Target 10 S1.4 A Warm(ish) Welcome
He motioned to Reby to cut the power. Once again they were plunged into silence, illuminated only by the planet.
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"Rescue you?" RJ said.
Jemy caught his eye and motioned for him to be quiet.
RJ just shrugged his shoulders.
"Yes. I realize you didn't come here to rescue me. But when you're done exploring, I assume you wouldn't leave me stranded here. You sound like good people, not like—what are they called? Scavies?"
"We definitely aren't scavies," Jemy said before RJ could jump in again. "As you said, we aren't prepared for a passenger. Our supplies—"
"I understand, but that won't be a problem. I'll show you why once you land."
Jemy looked at RJ and Reby. They needed to talk. Privately. He motioned to Reby to cut the power. Once again they were plunged into silence, illuminated only by the planet.
"Well, that craps everything up," RJ said.
"Yup." Reby nodded.
Jemy had to agree with them both. "What are we going to do about him? I mean, we have to go down, right?"
"We don't know if he's telling the truth about anything." RJ stood and paced the few steps between the seats. "We don't even know if he's human since our sensors can't penetrate that shield and—"
"Only one way to find out," Reby said.
"That one way might be the last thing we do. Something's off about him-it-whatever."
"Oh, now you want to play it safe. I wish you'd be this concerned about us when you do something stupid and need rescuing."
Jemy sighed and let them argue, only half listening. The star structure was now rotating away from them. His chest ached. He had to get down there. Alien. Human. It didn't matter what Clay was as long as he could get proof, undeniable proof, alien civilizations existed in the past. No one at the Academy would ever dismiss or snicker at him again.
"We go," he said, much louder than he intended.
RJ and Reby stopped bickering.
"We don't run away from the unknown, or back down from a challenge, do we? We're fucking out in the middle of nowhere and we didn't have a single issue until that voice came over the coms. But that," he pointed to the star structure, waving his arm about to make sure they could see it, "is our path to everything we've wanted. Redemption for me. University and Igni Prime for you, Reb. And RJ, you could do whatever you wanted with the money we'll make."
Neither RJ nor Reby spoke.
They know I'm right.
RJ plopped back down onto his chair. "I don't like it. There's unknown and then there's the fucking scary unknown. Mister Clay Ander falls into the second category for me." He breathed in and let it out, the sound uncomfortably loud. "But I'll do it for you two. I owe you both that much, and more."
Jemy felt a lump in his throat.
RJ leaned forward and clapped his hands. "So? Let's get on with this reputation saving, career inducing, for the love of money escapade!"
"You're hopeless," Reby chuckled.
"Thanks, RJ," was all Jemy could say.
In the center of the ship, tucked in between the two cargo bays, the Demption's shuttle flickered to life. Jemy sat a one of the two worn black chairs in the cockpit. The scuffed floor and control panel were a gloomy gray, made more so by the off-white walls and ceiling.
The window curved out in front of him and to his sides. From the outside, it looked like a gaping rectangular mouth on the spherical cockpit that extended out from the main body of the shuttle. RJ had joked once that he wanted to paint a face on it, one that matched the humorless expression. The three of them never could agree on a design, leaving the exterior of the cockpit in the not-quite-black finish from the previous owner.
Since they'd entered the shuttle, the smile never left Jemy's face. Any reservations he'd had disappeared. The conversation with Clay had been short. After letting him know they would take him on board, he gave them landing coordinates, and reassurances that they wouldn't regret rescuing him.
As he went through the pre-launch sequence, Jemy tried to imagine what the structure looked like up close. Clay said the top star level served as a docking bay and would open as they approached. What will it be like inside? A flashing light caught his attention and realized he hadn't finished the sequence. Soon enough. He returned to the pre-launch process, a formality mostly as the shuttle wouldn't fully power up until it dropped from the Demption.
Pressure on his upper back startled him. He jerked around to see Reby behind him.
"Shit! You scared me!" Jemy said, breathing in.
"I was just checking on you, Jem." She paused and looked like she wanted to say something.
"Everything ok?"
"Yup. We're good to go." She sat in the seat next to him.
He reached out to enable the drop sequence, but she grabbed his hand and held it.
"We'll be careful, right? I know this is everything you've ever wanted...but I can't lose you too." Her voice became a whisper. Her eyes pleading with him just as they had that night he'd told her about their parent's death at the research station on Glacal.
He swiveled toward her and squeezed her hands in his. "Never gonna happen."
She raised her eyebrows, but then returned his smile.
"Hey, what's the holdup? We've got a shitload of alien artifacts calling Jemy's name. Are we going to get them or not?" RJ said over the speaker.
Reby rolled her eyes and Jemy let go of her hands and shrugged his shoulders.
"And I thought engineers were supposed to be patient," Jemy said. "I hope you're strapped in. We drop in ten." He buckled his straps.
"I'm ready!" RJ's voice came over the speaker again.
Jemy sat back in his chair and focused his eyes on the control panel. Even with a local grav field initialized, being ejected from the ship made his stomach turn.
Reby, however, loved it. He glanced over to see her leaning forward, staring out the window, waiting for the drop.
Then it came. In his peripheral vision, he detected the changes in lighting as the shuttle passed out of the ship's dark interior to the gentle glow of the planet. A green light flashed on the console, and he sat forward.
"All clear, Captain," Aida's voice confirmed the reason for the green light.
"Thank you, Aida." Jemy said, his stomach settling down. He engaged the engines, leaving the Demption behind with Aida as the custodian. "Where was she during the countdown?"
"Oh, she knows how nervous you get during drops, and I guess thought it would be best to be quiet. I programmed her to—"
"Respond to personalities. I got it." Jemy turned his attention back to being a pilot. "But for the record, I'm not nervous. I get sick to my stomach. It's a sensory thing and only happens in drops." He maneuvered the shuttle into their approach vector.
"Sure."
He knew from the tone of her voice she was humoring him, but it didn't matter. Just a few minutes more
The three-layered star structure filled the window, slowly turning as they circled closer. RJ had joined them during the descent and stood behind Reby's chair. Other than his initial "Whoa!" none of them had spoken.
The glittering surface mesmerized Jemy. Only the size competed for his attention. The central part of the star could hold five Dinucent Cities within it. The topmost star would fit snuggly within the bottom level of Dinucent City that they barely escaped. Their ships must have been enormous!
Jemy scanned the surface, looking for signs, patterns, or symbols. The shimmer rippled out from the center down the arms of the star, but it stopped before reaching the ends that dove into the deep green foliage and disappeared. It's an enclosed city. Why did they build it? Why did they leave? His mind raced through possibilities. His feet tapped the floor, his knees bounced up and down.
Then the shuttle's engines died, pitching it forward as it fell
RJ dashed out of the cockpit towards engineering control. He bounced off the walls of the narrow hallway's twists and turns, rushing to get there before the shuttle crashed into the star.
He reached the control console and assessed the status of the engineering systems in a fraction of a second. Nothing's wrong. They had power. Life support and other systems were all normal. The engines just weren't on.
"RJ," Reby called over the comms.
"I'm workin' here," he replied as he tried rerouting power to the engines.
"We aren't falling. You've got to come see this."
He stopped his frantic movements and instead pulled up the current sensor data. She's right. We're in a controlled descent. Not falling. How?
"RJ! Get over here!"
The tone of her voice hit him like an adrenaline shot to the chest. He ran back, not noticing when he clipped the corners with his shoulders. When he burst into the cockpit, she turned and grinned at him. A genuine smile. Aimed at him. She hadn't looked at him like that in a long time. A calm flowed over him, and he smiled back, soaking in the moment.
She frowned. "What's wrong with you? Don't you see it?" She pointed toward the display centered over the control panel.
"What's wrong with you? Of course, I see it," he said, the heat in his cheeks turning his face red. Then he noticed Jemy staring, transfixed, at the display.
Through the window, he saw a view that should have taken his breath away. The structure stretched out in front of them, edged by a deep green that extended to the horizon. Though he could tell they were moving towards the center of the star, the shuttle was low enough he had no idea what was happening below them.
He walked farther into the cockpit and stood between the chairs. Reby had turned on the display so they could watch the video feed from below, giving them a more detailed view of the surface as they passed over it. We must be in a tractor beam of some sort. He'd never heard of a tractor beam that could shut off a ship's engines. But then Clay had accessed the Demption with no trouble at all. His heart beat faster. We have no control.... He noticed the surface looked much different than before, dull and flat, with a pattern of interlocking rectangles of different sizes.
"What happened to the shimmer?"
"We moved through it. You should have seen it."
"So, we're below the shield?"
Reby gave a curt nod without looking away from the display.
He reached across her to the controls, but she slapped his hand away.
"Ow! I just wanted to—"
"I know. I checked already. One human life sign within the star. It seems that part of his story was true." Her shoulders dropped as she said the words.
She was worried too.
"There it is," Jemy said.
They watched as a rectangular section of the topmost star split, then slid open, revealing a dark interior. From the video, it was hard to tell how large the opening was, but it appeared tiny compared to the star. It also perfectly matched one rectangle in the pattern. Before he could suggest it, Reby turned on another display with the sensor data to match the video feed.
The measurements showed the opening could hold several of their shuttles. We've seen bigger. "Hmmph."
Reby rolled her eyes at him.
"Did I do that out loud?"
"Yes," the seated pair responded together.
"Sorry. I guess I thought the whole thing would open up. That would be impressive. This is just another portal to a docking bay."
"To a non-human constructed structure! Are you never satisfied?" Reby swiveled her seat to face him.
"I'm sorry I have an opinion that doesn't match—"
"Stop. Please stop," Jemy said. "I need to focus."
Reby glared at RJ, then turned away. Her face softened and her eyes widened as she watched as the portal drew closer. She really does hate me.
He leaned his arm on the back of Jemy's chair, determined to watch the rest without arguing. Jemy was right about needing to focus. They should know as much as possible about what they were going into, so they'd know how to get out.
When the shuttle was directly over the opening, the portal's dark interior lit up, a blue-tinged light glowing around the edges. As they descended, the light from the display grew brighter and brighter, as if they were landing on a spotlight. RJ turned his head to look out the window instead. The view had changed. The trees had disappeared and the surface of the star filled the window. How small we are. The size of the structure struck RJ, his awe for the engineering tempered by his fear of being swallowed by it, lost forever in its alien insides.
The shuttle passed through the opening, the window filling with glaring light before the auto systems dimmed it to a comfortable level. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw Reby had turned off the video feed display. There was a soft thump as the shuttle settled down. Apparently, he can control the landing systems as well.
"I don't like this," he said.
"It's unnerving," Reby agreed. "But if he wanted to harm us, he could have shut down life support along with the engines." She stood up next to him. "Now is not the time to become a control freak."
"Since when are you not a control freak?" RJ saw her jaw tighten and eyes narrow. He flinched, expecting her to slap him.
"I want to understand how he's doing it. I can't stop him. Not even with Aida. I need more information, hence letting go of control—until I can get it back." She furrowed her brows at him, but the usual disdain in her eyes was gone.
He nodded back at her, happy they were on the same 'let's get control back' page.
A clang reverberated through the ship. The opening above them had closed.
"No turning back now," RJ said.
"Turn around? This is why we came!" Jemy sprung out of his chair and clapped RJ on the shoulder. "Let's go see what there is to see."
Jemy's excitement was infectious. RJ followed him to the exit, with Reby behind him. As the ramp extended, he had to shield his eyes again. The entire floor lit up with the blueish hue they'd noticed from above. He shuffled out of the shuttle, squinting. He looked up to find the ceiling entirely lit as well, sandwiching them between lights that extended the entire docking bay.
"I wish I'd brought my shades," he said. "Can you see anything, Jemy?"
"Not much. There are walls with some markings, but I can't look long enough to make out details. The builders must have seen in a different spectrum."
"I hope it isn't like this everywhere," Reby added.
"I assure you it isn't, Miss Peray."
RJ spun toward the now familiar voice. A dark silhouette approached them from the rear dock. He is human shaped at least. As he got closer, RJ saw Clay wore dark pants and a short-sleeve collarless blue shirt split several inches down his chest. On his feet were fuzzy sandals. But what he noticed most was how well-groomed he looked. Not a single brown hair was out of place, and he had no hint of a beard or scruff. Even squinting I can tell he looks way too nice to have been abandoned here for ten years.
"Call me Reby, please." Reby had closed the distance to Clay fast.
"Reby then," Clay said. "However, I'm unable to control the lighting here." He moved closer to Reby.
RJ stepped toward them as Clay took Reby's hand and placed it inside his elbow.
"I can guide you out of here. But stay close Captain Peray, Chief Jadieli." He walked away, Reby hanging on his arm.
RJ looked at Jemy, who simply jogged after them without so much as an acknowledgment of RJ.
Standing alone next to the ship, RJ wondered what had gotten into his friends. Jemy, he knew, was too preoccupied with his obsession to stop and think. But Reby glommed onto Clay like she'd been dating him for years. She had said she wanted to understand how he did it. RJ just didn't expect her to use her female charms to do it. She certainly had them. She just always preferred to influence with her intellect instead. At least that's all he'd ever seen her do. Except the one time she'd turned them on him. The memory stung. He'd been such an idiot.
He took a deep breath, then ran after them. They walked side by side, emphasizing Clay's impressive height—at least half a head taller than Jemy, who usually towered over most people except Reby. Azu's light gravity had graced them both with tall genes. But they were also built slim—strong—but slim. Clay was thicker, solid, more like RJ in build.
He caught up and walked beside Reby, who didn't seem to notice him at all. Though he tried not to be, he felt slighted. It's too damned bright is all. That felt like justification enough for her not looking at him. At least that's what he told himself.
"Just a little further," Clay assured them, "to the transporter. I promise you the lighting is adapted to human eyes in other parts of Havenstar."
The vague shapes Jemy had spotted from across the docking bay came into form. Most of them were intersecting lines of varying widths and geometric shapes. All were black, or maybe dark green, set against light gray walls. RJ couldn't be sure through his squint. They approached a wall with a set of two thick lines bordered by two thin lines that stretched from floor to ceiling.
Clay never slowed as they got closer to the wall, but RJ did and fell behind a step or two. Jemy peppered question after question at Clay, never waiting long enough for an answer, and didn't notice they were about to walk into a wall. RJ reached out for Reby's arm, but stopped when the wall split open between the thick lines. The door was about a quarter the height of the wall, making it tall enough for two Jemys stacked on top of one another and more than wide enough for them to enter together. RJ hurried to get back next to Reby.
They entered an oval chamber. The floor lit up with a gentle glowing white light that continued in evenly spaced strips up the walls. At the top, they merged back into a band, just below the ceiling, that encircled the chamber. Though bright, it felt calmer, more relaxed than the intense blue light they'd left behind. He wiped the corners of his eyes and saw Reby do the same.
"Much better, isn't it?" Clay said, looking down at RJ.
"Sure is. But why the difference?"
Clay grinned at him, the right corner of his mouth slightly higher than the other, making him looked amused. RJ dropped his gaze and looked to the side, hyper-aware now of how much shorter he was, how much less he seemed.
"That will take a while to explain. There's so much to explain." He turned to Reby and gently withdrew his arm from hers.
RJ caught her eye as Clay moved to the back of the small chamber. The smile she'd been beaming at Clay disappeared as she held RJ's gaze. Then she fell forward. He rushed to her, letting her lean on him as she regained her balance. "You ok?"
"Yup. Just a little disoriented from the light. I think." She pushed herself away, but for once there were no daggers when she looked at him.
Jemy reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "You sure?"
RJ was thankful Reby's fainting spell seemed to pull Jemy out of his academic euphoria. Huddled together, he felt safer, if a bit foolish. "Fucking unknown, remember," he whispered.
"I think it's normal to be a little disoriented at first. I know I was," Clay said as he placed his hand in a square on the wall, outlined by the same thick-thin line design that had been on the door. "This might make it worse." He closed his eyes.
I don't like the sound of that. RJ took a step towards Clay, but then he fell out of the world.
The light flashed. Reby felt Jemy's hand squeeze her shoulder, then his other hand on her opposite arm. Her insides felt jumbled, like her intestines and stomach decided to switch places. The sensation passed, but she was grateful Jemy held on to her.
She leaned into him. The fogginess in her head still lingered. It didn't help that being encompassed by gray walls and bright light made it feel as if she were suspended in a ball of illuminated fog. She brushed her sleeve back and looked at her Nexo.
It seemed to be working. They'd only been off the ship for a few minutes. She tapped to change screens and frowned. Her location was unknown, which meant they had no connection to Aida. We're cut off. She caught her breath, her head clearing as the realization set in.
"What did you do?" RJ asked.
RJ stood between her and Clay, just an arm's length away. He'd been walking away from me, hadn't he?
Clay stepped away from the wall and walked towards her, brushing past RJ. "Do you notice anything different?"
She looked around. Other than confused looks on their faces, both RJ and Jemy were the same. The room seemed the same, but it felt different.
"What did you do?" RJ asked again.
Clay offered his arm to her again. Jemy's grip on her tightened. That's it! "The room's changed. It's smaller... we're in a different room."
"As I said before, you have a brilliant mind."
She pulled away from Jemy and hooked her arm around Clay's. Her fingers tingled when her hand touched his bare arm. Her chest fluttered and her face flushed as his smile widened.
"Care to explain it to the rest of us?"
She wished RJ had a filter, or some sense of diplomacy. They shouldn't antagonize Clay, and everything that came out of RJ's mouth felt accusatory. Doesn't he realize we're stuck with him?
"I would have thought you would have figured it out, Chief Jadieli."
"Who says I didn't? I just want you to explain it."
She felt Clay stiffen, but he relaxed again quickly. RJ's going to fuck this up.
"You've just been teleported. The room we're in now is half the size, though otherwise identical."
"We're still in the star though, right?"
She recognized the suppressed panic in Jemy's voice that matched the cold stab of ice in her chest when she heard the word 'teleport'. The few steps between them suddenly felt uncomfortably far. She let go of Clay's arm and walked back to Jemy. RJ moved next to them. Though Jemy had asked the question, Clay's gaze lingered on her before he answered. Her face flushed again and a desire to kiss him flooded over her. What is wrong with me?
"Yes. Yes, of course we are. You landed in one arm of the central star. We're now in the second star, one level below the docking bay. It's where I set up Haven."
"Teleported? You mean our atoms were torn apart and reassembled kind of teleport?" RJ asked.
"Is there another kind?" Clay glared at RJ, but his face returned to a pleasant smile when he continued. "I'm not an engineer, at least I wasn't—before." He looked off to the side, away from all of them for a couple of seconds. "You probably understand it more than I do, Chief Jadieli," he said, his attention returning to RJ. "All I can tell you is teleportation is the only way to get around Haven."
The only way.... She looked at the spot where Clay had been when they teleported. There were no controls, nothing but the flat gray wall and the square outline.
"How did you do it?" RJ again asked what she was thinking. Though she guessed RJ wanted details on the process, not simply how to turn it on and off. Teleportation of living beings had been outlawed for two centuries in the CR. She'd only ever heard rumors about university research projects that still worked on it.
A broad smile broke out on Clay's face as attention returned to her. "There's so much to explain. Please, I think we'll all be more comfortable in the lounge. I promise I'll answer all your questions there." He motioned to his right and the wall split, the two sides disappearing as the door opened.
"How—" RJ stammered.
"It isn't far. Would you mind holding your questions until we get there?" Clay offered his arm to Reby.
She reached out, her desire to be near him taking over. Jemy brushed against her as he leaned to see what lay beyond the door. His touch snapped her back, out of whatever was drawing her to Clay. "Lead on," she stretched her hand out and pointed to the door.
She thought she saw the smile on Clay's face disappear, but it was a flash and she couldn't be sure.
"Follow me."
They exited the teleporter room into a junction of circular hallways leading straight, left and right. They were as wide and tall as the room they just left and the curved walls disappeared seamlessly into the floor. She dragged her fingers along the surface just outside the door. It was perfectly smooth, but dry and the same gray as in the teleporter. The only light came from a thick band running along the tops of the circles. Reby looked up, trying to identify its source, but it didn't look like any of the light panels she'd ever seen. It seemed the ceiling itself radiated.
She saw Jemy focused on a dark green symbol, at about head height, where the right corridor met the straight one. Just like in the docking bay, it was made of intersecting thick and thin lines that created geometric shapes. This one reminded Reby of a directional sign, just like she'd seen in the many hallways at university. The opposite side of the corridor had similar markings.
Jemy ran his fingers over the symbol. Reby stepped up next to him. He looked at her, unable to hide his grin. She turned around back towards the teleporter room. She couldn't see any markings outside the doors. And still no controls. When she looked back at Jemy, he frowned. He knows I'm worried, but he should be too.
"Hey you two! Come on!"
RJ's voice sounded strained. He and Clay were quite a ways down the right corridor already. She pulled Jemy's arm and they followed after them. RJ was behind Clay, having slowed to yell at them. They caught up to him walked together. RJ made his I-don't-like-this-face at her. She gave a curt nod, happy to see they agreed for once.
At least the corridor is straight. They had made no turns, so if they needed to, they could get back to the teleporter. Though what good that would do them, she wasn't sure. Not until she learned how to operate it.
"The lounge is just beyond this door," Clay said after a few minutes of walking in silence. He stopped to turn towards them. "I think you'll like it."
She tried not to look at him, instead focusing past him at the door. No controls again. Hopefully, they're all just motion sensors and not bio-registered.
"I'm sure we will," Jemy replied.
His voice lilted up. He'd calmed down since they'd been teleported, but she sensed his curiosity was overtaking his fear again. He's living the dream. It's surreal, but still his dream. She needed to keep him grounded, focused on the reality of their situation. At least until she understood how to them get out. She let herself look at their host, so tall, with warm but sad brown eyes—definitely one of the most handsome men she'd ever seen.
"Let's hit the lounge then."
RJ's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. He lingered on the 'ow' sound in lounge, mocking Clay's pronunciation.
Clay simply turned and walked away, never pausing for the door to open. But it opened in perfect timing to his approach. Gotta be motion sensors.
She whacked RJ on the arm. "Don't piss him off," she whispered before starting after Clay.
RJ grabbed her arm and held her back. "Be careful. Something's not right about him."
"I'm always careful. And I can take care of myself." She yanked her arm out of his grasp, but resisted the urge to stomp off.
He reached into one of the many pockets of his pants. She hadn't noticed before how much they were bulging. Though he usually carried around tools that let him fix things on the spot, now it looked like he'd brought his entire tool set with him. He pulled something out, then pressed it into her stomach, leaning to look past her. She didn't need to look down to know what he'd given her. She wrapped her hands around the cold butt of the E-blaster and put it in the inside pocket of her jacket.
RJ made eye contact with her, tapped his other leg, and winked. Jemy glanced back and forth between them, then shook his head. She hated RJ telling her what to do. But he'd been right to bring a weapon. She should have thought of it.
Standing deep within an alien structure, with no way to get out except relying on a mysterious—if alluring—man, she realized RJ wasn't trying to control her. For once, he wasn't trying to best her. And apparently the only one of them not blinded by their desires.
She slipped herself between RJ and Jemy. "Together."
They nodded and made their way down the corridor toward the lounge.