the green rays of light softly touching the floor and followed it to where she hid, staring at her with focusing eyes as it determined precisely what she was. With the barrel of her gun angled in its curious face, she squeezed the trigger and blew its head to pieces, the impact making a sound loud enough for every dark shadow in the hangar to hear.

In an instant, a hundred rushing footsteps converged on her location as she shuffled around to free herself from her constraints. Once on her feet, she made a mad dash deeper into the maze where she quickly became cornered by the tall constructs.

No!
She swung around to find another path, but the Ravagers had already made it to her, blocking her way with a wall of deadly intent.

Hunger

“I can’t get over how amazing this ship is!” Flynn was awestricken by the grandeur and elegance of the mother ship, entirely defiant of all preconceptions regarding their enemy the Ravagers. “Whoever built this must be masters of engineering!”

“Clearly,” Radovan said without taking his eyes off his scanner, “however they are also most likely extinct by now, being victims of the Ravagers.”

Flynn felt a shiver deep within his heart; he feared his own planet may have suffered the same fate by now. “Maybe some of them are still alive.”

“That is unlikely.”

“Well, there’s always a chance.” Flynn said, grasping his slippery beacon of hope.

“A very slim chance.” He said, devoid of empathy. “The Ravagers are quite thorough.”

Flynn tightened his jaw. “They can’t just wipe out an entire species.”

“Why not? They have done it before.”

“Well, I think there are still survivors.” He said with a lift of his chin.

“That is doubtful.”

Flynn lunged at Radovan and seized him by the arm. “How would you know?” He asked angrily, his jaw clamped in irritation.

Radovan paused and stared at him for a moment before speaking. “I… I suppose I do not.”

“Sorry,” Flynn released his grasp and sighed, “I can’t stop thinking about Earth.”

“Good.” Radovan returned to navigating the hallways. “That is a natural response to stress… At least according to Subterranean physiology, it is.”

“Hmph,” Flynn grinned at Rolan, “I guess we’re not so different after all.”

As they further explored the network of hallways inside the Ravager mother ship, they came across very little in the way of resistance. Most likely, Radovan explained to them, this was due to the fact that the Ravagers never expected anyone to board the ship and gain access to their systems. The mother ship was impressive, no doubt, but it wasn’t until they entered a large chamber where great transparent windows adorned the walls that they were stunned beyond belief.

Through the glass, they could see an extensive web of pipes crawling up a colossal spiraling shaft that stretched as far to the dark ceiling above as it did the dark pit below. In some of the pipes flowed a gray heterogeneous liquid, while in others there flow a consistent uniform mixture.

“They appear to be refining something.” Flynn concluded, expecting Radovan to elaborate on his statement.

“Yes,” he held the scanner to the window and cringed at what he saw, “it is bio-organic matter and minerals.”

“Bio-organic matter?” Rolan questioned.

“Yes,” Radovan said, “essentially any living organism.”

“So… does that include…?” Flynn almost didn’t want to hear the answer.

“People? As in members of various species throughout the galaxy? Yes.” Radovan tried to keep his professional composure. “They appear to be melting down all the resources they can extract from a planet, be it organisms, minerals, or whatever is even remotely useful, and refining it into a type of fuel that they can use as an all-purpose energy source for machinery and personal consumption.”

“Ugh!” Flynn looked away and over to Rolan. “This is what you meant by ‘resources’ when you said the Ravagers were depleting the planet?!”

“No,” Rolan kept his back turned to the window, “I have never seen them do this before.”

“This is most likely a recent development.” Radovan hypothesized. “It is entirely possible that the Ravagers were growing too fast to sustain themselves using conventional means of energy production. So, they devised a method to combine everything they capture into a single usable fuel source to minimize production time and maximize output.”

“That’s disgusting!” Flynn shouted. “They’ve been doing this for thousands of years?! To Lunnak knows how many planets?!”

“It is efficient.” Radovan returned to the map on the screen of his device, sensing the gaze of Flynn and Rolan upon him. “But appalling. We should move on so we can put a stop to it.”

With the shield generator not far away, Flynn began to wonder about Lisa and the others. The security of the hangar was far from perfect and now that he knew what the Ravagers do with their captured resources, he shuddered to think Lisa might meet such a horrifying fate. Considering their ship was destroyed and they had no clear way to escape, he believed he might never see her again.

He wished he could’ve at least had something of his to give to her should he never return, but alas there was nothing he had to offer other than his love, which would be beautifully everlasting despite his death, though cruelly intangible without his life.

“What is wrong, Flynn?” Rolan asked as they plodded down the final hallway to the shield generator.

“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I’m just enjoying our little stroll on the mother ship of a vicious marauding alien species before we meet our fates in the next room!”

“Ah, yes, it is quite lovely.” Rolan eyed the alabaster walls and the sleek curves of the hallway braces with a grin. “Though I am more accustomed to the rock walls of my home.”

Flynn sighed. “I’m sorry; I’m just worried about Lisa. I might never see her again.”

“It would not make a happy story to tell if you did not reunite with your love after the victory, Flynn.” He continued, with clear seriousness at the core of his comical words. “Since I will be the one telling the story to everyone, I will be certain to ensure its ending is cheerful. Everybody loves a positive ending!”

Flynn chuckled softly and felt his chest soothe with a tinge of warmth. “…Thanks.”

“And if the worst should come to pass, I can always modify the details of the story.”

Flynn squinted in agitation at him and growled.

“I am joking, my friend! There is nothing to worry about! We have Lunnak on our side!”

In a sudden change of pace, the two abruptly stopped and bumped into Radovan. With a press of a button he slid the door open and pointed his device at the terminal sitting at the far wall of the room. “There it is: the shield generator.” He edged inside and skimmed the chamber for any threats. “Perhaps Lunnak can assist me in disabling the shields?”