Beyond the Veil, page 17
It was a nice daydream.
The reality on the other hand…
Arin kept pawing at the walls, looking for a crack or a secret switch that would open the way out of here. She could sense him in the pitch darkness, moving like a cat in a cage, unable to sit still. He had been at it for at least fifteen minutes. Not that she could tell the time in this place.
Slamming one hand against the wall, he twisted around to look over his shoulder. “You could help, you know!” he spat. “We have to get back to the others!”
Melissa sat in the middle of the cavern with her legs curled up, hugging her knees. “What exactly do you think you’re going to accomplish there?” she asked. “Call me a pessimist, but I’m pretty sure they didn’t build this place with a convenient emergency exit. Maybe we should try to figure out what they want with us.”
“I don’t know why they brought us here.”
Covering her mouth with one hand, Melissa thought it over. Her eyebrows slowly climbed up her forehead. “If they wanted to kill us, they probably would have done it by now. I think we’re prisoners.”
“The first job of a prisoner is to escape.”
Rolling her eyes, Melissa did her best to contain her exasperation. “Brilliant,” she muttered. “Are there any other insights you’d like to share?”
Arin spun around, stomping across the cavern with footsteps that could wake the dead. “So, what do you suggest?” he snapped. “Perhaps we should just sit here until the Overseers come to finish us off!”
Melissa was on her feet before she realized it, standing face to face with him and seething. “What I suggest is that we calm down and approach this rationally,” she grated. “Most problems have solutions if you’re willing to look for them.”
“So, what did you come up with in your ten minutes of brainstorming?”
She raised her left hand to display her multi-tool, prompting him to step back. “We call Jena,” she said simply. “Even in this place, we should be able to get a signal through SlipSpace.”
Arin’s sudden grin made her blush. She was glad he couldn’t see. “That’s brilliant!” he exclaimed. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you were too busy poking the walls?”
Ignoring her snide comment, he backed away and started tapping commands into his multi-tool. The light from the screen illuminated his perfect face, but she barely even noticed. Panic swept through her like a hurricane. “What are you doing?”
“Calling Jena.”
Striding forward with the imperious swagger she had learned on Salus, Melissa put on an expression of cold disdain. For five seconds, she was Lady Melani again. “Just because an idea occurs to you doesn’t mean you should do it before you consider all the consequences. That’s how you end up stuck in a room with a ziarogat.”
“Consequences?”
“If we call Jena, we might give away her position to the Overseers. They might not even know we’re down here. If they find out, they might come for us before Jena can get us out of here.”
“Well, we have to do something!”
“Yes, but we should consider our options first.”
Turning away from her, Arin growled as he stomped back to the wall. “It seems like all you want to do is sit and think!” he barked. “We can’t afford to stay here! What happens if no one comes for us? What will we do for food, for water?”
All good questions, but shouting and bickering wouldn’t provide any answers. The only way out of this place was to use their brains. Arin seemed to believe that they could just brute force their way out, which – she had to admit – was kind of a turn-off. She wondered what Novol would have done if he were here.
Thinking of her ex-boyfriend brought the pain back. All that running around had provided a nice distraction, but now, she was trapped here with nothing to do. She fell back into the breathing exercises that she used when she wanted to contact Ilia. She let the thoughts drift out of her mind, focusing on her surroundings. Her sore feet, the slime on her suit, the stuffy air, Arin’s breathing: she was aware of all of it. The grief started to recede, replaced by…well, not calmness but a measure of serenity.
She was so lost in her own feelings that she barely noticed Arin. He had his hands pressed against the wall, his head hanging in dismay. And he was crying.
Melissa cautiously approached him, resting a hand on his arm. “What’s wrong?” she asked in a gentle voice.
“I’m afraid.”
“It’s okay.”
He scowled, shaking his head. “No, it isn’t!” he moaned. “I’ve faced so many things, but this…Being helpless, being trapped!”
Of course. He had been through something like this before. When Telixa Ethran kept him prisoner in a holding cell. No wonder he was so agitated.
Anna kept saying that the admiral had changed, but Melissa remembered the woman she had met on Salus – the cold, calculating tactician. She had heard the story of Telixa’s final moments, the noble sacrifice that supposedly redeemed her. Could saving one life make up for killing thousands? If so, did ending one life damn a woman’s soul even though she had saved thousands? Melissa had blood on her hands too. It was a sin to admit it, but she was glad the admiral was dead.
That thought provoked a flash of anger from Ilia. Melissa understood why. Her job was to protect life, not to pass judgment. Even so, Telixa Ethran’s body count was rivaled only by Grecken Slade himself. The Milky Way was a safer place without her.
“It’s all right, Arin,” Melissa murmured. “It’s okay to be scared.”
He turned around, slamming into her, and she held him as he trembled in her arms. “I’m sorry!” he whimpered. “I’m…I’m…”
“Shh, shh,” Melissa whispered. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”
Trapped together in pure darkness, they gazed into each other’s eyes. Their lips met almost hesitantly, and Melissa found herself surrendering to the kiss. It was soothing, gentle, full of need. She wasn’t sure how long it lasted, but she was in no hurry for it to end.
Pulling away, Arin drew in a shuddering breath. He instinctively ran his fingers through her hair. “Sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to-”
“We should call Jena.”
“Yeah.”
Moving through the cavern with incredible speed, Jena took cover behind the stalagmite. She ventured a peek at the thing that was coming for her, fear welling up when she looked into those purple eyes.
The skinny alien shambled over the uneven ground, raising both hands to display its palms. Was it telling her to stop? Asking for a truce? Or was it trying to show her something? At first, she wasn’t sure how to interpret the gesture, but she got her answer when it thrust one hand toward the floor and projected a force-field under its feet.
The Overseer rose into the air, looming over her, standing on a platform of rippling energy. Its other hand reached for her, a second force-field appearing. The ugly thing had a N’Jal on each palm. That was what it was trying to tell her.
A curtain of shimmering energy sped toward her.
She rolled sideways, coming up on one knee near the lumpy cavern wall. A mighty roar filled her ears as the blast that was meant for her hit the floor instead, kicking up a spray of stones.
Turning gracefully in midair, the Overseer cocked its head and studied her. Perhaps she was mistaken, but Jena was fairly certain that she could interpret that look. It was the glare of an angry child who had tried to squash a bug and missed.
A shimmering force-field took shape. Behind it, the alien made a soft trill, a gentle soothing sound that almost made her forget she was fighting for her life. For a moment, she wondered if the alien was employing some form of communication.
Then it tried to flatten her.
Her own hands flew up, a Bending snapping into place. The force-field wrapped around her body, becoming a cocoon of energy. She was like a woman trapped in the eye of a tornado.
Gathering that power into a single focused wave, she reflected it back to its source. The Overseer floated sideways on its rippling platform, easily evading the hit. Stalactites fell from the ceiling, shattering on the floor.
Jena noticed her fallen pistol nearby.
Snatching it up, she raised the weapon in both hands. The Overseer reacted quickly. An instant before she pulled the trigger, it was safe behind another force-field. Her bullets struck the pulsating wall, but they didn’t bounce off. Instead, they seemed to be trapped like flies caught in honey.
The energy barrier flexed.
Once again, Jena threw herself sideways, rolling over the rocky floor. Flattened bullets hit the spot where she had been, each one producing a ping on impact. This thing knew all of Harry’s tricks. Well, she had a few of her own.
“EMP!” Jena growled.
The LEDs on her gun turned white, and this time, when she pulled the trigger, glowing tracers zipped across the cavern. They phased through the alien’s force-field, scorching its chest, producing a howl of agony.
Unable to maintain its concentration, the Overseer fell to land in a crouch, its spindly body racked by the pain. It couldn’t even stand. But those eyes were still sharp, still full of cruel intelligence.
It raised both hands as if trying to shield its face, but instead of a force-field, it produced a high-pitch screech that echoed through the cave. Jena was hit by a hurricane of nausea. She fell forward, catching herself with both hands, nearly throwing up all over the floor.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she groaned as tears streamed over her cheeks. “Multi-tool active,” she grunted. “Counter pulse!”
The dizziness began to recede as the sound faded, but she was still a little disoriented. And the gasping Overseer was eager to finish her off. Purple blood leaked from its broken body, staining its chest.
With a moan, it stretched a hand out. Another force-field appeared, this one rushing over Jena’s head to hit the wall behind her. An avalanche of rocks fell upon her, forcing her to shield herself.
She had to scurry away, staying low, trying to avoid a painful hit. When she was clear, she stood up and noticed yet another force-field coming her way. She didn’t have time to react.
The energy slammed into Jena, throwing her backwards across the cavern and into the tunnel. She landed with a wheeze, organic material squishing as she dropped to one knee.
A pair of tentacles extended from the walls, seizing each of her arms, forcing her to drop the gun. A third one came down from the ceiling, wrapping itself around her neck. Slowly, they started squeezing the life out of her.
Struggling against her restraints, Jena gasped for breath. Her vision dimmed, replaced by silver flecks that danced before her eyes. Her heart was thundering in her chest. Less than five seconds had passed, and she could already feel consciousness slipping away.
Though her vision was fading, her spatial awareness was as sharp as ever. Funny how that worked. Maybe it was because the sense wasn’t hers. It belonged to Audrin. The Nassai was just kind enough to share it.
Out in the cavern, the Overseer tried to rise, but its frail body had taken too much damage. It let out a reedy whistle before falling over. Any moment now, it would die.
Jena would soon be joining it.
What was given freely can be taken away, someone whispered in her mind. Maybe it was the Overseer Base. Or maybe it was that Greater Whole the Elori kept talking about. Yeah, that sounded right.
No! she thought at the aliens. You’re not getting me twice!
Summoning every last scrap of willpower, she called upon Audrin and created a Bending. The tentacle around her neck retracted when she started tearing it apart on a molecular level. Breath forced its way into her lungs.
Screaming with feral fury, she ripped the other two out of the walls. Keeper strength was enough. Well, that and a whole lot of adrenaline. She ran out of the tunnel before it could attack her again, back into the safety of the cavern. Well, that answered a few questions. She was pretty sure that she knew what had happened to Melissa.
But now Jena had to wonder how she was going to save her young friend.
Melissa stood with her forearm raised, frowning into the screen of her multi-tool. Her fingers danced over the SmartGlass, but no matter what she tried, she got the same result. “They’re jamming us.”
“You’re sure?”
Scowling, Melissa shook her head in dismay. “Quite sure,” she muttered. “I’ve tried several times, but I can’t get a signal through. SlipSpace communication should work no matter how far underground we go.”
Arin sat behind her with his legs stretched out, one hand resting on the floor. His head sank as the despair settled over him. “Then it’s hopeless,” he lamented. “We’re going to die here.”
That sweeping declaration sparked a flash of anger within Melissa. She had seen this kind of thing from him before, when they fought the ziarogat in the subway station. He gave up too easily.
Rounding on him, Melissa marched forward with resolve on her face. “It’s not hopeless!” she insisted. “We will find a way out of here! We just have to stay calm and analyze the situation!”
Arin looked up at her. She could feel the intensity in his stare, the disbelief. Well, if he wanted to mope, that was fine. She would do the work alone. “You honestly believe that, don’t you?” he breathed.
“Believe what?”
“That we’ll escape.”
Kneeling before him, Melissa reached out to lay a hand on his cheek. He leaned into her touch, which set her heart racing. “I’ve been through much worse than this,” she murmured. “And I survived. You will too.”
She was taken back to that sparring session with her father. Harry was right. When things got rough, she fell back into old patterns. Mousy Melissa came out: the girl who thought she wasn’t strong enough or smart enough to get through this latest challenge. It was a flaw that she and Arin shared. But if he was going to sink into a pit of despair, then Melissa had to work twice as hard to stay positive. She couldn’t afford to indulge her anxieties. Not when she had someone else to care for.
“We can safely say one thing,” she noted.
“What’s that?”
“The Overseers know we’re here.”
Arin looked confused.
Rising, she took a deep breath and started to pace across the cave. “They wouldn’t be jamming our signals if they didn’t know we were down here,” she began. “And they haven’t tried to kill us, which means they probably want us alive.”
“What do they want with two Justice Keepers?”
Spinning on her heel, Melissa faced him with a triumphant grin. “So, you’ve finally started to think of yourself as a Justice Keeper! Well, that’s a step in the right direction!”
He was chuckling, rubbing his forehead with the back of one hand. “Bleakness take me,” he said, standing up. “What I wouldn’t give to get out of these suits.”
Melissa blushed.
“The slime!” he said all too quickly as if he could sense her embarrassment. “And I’ve been wearing the damn thing for two days now. I just want to feel clean, you know?”
“Tell me about it.”
He hesitated a moment. “I just did.”
Melissa giggled, trembling with laughter as she sauntered over to him. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s an Earth expression. It means, ‘I agree.’”
“You’re a peculiar people.”
“We really are.”
“So, what do we do now?”
Heaving out a sigh, Melissa put the negative thoughts out of her head. “You got any meal bars in that backpack?”
“I do.”
“Then I suggest we have a snack and give our brains a rest,” she said. “We’ll think better on a full stomach.”
Defeated, Jena stumbled out of the cave, onto the balcony that overlooked the Elori village. She knew that the ceiling panels they used weren’t real sunlight, but it felt the same, and that was what she needed.
Exhausted, she braced her hands on the waist-high stone wall that encircled the balcony, leaning forward to see the village below. The Elori were busy. Many of them ran from house to house, gathering staff weapons, preparing for an attack. This was what Harry’s plan had brought down on their small community. She just hoped that it was worth it, that he could find the Nexus and end the war.
The sound of footsteps drew her attention just in time to catch Cassi coming up the stairs. The tiny, pink-haired woman was a mess, her suit stained with purple blood. “Saw you come in,” she said. “Everyone’s here.”
“Edrin.”
“They’re treating his wound,” Cassi explained. “He should be fine with a couple days’ rest. You didn’t find them?”
Leaning against the wall, Jena squeezed her eyes shut. “I couldn’t get through!” she growled. “I tried several times, but that place starts attacking you with tentacles and these weird, web things.”
She didn’t like the implications one bit. The virus was supposed to have disabled the Base’s defenses. If it had failed – if the Base had somehow adapted to their pitiful attempt at germ warfare – that didn’t bode well for Anna and her team.
Cassi looked crestfallen. After a moment, she sighed and became the stoic warrior again. “They have a SlipGate here,” she began. “We can contact the fleet and revise the extraction plan.”
“You’re thinking we should go through the Gate instead of heading back up to the surface?”
“The fleet took a pounding last time. The odds of getting another shuttle past the Overseers’ defenses aren’t good. We should consider this as an alternative.”
“Agreed,” Jena said, starting down the stairs. The other woman fell in at her side. “Contact Larani and advise her of our situation. Inform Pel that his people are welcome to come with us. It’s not safe for them here anymore.”
“I’m not sure how they’ll take that, but I’ll make the offer.”
They found Pel waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. The poor guy was quite agitated, his blue eyes wide with concern. Rialos and the others are recovering, he projected. The people are afraid.
