⫸ [ TIME: 04:30 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: HORIZON SEEKER – COMMAND BRIDGE ]
⫸ [ STATUS: MONITORING ]
The bridge of the Horizon Seeker was a dark cavern of dead screens and flickering holograms.
Elian sat in the pilot's chair. It was the same chair where he had almost died two days ago. The padding was torn. The floor was stained with dried hydraulic fluid.
He stared at the main tactical display.
The red dot representing Target-Alpha (The Titan Ape) had vanished off the edge of the long-range scanners. The decoy had worked. The beast was chasing a ghost twenty kilometers to the East.
Elian did not relax.
[ Cost Analysis complete. ]
[ We expended 52% of our energy reserves to divert the threat. ]
[ The Crystalline Capacitors are gone. The Reactor is running on the last of the bio-fuel slurry. ]
"We bought time," Elian whispered. "But we are broke."
He tapped the console. His armored fingers clicked loudly against the glass. He couldn't feel the screen texture.
"A.R.C.," Elian said. "Scan for more energy sources. I need crystals. I need fuel. If that Titan comes back I want a real railgun and not a distraction."
[ Initiating Deep-Scan. ]
[ Rerouting power from Life Support to the Sensor Array. ]
[ Expanding radius to 50 kilometers. ]
The holographic map expanded. It showed the jagged topography of the ravine. It showed the heat signatures of the jungle.
Then it showed something else.
It was a faint pulse. A rhythmic blip on the edge of the Western quadrant.
Beep... Beep... Beep.
It was weak. It was buried under layers of magnetic static. But it was regular. Nature does not produce perfect rhythm. Only machines do.
◤ ANOMALY DETECTED ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Signal Type: Electromagnetic Burst
⬢ Frequency: 1420 MHz (Hydrogen Line)
⬢ Pattern: Binary Coded Decimal
⬢ Status: Looping
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Elian froze.
"The Hydrogen Line," he said. "That is the universal frequency for interstellar communication. That is not magic. That is tech."
[ Decoding... ]
[ ... ]
[ Encryption Key: Federation Standard (Obsolete Variant). ]
[ Message Content: "SOS. U.S.S. VANGUARD. HULL BREACH. REQUESTING ASSIST..." ]
The message cut off.
Elian stared at the text. U.S.S. Vanguard.
"That is an old designation," Elian noted. "Pre-Unification Era. That ship must have crashed here five thousand years ago."
[ Logic dictates we are not the first vessel to fall into this gravity well. ]
[ The "Forbidden Zone" designation in the Federation database exists for a reason. Ships go in. They do not come out. ]
"If there is a ship," Elian said as he stood up, "there is a reactor. There are weapons. There are materials I can't print."
He looked at the map coordinates. The signal was originating from a region marked by A.R.C. as a high-density desert biome to the West.
[ Warning. The signal source is 40 kilometers away. ]
[ The terrain is hostile. You cannot move the Stasis Pod. ]
"I know," Elian said. "I have to leave her."
The thought made his stomach clench. Every minute he spent away from the ship was a minute Alara was vulnerable. But if he stayed the base would run out of power in three days. Then she would die anyway.
He needed the salvage.
"I need intel," Elian said. "Wake the prisoner."
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: 05:00 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: MED BAY – DETENTION CELL ]
Disciple Lin was awake.
She sat on the edge of the bed. She hugged her knees. She looked small and fragile in the sterile white room.
The door hissed open.
Elian walked in. He looked more monstrous than before. His skin was darker grey. His eyes were blue spotlights in the gloom. He carried the heavy metallic scent of the reactor room.
Lin flinched. She pressed herself against the wall.
"Iron Demon," she whispered.
Elian ignored the name. He pulled up the holographic map and thrust it in front of her face.
He pointed to the source of the signal in the West.
"WHAT IS THIS PLACE?"
His synthesized voice was low and grinding.
Lin looked at the map. Her eyes widened in recognition. She shook her head violently.
"No," she said. "That is the Bone Sea. It is a forbidden land. Even the Elders do not go there."
"WHY?"
"It is a graveyard," Lin said. Her voice trembled. "The legends say that long ago a Star-City fell from the heavens. It burned the earth and turned the forest into glass. The metal ghosts still walk there. They steal your soul if you step on their sand."
[ A.R.C. ANALYSIS ]
[ "Star-City" implies a Capital Class Starship or a Colony Drop. ]
[ "Metal Ghosts" implies active automated defense systems. Droids. ]
Elian's heart raced. A Capital Ship. That meant military-grade hardware. It meant a Fusion Core capable of powering a city.
"Metal Ghosts," Elian repeated. "Droids. The automated security is still active after five thousand years."
He looked at Lin.
"ARE THERE BEASTS?"
"Worse," Lin said. "There are Sand-Wyrms. And the Iron-Eaters. Things that chew through spirit shields like paper."
Elian stepped back. He deactivated the map.
"Good," Elian said. "Iron-Eaters. I will bring them a meal they cannot digest."
He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Lin called out. She looked terrified to be left alone. "You... you killed Elder Yan. The Sect will know. His Soul Lamp has extinguished. They are gathering the war host."
"LET THEM GATHER," Elian said. "I AM GOING TO GET A BIGGER GUN."
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: 06:00 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: CARGO BAY ]
Elian stood before his army.
Grom and the Giants were awake. They were drilling with the Pneumatic Pikes. The sound of pistons firing echoed in the bay.
"Grom," Elian commanded.
The foreman stepped forward. He looked stronger. The protein diet and the medical treatment had increased his muscle mass. He wore a chest plate made of the Warlord's own bone armor which Elian had reinforced with titanium struts.
"Iron-Star commands?" Grom asked.
"I leave," Elian said. "I go West. To the Bone Sea."
A murmur of fear went through the Giants. They knew the Bone Sea. It was a place of death.
"I take ten warriors," Elian continued. "The rest stay here. You guard the Metal Cave. You guard the Sleeping Girl."
Elian walked up to Grom. He gripped the Giant's shoulder. His new thermal skin burned hot against Grom's cold flesh.
"If the Sky-People come," Elian said, "you do not fight them in the open. You hide behind the walls. You use the traps. You hold them until I return."
Grom looked at the blast door of the Secure Cargo Hold. He knew what was inside. He knew it was the Iron-Star's heart.
"Grom guards," the Giant rumbled. "Or Grom dies."
"Good."
Elian turned to the Fabricator. He initiated the print sequence for a Long-Range Scavenger Pack.
He needed water filters. He needed solar chargers. He needed ammo for The Arbiter.
He looked at the West.
Somewhere out there was a dead Federation ship. It held the secrets of why this planet was a prison. It held the power to save Alara.
Elian checked the battery on his railgun.
◤ SYSTEM CHECK ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Weapon: The Arbiter
⬢ Ammo: 40 Rounds (Explosive/Solid)
⬢ Armor: Chitin-Plate (Repair required)
⬢ Objective: Scavenge the U.S.S. Vanguard
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"A.R.C.," Elian said. "Plot a course. We leave at dawn."
[END OF CHAPTER 15]