Chapter 76: Chapter Seventy Six

Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 152 of 365. Sol standard year]

Days after of Crash landing/ 1

Unknown Island / Tunnel leaving Clawbash’s Realm/

Galactic Standard Time / 2000

Je’ndra led the group way from the home of the False-Mites, a strange feeling going through her. They all had known that this mission was going to be trouble, but this was more than they expected. They were planning to raid a Ruin without their whole team, and they had already faced a Destroyer. Who knows if this place had more of them or worse ones? But they didn’t have a choice, they had monsters behind them and the Ruins were their best chance to get ahead. And that wasn’t even thinking about their Prince. He had already used an Ability to let him talk to the leader of the False-Mites and they had to hope that he wouldn’t pass out. To use Aether so young and still be aware? She just had to hope that it would continue.

And to be fair, the Imperial Family was said to always have the best training. All they needed to do was decide to learn something and they could gain the Ability.

But this wasn’t the time for those thoughts. They had to get away, they had to get to the Ruin. There were enough things down here that they needed to get into a place that they could understand. And part of Je’ndra was worried, there was something about the robot that attacked them. There was just something there, at the edge of her mind that she couldn’t see. She had to stay focused, the door into the Ruins was just ahead and she had to be on her game. She was going into dangerous grounds with a VIP! A beeping on her mask’s HUD caused her to grin as she saw Tar’lroia’s icon.

“[Boss, you’re not feeling right leaving the, are you?]” Tar’lroia said as soon as her icon was active.

For a second, Je’ndra only looked at the icon before she sighed as she held up a hand as they reached an opening. Looking out, Je’ndraa’s mask showed that they had reached the door. It was a good three hundred feet ahead of them, and the cavern was bare. It looked to be around three hundred wide, tall, and over two hundred long. “[We’re here. Olv’xic, Ken’tricx. I want a way inside that monster as fast as you can. Ro’borlar, Kon’gric, guard our Prince. Tar’lroia with me, we’ll patrol the area and keep an eye out].”

As her team moved to carry out her orders, she watched. Je’ndra waited until everyone had moved on before activating a private channel to Tar’lroia. “[No, I don’t. That horde might have been after us. Why I don’t know, but I feel that we caused that to happen].”

“[And you might be right. But the problem is keeping our principle alive. And you’ve got a few ‘target sights’ a few times in the past. But that’s what makes you strong],” Tar’lroia said from the other side of the group.

Je’ndra only sighed as she looked around, her mask showing her what the darkness hid. So far this world had almost been too much for her. There were big bugs, some sentient crab-like things, and three-legged bipeds hunting them. And that wasn’t even talking about the Firstborne Ruin! The fact that this Ruin had to do with how the ship they were on crashed, was something that was beyond even asking. As her old trainer told her once, ‘If something’s strange, a Ruin caused it’.

She was about to move around when she heard a beeping. Looking around her HUD, she saw Olv’xic’s and Ken’tricx’s icons flashing.

“[Boss, we found a hole in the door. It’s big enough for us to use. But made it from the other side],” Olv’xic said with a hard tone.

For a second, Je’ndra only looked at the icon not understanding. Then she did, and that understanding caused her to stumble. As she regained her balance, she turned and looked at the door. The metal of the Firstborne was the strongest material their race had discovered. T, and the force needed to break through was almost impossible for any squad to weld. And most Ruins had Repair Bots, that would fix any damage that their complex. To find it here, after everything else that had happened, it only made her more worried.

“[I’ve never seen anything like this! The metal was forced open, I can’t tell if it was blasted for melted! And it was a long time ago, I can tell that at least based on the growths on it],” Ken’tricx voice

“[But it’s big enough for us]?” Je’ndra asked.

“[Yeah. But it’s just as bad inside as the door. I don’t like this boss. The Minds are usually a lot more on the ball]!” Olv’xic cut in.

At his remark, Je’ndra had to nod. Some of the Ruins had their Minds active. And those ones always repaired their complexes to the best of their abilities. The fact that this door was still damaged after who knew how long, bothered her a lot more than she wanted to say. Then a thought passed by in her mind, and she frowned. If the mind was dead, that would explain the state of the door. But then where had the Firstborne robot come from?

For a moment she stood there, thinking before the worst scenario appeared in her mind. If that stray thought was true, then they were in a terrible situation. The Modern Fables created stories about something like that, but that’s all they were, stories! They had to be. The very idea she had, was impossible! There was no way in the stars that their luck was that bad!

She looked up as soon she heard something hit the ground near her. As the echo bounced around, she looked up and saw something moving into a hole in the ceiling. For a moment she looked around and then she understood just what she had seen. With shaky hands she looked up at the ceiling, trying to find anything that might show her what she feared. “[Get the prince in there now. Everyone else moves slowly toward the door, now! We’ve overstayed our time here, move slowly now]!”

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Olv’xic had been looking around, finally finding his downed drone. With a short mental command, he started to download all the data that it had gotten from its flight. As Je’ndra’s voice cut through his com system he looked up. Gazing out into the chamber and found Je’ndra, and his mask showed where she was looking. As soon as he followed her gaze his mind went through everything fast and he knew what she had seen.

“[Move Kon’gric! Get the prince away from here now]!” Olv’xic barked. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to pick out anything that might show the bugs were here.

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Kon’gric looked around, the Prince on his back moved his head up over his guard’s right shoulder.

It was the flashing icon from Kon’gric that caused Olv’xic to wince and stay still for a moment. After activating it, Olv’xic knew whose voice would come over his mask.

“[What is it]!?” Kon’gric demanded as he moved through the hole.

“[NOT NOW! Boss we’re moving him now, get out of there]!” Olv’xic said over the team channel. He saw Kon’gric moving, and then his drone’s data finished downloading. As the data scrolled down in a window on the right side of his mask, Olv’xic kept looking up.

To his credit, Kon’gric just moved through the hole, not asking another question. As the Prince looked behind Ro’borlar stepped to the side next to Olv’xic. As he raised his sniper rifle upwards, he started moving it along the ceiling. But as the Prince’s icon flashed again, Olv’xic just closed his eyes before turning it off. He had no time to figure out how to talk to the Prince without revealing his shame.

“[I can’t move too fast. So far they’re not attacking us if they’re here. If they’re trying to trap us, then that’s something we have to use against them. Ken’tricx, Olv’xic start making an explosion ready. I want a big enough boom to take those things out],” Je’ndra said softly.

As Ken’tricx moved towards the hole to start working, Olv’xic went still. He saw the data his drone had gathered, a strange and wild idea forming in his mind as he read it. With a mental command, he sent a final command to his downed drone. He looked over what systems it still had active, and he felt a smile form. The drone still had enough power and the right systems to let his idea work. With a few commands sent to it, he saw the drone activate its self-modification system. As he watched, it started its final modification and he felt a surge of pride. This might save them.

“[Nothing. I don’t think there’s anything here so far boss. I think it was a scout….. or this is too deep for that thing to command. It might need things that can think to command its forces away from itself. Or maybe organic repeaters…… this is too much boss. I can’t think of what a thing like this will do. Sorry],” Ro’borlar said with a voice that held a spark of horror.

“[I can’t either. Everyone, just keep moving slowly now. We just need to make it a bit farther. We’re almost there, just move].” Tar’lroia’s voice came over the team channel.

Olv’xic kept his eyes locked on the ceiling of this strange chamber. He let his mind move along the paths of his past, thinking about what he had experienced as a child. He had seen many things that his young mind hadn’t understood. And he had hunted and gotten away from them all. He liked to think that it made him smarter and able to plan better about how to deal with the unknown.

And if that fallen rock was from one of the bugs, then it had to have been here watching his drone. If that ‘QUEEN’ had sent a scout to see what had attacked it and if it had been here. Then the only reason was because they were out of range of the Queen’s control. And the only reason it hadn’t attacked was to let its controller know that the team had come into the cavern. And once it had seen that, then it had to have gone to report. And that meant that they were racing against time. Time until the Queen could send forces down here to attack them. And something was telling Olv’xic that they wouldn’t make it.

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Ar’thor looked around the chamber his guard had carried him into. He wanted to wait for the others, but he knew they all knew their duty. He had already helped by using his Ability, and he knew that sooner or later he would have to use it again.

“[What is taking them so long]?” Ar’thor muttered to himself as he looked at the team’s locations over his HUD. He had figured out that something was happening, and what it could be was a short list. So he figured that this had to be the bugs, band he couldn’t understand why they were all waiting there. The Captain and the Medic were both moving slowly towards the door, and the others were almost all here.

As Ar’thor looked around, he frowned. He and his guard were in a chamber as long as the door and a good three hundred feet wide. And it was open, and there was a broken door at the far end, and broken as in it was torn from the wall and on the floor broken. There was something about the way the marks were placed. It was something that he couldn’t understand but he saw it none the same. It was at the edge of his mind, there was something here that he had seen before. It was somewhere else, and maybe he had only seen the after-action report but it was there. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t see just what was familiar about this place.

“[Don’t worry my Prince, they’ll get back here soon],” Kon’gric’s voice came over Ar’thor’s mask. But for now, Kon’gric’s voice didn’t lower Ar’thor’s worry.

Ar’thor looked at Kon’gric’s head and tried not to say anything. He knew that something was bothering Kon’gric, and it pained him that his Guard couldn’t trust him with it. Ar’thor hoped that whatever it was, Kon’gric could handle it. Ar’thor owed so much to Kon’gric, the man had saved his life so many times.

“[Kon’gric. I need you to look around. There’s something about the damage here, I can’t say what but it’s there. Please tell me I’m wrong],”

“[Of course my prince!]” Kon’gric said.

Ar’thor waited for Kon’gric’s reply, but as moments became a minute Ar’thor knew that Kon’gric had seen the same thing he had. And if Kon’gric wasn’t talking about it then that meant he knew more about it.

“[My prince…. This is….],” Kon’gric voice had a hint of something in it, something Ar’thor had never heard before.

“[So I was right then].” Ar’thor said with a resolute tone.

“[Yes…. This looks like a prison break to me. And to find a Ruin with damage like this, and the creatures we’ve met so far? I don’t like anything of this. We need to move]!” Kon’gric voice had a touch of fear to it.

Ar’thor looked around, now seeing what he hadn’t before. “[We can’t leave without the others Kon’gric. And they’re coming. We just have to wait].”

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Kon’gric looked around the chamber, trying to understand this. The Firstborne were recorded as one of the strongest of all species. Their structures were said to have been protected by strong robots. The greatest of them were said to use Aether itself. And for one such complex to have been destroyed enough that only the remains of the defeated were taken? That the damages were left here after how many thousands of years?

For a second he wondered if it might have been less than he thought, but that was impossible. This place had to be one of the many Ruins that were the result of the War. The only way that his thought could have been true was if this whole planet was a Ruin and still active. Such a thing had never been found, the very idea was impossible.

For a second he thought about moving ahead with the Prince alone. He could say that the team would follow behind them. If this place was still active, then he could use this place to kill the prince. All he could think of was his family and the threat against them. The message that was sent to him showed that they were in true danger of being killed. But who else on the team was one of that one’s people? Who could he trust here? And if he dared, did that mean his family would die? But could he betray his Prince?

“[Everyone, we’re almost there. Just another minute and any watchers will see us moving towards the door. We just need to keep calm],” Tar’lroia said softly.

For a second, Kon’gric thought that maybe she was the other spy. The message had said that they would have a way to know if the Prince was dead. There were two medics on the team, so that meant that at least one of them was in on the plot. The lady Tar’lroia had proved to be honorable, but could she be in the same situation he was in?

“[Keep moving, we’re almost there. We just need another few moments],” Je’ndra said.

Kon’gric looked back at the hole, deep in thought. And then there was the leader. For this kind of work, either she or her second had to be involved. There just wasn’t any way that this could go down that one of them wasn’t part of it. There had to be someone who could create a report that would stand up to the investigations involved. Any one of the team could be in on it, and if he brought up what was happening to them his family could die.

He hated it, but there were no good steps to take for now. He’d wait until someone made contact with him, and then he’d have to make his choice. It was terrible but that was the only thing he could do was wait. If he was lucky, then there might be hope for a chance to turn this around. And he would either become a hero or a villain.

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As the leader led the swarm down the tunnel, it felt a surge of joy. It had been born to lead the swarms, but the simple hunts were nothing to be proud of. The times that it had led hunts in the darkness of the under, were things to take pride in. As the leader moved its multi-limbed body down the hole, it felt a surge of joy. The strange two walkers had destroyed much of the brood’s home and territory. The mother had already sent diggers to make new ways to the places food gathered. And now they had made it down here, to the place they had left so long ago? The mother sang songs of the way her birth swarm mother had led the others against the Hard things. After all those generations, the Hard Things never came at them. When they saw the smaller ones, they were killed and the good food within was taken to the Mother. It drank the remains, new ones with better minds had been born. Then dead eggs were given to the swarm so they could grow stronger.

And these two walkers, from what the mother sang they had strange Might. If the Swarm could only take some of the Might they had, then they would be so much stronger. Better Warriors would be birthed! The Leader might even become one of the special ones if it brought back all of them! And that would raise it higher in the Swarm, it might even become the first mate of the new Daughter! It would become the first of a new Swarm, the first leader! Its line would grow and one day, it would control all of the Below and Upper Realms!