PROLOGUE

Deep into that darkness peering,

long I stood there, wondering, fearing,

doubting, dreaming,

dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before

-Edgar Allen Poe, "The Raven"

          A harsh wind raked coarse dust across endless dunes and crags of sharp rock, pulverized after eons of relentless battering.  Nothing lived here except howling torrents, sunlight bleakly making its way to the surface after battling its way through clouds of dust and ash. 

          It had been the same desolation for millennia, and so it would be, most likely, until its star exhaled its last breath and consumed the world, erasing it from the cosmos as if it had never existed.

          However, on this day that would last for another several weeks, this world would see life on its surface, for the first time in maybe millions of years.  It would, however, also be the last time.

          A ship, black and shimmering, pierced the clouds, nimble as a knife in deft hands, and made its way toward the surface.  It was smaller, about the size of a Ghost class Federation ship, easily operated by a minimal crew.  But it definitely wasn't from the Federation.  Not only did it not look like any Federation vessel, nor did it have any of the appropriate markings, but a single ship so small would never be alone on an uncharted world so close to Simulacrum space.

          Yet here it was, and within minutes was landing on a relatively flat stretch of rock, its repulsor engines gracefully lowering the ship smoothly toward solid ground, small landing pads resembling claws lowering to soften the ship's landing.  With barely and thud it touched down, and for several seconds the roar of the engines quieted to a soft hum before yielding to silence, steam hissing out of exhaust ports for a moment before joining in the quiet vigil.

         For a while it stood there, a faint tick, tick as rough fragments reverberated off the thick metallic hull, until a hatch opened and a dark figure emerged.  She was fully covered, not an inch of her flesh exposed to the harsh atmospheric conditions.  A featureless mask covered her face, and a hood, grey in color, adorned her head, flapping in the intense wind.  Her body was covered in matching robes and black leather-like gear, with tougher carbosteel plating covering the more vital areas.

          She took a look around, ingesting the scene before her, the nothingness of this forsaken world eating at her like a disease.  It was hard to believe this place once supported lush wildlife, winding rivers, and dense forests.  Deciding not to dwell on it, she checked her monitor on her left forearm, noticing her arm felt heavier than usual on this large planet.  The display indicated her objective was not too far to the west, and she moved toward it.  It was when she started walking that the high gravity could be truly felt, and it was almost punishing to walk.  However, her task was far too important to worry about it, plus she wouldn't be here for too long, for the sooner she was finished the sooner she could leave this world forever.

          After a few minutes of trudging along, she came across a fissure in the face of a crag.  Standing before it, she placed her hand on one of the rough edges of the narrow opening and peered inside.  It appeared to be the mouth of a long passageway into the darkness, which could possibly go on for miles for all she knew.  However, she had to make the descent or risk incurring the disappointment of her brother.

          Looking out at the wastes behind her one last time, she began her excursion into the cave, hoping that her time within would be a short one.  Immediately the wind stopped, the calm silence interjected with the whistle of moving air past the cavern's entrance a welcome change to the roar of tumultuous gusts and the staccato of sand rasping her masked helmet.

          Inside the cave her surroundings went from a bleary sand-blasted waste to an even darker, somewhat less sand-blasted cave.  She activated a built-in headlamp on her helmet, illuminating the path before her.  Her way was relatively unobstructed, the passage ahead of her gently sloped downward, curving to the left in the distance.  She started walking, and checked her monitor, which confirmed that she was most likely in the right place.  Continuing on for several minutes, her way twisted and turned every few dozen feet or so, and gradually began to narrow.

          The silence was almost maddening, her mind focusing on the sound of her own breath, and coupled with the high gravity and steadily tightening pathway, she was on edge much more than normal.

          Several mintues passed as she continued to make her way through the tunnel, and as the time went on, the rough, jagged walls of stone and dirt began to give way to smooth, polished masonry covered with a light layer of fine dust.  It was a welcome change, as even the ground she tread on became less effortful to find sure footing.

          Eventually she noticed upon the walls the sleekness was perturbed by intricate carvings and runes, barely noticeable through the dust.  They may have been carved as long ago as ten thousand years, or possibly millions, yet they were still perfectly preserved in the windless environment of the cavern.  Taking a moment to observe the designs, she noticed a few markings she recognized from her studies, yet many more she did not, and made a mental note to suggest to the arbiter or perhaps her brother to send a group of scholars to come and record it all.

          She continued on, and at long last she reached the end of the tunnel, the walls about her having narrowed to the point where she could no longer fully extend her lithe limbs.  In front of her was a flat wall barring her from continuing on, covered in runes and markings like the walls about her, partially obstructed by dust.  She brushed some of the dirt away, not that it would make reading the alien runes any easier, for she already had a general idea of what they represented, but to simply admire them, for they wer much more detailed, and, to her, beautiful, than all the rest before.  The patterns, the detail, the obvious care that was poured into every line she drank in, her sense of wonder sparking just like every time before she beheld such a sight, or when her brother told her tales of the Ancients when she was young.

          Her forearm display indicated that her target was very near, and therefore her mission was near completion.  Reaching into her robes, she pulled out her varitool, but for some reason she thought she sensed movement behind her.  Turning around, she flooded the pathway behind her with light from her headlamp, but there was nothing there.  The dust wasn't disturbed, no footprints other than her own had been made on the floor, there was no evidence to suggest she wasn't alone. The gravity, darkness, and cramped conditions were just putting her increasingly on edge, she surmised before refocusing her attention back on the door.

          Her varitool hummed lazily as the inner components sprang to life, and a small holo screen lit up before her, automatically beginning its analysis of the images carved in stone.  After a few moments of soft signals and tones as the device studied the designs, it ringed its conclusion.  Smiling beneath her mask, she collapsed her varitool and returned it to its place within her cloak, fixating her attention on a specific series of symbols.  Extending her long, thin fingers, she gently grazed a fingertip across the stone surface, etching an invisible design among the impeccable arrangements of patterns.

          Slowly but surely, a dim silvery light emitted from where her finger brushed along the rock, and disappeared as quickly as it came.  She stood, backing away in anticipation, and the rock melted away, as if it had never even been there, revealing the chamber it blocked from view.

          Taking a moment to collect herself, she paused before entering.  Experiences like these, for her, were few and far between, and never failed to take her breath away.  Despite the awe they inspired within her, the possibility of danger was always present in Ancient ruins, and it was important to maintain constant vigilance despite the urge to focus on the obvious.

          After a moment she stepped into the dark chamber, her senses sharp.  For a few seconds everything around her was black, until she was several feet within, and runes, even more detailed than those carved into the dissolving doorway, appeared on the walls and floor, all illuminating in their familiar dim silvery glow.  Despite the fact each individual symbol only gave off a small amount of light, there were so many, everywhere, that the entire chamber became well lit.

          She drank it all in, memorizing every detail so she could revisit this place in her mind later at her leisure.  There was no doubt about it now, her brother was right about there being an Ancient chamber here.  She was here as a favor to him more than anything, as an arbiter hadn't sent her here.  Her brother being as busy as he usually is, she felt like it was the least she could do for him.  She was eager to return to him with the news that he was right about this place, but she decided to do a little looking around to see what things of interest were here, if any.

          The chamber was illuminated enough with all the phosphorescent sigils giving off their sterling light, but after activating her headlamp she could see every detail in the room.  It appeared to be simply an antechamber as there was a doorway in the far wall that led to another, possibly larger chamber.  Removing from her robes the varitool once more, she made her way through the antechamber towards the next room, carefully watching her step as to not possibly disturb anything of value.  She set her device to auto scan, which would giver her an extra set of eyes as she looked for anything of interest.

          In the next chamber she was greeted with a similar welcome as the last, with the symbols along the walls growing luminous upon her entrance.  This chamber was far larger than the previous, however, and had several doorways to other rooms along the walls, and pillars rose from the ground, each exquisitely carved from the stone, to meet the dark canopy overhead.

          What was most interesting about this particular chamber, however, was what was set in the very center, set upon a pedestal of stone, illuminated from the base by a circle of much brighter silver light.  She moved closer to the pedestal, which atop rested a small, intricately designed dodecahedron shaped object.  It had twelve faces, each face having five edges, giving it an almost spherical shape, and upon its surface was carved the most detailed designs she had seen yet. 

          Upon looking at it, she felt a serene sense of familiarity, as if she had seen it before.  Then she realized she had, in a very old codex her brother was researching.  Upon one of the pages he'd shown her a sketch of an object that looked just like the one before her, and he had called it an Omnibus, an object which, when opened or activated somehow, revealed a wealth of information the Ancients had gathered at the height of their civilization eons past.  It was thought all were lost to the ages, for none that the Syndicate recovered were ever in such pristine condition.  This one, however, appeared as if in the right hands it could be awakened.

          A gasp of excitement emitted unintentionally from her pharynges as she reached to collect the omnibus, simultaneously returning her varitool to its place amongst her robes, eager to return the artifact to her Syndicate, namely her brother.

          "Well this is fortunate," came a voice from behind, chillingly charismatic and dripping with menacing insolence.  Frightened, she spun to face the voice's owner, her headlamp illuminating a dark figure clothed in tattered black robes, a similarly tattered hood concealing much of his face, and a dark gray metallic mask evoking the visage of some kind of insect.  The most eerie feature was, however, the two soft orbs of pale blue green light that exuded from where his eyes should have been.

          He, or it, was an agent of the Simulacrum, but she had no idea how he was here, this world being in Federation space.  His mere presence this far across the armistice line risked plunging the galaxy into conflict.

          "Well, for me, at least."  He had his rifle trained on her head, and yet she was so afraid to move, keeping his weapon ready wasn't necessary.  "Really, the coincidence is quite uncanny, if you think about it.  With all the vastness of space I just happen to arrive to this place mere minutes after you."  Lowering his weapon slightly, he began casually walking toward her.  "If I believed in fate, or destiny, or gods, I'd chalk it up to that. But, since I don't, let's just call it luck."

          As he talked, she inched her hand to her sidearm, hoping her head lamp blinded him enough to not notice.  With a bang, her lamp erupted, sending a shockwave through her skull and down her spine, dazing her, and the room went dark save for the phosphorescent designs within the chamber.

          "Still, bad for you." Smoke billowed from the barrel of his rifle.  She hadn't even seen him raise it again.

          "What are you doing here?" she demanded, her head pounding and ears ringing.

       "Ah, come now," he said, lowering his weapon once more, still nonchalantly moving in her direction "let's not be so hostile."  She made sure to position herself between him and the Omnibus.  "And don't take me for a fool.  It's rude, and I detest rudeness.  You know very well we're here for the same prize."

          Her fears confirmed, she had to act quickly if she wanted to escape with the Omnibus alive, for agents of the Simulacrum were not to be trifled with, and if this particular one had come alone, then he was among the most dangerous kind.  Unsure of what she should do next, she decided to try and stall the agent and hope she thought of something.

          "I am Corvae Shor'aur," her voice stammered, "a representative of the Syndicate of Whispers."  She was careful not to make any quick movements as she continued, "This Ancient sanctum, and all of its contents, are now under the ownership of-"

          "Oh, enough with your self-righteous blubbering, you pretentious little insect."  At this the agent, clearly agitated, lowered his firearm completely, drawing a blade and placing it at her throat, having closed the distance between the two of them.  With a flick of his wrist, the vibromotor encased within the hilt came to life, oscillating the blade to upwards of ten-thousand hertz.  "Let's get one thing straight, I could have ended you quite some time ago, but I'm under orders to not spill any blood unless I have to."

          With every word she couldn't help but feel helpless as those pale, almost ghostly aqua eyes pierced her being, his gaze, albeit from behind a mask, sharper than any blade.

          "Besides," he continued, "I needed you to open the chamber entrance for me.  Thanks for that.  But know I don't care who you are or who you represent.  I will have the Omnibus, and if I must watch the life drain from your eyes to do so, believe me, I will enjoy doing just that."

          With that, she was sure her time was up, so she stood aside, feigning allowance for him to access the Omnibus.

          "Good girl." he lowered his blade and moving to take possession of the artifact.  However, she was about to prove that she was not one to give up her prize so easily.

          She spun, elbowing him in the back of the head and kicking him square in the foreleg, tripping him up and causing him to fall to the ground.  Another opportunity to escape surely would not arise, and she took it up as a chance to grab the Omnibus and attempt an escape through the archway.  Her only chance was to get enough of a head start, make it to her ship, and get above the atmosphere.  She had to get a message to her brother, or to anyone for that matter.  Even if the Omnibus fell into Federation or Coalition hands, it would still be better than for the Simulacrum to get a hold of it.

          She ran as fast as she could, almost blindly down the passageway, the only light she had to judge where to put her feet came from the rune-lit chambers behind her.  However, that light quickly disappeared once she turned her first corner, and she had to resort to memory and her varitool to guide her.

          Thoughts raced through her mind: how did he find this place?  As far as she knew, only her brother and her arbiter knew of it, and that could only mean one thing.  Someone in the Syndicate had betrayed them to the Simulacrum.  She only hoped she could somehow get word to her brother, for he could be in grave danger.

          Another thing that she wondered was why didn't the agent just kill her outright?  He could have very easily, especially when she was enthralled by the sight of the omnibus.  She could only guess that the Simulacrum did not wish to risk leaving evidence of their presence past the armistice line.  However, if they were to get their hands on the Omnibus, it was highly possible that whatever secrets it contained would put them in a position to not have to worry about resistance from the Federation, nor the Coalition.  The entire galaxy would fall under their control.

          Quickening her pace as best she could despite the gravity, she dared not attempt a glance behind, for the agent could be mere inches trailing behind her, and given the Simulacrum's penchant for cybernetic enhancement, she was honestly surprised he hadn't caught up to her.  The ground beneath her began to grow more rugged, which meant that the cave exit was growing near.  Minding not to slow down or lose footing, she tapped a couple quick commands on the monitor on her left arm, sending a signal to her ship to fire the engines now that she was within range.

          Turning a corner through the tunnel, she saw the welcome sliver of grey of the exit.  Moving as fast as her legs could carry her she twisted her body to fit through the narrow gap without having to slow down.  Her visor scraped against the rock as she passed through, leaving her vision partially obstructed, but all the same resumed her sprint once outside, the taxing gravity beginning to take its toll on her energy.  The eerie silence of the cavern was suddenly replaced by the roar of the wind and the jagged tapping of sand and dust hitting her helmet and mask.  The ship soon came into view, the engines spewing exhaust out of the vents, and in her struggle she managed to breathe a sigh of relief just before commanding it to prepare for liftoff via her wrist monitor.

          The engines roared as she sped toward her ship, and it gently hovered a few feet over the sandy earth, blasting particulates in every direction.  Approaching the hatch, she felt as if her legs would soon give out beneath her, and with one last tap on her monitor it opened, the promise of sweet escape lying just beyond.  With all the strength she could muster she leapt for the hatch, her hand gripping a rail lining the doorway, and looked back from where she came, her eyes struggling to peer through the cracks in her visor.

          There he was, slowly walking toward her ship, a black silhouette against the unforgiving grey background, aiming his rifle directly at her.  Flames spewed from the muzzle, and her shoulder erupted with a searing pain as the projectile tore through her armor and flesh.  Her robes started to warm with her blood as she hastily shut the hatch and rushed to the ship's control console, panic flooding her thoughts as she took the stick in her hands and guided the ship upward.

          Loud bangs came from outside as the agent opened fire upon her ship, and she prayed to the Ancients as she put everything her ship had into its engines, speeding it towards the clouds.  Soon the grey atmosphere gave way to the cold blackness of space, and she traded one source of dismay for another.  Her displays told her that a fuel line had been hit, and by her calculations she deduced that after pushing her engines so hard to leave the atmosphere, she had barely enough to make one short range jump.  After that, her fate was no longer in her hands, but there was no way she could stay here.  She had lost a lot of blood, and was losing more by the second, and if in her dying moments she kept the Omnibus out of the hands of the Simulacrum, then she could rest easily.

          She had her computer plot coordinates that would take her deeper into Federation space, hoping the Simulacrum agent would not follow, signaled her automated distress message, and slammed the controls, commanding her ship to make the jump.  Seconds later, as the ship left the star system behind, her mind drifted to her brother, silently pleading for him to come save her as her consciousness slipped away.



Reviews

[africa]

Excellent writing. I really enjoyed reading it. Thank you.