Katherine was doubtful of Simon’s assumption that the giant metal thing was a UFO. It definitely looked like a spaceship, but that wasn’t what Simon meant. She didn’t think this thing, or any spaceship from this planet, had ever visited Earth. The look had to be a coincidence. While Justus called it a relic, he admitted to not having a clue what it was, who built it, or when. All he knew was that it was made before Varkalus’s recorded history, making it nearly 700 cycles old at least.
Justus and Simon argued and debated about the thing and its potential connections with UFO sightings on Earth, and all the implications that came with that. Katherine stayed out of the conversation. She wasn’t really interested in their conjecture. It reminded her too much of when her father used to drone on about conspiracies and stuff he’d watched on that Ancient Aliens show. That had never failed to drive Katherine crazy. In her view, there were already plenty of things she worried about that she couldn’t change; why bother adding conspiracies onto that heap? All she needed to worry about was getting through each day. Being stuck on another planet didn’t change that.
Katherine grabbed onto the rope that still dangled from the cave above. She didn’t like being in this cavern. It felt too big—too open: exposed. She’d felt that way in the marsh, too. Open areas weren’t things she was fond of, she was learning. Maybe it was a side effect of always living surrounded by tall buildings.
More than disliking open spaces, Katherine was starting to think she liked enclosed spaces. While Simon had been nervous about navigating the cave, she had loved it. The walls of stone surrounding her gave her a sense of security. They blocked out the world above, and the quiet left her without noisy distractions. There was also something comforting about knowing there was only forward and backward, with an occasional fork to choose from. She didn’t have to worry about what direction to go—didn’t have to make decisions. Walking through the cave had seemed like walking the line between the world of the living and the underworld of the dead.
After a few minutes of patient waiting, Katherine let go of the rope and turned back to Simon and Justus. Justus was now speculating something about interstellar distances. She coughed and raised her hand to get their attention.
“Does any of this really matter right now? Do we even know what this thing really is yet? We’d find out more by going inside and looking around instead of talking. We have to put the ashes in there anyway, right?”
Justus nodded, and Simon shrugged.
“She’s right. Let’s get moving.”
The hatch Justus found hadn’t fully opened. A panel had lifted a few inches above the rest. Justus grabbed it and slid it to the side. The hatch’s mechanism was smooth and silent, making Katherine wonder if it really was as old as Jutus claimed. A narrow hole was revealed, and a compact ladder made of what looked like brushed aluminum led deeper into the ship.
“Want me to send my clone? He’s keeping an eye on the rope right now, but I can call him back.”
“No, keep him up there. In fact, try not to use any Spirit once we’re inside. Relics sometimes behave unpredictably when exposed to Spirit.”
“Should I send out my kinetic?”
“No. As long as you aren’t using a skill, you should be fine.”
Katherine nodded. Justus entered the hatch and began descending. Simon went down next, and Katherine followed behind him.
The hatch led to a small chamber with a metal floor. The metal floor was the type you might see on a catwalk or oil refinery: the kind with diamond-patterned holes and serrated edges that looked like it would be incredibly painful to fall on. Under the floor she could see smooth metal pipes.
The chamber itself was minimally decorated. It had only one door, which was a heavily reinforced bulkhead with a tiny window. On the wall near the ladder, there were three glass containers that looked like walk-in showers. Inside the showers were hanging three suits. The suits were more sleek and compact than any of their kind she’d seen, but it was clear what they were.
“Those are definitely spacesuits, right?” Simon asked.
Katherine nodded.
Justus opened the glass door and began to examine the suit. After a minute of studying it, Justus reached out and pulled the helmet off the wall. He handed it to Katherine.
“Set this by the ladder; we’re taking it.”
Katherine frowned, looking down at the helmet.
“Taking it? For what?”
“To sell. That visor is interesting.”
Katherine looked to Simon, who suddenly looked uninterested in the spacesuit. Was that guilt? Did he know about this?
“We’re not selling this. We’re not taking it,” Katherine said, holding the helmet out to Justus.
Justus grabbed the helmet and pushed it back towards her.
“Yes, we are.”
“No, we aren’t,” Katherine shot back, pushing back. Justus didn’t budge, and she only succeeded in shoving herself away.
“I’m the ranking adventurer. I’ve been doing this for years. That was the agreement when I let you tag along. I teach you, and you do what I say. We’re taking it.”
“You told us yesterday that relics like this are dangerous, but we’d be fine because we aren’t messing with anything. You told us not to touch anything.”
“I told you that because someone might have been listening. We’re alone now, and we’re deep enough underground that not even a Ruby can hear us unless they’re already onto us. Either way, you aren’t going to touch anything except what I tell you to haul back here. And when we’re done, I’ll take inventory and keep whatever looks like it will sell the best.”
“Sell to who? You said being caught with this kind of stuff can get you sent to prison.”
“I have connections. Look, I’ve done this half a dozen times and have never been caught, but every time I’ve left with a bigger payout than any job I’ve ever done for the guild. I wouldn’t do it if I thought there was real risk.”
“Well… what if it’s a trap?” Katherine asked. “That old guy could be, like, a cop or something.”
That was the first thing that made Justus pause, though after a few seconds he shook his head.
“Doesn’t make sense. If he were an enforcer or with the Theology Guild, I’d have noticed. I trust my gut on those kinds of calls. Besides, an enforcer of Emerald rank has better things to do than lay out elaborate entrapment schemes for a Jade and two Opals.”
“This is still stealing. It’s illegal. It’s wrong. What if we get caught?”
“I know what I’m doing, Katherine. Just do what I tell you, or you can wait outside.”
“Wait outside? Screw you! Do you think I’m just some kind of pet you can boss around? This isn’t right. I won’t—”
Justus stepped forward and pushed the helmet against Katherine’s stomach. He took another step, looking down on her. She hated how intimidating he was, but she refused to back down.
“Like I told you before, heroes don’t last long here. I don’t know what you think I am, but I’m not some noble superhero like those idiots in capes where you’re from. And you’re the last person I want to hear complaining about stealing. Nobody likes a hypocrite.”
Justus let go of the helmet, and it fell to the metal floor between them with a crack. He turned around and went back to examining the suit. Katherine clenched her fists, then bent down to pick up the helmet. Its golden visor was cracked, reflecting her glare back at her, cut by a dozen fractures. She stood up and looked back at Justus, who was running a hand over the sleeve of the suit.
Katherine wasn’t even aware the thought had crossed her mind. One moment the helmet was in her hand, and the next it was flying through the air. The helmet smacked Justus in the back of the head, then crashed to the ground. It didn’t hurt him at all—she knew how tough he was from sparring with him—but he wheeled around, looking furious regardless.
Somehow, Katherine didn’t shrink back at his anger. In fact, she felt herself growing more angry in return. Calling her a hypocrite? She’d made a mistake in a life-or-death situation. He was stealing contraband that could get them all in trouble for a quick buck. He was the one being stupid right now, and she wouldn’t let him make her feel like she was in the wrong.
Before either of them could make a move, Simon stepped between them. He held his hands up to Justus in a placating gesture.
“Hey, let’s cool off, huh? We’ll take the suits and whatever other shit. Like you said, you’re the boss. I’ll talk to her.”
Justus shifted his glare to Simon, then shook his head. He muttered something under his breath as he turned back to examining the rest of the suit.
Simon walked over to Katherine and grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her along with him. She didn’t resist as he led her to the other side of the room. When they stopped, she folded her arms and looked away.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he whispered.
“He’s being an idiot!” she hissed at the ground.
“And so are you!”
Katherine felt another spike of anger. She glared at Simon, and he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean that. But look, Kate, you’ve been here as long as I have. There’s a lot neither of us know. Do you really think you know how things work here better than he does? I’m not saying you have to like it, or that this is the best thing to do, but maybe trust that he knows what he’s doing.”
The anger bubbling in her cooled to a quiet simmer as she listened. She had to force it down more before she could reply.
“It’s not that I don’t trust him, but this feels wrong. There’s something that feels… sacred here.”
“I get it; I don’t like it either, to be honest.”
“Then why don’t you say something? Talk some sense into him.”
“I didn’t say anything because I don’t know enough. Maybe whoever wants this kind of stuff will do good with it. I don’t know, and neither do you. The laws here could be bullshit, and the people buying this stuff might have good reasons.”
“I know that; it’s just… he doesn’t have to act like such a jerk.” Katherine said. A faint blush touched her cheeks as she heard herself. She felt like a petulant child throwing a tantrum again.
“But you’re right,” she continued with a sigh. “I… Thanks, Simon.”
Simon nodded. She left him to go back to Justus, but she could feel his concerned look watching her from behind.
Justus was examining a container on the floor next to the suits, which held what looked like a bunch of small tools. Katherine cleared her throat, grabbing his attention. He didn’t give any acknowledgment that he’d heard her.
“I’ll help you with… whatever you want to call this,” she told him. “But I have one condition.”
Justus finally looked her way, his expression neutral. For him, at least. It still looked like he was angry, but he always had that look. He didn’t respond or ask what her condition was, so she took the silence as a sign to continue.
“I’ll help, but if we find any weapons, they stay here. I’m not going to help you sell anything that could hurt people.”
Justus looked back at the container and picked up what looked like some kind of small multi-tool. After turning it over a few times, he tossed it over to her without warning. She barely caught it thanks to her enhanced Opal reaction speed. It was incredibly light and felt like a sturdy plastic.
“Fine. Not like there’s a shortage of good finds here. Weapons aren’t that valuable anyway, on account of the fact living superweapons make them a bit redundant these days. Put that in the pile by the ladder; the material isn’t one I recognize. Might be valuable.”
“Right… Hey, I’m, um, sorry about throwing that helmet at you. I guess I’m a bit stressed out with all that’s gone on recently, and I sort of lost my temper. Sorry.”
Justus glanced back at her. He nodded, then went back to digging through the container. Katherine stood there for a few more seconds, waiting. She cleared her throat again, and Justus paused once more to look at her.
“What?”
“Well?” she asked.
“Well what?”
“I apologized.”
“And I forgive you, so what do you want now?”
“Aren’t you going to say sorry?”
“For what? I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who was being unreasonable.”
Katherine tightened her grip on the strange multi-tool and reared her hand back to throw it before she caught herself. Hand shaking, she lowered the tool.
“You are such a… a… ugh!” She shoved the multi-tool in her pocket and stormed off.
Katherine continued to simmer in her anger, but she did so silently. The three of them made their way through the ship, looking through any rooms they could get into. Most rooms were sealed off with metal doors that were almost perfectly flush with the walls. Panels on the walls next to the door suggested some form of scanner technology to open them. Even if there was power, Katherine suspected the scanners were keyed to crew members that were long gone.
Justus made quick work of his inspections, and whenever he found something he thought might be valuable, he’d hand it off to them. When their hands got full, they’d go back to the ladder and set the items in a growing pile.
Outside the airlock—she assumed the room they’d entered through was an airlock—the ship seemed designed with comfort in mind. The floor, interestingly, was a fine fiber carpet. The walls were all warm colors despite their metallic sheen. Neither the carpet nor the walls seemed very old.
In fact, the ship and all the things inside were pristine. There wasn’t much dust, and even the air smelled fresh. The smell was reminiscent of a new car, but with slight oily factory undertones. Whatever air purifiers and insulation the ship had must have been perfect.
That was probably no longer the case. Their interference had likely broken whatever vacuum or released whatever chemical was keeping this place in such a perfect stasis. Because of them, this place would likely be in ruins in another century. But at least they would get some decent money out of it.
The last thought flashed through her mind with bitter sharpness. While she wasn’t about to make another scene, Katherine was still upset about looting a thousand-year-old artifact from a lost history.
After an hour of sorting through the ship’s items, the three of them came across the largest room yet. Katherine wasn’t big on scifi, and hadn’t watched or read much of the genre. She had seen Star Wars once with her father, but that was ages ago, and she hadn’t really liked it. But she didn’t need to be familiar with fictional spaceships to recognize what this room was for.
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The room had the same fiber carpet, though there were thick plastic mats strewn about. The walls were smoothed dull metal, and there were dozens of panels and tables strewn with buttons, levers, switches, black screens, and occasionally what looked like large joysticks with odd shapes and buttons of their own. Each station of panels had a chair seated in front of it.
The largest panels were near the front, where two oddly round chairs were stationed. In the middle of the room, closer to the back, was a raised platform separated by a railing, featuring a large chair. The chair was flanked by small panels on either side, along with a large display suspended above that looked capable of lowering itself. That had to be the commander’s chair. She wasn’t sure what the right term was. The admiral? Captain? She supposed it didn’t matter anymore.
In the very front of the room was a massive glass panel. It was see-through, but not a window. In the light of Justus’s guidestone, she could see the metal walls behind the glass. The glass was edged by a raised border. Whatever purpose it once had was now a mystery.
During operation, the room must have looked incredible. Right now, though, it only seemed surreal. It felt more like a high-production movie set than a real part of a vehicle.
“The bridge,” Simon said, his voice quiet and reverent. “Fucking awesome.”
“Take a look around. See if there’s anything loose we can take. Be careful, and don’t touch anything before I can check it out.” Justus said. He walked towards the captain’s chair, shining his light up to examine the screen in the air.
Katherine headed to the left, while Simon went to the right. She got a closer look at the panels and black screens. The layout was intricate and had minimal labels. What was labeled was in a strange script made up of complex interlocked shapes, looking more like geometric formulas than a language.
She paused when she came across one of the panels. It was more stripped down than the others. There were still well over two dozen buttons, knobs, and switches, but not quite as many as the other stations.
One of the buttons was different than any other. It was contained in a small glass box. Cautiously, Katherine reached out to touch the glass. It lifted easily. The button was small and red, looking semi-transparent, as if a light were meant to shine from it. At the same time, the button seemed rough and metallic. A semi-transparent metal? She didn’t know materials like that existed. Her finger brushed against the button, curious about its material. To her surprise, the moment her finger contacted the material, the button sank, pressing itself as if she had slammed her fist down on it. To her shock, the button lit up.
Katherine heard a scraping sound behind her and a loud curse. She twisted to look around and barely managed to see Justus falling into the floor. She darted over to him, but it was over too quickly. His curse faded quickly in the carpeted room as he fell. There was an opening in the ground where he’d been standing. She twisted her wrist so her stone shone down the hole, and she was able to see a slight curve of the rounded metal hole. It was almost like a slide.
“Justus!” She called as Simon reached the hole.
There was a pause. She shared a worried look with Simon.
“Yo! Are you dead?” Simon yelled. His voice echoed from the opening.
Quiet filled the air for a few stressful seconds, then Justus’s voice echoed back, sounding distorted and distant. Katherine let out a sigh of relief.
“I said not to touch anything!” the echoed words said.
Katherine felt a bit of heat creep up the back of her neck. She looked up to see Simon shake his head, a smirk on his lips.
“My bad!” Simon yelled into the pit. “Can you get back up?”
Katherine felt a mix of relief and gratitude, but it was short-lived. Her guilt smothered the positive emotions quickly. Again she’d caused problems. It was starting to feel like that was all she was good for.
“I’ll look around!” Justus’s voice came from the hole. “Stay there and don’t touch anything, or I’ll break your guidestone and leave you here!”
“Aye, Captain!” Simon barked into the hole. The message echoed without reply. Simon looked up to her, his curious expression asking a question he didn't need to speak.
“Sorry. There was a weird-looking button. I didn’t mean to press it. I swear I only wanted to feel what kind of material it was, and it just pressed itself.”
“It… pressed itself?” Simon asked, clearly skeptical.
“It did! Seriously, I barely brushed it with my fingertip.”
“I believe you. It's just weird.”
Katherine wasn't sure he did believe her, but she decided to move on.
”Why'd you tell him it was you?”
Simon shrugged. “I just got the feeling he’d take it better from me, especially after the argument you two had. I’m actually surprised it wasn’t me. I did touch a few things, to be honest. You probably just got unlucky.”
“Yeah, may—” Katherine was cut off by a soft grinding noise. A carpeted panel slid out of a seamless compartment to cover the hole where Justus had fallen. It clicked into place and disappeared completely into the rest of the carpeted floor.
Another click drew her attention. Katherine looked to the back wall where they had entered. There had been two doorways on the back wall, one to the right and one near the center of the wall where they’d come through. Both doors were shut now, their metal nearly flush against the wall.
Katherine shared a concerned look with Simon.
“That’s probably not good,” he said.
They walked over to the door they’d come through. There was no seam where they could even attempt to pry open the door. Simon touched the metal door, rapped his knuckles against it, and then did the same to the wall.
“Well, shit. It’s not very thick, but I don’t think we could bust it open. Maybe if we had a sledgehammer or something.” He looked back into the room, his gaze scanning the numerous panels. “But maybe we don’t have to. Which button opened the trapdoor?”
“It’s over there,” Katherine said, pointing it out. She followed Simon as he made his way to the panel. “What are you doing? Justus told us to stay here.”
“I don’t think he meant for us to stay trapped here forever. We’ll need the doors open eventually.”
Simon leaned over the panel, looking over the odd button. Before she could protest, he reached out and tapped the button. The button sank into the panel as soon as he touched it, just like before. It flashed its dim red light, and the sound of metal grinding filled the room.
It wasn’t the doors that opened. Only the trapdoor responded to the button. There went that hope for getting out.
“Woah. You really weren’t joking about the button pressing itself. That felt weird.”
“Should we follow Justus?” Katherine asked. “Tell him we got stuck in here? He might need help.”
“Hmm… No, better not. We don’t know where he ended up or if he has a way out. All three of us could get stuck down there. If there’s a way for him to get out, he can help us. If we can find a way out, we could help him. Don’t keep all your eggs in one basket, you know?”
“Good point. So what’s the plan? We can’t just press every button and switch until we get it right.”
“Why not? I doubt any of them are dangerous. This is a ship, not a deathtrap. What’s the worst that could happen, we make the air conditioner too cold?”
Katherine figured a lot worse could happen, but it was true that they would have to find a way out eventually.
“Fine, but look for similar buttons. There has to be some sort of pattern or standard. And tell me before you touch it. There might be other trapdoors. Maybe one opens the normal doors too. The button I pressed caused them to shut, after all."
Simon nodded. For the next ten minutes, they split up and cataloged all the buttons that looked similar to the one she’d touched. It turned out that there were five similar buttons on both ends of the room. Some were a different color or shape, and no two were alike.
“There’s an extra one…” Simon said, counting out the buttons.
“Why’s that?”
“There are nine chairs in the room. The first button opened an escape hatch for the captain. If all the members of the bridge had an escape button, then there should only be nine. One is extra. The extra is probably one of the two on the captain’s panels. There’s only one on the other stations.”
“Maybe it opens all of them?”
Simon shrugged his shoulders. “It could. Should we try that one first, or try out the others?”
“Let’s test the rest first. I feel like that’s the safer bet.”
Simon glanced back to the captain’s chair. Katherine thought he might push back against her suggestion, but he nodded a moment later.
“Probably better. It’ll tell us pretty quick if we’re on the right track or not. Just be prepared. We don’t know for sure what could happen.”
One at a time, the two of them pressed each of the buttons. Simon’s theory proved true, as small openings appeared near each station on the bridge. Strangely, none of the buttons controlled the escape hatch of its own station. Katherine assumed there was a logical reason for that, but she also didn’t think it was worth wondering about. Finally, they reached the two buttons on the captain’s panels.
“Any guesses on which is the extra?” Katherine asked.
There was a glass-covered button on the panels that connected to either armrest of the captain’s chair. The one on the left-hand panel was square and silvery. The one on the right was round and blue. Both had unique characteristics, like all the other similar buttons.
“I think it’s the left one.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Most people on this ship were left-handed, I think. The layouts of the consoles all seemed designed for people who were left-handed. The touch panels, the joystick-looking things, and stuff that you’d want more coordination for were all on the left. So if the extra is important, it’s probably on the side of the dominant hand.”
Katherine looked back at the panels. She didn’t notice it before, but now that he pointed it out, she saw it clearly. He was right.
“Weird. Is that the same for everyone on the planet? Is Justus left-handed?”
“Can’t tell. I think he’s trained himself to be ambidextrous.”
“Really?”
“Think so. When he signed for the job, he did it with his left hand, but I saw him practicing sewing during the trip here, and he did that with his right hand.”
“He practiced sewing?”
“Yeah. He started after you hemmed up our robes. I think he took it as a challenge. He’s been practicing about half an hour each time we go to sleep.”
“How do you—oh, duh. You keep your clone up when we sleep.”
“Yep. So, the button? Left or right?”
“Let’s try the right one first, just to be sure. Be ready, though, and don’t stand where Justus fell, just in case.”
Simon looked down. “Oh, shit. Good catch.” He shuffled to the left and somehow managed an embarrassed smirk. Katherine found it strange that he could be so observant in some ways and yet be so careless in other ways. The more she got to know him, the stranger he seemed to her, and the more she wanted to know. She’d always assumed that what he showed was who he was, but she was increasingly certain that wasn’t the case. Katherine hid herself by being quiet. Maybe Simon did the same using abrasive humor.
Or maybe she was overthinking it, like she tended to do. She’d always caught herself doing that before, in school. It was one of the reasons she had a hard time keeping friends close. She’d overanalyze every little interaction, and it became so exhausting that she simply didn’t want to have them anymore. Eventually she just avoided them until they left her alone.
And now you’re overthinking your overthinking. She thought.
“Well?” Simon asked.
“Oh, um, right. Sorry. Just preparing myself to, um, be prepared,” she said. How long had she been staring at him?
Katherine lifted the glass and touched the button before she could go down another thought spiral. It sank, and the now familiar sound of soft metallic scraping came from behind her. She looked back to see a hatch opening near where she’d first pressed the button that caused Justus to fall.
“Looks like you were right. Let’s try the other.”
She stepped over to the left panel and raised the small glass shield from the button. Something made her pause, her finger just an inch from the button. She looked up at Simon.
“Be ready.”
She touched the button.
Nothing happened. It didn’t sink in like the others. She brushed her finger against it again. Nothing again. She pressed it down fully. Still nothing. She held it down. More nothing.
“Great,” she said bitterly. “It’s not doing anything. Did you notice anything?”
Simon shook his head. “Damn. I thought something would happen. How come all the others work?”
“They could be meant to be used in low power. Like a last resort emergency or something. This one must need more power, whatever it does.”
“Probably. Too bad,” Simon said.
Katherine pushed the button a few more times, only for nothing to happen. She sighed and sat on the captain’s chair, putting her head in her hands. She groaned in annoyance.
“Guess we just have to wait to get rescued. Again. I’m starting to hate having to rely on him every time something goes wrong.”
“I don’t mind. Less work for me.” Simon said, leaning on the nearby railing.
The two waited in silence for a time. Katherine contemplated if it was worth risking breaking the no-skills rule and trying to bust down the door with the large kinetic reserve she had. She was pretty confident that if she absorbed a dozen or so kicks from Simon, she could do some damage to the metal.
“Hey, can I ask you something? I’ve been meaning to, but I didn’t want to bring it up in front of Justus. I meant to ask you when we were training alone, but then, well… you know.”
But then I broke your arm, Katherine thought, feeling a stab of guilt. She’d almost managed to forget about that.
“Sorry…” She apologized again, perhaps for the twentieth time.
Simon waved her apology away, again, for perhaps the twentieth time. “Live and learn. That’s not why I brought it up. I’ve been thinking about it though, and that time when we were traveling, when you freaked out about bunking with me in a tent.”
Katherine adjusted the way she was sitting, trying to seem nonchalant. She made sure to face away from Simon so he wouldn’t see the blush she could feel spreading across her cheeks.
“What about it?” She asked, surprised how calm she sounded.
“Well, I’ve been wondering why, and I think I have an idea.”
Katherine felt her skin grow clammy. Why was he doing this here, where she couldn’t make an excuse and leave? She could already hear the rejection in her head and feel the embarrassment that would crush her every time she looked at him from now on.
"Look, back at school, I didn’t really know you, and I don’t remember if I ever made fun of you. If I did, though, I just want to make sure you know I didn’t mean anything by it. I sometimes say stupid stuff without thinking. I don’t try to be mean, but sometimes it comes across that way. So, sorry, I guess.”
“What?” She said, turning to look at him. He was looking at the ground. Was he embarrassed? “You never made fun of me. Well, you poked fun a couple of times in PE sophomore year, but I knew you were just messing around.”
He looked up, feeling relieved. “I didn’t? Oh, good. I couldn’t remember, and I thought for sure I might have made a joke or something that pissed you off. I really thought you might have been holding a grudge this whole time. Then what was up with the whole tent thing?”
Katherine’s blush returned; she looked away quickly.
“It was just… weird. I knew you already, but Justus… he’s basically an alien, so it wasn’t that weird.”
“He does act like an alien, doesn’t he? I thought maybe everyone here would be like that, but all the villagers were pretty normal, and the people here don’t seem that weird. I think he’s just a really intense dude. But we’re cool then?”
“Yeah, we’re cool.” Katherine said, glancing over to him. He flashed her a smile, and she looked away. Her mind still buzzed with panic, but why did she feel disappointed? She’d been terrified he had found out how she felt about him, but now that she knew he didn’t, she wanted him to? She wished her feelings would make sense. Or at least be consistent.
Maybe… maybe she should tell him? The thought made her want to curl up and run back into the cave and hide forever. But wasn’t it better to confront it now? She’d hurt him because she couldn’t control her feelings. Sure, he hadn’t thought much of it, but it was a more serious mistake than he knew. What if she had touched his head instead of his arm? She could have killed him, all because he’d grappled her into an embarrassing position.
She could do it, couldn’t she? She’d faced down a monster that could have killed her easily; she could say a few words that might embarrass her. The room suddenly felt ten degrees colder. She took a deep breath, trying and failing to calm her racing heart.
“Simon. I need to—”
Light poured from the ceiling, and hundreds of glowing switches, buttons, screens, and displays powered on at once. The giant glass in the front of the room flashed a deep purple, then showed a black and white image. It looked like a night-vision display of the cave outside. A digital window. Dozens of tiny boxes appeared on the large display, flashing with that strange geometric language that the System refused to translate.
“Huh. Good timing,” Simon said, pushing off the rail. “You think Justus did that?”
“Probably. Who else?” she replied. Even when he wasn’t here, Justus managed to annoy her. Or maybe she was grateful. She couldn’t tell, so she defaulted to being pissed at him.
“What were you saying, though?” Simon asked.
Katherine felt blood rush to her cheeks again. Fortunately, she was spared from having to answer. Unfortunately, the interruption was an alarm.
The lights flashed red, and a metallic slam came from behind. A thick, dark metal rose from the ground and sealed the two doors to the room. That only drew her attention for a short time, since a split second later, another mechanical whirl pulled her eyes to the center of the room. A panel, far larger than any of the others before, opened up on the ground. A platform lifted from below, and it wasn’t empty.
A three-foot-tall piece of dark metal was resting on the platform. It was perfectly smooth, without any seams, and shaped like an egg. Near the top, two red lights blinked on. There was a black dot in the light, which focused on Katherine, then moved to Simon. Eyes. A high-pitched sound came from the egg.
Katherine didn’t hesitate. Instincts drilled into her by the past two weeks of training with her paranoid instructor drove her to action. She dove to where Simon was standing and tackled him at the waist. Just after they hit the ground, a sound like a laser gun from a scifi movie cranked to a painfully loud volume made her ears ring. A rush of heat came from above as a white beam of light flashed, disappearing as quick as lightning. The air smoked where it vanished.
She and Simon scrambled back up. The metal egg now had a panel open on its center, revealing what looked like a mini condensed tesla coil surrounded by copper embedded with multi-colored gemstones.
Seams split along the sides of the shape. Four spider-like legs rose from the bottom and lifted the machine a few feet into the air. Two arms separated near the top. Each split into two and moved with far more fluid dexterity than she’d seen from any machine on Earth. It was as if the metal were liquid at the joints. The four arms split into further sections at the end, forming three claw-like fingers, each inlaid with gems, with large gemstones surrounded by gold and copper near the center of the palms. The fingers spun around the hands like a jet engine, then stopped, rotated, and clicked together a few times.
“You’ll have to tell me later,” Simon said. “Think it’s worth risking using our skills here?”
Katherine didn’t answer with words. She raised her hands just as the machine did the same. Fire filled the center of the room, blasting hot wind and smoke through the air. She was almost glad for the chance to let loose again. Glad to have a target where she could direct the anger she normally had to shove down. And she had plenty of it to throw around.
Where did Justus go?
