‘Where are we going?’ asked Patrick, his feet pounding the hard floor relentlessly.
He was in good physical condition for a human but even he was slightly struggling to keep up with the lyan who ran down the corridor at a phenomenal pace.
‘You’ll see!’ shot back Saleek as he turned his head, winking at Patrick.
He held the artefact tightly under his right arm as he ran.
‘But...you have a plan, right?’
‘That would be telling!’ came the cheeky retort.
Is this all one big game to him? He’s going to get us both killed at this rate! Thought Patrick as he continued running.
At this point, he had no other options left except to trust his ally and hope that luck was on their side. They turned a corner and came to a T-junction.
‘This way!’ shouted Saleek as he turned left.
Patrick dutifully followed. Soon the corridor ended with a large door. Saleek barely even slowed down as he shoulder-charged the door at almost full force. The door was flung open and nearly knocked off its hinges as Saleek and Patrick exited the building. They found themselves back outside now, they were at the far end of the dig site. To their left was a gigantic wall with sheer sides that stretched up over a kilometre into the sky. Behind them and to their right were buildings of various shapes and sizes. The gate through which they had entered the site was many hundreds of metres away and there were several guards between them and the main exit. The guards were all rushing round seemingly in confusion, weapons raised. They looked as if they were looking for something.
Or someone. Must be something to do with that blast I heard earlier on which took out the lighting in that room, decided Patrick.
‘Which way now?’ he asked, turning to face Saleek.
‘Straight on!’ replied the spiky alien as he began to sprint again.
Patrick inhaled deeply and set off after him. Suddenly an angry-sounding, raspy voice cut through the air like a samurai sword through a watermelon.
‘Halt!’ the voice commanded sternly.
A group of five guards was advancing on Saleek and Patrick, their weapons raised and primed. The owner of the raspy voice was the mercenary that had initially lead Patrick and Saleek into the main building of the dig site. It was he who had shouted and he was now flanked by several more of his friends, all carrying heavy weapons.
‘Move!!’ instructed Saleek as he sped off, his heels kicking up a haze of orange sand as he ran.
Patrick did so, following Saleek. It was then that Mr Raspy-voice gave the order to fire. Sparks were sent into the air and sand erupted into explosions of orange-white as the guards’ weapons impacted around the fleeing human and lyan. Plasma bolts streaked across the dig site, making the air crackle evilly as they made their way towards their targets. The muzzle flashes of the guards’ weapons were almost blinding as they kept firing relentlessly. Saleek and Patrick quickly ducked behind some nearby large containers that were around two metres tall and four metres wide. The plasma blasts impacted against the containers, sending sparks and droplets of hot metal everywhere, but the human and lyan were safe, at least for a few moments.
‘Damn, I hadn’t counted on ‘em being this quick to reorganise themselves,’ said Saleek. ‘I figured that blast would’ve kept ‘em in disarray for ages and it’d be plain sailin’ to get outta this place.’
‘Speaking of that blast...’ panted Patrick, trying to get his breath back. ‘What on New Earth was it? Did you have something to do with it?’
Saleek grinned as he revealed a small metal device which he had been keeping in his pocket.
‘Just a little insurance,’ he explained. ‘I wasn’t sure if I could one hundred percent trust Mr Vallan. I’ve scouted this place out for weeks. Their security ain’t as tight as they’d like to think. I located the main power distribution node and set some remote-activated charges on it. One press of this button and bam! Instant power failure. Now all their locks, barriers, shields and computers are down. Their guns, however, are a different matter.’
‘Gee, you think?’ said Patrick sardonically, as a bolt of plasma soared over their heads, impacting on the sheer wall behind them and spraying them with hot sparks.
‘Gimme a break, will ya?’ responded Saleek. ‘Look, we’re really close to pulling this off. If we can get off this dig site, it’s just a short trip to my ship, then we can get the hell outta here.’
‘Well, they’ve got us pinned down and they’ve all got plasma weapons by the looks of it. What have we got?’
‘A used remote detonator and a bucket-load of sand in our boots,’ complained Saleek as he shook his right foot in an attempt to get rid of the orange sand.
‘In other words...nothing,’ said Patrick. ‘Do you think they’d accept our surrender?’ he asked hopefully.
Saleek gave Patrick a look which suggested the human had just said the dumbest thing he had ever heard in his life.
‘Ok, fine. Bad idea,’ admitted Patrick sheepishly. ‘Well, we do have one thing.’
‘What’s that?’
‘The artefact you took,’ said the human, pointing at the object which Saleek clung to his chest. ‘Maybe if we give them that, they’ll let us go. Or at least let us live!’
‘This artefact? You’re kidding, right? Have you any idea how much trouble I’ve been through to get hold of this thing?’
‘Is it worth your life?’ challenged Patrick.
‘Wait, hold on. Listen!’ said Saleek.
Moments passed and nothing happened.
‘What is it? I don’t hear anything,’ said Patrick.
‘Exactly!’
Saleek cautiously stuck his head out from behind one of the containers, before quickly scrambling back behind cover as a plasma bolt whizzed through the space that Saleek’s head had been occupying less than a second ago.
‘They’re slowly advancing and they’ve got their weapons trained on our position. They know we’re completely pinned down!’ said Saleek.
‘Oh shit!’ commented Patrick, his blood turning cold as fear began to grip him. ‘We’re finished!’
‘Maybe not...’ said Saleek, who had spotted something outside of Patrick’s field of vision.
The spiky alien pulled the metal detonator out of his pocket, grasped it tightly, then threw it at something. There was a high pitched clang as it bounced off something hard. This was followed by a yell, then the sound of plasma weapons firing. Then came a strange-sounding explosion which sounded a bit like metal shredding and compressed gas rushing out of a container. Suddenly the air became thick with white smoke. Saleek turned to face Patrick. He was wearing an unusually large grin on his face.
‘Dude, remember to thank me later. This is our ticket outta here!’ he said, beaming.
Patrick couldn’t think of anything clever to say, so he just grinned back.
‘Follow me, but stay close. It’ll be easy to get lost in this smokescreen!’ said Saleek as he jogged away from the containers at a medium pace.
Patrick ran after him and before long they reached what appeared to be a manhole etched into the ground. Saleek bent down, brushed away some grains of sand which half-obscured the manhole, gripped a nearby handhold with his free hand and twisted it. The manhole cover suddenly slid away, revealing a hole that lead underground. He entered it and moments later Patrick followed, closing the hatch as he did so.
As the human got below the surface, his eyes strained to make out any details. It was very dark down below; a few artificial lights dotted here and there provided the only illumination in the gloomy tunnel. After a while, Patrick’s eyes adjusted and he could see properly again. The tunnel seemed to be some kind of access shaft for maintenance of utility systems such as power and water. Large pipes were attached to the walls and they made strange noises ranging from gurgling to fizzing and crackling. There was no one else to be seen; no sentient alien nor any rodent or insect scurrying about either.
‘Oh, by the way,’ called Saleek as he le
ad the way, just in front of Patrick.
‘What is it?’
‘You see those red, kinda glowing cables runnin’ along the walls on both sides of us?’
‘Yeah?’ Patrick said as he moved his head closer to get a better look at them.
‘Well, try not to touch ‘em.’
‘Why’s that?’
‘’Cause they’re carryin’ enough energy to turn you into human barbeque.’
Patrick immediately wrenched his head away from the red cables.
‘Now you tell me...’ he muttered, making sure he didn’t get too close to them as he continued to walk down the narrow tunnel.
‘This is one of the underground maintenance areas for the local region. Normally people only come down here to make repairs to essential systems. Actually, I say people, that’s not true. It’s normally just robots they send down here. Since they’re protected from bein’ electrocuted and can see in almost total darkness, no one ever bothers to turn off the electricity or anythin’ like that. Or provide any decent lighting, for that matter,’ explained Saleek as he stepped over a trailing pipe that had come away from its wall mounting.
‘Makes sense, I guess,’ grumbled Patrick, still annoyed that he had nearly gotten himself electrocuted. ‘Hey, what was that back there?’
‘What was what?’
‘You know, the huge smokescreen. Where did that come from?’
‘Oh, that. Must’ve been our lucky day, buddy. There was a stack of storage units which contained compressed, cooled gas. They must use ‘em to cool their machines as they dig those big holes and excavate stuff from ‘em. I figured if I could get those dumbasses to fire at those containers, a lucky shot would rip one open and voila – instant escape route!’
Patrick couldn’t see Saleek’s face clearly in the dimly lit tunnel but the lyan was looking especially pleased with himself as he explained what had happened.
‘So...do you do this kind of thing often?’ asked Patrick curiously.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You know...con total strangers into helping you, double cross what I can only assume was a crime lord and steal things while getting shot at?’ Patrick’s voice tone hovered somewhere between indicating awe and irritation.
He felt a small pang of anger rise up within his chest as he remembered how the spiky alien had lied to him in the first place, to get him to help with his little adventure.
‘Well, not usually all in the same day, no,’ replied Saleek, smirking slightly.
‘Is everything a goddamned joke to you?’ said Patrick, beginning to get annoyed.
‘Look man, I understand this is a lot for you to process in one go, but chill out already. We’re not in the clear just yet. It won’t take ‘em long to find the access hatch to this tunnel and work out where we’ve gone. We’ve gotta get to my ship first, then I’ll answer any questions you wanna ask me. Deal?’
Patrick considered this for a few seconds, before grunting, ‘Fine. Deal.’
‘All right then, let’s keep moving. It’s not much further.’
Patrick begrudgingly followed his companion for another minute or so in silence, before the tunnel narrowed even more, if that was possible. The human had to be especially careful and agile to ensure he did not touch any of the glowing red cables which were still running along the sides of the passageway.
Eventually, the tunnel widened into an opening through which the pair went. The area beyond was enormous. They appeared to be in the middle of a gigantic vertical pipe which travelled upwards and downwards as far as the eye could see. Patrick was briefly tempted to throw a pebble or something similar down the huge shaft and see if it made a noise when it hit the bottom, giving a rough indication of depth, but he didn’t. The human and lyan trotted down a small walkway which was attached to the side of the huge pipe and this lead them to a rectangular-shaped ledge upon which Saleek’s craft was resting.
‘How on New Earth did you get the ship in here?’ asked Patrick incredulously, his mouth dropping open in wonder.
The spiky alien’s ship was larger than Patrick had been expecting; it was certainly much larger than your typical cargo vessel. It looked extremely solid and well-constructed even though the scorch marks and dents in some parts of the hull revealed its age; it was definitely not a brand new ship. It had a somewhat eclectic look to it as well; you could tell that certain equipment modules and sections of armour plating had been added to the vessel over the years, and these parts had obviously come from totally different manufacturers too.
I guess Saleek is the kind of guy who likes to tinker with technology and customise it to suit his preferences, mused Patrick as he approached the craft along with Saleek.
‘My awesome piloting skills did help,’ said Saleek, answering Patrick’s original question with typical cockiness. ‘But truth be told, it was really difficult manoeuvring through some of these pipes and passageways. I nearly dented the dorsal section of the ship as I entered this main chamber, it was kinda tricky. Still, couldn’t be helped. I needed a place that they would never find to leave my getaway vehicle.’
As the pair neared the ship, a hatch slid away to reveal a doorway and a hidden ramp simultaneously lowered to allow them access.
‘Impressive,’ commented Patrick in awe as he walked up the ramp. He had never seen a ship quite like this, not on the outer colonies.
‘Is it?’ said Saleek, slightly confused. He shrugged and nonchalantly added, ‘The tracking sensor automatically recognised me and the computer is programmed to open the door when I approach. Pretty common tech, really.’
‘Oh, right. Of course,’ said Patrick, somewhat sheepishly.
He was once again reminded of how little he knew about the workings of busy planets, coming from such a faraway colony.
As soon as they were both aboard, Saleek said aloud, ‘Seal external hatch and prepare for immediate takeoff.’
A synthesized voice grated ‘Acknowledged’ in a rather bored monotone. The source of the voice was unapparent, even though Patrick looked around carefully in an attempt to locate it as he walked. Saleek lead the human through various grey corridors to the ship’s cockpit and sat down in the main pilot’s chair. Patrick hovered just behind and to the left of him, unsure what to do.
‘Hey, you know anything ‘bout flying ships or navigation?’ asked the spiky alien without looking at Patrick, as he pressed various buttons and typed in commands.
‘Uh, not really. I mean, I can drive a ground-craft and I’ve had a few goes in a shuttle simulator but that’s about it,’ responded the human. ‘Truthfully, I’ve never really liked flying, either in a planetary atmosphere or in space,’ he admitted bashfully.
‘Okay,’ replied Saleek, his mind clearly on other things as he flicked switches and pulled various levers on a panel to his far right. ‘Just....sit down in one of the free chairs and try not to touch anything.’
Patrick looked around the cockpit. It was quite large and there were multiple stations that could be manned, all with lots of monitors, holographic displays, keyboards and control panels next to them. He wandered over to his left and sat down on a surprisingly comfortable chair. He marvelled at the colourful displays in front of him like a child being amused by something shiny before he realised that it was not a good thing that he knew so little about modern computers. Patrick suddenly felt nervous and very out of his depth indeed.
‘So...where’s the rest of your crew?’ asked Patrick, gesturing to the empty seats.
‘There is no crew,’ stated Saleek tonelessly.
Patrick blinked a few times before saying, ‘Well, what about all the empty seats?’
‘It’s just me. Well, me and you, now,’ came the reply.
Patrick wondered if there had ever been a crew to this ship and if there had been, what horrible fate had perhaps befallen them if Saleek was the only one left? He suddenly felt cold and very nervous and decided that he would rather not know, so he said nothing else. He hoped
Saleek would be able to fly the ship safely all by himself and he automatically felt guilty for not being able to help. As Saleek flicked a final switch with a flourish of his right hand, a hum sounded throughout the ship. It was low-pitched at first but then it began to get higher and higher, growing steadily in both pitch and volume as power coursed throughout the craft.
‘What’s that?’ asked Patrick.
‘The main generator is feedin’ power to the ancillary propulsion systems. We’re almost ready for takeoff. Can’t risk usin’ the main engines in such a confined space so we’re limited to short-range thrusters for now,’ answered Saleek as a small holographic display flickered to life in front of him. It was various hues of blue in colour and seemed to show a three dimensional map of the surrounding area.
‘What does that mean exactly?’ said Patrick, not fully understanding.
‘It means that the ride might get a little bumpy,’ replied Saleek, winking at the puzzled human.
Given Saleek’s gift for understatement, this can’t be good, thought Patrick as he took a deep breath and held onto the arm rests on his chair.
‘Primary thrusters at maximum power. All systems functioning normally,’ announced the synthesized voice of the onboard computer.
The main view screen of the cockpit came to life, showing the sheer sides of the vertical pipe in all their glory. Various labels and diagrams were superimposed onto the image, displaying data such as distance and composition of materials. Patrick, attempting to help, glanced back and forth between the main view screen and his own monitor, which was now displaying large amounts of information and data. He sighed as he realised it made so little sense to him that it might as well be written in an ancient, long forgotten language.
‘Manual control engaged. Ready for liftoff,’ said the computer.
‘Here we go!’ declared Saleek as he gripped the main joystick with one hand and increased the throttle slowly with the other.
The ship slowly raised itself from the ledge upon which it had been resting.
‘Retracting landing struts. Retracting complete,’ announced the computer in a very stating-the-obvious kind of way.
Patrick wasn’t entirely certain, but he thought he could detect a slight hint of sarcasm or boredom in the synthesized voice.
Are they giving computers personalities now? What are they going to think of next? Wondered Patrick in disbelief.
The craft hovered in mid-air for a moment before moving away from the side of the vertical pipe until it was in the middle of the enormous chamber. Saleek pulled the joystick backwards and the nose of the ship tilted upwards. So far, the movements of the vessel had been relatively smooth and seemingly effortless. Upon realising this, Patrick breathed out the lungful of air that he had been holding in and started to relax. Now, what happened next was anyone’s guess. Perhaps Saleek was feeling particularly mischievous that day, or maybe what followed was necessary in order to overcome the pull of the planet’s gravity. Either way, with a twinkle in his eye and nary a word said to his passenger, Saleek suddenly rammed the throttle forwards. Patrick barely had time to gasp before he was pinned back into his seat with remarkable force as the ship hurtled up the vertical pipe. The sides of the pipe rushed past on the view screen as the craft zipped along at an impressive speed for thrusters-only propulsion. Suddenly, various objects came into view, and considering how quickly they were travelling, they came into view rather quickly. Pipes and support structures, large robotic arms and thick cables were just a few of the hazards which appeared with very little warning. Patrick squeezed his eyes closed, unable to watch. Fortunately, the ship was manoeuvrable and Saleek was a rather good pilot. With his quick reflexes, he almost made it look easy as he navigated the maze of obstacles, the ship rolling, turning and banking as it continued on its ascent through the pipe. Patrick eventually became brave enough to open his eyes, just in time to see the sides of the large pipe converge into a very small hole up ahead.
‘Saleek, what are you doing?’ exclaimed Patrick, unaware that he was half-yelling.
‘Gettin’ us outta here, what’s it look like?’
‘We’ll never fit through that gap!’
‘Sure we will!’
There was no further time for debate as the ship rocketed towards the hole at considerable speed. Moments later, they were inside the hole, which turned out to be part of a much, much smaller pipe than the one through which they had just been flying. Patrick held his breath as he saw a circle of bright white light approaching.
Oh God, is this the end? Have I died? Did we not make it through the tunnel? Wait a minute....What the-?
Before Patrick could even finish that thought, the ship was spat from the opening of the pipe and was now above the ground level of Nexus One. The craft quickly began to climb higher and higher as Saleek pushed the thrusters to maximum velocity. They soared faster and faster until they sped past the tips of the highest buildings, leaving them in their wake.
‘Switching to main engines....now!’ announced Saleek with a grin.
The humming noise which had filled the ship dropped to a barely-audible level and was replaced by a harsh, low rumbling sound as the main engines flared into life.
‘Speed exceeding two thousand Kelmer. Initialising Intertial Balancers to compensate,’ said the computer, interrupting the low rumble of the engines with its digitised voice.
Suddenly, Patrick was no longer pinned back into his seat. In a mild state of shock, he exhaled loudly and leaned forwards in his chair.
‘Hang on, buddy. We’ll be through the planet’s atmosphere in a couple of minutes. If I can just- whoa, that was close!’ said Saleek as he jerked the ship violently to the right to narrowly avoid colliding with another craft.
‘What the hell?!’ screamed Patrick, as the events of the day caught up with him and began to fray his very last nerve.
‘What?’
‘What are you doing, you idiot? You’re going to get us both killed!’
‘Look, since we left in a hurry, I didn’t exactly have time to file a flight plan with the authorities and wait for our turn to come round, OK? We gotta get outta here fast or Mr Vallan will try an’ make good on his threat!’
‘Still...’ Patrick spluttered as words failed him.
‘Look, chill out. We’re almost there!’ said Saleek in an attempt at mollification.
Reluctantly, Patrick ceased his protestations and folded his arms; he was furious and terrified at the same time but didn’t know what else to do.
The next two minutes or so passed without further incident and before long, the light of the sky began to fade and was replaced by the blackness of space, peppered with the twinkling lights of faraway stars.
Chapter 6