Awoken (11 page)

“Another sign of fate, eh Fred?” Ohm whispered softly.

“It is an uncanny coincidence,” Fred replied.

“It’s been completely restored. Fred, find me an exit. We have to go get Oa,” Ohm commanded. He looked around the room to give Fred a chance to scan the walls.

“The wall over there is metal, not stone. Notice the lack of mineral veins. It appears to be a gate. The panel to its right should contain the controls,” Fred replied almost instantly.

Ohm sprinted over to the panel and mashed buttons at random until he heard the loud creaking of the door as the wall began to part. He ran back to the ARI, bounding up the ramp and through the front door with speed that implied familiarity.

“This is probably what they are trying to get a fusion drive for,” Ohm said shaking his head and chuckling at the humor of the situation. He sat down in the power hub and leaned back in his command chair. The hub fit him perfectly. Fred whirred and clicked as he connected the ARI to Ohm.

“I would have remembered to tell Oa, but your condition grossly hindered my programming,” Fred accused.

Ohm sighed. “I know. I am sorry, Fred. At least you had the foresight to send him with your beacon. We still have time. Patch me into all the ship’s major functions,” he commanded.

The vessel hummed to life, and the roar of the engines filled the cavern. The heavy gates groaned to a halt as they fully opened, revealing a gap in the rock that led to the outside world.

“It feels good to be home,” Ohm said. The engines roared louder, lifting the ship off the ground. Air rushed through the hangar, buffeting cabinet doors and scattering tools and equipment across the floor. With a thought, Ohm retracted the landing pads back into the ship, and sent the ARI rocketing through the open doors and up towards the sky.

***

Kai dropped her tools, cursing as she bolted out to the edge of the Legion fighter’s wings, leaving her pack behind. She flinched as deadly bolts of nihilistol fire filled the air, deadening all sound as they whizzed by. Kai fished one of the embersplitters out of her pocket and tossed it back toward her tools. She dove away from the ship, grabbing Oa’s hand and pulling him along. Susan wrapped herself around the pair. Behind them, the Legion vessel exploded in a ball of light.

“We have to get out of here! Throw me your glider!” Kai shouted. Oa pressed the button on his right shoulder and the mesh of his pack went limp. He slid the sack from his back, grabbed his satchel from inside. He tossed the bag to Kai. She sat up and raised the pack, facing it toward their enemies. She slapped the wing deployment button. Sound died again as the Legion soldiers let loose another volley of Void bullets. The glider burst open in front of the trio like a shield, catching the Legion fire. The air-skin fabric dissolved away, protecting them from the deadly blasts.

“Susan, get us behind those boulders!” Kai yelled, as she tossed a second embersplitter at the Legion soldiers.

Susan uncurled from around them and snatched the two Awoken up in her paws. Her size in no way hindered her strength as she dragged them across the ground, racing toward the boulders that dotted the edge of the rim. Behind them, the embersplitter exploded, providing a momentary distraction. They slid to a halt behind a medium-sized slab of stone. Oa and Kai got up into a crouch to peek over the top of the rock. Oa slid the satchel’s strap over his head, returning it to his side. He grabbed Seeker from inside the bag.

The ten Legion soldiers spread out and formed a line across the narrow plateau. They walked forward, trapping Oa, Kai, and Susan. There was nowhere to go but the edge of the cliff. The trio retreated back, crouching to stay below the cover of the boulders; and Susan wound through the stone, laying low to the ground. The Legion weapons obliterated the rocks behind them.

Ducking behind a thick slab, Kai turned to Oa. “We have to fight or they’re going to drive us off the cliff! Susan will be an easy target if she has to carry both of us out of here.” The bold Awoken jumped out from behind cover, hauling her left pistol out of its holster. She fired ten shots back at the Legion warriors, Oa peeked out from behind the stone, watching as eight of the projectiles struck true, leaving tiny blinking receivers on the Legion soldier’s chests. Kai had barely finished firing before her right hand had whipped out the other pistol. Her arm swung in an arc as she pulled the trigger. Lightning exploded from the gun, arcing through the air and seeking out each of the previously fired receivers. The blast plowed into eight of the Legion soldiers, overwhelming their physical bodies with energy. They shattered, dissolving into Void dust.

Susan’s ears flattened back, and her body sparked up angrily. She struck, hurdling over the boulders onto one of the remaining Legion soldiers. The varl swelled to a fighting size as she opened her jaws and roared. Purple lightning poured from her mouth shattering the Void warrior beneath her. Oa stretched out his hand and with a thought, sent Seeker plowing through the remaining Legion soldier who had turned to fire at Susan.

“Back, Susan!” Kai shouted as more Legion began to pour from the Void portals. They sprinted out to surround the Awoken. Oa whipped Seeker through several of the soldiers, knocking them off their feet.

Kai fired her pistols in rapid succession, obliterating six more of the Legion. Her efforts were merely a dent in the Legion’s growing ranks as they continued to rush out of the Void portals. One of the warriors leaped over the boulder the Awoken were behind. The demon descended down upon them with a raised fist, its red eye flashed evilly in the dim light of the dying cycle. Susan snarled and reared up at the enemy. Placing her powerful frame in the path of the Legion soldier, her lightning fangs tore the monster apart before it could land a blow on Oa or Kai.

Oa stepped back, but halted as he felt his foot slide off the edge behind him. There was nowhere left to run. The Legion had backed them up against the edge of the rim.

“Well, it was nice meeting you, Oa,” Kai quipped as they stood their ground, facing annihilation from the Legion horde. Oa readied himself for whatever flimsy escape plan he knew his mind was about to concoct.

Suddenly, thunder filled the air; and the face of the ARI rose up behind them. A powerful beam of light shot from the front of the craft, illuminating the plateau. The only thing the Legion soldiers could see were the silhouettes of the trio standing on the cliff’s edge.

“It’s the ARI,” Kai cheered. “But how?”

“Ohm must be flying!” Oa exclaimed as he grabbed Kai in his arms. With a thought, he sent Seeker flying into the ship through the open ramp. As soon as Seeker latched onto something solid, he pulled them up into the ARI. Susan gave one last roar at the Legion before she turned and followed Oa. The ramp closed behind them with a hiss. Outside, the ARI’s floodlight grew to an impossible brilliance, driving the Legion to their knees. Suddenly, the light popped and blinked out in a barely audible explosion. The triumphant vessel turned and blasted off. Powerful engines propelled the ship far away from the outpost.

The Legion slowly returned to their feet and stared at the ARI as it faded away into the horizon. From one of the Void portals, the shrouded form of Eol emerged. He walked to the edge of the cliff, gazing at the spot on the horizon where the ARI had fled. Eol and his Legion remained eerily still, with a quiet patience that foreshadowed the inevitability of the hunt.

Episode 06 - Light Chasers

Oa and Kai flew through the open ramp and crashed into the support beam that Seeker had attached to. Susan’s enlarged frame barreled into the pair, further squashing them into the metal pillar. Oa heard the ramp hiss shut behind them. He thought about letting go of Seeker but quickly changed his mind as the ARI accelerated to a ludicrous speed. He held onto Kai and Seeker as the acceleration of the ship attempted to peel them from the sturdy support and fling them to the back of the vessel. Overhead, the air howled as it whipped over the open ceiling. Oa was glad to be rescued, but he wished the escape was a little less wild. He wanted to regain his bearings and get inside. Before long, the ARI settled into a steady cruising speed. Oa and Kai were finally able to unglue themselves from the support beam. They toppled over, their internal sensors scrambled from the acceleration. Susan bounced around the deck excitedly as Oa and Kai stumbled shakily to their feet.

“That better have been necessary, Ohm,” Oa grumbled looking about for the entrance to the ship’s interior.

Next to him, Kai pulled her pistols out, inspecting them for damage. She sighted down the barrels, glancing at a gauge at the back of the guns. She squeezed hard on the weapons grip. A depleted ammo block dropped out of the butt of each gun and hit the deck with a hollow ring. Oa noticed the transparent cartridge was no longer filled with blue energy. Kai kicked the empty clip off the edge of the deck. She reloaded her guns with ammo from their respective bandoliers before sliding the weapons back into their holsters.

Oa spotted the door. He walked over and slapped the access panel next to the entrance. The portal slid open. He stood to the side, politely allowing Kai to enter ahead of him. He looked back to see if Susan would follow, but the varl was busy peering over the deck’s railing at the land speeding by below.

“Susan, come inside and meet Ohm,” Oa called, daring to make a suggestion. The beast’s gentle nature with him had lessened his fear of the lightning varl.

Susan turned her head, sparky tongue lolling out of her smiling face. She looked at Oa for a moment then jumped through the air and floated to him, lowering her head. She barged into him playfully. Oa laughed, marveling at how quickly Susan transitioned from deadly force to goofy antics. She growled happily, compacting down to her normal size. Then she whirled around, and flew into the ship. Oa followed, stepping through the entrance. The door slid shut behind him.

Oa found himself in the power-hub chamber again. The room was lit by a ring of bright orange panels in the center of the roof. The light drifted down through floating motes of dust that had become unsettled during the speedy getaway. The panels covering the interior of the ARI were as worn as the exterior. Splotches of scoring and discoloration scarred the alloys, betraying the vessels old age. Light glinted off exposed rivets and bolts in the walls. Several light panels separated from the main ring-formation, leading off down a corridor to another part of the ship that Oa had not yet seen. He turned to peer out the forward view port of the chamber. The sky ahead was dim, and several weak flares of light wound above the speeding craft. A new cycle would begin soon. He turned back to the center of the room where Kai stood in front of the power drive facing Ohm. Susan sat regally in the air by Kai’s side, her tail coiled tightly beneath her. Oa stepped up next to the pair.

“Well I never would’ve thought of that,” Kai said, arms crossed as she stared at Ohm sitting in the power hub, his head bowed. Ohm did not appear conscious of the statement and gave no response.

The ship began to slow before coming to an abrupt stop. Oa checked his balance, not wanting to fall over and look foolish. As soon as the ARI halted, Ohm came alive. His head slowly lifted, and he took notice of Oa and Kai standing in front of him. Motors whirred and clicked as Fred disengaged from the power hub. Ohm jumped up and stood in between Oa and Kai, facing the power hub. He pulled them in close, draping his arms around their shoulders.

“Fantastic! I have not done that in a long time,” Ohm said, turning to Oa then Kai. “Oa, I am so very glad to see you’re not dead. I have important findings to tell you about. Please introduce me to your new friend. I am more than grateful that she repaired my old ship.”

“What do you mean
your ship
?” Kai said, arms still crossed. “I am the one who—”

“Fred, look!” Ohm exclaimed, interrupting Kai. He hopped over the power hub to embrace Susan. The varl had floated unnoticed to the other side of the room, where she goofily hung upside down in the air. “A lighting varl. I have not seen one of these noble sky-wads in heaps of weebles,” Ohm said, hugging the billowing creature tight. Susan growled happily, wriggling her body right-side up so she could lick the old Awoken’s face. Her tongue sent purple sparks flying. Ohm turned away from Susan’s affections so he could face Kai.

“Do not fret; the ARI is yours now,” Ohm said courteously. “You put it back together so it belongs to you. I am just one of the previous owners.”

“In that case, my name is Kai; and that cloud bomb you’re holding is called Susan,” Kai said in an accepting tone, though she was still slightly wary of Ohm.

“Oa brought you in asleep; and now that you’re awake, I want to know who you are,” Kai demanded in a gruff tone. She draped her arm over Oa’s shoulder. Ohm turned and let go of Susan. She floated up and began to circle lazily overhead.

Oa tried to answer on Ohm’s behalf. “Don’t worry Kai. Ohm has been around for a long time; he knows a lot. Despite his appearances, he has been—”

“It’s alright, Oa. I can speak on my own condition,” Ohm interrupted. “Even though you already know it, my name is Ohm. I am infected with the Void, but I have no addictions to it. My actions will prove you can trust me.”

“Ohm …” Kai paused, mulling over the name. “Ohm. Ohm! I remember that name now! And the blue ocular plate. You’re the Traveler, the instructor from the academy that Jess and Cale always droned on about,” she said, excited at the sudden reclaimed memory.

“I did dabble in teaching for a while,” Ohm admitted reflectively. “I definitely recall Jess and Cale, very creative. They did not have any straightforward or sensible programming, but together they were geniuses. They had several noteworthy achievements.” He was filled with pride as he remembered his favorite students.

“That’s them,” Kai said happily. “They were the first Awoken I ever met. They taught me … about building things? I think they had already graduated from the academy when I—No, that’s not quite right. It was all back in …” Kai’s words trailed off as she struggled to complete her recollections.

Ohm studied Kai closely as she tried to piece together her memories. “You met them in Istaar?” he offered up gently.

“Of course, it’s Istaar. Why couldn't I remember that?” Kai muttered angrily to herself as she tapped the side of her head.

“But you knew them, too, Ohm. Back in Istaar. They loved Istaar. Istaar is where we used to live. They must still be there. If I could just remember how to get there,” Kai said, purposefully overusing the name of the city in an attempt to affix it to her memory.

Ohm watched Kai carefully. Oa noticed the previous excitement of seeing Susan drain from the old Awoken as it was replaced by somber thoughtfulness. “They are most definitely still in Istaar. Is that where you are trying to go with the ARI?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, it is,” Kai responded. She paused a moment to glance down at her boots; then she looked up at Ohm. “I’m going to trust you, Ohm. I know Cale and Jess respected you. I don’t care if you sleep—what matters is that you’re a vital part of this ship. You can fly the ARI with that fusion drive of a backpack.” Her faceplate glowed brighter as she realized her goals were finally achievable.

“Please call me Fred,” the pack chimed in.

“Oops, my error, Fred; I forgot,” Kai apologized hurriedly. “I’m just so happy that the ARI works. Now we can go find Cale and Jess. Ohm, do you remember where Istaar is?” she asked hopefully.

“I do, and I will help you find the city. But we are going to need a new light. Istaar is dark and I seemed to have burned out the ARI’s current flood lamp. We will need to catch ourselves another photorb,” Ohm explained calmly, refusing to get caught up in the excitement oozing from Kai.

“Okay, but, before we go get one of those photorb things, I need to go do some final adjustments to the engine. It sounds alright but I heard a few odd noises when you pushed the poor thing into overdrive back there,” Kai complained, concerned about her ship.

Kai strode out to the open deck. Susan followed her into the chamber at the rear of the vessel, driven by curiosity. The hatch to the engineering room closed behind the pair as Kai set to work perfecting her masterpiece.

Oa remained where he was, facing Ohm. He had questions for his mentor. Once Kai was gone the Traveler spoke up.

“So, Fred and I discovered—”

“That can wait,” Oa said, cutting his friend off. “Things got a bit scary back in those canyons. You picked a wonderful time to drop. The Legion nearly had us.” He folded his arms across his chest.

“Yeah,” Ohm said sheepishly. “My apologies regarding that whole incident. I was meaning to tell you about the arm and stuff.” The ancient Awoken reached up and adjusted the hood on his head in the awkward silence that followed.

“Well, things worked out,” Oa said, breaking the silence. “Anyhow, Fred wouldn't tell me about it, and Kai doesn’t seem to need answers, but I want to know how it happened. Were you addicted to Void immersion or something? Do you still do it?”

Ohm stopped fiddling with his hood and began to idly tap the microbur canister attached to his mask. “Honestly, I don’t remember how I became infected. I just woke up from my first sleep all besmirched, and Fred is unable to tell me what happened.” He shrugged his bandaged arm. “I can surmise with some certainty, though, that one whopper of a beating occurred.”

Oa sensed his friend’s honesty. He sighed and leaned back against the chamber wall. “There is a lot of selective memory going on around here. Am I the only one with a working brain?” he huffed in exasperation. Then he chuckled slightly at the absurdity of the situation.

“Well, I don’t know what Kai’s excuse is, but I have been living with this crazy headache for close to a bajillion weebles,” Ohm said defensively as he pointed to his mask.

Fred pounced on the opportunity to correct Ohm. “The actual number is 5,289—”

“I don’t want to know the number, Fred!” Ohm said, interrupting the pack.

Ohm walked up to Oa and tapped the top of the shorter Awoken’s head. “You still have a lot to learn. You never considered the idea that not all Sleepers are voluntary addicts. Some might just be infected.”

“Alright, alright. I didn’t think of that. I believe you,” Oa said, annoyed as he swatted Ohm’s hand away. “So will that infection get worse?”

“The infection has not spread from my right side. Other than the inconvenient sleep, it doesn’t seem to affect me. I cover it up, though, because I despise the sight of it,” Ohm said, anger bleeding through his voice as he tried to brush the wrinkles out of the patched cloth that covered his right leg.

Oa nodded sympathetically. He decided not to push the topic any further. “So what did Fred discover about my powers?” he asked expectantly. “It might help explain why I couldn’t heal your Void infection. It thwarted my abilities somehow. A similar thing happened during my first cycle,” he said, remembering Buri.

“Ah, yes, our discovery. That is much more important than my deformities. You really derailed the conversation, Oa,” Ohm grumbled. He stood silently for a moment, choosing the best way to disclose his findings. “Fred and I were able to analyze Seeker’s inner workings when you used it in Bolleworth. It appears that Seeker runs off an unknown form of Void technology. Simply put, Seeker creates out of nothing. That sounds impossible, but we watched it happen.” He walked over to the viewport and gazed out at the dim sky. “I believe that Eol will hunt you using Seeker as a beacon. The Void is Eol’s home. He dwells within his own emptiness. He will never allow you to fix the infection he has spread. That is why his will defied your power. You must not create with Seeker anymore. Your gift is a thief to Eol. He knows when you try to steal from him. I hate telling you to suppress your potential, but you need to be patient until we can figure out a way to outwit Eol.”

In his mind Oa, called out to Seeker. The silver sphere obediently rose out of its satchel to hover above his hand. He looked at it for a moment, and his shoulders drooped slightly in disappointment. “I really dislike Eol, but there is nothing we can do about him right now. We need to stay out of his sight and head toward the Enlightened.” The young Awoken looked up hopefully. “Can I still use Seeker to swing around?”

“I believe so, that feature does not stimulate the Void core within Seeker so Eol should have no awareness of it,” Ohm reassured. “Your mental link to Seeker is outside of his realm. That device is quite the dichotomy. Our data indicates that Seeker links you to the universal programming as well as the Void, but that should be impossible. Perhaps Fred and I are getting daft in our age.” He turned from the viewport to face Oa. “Your new friend is quite amazing. Only Jess and Cale could have taught her so well. I am sure you have noticed, though, that Kai’s mind is not whole. She is missing pieces, or she is refusing to accept them. Istaar was destroyed in the great cataclysm that reduced this world to its current state. I was away from the academy at the time. Once I heard it had been obliterated along with the rest of the city, I decided it was time to retire. Fred and I have been wandering ever since.”

Oa thought for a moment before responding, “I promised Kai that we would assist her in return for a ride. We need to go to Istaar and help her piece her memory back together.”

“I concur. Cale and Jess were my greatest students, but a rift opened between us when they pursued research with a government I was not particularly fond of. I need to know what happened as much as Kai does,” Ohm agreed.