“Here he comes,” Skorra said, her tail flicking nervously.
The crowd parted, stepping aside for Gravult and his entourage, the silent black-clad bodyguards following behind him. He walked slowly, his cane slamming against the stone. He made a show of every step, stopping several times to shake hands and wave at children.
“Ah, the star child, the knower of truths, you have returned! Do you bring good news? Is the Vystok slain?” Gravult was projecting his voice, making himself heard to the scores of listening, twitching, ears.
“We need to talk about that. Somewhere private. Specifically, we need to go to the crystal room. The one that powers the city,” Michael said. “The Vystak, the ice, we can solve it all, quickly and easily. It’s all very simple really.” Michael was losing his cool, resorting to his usual babbling. “So, if we can ju—”
“So, the Vystok is not dead?” Gravult said, his voice sharp and hoarse, slicing its way through Michaels words. “Why have you returned if the creature yet lives?”
“Like I said, we need to talk about it. In the crystal room.”
“Anything you wish to say, you can say here, in front of my people.” Gravult’s grin was wide, his eyes smug. He was playing it up for the crowds. “So, what did you want to say.”
Aileena pushed her elbow into Michael’s side. “Looks like we’re going with plan B.”
“Plan B sucks. Do we really have to do plan B?”
“Looks like it.” Aileena was bouncing on her toes, oddly excited about the prospect.
“Fine.” Michael sighed. “Gravult, you need to disconnect the crystal.”
“I’m sorry, I thought you said disconnect the crystal.” Gravult let out a nervous chuckle. “That can’t possibly be right.”
“It is father. The Vystok, it isn’t our enemy. It’s a creature from space. It came to bond with our planet, but it was sick. The Vystak are a part of that sickness. It doesn’t control them. It’s trying to fight them. That’s what the crystals are, part of the Vystok. Their power is its power. And it can’t fight the Vystak with us draining it.” Skorra stepped towards Gravult, bringing her nose close to his.
“Nonsense! The Vystok killed our people, forced the survivors to shelter in the tower.”
“Our people abandoned us, left in ships for a new home. Our ancestors were just the dregs, the one’s they deemed not worth saving. They are responsible for our fate, not the Vystok!”
“What happened to you? Has the creature warped your brains!”
Aileena pulled back her sleeve, revealing a metal bangle around her wrist. Like the suits they had worn on their descent it had been charged from the crystal aboard the Sword, and seemingly retained its power on the planet. When they returned from their expedition, Kestok had been excitedly discussing some results of his scans on the crystal they had. The power flowing through them had a similar signature to the ambient energy in jump space. His current theory was that the creature was somehow capable of tapping into jump space, and that Merydia actually existed just slightly out of phase with the rest of the universe. Enough to cause the laws of physics to be just a fraction off. The delicate alien technology just couldn’t cope, bleeding power.
“Brekt, you read me?” Aileena said into her bangle.
“Loud and clear. I’m guessing we’re on plan B then?” Brekt’s voice was oddly tinny coming from the nearly invisible speaker.
“You’re sure this is right?” Aileena said, turning to Skorra.
“Yes. I might not know anything about your technology, but I know the tower like the back of my hand. It’s right.” Skorra gripped her goggles, placing them over her eyes. She grinned and crossed her arms.
“Plan B is a go, Brekt,” Aileena said.
Brekt held onto the controls tightly. It wasn’t necessary, the information had been planned in advance, the specifics controlled by Clive. Since taking up residence in the Sword, he seemed smarter, as if the computing power of the impressive ship was letting him be his real self, unconstrained by technology. He was still insisting he was human, despite all evidence to the contrary, but had otherwise settled into his new role quickly.
“Ok, ready?” Brekt said. Before him, on the screen, Merydia floated. He could just make out the mountain range below them. Brekt was sitting in the command room of the Seeker, strapped tight to his chair.
The Seeker itself was being held tightly in the cables beneath the Sword, dangling from the underside of the ship. It had descended out, the tiny jets on the magnetic clamps manoeuvring the ship in the zero gravity. They had spun the Seeker onto its side, pointing the large top-mounted turret towards the planet below. A long black cable ran from the side of the Seeker into the Sword, an umbilical cord providing both power and a computer connection.
“Yeah, looking good,” Clive said. His voice was coming through the Seeker’s speakers. Brekt was thankful, he found the floating face strange.
“Ok. Fire.”
There was a millisecond delay as the Seekers main cannon charged, one that had been factored into the calculations. A brilliant beam of purple light screamed from the barrel, lancing towards the planet in a long line. It flew straight, burning through the atmosphere, slicing through clouds as it streaked towards its target.
Merydians scattered as the beam struck the tower, blasting through the outer stone, boring a hole into the strange stretched dimensions within. The shot continued its course, screaming through the air of the city, the beam aimed to just miss the buildings. Here and there curtains singed from the heat. One unlucky Merydian lost an entire line of laundry, suspended between buildings.
The shot hit the ceiling of the crystal chamber, bursting into the interior. It struck the connection at the top of the generator, vanishing into the ground, its target incinerated. The beam carried onward for a few miles, happily burrowing into the mountain before losing its cohesion.
“What have you done!?” Gravult screamed. Around him, the crowd of Merydians were panicking, stampeding back into the tower. Gravult slammed his staff angrily. “What have you done!?” he repeated.
“What needed to be done, father! We disconnected the crystal,” Skorra said. Her own voice was raised, an effort to rise above the noise of the fleeing crowd. “This needed to be done.”
“Are you insane! What happens now! To the tower! What keeps it as it should be? I have to get everyone out, in case everything… contracts.”
“It’ll be fine,” Aileena said. “Your ancestors were incredible engineers. The city will have battery backups. Lots I would guess.” Aileena raised her wrist. “Ok Brekt, you detecting anything?”
“Power is dropping, but we’re picking up spikes. Looks like batteries coming on. Seems like we hit the target. That was a hell of a shot, I have to give it to Clive.” Brekt’s voice was more upbeat than usual. “This story will be worth a few drinks when we’re next at a guild office that’s for sure.”
“Ok, get Kestok to shut down the crystal on the Sword, and we’re good to go.”
“Got it. Good luck down there.”
“You gloat! You attack us and you gloat.” Gravult pointed the hook on his staff forward. “Well,” he said turning to his guards, “don’t just stand there! Kill them.”
The guards rushed forward, six in all, towards the green-skinned mercenary. They were the best trained that Merydia had to offer. They wore the best equipment, carried the best weapons. They had bloodied themselves in combat against the Vystak. They were the elite, the finest warriors of their race, and they were no match for Aileena.
The first went down quickly, swinging his pick too high. She crouched, landing an open-palmed blow on his throat. He collapsed, spluttering for breath. Aileena stepped to the right, using the falling Merydian for cover. She pivoted onto her left foot and kicked with her right, the blow knocking a pick from the hand of her next attacker. There was a snapping noise and the furred alien collapsed, howling in pain from his broken wrist.