《Middletime》


 Part 1

    "I have travelled far. Probably too far; but I can only pray that whatever - they say about me... that it will be good. I hope they say Iwas kind."


    The moonlit arch, glistening in the eternal darkness of the cosmos, grew larger with their approach. Patterns of light, delicate lines, and magnificent structures began to take shape as the flight computer announced their arrival. Long hours of concentration and silence rushed to an end, as a lonely man behind the controls finally took a deep breath. With all his logical mind and thought, for a moment, he glimpsed at the marvel and thought of it as the nail of the gods, only to quickly laugh at his ignorance afterward.


    "How stupid," he murmured to himself at his own thought. He then turned around into the interior of his small vessel to check if his precious cargo was safe¡ªuntouched. It surely must be; it has to be. Just like his ship, hidden in the sea of the refugee fleet.


    Slowly, he released himself from the braces that held him in their embrace throughout these hours, checked the columns of lights and sensors on the panels above his head, and started the auto-pilot. His tired eyes swept over the cabin, lit only by the rows of multi-colored lights of the flight computers, and the floor panels led him into a wider chamber. One could say it was empty, designed to carry people to safety, but there was none¡ªnone except a single child sleeping calmly on a row of seats. Wrapped in blankets so tightly that you could not see its face.


    A child he had taken from the ruins of a burning city. Saved. His thoughts automatically corrected that, and he smiled as he approached. He knew she was asleep, though some part of his mind doubted that. Her breath was shallow; she didn''t move.


    At first, he was worried, but the woman told him she was catatonic. He didn''t understand and didn''t care. It made his job easy. The child would not speak or move. She was present but somewhere else. That suited him. After loosening the layers of material, he thought for a split second of rubbing off the dirt and grime from her precious face. Only for a second thought, but he couldn''t. She was to look like one of them. He must look like one of them.


    The autopilot alarmed, and he left.


    The moonlit arch grew larger every second, so fast that he could distinguish the lights of the spaceport. It looked as if the arm of the lunar city extended into the barren desert of dust. Soon, the dome and all of its structures, cave entries, and space shoot rails filled the horizon before him.


    His small craft belonged to a mass evacuation that included dozens of other ships, small and large, of all shapes and nations. His mind imagined the blasts of the propulsion of the large carrier ship engines somewhere behind him, surrounding him.


    The man saw landing lights guiding the survivors to safety. He only paid attention to two large frigates in front of him. One ship dangerously drifted and hit the starboard of the second one. The impact shut down their position engines, and they fell to the ground, smashing into the landing pad.


    He could have done that himself, he thought, but at what cost? Losing this craft wasn''t an option. No, it would have been too easy. Very quickly, he looked behind him, into the chamber at the child, and then back at the landing pad. No, one grenade is enough. He knew what must be done next.


    The craft sped up violently, making a large circle around other ships, getting dangerously close to the surface. He waited for the exact moment and fired the position engines to land. His hands gripped the controls tightly as he felt the G''s pushing his body into the seat.


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    His ship held in space, throwing immense amounts of light and fire from all sides. Like an iron clench, it held him still, only moving downwards. The surface and the moon dust rumbled as it touched down.


    The man got out of the airlock quickly, wearing a spacesuit and holding the child in one arm. His microphone came alive. "Doctor! I need a doctor!" he yelled as soon as he touched the ground with his feet.


    The girl''s face was visible now¡ªher straw blonde hair messed up over the tiny nose and shut eyes. He knew they would come to him, especially after this. When he reached an enormous group of other people, the man''s right hand quickly shot towards a large passenger craft. Especially after this, he thought again and pushed through the group.


    Seconds after, a colossal explosion ripped the ship apart. He knew there were still people on board. Panic ensured his safe passage into the building. Just to entertain himself, he shouted a few times. "Sir! You need to follow me!" A man in a suit grabbed his arm. Well, finally. "Are you hurt?" Someone else asked. He shook his head and pointed at the child. These people took him to the airlock and from there to the hospital wing. The man didn''t let anyone touch the child.


    The mask he wore was the most scared face he could muster, mumbling at the same time to himself and to the girl.


    A nurse tried to calm him down, but stubbornly he kept asking for a doctor. There were a lot of wounded, dead, or some lost between. Not yet dead, but not able to live anymore. The cries and screams filled these corridors. Not long after, they reached a set of interconnected round rooms; here was where the doctors lived. Before the nurse said anything, one of the doors opened, and a youthful woman holding an electronic tablet exited.


    "Madasa, this man needs help. He claims he urgently needs to see a doctor," the nurse spoke quickly to her.


    "Not me. My daughter," he interrupted.


    The woman''s face was the most perfectly fake mask of grief and pain he ever saw.


    "Thank you, nurse. I''ll see what I can do," Madasa answered and waved to the man to follow her.


    As the door closed, she took a lengthy breath and laughed.


    "Bravo! That was some spectacle you made. I saw everything." The mask was gone, and an arrogant smile adorned her beautiful lips.


    The man parodied a bow, wearing the same smile on his face. "Took you long enough," she then added, trying to cut down his grin. "So?" She asked while moving her long hair.


    "The kid is probably terrified and tired, if you can say anything about her condition. But it''s her. I''m sure of it," he answered, circling around the office, touching her equipment. "Do you want her now or when she gets better?"


    Madasa smiled again, but this time it was a sick and dark smile¡ªthe type that disgusted him. However, she didn''t answer his question. She moved to the window slowly. "What about the rest?"


    He was getting bored with this talk; he shrugged. "Inconvenient people have a tendency to die fast."


    She nodded, satisfied. "No trace or witnesses?" She was keen not to leave a trail, nobody.


    "No, nothing. Mother Nature did all the dirty work. The city is a dead zone now." He was getting bored with this. He had places to be, things to do. "Where is my reward?"


    He had waited for six months to get paid, ever since she sent him to the ground and told him to prepare for this little trip. Unfeeling bitch. But he liked that about her. She was his sister in the end. When the collapse started, he quit medical school and started work as a mercenary. Medasa was the one who would get him the juiciest contracts.


    "Tsk, tsk... We still need to pretend for a while that two million refugees mean something for us," she twitched in disgust. "You will remain here with me until the moment comes. You know I will pay you, and for everything you want, dear brother." Medana removed the suit from the child.


    He agreed with some resistance. Another wall between them, another game to play. He wondered how many more.


    "I was thinking, how many of them play similar games," he said, looking down through the windows at the spaceport.


    "Don''t be stupid, Dem. Those filthy monkeys? They are nothing more than cowards, waiting to be rescued by some divine power. Waiting for us to sacrifice everything just to save them, and then, after all is done, they will only ask for more. They always do. That''s why I want to finally make some use of these dirty bastards."


    "What if your glamorous experiment doesn''t work?" But she didn''t reply.


    Demis grinned in disgust when he saw her brooding and tearful face. Just to realise the door opened suddenly, a group of people entered. He quickly made his way to the child, next to her.


    "Oh, that''s terrible... I am at a loss for words," Medasa''s quiet words resonated in the room.

 Part 2

    The dark corridor stretched into nothingness, or so it seemed. The typical walls appeared plain and bare, blending into the darkness and silence.


    A sudden burst of light from outside invaded the hidden space, creating an explosion of noise. All of this beamed through the half-closed blinds in the windows. As the rays moved quickly over the room, specks of dust danced away in the heavy air. There was death here, manifested by a twisted contour on the floor.


    Unrecognisable shapes returned into darkness as quickly as they appeared, but the heavy, polluted air remained. The space beyond the black corridor lay in grave silence again.


    She knew it, and the men and women who were with her knew it. Slow, tired breaths marked their presence, an odd situation for the whole police and forensic squad to wait before the foothold of a crime scene. Yet there they were, waiting, listening, learning.


    Another beam of light hit the windows, elongated rays dancing over the walls and the ceiling, touching the silent furniture. The light reflections then moved over a puddle of dark, sickly liquid. Reality sharply retracted as quickly as it invaded.


    Purposely, they didn''t step forward, on her command, and they used no lights. "She''s gone," somebody whispered. The group of people murmured, unsettled.


    "She''s still here," the woman replied with a half voice, finally moving forward, gently. "Detective, I understand you want to pay your respects to the victim, but she has passed the river''s edge... we need to proceed. The dawn is near."


    She twitched at the sound of his voice. "Yes, yes, you are right. Proceed according to protocol. Don''t miss anything." Immediately, a small group of men and women spread around the shadows, keeping the lights off, using their sensors.


    But the truth was, she was waiting for the tech guys with the sensors to start working their magic before they entered the scene and disrupted the air, displacing any chemical particles. And they did work hard, with the machines gathering data even before any human eye noticed anything.


    Their shadows moved quietly through the darkness; only occasionally, somebody would cross over a patch of light. Then, the only thing one could see was a masked humanoid creature with a row of insect-like eyes on the front instead of a face, moving in odd patterns, moving their hands in the air, leaning to the ground, touching¡ªresembling a form of bizarre nocturnal pantomime.


    Before a couple of weeks ago, they would have teased her about "keep the lights off," but now everything has changed. It wasn''t until she was the one to discover a faint but distinctive chemical residue that would linger in the air but disappear when exposed to any source of light. That''s why it was crucial for them to perform the preliminary scans and tests before the first sunlight came in. She feared, though, the street light from outside may have spoiled the results of their pursuit.


    "We have it!" One technician shouted a bit too enthusiastically. Many unseen eyes turned at him. He cleared his throat and repeated it again, quieter and calmer. "We have it. It''s them."


    Moments later somebody switched the lights on, and a bright flood filled their eyes. It''s gone.


    Dazzled, the woman looked around. The room seemed different now. Space has expanded and almost everything was bright and neat. A multitude of simple, elegant lines with a dash of explosive colour here and there. In the middle of this space next to a smashed coffee table, on the floor, a body. A woman. Unnaturally twisted limbs pointed in wrong directions and a body frozen in grotesque. A bizarrely enormous pool of blood surrounded her, with a few spatters around, on the couch, on the nearby wall, and a large one on the smashed table.


    The victim''s hair was short and dark, almost black. It wasn''t hard to see she fought back. What was hard to understand for her was that she, the victim, was still here.


    "They," whatever they were, would only leave half a trail, a mark of kidnapping, or one accidental splatter of blood. "They" were known to abduct people, not to kill them. What went wrong here?


    "Detective, you should see these readings," a boyish man approached her.


    His head was half covered with a sensor helmet. The front was sculpted to resemble an insect with a pair of eye sensors built of hexagonal honey plates. The technology of the colonists was used to solve crimes as these were initially designed for mining and chemical readings while exploring underground caverns without the need of light.


    "What do we have?" she answered.


    The man was more than happy to flood her half-asleep mind with a technical slur and unnecessary details. Trying to focus on what he was saying, she nodded a few times and looked around the room.


    Others took off their "insect" helmets, Tithonus, as they would call them. Scanning the furniture, walls, and floor using different spectrums of lights. Somebody activated a photographic probe that flew around, taking pictures of the crime scene. And a lonely woman who was inspecting the body, gently moving it to identify points of interest for the probe, almost caressing it. This woman once lost a daughter. Why was this important? Because the detective knew her very well, and she knew she cared both about the dead and the living.


    "...so the familiar residue, or how I like to call it the ''stench,'' is strongest in the central part of the room around the body and through the corridor we just came in. Like a trail. This is extremely important. But, there is also a weaker trail that separates towards the window."


    "Did we interrupt them?" Her mind shot awake. The man hesitated.


    "I don''t think so; it''s distinctive, but it''s not strong in any way. More like something or someone cut through the original cloud..."


    "Unlikely," the woman said. She didn''t address anyone, but the detective was the one listening.


    "Morning, Doctor Arres. I didn''t see you with the police group." Doctor Kidaria Arres was the doctor''s name, and for a long time, she and the detective worked side by side when she was doing her medical training, but then she chose to work with the living and left forensic medicine behind.


    "Good morning to you too, Pax. Yet, not the best one in my opinion. Still didn''t have my coffee." Kidaria huffed with an annoyed expression. "You know me, Pax, I have my tricks and contacts. I was entering this building before you unlocked these doors." She pointed at the corridor.


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    "Uhum... tell me what we are looking at, and I will get you the best coffee I can find." Pax crouched by the body, trying not to step anywhere near the pool of blood, her hand immediately disappearing into the pocket of her coat to find a notepad. Slightly bent, with obscure edges and yellowing pages, but full of knowledge.


    "Well... I''m so glad someone is listening to my opinion these days. Look around, detective. She was wealthy, she was successful, and the woman was into sports. Two degrees in engineering and robotics. That''s smart, very smart. I struggle with the kitchen baker. She fought back too hard for them. The way the body is positioned, it looks like somebody lifted her and she punched and kicked the living hell out of the attacker till they dropped her, but there is something amiss here. Some details make no sense." Kidaria spread her arms like she was trying to contour the scene.


    "When she fell down, she must have hit the coffee table with her head." Pax could see that in her mind. Cogs started to move.


    "That was the cause of death, yes," Kidaria confirmed. "But, the table was smashed before she fell on it. And one of the table legs is missing."


    "How can you tell any of that? And what about this blood smear here?" Pax pointed at the wall opposite them. It looked like somebody was thrown on it. Hard enough to dent it.


    "This is one of the details that makes no sense."


    "How so?" Pax asked, looking at the mark and then turned back.


    Kidaria lifted a few strands of hair on the victim''s head, uncovering a deep wound. "I won''t have a definitive answer before we take her to the lab, but what I can tell you is, based on what I can see from a preliminary, it was sharp force trauma to the head that killed her." The medical examiner gently moved a strand of hair covering the wound, revealing a large piece of thick glass, the same as the smashed coffee table, sticking out of a large wound. "If she was thrown and her body smashed the table, there is no chance for such impact force to cause this wound."


    "That looks nasty," Pax crossed her lips in a grimace. "But, how could it happen, this table is made of wood and the glass is only at the centre, it seems to me out of place."


    "You are right; I can''t give you a definitive answer on that, but based on all of the bruises and scratch marks around her legs and arms, blunt force trauma to the left shoulder and cracked ribs; it seems like there was a fight here, and based on the readings your friend Mantis just said, there may have been a third person included."


    "Any sign of...?" The detective started, and Kidaria instantly knew.


    "Not on what I could see, and yes I checked. There is no bruising, but as I said I won''t have any data till I get the chance to do a proper screen on her."


    "She was damaged," Pax leaned down to the body. It was really a girl, no older than 25. Obviously at the best time of her life.


    "That''s slightly offensive, detective." Kidaria unpacked a white, textile-looking material and hesitated. After the inspection, they would cover the body, and the intelligent polymer would create a skin-tight cocoon, keeping it safe until they got to the morgue.


    "She was damaged, Kidaria, not as a person. Physically. That''s why they left her. The attacker realised she was dead and left."


    "This would be the first time then."


    "Escalation?" the woman asked. "Whatever horror they planned for her... This is better."


    "More like an accident, and it gives us a shade of hope that the others, wherever they may be - are still alive."


    "We don''t work for hope, detective, didn''t you forget?" A tall, rough-looking man entered the scene. His eyes, bleached with age, pierced the room. A quick move of hands to show his Police ID to one of the guards, another to inform he is not interested in what they have to say. Inspector Brimos, senior in his position. A great cop, a better detective, age has not been graceful either on his face or ego. Pax liked him; he mentored her. The only problem was, he was by the book, always scared to think beyond the page. With almost everything in his life, but especially with the job. However, there were exceptions. She knew he was the one to authorise her "no light" policy on this case. "Solid facts, leads, and evidence. These people" they need justice." He continued talking till he faced her.


    "Or help," she shot back unintentionally, louder than she wanted.


    "Pax, I know you are great at what you do, but spare me this. The chemical trial you discovered, it was great, it filled the gaps, but we need more." Somebody passed him a datapad with the report; Kitara had already sent her notes to the shared server, and these, with authorization, could see everything. Obviously, Brimos had access.


    "It is all there; there are trails and patterns in the data." She had done the research, and this newest discovery would confirm so many theories she had.


    "That''s enough, detective. We had this conversation more than once now, and I will repeat again; 72 people are missing. Their families want and need answers; the public wants answers. On top of that, we lost half of our fleet less than 48 hours ago when the Moon Raiders assaulted the border."


    The inspector was towering above her, with his tall posture, but now she felt as if she were crumbling because she pulled on his weak spot, and he knew how to hit back. "Do you really expect me to tell them that there is hope that those people are alive? Kidnapped somewhere in the city? That we have an invasion of? What do you kids call them? Them? This will raise massive panic. The last thing the security services need right now."


    The groups around the room stared at them; Kidaria discreetly moved away not to be part of the argument. It was publicly known of the destruction of most of the fleet. A huge cordon of civilian ships heading from motherlands to celebrate the graduation time in schools and universities in the colonies.


    When the attack came, the fleet was in chaos, absorbed in defending the civilian ships and fighting back at the same time. They lost ship by ship until the attacking force suddenly retreated. From the data gathered, the invading Raiders had assembled a crushing armada. Nothing like that was seen before. Since then, the nations had been in mourning, thousands killed, and thousands of children became orphans overnight. Pax found it hard not to turn her head away, her face and eyes burning with anger and guilt mixed together. Fine, he was right, but he should also listen for once.


    "If you have written your report, you are dismissed. Nothing more for you to do here." Brimos finished with a grave voice; he already turned away to speak to other members of the forensic team.


    "Shouldn''t you be getting ready for the morning graduation?" Kidaria turned to her, with a warmer question, finally helping.


    She finally finished the academy and would receive her honorary rank. This would allow for a shift of career, maybe something she needed.


    "Go," Brimos barked before she spoke. "Have fun. Clear your brain, get some sleep. I don''t need conspiracy theories here."


    Kidaria walked with her outside the apartment building. There were a number of police vehicles, and their bright lights beamed through the dark of night.


    "Ignore him; he''s a moron." The woman said, rubbing her arms. The temperature was lower than usual but still warm, and there was a summer breeze.


    "I know. He always was."


    "Whatever. You shouldn''t be here, dear." Pax adored her foreign accent. Especially when she spoke to people close to her, she modulated the words and their sound in a way beyond understanding. "Get some life outside the precinct. I''m sure your friends at the Academy will be waiting for you soon. Go now."


    She nodded and turned away to catch one of the patrol vehicles to give a lift home. With one hand holding the door, she turned back around.


    "Kidaria, can you do me a favour?" She shouted.


    "No!"


    "Kidaria, please!" She cried with a slight giggle. The man in the car started grumbling because of the cold.


    "What now?".


    As Kidaria said there was something that didn''t add up, and Brimos interrupted them in checking everything as well as she wanted.


    "I need to know if there were any other prints or foreign material on her. Also if she has bruises on her back." Nothing like a friendly chat about dead people, she thought.


    Kidaria only shrugged and waved her hand like she was trying to ignore her, but after a year of working together, Pax knew she would send her the data, eventually. Having waited for a short moment in the chill for the lonely figure to go back up the building, the semi-warm interior was more than welcome. Now hidden in the back seat, with her hands tightly squeezed inside pockets of her coat, she admitted to a small defeat. Again. Emotions over the mind. Not getting any better with this. The engines roared as the ship rose from the concrete. She looked outside for a second. A small diffraction to the light enveloped what she saw. Like a halo. Just for a second.

 part 3

    She arrived by train, a long bullet of light sitting low on a single concave rail, pushing forward through the city with a barely detectable buzz. A dome of warm glow welcomed her at the end of this journey. The station, from afar, reminded her of a lone shell lost on land far away from any sea. It was busy with travellers coming and leaving, full of kind, smiling faces, rustling shoes, and children laughing. Some of the passengers were pleasantly lost, perhaps waiting for something or someone. She wasn''t in a hurry, always on time, making sure everything was as planned earlier.


    As the people passed in a rush, her eyes wandered in an admiring notion, gazing upon the complicated murals and mosaics of the station. The fading night sky opened above through brilliant honeycomb glass, both sheltering and inviting beyond at the same time. Pax let her mind roam through the perfectly irregular pathways of dreams, allowing herself to breathe in all the colour and light for just a few more minutes.


    Beyond the station, on its northern side, grew a young forest patched with shallow ponds that led to the administrative district. The path was light and fresh; the smell of wet grass lingered in the air, accompanied by the soft light that diffracted the shadows scattered everywhere after the night, pushing them back into their otherworldly refuge. A young forest, patched with shallow ponds, stretched beyond the station''s northern side, leading to the administrative district. The path was light and fresh, the damp earth carrying the fragrance of the dew-laden grass.


    White, ever-blooming magnolias and silver weeping willows danced an ethereal ballet between dark, heavy cedars. Blue-eyed grasses and multi-colored hellebores guided the wanderers, their colours still tainted by the ghostly shade of electrical lamps. As the dawn grew stronger, they would gasp and release a wisp of prismatic smoke, refracting the light for a few spectacular seconds.


    Polished stone slabs led the way through this infant jungle, almost perfect squares on each step, but she made a great effort not to step on any of the cracked ones. It was more than a walk; it was a gentle dance, a long-forgotten child''s game.


    It was quiet, the air motionless as it awaited the new day to assert its power. An occasional siren or the roar of a big engine in the distance would break the spell. After a while, she began to hear distant voices. Like a birdsong growing louder, they accompanied her steps, luring and promising. She could distinguish the words and give names to the voices. Now, away from her serene hideout, the figures and faces became clear as she left the park and neared the government buildings and the crowd of people.


    But she also noticed that it wasn''t just a unified crowd of people. There was a second group, still half asleep but already prepared to disrupt this ceremony. Protesters had gathered at dawn, wanting to be heard, wanting the security forces to notice them. The agora was planning to open the stellar dome to allow anyone to come and go at their will. The dome protected the safety of the colony from enemies. They thought we were safe, and even the recent tragedy didn''t suave their minds.


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    "Captain on the bridge!" A broad, tall man with rough but handsome features shouted enthusiastically. Athamos Terra''es. He made sure it was loud enough for everyone present to turn their heads in her direction. Embarrassing.


    "Thanks, Atho, but not yet." She pulled the man''s cap down over his eyes, gladly accepting the joke. He replied with an infectious grin and gave a bow.


    "Why else do you think we are here?" Another voice caught her attention as a woman behind the pair spoke. She was also tall and well-built but still showing all of her female charms; long ombre hair like exotic streams flowed over her darker skin, full of golden threads and gems, creating a breathtaking scene. Her name was Ino Vearstton. Pax embraced her and greeted with a few warm whispery words of female confidence.


    "You look like a nebula of colours!" Pax gasped as she admired her friend. "Doesn''t she, Atho?"


    She directed the question to the smiling jester, who oddly took a while to answer. Pax could see he was pressing his tongue against his teeth, looking for an answer.


    "Never saw anyone more spectacular!" He finally agreed fiercely. Pax knew about his and Ino''s growing feelings for each other, but they pretended to be oblivious about it, thinking nobody has noticed. The woman accepted the compliment gladly.


    "This is such a grand day; we know you will get the promotion. I heard the committee was also impressed with your results in the forensics investigations, and in my opinion, all of this..." Ino tried to encircle the crown, buildings, and the whole celebration, with her hands. As she moved, a thousand colours gleamed on her like waves. "All is just because of you! The rest is just a prelude to the main event, and yet you hide under veils, my dearest friend!"


    It was very true, as Pax was a beautiful creature of gentle, light complexion. Her eyes had the colour of the clearest turquoise, and her hair seemed to have captured the golden rays of the sun. Yet, despite all this, she hid under a grey lace veil. Ino gently forced it down, revealing a gleam of gold, dazzling in the morning sun.


    "You know, a little lipstick won''t hurt anybody..." Her lips turned into a disappointed line, as she tried not to remark on Pax''s simple cut white dress. It was appropriate for the occasion, and the material gave out a light glow, but it wasn''t stunning. And today everyone wanted to look their best in front of the Aeronautic and Space-flight Academy committee. But Pax, she always seemed to take a shy step back, although her heart jumped to the front rows. Yet, despite that, if needed, she was strong-headed when it came to voicing her opinions. Finally, the time came when they had to join the crowd and its wild current into the building. It was loud because of the protesters, but they kept their distance for now and behaved with respect. For now.


    Pax looked around, conscious of the crowd.


    "Is everything under control here?" Soldiers created a long line that separated two groups, kinetic shield batons in their hands.


    Ino shrugged. "Politics. They don''t want this city-nation to be open to the outer worlds."


    "Why would they? We have been under the protection of the Union for centuries."


    "It''s all politics. Best to keep away from it." Atho smirked. "They know what they are doing. If not, the military will step in to remind them."


    "I hope you are right. With all the stuff going on right now, the last thing we need is a coup."


    "The politicians will make a vote in two days. Don''t worry." Ino added as they moved. "After that, all those nationalist freaks will be shut down."


    With a quick glance behind them over the human wall, they saw a random flare light appear.

 Part 4

    As they entered, the stone halls, reminiscent of temples, opened above them. Alabaster columns reached for the stars, crowned with delicate and rich capitals on their tops, with light arches drawing the ceiling.


    In their brilliant shapes of timeless architecture, they hid a secret; they weren''t that ancient at all. These spaces, filled with the heavy air of generations past, were just imitations of different buildings back on Earth. This colony on Impetus, one of the moons of Saturn, celebrated its fiftieth anniversary just a few months ago. All of this structure was built with the use of mixed technology three-dimensional printed blocks.


    As they climbed the white marble stairs leading up to the amphitheatre, each of them felt the watchful gaze of the patrons. On the top of the floor stood twelve white columns, with ten of them showcasing gracious sculptures of the initial founders of the colony in full exploration suits and their faces uncovered. The other


    Two were missing, and just their helmets lay there; by tradition, it is said that the founders created the first base that rapidly grew in size over the years and took in settlers. However, a tragedy happened when the main environmental generator failed one day, and to save the whole colony from suffocating, these two sacrificed their lives to save hundreds. Their bodies have been recovered.


    Pax looked up for a moment, with a mixture of fear and respect, trying to imagine who these people were and what drove them to become heroes. Suddenly, she felt Ino''s hand closing over hers and helping her up the stairs as she almost stopped, and the people started to push on her.


    "I don''t remember being that nervous," she remarked with a hushed voice when they finally reached their seats in the amphitheatre. It was already after dawn, and the light beamed in through tall cathedral windows on the side walls, filling the front of the room and the speaker platform with amber light. Tall, serious, and silent figures waited on it for the crowd to settle and calm down. Behind them hung the ensign showing a Hellebore in the heart of a circle, orbited by several others; inspired by the alliance of the outer rim planets. The League of the Outer Solar Planets describes itself as a light of civilization that combines together, in peace and prosperity, all the colonies on the moons which drifted apart in chaos after the Great Collapse. This symbol was hand-embroidered with shimmering blue thread on a silky white background, surrounded by geometrical patterns in gold. This was done so that instead of just producing it with one of the printers, it stands as a symbol that the hard work of human hands is what drives us as a civilization.


    As one of the figures rose on the platform, everything fell into silence; such was the discipline in the academy that allowed it to blossom throughout the years. There was no need for applause, only attention. The only movement was caused by a single security guard who moved along the right side to the main door.


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    Admiral Cadmus Theba, the speaker, held his gaze for a minute on the lonely figure and then spoke with a clear and warm voice.


    "We welcome you to this official presentation. You are the seed and descendants of our generation. You will lead us into a new, better future. For all of your effort, dedication, and sacrifice, we thank you. Without any further delay, let''s start with the ceremony..."


    "I don''t think he will be doing an interlude to the show!" whispered Athamos to Pax, distracting her from the rest of the speech. If that was true, she expected to hear her name. She expected to rise and walk. Suddenly, she felt like her muscles filled with a thousand air bubbles and couldn''t stay in one place. Ino held her tight in place. Pax''s mind whispered louder and louder - "The new captain of the fleet, Pax Inthem, please..."


    "As of first, I am honoured to call to the most distinguished honour, our new Captain of the League fleet, Pax Inthem, please rise and approach the council." First, a silence deeper than a singularity, and then a cacophony of applause filled the amphitheatre as she rose and started walking towards the pedestal. Her eyes gazed around to see smiling faces, lips moving, and saying words she could never possibly hear and understand. Everything danced around her in the lights of the brilliant morning. A huge hologram with her face caught her attention as it mirrored the whole room and her. Admiral Ur himself walked towards her now, an unlikely friendship since she arrived in the colony, a man she could always trust and who showed her the way when there was only darkness.


    "You deserve this more than anyone, child! I am so proud," she heard his voice. Then a gunshot pierced through the air.


    Pax turned suddenly around in the direction of the sound, but everything felt like it was drowned in a sphere of slowed time. As she moved, her body became immobilised with pain as a sudden explosion tore the air, throwing her like a doll. Fire and smoke filled everything. There was no sound.


    There was too much sound.


    As she gasped for air in pain, her body twisted painfully, hitting a hard surface. Two more explosions happened. The sound of deadly destruction and surreal screams of pain and then, and then reality finally cut off the horror of senses and let her sink into painless darkness.


    *


    A kaleidoscope of light started soaking through her closed eyes, and she had a metallic taste in her mouth. Pain beamed from her left side of the body. She groaned and lifted the palm of her hand, trying to clear her face. An overbearing watercolour world was knocking hard on her consciousness, blazing waves of heat and light. Somebody called her name, but it wasn''t her name. Her arms were covered in dirt, and there was blood on her hands. What''s going on? There was a gentle sob coming from across a pile of chairs. Someone lifted her gently off the ground. Pax blinked and choked in pain, feeling that she would pass out again in whomever arms that were carrying her. As the details blurred and focused again, she saw a figure, a dark uniform, a handsome face with several scars in different places. The man had very light hair, his eyes were of dark steel. Everything was coming and going out of focus. He spoke again to her; she could feel something was still going on beyond. Were these after explosions or did the attack continue? She couldn''t tell.


    "Hold on" was the last thing she heard before darkness took her again.

 Part 5

    The watercolour world held her mind in a gently painted bliss; every thought was slow, warm, and calm. A sense of calmness kept her senses close to the edge of the subconscious. But suddenly, it ended.


    The light, the sounds, the pain came back when Pax regained her consciousness, and everything hit her back really hard, really fast, like a cinema of sounds turned back suddenly in the middle of a scene.


    She looked around, startled, trying to remember what happened.


    "Hey, hey... it''s just shock," Ino was there, holding her hand, washing her face, and trying to calm her down. She was in a medical vehicle, outside of the building. The door was left open, and there were things she could see, although her vision was still messed. A mixture of sounds and sirens told her there was more than one vehicle, with other fire control and police units supporting. A column of smoke still filled the air, still, she could hear cries, screams. From inside the vehicle, she could hear a hover fire engine as it passed above them with a sharp buzz of the engines in the direction of the damaged building.


    "You were thrown clean through the room in the initial explosion, at least that''s what I remember," Ino said to Pax with a silent voice, not too loud as they both still couldn''t hear properly.


    Till now, she didn''t really pay attention, but she saw Ino''s clothes were burnt together with some hair, there were dirt and blood stains all over her hands and face.


    "Are you OK? Is that?" Pax startled.


    "It''s fine... I''m fine, it''s not... not my blood." Ino hesitated. "A doctor has already seen me."


    "How... how many explosions were there?" She felt pain in her neck; it was sore when she tried to touch it. The skin felt as if it was burnt to charcoal. Her hands and legs must have been affected the worst as they were covered in tape plasters and gel medical aid. She knew it would keep her wounds sterile and enable the body to heal itself much quicker.


    "I''m not really sure..." Ino hesitated again. She was startled when she heard a sudden noise outside.


    "I heard the first one, and Athamos immediately pulled me down on the floor and covered me with his body. I can''t believe how fast his reaction was." Pax just noticed that the man wasn''t with them, and that got her worried. Ino noticed her face change and added, "Hey, he''s alright. They called all male personnel to help with the victims and secure the site."


    Pax nodded as she understood.


    "There were four more explosions, and a few after one''s caused by the damage; that''s all I know. It hit the building hard... there is a lot of dead outside and inside."


    "I should go and help the forensic investigation sweep team." She tried to get up, and each part of her body immediately hurt and sent signals which she shouldn''t ignore. Her eyes blurred with pain for a second, but the time that counted most was now when the evidence was still fresh and literally hot. Her training taught her how to set up her mind by placing herself in the middle of the events to understand the scene. In this case, she only had to try and remember what happened. Suspicious objects, people, sounds. The gunshot. The blast. The moment she regained consciousness. The man who helped her. But as much as she tried to remember anything else, the pain surfaced again, and she felt crippled and immobilised once again.


    "The man who helped her!"


    Pax sprang from her seat, almost landing on the floor if it wasn''t for Ino holding her.


    "Where is Protau?!"


    "You are not going anywhere, not in this condition." A sharp voice broke her will immediately. He was her best friend, almost a father and a guardian since she was very young. It just occurred to her how much time has passed since the accident, and he must have been helping the rescue forces.


    Pax lifted her head and forced a smile, and then it hit her that he didn''t look like the man she remembers. The same blonde hair, the same eyes, almost the same lines, where are the scars? As her face pulled, Ino got uneasy detecting something was wrong.


    "Is everything alright?"


    "You didn''t pull me out of the building, did you?" Pax unconsciously ignored her and looked straight at the man.


    "Pax, I just got here." He stepped back bewildered by the question. Confused.


    "What is it?" Ino pushed back.


    "Somebody... a man, with your face. He pulled me out of the fire. Saved my life." There was a mixture of suspicion, surprise, and bewildered amusement in their faces.


    "You know, I can''t be everywhere just to pull you out of trouble? Even if you see me like that." Protau tried to lift the grim silence that came afterward with a bit of sarcastic humour. It worked. A little bit.


    Maybe it was him, but it wouldn''t be possible to get here that fast from the spaceport where he worked. Maybe it was just the shock; that face was so blurred, and she was injured. And maybe it actually was her subconscious mind.


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    They heard a lot of voices outside, and then a face appeared in the entrance.


    It was Athamos, he lost his military jacket which was probably burned to pieces now, and his shirt barely hung on a few buttons, and he missed a sleeve. But just as Ino, he got out with only a few bruises and burns. Pax really wanted to ask her friend about the situation, how many wounded there were, how many killed, and in the end, just embrace them as she was happy they were alive. In time she would also tell them what happened.


    After him, followed by a very annoyed nurse and a group of officers and soldiers. The woman presumably wanted to dismiss everyone who wasn''t necessary for the medical vehicle, and she would have been successful, but her authority was beaten down when one of the officers from the group stepped up and spoke.


    "Doctor Pax Inthem? Is she here?" He inquired, his voice seemed a bit too upbeat for the situation. The nurse hesitated and stepped aside. It wasn''t because the vehicle was full, as they could take on board many more people, but because she knew in such situations, the investigation and military orders have priority.


    "I had an MD on board?" she murmured and left.


    Protau immediately responded, "Yes, it''s her, what do you need?"


    The officer eyed him coldly for a second. "The Admiral wants to speak to you, ma''am." The man said to her, ignoring him.


    Pax only nodded in response. She was sure the man was one of the over-serious assistants of the military bureau who don''t seem to be in touch with reality. He disappeared for a second, and from nearby, they heard a short and harsh exchange of words. She was pretty sure she heard Athamos whisper to Protau, "I''ll hold, and you punch." A shadow of a smile immediately lit her face.


    Not long after, Admiral Theba appeared in the entrance to the ambulance. It was obvious he told the officers and his consultants to stay behind as he needed privacy. There was concern in his eyes when he looked at her. His clothes were in disarray under a coat somebody brought him. There was a very nasty burn on the palm of his hand, and the left side of his face would need some treatment due to open wounds. His chin was still bleeding, dripping onto folds of clothing.


    "I hope you all are holding on." The Admiral turned to everyone. "What just happened was... "There was some reflection in his voice. " I can''t find sensitive words to describe this in any way. I can''t see myself giving any more of those speeches..." He paused.


    "I think you all should know, the confirmed number of dead is 47 within the building..." He paused momentarily. "Outside... much, much more, with over a hundred being hospitalised and many in critical condition. Among those who died were the graduates and the whole awarding committee of senior officers. "


    Ino covered her lips in shock and pain; both of the men looked down and listened without moving. Pax found it hard to believe and understand what she was hearing.


    "Sadly, these numbers are going to change as we progress with the rescue operation." His voice was full of ash. Right now he didn''t look anything like a leader but a beaten-up vagrant.


    "But this wasn''t a single incident."


    A brief pause.


    "Somebody purposely attacked men, women, and children today. Once you are able, I want everyone to report for duty. We are at high alert right now, and I will be damned if I let anyone else die on my watch."


    The concern in the admiral''s eyes vanished slowly, replaced by a cold fire, something you see in the eyes of a fanatic.


    "We have reports incoming that a similar attack happened in other colonies at almost the same time. We have a lot of killed and wounded. The targets were military officials, hospitals, science institutes, and gatherings of importance. We assume this was a job of the Federation."


    They knew it was bad news; the Federation consisted of colonies on Venus and the Earth''s moon. After the great collapse, everything went mad, and for some reason, the inner planet colonies turned hostile.


    "How can we help?" Athamos jumped in front.


    "Let me help with the investigation," Pax finally spoke. Her voice was broken, thin, but there was still fire kindling in it. Protau immediately reacted.


    "Pax, no!" But the last word belongs to the admiral. Always.


    "There is plenty of help we need. You will all get your assignments. But Pax, the reason I''m here, is because I need your help. "


    "Anything," she gasped.


    "I need your help in finding Diana. We need her back. You need to go to Earth, find the expat community, and bring her and them back with you. These are desperate times." Anything but this. That name immediately sucked all of the sounds of the room. Unconsciously she looked around, as everyone started directly at her, and her only. Even Protau''s expression changed now.


    "We haven''t seen each other or spoken for 17 years," Pax responded slowly.


    "Pax, I understand but we need her now. All senior command is dead. In these dark days, and if there is to be a future for us ¨C we will need all the help we can get."


    "This may be harder than this admiral. Diana was my captain if she doesn''t want to be found we will never reach her. She is like a shadow and knows how to disappear from any hunt. "Protau added, trying to give Pax some time and space to think. But the admiral wasn''t easily discouraged.


    "That I know. If I didn''t know about the difficulties, I would be a fool."


    The ambulance and its sterility suddenly felt claustrophobic to her. Alien, and uncomfortable. Pressure pressed on her ears and head.


    "I need some air," she whispered but loud enough for others to hear. Trying to escape. Trying to delay the decision, or just run.


    "Pax please." The Admiral pressed.


    "I wouldn''t know where to start," her voice was getting quieter.


    "She may be in danger!"


    No, no, no. Pax''s brain kept saying rapidly. Let me go. Where is Prometheus? Where is my light bringer? She could still change this.


    But, a shout outside pulled her out of a mindless frenzy. A minute of panic. The same officer that earlier spoke to her appeared in the entrance. He was trying to catch a breath.


    "Admiral! Sir, new reports coming in through the microsatellite belt."


    "What is it?" Protau immediately jumped on the officer. The man gave him a cold glance, but Admiral Theba nodded at the question.


    "We have movement. A large-scale force. Probably the same one that attacked the convoy days ago."


    "Where are they headed?" Ino asked loudly above everyone''s heads.


    "Unknown," the officer seemed to get confused with him having to respond to unauthorised personnel. "But if the trajectory holds for the next couple of hours, well then we need to warn Earth."


    "I will go." Pax said quietly but then repeated again louder "I have to go." As everyone turned their gaze to her, she stumbled and slowly got up. Her body injured, her mind in pieces, but a longing in the heart and a commitment in the soul lifted her above all. There was no turning back, and this was too much beyond her to change in any way.

 Part 6

    A man with a familiar face gently picked her up, saying something. Telling her about something... something very important. Another bomb imploded in the surroundings; it felt like the air itself was shaking and the ground turning into liquid. Miniature projectiles created by the shattered debris flew everywhere. They tore his clothes, the skin. But he did not react to the pain.


    "You have to remember what I said," he repeated more than once, she knew he repeated. His voice buzzed in her head more and more like an angry bee. "Remember!". She asked herself why the air was so ionised suddenly before her senses started to fail one by one.


    "You are not listening!" The man raised his voice impatiently, shaking her, drowning in unconsciousness. "What did I say!?"


    Everything stopped. Reality suddenly came back as if someone switched a button in her mind. Blood rushed to her limbs, air kicked in her lungs. Everything, everything returned her to life from the imaginative death that was sleep.


    "What did you say?" Pax whispered to herself. Her shaking hands searched for the face, for the lips, the eyes, to check if it feels alright. If they are still here. She almost jumped when Protau entered the room without knocking.


    He had brought her a cup of coffee, as he did every morning.


    "Don''t tell me...?" He guessed much better than she thought. How could he not? It had been almost four days since the accident, and she had the same dream coming back more than a few times. Protau was there for her for the first two nights: talking, listening, and comforting. Being a close friend, he had been with her since she was a child. Even though some time had passed, he would come to her apartment early in the morning to check up on her, to bring news.


    The news was the most important thing for her now. Pax never asked, just sat quietly waiting for him to be ready to tell her. He knew, sometimes purposely delaying it, teasing her a bit. She did appreciate this friendly game, though.


    "Brought you a mug of a strong one," Protau passed her the coffee; it was very strong. He always would burn it, forget about the sugar or milk in powder. But this was his coffee, and she was drinking it like this for the last few years without complaining. His hands took her face in them for a few seconds, sharing a comforting moment. One of his own, the second a prosthetic limb, fully mechanised. Lost in an accident long ago. He could be harsh, cold, and demanding, but he also was like a father and a guardian to her.


    "I''ve been thinking..." He said. She picked her head up, looking him in the eyes. Those angry, burning eyes other people would be afraid of. "For both of us... You know how this works. I should be going with you; I was the one who took you away from Delia. All those stories of glorious adventures among the stars..." They laughed for a moment and went silent.


    Pax put away the mug and grabbed his hand.


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    "I don''t regret any of this; it was my choice, and I wouldn''t change any of it, except one thing."


    "That is?"


    "How I and Delia parted." She went silent after that, going back to her coffee. He let her lose herself in the thoughts for a while.


    "I just feel lost sometimes. Maybe I''m doing too many things because I don''t know what I really want."


    Protau relaxed for a few moments.


    "Remember what I always told you, since you were a little one?" Pax nodded with a sigh, taking a sip of the bitter coffee. "About darkness and light?"


    "Of course, I do. But it''s not the same."


    "Yes, it is. It''s always the same. Come on, out with it."


    "If it gets too dark and harrowing to go forward, light a light, or become one." She sighed heavily, fluttering her eyelashes in a quiet defence. Then she raised her hand flat in an open question. "And how is this supposed to help me now? In full honesty, I never understood it. It just kept flying around my mind as a sort of comforting nonsense."


    There was only silence after this, and the knocking of his metallic fingers on the wall as he stared in her face patiently for a long moment till he looked down.


    "There is news." He picked up her attention again as his mobile transmitter pinged a message.


    Finally, it would mean she would be able to leave. It took so long for the bureaucratic paperwork to be passed through the security, government, and all these small, not-important offices to make a decision. In fact, it would have taken longer, but Admiral Theba probably had a huge impact on the decision, using his power to push things forward.


    "You are allowed to leave today." The man sat down in a semi-plastic chair facing one of the tall windows that opened on the city.


    She would go to Earth. All this time she had been grounded. Days of medical tests, psychological checks, if the blast and shock didn''t cause any irreversible damage to her body and decision-making abilities. The Admiral probably thought she would go on an interstellar odyssey looking for those responsible.


    Possibly. Pax was forced to admit to herself that, in fact, she needed time. As a civilian captain of a research vessel, as a medical doctor, and a forensic investigator, it would be foolish to throw all of the years of hard work and reputation into dust and go chasing something...


    It was something because, after all the time of investigation and the forensic sweep of the scene, nothing was found. No groups claimed this attack as their doing. There were no fingerprints, no scraps from the explosive device, nothing. And she wasn''t allowed to go there. Admiral''s orders.


    Till now.


    Pax shook her head a few times, as if she was trying to shake out the sounds from her mind. Protau observed her actions silently. All these years taught him not to ask too many questions about her quirks. If this is the way she deals with stuff, then fine.


    For her, it was more of a way to shake off the remnants of the dreams or memories.


    "Protau, if you have some spare time, could you...?" She hesitated, thinking about what she would actually want him to do. Find him? Find the man. What did he say?


    "I already checked. There are no reports of anyone matching that description in the medical or rescue team." Pax was impressed; he would be a great detective. "Also, as far as we know, the security guards inside the amphitheatre were killed, so either your hero is hiding or wounded and self-medicating, or he is the one responsible for this massacre and has a special interest in you." He twiddled his thumbs when he spoke, trying to remember all of the important facts and information.


    "That stinks," she snorted. Protau flashed a partial smile back at her.


    "Exactly." His tone was definite and closing. Pax knew he would try to impose his will and reasoning on her. She may comply, for now. "Time to grab your bags and find out what happened on Earth."


    "I thought you would never say that." Her voice was full of genuine relief.

 Part 7

    "I thought they would never let you go! Bunch of idiots!" Athamo brightened up upon hearing the news. He was obviously happy with the news, but the bureaucracy annoyed him so much he could get in a mood about it. The three of them walked through one of the administration boulevards, filled with gentle light and a crowd of people, giving them the needed relief. It gave her the time to see them before she departed.


    It also gave her a chance to see and explore the city again. Their world, Iapatus, wasn''t a kind and gentle host. It was a dark and cold world of craters, ravines, caves, and struggle. But the colonists knew that, and they worked hard, very hard to achieve what she saw today.


    The boulevard was designed over a vast crevice, following a flow like a river, made of special thick glass and edges of this river were of white reinforced ceramic. The atmospheric dome provided them safety, atmosphere, weather, and sunshine which was all too real sometimes.


    From the main flow, they turned into a side structure, with geometric buildings housing the shopping centre. Above their heads grew delicate tree-like structures that provided some shade and additional atmospheric control to smaller sectors of the city. Holograms danced around in the air during the day, and during the night fairy lights or stars glimmered for those who traversed here. As they slowly passed this street, they reached a small opening with a balcony walkway, with two tall columns that were extremely plain to look at, but Pax knew they were adorned with gold-plated lights that appeared in the evening and night. Below them, a huge lake reflected the light like glitter, and people sat by the edge of it just enjoying the day. With a corner of her eye, she noticed a group of priests wandering around and immediately turned around.


    "What time exactly is your window?" Ino leaned over the railing, closing her eyes for a while, enjoying the warmth on her face.


    "30 minutes after we are on the dark side," Pax made a slight grimace following Ino''s steps. "I don''t really like these new launch rails, but there is nothing I can do. If I miss this window, who knows when they will let me go."


    Her friend only nodded to her words; Pax was sure there was a question in the air she would ask.


    "Are you thinking about...?" Ino bit the bullet. And she asked.


    "Admiral Thebe doesn''t think she would be on the list of the victims." Pax tried not to think about it.


    In fact, she would be guilty of trying not to think about it so much she almost forgot about it completely. But that man, on the other hand, was like a lurking shadow.


    "Pax, this is your auntie we are talking about! She is your family, and as far as I know, the only family," Athamo interrupted her thoughts.


    Both of her friends saw the annoyed curve of her lip, the only and very rare sign of her losing patience. He was touching on old wounds and memories.


    "You talk just like the old priestess," Pax said irritatedly.


    Delia Montarouve was her mother''s sister and the guardian after both of her parents and sister died in the great collapse. With great care, patience, and effort, she raised the girl up in the Scottish Highlands which were relatively safe. She taught her everything she knew of language, history, and made sure she would have a good and broad education. For her, the words would always be "The more you know, the better you will be able to use this knowledge in the dynamic and constantly changing world."


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    But in her life appeared somebody who would turn everything upside down. Protau, the pilot, and navigator of the League. Brave and dashing, he filled her head and heart with a thousand stories of distant worlds, astounding technology, and adventures. He became the older brother she never had but always wanted. She was a teenager and keen to make a grand step in her life, so she left. Not without a huge fight that, probably forever, destroyed the bond she and her aunt had.


    Pax would rarely think about this, sure that the past would never catch up, that eventually, everything would naturally come to a happy and peaceful end. But that day of the attack, when Admiral Theba told them that something had happened on Earth, she knew it wasn''t directed at her friends. It was directed at her.


    Later, Pax learned that there had been a bomb detonated in the hospital where her auntie worked. She has been missing since. It was obvious her mind played a clever game, raising shadowy cloaks in her memory. Interrupting with nonsense questions of unknown and probably nonexistent vigilante rescuers. No, her mission is to go back to Earth, go back home, and investigate. She was denied access on Iapetus, but given full allowance to act on Earth.


    "When will you come back?" The soft sound of Ino''s voice lured her from the depths of her mind.


    "Soon, don''t worry," Pax replied, her quick smile and raised brows interrupting Ino''s worried face. "It''s just a quick flight there and back, two or three days on the ground to go round and ask questions and find out the truth."


    "Yeah, of course, why would we worry?" Athamo cut in sarcastically. "It''s just a quick flight to the closed zone, through the Union Space and spend some time on a planet tormented by violent natural disasters. And probably deal with some unresolved family issues. Did I also add visiting some prison mines? But seriously, Pax... are you going to a priest before you leave at all?"


    "Why should I? Is he always like that in the mornings?" Pax made a cynical face towards Ino; she only giggled in response. Since the attack, Athamo insisted that he should stay with Ino to help her and make sure she is fine because of her "injuries."


    "We are only expressing our concern," Ino added with a lighter tone. "That''s all. Protau is your babysitter, and it''s not our job." They laughed at this joke, which only they would understand with the memory he would appear in sometimes impossible situations to save them, and then scold and give a long lecture.


    "You two do realise I could take anyone down in hand-to-hand combat, right? It''s going to be alright. I should have done this a long time ago; hopefully, it won''t be too late." Pax said heavily. There was a weight on her shoulders growing, thinking she left her auntie in a fight to remember her as a spoiled brat and die in an explosion without any closure. But it was the closure that Pax needed.


    "It''s getting late, Pax," the man had noticed. It was five hours before the moon would hide on the dark side. Suddenly she felt very tired and gave out a quiet sigh. Ino gently took her hand and wrapped hers around as they walked up the stream.


    "So..." Ino started in a lighter voice.


    "So?" Pax mimicked her tone with a joke.


    "All the horrors aside, aren''t you a bit excited?"


    "Excited?" Pax gave Ino a doubting look.


    "I know, I know, it''s just work. But, think about this: when all this horror is over, things will get better. You are getting a chance to make a change, maybe to a better one."


    "Ino, please. You with your horrible optimism." Pax giggled.


    "Maybe you will meet somebody, make friends," Ino pressed, giving her a wink.


    "Meet somebody? Pax?" Athamo laughed mockingly.


    "I am unfriending both of you!" Pax punched his arm, still laughing as they walked with her to one of the hanging shuttle trains.

 Part 8

    There was a shimmer in the air, a cold, never-ending shimmer. Like a cold stream of dark water running under the floors beneath them. Every step Pax took echoed sharply in her ears. For souls used to the sun and light, it felt like the gates to the underworld, though the feeling was unexplained. It was a modern facility, with the highest standards of hygiene and technology. The morgue section wasn''t a grave. But as the oldest tradition in humanity goes, it was designed to feel differently. Sterile.


    Kidaria lifted her head up from a screen where she was making notes, distracted by a knocking sound, and her gaze met the detectives. Pax didn''t wait for an invitation and let herself into the room.


    The walls and corridors were covered by pearl white metal, and lights were everywhere. Soft amber ones in rows of three along the walls of the corridors, and in the offices and rooms which all had one wall made entirely of glass, there shone a different type of light. There, you could find globes which had been independently located for the use of the medical staff and bore a bright blue light.


    "Hello, Detective," she heard this distant greeting from the entrance, but to her mind, it was only a little game. She brought a peace offering and put it on Kidaria''s desk. A tall, covered mug with piping-hot coffee. She made a promise, and this was the best one you could find on the station. Coffee. One of the things that no matter where humanity goes, will always stay the same.


    "It took you quite a while to get this one, did you fly all the way to the old continent to get it?" the MD laughed. The woman wore the same blue suit she did earlier with a white jacket to keep her warmer in the colder temperatures of her surroundings.


    "Perhaps I may actually do that when I leave for Earth today," Pax responded with enthusiasm, taking a seat in front of the woman. She twitched a bit in pain when sitting.


    "Oh child, why in the goddess''s name are you walking? You need rest," Kidaria walked from the terminal to her to check the injuries. But Pax was already prepared to stop her.


    "I''m fine, I''m fine. It''s just bruised." She rolled her eyes as she raised her hands in a gesture of self-defence. "Maybe some stitches."


    "Charming," the MD answered, going back to her seat. "You know that I am still a doctor even if most of my patients are dead, and your close friend and I do worry about you."


    "Most of your patients? I thought all of your patients were dead."


    "That''s quite enough, child. I know why you are here. Brimos will not approve of this, and as I recall, he doesn''t want you to be getting any deeper into the evidence. Especially since you have a bigger fish to fry off-world. Isn''t this the same for: You are off the case?"


    Pax, however, wasn''t going to give up and gently pressed on the topic.


    "Kidaria, you know this keeps me awake at night. I''m still trying to put the pieces together... I know there is a pattern there." While she was talking, Kidaria got up and walked to the morgue pod and slowly opened it.


    "What are you doing?" Pax shook her head, and the hair followed.


    "I''m waiting for you to come here. What does it look like? It''s like you never saw me break rules before." The doctor mocked playfully. She didn''t have to tell her that twice, as Pax''s mind was already stretching to every bit of information they had come across in the previous cases, previous locations, clues, and patterns.


    "Also, I would prefer if living people would keep you awake at night."


    "Tell me, from the beginning." She rolled her eyes and didn''t respond.


    "Goods, sharp mind, that''s what we like." Kidaria waited for a second and lifted the cover from the body in the pod. The victim looked peaceful, asleep and graceful. Her pale skin only just started taking the blue-greyish shade.


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    "So, from where we left. The victim suffered from extensive trauma to the head. The cause of death was a traumatic brain injury which results when the head suddenly and violently hits an object or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. In this case, it was the damage of the temporal lobe caused by the impact of the glass shard from the table." She said that while pointing at the entry wound at the girl''s head. "Now, there are defensive wounds on her hands, as you can see here." Kidaria lifted the victim''s pale hand, showing the dark bruises, scratches on the fingers, and broken nails. She also pointed to linear abrasions on the shins and one of the knees. "Lastly, there is something you will want to see."


    "The bruising on her back." Pax nodded excited, leaning forward not to miss any details. Kidaria gently grabbed the shoulders of the victim, lifted her to show the back muscles to Pax. Her mouth opened for a second looking for words.


    "There is nothing." She was lost." No bruises, no wounds. Nothing."


    Kidaria stuck the tongue in her cheek. "Exactly. That proves there was somebody else in the room during the struggle."


    "Hold on. This makes no sense, we thought it was a kidnapping gone wrong. If there was a third unknown party involved, it changes everything." Pax''s brain was going wild to match the evidence to this new perspective. "What else have we got? I need an anomaly, something out of place. We have one body only; where is the other one? And why did the second victim leave her? We know they didn''t take the girl because of the fatal wound. What if the other victim was injured, bleeding, but not bad enough, and they took her or him?"


    "That''s nice, but before you get ahead of yourself and your made-up theories, let me stop you. You need solid evidence and proof. I have more. And you are not going to like it."


    The detective crossed her hands and waited with pursed lips.


    "Back to the drawing board then. Firstly, blood screening has shown two distinct markers. Female for our victim and a second, unknown marker which would belong to a second victim or the assailant. The sample was polluted but I managed to ID it as a male. There is more, however, the wall splatter only contains the second unknown marker, also there was more of it on the broken coffee table leg part. We still are missing that one, by the way."


    "That doesn''t mean there were three of them. Actually, it proves there were only two of them. And that our attacker bleeds, and takes a part of the table with them." Pax added.


    "Right, now the anomalies you wanted." Kitaria covered the girl''s body and moved away from the table to her console.


    "Should I be excited?" Pax asked with a mocking tone.


    "Probably. I''m going to destroy all of your theories now. Sorry. The toxicology screening has shown traces of an unidentified toxin in the victim''s bloodstream. It is the same chemical as your technicians have detected in the air. I can''t match it to anything I have seen before in my medical history, or any scientific database we had access to. The victim either must have injected it or it must have been somehow introduced into her system. But, this toxin or drug has rendered her in a very passive, almost euphoric state. The only reason she was able to fight back was that the administration of this thing was somehow aborted." Kitaria laid a number of documents and screens in front of her.


    A beautiful pattern of data, like a number of puzzles for her to move around and match to create a complete image.


    "Go on... I''m guessing you will present me some sort of proof that there was this third person again." Pax raised her brow when the doctor stopped.


    "Indeed. No need for irony. I am just following the evidence. You may not like it this time but this is how it comes. In pieces."


    "So what is it?" The question burned her deeply now.


    "Impact strength." Kitaria responded calmly with a partially raised eyebrow as she saw Pax''s questioning look. "The impact strength of a normal person falling on any object that can cause head trauma isn''t corresponding to the depth of the puncture. I''ve done the computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the head. Nothing makes sense here. The wound is too deep."


    "Unless somebody helped her? I''m sorry Kitaria, don''t give me this look, I''m trying to put everything in my head into one whole image."


    "The force needed to make a puncture this deep would require a body of around 80 to 100 kilograms to be travelling at a speed of 30 metres per second. It may be that the victim was collateral."


    The two women shared the silence for a while, moving documents, screens, data, and pictures. It was a complex puzzle, and so many details didn''t make sense. The more they knew, the more questions arose.


    "I don''t know where to start right now," Pax admitted.


    "Perhaps it will be best to leave it for now. The pieces will fall into place eventually."


    "If that piece is our missing victim or a crazed man with bionic arms." Pax gathered her hair off her forehead, helped to gather the documents back, and passed them to Kitaria. "I''m worried about the safety of others since this case."


    "I''m worried about the safety of everyone since that fatal explosion, yet I can''t do anything," Kitaria responded to her words. "Don''t worry yourself with things you can''t control at this time."

 Part 9

    A huge hologram depicting the majestic Jupiter, along with its moons, danced slowly on barely noticeable ellipses, hanging in mid-air within the bright museum hall. Underneath it, the curious crowds moved slowly. People gasped in awe, gazing beyond, while others talked and laughed. On more than one occasion, someone pointed at a curious piece of history held in the glass presentation panels. The recent attacks and protests had disturbed the normal flow of people, resulting in much smaller crowds than usual.


    Pax raised her eyes away from the data console she was busy with, studying and creating a digital copy required for her trip. She turned around slowly, tired of the glare. The light from outside came through honey-plastered windows, artificially strengthened to create a blissful and surreal effect on the visitors. It had the same effect on Pax as when she first came here many years ago. There were a few quick moments of reflection as she gazed upon the golden giant and his forever bound stellar lovers before looking back down to the data console.


    After a few moments of thought, she exchanged a data sphere, a fingernail-sized device used to store immense amounts of data. Pax had a whole library of these, kept safe in a small box. The technology was designed to transmit a glimpse of the data to a person''s mind if someone touched one of these spheres, making it easier for them to recognize where their information had been stored.


    The last piece of information she looked up was about breathers, Dhao Anasi. These creatures were discovered in the Mariana Trench on Earth in the middle of the XXI century. Significant resources were dedicated to their research because of their crucial ability: their small bodies could filter more oxygen than a dozen trees in the Amazon in the same amount of time. Their complex and bizarre physiology classified them as a totally separate branch of life in the tree of life.


    The discovery of this single species led to the development of a new branch of science ¨C anapnoisis, from the Greek word for breath. Scientists aimed to create an efficient method of purifying Earth''s atmosphere due to the increasing pollution. While many methods were attempted, economically stubborn countries refused to pay attention to environmental concerns.


    After years of research, the first oxygen plants were designed and built. Their effectiveness was proven within weeks of the initial tests, leading to the construction of many more such plants. However, in nature, everything must be in balance, and soon after the atmosphere was purified, rapid changes in temperatures shifted on a catastrophic route with unimaginable storms of unprecedented power.


    Pax was satisfied with all the updated information she had found. The data sphere disappeared into her pocket, and she marched downstairs to the exit, turning around a few times to catch the last glimpse of the golden giant.


    Outside, there was perpetual spring, with warm breezes and pleasant temperatures. It was an ideally planned and copied environment, as much as possible given the otherworldly conditions.


    She didn''t plan to see a priest at all; her mind despised the idea. Yet, something inside carried her steps towards the temple, Naos as they called it. The large plaza in front of the building was empty, and Pax felt like all the statues followed her every move, turning towards her inch by inch. Her body and mind felt exposed. The building itself wasn''t large at all. It was built as a tholos, a round-domed structure in absolute mathematical perfection celebrated by the art of the craftsmen who decorated the columns, the podium, and the inner altar. It lacked, however, an inner sanctum, and its secrets were open to everyone who was looking for them.


    Once she reached the closest gigantic column, she felt a strange static in the air, a buzz. Her senses couldn''t quite understand what it was, but it was there.


    "Are you lost?" a voice came from inside the Naos. Pax felt a shiver.


    Within the open sanctum was an elderly man sitting on one of the benches. Next to him, a few displays showed data¡ªsome images of people, others pictures of relics and buildings. The man seemed to be very interested in the past. His hair was salt and pepper, combed neatly, the same as his patchy beard. Somehow, he didn''t look like a priest. But Pax knew the man.


    "Hello, Daduchus." She approached the man who twitched nervously when he saw her. The whole of her being twisted in aversion. Priests and religion were never her best friends; she would challenge their archaic philosophies, lack of action, and general nihilism toward almost everything in life. Especially Daduchus, the man, although kind and with a heart, represented everything that was wrong in her opinion with the religious man.


    "I hope you are lost!" His voice pitched when he saw her walk out from behind the columns.


    "No, I''m not, actually..."


    "You!" He hesitated. "You are the last soul I want to see! Not after the last time you growled at me with your speeches! Oh, the heavens." He raised his arms to the sky in a dramatic gesture. "Are you here to pollute the pristine soul of this temple?! Oh, gods, what have I done to thee!"


    Pax crossed her arms, waiting for his little theatrics to end, and Daduchus took his time repeating himself and crying to the gods. Seeing she wouldn''t leave and feeling exhausted, he finally stopped, resigned.


    "I''m not here to deliberate on anything. In fact¡ª" She paused, unsure. "I''m here to ask for your advice."


    A sour smile appeared on his face, victorious. She couldn''t help but sigh seeing his reaction.


    "This is rich, exquisite beyond my dreams. You? Coming to me for advice? But why would I give one to thee? You don''t believe in the gods; you can''t even admit to your own gifts."


    "There are people dying, and more could die, so I don''t have time for your games. I just want to know if Delia is safe. You are able to tell me that, right?"


    "Why ask? Can''t you get the answer yourself?"


    "We lost communication with Earth. I thought your senses could¡ª" He interrupted her, waving his hand angrily.


    "Why don''t you ask? You are an Oracle, are you not?" That name dropped from his tongue like a heavy stone on metal, resonating in the back of her head like a sour memory. "That and being a detective, you should be really good at getting answers. But maybe the gods have abandoned you."


    Her fists tightened in anger.


    "It''s not as easy as you think, priest!" Her voice was tight, annoyed, almost angry. She tried to control herself. "I''m not that kind of oracle anymore. And we have been banned from accessing the web since the fright. You know better than anyone else that others who tried have died. So you would see me risk my sanity or life. How very blessed of you."


    "Then maybe you are looking for the answers in the wrong place." He giggled, unimpressed by her anger.


    "Perhaps you are right. This was a waste of my time. Never again." Pax was angry and turned around on her heel to walk away.


    "Wait," Daduchus called after her, his voice sombre. She stopped but didn''t turn back.


    "She is safe. We already asked. We asked about many of the places to know after the attack," he added. Her breath dropped in relief. "You are right. The laws have been written, and you need to obey them. Under no circumstances should you ever access the web again. The fright will find you."


    Pax gently turned her head, but he was back to studying his books, acting like she was never there. Without a word, she left.


    "Where are you?" A voice suddenly crept into her ears. It was due to her own fault that every hair on her body stood up, as she left the communication bead on. Protau was already chasing her, although she still had two hours before she would leave. There was no need to panic.


    "I''ll be taking the maglev down to the port in a moment, Protau. I had to get some data update on the breathers, and you know I need to maintain the tank," Pax responded while climbing the train terminal steps to a platform. She paid with a move of her bracelet ¨C it had microchips in the beads that connected to the station''s computer ¨C and she entered the train. "The secondary pump was failing." Not to delay the inevitable that sat in her stomach like cold stone, she was ready to get this going.


    "Sure, and what about all of the old age books and music you have been uploading into the data sphere?" She didn''t reply; she knew anything would just ensure him he was right. That''s not true. The maglev moved, and after a few seconds, it was already gliding with high speed throughout the city. She didn''t mention anything about visiting the temple. Protau didn''t need to know. "I will need you earlier in the cosmo-port, then." Protau added after the break. Pax wondered what this could be; her eyes searched for the answer in the sky above. In fact, she was looking for the answer in the barely visible edges of Terled''s dome, the structure that created and kept the atmosphere of the city safe from the cosmos.


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    Through the windows, she could see the large dome as it grew larger and larger until it swallowed everything entirely. There weren''t many passengers leaving here; she guessed that those who did either worked for the military or trade and all took an official route. Not her. Protau had once given her a card to access the hangars through the maintenance areas, and she was happy to use it. As the milky white lamps turned on slowly one by one with a low hum, she had to squint for a few seconds. Finally, the shades of black onyx dissipated, and everything was clear. Pax wasn''t ready to let her mind stop thinking about the investigation; she called in on the results and possible tracks the investigating force may have found.


    "They won''t be happy I''m telling you this, but you are going to Earth anyway, so you may as well do the leg work. Her parents are still living in Glencoe, the same place the attacks happened." One of the senior officers answered her.


    "Fortuitous coincidence?"


    "Perhaps, they should be able to answer some questions. Find out what you can. Condolences as per standard protocol are required. Keep safe, detective."


    "Thanks. You too." Just a simple one. Recent times made them all feel like every farewell might be their last. With all of them¡ªfamily, friends, colleagues. Strange how the fear of the sudden and unexpected, like death, draws people together, makes them more humane towards each other.


    Once she passed a number of pressure doors, the last one opened with a hiss, and the interior hangar opened to her.


    Pax heard a mild beep in her earpiece, a quick shake of her wrist piece, and a connection was established.


    "Are you on your way?" It was Protau.


    "I am. Is this a secure channel?" She answered.


    "I''m alone in the control room if that''s what you are asking."


    "So, how''s your boyfriend?"


    Nothing. She probably shocked him with how openly this was asked.


    "Oh, come on, I know things. Following clues is my job."


    "It didn''t work out," he replied after a long moment.


    "I don''t have to worry he will be on the list of missing people, do I?"


    Protau laughed for a short moment, a very dry, crisp sound.


    "Nothing like that. It just didn''t work out; I didn''t feel anything towards him."


    "You always say that," she said, almost there.


    "Well, I''m not an easy one; you know that better than anyone else. End of this off-topic chatter now, serious stuff. I won''t be able to come down to the ship. Extra security measures since the attack. You will see me through the windows, and it will have to suffice until you are back. I''m sorry."


    "I understand. I''m fine with that. Wait, don''t I have to come upstairs for the parts?" She shivered involuntarily when the cold underground air hit her in the face. The cold air of the caves under the moon''s surface.


    "Doesn''t matter now; I changed the conduit coils in the ship. Though it may take longer than expected. But it was an easy fix. And the secondary pump? It''s ok. Nice try with that one."


    She didn''t reply, just took the earpiece off as it was annoying her, put up the collar of her jacket, and moved between the fuel tanks through a path not many knew about. The contrast between the surface architecture was like night and day. Bare concrete and metal. Hundreds of weird, twisted, angry, and calm at the same time, shapes and colours that engulfed her from each angle. This was on the top, on the bottom, however, moisture and condensation would create quickly drying out streams that filled the cavities creating miniature rivers and bays, that took away the impurities and spills creating patterns from the chemical spillage. In some places even, grey and orange streams would create small canyons filled with crystals and mineral deposits.


    From there Pax finally switched to a metal pathway and from there she took an elevator taking her directly to the ship. It was a very rough construction and through the crates, she could see the control tower. She could make out from here the men that sat working on the computers.


    From the top of the floor, she found her way to the docking sleeve and her ship. Prometheus waited for her quietly, in the darkness, always ready for another adventure ¨C and they had so many together.


    The airlock opened automatically recognizing her transmitter bracelet to let her in. Lights shone brightly, and in the corner of the entrance was a friendly face always happy for her return.


    "Hey boy!" Her voice expressed unusual warmth when she leaned forward to pat the dog. He was a large mountain shepherd, his fur was a mixture of cream and white, gently enveloping a muscular silhouette, large strong paws and a bear-shaped head. She named him Argos. But he wasn''t a real dog. Unfortunately, humanity had learned that domestic pets suffered greatly in colonies, something in their genes made them earthbound. Cats less so, their bodies handled the voyage and artificial gravity better, however, predisposing them to various diseases which were manageable to an extent. Pax even saw a few cats in the colony. But not dogs. Their tie to the homeworld was so great that most of them would die during the journey through space or almost immediately start showing genetic abnormalities. Such existence was torment and suffering, and all attempts were abandoned.


    Argos was an eidolon. Each ship had one; they were the interactive personality interfaces of the ship''s computer intelligence. They could move freely around, provide companionship, entertainment, and sanity. And although holographic, they could physically interact with whomever they wanted. Most captains had their eidolons as people, figures they knew and liked. They provided an important human element to the journey, making it more bearable for those that travelled alone. But Pax chose a dog for hers. In fact, it wasn''t any dog. It was a spitting image of the friend she once had as a child while still living on Earth. The real Argos died before she left. One of the many reasons she left.


    Everything was ready for departure. For a moment, it just seemed empty and surreal, but Argos pushed his head under her hand, pulling her back into reality. As she sat comfortably in her seat, checking all of the launch systems, communication was already buzzing.


    "Alright, everything seems operational from both sides. Ship systems are optimal. You are clear to go."


    "Thanks, Protau." There was a muffled bark in the background.


    The man ignored that. "I will be monitoring your progress throughout the system; everything should go smoothly."


    "You mean with your micro spies? You said the same thing when I got in the storm over Titan."


    "You may laugh, but these little guys see more than you think. But I can only see; I can''t control that ship of yours. So be careful. You know Halley''s Comet is on its journey through the solar system, and there is all manner of debris you need to pay attention to."


    "I always am!" She answered, half paying attention. "We always are." Her fingers were already playing a well-known song on the consoles in front of her. Argos sat patiently next to her; his head was high enough that the eidolon could see over the consoles and through the cockpit windows. The computers showed the position of the ship on the jump rail; a magnificent structure that would take her through man-made tunnels on a vertical rail designed to accelerate the ship and help release it from the moon''s gravitation while taking away the stress from the pilots and lowering fuel consumption.


    For her, it was a moment of silence, listening to the melody of the beeps and clicks of the machines. Occasional flashes on the consoles and instruments. It was all very comforting for her, a neutral zone. Beyond, there were just the lights guiding her to the sky.


    "Launch!" the voice in her speakers said, and she felt an increasing vibration that shook through her bones, through her blood. Somewhere below her, a blinding light erupted from the engines and carried her away. The sky exploded with thousands upon thousands of stars when Prometheus was released from the jump rail, leaving the micro-gravitation field, able to expand its wings and soar away.


    "I''m OK." It took her a moment to speak once the manoeuvre was finished. She licked her dry lips and responded to the microphone. "All systems optimal, thanks for the ride, boys."


    "Gods grant you that you do well, Pax."


    "Thanks to you, Gods will grant me passage through the darkness." Although Pax couldn''t see him, she knew Protau smiled. It was what he used to say to her since she was a child. He was outside close proximity communication, but she waited a couple of minutes before switching off the line. Just now Pax noticed how tightly her fingers were clenching the steers. But the ship was safe above the moon in a parking orbit; Argos made sure of it.


    The calm gave her a few moments to relax, take a deep breath.


    "Go to a prison planet, enter a forbidden zone, investigate bombings, meet the family of the victims, then find my own family and tell them I''m sorry for being a brat, and bring them back. Also, don''t get killed in the process. Easy." She had to laugh; otherwise, it would be a nightmare. Just take one step at a time.


    "Argos, lights." The cabin instantly lit its lights. Pax manipulated the navigation computer next to her, and a brightly coloured holographic map appeared. She had to wait for a second, as it blurred and lost detail. Just for a moment.


    "Set up the course to Mars, Tartarus Prison Facility. Put alignment markers here... here and here." Her fingers manipulated the computer data as she spoke. The markers she was referring to were points in the highway of microsatellites still operational in the system. Protau worked hard to keep them that way. The journey looked easy; she was avoiding any direct jumps as that would deplete her fuel too fast. Prometheus, just like most of the ships, was equipped with two types of space engines: a conventional one allowing for reliable but time-consuming journeys, taking hours compared to ancient ones, and a second one which was a short-distance jump drive. This one was usually only used in distress or rescue situations as it put a lot of pressure on the engines themselves and the ships.


    Pax stretched in her seat, loosened the security belts, and took a moment to look outside as the face of Saturn and its magnificent rings touched by the sun. It was a magnificent sight. She also knew that below her, the colony city would shine with its thousand lights.


    Argos was already on course, and in some comfort, Pax was able to spend this time in her own mind.


    "Identification signal request." The eidolon''s gentle voice asked once they approached a stratospheric buoy above the surface. The eidolon was still sitting next to her, his head tilted curiously.


    "Understood, transmit signal." She responded automatically, her fingers turning on the communication panel, not listening to anything specific. Just for the signals. The particular signals that all of the ships used as a high-frequency communication system. It reminded her of whales singing. When she was growing up on Earth, she adored going to the oceanographic institute and listening to recordings of them communicating.


    As the ocean of space stretched in front of her, millions of kilometres away from home, she sat listening to them sing again. Even if it was just her imagination filling the gaps. She felt the cold, wet nose of Argos trying to get her attention, to pet him. The eidolon was trying to take her mind off things, but the singing would follow her everywhere while the giant Kronos, with his gentle eye, kept her safe.

 Part 10

    "Warning! Course objective proximity alert." Argos'' synthesised voice woke her up. It was a sudden and unpleasant feeling, and it took her a moment to gather her thoughts.


    "Arrival to Mars destination port in 60 minutes. Identity transmission required," the eidolon said again, boring a hole in her unconscious mind.


    "Confirmed," Pax mumbled just loud enough for the computer to hear. Her body still ached after the explosion days in the past, her mind still turbulent. Instead of resting, she took the time to read on the creatures, the breath givers. She did some exercises, played catch with Argos, and lastly, ran over the homicide report holotapes again.


    It kept her occupied for 11 hours; then, she laid down her stubborn self to bed. That''s where she was, on the Prometheus. In space.


    But, she didn''t feel like herself; part of her mind was stuck in a cloud castle of memories from before she ran away from home. Delia would rustle around the kitchen, prepare food, water some plants in a poor attempt to keep them alive. She would always struggle with them, sometimes forgetting to drain the water for days, and then not remembering to add it at all. As much as she tried to keep it normal, Pax would always find ways to disrupt that calm. Maybe it was due to her rebellious nature when she started growing up. She was happy with Delia when she was a child. The warm seasons were wonderful, on the highland fields exploring what''s behind a stone wall in the garden, and then what''s behind another and another. In the winters, she enjoyed the snow, and how far it allowed her to see, to plan new adventures together. Till one spring when the snow thawed and the next stone wall wasn''t enough anymore. She wasn''t happy anymore. Not when she was a teenager when nothing was enough and she started asking questions Delia couldn''t and didn''t want to answer.


    Pax was so selfish back then, her carelessness reopened many wounds. It only became apparent what damage she had caused and what was lost and destroyed probably forever when she was alone, scared, and defeated. Facing her own mortality, in adventures gone wrong, when everything turned against her.


    "Incoming transmission from the planet," Argos woke up again.


    Pax had to stop being sentimental; reality and work were calling. She would face her fears later when it''s time.


    "Patch through," she confirmed the voice command, and the communications panel lit up.


    "Hello! This is ground control Tartarus One, we have you on an approach vector towards sector 3. Your computer has already transmitted the ship ID codes. Talk about an eager eidolon." The man on the other side sounded rough but polite enough. There was minor interference but nothing bad.


    "Hello Tartarus One, this is Captain Inthem of the Prometheus. I am here on official business..."


    "We know, Captain. Lucky for you, the orders came way before your arrival. Due to the explosion, we are having a bit of a situation here. Proceed to dock 7. There the security representative and our investigator will meet you to provide assistance. Tartarus out."


    "Confirmed, thank you for the instructions. Prometheus out." Pax caught herself pondering for a moment. Let''s get this started, shall we?


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    Within less than an hour from the exchange, she was on the ground. Quite literally. The docking stations on Mars were old spaces located on the ground, compared to the rails she was used to. The place was old, dirty, and full of rust, and the red sand was everywhere. This powder would find its way into the most hermetically sealed parts of the complex.


    From the outside, it looked worse. The explosion left a black stamp on the complex. She didn''t know who and what they targeted, but it hit them hard. Pax was ready; her mind was sharp, her attitude was set: follow the evidence and move to the next point.


    At the entrance, she was greeted by two men. Officially, she hadn''t received any formal instructions on whom to expect, and no names were exchanged.


    "Captain," the first, much older and rougher man approached her instantly. She assumed he was possibly the same man whom she talked to on the communications channel.


    "Sir, I hope you are holding up well." She shook his hand formally. Her tone was firm but softer, less formal in the hope it might improve this brief relation. "Please, I''m just a detective today."


    "Of course," he replied almost immediately. "I''m the head of security; you probably remember me from the comms?" She was correct. "The man behind me is our head engineer."


    "I was expecting an investigator?" She asked, confused. Not that an engineer would be a problem; he would know a lot more about the damaged systems than anyone else.


    "That''s the situation problem we have."


    "What does that mean?"


    "Jason here, and I are the only senior staff left in the facility; the rest... Well, the explosion took them over the river."


    "The site zero of the explosion was freshly refurbished, and a new mine entrance was being opened," Jason, the man who had been silent so far, finally spoke. His voice was very warm and soft, but he didn''t speak like somebody who addresses a lot of visitors. "Needless to say, when the explosion happened, almost everyone was attending a little ceremony."


    "What about yourselves?" She asked; the timeline of the events was troubling. The head of security made a gesture to follow him.


    The layout of the complex was a mixture of corridors and halls built out of metal, concrete, and plastic. It was a shock to her system, as she was used to large spaces and almost a natural environment. This was cramped; the colours were artificial, and almost at every step, you had a warning to mind your head or feet, or both.


    "You could imagine that myself and Jason should be leading this little ceremony, but at the time, we had a pressure loss in a mining corridor. It''s all in the logs and on the feed if you need. The section is not far."


    "Thank you for that, sir. I''m not throwing any suspicions until I see the scene."


    "You mean what''s left of it." They stopped, and in front of them was a wall that was blackened and deformed. Pieces of metal twisted out of place, floor missing. They were safe from the elements thanks to a force field that was raised to separate the destruction.


    "When can we go in?" She asked, looking around trying to filter any details.


    "Anytime. There is a room ready for you in the security sector if you need it, but I would prefer it if you slept on your ship. For safety reasons," the man said.


    "Thank you, sir; I will choose my ship on this occasion. I have my analytic tools there. With no offence, of course. Is this something to do with your situation?"


    The man gave away a dry laugh. "None taken. If I had a ship like that I''d prefer to sleep there too, but yes it does. Captain, as you know, this is a prison facility, and the prisoners here are required to work in the mines, which provides them with also a minimum income to sustain an optimal quality of life. We believe in retribution by hard work. Since the bombing, there is only me and what still remains of the security guard force left standing between an open rebellion, and we are trying to minimise any potential risks. Now, Jason here will accompany you and answer all the questions. My name is Anemo; please remember this for security purposes, call me if you need anything or find the bastard who''s done this."


    "Confirmed. I must mention that my primary mission is to investigate the bombing site and bring any Union soldiers back with me," Pax responded very formally, eager to have some space.


    "Affirmative. I will communicate this to the personnel that''s still left to get ready." Then the man turned to the engineer. "Make sure she is comfortable and all of her questions are answered."

 Part 11

    The safety field shimmered in front of her, pulsating and moving like a wave. Her eyes couldn''t really catch the colour range of it; it was something between blue and violet, or maybe she saw red?


    "Based on your reaction, I get that you like technology, detective?" Jason asked, surprising her. He was there, behind her. After the conversation with Anemo, the engineer followed her everywhere. He talked a lot, even when she didn''t respond to him, but the man was helpful.


    "It''s fascinating," Pax agreed swiftly. "We didn''t have a major integrity breach on the colony for decades, so similar devices were never in use."


    "The technology is outdated, almost as everything is here, but it''s made to last." He answered though she didn''t ask. "Give me a minute and I''ll be ready."


    Pax turned around from the field. Jason was struggling with the gloves of his suit, the pieces seemed to come from different sets, different colours, and material patterns. It looked very bulky, with a bright yellow overcoat-style material he threw over it. Unlike her suit, which was made out of simple two-tone orange and black material and a very familiar mining sensor helmet.


    She tried not to smile at the clumsiness of the engineer as he worked to get himself ready. His whole personality contradicted the waves of knowledge that came out of him, not only that, he was a tall broad-built man who looked like he could easily win a brawl.


    "Ready!" She saw his face disappear behind the insectoid helmet.


    "Are you sure the pieces will fit?" Pax mocked.


    "We keep the best-looking suits for visitors. But, it''s not about looks but performance." He replied walking past her to the field.


    "Computer, authorization code Pi." After that, he waved at her to follow him as he passed through. It was a short, odd sensation. She looked back for a second on the light corridor with semi-hydroponic boxes on its sides, on the lush greenery and followed the man into the gaping black ravine that used to be a section''s entrance. They had shoulder lights that cut the darkness in front.


    Beyond, metal pieces littered the floor, hiding in the shadows. Pipes and cables dislocated from their point of origin. Some electrical fuses still flickered at random. The further they went, the more rubble appeared, but the shadows lifted slightly, as a pillar collapsed over a corridor connection, opening the ceiling for the light to flood the area.


    "One of the rupture points," Jason said in a hushed voice. He helped her squeeze between the rubble that had collapsed. Further down, she saw rooms on both sides of the corridor. In one of them, there was a large dome window overlooking the dunes. The glass-like material was blackened, just like the rest of the interior. A blue wall light stripe was still on.


    "A rare find," she noticed.


    "Not on this side. There were more of these, for leisure and research purposes. We are getting close."


    The further they got, the more damage they saw. It wasn''t just rubble, ashes, and burn marks. The structural integrity of the section ceased to exist. Holes and punctures were everywhere. Collapsed floor and ceiling panels, machinery, pieces of material, maybe even suits. She couldn''t tell, but they told her all of the bodies or what was left of them were removed from the area.


    "My sensors are not reading anything," Pax mentioned quietly to get his attention.


    "Because there isn''t anything. The explosion caused a global chain reaction. All the gases in this section ignited and turned into a fireball of destruction, and the narrow spaces and pressure just pushed it forward."


    "How did the rest of the structure survive then?"


    "The old barriers were set up as a sort of anti-backflow and security system; they were powerful enough to contain the fireball, and we were lucky enough that it ruptured the walls or we would all be dead."


    "Were there no force barriers here?" She asked as they walked. A number of punctures let the light in, illuminating their figures. Illuminating the destruction.


    "They were removed for the time being until all of the restorations were done due to electrical wiring being replaced in many corridors and rooms, but they were scheduled to be set up back once everything is done. Why? What are you thinking?"


    "I wouldn''t speculate until I know more."


    The next space they entered was something else entirely. It was a large chamber that looked like it used to be a mezzanine. Pax stopped and slowly turned around, illuminating the area from the floor covered with black and crumbled concrete, the metal walls which were twisted and bent. The heat must have been so great it flecked and crumpled the paint on them, up to the ceiling. It was burned and blackened so much it swallowed the light in its darkness. Jason followed her steps, providing a half-voiced commentary on what she saw.


    "There used to be concrete pillars, four of them. Electrical wiring within them as they had terminals attached. The explosion took them out." The light passed over a rumple of misshaped material. It almost looked like the heat had melted the concrete.


    "On the ceiling, there were honeycomb light panels and vent systems." All of these are gone now. Melted or burned out holes.


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    "And these were the mining entrances?" Pax pointed at something that could have been walls and chambers in the past.


    "Yes, in a simplified way. There was a whole system of safety and machinery chambers before. I''m not going to bore you with the work protocol. This is where it happened." She wouldn''t mind his talking; her mind would just filter out the unnecessary bits of information.


    "Maybe later, I want to understand the blast dynamics. How and where did it come from?" Pax started walking around looking at different parts of the mezzanine. It was a large space, and it would take her a long time to gather any resources. "I''m so glad you guys are using these." She truly was grateful for the sensory helmet. It was an older model than the ones she was used to on Iapetus but did the job just as well. With a number of tweaks to the parameters, the data readings could be adjusted. What she was looking for was correlations between structural parameters and explosion severity. If she could identify possible microcrystal structure evolution using the diffraction analyzer, she could build a pattern they could follow to find the point zero of the explosion.


    "Can I help with anything?" Jason''s voice buzzed after a very long period of silence.


    "Not sure." She answered after a while. "I''m trying to build up an analysis to find evidence of the primary and secondary explosions."


    "Can you do this?"


    "With this helmet? Yes. It will take a long time, but I can do it. As this is site zero, the evidence I''m looking for is the pattern of explosion, residue, and the pattern of damage. The sensors do all of the analysis, showing me pieces of a puzzle I need."


    "And what are the pieces? You know that we can connect the processors of the scanners to improve efficiency. It would just be a simple data bridge; I''d see the same parameters, but the scanners would pick up more."


    "Fine. Do it," she responded without hesitation, and he created a sync connection.


    "What am I looking for?"


    "How about you just look, and I''ll do the commentary." Pax was getting a bit annoyed; she preferred to work on her own in absolute silence. Other people just didn''t follow her mind; they asked questions, and she didn''t want or have the time to answer them. But she also had to provide commentary, and she couldn''t really ask him to leave.


    "So far, the analysis results show a number of locations where the dust contains higher volatile matter content, lower reflectance, and a varying amount of ash contents. This leads me to believe that if we create a map..." Jason input a number of commands on a keypad that he had hidden in the forearm of his glove, and both of the helmets created a virtual overlay of data in different colours.


    "Thanks, that will help," she looked around with a new perspective.


    "This doesn''t make sense," Jason commented. She had to agree as the computer processed the data into a virtual representation of both of their sensors.


    "With the increase of the explosion pressure coming from the epicentre, it should have a significant effect on the microcrystallization structure. We have the parameters to assume we got the spot, but it''s not 100%, it''s more of a 99% like something is missing."


    "Have you looked up?" He added. She turned toward him and looked up where the pillars used to be. "I think this is the missing piece."


    She had no idea how, but it looked like the explosion points were located within the higher parts of the pillars, which would explain their semi-melted condition, the pattern concentrations on the ceiling, and then the floor level.


    "It''s almost as if somebody put rocket fuel in the pipes."


    "Your guess is as good as mine for now," Pax answered, trying to capture more data. Lifting your head up in these helmets on such an angle wasn''t the easiest thing to do. And then she felt a slight rumble and noise. "What was that?"


    "I''m getting a seismic reading here. This area is located above the mine tunnels. I''m certain the explosion has weakened the structure of the stone." Damn it, she won''t get the data she needs if they will have to evacuate from here. "Wait... I''ve got something we missed."


    She was certain it wasn''t possible; she looked around the whole area and then concentrated on the pattern. Jason walked away towards the mine entrances.


    "Plot twist. We didn''t see anything here because it was covered with collapsed concrete and dust." Another rumble.


    Pax followed suit, not wanting to stay by the centre of the room. He was right; under the thick layer of ash and dust, which seemed almost like sand, was a blackened floor. Yet, the analysis she made wasn''t consistent with the data they already gathered. It filled in the gaps, yes. But the answers only brought up more questions.


    "The microcrystal structures show this was the far side of the explosion. But not the explosion that happened here."


    "I''m confused as it comes," Jason shrugged. The floor shook again, much harder. This time everything moved. They lost their footing and fell hard on the ground. Metal shrieked, and stone cracked in a long, never-ending moment. Her computer sensors completely shut down; the lights flickered like mad. Hands trying to find something to grab not to rely only on the floor. She found Jason''s arm and grabbed it, holding tight. And then it all ended. Silence fell, cut only by rare cracks of the metal corpse the building was, or what was left of it.


    As they slowly got up, her helmet rebooted, and she could see again; one of her shoulder lights was down though.


    "I think your evidence is gone," Jason murmured when he walked up to a huge gaping hole that used to be the floor they were investigating a few minutes ago.


    "And our way back too," Pax replied when she joined him.


    Everything was gone. They could not see the other side because of the darkness, and their light wasn''t strong enough to pierce through. There was no way for them to come back this way.


    "Sir, we have a bit of a situation here." Anything that Jason said came out of her earpiece too.


    "I''m not sure how many of these situations I can take, Jason. What''s wrong?" Anemo responded almost immediately.


    "The bombing site was unstable, and some of it collapsed. Both of us are fine but we can''t come back the same way we came."


    "Damn it!" They heard him swear before he calmed down. "Go through the mines if you have to. Be careful; I don''t need any more dead people. Report to me every 30 minutes when you are down there."


    The transmission ended.


    "Can''t we just go outside and walk to the nearest airlock?" Pax asked as the whole situation seemed like more of an annoyance to her now.


    "These suits aren''t built to resist the radiation you have outside for long. Even with a few holes in the walls, we are safe here, but outside you won''t make it. It''s probably a 4-hour walk because you need to avoid a lot of terrain you can''t climb or descend."


    "Fine, lead on." It wasn''t the investigation she had in mind. All the evidence was gone, and the only record they had was the data. The quake knocked her out off her feet quite heavily and her bruises woke up.


    "It''s going to be a long walk, be warned. But, hey, we will be able to track the confusing explosion signatures."


    "I cannot contain my enthusiasm." Pax could already imagine that, and she didn''t tone down the sarcasm in her voice.


    "Sorry, you are breaking up. What did you say?"


    "I said..."


    "I know."


    "You''re a jerk."


    "I know." He laughed.

 Part 12

    "You don''t talk much," Jason dropped to lighten the mood. They have been walking for a long time through the black burned tunnels. Pax was sure he allowed for the slow pace since she mentioned the pain.


    Her helmet was still gathering the data, but she gave up trying to understand it after 40 minutes; the residue was going on deeper in the mine. For now, she allowed her mind to rest, which was hard with the aching body and Jason trying to entertain her.


    "No, but you talk enough for both of us," Pax replied with a half voice. She hissed when making another step. It was the bruise on her side.


    "Pax stop. Are you sure you are fine? The suits have a first aid protocol built in."


    She just waved her hand in response, trying to change the topic.


    "I''m fine, Jason." He wasn''t convinced. "I was in the bombing on Iapetus. The impact threw me clear through the room. It''s just bruised."


    "Gods, you are a stubborn woman. Flying this fast across the system after such a thing. That can''t be healthy."


    "People are dead, okay? A lot of people. There is no place for self-pity here. I''m here on a job, find out what happened, and catch those who are responsible. Simple."


    "And not make friends," he added.


    "And not make friends." Her response was cold. Pax really didn''t want any more friends; she had lost people before and wasn''t ready at this point in her life for building bridges and being unnecessarily nice to others.


    They came to a dead end. The explosion weakened the structure of the corridor, and the ceiling collapsed, blocking the way.


    "Well, I guess that''s it. I''m done with the scanning." She gave out a sigh.


    Jason tried to look to see if there is any way to clear the passage, but the stone and metal were too heavy. He has been doing this every time, trying to find a solution.


    "The corridor is completely blocked. Can''t even see a small gap to the other side as we did in the one before."


    "What now?" Pax leaned on the dirty metal wall, resting.


    "Let me map this first." Every time he would load a virtual map and update the status of the tunnels they passed. After he finished, he kept the map on and turned towards her.


    "There are service exits that will take you out of the corridors that lead to the mining sites. We passed one of them not long ago." He manipulated the keyboard, and another image appeared and layered the map she could see.


    "Take us out where?"


    "To the natural cave systems. There is a vast network of underground caves here, nobody uses them to avoid the possibility of prisoners sneaking away." Another image layered over showing a mapped terrain. "It will connect us to a similar service exit in the security section."


    "A backup plan is always good." Pax moved slowly, following him down from where they came. "It''s been more than half an hour; don''t you need to report in?"


    "I set up an automatic pulse that sends a message every 30 minutes. I wired it to my personal life status and support. While I''m alive, it will signal out an update and our current position."


    "Clever. I could almost say I''m impressed." She heard an irritated noise in her ear. It made her smile for a second.


    The service exit was a rounded rectangle hidden in a gap in the side of the wall. If it wasn''t for the valve handle that made it visible, it would be hard to find. It seemed like the darkness after the explosion has swallowed all of the shapes, leaving just a mangled unrecognisable mess.


    Jason struggled for a minute with it until it gave way, and the metal hatch swung open. After that, there was a small airlock chamber. It barely fit both of them. They closed the first hatch. The system inside still worked well. After a minute, a dim green light appeared; now they could open the second one.


    Pax noticed the difference, it was subtle but it was there. Her mind tried to describe what it was. The claustrophobic darkness of a burnt-out metal corridor, where the forgotten dead lay in the corners. And this soft darkness that reminded her of a starless night, with something shimmering in the distance. To her, the difference was; one was a prison, in the other, she was just lost. You can''t escape from the first, but you can find your way out from the second.


    Her sensors detected something and she moved around to find the source and that shimmer persisted, it wasn''t her imagination anymore.


    "I''m detecting something, but not sure what." She could hear something on the speakers, but it was hard to find the source in the darkness. Suddenly, she was blinded by lights that started turning on one by one. Single spheres attached low by the walls, separated by only a distance.


    Jason found a switch to light up the footpath, or what it looked like to be one. There was no pavement, or dedicated road to follow, just stones that were wide enough to fit two people side by side.


    Hexagonal stone columns in black and grey grew on each side, some with copper sediment on them, some with a crystal inert that reflected the light. These structures surrounded the cave from every side she looked at; they created the floor, the walls, and even some of them hung in patterns on the ceiling.


    And finally, she saw the source of the sound. A dark liquid filled a ravine between two sides of this cave. It moved sluggishly; it was water but not like anything she ever saw before, as there were crystal stars forming and dissolving within the liquid.


    "It''s a supersaturated salt solution. This is what happens when water mixes with a lot of salts and minerals. Normal water would freeze here," Jason noticed her looking down at the stream.


    "How cold is it down here?" She asked, not sure how deep they exactly were, as it could have been one or two kilometres below ground.


    "That''s a good question. The suit is telling me it''s -17.8 degrees Celsius."


    This alien formation stretched in front of them, feeling very out of place. Pax thought of a different world that would have been better suited to house such a marvel of shapes. They moved forward though, step by step, hexagonal column after hexagonal column, in a slightly better mood.


    Her curiosity relaxed her mind, switching from problem-solving to just taking in what she saw. The stone columns would occasionally reflect the light depending on how they looked at them. On the edges where the liquid touched the stone, there was a dirty crystalline residue, which never stayed long enough to grow.


    The ravine came to a drop to create a low passage they had to face. It was blocked by a house-size porous stone that must have collapsed millennia ago.


    Jason took his hand out to help her. "Come on. There is something beyond here that may even impress you." Reading from the noticeable excitement in his voice, she knew he must have been here before.


    "Very funny," Pax said, grabbing his hand. She did it reluctantly, but the pain was exhausting and any help was welcomed at this point.


    "I''m drop-dead serious."


    "I''m not easy to impress." She replied as they moved down on the large stones till they reached a large flat stone platform, a gateway to a huge cavern. And what Pax saw completely took the breath away from her lungs.


    "By all the gods," She whispered.


    It wasn''t just a cave; it was a labyrinth filled with crystals of all sizes. Some of them were the size of spaceships, while others immeasurably small. It all seemed as if taken out of a child''s fairy tale book. The lights created a path they had to follow, like crumbs leading into a forest.


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    The crystals shimmered and reflected the light, dancing around, and in the darkness, a fluorescent star map surrounded them. It was something she had never seen before, and the fatigue left her mind as she raced down the stone platforms to the bottom of the path to see everything closer. It was a magical spectacle. You could almost forget which way was up and which was down.


    "The chemical processes that created this cave were truly..." Jason started when he finally caught up with her, but she interrupted him.


    "Truly amazing. Yes, I know. Stop talking." And he did, although Pax was sure he was smiling under the helmet. Yes, you have done it. The inside of hers changed to a full natural view, no graphs, no sensor readings. Just what her eyes would normally see. And it was beautiful.


    They moved deeper into the labyrinth guided only by the lanterns and curiosity. Pax couldn''t contain hers and strode from the path more than once. The crystalline structures enticed her; it was so surreal, she wanted to touch them, to make sure it''s all real. Jason waited, giving her space and time she needed. Only once he mentioned the road. His argument about air supply made her laugh; they still had 10 hours. She could quite possibly stay here this long though.


    The central part of the cavern still had small streams of the supersaturated solution they followed earlier. The stone base was also different; the crystals were joined sometimes with a weird silvery structure that resembled wood or hair.


    "What is this?" Pax asked. She touched one of those formations as tall as her. The hair crumbled and shining dust fell away.


    "Amalgam," Jason answered, half paying attention.


    "A what?" She had never heard of anything like that.


    "Amalgam. It''s when mercury reacts with aluminium. It''s an interesting process." He made a circle and another, acting curiously enough to grab her attention.


    "What are you doing?"


    "Unlike you, I kept all of my sensors on. Just in case of any further seismic activity."


    "And?"


    "The data I''m seeing is fascinating." Pax quickly reactivated her own sensors; it took a few seconds before she could see what he saw.


    "What am I looking at?" The sensors flooded her with information, which she didn''t understand.


    "In the past, these caves were mapped only to locate resources and mining points. Nobody in a million years would use the mining sensors to look for explosion residues. And there was an explosion here. Millions of years ago." Jason manipulated the data so it made sense to her, and the similar map they used in the bombing site appeared; it was an ancient residue, but it was there.


    "It could have been a meteorite site," she noticed excitedly. "Do you think we could find the source here?"


    "Based on the calibrations you have done, whatever caused this, it''s quite close."


    "You got my attention."


    "This shouldn''t be here," he added after a while.


    "You said these caves were mapped; there could be something in the records?"


    "Yes, almost all of these caves were mapped, especially this one. It''s an accessible path. Nobody scanned it for this type of data. The primary objective is to scan for resources, and if there isn''t anything worthwhile, then we move on."


    "So this probably wasn''t worthwhile then."


    They followed the pattern that took them off the path, only to come face to face with a building-sized crystal that grew from the floor to the ceiling. The way around it was tricky, involving gentle movement not to damage anything they touched and avoiding the streams of liquid.


    When they reached the other side where the volatile matter and ash contents were most distinctive, he stopped her abruptly.


    "This is as close as we can get. I''m getting a radiation alert."


    "What the hell. Where did that come from?"


    "If there are radioactive elements here, it would explain how the crystal formations were able to form in these caves because of the heat it gave away."


    Pax wasn''t ready to give up; her curiosity was wide awake and wanted some answers. There was a clear space leading into the darkness beyond their lights before them; the crystals that grew here were bigger, but also the floor wasn''t even like everywhere else. The amalgam grew plentiful here, almost like cancerous tissue. She took a step forward to touch them, hoping there would be more residue for the readings on the stone beneath.


    As her hand touched it again, the hairs broke, and silver dust rose to create a shimmering cloud. But her hand went into the amalgam quite deep as she didn''t expect it to be this deep and she broke something off while losing balance and her footing.


    "Pax, what are you doing!" Jason almost shouted, alarmed. He immediately jumped to her aid. The leg hurt again. Bad idea.


    "Wait..." As he was helping her up, he looked into the gaping hole she made in the amalgam. She broke off a piece of the crystal formation, and underneath it, there was something too familiar. "Help me with this." She must have sounded like a madwoman, but he didn''t stop her as she cleared off the amalgam strands. It took her a few minutes to clear the growth and remove the remaining pieces of crystals.


    "This couldn''t have been made by nature," Jason said, looking at her discovery.


    "No, no it couldn''t," Pax answered, looking at a single red stone half-absorbed by other lighter minerals and crystals. Its edges were perfectly cut, its sides beautifully polished, and the face carvings. She didn''t know what, maybe plants.


    This moment of silence and awe lasted for a long time, and when she finally moved, her joints hurt.


    "How old does this have to be?"


    "60 or 70 million years, can''t be sure without a detailed sample analysis." Jason took a couple of deep breaths, circled around in excitement. "I don''t know what to think! We need to get it analysed."


    "With all of this explosive material remnants, what could have happened here? Explosion? Natural disaster?"


    "Your guess is as good as mine. This shouldn''t even be here. Chances for the discovery of anything, not man-made this deep underground on an alien planet, are astronomically close to zero."


    She agreed with pure euphoria, reaching out to touch the stone, but then her mind clicked in a wrong way, like it sometimes does when overthinking, and she stopped mid-way.


    "Hold on." She turned around to him with an icy tone. "Is this some kind of elaborate plan you use to get to women? You bring them down here to this marvellous cave and show this piece of something, making a big hu-ha and working on their excitement?" Pax hoped for a gun. There was nothing at first, but after a moment, she heard a gritty breathing noise.


    "Are you out of your mind?!" He was genuinely angry after that. "We just discovered a piece of something that may be the first-ever proof of civilization from another planet, and you think my penis is involved?"


    Now she really hoped to have a gun, but only to shoot herself. It''s always been a problem for her to interpret signals from men, whether they''re genuine or fake; sometimes she panics in a very bad way, becoming very defensive.


    "Well... I... I need to take a sample to confirm what this is." She felt that she should say something else, but the words seemed to jump like fish without water in her mouth, and nothing came out. He was probably expecting something different.


    "Listen, detective, it''s your find. Do whatever you want. I don''t want in on any of the issues you are dealing with. Just make sure when you publish the paper on the first human contact with an ancient extinct alien civilization, you put me in the acknowledgments." He stopped talking for a second. "The way out is that way." He raised his hands like he wanted to tell her to back off and walked back to the path, leaving her alone. She switched off her microphone and communication channels and swore a lot for a while. On the belt of the suit, she found a laser cutting tool, and there was a big enough pocket with quarantine sealant material.


    A white light blasted out of the device, and she began cutting. Whatever stone the relic was made of, it was extremely hard, and it took a long time to cut. Long enough for her brain to think about this panic moment that just happened. She was angrier at him than at herself because she wanted to be right. It would have been easier if she were right. Right now, she just looks like a stubborn idiot, and it burned her, but not enough to apologise.


    Once the relic was cut and sealed, she packed it in the pocket and walked back. Jason was standing there, although Pax didn''t expect him to wait. He could have just left her here to follow the lights by herself. The path seemed pretty straightforward through the crystal maze. When she caught up, he turned and gesticulated to her, knocking on his helmet.


    Her communicator was still turned off. Once she did, the sound hit back at her suddenly.


    "...got an automated signal from the surface. Some sort of emergency, I don''t know what it is till we get out. Let''s move. Now." The man''s voice was dry and sounded like he didn''t expect any resistance, and she didn''t.


    As they walked faster and faster, she felt like the space between them increased more and more. Their pace quickly turned into a run. Suddenly, another tremor hit, and they stopped violently, fighting to keep balance, but it didn''t stop there, and more came. Pieces of crystal and rock started falling off the ceiling of the cave around them.


    Jason''s computer started beeping like crazy.


    "This is not an earthquake," she turned to him when he shouted into the microphone. "It''s coming from the surface. We are under attack. The reports I''m getting are all over the place."


    "Run!" She shouted, full of panic, struggling to get back up. There was no time; the tremors were coming from above in an increasing pattern, resonating through the caves.


    More and more debris was falling down. Large pieces of the cave started collapsing around them, lifting dust and crystalline powder, reducing their vision. The path flickered before them, sometimes disappearing completely.


    As their lights cut through the thick particles, they saw the airlock, and it was open. A body was thrown half out of it. Shit, I need my gun. The lights greeted them with violent flickering. Twisted, exploded, and torn. Wires were everywhere. Red alarm lights haunted the surroundings.


    "I need a break from this," Jason said quietly. She followed him through the hatch and the interrupted darkness inside. But she only managed to pass the first airlock door when something powerful grabbed Jason. She screamed his name in panic and jumped back.


    A tall humanoid creature held him up while the man was trying to free himself. But it threw him on the floor when it saw her. It was fast, but Pax managed to dodge somehow, almost losing balance. She knew how to fight, and with a quick reflex, she kicked the creature, but it somehow reacted faster, grabbing her and slamming her against the wall. It hurt like hell, kicking the air out of her lungs. In the flickering red light, she noticed a broken, steaming pipe. Jason lay on the floor like he was unconscious. Damn it. With a fast jump, she got away from the hands of the creature and to the pipe. It didn''t want to budge for a moment, and it was almost upon her. But physics were on her side, and once the pipe broke under the pressure, it swung out straight into its head with more than enough strength to smash its head and send it to the floor. It wasn''t over. Pax shivered, seeing how it''s getting up in the interrupted darkness.


    From the shadow, suddenly came Jason, and with an impossible force, he slammed a large piece of metal, piercing through the creature''s head, burying it deep.

 Part 13

    It was over. For now. Pax heard him gasping for air as much as she did, having to sit on the floor.


    "Friends again?" He said heavily.


    She laughed, coughing. "Yeah."


    He reached his hand to help her up. Pax hissed in pain involuntarily when getting up.


    "You okay?"


    She had to admit something was wrong. "It hurts like hell. I may have bruised my ribs. Again."


    "Activate the first aid protocol."


    "There''s no time for that. The medication will leave me numb and slow."


    Jason agreed after a moment of hesitation. "Help me take off the helmet of the creature." He didn''t react.


    Pax slowly moved towards the thing while he forced out the metal piece. "How did you do that?" Her mind couldn''t comprehend how he ripped it off the wall. But the man only shrugged. "Adrenaline, I guess."


    Finally, Pax was able to take off the helmet of the humanoid''s head.


    The flashing light reimagined everything into a nightmare scene, but she was able to see how it looked. A pair of lidless dead eyes stared into the empty space, a mouth with no lips, and skin like a dried-out membrane enticing the ribbons of muscle and metal intertwined into flesh.


    She felt a shiver of disgust and fear. It must have been human, a long time ago.


    "Let''s go. There will be more of them." Pax looked up at Jason. His silhouette was almost indistinguishable from the shadows. His strong hands helped her stand up.


    What happened here? Her mind was asking silently. The corridor was destroyed, no active life support. Bodies of prisoners stretched unnaturally on the floor. Jason led her through this silent passage of gore. The interrupted darkness left too much for the imagination. Where there was nothing a moment ago, a ripped and twisted body would surface into the light.


    After an excruciatingly long walk, they reached a large opening that showed fewer signs of damage, fewer bodies. The tremors of the attack didn''t stop resonating all over the structure, but there were fewer of them now.


    The communicator came to life, piercing the silence in their helmets.


    "... I repeat to anyone on this frequency. We are under attack! There are only two of us left, and we are pinned down...." Static "...location Omicron Gate..." After this, it cut off.


    "Shit!" Jason swore.


    "What?"


    "Those are my friends. I need to help them." He paused. "We need to help them."


    "I need to get out of here. With you or without. I''m not here to get involved in the conflict," Pax replied harshly.


    "Detective, should I just remind you what your primary mission objectives are? You told me your mission is to bring back any Union soldiers and operatives back with you. My friends here are both lieutenants in the Union military. Also, all your data about the explosions is stored on my computer. So if you want to get anything right today, you have to come with me."


    "I suppose I can possibly fit two extra passengers." She responded. Pax wouldn''t leave anyone for certain death if she had a chance of helping them.


    "Gods, thank you. These people are like family to me."


    "But only if it''s on the way to the hangars," she added truthfully to her intentions. Her ship cannot fall into the hands of their attackers, whoever they are. At any cost, even if that means sacrificing lives.


    "Omicron gate is the hangar. They may have taken over your ship."


    Pax gave out a cold and sarcastic laugh in response. Argos is fully prepared to take down anyone who will attempt to breach her without authorization. The ship''s AI is able to hack the local door controls to seal itself in the hangars. But she wasn''t invincible. That worried her.


    "Lead the way, but you better come up with something, we need weapons. Something other than metal pipes, against these creatures."


    "I can''t get us guns, but I have an idea."


    "I''m cringing already."


    Jason ignored her snarky comment and looked around their location. Large room connecting to smaller corridors. Work stations, something that may have been a computer station. All burned and destroyed now. She picked up a few barely recognizable words he was saying. Section 10. Emergency technical support supply. Beyond that, she couldn''t make anything else sensible from what the man was saying.


    Jason moved away from her towards the walls of the room. Blackened, scratched, and many of them falling off. With the working lights, it was easier to see, and it was obvious he was looking for something as his hands began moving around the wall panels. For her, there was no difference whatsoever between them until he stopped.


    "We are in the open here," Pax remarked, trying to urge him.


    His fingers found something in the space between the metal. Two random knocks on the panel and the shallow sound gave her the answer for what he was looking for.


    "Each large section such as this has a contingency security protocol in place." The man pushed on the wall where he stood heavily twice, and a mechanism revealed a storage compartment. After a moment, he turned back to her holding two intricate and beaten-up devices.


    "I''m not sure what you are suggesting we do with these?" Pax never saw anything like that, and the only way she could describe it was: "Is this a crossbow? This is a joke, right?"


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    If it wasn''t for the seriousness of the situation, Jason would have probably laughed at the sarcastic humour she tried applying to deflect stress, but his voice was serious.


    "It''s a handheld plasma cutting gun. We use these to cut through metal or stone in emergencies. The energy transmitters of the beam can be regulated to shoot a projectile, just like a gun. It was never intended to be used for personal defence in the first place, but sure, call it a plasma crossbow if you like. Quite fitting, I presume, especially for a device that hasn''t been manufactured for decades."


    "This day will not get any worse." Another deflection. "I''m on Mars, fighting my way through a horde of vampire-like creatures with a plasma crossbow. If this is not enough old-world culture references, then I don''t know what can top this. Absolutely nothing." She was really hoping her sarcasm would help alleviate the stress.


    "You know what... I need to tell you the coffee here is monkey piss bad. So bad you need to wash your mouth after having it."


    "No!" Pax exhaled heavily, taking the plasma gun off him.


    "Oh yes." He had a dark smile on him.


    "That''s the ultimate offence. Let''s go kill something and get your friends."


    Jason wasn''t wasting time and quickly showed her how to activate and regulate the energy levels in the plasma gun to serve their purposes. The Omega gates weren''t far, he assured her. They moved fast, trying to be careful not to get surprised, but the first creature showed up minutes after. Its laser weapon almost caught Pax''s arm, only narrowly missing. Her reflexes immediately came alive, and with a clean energy shot, she decapitated their attacker.


    "I''m impressed! Can I keep this?" She remarked, moving forward through the grim corridors, avoiding the body on the floor. The lack of life support showed when the body started to get covered with ice particles quickly.


    "Sure. Think of it as compensation for the discomfort you are experiencing." Jason cut the conversation quickly when they saw more bodies on the floor. They wore security uniforms. She slowed down and stopped when she recognized one of them. It was the head of security. His body twisted with numerous burn holes. Frozen in a grim fashion. Jason made a slight angry sigh but didn''t say anything. His mood changed quickly, became darker, more determined.


    Once they moved again, more attackers came, and he took the next creature and the one after that head-on, without stopping or getting into cover. Burning through their flesh in rage. The man had strength in him. Pax knew it''s always harder to live with the death you know if you actually see them dead. That''s why Pax never attended funerals.


    After the next corner, they heard a fight.


    "Omega gates," The man murmured. Once they entered the adjacent room, they got surprised by a group of enemies, forcing them to quickly retreat and find cover.


    "This is a problem," Pax voiced, hiding behind a corner and only showing herself to take a shot.


    "They are surrounded, and we are pinned down. This is a problem," Jason didn''t sound like it was a problem for him though. Hiding behind his cover, he started manipulating the plasma gun. Pax didn''t say anything, just continued trying to take down the attackers.


    "Cover me," he said as he leaned around the corner holding the gun. Not shooting, just charging it. She was trying to take as many shots as possible to give him enough time. After a moment, a bright blast of energy flickered through the whole room, taking down everything with it. Jason charged the weapon to produce a plasma disc that would cut through a few obstacles and the creatures.


    "Let''s go," he added, Pax was right after him. Her gun seemed oddly hot even though she was wearing the suit. Jumping over the decapitated bodies, they reached a turn in the corridor which opened to a much larger space she remembered from when she arrived. Omega Gates.


    Two lone figures were hiding in a narrowing that protected them from gunfire and being flanked. A man and a woman.


    With some odd amount of luck, Pax and Jason managed to get to them without getting shot by the attacker. It seemed like most of the creatures were here. She could count maybe 20 or 30 of them.


    "Hi!" Jason shouted.


    "Really, Jason?" The unknown man replied.


    "Gods, I''m happy to see you," the woman added.


    "I brought reinforcements," Jason added, pointing at Pax. The pair looked at her for a moment and then at each other without saying a word.


    "Ideas?" The man asked.


    "Just keep firing, Caelius," Jason added, leaning out of cover to take out an enemy. He couldn''t replicate what he had done before as the room was too big and the group too spread, and there was no clean shot either.


    As Pax leapt out of cover to take a target, her plasma gun failed, and she took a shot in her hand straight into her computer. The impact dropped her on the floor.


    "Fuck!" she shouted, dropping the weapon. The woman quickly pulled her back into cover to safety.


    "It''s overheated," Jason added. "You must have taken too many shots trying to cover me earlier."


    "Well, that''s that for back-up," Caelius snarked, jumping in between his words.


    "Your computer is fried. You need to take it off immediately or the electricity from the fried circuits can and will kill you!" Jason continued. Pax looked at him and then at her hand computer.


    "Transmit my biometric profile to my ship. Now." She shouted. She could feel the weak electric current from the device.


    "What for?" The man quizzed her.


    "Just do it, Jason! This may be our way out." And he did what she told him. He nodded when it was done. Pax took a loud breath and with a swing, smashed the screen of her already broken computer into the wall. Electrical sparkles shot out.


    "Are you crazy?! Stop!" Jason shouted, trying to get to her, but numerous shots slung in front of his as soon as he leaned out. Neither Caelius nor the woman did anything, just looking at both of them like they were crazy. Finally, the woman grabbed Pax''s arm, but the detective looked at her with fire and she let go. Again she swung the arm, and this time it completely smashed the screen and the device. A strong electric current of the broken circuits and damaged batteries hit her arm and body. Slowly inch by inch, she took her body up, despite the pain. With just a hand forward with a broken arm computer, she came out of cover and facing the attackers.


    Dozens of laser shots greeted her immediately. As they got close, arches of electricity shot out of her fingers, her hand creating a path of energy to them. Her body absorbed it. She was a conduit. Within seconds, instead of just absorbing them, the laser shots backfired with long rays of energy following the particle path they came from, leaving the creatures dead, burning through their guns.


    She walked forward, feeling the pain go away as her body got used to the sensation again. Pax had to reach the edge of the electrical subfield her ship would emit after it received the transmission. Step by step, she walked with the electrical arches protecting her from the laser fire. A purple light increasingly grew in front of her, painting the electricity. More and more volatile arches appearing.


    "Gods," she heard on the microphone.


    One of the creatures jumped from behind cover. It ran towards her with two large objects that looked like grenades.


    "Shockers!" The woman shouted.


    Come on, you bastard. Pax thought as the creature approached her in a rage with the grenades.


    The energy around her erupted. The grenades imploded without doing anything to her; the arches absorbed all of it and then released it back. She could feel the connection to the subfield drawing from it. An electric plasma storm grew around her, encompassing the whole room. Charged particles jumped over the entire room. Heated gases stirred in their own atmosphere, moving around her violently and painting everything around in a cascade of bright colours. Highly charged plasma particles raged through the lines of the creatures, leaving them burned. Her mind could hear and see some of their thoughts. But her gaze would not drop, even knowing the neon storm could burn a permanent imprint on her irises. She didn''t stop.


    She would protect these people. It was her mission. The storm was only facing forward, and they were sheltered.


    The storm didn''t calm down around her. All the creatures lay dead or were fighting with the chaos.


    Her face reflected the brilliant neon colours of


    the chemical gases circulating around, her eyes reflecting the plasma arches jumping all around. And for a moment, a reflection of a woman, for a split second.

 Part 14

    A slender silhouette moved in the deep of the night. Slowly getting up, she sat on the edge of a bed. Gently got up and walked across the room, stopping only to wrap herself in what seemed like a fabric made of moonlight. Finally, the shadow stopped and gracefully sat in front of a desk. A screen lit up, throwing a bright light on her face. Madasa played with her hair at first and then combed it back with her hand, pulling the nightgown tighter around her.


    "Hi, darling!" A face appeared on the screen. She was still beautiful, even though she was reaching her late 60s. Her eyes were like two blue gleaming stones, her hair golden like autumn wheat. She was happy, smiling. "Did I wake you up? I''m so sorry! Had I known, I would have waited."


    "No, Mum, it''s fine. I wasn''t asleep anyway." A lie. Madasa conjured a gentle smile to show she was fine. "Lots of things on my mind. I can''t wait to see you again."


    "Oh, sweetie, I know, my heart is breaking just thinking how long it has been. But, tell me everything! You know how I love stories about your work and the discoveries you make, and all the science!"


    "But you always say you hate science," Madasa teased. The chair was uncomfortable, so she pulled her knees up to her chest.


    "Well, yes, but you make it sound so interesting because you love it."


    "Okay well, the calculations have worked out and everything is in place." Madasa got excited, feeling like a little girl, telling her about everything. "The plan I told you about before. It will work. It will be so simple. Like popping a balloon!" She said, putting her chin onto her knees, her hair wildly enveloping her face.


    "Boom!" Her mum gesticulated and tried to mimic the sound. Madasa could not help but laugh at how silly she looked.


    After a few joyful minutes, the woman stopped laughing and shook her head. "So..." Her mother tried to think and recall their previous conversation. "You said you will need all of this computing power to get the precise numbers and then one of those very big ships. The doughnut ones. What did you call them?"


    "It''s a dreadnought, Mum." Madasa giggled.


    "Oh yes, a dreadnought. Then that amazing one that comes around the solar system every 75 years. What was the name? Oh yes, Halley''s Comet." She was so funny when she tried to piece together scientific names and ideas for her plan. Madasa was sure she was doing that on purpose. "To create a gateway in space and time, thanks to the power of maths!"


    "Oh, gods, Mum, you are impossible! It''s almost nothing like what I said before! I love you, but leave the science to me or something may explode."


    "Sure, sure," the woman replied with a half-smile, winking at her. "But you know, darling, I saw it. I saw Halley''s comet once. It was so beautiful."


    Madasa took a deep breath, feeling heaviness deep down in her chest when she said that.


    "I know, Mum. I remember you telling me about it a million times when I was a little girl and didn''t want to sleep. I think the first time was when I sneaked out from the apartment to the local observatory. Of course, you followed me. Do you remember how, instead of being mad, we played hide and seek, and then you named all the constellations for me?" A tear gently rolled down her cheek. "I miss you so much."


    "I remember, my dearest. You wanted to know all of them, and you asked me about Halley''s Comet. It was such a beautiful night. I miss you..." The screen flickered, and the woman disappeared, replaced by a message saying "Simulation interrupted."


    The silence that fell after was unbearable, interrupted only by her tears. Thick, heavy, painful tears of a heart torn apart. All of her muscles tensed, paralyzed for a nanosecond. It was painful to breathe.


    She could feel her body getting weaker every day, plagued by a genetic disease she couldn''t identify or treat. There was no time to develop a cure¡ªno time at all.


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    Forty years ago, a man, a friend claiming to be her guardian, took her away from home. He promised her an adventure that would bring her closer to the stars because she really wanted to bring a space rock back. The man took her away from her mother and tried to kill her. She was just a child, scared and lonely.


    He took her away from Atlantis, and she never could find her way back.


    The city was beyond her reach. In fact, it was beyond anyone''s reach; it was lost in another time. That''s why her plan needs to work, and she will stop at nothing to get back home.


    Madasa finally managed to move, stretching her legs and getting up heavily from the chair. The room felt cold and claustrophobic to her now. On the bed, covered by only a thin sheet of material, lay a handsome, muscular body. For a moment, she gazed through the shadows at the man''s body¡ªthe contours of his chiselled back, his strong arms and neck. For a moment, she felt a tickling sensation, a memory of the night they had together.


    He was dead.


    Her disease would kill anyone. Anyone she kissed, licked, had sex with. Neuro-paralysis would slowly take over their muscles and nerves until it reached their lungs and heart, almost turning them into living stone.


    Her death was much slower. Every day, a neuron, a nerve, a muscle, one at a time. Madasa found ways to slow it down enough to buy her more time, but her mind was becoming foggy, unstable. It was unfair, after all she had been through, to be taken away like that? Without ever having the chance to go back home, to see her mother, to let her know she never stopped trying to find a way.


    This night would be a nightmare for her. She wouldn''t fall asleep again. She knew it. She had to call the guards to remove the body. They wouldn''t question her. None of them had a living personality¡ªjust pre-installed software and some sort of situation processing capabilities. But she would feel uncomfortable. How many was it now? She lost count.


    A sudden sound coming from the communication panel on the wall distracted her, forcibly demanding attention. Slowly, Madasa reached to the underside of her forearm where a tattoo was. Once she touched it, the system came alive.


    "What is it?" A cold and sarcastic tone came out. They didn''t deserve anything else.


    "Private transmission from command incoming. Do you confirm authorization?"


    Moment of hesitation. She turned around from the desk; her body language changed completely. The innocence disappeared. "Confirmed."


    It took a moment to get the signal through. She didn''t expect to see the caller but faced the darkness as if there was somebody there. He never used the visual feed, only voice. Madasa knew the man was a walking corpse; everything about him creeped her out. When finally the audio came through, she heard his shallow breath, like a man who had death standing above him.


    "We need to see you."


    "Why?" She hated that. Being locked in a half-dark room with his dimmed neon lights, talking to a shadow.


    "Mars has fallen. As planned, but there has been a development."


    It was something new for her. Madasa couldn''t even start thinking about what to say to him. There never has been any developments.


    A holographic display appeared next to her, information and video clips and graphics. With one move of her hand, an image moved around and followed her. Another one, and another. All of them create a holographic column of sequences and scenes.


    "We have a suspicion. We may have found the man who stole it from us."


    "What is it?"


    "It''s the reason why we are dying. It is ours! We need it back. Make arrangements with the Central."


    Madasa twitched angrily as she flickered through the numerous pictures. She didn''t take his demands lightly, and neither did the Central. Suddenly, one of the pictures lit up while others dimmed down. Two men and a woman in a mess hall talking, laughing.


    "The old man has it!" The voice screeched, hissed.


    She wasn''t going to give up her liberty just like that. She did what pleased her, and the dying man was just there to supply her with the workforce. It was her work that made him what he was now. Madasa was ready to argue until she saw another picture. A young woman and the same man she saw earlier, walking down the corridor of a station. Everything changed.


    "Fine, I''ll handle it," the woman said without hesitation, without arguing.


    "You will?" The voice was surprised by the lack of anger and argument. "You will. You have no choice." The air thickened around her like a cage after these words, ready to choke her.


    The voice feed disappeared, followed by a momentary sound disturbance, but she kept this one picture floating mid-air, looking at it from many angles.


    Her hands wandered down her legs, playing an unknown melody, face half-hidden in the light glow from the virtual picture. Left eye twitching gently.


    "Well, well, well... oh darling, why are you so far away from home?"


    "Computer, resume simulation," she voiced.


    "I miss you... you too, darling," her mother''s voice resonated again almost immediately, soothing her nerves but not her mind, which was already making up plans within plans.


    "Mum, I just had an idea," Madasa said, turning to the screen with a faint smile, lightening her voice.


    "Oh, wonderful! What is it?"


    "I think it''s time I communed with the gods."

 Part 15

    The mirage reflection of the admiral''s likeness shimmered, interrupted by noise and technical blur, just for a second, but enough to disfigure the sound of the voice as he spoke. Pax took a stand in front of the holographic display with the rest of the group sitting around a large, round, table-like unit that housed the communications transmitter. She almost never used it in the past; there was no need for it since all communication was done in the cockpit. But now, she wasn''t alone anymore.


    "It is unfortunate, the casualties, loss of the facility. However, I''m glad you and your new team made it alive and fairly unharmed." Pax twitched upon hearing the words "her new team." Also, she couldn''t confirm they escaped unharmed, given her horrible pain from the bruised ribs and burns on her forearm.


    "We will take note of the significance of the archaeological discovery you and the head engineer have made at a more appropriate time. For now, we have more pressing matters to think about; your mission on Earth is still a priority. We need to understand what is going on."


    "Yes, sir, I understand. What about my passengers?" The group looked at her.


    "They are soldiers, Captain; they should aid you well on your mission. Bring them home safe, bring everyone home. Maintain discretion and avoid using communication for personal matters for the time being. Good luck." After these words, the transmission ended. The bright glow of the projector disappeared, leaving a few random particles floating here and there until they too dissipated. The admiral wasn''t good at goodbyes; he had a policy of making sure his soldiers always felt like there would be a next time.


    "Well..." Jason''s voice reached out to her from the other side of the table as he stretched in his seat. "It means we are stuck together for a while longer."


    "Not necessarily," the woman sitting next to him mocked. "The Admiral only mentioned soldiers, so you better behave or you may go sleep in the airlock." Pax unconsciously smiled at that comment.


    Jason noticed that. "You see what I have to deal with here? Thalia, that''s low. Even for you."


    Pax finally had the time to have a better look at the pair Jason asked to help. The woman seemed full of life; it beamed from her, a certain determination to push forward no matter what and an unbreakable optimism. This filled her features, her tall strong body, her ivory skin, and stone grey eyes with an ethereal glow. The only thing that spoiled it was her hair, dyed in an odd shade of deep red. It just seemed unnatural, out of place.


    The man, on the other hand, seemed to be crippling under the weight of his own mind. His face must have been handsome at some point, with numerous small scars around his eyes, lips, and nose, like something exploded close to him. His dark hair was full of grey strands. On top of that, there was this permanent grimace; she wasn''t sure if it was disgust or anger or something else, much deeper.


    "Will you two shut up?" Caelius burst annoyed, suddenly standing up. Pax had a feeling he noticed her watching him. She had no choice but to look into his eyes as he leaned over the table toward her.


    "What happened down there was not normal." His voice was uncomfortably threatening to her. He turned around to his friend and back to her. "I have questions. We all have. What in the depths of Tartarus are you?"


    Pax took a moment, staring into his angry eyes, tilting her head for a second. "Lieutenant, I remind you to mind your language when referring to your Captain and stick to the official protocol. I have questions too if you don''t mind answering. I have this unshakable feeling that I already know you two."


    "Screw you, your language, and your protocol. I want to know what''s going on. As far as I can see, you are no better than these creeps that attacked us on the colony."


    "She''s an oracle, you moron. Now apologise, shut up, and get back on your ass," Thalia said loudly. You could almost hear her rolling her eyes.


    "Bullshit, there are no more oracles around. They all died in the Great Collapse."


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    "Fortunately for me and you, not all of them did. If they did, you would probably be dead by now," Pax answered with a cold voice. She wasn''t used to this type of mistrust, judgement, and, most importantly, a challenge to authority. "What, for you, is out of this world, for me, it''s a daily thing. But I''m not here to fortune tell you during tea; the fleet has other uses for my abilities. The few oracles that survived were designated to infiltrate computer systems. Where conventional hacking fails, there is the power of a human brain."


    "That''s amazing!" Jason jumped in excitement.


    "That freak show down there, that wasn''t hacking," Caelius mumbled.


    "Well, let''s just say I practised a lot once. But don''t expect me to do it anytime soon again." Pax went quiet for a moment. She wasn''t home anymore, and these people were going to be travelling and helping her for a while, so she had to restrain herself from creating and fueling unnecessary conflict.


    "Listen, if I had any other choice back there, I would have done things differently. But I didn''t, and that''s probably the reason we are still alive. I will need your help, and I''m glad you are here with me." No, I''m not. "As you overheard, my mission is to investigate the cause of the explosions that happened in various locations on different planets at the same time and bring back as many Union soldiers and officers with me as possible. I understand you don''t like it, but there is something going on bigger than any of us."


    "Understood, Captain," Thalia responded with a lighter tone.


    "Now, my other question, if you please?"


    Caelius stiffened up a bit. "Are you familiar with Orpheus?"


    "Yes, yes I am. It''s an open military base, where a lot of my colleagues, including myself, had training in the past."


    "We have been stationed there for a few years. Maybe we met?" Thalia added.


    It wasn''t the answer Pax was hoping for; something wasn''t right, and she had a feeling she knew them from somewhere else, but this itch in her brain didn''t show any results. It may have been nothing in the end.


    "That''s possible. Thank you for that." After a moment of hesitation. "Good. You are dismissed for now until we get to Earth."


    "And what should we do till then, Captain?" Caelius said, sucking his teeth.


    Pax had already made enough diplomatic effort and wasn''t going to get into an argument, as she could sense there was still some of that lingering in the air.


    "It''s a big ship; make yourself useful or rest. You have free quarters available." She was glad the man didn''t reply; Jason gave her a short look and hurried Caelius out of the seat. Both of them left, and Pax could only hear echoes of a conversation between the two.


    "Captain." Thalia''s voice crept at her suddenly. She was so enamoured in following the men with her eyes she didn''t notice the woman was still there.


    "Yes, sorry?" Pax mumbled, surprised.


    Thalia stood up and reached her hand forward, expecting her own, but she only looked at her confused.


    "That''s a thank you. Thank you for saving our lives down there." Pax took a second longer and returned the handshake, still surprised. "Don''t mind Caelius; he... he is troubled. He lost a lot in his life, and it follows him everywhere. It''s like a poison, you know."


    "I can imagine. Can he be controlled?" Pax added; her head was still thinking like a captain, but Thalia laughed.


    "No. Why would you want to? Just give him time; he will come around," Thalia said, sitting back down. Her confidence bordered on arrogance, and Pax wasn''t sure. "Captain, I know how people respond to oracles, and I''m sorry for this little scene." She twitched on the word. "I had a friend who was one too. Your control of the energy was... exceptional."


    For Pax, this monologue on Thalia''s side seemed a little self-serving and overly flattering, but nonetheless, she appreciated it. People would judge her for being an oracle too quickly, often with prejudice similar to the one that Caelius had shown. More often expecting things from her that she couldn''t do. She was honest, saying the military found a purpose for her abilities and life mission. Oracles were not gifted by the gods, as many thought, but had an artificially introduced genetic mutation that protected their body from electricity.


    This was developed as a method of saving people from the storms that ravaged the Earth during the Great Collapse. But, as with nature, it decided to take its own course and gave a few people this unique ability.


    "Are you going to be fine?" Thalia asked.


    Pax immediately knew she meant her hand.


    "Yes, it''s nothing major. In the past, I had much worse. Thank you for the support, Lieutenant." She covered her forearm and the thunder-like burns on her skin. Some of them have already started going down. They will probably leave faint scars.


    "Thalia. And the boys, they prefer to be called by their names too."


    "Excuse me? It''s not really protocol, is it?"


    "If there is something serious going on, it''s best to skip some things, to take the small steps of building trust between you and your new crew, don''t you think, Captain?"


    She thought about this for a second. "You are right. Pax, call me Pax."


    Thalia winked at her and got up and left after that, leaving her alone as she took a deep breath. It''s probably time I took some painkillers. She slowly moved to the medical


    room, thinking about what happened over the past few hours. There was a lot to go through.

 Part 16

    Impenetrable night enveloped them as their ship raged through space, cutting through it piece by piece. A small, bright dot quickly grew from the size of an orange to slowly fill the whole space horizon. Pax sat in silent awe in her cabin. She left most of the lights off, leaving Argos busy with guiding the ship through for the most part. She saw the sun cut through the arch of the planet, accounting for the end of the night as the auroras finished their spectacular dance. Dawn arrived somewhere, painting the cloud cover in the most brilliant colours of gold, amber, and all shades of blue.


    "I almost forgot how beautiful it is." Thalia''s quiet voice startled her badly; she must have been sharing this view with her for quite a while now. For Pax, it took a moment to calm her breath not to show as she was hidden in the shadow, with one hand clenched into a fist.


    "Yes, it''s quite remarkable." Finally, the words slipped out of her lips. It was an odd moment, surreal. They shared it in silence; she allowed for it, without the interruptions of the real world.


    "Listen..." Thalia started, interrupting the silence again. Pax gently turned around in her seat; her hand moved a virtual slider on a console that turned the light back on, not too much, just enough. She could see her pupils changing. "I just wanted to say thank you for saving our lives back there. You had no obligation to do it, and I''m grateful you did."


    She took a while studying the woman''s face, thinking a lot.


    "You are welcome." She sighed heavily, biting her lip. A metal knock of footsteps interrupted them as Caelius entered the corridor and stopped just next to Thalia. Argos, who lay on the floor the whole time, got up curious or maybe unsettled for a moment. The man looked tired, close to complete exhaustion. His once handsome face was covered with many wrinkles, as age didn''t spare him any beating. His dark black hair showed signs of greying on the parietal ridge, but there were still signs of lighter brown strands playfully stuck on the front just above the deep ridges of his forehead. Caelius awkwardly scratched his patchy salt and pepper beard, unsure what to say with both of the women looking at him expectantly.


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    "I should apologise to you, Captain, for what I said earlier." His voice was much weaker, strained.


    "It''s fine," Pax cut in quickly.


    "No, it''s not." The man pressed on. "I''m not very good with this... open communication. I... I''m not very good at this."


    "You are doing well, so far." Thalia giggled, putting her hand on his shoulder as reassurance.


    "You saved our lives, I''m grateful."


    "Well... this is progress. I never hold a grudge, but I appreciate you telling me this." Before now she felt indifferent about both of them and slightly guilty about Jason, but now it felt like she could start liking them, even if a little.


    "Good." He smiled at her ever so slightly.


    "Good." She smiled back. Silence fell for a few minutes as they all looked back at the planet beyond the glass. It was a lighter moment. When no more words are needed.


    "How are you settling in? You didn''t mention any wounds, but I need to make sure." Pax turned back to the pair.


    "We all found a bed, something to do. She seems to like you." Caelius answered in a low grumble, nodding at Thalia, who tilted her head in amusement.


    "Oh? What do you base that on?"


    "You like everyone." Caelius shrugged with a smug half-smile.


    "I''ll trust you on that."


    Thalia took a second to add to the conversation. "He doesn''t seem to like anyone beyond myse

 Part 17

    Jason moved to a seat in front of a large console; he checked a few readings. Argos was still in control of the ship but not for long. Pax would take it to manual after they passed the atmospheric entry point, and the trajectory stabilised. The man wanted to use the sensors, but she stopped him.


    "Don''t. You can check it after we are through the upper atmosphere." The numerous beeps and boops underlined her words. "Listen..." Pax turned around from her seat to face him. "I could use your help with the scans when we get to the bombing site on Earth if you want." He didn''t answer her as Caelius and Thalia entered the cockpit, and the conversation was cut short. Jason sent her a wink before he put the helmet of his suit on. All of them did. The suits weren''t especially flashy and unusual as the ones she saw them wear on Mars, but they were comfortable, sturdy, and most importantly, the ship could print them on request. She made sure they took all precautions.


    The ship''s cockpit held enough space for six people, creating a triangular formation with the main pilot at the front. She never travelled with a full team, always alone. Being alone helped her think; now she will have to improvise. Aletheia alerted them to the approaching manoeuvre. Seatbelts automatically built themselves out of flexible metal plates around their bodies, stabilising them as the turbulence started.


    "Everyone hold on," Pax said into the microphones in her helmet. She saw Thalia''s reflection raising her thumb up in an O.K. More than a few hot sparkles jumped outside. The angle of the spaceship shifted dramatically as their trajectory changed. The pressure popped in her ear.


    The ocean of blue below slowly burst into flame on the screen as the flight computer pushed the underside of the spaceship to face the high ionised heated gases, preventing damage and slowing down their entry velocity. From space, they looked like a lost comet sinking in the sea of emeralds, and this they were. Lost travellers entering the golden world.


    Pax could feel the G-forces pushing her deep into the seat, turbulence shaking every single molecule of her body, every plate of metal within the ship. Resonating, almost hearing the singing of the three fates, yanking on her lifeline. Centuries of technological advances, yet the toughest test for humanity was the re-entry of their own home planet.


    Prometheus, with its elongated elliptical shape, sunk into the fire. Its entry point was inhumanly precise and gentle. The kinetic shields deflected the heat, and within minutes it was through, gliding into the thermosphere and all its layers below, leaving a long trail of light and residue behind it.


    The planet beneath them swallowed the new visitor, faster and faster every second.


    "Manual control," the soft voice announced. Pax held the steering stick in her hands steadily. Argos took them to the night side of the planet; it was a pre-planned course that Pax had taken to avoid detection and unwanted attention from the Moon colony. They lost communication with them a long time ago, yet darkness brewed there, and nobody was brave enough to investigate.


    Thick clouds enveloped them, with only their outer ship lights flickering and brightening the surroundings. Shortly after, the horizon was set aflame by the rising sun. The darkness gave way to a thick shade of blue, all shades of red, pink, and amber. With every minute, this dramatic palette of colours grew before them. Clouds gleamed in reflection, from mundane grey to a flaming amber. Earth seemed to welcome them for a moment, guiding them to their destination.


    "Thalia, seriously? Tears?" Caelius said gravely.


    "Shut up, you idiot. It''s nothing." Her tone was weary but cheerful.


    Pax smiled in her mind, as the warmth of a new day flooded the cockpit, touching her face.


    "Come on, you two. Be nice," Jason almost whispered as he was struck with awe.


    It lightened her heart to know she wasn''t the only one who felt this way. As they entered the world beyond dawn, the world exploded with light and colour with the intensity they never could imagine, to slowly tone down to its stable balance.


    Before them, a landmass has opened. Rivers and mountains. Fields and forests. Untouched by the human hand. When she was a child, a global catastrophe had taken over the planet. Humans in their brilliance discovered a new species of animals in the Mariana Trench, the same one she carried aboard, the bizarre dhino anasa. This discovery was so revolutionary, and the creature so alien to its own home, a new branch on the tree of life had to be created. Studies quickly followed, and science found a way to clean the atmospheric oxygen on an unprecedented global scale. Soon after, all over the planet, oxygen plants have been built, and man-made global warming has first slowed down, and then completely stopped. For thirty years, new scientific platforms started from this single discovery, and it seemed that the irreversible damage done to the planet by mankind can be repaired.


    As the Prometheus flew over northern Africa, they could see how much of the Sahara had turned into a shallow sea, bringing new hope to these desolate wastelands of sand. The change of currents and winds brought rain to the parts of the world that were barren before. Pax knew this was just one side of the coin though. Europe was the biggest example of the selfish and destructive force of human negligence to everything except themselves. Many parts of the northern hemisphere were underwater as the seas and oceans rose higher than any predictions, flooding fertile land, destroying homes, and cities.


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    When she was a child, something happened, or maybe it was Gaia herself that decided she had enough of the meddling of men. The uncontrolled amount of clean oxygen pumped back into the atmosphere, dramatic temperature changes, and many other factors started causing catastrophic weather changes. Cyclone supercells started forming all around the world, on a scale never seen before. They started calling them the Trojan storms. Within hours, they appeared from nowhere, as if they had a mind of their own, over major cities. No storm was ever the same, but they shared one common thing. All lightning strikes started as sprites above the clouds and in hundreds hit the land below. Always attracted by the oxygen plants.


    As the planet turned on mankind, they scrambled in panic, evacuating to their colonies on the planets and moons in the solar system. One day when the blood-red storm clouds appeared on the horizon, a thousand or more spaceships launched in a mass evacuation. Those who remained faced the life of fear and changes nobody believed people could make. But hope always persists, and many settlements and small towns survived.


    "Argos transmit a familiar to all registered habitats in our range," Pax said in a tone of voice the others couldn''t decipher.


    "What''s familiar?" Thalia picked up.


    Pax pondered for a second before replying. She used the chance to let the computer fly for a few minutes to take her helmet off, remove the gloves. The rest followed her suit.


    "A familiar is a passive transmission signal to all habitats to check if everything is okay. Once you get a confirmation, you pass on the results to the port where you arrive. Since the collapse, we had to take care of each other in non-conventional ways. Too much use of old technology could attract Trojan storms."


    "Habitat beacons for Rocamadour, Carcassonne, Triberger, Sighi?oara, Arta, Valos, Glencoe..." The soft voice kept reading the beacon identification for each site. The number was much bigger than they could expect. In total, 30 different places where people still lived and the fires of civilization burned.


    But the number was much bigger before she left Earth. Pax tried not to think about it. Maybe they are just out of range for the signals to reach. Maybe it''s just that simple, she hoped.


    "No major cities remained?" Jason dropped unexpectedly. He was free from his seat belts and walking down to the front of the cockpit to see better. But she didn''t have to answer that. Below them stretched a dark and tangled world, a scar that didn''t want to heal. At first, it was hard to understand what they were looking at, as the water trespassed everywhere it could. Winds blew sheets of mist and dust, preventing them from understanding any shapes. Then slowly carcasses of structures pierced through the veil. There was no telling where the land was anymore.


    "This used to be London." Pax broke the silence. "When the Trojan storm came, the people barely managed to evacuate." Pax paused for a moment that seemed to last a lifetime. "After that... well... Gaia claimed back what was hers." Both of them seemed lost in this grieving moment. Somewhere beyond what used to be the city, a patch of fresh greenery appeared to find its way through the desolation.


    Pax unconsciously shivered when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder.


    Thalia stood by her side like a monument.


    "There is yet hope for this world. It needs time to heal."


    "I don''t see a point in holding on to what was. Let''s get to where we need to be." Caelius'' tone was weary. The man kept his distance behind them. He sounded nothing like the man who was ready to question her earlier. Just an old tired man.


    Pax had to agree with him.


    "Fort William. Our destination is Fort William," she said. Her voice was soft but measured.


    The Prometheus managed to pull away from the darkness and kept its course toward the golden watercolour world that opened in front of them, chasing the rising sun. The shallow bays turned into mud fields and numerous grasslands.


    Once or twice they thought they saw a building with light, a moving vehicle, or even a ship on a river. But more often, it was similar to what they saw with London. Church towers sticking out of murky waters and thick fog. Only the tallest buildings would show, like statues. The ship lowered its course to avoid the gathering clouds.


    As they reached north, more and more land opened in front of them. The change became apparent when they saw a small herd of animals. The more the land grew into hills and mountains, the more hope they all felt, the mood lightened.


    Suddenly, without warning, a signal came through.


    "This is FW air control; we have you in our radar range, please identify yourself."


    Pax felt a shiver go through her skin; it felt like the most wonderful relief knowing they are still there.


    "This is Captain Inthem of the Prometheus; we are here on official business to investigate the bombing," she said out loud.


    A few moments passed before the voice spoke again.


    "That may well be Prometheus, but we don''t have anything in our database on your scheduled arrival. Please transfer your official LOSP ID."


    Pax frowned her eyebrows. Weird.


    Almost unconsciously, she transmitted the computer codes, thinking if everything was okay. The radio response took a while, and she was left in silence with her thoughts as none of the others spoke or commented.


    "You are clear to land, Captain Inthem, on hangar 4. Once you are ready, please contact Security about your visit."


    "Confirmed. Thank you." She shook her head to the invisible speaker with a slight annoyance. "I hope you are ready for an earthly surprise." Pax wanted to gloat; she really hoped Fort William wouldn''t disappoint. And it didn''t. As the Prometheus took a sharp turn, Loch Eil opened before them. Numerous lights of building complexes on many platforms still shone in the morning light. The architecture moved like waves, growing into the steep hills of the mountain range. Buildings in all shapes and sizes, yet none of them had a single sharp angle. And the inspiration by nature was more than visible with parks, gardens, and trees growing everywhere.


    "This is something," Jason said quietly.


    "Yeah, it is something." Her voice was a bit more excited than she wanted it to be. "Those people always invested in a harmonious relationship with nature. Even when the water rose and most of the old city was flooded and destroyed, they strived to rebuild, learn, and evolve." As she spoke to him, she handed over the ship controls to Argos, who gently took them towards the hangars. Circling over the city, they turned toward the mountain range. There, from a short distance, they saw huge structures built into the hills of Ben Nevis, with lights as bright as stars guiding them to their destination. Prometheus entered the gaping mouth of the hangar, and Jason could not help himself but stare in every direction.

 Part 18

    Darkness filled almost every corner of the room he entered. Sapping, dripping like oil. Moving like it had a life of its own. Humanoid figures in the shadows stood still, observing his every move, unnerving. And there she was sitting comfortably in a lonely chair by the window panel that opened on the grey deserts and stars themselves.


    "My, my, my... look what time it is. The day before the full cycle. Interesting to think we still follow this ancient, nonsense rule." Madas''s voice filled the cold shadows of the lunar spaceport. What was left of it. The dim light from outside shone in only so slightly. This whole place was a crumbling ruin. It wasn''t apparent at first, but the more his eyes got used to the darkness, the more he could see. Space preserved everything. He remembers being here when it was still full of people, now it was quiet. Breathtaking. Dead and dark.


    Dimos felt his insides twist in disgust as he observed how she performed her theatrics. Sick woman.


    "What do you want, sister?" Dimos made sure to underline the last word.


    He saw her twitch and turn around.


    "Oh, I do love those little family delusions of ours we somehow need to discuss every single time. You think I''m mad, but then you believe I''m your step-sister or ¨C a mutation from a different dimension, that our mother ran away with a space pirate and our father is the first Eternal King." She recalled, tapping her lower lip with her fingers. "I think at least one of all these needs to be true. But which one? Which one?"


    Dimos let out a hysterical laugh. She turned around to look at him; her beautiful face showed slight amusement with the reaction but the eyes never changed, always cold and scheming.


    "What do you want, Maddie?" That nickname was always a tongue-in-the-cheek for her. "Has the hunter finally found you? I heard a story or two about a madman setting bombs in places he shouldn''t."


    Without a reply, the woman got up, strolled in front of the windows, her behaviour, like she held some unknown truth, unlimited power. Like the god of death himself was her puppet.


    Then her voice reached him from the shadows where she stood.


    "When we were children, you promised me you would always protect me from him."


    Dimos listened but didn''t respond; he didn''t know what he should say at all. Stalling, he looked around, trying to pierce the veil of darkness. He had no idea how she managed to get all of this working again, how the life support managed to pump the air here. And there was the question of her guards. He had seen a talos before, a combination of man and machine, but these things gave him the creeps.


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    But she was aware of all that. It was amusing indeed, to see him out of his environment.


    "A family should always protect each other, and you promised!" Her voice was now lower, more intimate and pressuring.


    "He is dead and you know it. You saw me kill him." Dimos hesitated.


    "I need to be sure. The dead have an odd tendency of coming back from the shores of the black river. I have a job for you. Something special." A poisonous smile enveloped her face when she left the shadow.


    "That''s what you always say."


    "Oh, be excited for once!" She swayed, still walking around, unable to stay in one place for longer than a few seconds.


    "Paint me excited then." Dimos answered coldly. But Madasa ignored his sarcasm deep in thought.


    "This job comes from Him, not from me. But, there are things I need you to ensure will happen." He laughed again when she said that, this time he was amused.


    "Oh, so the great king finally wants something to be done for him? What is it this time? Find another girl?"


    Madasa still circled, performing a strange dance of twitches, sharp movements like a stone statue brought to life.


    "It''s a man." She said finally. "He has taken something away from the shadow and he wants it back. Supposedly it''s an object of great power." The woman spoke as if nothing had happened.


    "I''ll make sure he is dead by the end of the day" He started following her with his eyes wherever she moved. Feeling more and more uncomfortable. She was crazy before, but Dimos felt like she was descending into insanity.


    "No. Not this time."


    "That may be a problem."


    "The king wants the man and the object. He wants a new body. And I have a reason to believe he is travelling with an oracle." Madasa pursed her lips innocently. She finally stopped moving, returned to her chair, and sat in it.


    "Aren''t they all supposed to be dead?"


    "Seems not all."


    "And what if she is one?" Dimos leaned forward with a question.


    Then he noticed Madasa standing up, still holding a shadow of a smile, but her eyes were raging like a madwoman.


    "If she is an oracle, then I''ll finally be able to go home" Madasa put one of her hands on his arm. "And I''ll need a few more batteries for that. Make sure it happens."


    "Your resources are wearing thin. You can''t keep talking without making it obvious."


    Madasa was silent. Her eyes staring at a distant point, her fingers picking her nails in a mute nervous ritual. Finally, she pursed her lips.


    "Then we will make it obvious."


    "You don''t have enough resources for open conflict." His voice taunted her mercilessly, he didn''t need to show any signs of physical providence. It was all in the mind of those he had to deal with. Learned through many years of experience.


    "You are right." Finally, she responded, almost like she woke up from a dream. One that gave her an answer. "You are right, my darling brother. But some do."


    A door behind him opened with a hiss signalling it''s time to leave.


    "You have your work. Make sure everything happens. You won''t be alone; I will provide you with any support I can."


    Dimos nodded stiffly and turned around to walk out, but her voice pierced the air.


    "The oracle. She is to be unharmed. Do you understand?"


    "How are you planning to reach her?"


    Madasa sat slowly down on her chair, delving back into the shadow. Slowly enveloped her beautiful face with her hands and responded.


    "I will let the siren call out to her." Madasa whispered. He left her mind as she approached the dirty window panel, hungrily looking at the bright object cutting its way in a dazzling brilliance around the sun.

 Part 19

    thers used their physical strength to dig. Pax looked down at them, hoping nobody noticed her moment.


    Once they arrived, she learned the orders hadn''t come through, and neither did any administration payments and logistics. Fortunately, she carried a copy of the orders on the computer, so that helped. As part of the spirit of cooperation, the local government decided they could pay all the costs back with communal work. As strange as it was, the problem with communication with the League was to be expected. Space anomalies would happen.


    Before they left Prometheus, Pax made sure to send messages out to the admiral, Protau, and her friends. But, not everything was as simple. She couldn''t start investigating until the communal work was done, meaning Jason and Caelius needed to finish, and then she and Thalia needed to make their way to the local hospital to help.


    Pax was also told that the monorail that led to where she lived had been shut down after the bombing for security reasons. At this point, she was stuck and had to think of solutions before acting.


    Jason waved his hands to get her attention again. For the men working on the construction, it was warm enough to drop their tops and shirts. Jason was one of them, standing out among others because of his olive skin and a head full of uncontrollable long, black hair covered in black stains from the oil and grease of the machinery. He was skinny but extremely well-built, something that wouldn''t show under his clothes. Somebody spoke to him, and he turned his sight away from her. The longer she looked at him, the more her cheeks flushed.


    "We need more men with the digging," he shouted.


    Pax smirked. "Just grab the shovel yourself and help them."


    "Was it an order or a suggestion?"


    "If it was a suggestion," she propped her hands on her waist and smiled, "then you''d get hit with the shovel first."


    The man shook his head with a slight grin and carefully slid down the side of the riverbed to help others clear the rubble so the dam could be set to work. She was glad when he joined the other men, laughed together, and had conversations about things only men would talk about. His sharp look and carefully combed hair disappeared somewhere long ago without him even noticing.


    "So, you do like him after all." Pax heard the gentle, slightly tired voice of her aunt. There was a question and an answer that hung in the air. But it wasn''t her. It was Thalia.


    "Something wrong?" Pax just shook her head in response.


    "I''m sorry. This place brings back a lot of memories. For a minute there... I thought you were my aunt." Thalia gave out a slight laugh and raised her eyebrow.


    "Do I look that old?" She extended her hand toward Pax, inviting her to take it.


    Pax hesitated only for a second. Welcoming the company in the cold, she took her arm, and they wandered on the edge of the valley above the riverbed, listening to the workers. The men carried a fresh log of wood, and Jason was yelling something to them from where he was standing. The construction and repair jobs were moving forward slowly.


    She turned around, admiring Thalia''s beautiful hair, and after a while, the words she said reached her mind, and she understood their meaning.


    "I''m not sure if I do. I''m also not very good at this," Pax replied to the earlier question.


    "Jason seems to like it here. I''m shocked to admit that even Caelius seems less... like himself." Thalia''s words had a note of a joke in them, but they were also very true. Within those few short days she spent with them, the bond grew quickly, feeling quite comfortable, friendly. Especially around Thalia. She was warm in an odd way and much more mature than she wanted others to see.


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    A few metres below, another group of workers in wet overalls, covered in mud stains, tried to place another log of wood. Jason was there, standing by them, giving erratic commands and drawing a line in the mud with his shovel. All this changed quickly when the repairs failed, and a stream of water shot from the damaged dam, knocking them off their feet into the mud.


    "I''m wondering how on earth they are fixing this dam," Pax tipped her head slightly, looking curiously at the whole scene.


    "Does it matter?" Thalia remarked joyfully, amused with the sight. "They are men; let them have some fun."


    "This place has a remarkable effect on you, Pax," Thalia added after a moment.


    "What do you mean?"


    "You seem more approachable," the woman said. But before Pax could think of an answer, they were interrupted by an explosion of laughter and cheering. It seemed the men found a way to fix the damage. It was no one else than Caelius sitting on top of the dam cheering the loudest.


    "That''s something I didn''t expect," Pax voiced surprised.


    "He has his moments, the old man," Thalia smiled warmly. She was distant for a moment. In a way, Pax could only think there must have been something between those two in the past, and she still cared about him.


    With a shadow of envy, Pax looked at Thalia''s face only to turn away when two beaming voices reached her ears. Caelius and Jason walked up the path slowly toward them, both men soaking wet, covered in mud and dirt up to their faces. Both looking so similar right now, like two boys after a day out. You could only identify the bright eyes and brighter smiles.


    "That went better than expected," Jason said to the women when they finally reached them. He propped his hand on his waist, showing his pride.


    "You only fixed that piece of junk. I did all of the hard work," Caelius taunted him with a lighter tone.


    "I did dig too. Eventually." Jason turned his face with a cheeky smile and a wink toward Pax. She pursed her lips to hold a smile, but that didn''t stop her cheek muscles from playing the game.


    "You did good, kid," Caelius added suddenly, patting Jason''s shoulder with his dirty hands.


    "What?" The man shook his head when he turned to Thalia, who was measuring him with her eyes.


    "Nothing. It''s good to see you get along with people." Thalia pursed her lips innocently. She and Pax still held hands, sharing the body warmth.


    "I like challenges I have control over. And when nobody is holding a gun," Jason jumped in. He started rubbing his shoulders as the cold started to get to him. It just made it worse as he rubbed the protective layer of drying mud, leaving bare skin.


    "I second that," Caelius followed. "While you two have been wandering, we sorted out some important problems."


    "Oh, and what are those?" Pax asked with a note of sarcasm in her voice.


    "Caelius here made some friends while digging. One of them was the governor''s son who knows some people and promised to help us out."


    Thalia slowly turned her face with a surprise painted on it toward Pax, who could not help her jaw muscles which became very loose suddenly.


    "The kid was so grateful for the help and everything he extended an official invitation for us to come to the ball that''s happening tomorrow night and moved your communal works in the hospital to the next day. You can do your investigation after that," Caelius continued after Jason.


    "That''s fantastic. But I''m confused. I understand the ball is a huge thing because of the winter celebration and the one year King, but how does that help us?" Pax was confused and tried to follow the way the men were thinking this would help them.


    "Pax!" Thalia gasped in a sudden revelation, pulling her hand. "The king! The king will be at the ball with his security force. They may know where to find your aunt."


    It took a few minutes for Pax to gather her thoughts, clarify the mind, and think logically, as she stood there shocked, turning her gaze From one face to another, a few times. There was a mix of emotions that blazed through her eyes. Finally, she composed herself and put up a faint smile. Oddly, none of her new friends seemed to pay too much attention to her momentary phase. Even Caelius, who seemed to despise everyone from the moment she laid her eyes on him, showed a shadow of a smile. Slightly mocking, slightly teasing, but honest. At this moment, he reminded her very much of Protau, and she realised why his behaviour seemed familiar in a way.


    "Thank you," Pax said finally. Both Caelius and Jason only nodded. "Who knew men can do espionage?" She added, looking at Thalia, somehow feeling as if she had to break the seriousness.


    "Gods, I know! That would be the first." The woman laughed. "Come on, you two. You are filthy. Don''t you dare touch me!" She warned Caelius, but it was too late as the man stretched his hand and tousled her hair.


    Thalia''s shocked yet angry face was so amusing they all laughed for a long time till they reached the Prometheus.

 Part 20

    It''s strange how many faces this city had. Glencoe took its name from the village and the valley it rose from. After the global floods, people from all over the area flocked to this place. They moved whole towns here, creating one urban centre, and when the Trojan storms came, they had to think on their feet, and think they did. The valley and its mountainous hills became the city. It enveloped it gently, almost as one with nature. Each city and settlement had a different way of dealing with the storms, which were attracted by high levels of atmospheric pollution created by modern advanced cities. Glencoe reverted to much more primitive ways, banning the use of personal communication devices, wireless transmissions, or anything that could be a danger to the city.


    The limestone-coloured wind tower blocks grew out of the hills in perfect unison, connected by walkways and separated by circular balconies overlooking waterfalls and streams. Forests of the valley masked the domed structures, and there was not a single tall mast or antenna in sight. The future buildings mixed with the earthy tones of the old city blended into one once the sun hid behind the hills in an explosion of warm amber and magenta. Once the fantastic lights came on, everything seemed different and almost unrecognisable. Glenocans seemed almost obsessed with their way of nature. So much so that even the thought of light pollution changed every light source to a solar-charged one. Low-level lamps that only illuminated the path instead of tall lamps created a parade of colours coming from different lamps hidden in the tree branches. The standard white and warm yellow lights were restricted only to personal use, making the outside city a rainbow of warm and embracing fairy lights or light stripes that marked paths and living areas.


    It was Thalia''s idea that they all leave the safe interior of the cosmo-port and venture into the city to see and enjoy the market and winter festival.


    "Besides, if you want anything done, you best blend in the crowd we are going to be in."


    "So you want to go shopping," Jason snickered in response. Pax could not agree that all of them seemed less troubled. Even Caelius, and she was sure he smiled at least once during that day.


    The market was, in the best way to describe, a labyrinth. Located at the lower levels in the old part of the city, a seemingly never-ending set of lanes and paths. Together with them was a river of people, as diverse and colourful as it was possible. Even with the global climate change, this region was famous for its cold winds and changes in the weather. And people made the best out of it, using many layers of colourful clothing, not shying away from making a completely new fashion out of what they had. In the crowd, they saw many men and women with capes, shawls, or fully hooded, using a mix of earth and bright colours painted across natural materials.


    As they ventured deeper, the air became thicker and less accessible, filled with pungent and heavy aromas that lingered in the cold night''s air. The fairy lights enthralled all of this in a magical atmosphere, creating a strange focus on the objects that were on sale, like someone was pointing a torch towards the things they should consider buying.


    They wandered around, gazing wistfully at pyramids of coloured spices, wondering for what these would be used. Stalls filled with delightful hot and cold meals of many flavours known and new. An inordinate amount of sweets tempted at each step. Looking down, they saw boxes nearly overflowing with fruits and pastries, and nobody around to check on them. They saw handmade clothes of intricate designs, artistically twisted metals that sang in holographic unison, home goods that remembered the ages past, and many other things, some marvellous, some just bizarre.


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    Pax felt like a river of sensory overdrive was pulling her harder and harder, and Thalia wouldn''t let them stop. Making the group stop by every shelf of never-ending knickknacks, jewellery, and fragrance. She was glad when Jason handed her a mug of hot fruity wine that filled her with warmth almost immediately. Pax let herself try different types of light sugary pastries filled with cream, sugary fruit, or nut butter. Each of them was a delightful sensation she wanted to last that slowly untied the laces of her tired soul.


    In no time, she found herself amused with little shops selling colourful lanterns that felt like a cave of light wonders, so warm and inviting. Each of them had a merchant that would spin a tale just for her, and she hung on every word, smiling so much it hurt her cheeks. In no time, she found herself with Thalia choosing a dress for the meeting.


    "Your friend here¨C" The merchant, an elderly woman with a face scarred by coastal winds and eyes bright as crystals, spoke to Thalia with a very strong highland accent. "She is so beautiful she could start a war! We need to find her something special. The goddess of love and beauty will feel jealous tonight!" The woman clapped her hands twice and disappeared into the back of her stall. Pax and Thalia exchanged a look, both of them trying not to laugh.


    There were many oases of peace and laughter in this storming river, pulling and pushing them in every direction, charming and tempting. In the centre of the market, a large structure grew, connecting to an aerial tramway that manoeuvred through the valley to the harbour. Without a shadow of hesitation, Pax embarked on this journey, taking Jason with her. Caelius and Thalia stayed behind, unsure, awaiting their return and looking for other supplies they may not need but greatly desired.


    The aerial tram was a small cabin with seats and panoramic windows, feeling secure and comfortable. When it moved slowly from the dock, Pax had to laugh at Jason''s panicked reaction, who had never been in one before. There were many trams like this in front of them and coming back from this route or other stations.


    As they left the station, a myriad of lights welcomed them, trailing through the valley like a river. The stations were hidden in each mountainside without the need for tall pillars, providing them with the most unearthly and breathtaking vista of Glencoe. The city shimmered and breathed in its ancient rhythm, intertwined with human life. Jason looked at her strangely and smiled. "Thank you for making me do this." Pax was grateful he went with her, still taking in all of the spectacles that were opening before them.


    Since childhood, she and Delia never had a chance to take the aerial tramway. How she regretted it now. The last station was almost above the harbour, and Pax almost held her breath when she saw in its full glory the almost ancient ship the king arrived with. A ship that was almost 200 years old and was a city in itself. Almost as tall as a mountain, with a thousand glimmering lights. People would crowd every surface of its decks just to enjoy a minute of eternal glory.


    To her surprise, Jason took a small wrapping out of his pocket containing a few baked chestnuts and offered them to her. They were still warm when she cracked the shell open. Their taste warmed her up and made her smile. And she kept this smile all the way back to the market.

 Part 21

    Persistence and patience would take her through this morning. An unnatural sense of urgency woke her up in the early hours of the day, with Argos already waiting by her bed, stretching and whimpering in a welcoming way.


    Prometheus seemed as quiet as ever, even with her stowaways, as she liked to call them in her mind. Last night''s market was pleasing and cheerful for her, and it tired her out, as it seemed to do for them too. Without wasting any time, she quickly showered and got dressed in her normal casual outfit: beige trousers and a sand-brown jacket that had hidden synthetic leather compartments for all of her computerised equipment and a discrete holster for her ancient gun that still used projectile ammunition instead of the modern energy weapons¡ªa family heirloom she thought would save her life when the day comes in the future.


    The hangar wasn''t any different from the ship''s interior¡ªquiet, almost asleep, with very few people moving around. Pax said good morning to the security crew who were sharing their first coffee of the day. They answered sleepily with a half-smile. The spaceport was only a short travel distance by maglev from the Glencoe centre. She had the time to calm the storm in her mind on the way there, watching as the sky brightened somewhere behind the mountains. The city only began to wake up when she reached the local hospital, which was nothing like the one on Iapetus. The colony was all about practicality and the use of technology as an ally for day-to-day life. The hospital here was much more old-fashioned, with large airy corridors, and rooms connected to balconies and terraces for the patients to stretch their legs. It was built with the mentality of providing a cure for both body and soul.


    An old-looking nurse, with a face sculpted by the winds and local moisture, welcomed her warmly. Her hazelnut hair, thick with grey strands, danced freely when she moved, adding to her polite smile and cautious pale eyes.


    "We have been told about your arrival. It''s a blessing, more for me than for the patients. We have so little things happening here." She took her full name and gave Pax a holographic card with her details, stating she is a visiting doctor, then passed her a dark grey and white asymmetric overcoat to wear. "It''s a very old style, but it holds well and frees the movement of your main hand, doesn''t it?" Pax had to admit it certainly did; she might have to get one or two like these for Kidaria. The nurse kept talking all the time; her voice was cheerful and pleasant, and Pax didn''t mind.


    "The explosion that took place days earlier was a shock to the system. Doctors scrambled like mad, but the people, ah... the people didn''t make much of it. You will see. It''s bizarre."


    As they entered the ward, Pax was hit with nothing but lightness of spirit and happiness. People in bandages, plasters, and those immobilised in beds were talking to each other, laughing, and behaving like they had lost many years of their age. Someone must have opened the glass doors to the balcony, and the morning songbirds filled the air together with the first rays of the sun. However, as soon as they saw the women, the patients calmed down and returned to their beds without much complaining.


    The first patient, a lady in her 50s, greeted them with a smile, like an aunt welcoming her nieces she hadn''t seen in a long time. She was passing the building when the explosion happened, the woman said. The shockwave threw her across the park and into some bushes. Her body was bruised, with some minor lacerations from branches and two broken ribs. Nothing life-threatening. She was pleasantly talkative and compliant during the inspection. Another patient wasn''t so lucky during the accident. A man in his late 60s suffered a head injury when the collapsing rubble hit him. He also had some serious face and arm burns. The doctors had already provided a skin graft, and all they could do was let his body heal naturally. Pax discussed with the nurse to give him some additional localised sedative for the head and anything else for the skin if the pain became too much.


    "The dermal layer seems to be regenerating quite well," she added, putting away the medical instruments and relying on standard visual inspections. "The graft seems to be behaving well, no complaints there. The new skin over your burns will be a bit thin at first, but then it will return to normal."


    "He is new." The man noticed, imploringly showing off his teeth, some of them missing, probably as a cause of the injury.


    "Well, aren''t you observant?" The nurse teased him. "Doctor Inthem is a visiting doctor.


    "Oh, she is doing the work? So lass, what have you done?" The man jabbed gently, sucking on his lip and lowering his voice.


    The nurse shook her head in disapproval. "She is also investigating the bombing that took place. You can answer some questions perhaps?"


    He nodded slightly. "Perhaps, but what did she do, eh?"


    "Today, for you, I''m a doctor. I''ll be investigating later. But if you must know, the communication from the fleet never reached Earth, but I have a crew that''s more than happy to cause trouble if you want, and I can do my share too." Pax finally replied, teasing him with a wink of an eye.


    The man showed off his teeth again, amused. "There isn''t much to it." He tried to recount. "There was a noise, the ground shook for a moment, and things started to fall suddenly. People screamed. And everything went dark for me. When I woke up, my face felt numb, and I felt blood in my mouth. But I was alive. Gods are damned, I was alive."


    "You preferred to die?" Pax implored cautiously.


    The man looked up to her. "Yes. Everyone probably does." He slowly inhaled, thinking. "Living here is like standing on the edge of the black river in a paradise forest. You know it''s coming, but you can''t cross, not yet. You have the Trojan storms, the Kakodaimones, and the moon and its red eye looking at us. But the One-Year King will bring us the glory we want. Did you see the bright star that''s venturing into the night''s sky? They are one."


    "The moon''s red-eye? The Kakodaimonos?" Pax questioned, looking for an explanation, while ignoring his babbling about Halley''s comet. But the man only sneered back. She knew the conversation was over. The nurse again shook her head in disapproval.


    The women went to check on another patient, and another, all of them with just minor wounds. Ready and eager to go home. None of them cared about the explosion; it seemed like it wasn''t more than a broken window somewhere to them. Pax only reviewed the patient records of each of them, checked the dose of medicines, and discussed if they had any other symptoms or problems they may need to look into. But other than that, she felt quite useless.


    "You should talk to Nyx." The crazed man giggled when they passed him on the way out of the ward.


    Pax stopped intrigued. "Nyx?"


    "Don''t be stupid; she can''t talk to her!" Another patient interrupted.


    "Why? What''s wrong with her?"


    The people looked at each other confused, as if it was common knowledge about what happened.


    "What''s wrong with Nyx?" Pax asked again slightly louder.


    "She is dead, ma''am." Someone answered. "She is the charcoaled corpse in the morgue. Nyx owned a small shop on the ground level of the building that had the bomb in it." After this, nobody wanted to speak anymore.


    The second and third ward Pax visited went uneventful, except one patient who barely kept his vomit from spraying on her shoes. Other people were tending to the patients and her work was minimal. Similarly to the first ward, people seemed uninterested at all in the bombing. They just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.


    The Nurse seemed to have an"Akese," Pax said, appreciating the woman''s unmoved spirit. In the end, Pax thought of asking her name, which didn''t seem appropriate earlier, and then it just slipped her mind.


    "Akese," the woman replied with a shrug. "Don''t worry about it." She added when Pax explained why she didn''t ask earlier. "Those are strange times, and people get weirder and weirder."


    Pax nodded when they got back to the reception area. "I''m surprised they would welcome death over waking up from an accident."


    "Apparently, but it''s not the same for all. What keeps you afraid of dying?" Akese asked after a moment of thought.


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    Pax was shocked slightly but not by the question but its implications. She had to think for a minute, under the curious eyes of the woman. But her gaze felt so safe and welcoming she didn''t hesitate to answer when one came to her.


    "The void of space and unresolved mysteries. Maybe justice for others?" Pax took a deep breath. "In my line of work, I see the fragility of life every day. It scares me to the finest threads of my soul when I can''t do anything about saving others. That reminds me of appreciating my own life, and maybe being afraid of living a bit more."


    Akase nodded silently, and after a moment, she added, "I understand. This is what we choose to do, these jobs, and it is extremely brave to do it. I see this every day, and I worry about those poor souls as if they were my children since I have none. But, you need to understand. These people live in a cage, a beautiful, golden cage. Many of whom I know are adrenaline junkies, ready to die a glorious death, as they call it. We had so many alarms for the Trojan storms and those damn Kakodaimonos that people stopped being afraid. That''s why we celebrate life as much as we can because most of us think - Today is the night we die. Truly, our lives are so much more beautiful and calmer since we don''t think about petty things that plague other cities. When your mind is healthy, you think life should be lived, enjoyed, cherished, and then death, like the night, will come, and you have the most amazing story to tell. But when the mind is sick, you will await and welcome death at every step as it''s more important than anything else."


    "What are the Kakodaimonos? That crazy man mentioned it earlier."


    Akase resumed touching her face and then her hair. "Part a story, part reality. They are the kidnappers that steal your soul, some say; others will tell you those are some invading forces that attack the colonies. But we never actually saw them. Over the years, people disappeared, but everyone thought they just went crazy and ran into the wasteland or tried to settle away from Glencoe."


    Pax gave her a shy smile. "Bit like my aunt who lives in Mallaig-Morar. I have to find her after all this."


    "Gods bless you get there safe; they closed all of the maglevs going out of the city." Akase turned away from her to greet a couple coming in to visit one of the patients. Pax looked at her graceful movements when she used the hospital''s data system and then wrote something down on a piece of paper. She had to smile to see how old-fashioned the nurse was. The couple thanked her for her help and wandered off to find the person they were visiting.


    "I can imagine you probably would like to see the body in the morgue since that was mentioned," Akase predicted.


    "Only if that won''t be a problem."


    "Why would it? Listen, I''ll make you a coffee before you go, and you can examine the cadaver. I''m not going to go down there with you because I need to stay here in case anyone comes."


    Pax nodded and thanked her.


    "If you see an intern with a bad attitude in the morgue, remind him I''m the one in charge here," Akase called behind her when Pax started down the stairs.


    The morgue was two levels below. The staircase was lit with natural light by the window panels built into the front of the building. With each step, she took down, the voices from the main reception area were going quieter and quieter. The adjacent corridor at the bottom of the stairs was flooded with bright surgical light and frozen in unnatural silence. The morgue she knew on the colony seemed different in her memory¡ªsterile, not as scary or perhaps because she was used to it from experience. This place unsettled her in ways her mind and senses could not comprehend. Maybe it was the bright sunlight playing through specks of dust with the shadows and the lack of sound due to the structure of the walls itself, or perhaps because there was an exit to a temple chamber further down the corridor. It felt profane to pollute this holy space between worlds. Nevertheless, she continued after a moment and entered the corridor, disturbing the holiness. As she pushed the door to the morgue, she hesitated, turning her head towards the temple entrance. A whisper called to her, a longing or something she couldn''t name.


    The chamber opened into a sphere with a reticulated ceiling creating an intricate pattern that started at the outer edges of this sphere and travelled to the circle opening within the central part of the room. Within the centre, there was a platform with an olive tree surrounded by a small patch of grass and wildflowers. The tree was in flower, and a slight perfume filled the air moved by a light breeze that travelled with the light through the openings in the roof.


    There were no seats here. People would bring a piece of cloth or pillows. Pax wandered around for a while, admiring the temple, touching the tree''s leaves and flowers. It was pointless, but she was able to concentrate. On her way out, she stopped and just so slightly turned her head and barely voiced.


    "I hope you can help me make amendments."


    She left with a voice hanging in the air, but there was nobody to listen to her in the temple. Only the olive tree.


    The morgue doors opened with a metallic creak, and she was welcomed by a small archive and computer room adjacent to a second large square room basked in a cold blue light, sterile, with a nonexistent nauseating smell of death itself lingering in the corners, with one of the walls taken by the freezer cabinets that contained the remains. There was also a third room used for dissecting and autopsy. Without any sign of emotion, Pax approached the antiquated computers and began a search using the touch screens. The system was cumbersome but easy enough to navigate without extensive training, and after a few minutes, she found the medical records for two bodies present in the morgue, one of them being Nyx. The data was scarce¡ªnames, minimal health and life history, the suspected cause of death, but no post-mortem autopsy findings were reported. Meaning she will have to get her hands dirty and do the bulk of the work. The computer system was directly connected with the freezer cabinets. Once the patient records were accessed and a command was given, a light symbol appeared on the door, and a mechanism sound and low hiss filled the room.


    The cabinet was open.


    Nyx was waiting for her.


    "Hello there," Pax murmured as she approached the cabinet table. Some small part of her felt guilty for disturbing this poor woman, but she shook it off. Slowly lifting both arms, she examined the structure of the charred skin, fingers, and hands. Pax tried to be thorough, using minimally invasive methods for now. But, at this moment, there was nothing she could find. The skin suffered extensive damage, quite probably, the victim was enveloped in a cloud of burning gas which completely destroyed the clothing, leaving deeper burn marks in the areas they surrounded.


    Upon further inspection, she found severe burns to the tongue, pharynx, and was sure the same would be seen with the larynx and tracheobronchial tree caused by the inhalation of burning gases. Pax suspected Nyx collapsed in shock and died almost immediately. However, the cloud must have only lasted for a few seconds, meaning the internal tissues and organs, to some extent, may provide her with more data. She was prepared and produced a small metallic needle from her side tool pocket. It was a medical probe they used on Iapetus; it was never designed to scan dead bodies, but Pax had to adapt, the same as they had to adapt with the mining scanners used for the police investigation.


    These probes were usually used in accident victims to measure their vital signs, scan the body through various methods in search of tissue damage, radiation poisoning, and provide minor antibiotic doses to prevent septic shock until appropriate medical attention is possible. But right now, Pax was going to use one of these probes for a long body scan to find anything that may be suspicious.


    She lifted the body as gently as she could, holding it on the side. Her free hand pushed the pin in the skin, feeling a disgusting crunch, the probe was in place in the back, between the kidney and spinal cord. After that Pax slowly laid the body back on the table. There was nothing she could do for now. As she was closing the cabinet a noise disturbed her slightly.


    A man walked into the computer room and stopped, surprised to see her. He was tall, wearing a similar coat as her. Pax deduced he was the "annoying" intern Akese mentioned. His face expressed contempt and a hint of arrogance that polluted his strong masculine lines.


    "What are you doing here?!" His voice beamed angrily, and without a second of waiting for Pax, who tried to explain, he called in the main reception area.


    "There is an unknown woman in my morgue! I need an explanation immediately!"


    The intercom stayed silent for a few uncomfortable seconds.


    "I know. Doctor Inthem is checking on the explosion victim. I let her," Akese''s voice felt like a balm to Pax right now. The man seemed hostile, and she didn''t want to be here any longer than needed.


    "This woman is a visiting doctor; she has no authorization to be here. How am I supposed to work here if you let any stray medicine student into here!" He kept shouting into the microphone.


    "You report directly to me, and if I let the woman investigate, I don''t expect you to conflict any further with this situation. Is that clear, doctor?" Akese wasn''t going to let the man have his way. Pax thought it was time for her to go while he was preoccupied and slip out of the room to the main corridor. However, the man quickly turned and grabbed her arm as she was leaving.


    "Where on the black river do you think you are going?!" His face expressed pure hate, one she didn''t deserve but was ready to defend herself if necessary.


    "I was doing your work for you," Pax replied slowly, trying to calm her voice so as not to agitate him further.


    "I am well capable of doing my job without a glorified nurse from a backwater colony!"


    "Obviously, you are not, since the victim hasn''t had an autopsy since the explosion. Your medical records have no data, and I would expect even a nurse to do the basics." She sharply released her hand from his grasp. "First warning, next time I won''t be this nice." Pax turned around and left the morgue, quickly heading back upstairs. She finally took a breath when in the reception area.


    Akese eyed her for a minute, trying to read what happened.


    "How much trouble was he causing?" Akese asked with a note of irritation echoing in her voice.


    Pax shrugged it off almost immediately. "Not really, he seemed like an idiot with no respect for personal space."


    "Oh? Do you want to file a complaint? Be my guest. That man has been working my nerves since last week." Akese handed her the coffee she promised earlier.


    "No, it''s fine." Pax took a sip and enjoyed the warmth in her mouth for a second. "I used a medical pin on Nyx''s body because there is no autopsy data. Hope you won''t mind?"


    The woman was silent for a moment.


    "It''s not the usual protocol, but as far as I am concerned, I don''t mind. As long as you send us the data for the medi


    cal records."


    Pax smiled and gently knocked Akese''s cup.


    "Deal. Just don''t tell your intern." The nurse didn''t reply, only winked with a smile.

 Part 22

    Jason had been waiting for her with two security guards in front of the building they were about to access. The weather had broken down mid-morning, and he had been keen on getting inside as soon as possible. When Pax walked up to him, Jason noticed she looked troubled.


    "Annoyed and concerned, not troubled," her voice had been a bit off, uncontrollably dry. She greeted the security and asked for a preliminary report.


    A short, muscular man took the lead in answering. "The facade was barely standing, as the interior had been pretty much destroyed. The shop where we found the only victim was completely burned, connected to the interior, which was, well... you will have to see for yourself. It was dangerous, so be careful and stay in contact at all times. We didn''t need any more casualties."


    "Agreed," she responded swiftly and turned to Jason. "Were the others on the ship?" He nodded after a minute of consideration.


    "Prometheus, come in," Pax voiced into her communication band. She was faced with static and silence.


    "Prometheus com-"


    "I hear you," it was Caelius'' voice.


    "I''m transmitting you a data signal. Can you patch it through the main computer and record everything? It''s important."


    "Will do." The voice link cut abruptly. The blackened building waited for them silently. Parts of the facade collapsed under its own weight, preventing any access to the upper floors. The main entrance still had some paint in places, but the rest either flaked or cracked under the heat. From where they stood, it was visible that the first floor collapsed, cutting off the main staircase.


    It seemed that Nyx''s shop was the only way they could use. Although it had already been a number of days since the explosion, they took breathing masks as a precaution and climbing gear per the security guard''s advice.


    The blackened shop interior welcomed them with silence, interrupted by cracks and air whistling through the damaged structure. Once a tall and spacious shop, it now hid in soot that refracted light, changing its shape and dimension. It was almost impossible to guess what Nyx used to sell here, as everything had turned into dust and charcoal. Both of them worked on their arm computers, gathering data and increasing the yield of information they were getting. Finally, they passed the threshold of daylight and succumbed to the semi-darkness of the ruin.


    "We are out of your sight now. Standby for updates."


    "Confirmed, detective. Be careful there. The structure isn''t too stable in places."


    Once they found a path through the shop, they also discovered a second exit that connected to the foyer they saw from outside. Pax had to turn around a few times, looking in all directions, amazed and horrified at the destructive power of the explosion. Many of the upper-level balconies collapsed together with sections of the roof, leaving a large gap providing enough natural light. Her computer analysed the area and showed an increased concentration of the explosive material on the other side of the automated stairway that connected all of the levels. Still circling and trying to find more readings, she moved there, only to be finally stopped by Jason''s hand pulling her back.


    "Look." He shook his head, pointing his light at the collapsed floor that encompassed most of the area, going down at least three or four levels or lower. They couldn''t see as the beam wasn''t strong enough to penetrate the dust particles floating in the air.


    "This is not what I expected." She took a deep breath, leaning slightly forward, staring into the depth. "Thanks," Pax added. "If you didn''t stop me, I''d probably be at the bottom of that hole right now."


    He didn''t reply, and they stayed in silence, only interrupted by the metal clicking of the climbing equipment they were preparing, and the wind playing with the corpse of the ruin.


    "I should apologise to you for what I said in the mines," Pax intoned slowly.


    "It''s fine." Jason cut it quickly, ensuring his ropes are attached well.


    "No, it''s not." Pax pressed, struggling with hers. "I''m not very good at this... I... I''m not very good at this."


    "What? People stuff?" He giggled lightly, helping her with one last element.


    "Yeah, people stuff." She nodded unconsciously, thinking about Ino and Athamo, and how long it took them to reach her. But these two were persistent. "I do have friends, you know. It just takes me a long time to trust people."


    "Well... this is progress."


    "I am practising. I may get good at this social chat thing one day." Pax smiled faintly, feeling that he forgave her, or started forgiving.


    "Good." He grinned at her.


    "Good." Silence fell for a few minutes as they both looked back into the darkness, getting ready, not physically, but mentally.


    "Descending into the chasm," Pax spoke out loud into her bracelet. She gave a nod to Jason, and both of them carefully dropped over the edge, holding onto their ropes, which were stabilised to two miniaturised climbing cranes able to withstand a lot of weight stress.


    "Confirmed, detective. Be careful down there."


    The descent was slow, giving them enough time to register everything they saw. The chasm must have opened during the explosion, collapsing four levels, but Pax wasn''t sure as the darkness slowly swallowed everything as they got lower, and there was less natural light getting there. As their arm lights turned on automatically, they were able to see corridors and destroyed rooms around them. All covered with soot, peeling paint, and dust. There was an odd nightmarish feeling that someone was watching them, and she tried not to look into one space for too long. Darkness like this had its way with the human mind.


    "So, what made you do it?" Jason''s voice came as a surprise in the thick envelope of silence that surrounded them. "You know, apologise?". They passed another level before she answered.


    "Your friend Caelius inspired me. Just before the landing on Earth, he apologised. I''m sure he had plenty of persuasive help from Thalia. But, I had a gut feeling that if someone as stubborn as he can manage it, so should I, right?"


    "Did he?" There was a laugh in his voice. "He is not my friend though, but it''s good to know. Don''t know any more stubborn than him."


    "I thought you three are friends".


    "No. Caelius tolerates me," Jason explained. "Careful, sharp rebars sticking out of concrete on your right." Pax skillfully pushed herself away, making sure the rope was safe too.


    "That sounds like the base of any male friendship." She jested him, one hand on the line, and the second using her sensors to assess the surroundings. "We are four levels below now. How far does this chasm go?" The edges of the floors vanished together with the walls and corridors. There was only a pitch-black night around them.


    "My readings say the same." He wondered, checking his arm computer. Their lights jumped around them frantically, trying to pierce through the veil of darkness until finally, Jason''s lamp highlighted a stone wall. The space around them slowly enclosed, giving them a sense of space.


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    "I think we are in some sort of sinkhole?" Pax warned, stopping her line. Jason did the same.


    "Either that, or there is a cave system under these hills. The bomb must have been placed somewhere down there, and the explosion travelled all the way up."


    "Are you doing my job now?" She marvelled, trying to see with their light if there is a visible bottom. "Our lights are too weak for this, and those guys probably didn''t expect this would go that far down." Pax was glad they could see the walls around them, but the lack of safe ground bothered her.


    "I''ll drop an emergency beacon and see how far it goes. If it''s too deep, we will go back up. Your call. At least it will give us some clue."


    "Do it," she agreed. Jason twisted the top of the device, and a chemical reaction within it flamed into a bright burst of yellow light. When he let it go, they could see how it lit up the walls of the cave, with all of its layers like the inside of an ancient tree made out of many layers of browns and reds of the ignimbrite crashing with paler grey andesite filled with crystalline spots. And then it stopped after no more than thirty metres below them, creating a blob of soft light. With that reassurance, they started to descend down again.


    It was a relief when their feet finally touched the bottom of the shaft. The ground was a mix of sand and gravel that felt soft when walking.


    The beacon provided much more light than their torches, allowing them to see how big the cave they were standing in was. Its dome was at least twenty metres above, opening to the south from their position. The drop from where they came in shone a faint light at the top of it, seemingly impossibly high to reach.


    "What kind of pit of despair is this?" Jason cursed quietly. He took a few seconds to stretch and adjust his protective uniform. It was much heavier than he would like, with metal chest pieces, shoulders, and leg protectors. In his mind, he wasn''t far off from some kind of space soldier looking like that. He balanced his weight on one leg, waiting.


    "You have a soldier''s stance, unlike most engineers I have seen," Pax noticed, trying to establish a communication channel with the security forces.


    "Yeah, and? I''m a Psi class engineer; I had military training," he revealed, not moving an inch. Both hands on his waist. She quickly looked at him and then away. On Mars, there wasn''t much time or a chance for her to read him. She only saw his face for a few minutes before they put the helmets on, and then it was just his dark eyes following her. The same when he and Caelius were working, and in the market or the tram. There was always something that prevented her from just looking at him. Now, in the soft emergency light, she could see his sharp jaw pronounced by the shadows, with a shade of a goatee, dark short hair moving with the cave breeze, and sharp eyebrows frowning at her from the side. A small diffraction to the light enveloped what she saw. Like a halo. Just for a second.


    "I can''t get a connection to the surface. Can you try?" Pax asked, trying to change the topic. Without a word, he walked towards her and accessed the computer on her hand, using his own to boost the signal.


    "We have reached the bottom of the cave that connects to the collapsed section of the building. We will investigate. It seems the explosion came from here." They waited for a couple of minutes in silence, looking at each other concerned, but finally, through the static, there was a response.


    "... hear you are OK. Very bad signal... cautious down there." Pax let the air she had been holding escape too loudly. The connection to the surface improved their spirits, and now they could focus on exploring the cave systems, which seemed to stretch deep underground. But that was only a trick of the shadows as the doomed opening quickly narrowed, showing signs of human work.


    "It seems that this time, you took me to a cave," Jason said in a lighter tone, with a shadow of a joke.


    "Wasn''t my first choice," Pax argued. Her steps felt spongy and soft; there must be a source of moisture keeping the surface damp.


    "I was thinking about the dance floor before you get too drunk tonight." A group of stalagmites and stalactites entrenched the wall, preventing her from exploring and searching the north part of the opening. The stone had an odd shine to it, as it was constantly moist. She couldn''t hear Jason reply and turned around to check up on him. He stood on something that looked like a flat stone surface, even recognized a few shallow steps going down when she approached, but then Pax, with a chill, recognized a number of dirty shapes on the ground.


    "More bodies," Jason warned quietly. There was a sense of terror in his voice as he looked at her with heavy eyes. But there was something incredibly strange about them. Explosion victims would have charcoaled bodies; these looked like they went through a pyroclastic flow. Pax couldn''t find words to describe them. Nothing matched a normal explosion site she had experienced before.


    Four bodies lay in an odd-shaped circle, with a fifth only two metres away, curled up in a foetal position. Their skin was grey as ash, cracked like old, weathered stone. One of the bodies in the circle was missing an arm, while the one on the side had visible lower leg bones.


    "What are you doing?" he asked quietly when Pax kneeled next to one of the bodies, but she didn''t answer. Instead, she tried to gently lift the corpse, but in a split second of surprise, it fell apart into dust. Pax let out a quiet cry of startled surprise. There was nothing left for her to study or even assess what happened. The victim was completely cremated in the explosion.


    "That''s impossible," she got up, confused, looking around, searching. Her mind started to think. Shining the light again on the stalagmites, Pax murmured like in a fever. "That''s not moisture. That''s melted stone and quartz." To Jason, it made no sense, and it pulled on some nerves within him. It''s different to analyse an empty building than to find bodies in one.


    "Do you remember what we talked about back on Tartarus? When we were trying to find the epicentre of the explosion?" Pax walked back to him with a spring in her steps.


    Jason fluttered his eyes, trying to recall that conversation. "Something about creating a map based on samples of dust that had different pressure variance depending on the distance from the epicentre," he recalled in one breath.


    "And what else?"


    "Then I told you to look up." Jason shrugged, chewing the inside of his lip.


    "Well, yes, but no. I told you about how the increased explosion pressure coming from the epicentre should have a significant effect on the microcrystallization structure, but it seems that in this case, it has a macro scale. Whoever detonated this bomb wanted something gone. Badly."


    "But the data simulation we used earlier only shows this is about 80% from the epicentre based on the parameters." The computers seemed to have been working overtime, producing strange new algorithms and mapping the terrain using technology similar to sonar. The readings showed the cave had an end not far away from them.


    Pax nodded and looked at the end of the flat surface toward something that looked like a passageway.


    "What about¡ª?" Jason pointed with his chin at the bodies.


    "You''ve seen what happened when I tried to touch it. There is nothing we can do that won''t have a negative effect on the integrity of the bodies."


    With unease, they left the bodies and moved deeper into the cave. They walked on a fairly flat, man-made surface that looked as if it was made out of the surrounding stone. Blackened in some places, gathering dust and dirt in others. The wall before them seemed an impassable barrier. Upon closer inspection, Pax noticed deep carvings in its surface, creating crossing lines connecting to deeper ridges.


    "It''s a map of the solar system." Jason grabbed her hand and pulled her back a few metres for her to see.


    He was right¡ªthe carvings were a detailed map of all the stellar bodies and their moons together with their paths around the sun. If it weren''t for the circumstances, it would seem quite beautiful to behold.


    "There must be something behind this wall," she exclaimed after a moment of awe. "The sensors on my computer are going crazy." But there wasn''t an obvious way of opening any type of passage that she could find.


    "Try pushing the discs of the planets you can reach. Maybe one of them is a lock mechanism," Jason smirked at her.


    "Are you serious?" she pointed out.


    "Do you have any better ideas?" No, she didn''t. With tired hesitation, Pax approached the wall again, her fingers scraping the ridges of the planetary paths. Finally, she stood in front of Venus. There was no indication that it would move when pushed. Still, she made the attempt and pressed it with effort¡ªnothing.


    "Come on, we have another eight to go," Jason jeered, attempting to press the Neptune disc with no success.


    Unimpressed, she wondered, "Why would anyone create such an intricate sculpture to use it as a door mechanism? This should be simple."


    "Try Earth."


    "That''s stupid," she echoed back.


    "Just try it." Pax ignored him and instead pressed Pluto, which was closer to the ground, only to let out an inarticulate grunt of dissatisfaction when nothing happened. Jason considered her for a second with unknown curiosity and decided to do what he suggested instead of saying anything.


    "I told you that''s stupid," Pax hummed with contempt seeing his attempt, but then her smile dropped when the Earth disc actually clicked and collapsed deeper, stopping. Under the dust, a pattern of light shot through the Earth''s orbit. Something rumbled and moved behind the stone slowly. A mechanism slowly creaked, and the wall in front of them moved up, opening a gap, letting out a thick column of dust and air. Their computers started beeping in dramatic panic, revealing a high concentration of toxic gases in the passage they just opened. Without a second of delay, both put on breathing masks. Pax insisted on checking if Jason''s fit accordingly.


    "Thanks," his voice was muffled.


    "It wasn''t stupid in the end," she added after making sure his equipment was secured in place. "Let''s see what you found there."

 Part 23

    They allowed the stone block to lift almost a metre above their heads before cautiously moving forward. The opening was a natural geological formation that took them through a narrow passage, which ended by opening into a domed room that welcomed them with faint light and the sound of water. Within this chamber, carved into the stone, there were stairs leading down to a platform littered with burned and broken globes, some still connected by wires and metal scraps of equipment, the functions of which they could only dream of guessing. Within the wall, there was a desolate arched pathway that surrounded them almost completely. The walls probably used to have decorative carvings, but many of them were blackened from soot or burned out, with just faint details visible. The explosion must have caused some of the stone cave ceiling to open from this side, allowing water to leak down here, meaning they were closer to the surface than it previously appeared. Small waterfalls poured down the walls, gleaming in the faint light, filling the podium slowly with dark muddy water.


    The centre of the podium was cracked, with a large, torn, globe-like metal object lodged in its centre. The archways must lead somewhere, but Pax was more interested in the podium. Her computer indicated this was the explosion epicentre, perhaps even the strange globe that was hard to recognize and describe. The structure around her also showed that something happened here, with blast marks, cracks, and melted metal.


    ¡°It would make sense that there was some sort of gas pocket here that allowed the explosion to travel up the tunnel to the building back there,¡± she said as she entered the dark, thick water, which reached barely above her ankles.


    ¡°We won''t find any bodies here, will we?¡± Jason decided to stay out of the water and circled the structure, walking on the stairs, scanning everything he could.


    ¡°Seeing what happened to that poor fellow back there, and how thick with mud this water is¡ª¡± She turned around to him with an unsettled grimace and hurried to the steps.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the power of this bomb cause this whole place to cave in?¡± He resumed after a moment of deliberate silence, checking his oxygen levels; they seemed stable for now.


    ¡°Maybe that was the plan, but something went wrong, and the pressure found a way to move. The ceiling of this chamber must have been some strong stone, or it just fused partially because of the heat and stress forces present. Still, it¡¯s not safe here. But why would you set off a bomb in a place like this? It feels ancient.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it ancient¡­ Just forgotten,¡± Jason alluded.


    ¡°Let us take some last quick scans and get back before the ceiling gives¡ª¡± She was interrupted by a shallow metal echo of something falling on the stone floor.


    Both Jason and Pax went silent, looking at each other, listening. The sound came from inside one of the passages beyond the archways. They waited for a few moments, but there was only silence. This single noise made Pax suspicious enough to take the gun in her hand, lifting a finger to her lips while looking at Jason. Slowly, she moved towards one of the openings on the side of the chamber. Once the faint daylight from the dome stopped reaching into the corridor, it was pitch black, and their lights danced with their every move.


    They found themselves in a strange oval pathway with many rooms connected to them. Almost all had a pile of unrecognisable and destroyed equipment that danced in the blaze of their torches¡ªthings that didn''t seem of any interest to them until the third room in a row they looked into. As the light pierced the darkness, a messy row of tables with distinctive human shapes on them came into view. Pax didn''t need to inspect them to know they would be the same as the ones they found before. She counted eight of them in total, and the last table had collapsed with its front a pile of thick, grey dust¡ªquite likely another body.


    In the fifth and sixth rooms, they found the same thing. In total, twenty-seven bodies. It was a staggering number that weighed heavily on her shoulders. This number could have been even higher if she actually knew how many died in the domed room.


    ¡°That noise we heard, shouldn¡¯t we hurry to investigate who it was?¡± Jason¡¯s voice sounded tired when he spoke. Pax had to admit they had been here for a long time, and she also felt her body slowly demanding rest.


    ¡°No heroics today. There is toxic gas here; we don¡¯t have any protective gear, and I only have one gun.¡±


    ¡°You mean that archaic thing?¡± He laughed heavily, pointing at her side. ¡°Besides, look at the armour I''m wearing. I could probably make a hole in the wall.¡± He boasted towards the nearest flat surface. This made her lock her lips, trying not to smile, only showing some lines around her eyes. Pax was pretty sure Jason noticed.


    ¡°This archaic thing has a velocity of 780 metres per second, so it can kick some ass. And when it comes to your hero armour¡ª¡± She teased. ¡°You are fine if you fall down the steps but helpless when faced with any type of projectile or energy weapon. Let the professional do the hard work here.¡± He huffed back in pretend offence. Both of them tried to lift the mood slightly in the only way they knew while still pushing on.


    There was a lot of trash and scraps of metal and other burned materials on the floor. It felt hard for them to move forward until they reached a surprising dead end. It was another wall with the same planetary carvings they had seen before, but this one was made of metal. Covered in oxidation and dirt, it felt very different from the previous one. Menacing and cold.


    ¡°Earth?¡± Pax whispered keenly to Jason.


    ¡°Earth,¡± he answered and let her press the discus. The mechanism worked straight away, but this time all of the planetary orbits started flashing in a harmonised unison, creating a pulsating pattern that flashed with a pale blue light, highlighting their faces for seconds and throwing unnatural shadows around them. It felt like a warning. There was a hiss of pressure, and the wall started moving, and a ray of light seeped in on the floor, growing slowly, inch by inch with every second.


    ¡°I think those are some sort of blast doors,¡± Jason mouthed, touching the surface of the moving metal.


    ¡°You probably are on the right track¡ª¡±


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Suddenly, in the cloud of light, Pax noticed a movement, a shadow, and a swear followed by an echoing rustle of someone¡¯s shoes in the distance. They still had to wait for the mechanism to open a path and couldn¡¯t do anything to speed it up.


    Once it was above their shins, Pax rolled under the wall and jumped up, only to be suddenly hit by a blinding flash of light that hurt her eyes. She collapsed painfully on her knees, covering her face in pain. It felt like the sound cacophoned, then went mute for a few seconds. Someone''s hands touched her shoulders, and she jumped in panic. But the hands didn¡¯t go away and grounded her calmly.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Jason''s voice slowly crept through the high-pitched static she heard. Pax felt she was talking but wasn¡¯t sure if it was just her imagination and his voice kept coming.


    ¡°It was some sort of flash grenade, I¡¯m not sure. It went off the minute you disappeared under the blast doors.¡± Pax tried to open her eyes, but the light still hurt badly. ¡°I called the local security; they will be here shortly. There are people coming in from outside. I think we are somewhere in the market.¡± She could make out the sound of shoes, just a few, and voices¡ªpeople asking if everything is alright, what happened, what are we doing here. Jason took the initiative, telling them they are conducting a bombing investigation and this is a secure area. She was glad he did; the last thing they wanted was for civilians to get hurt or contaminate the site.


    ¡°Is she alright?¡± There was a different kind of voice, an older woman with a very strong highlands accent.


    ¡°Some kind of flash grenade or device blinded her temporarily. There is nothing I can do to help without medical aid.¡±


    ¡°Let me help.¡± The woman said slowly with a tired, raspy voice. Pax could hear her approach and kneel heavily in front of her.


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± She could finally hear her own voice, one of her hands still covering her eyes. Jason was talking to the other people, and his voice was resonating around them.


    ¡°It¡¯s Eyebright. It will reduce any swelling and help clear out the light,¡± the woman responded, waiting for Pax to remove her hand, which she did after a moment of hesitation. Two warm, wet patches touched her face. At first, it felt uncomfortable and unpleasant, with water drops going down her cheeks, but once the liquid found its way under her eyelids, a wave of relief overcame her. The older woman told her to keep them on for a couple of minutes, then disappeared, as did the others once they knew she was going to be fine.


    Here''s a revised version of the text:


    ¡°Talk to me,¡± Pax requested.


    ¡°About what?¡±


    ¡°Try and revise what we found. It will help my mind work.¡± But she actually wanted him to fill in the silence, which she hated. Together with the fact she let herself end up blinded by acting hastily. ¡°I¡¯m glad you were here to help.¡± That sounded flat. Damn, I need to try differently next time.


    ¡°How about I tell you what I learned from the people just now? It¡¯s mainly folklore, but it may be interesting.¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, it¡¯s something about monsters coming out from the darkness?¡± She wasn¡¯t impressed, and her patience was wearing thin.


    ¡°Actually, they mentioned something called Kakodaimonos that would lure people into the caves. It¡¯s a strange folklore where they say that only the smartest and talented hear the calling. So some people here stopped sending their children to schools to protect them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an interesting way of scaring your kids so they never leave home or the city. What happens to those who respond to this calling? Anything about our mystery person who wants me blind?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, nobody seemed to see anything until the device went off. And the people? They never come back.¡±


    ¡°It sounds like a story my aunt would definitely tell me to scare me from leaving the village. And then Protau came along and filled my na?ve head with so many tales of heroes and distant worlds of knowledge and adventure, I found this place too small.¡± Pax pondered for a second. ¡°From what we saw, I¡¯m going to speculate¡ªalthough we shouldn¡¯t until there is enough evidence¡ªthose people down there may have been those trying to learn, and that was their hiding place from the local community that doesn¡¯t like anyone reaching their fullest potential. There is a connection here.¡±


    ¡°Is there?¡± He was sceptical for a change.


    ¡°Of course. Think of it, on Mars, it was the engineers and security forces; on Iapetus, it was the brightest minds to be promoted; here, it was probably the same. There must be a group trying to sabotage us from the inside, remove the smartest, and the mob will be under your control.¡± Her head was spinning from the theory. However, it was just that. ¡°But, until I have solid proof there is any connection, I¡¯m going to stick to doing my job, not spinning wild stories.¡±


    ¡°Wild stories are definitely more fun than dusty, dark caverns filled with dead bodies. How¡¯s your eyes?¡± She could feel his hand on her shoulder again but didn¡¯t twitch this time.


    ¡°Better, thanks. I should try and take this off and see if I can see.¡± Pax replied and slowly reached for her face. The herbal patch had gotten cold and felt off when removed. The sharp pain had disappeared, but her eyelids felt heavy and tired. Once she opened her eyes, the bright light was gone, and a blurry image of shadows slowly started to sharpen. She finally was able to measure the large room they found themselves in. It was archaic and abandoned. The windows were blocked from the inside, with some patchy holes letting the sunlight in. The floor was littered with what looked like posters and bulletins, all advertising a Spectacular Cosmic Experience In the Planetarium. And then it hit her¡ªwhat they saw below must have been the main room with the projector; the globes were probably a model of the solar system, transformed into some grotesque nightmare. All destroyed now.


    Pax slowly stood up and started wandering around, only now realising she needs to holster her weapon. There wasn¡¯t much to look at; this place was cleaned by looters of anything valuable. Within a few minutes, the security force entered from the outside.


    ¡°Sorry for our slight detour; it looks like we have encountered more than just a few problems¡ª¡±


    ¡°Detective, there seems to be more than just a few problems. Minutes after we lost connection with you in the shaft, we received communication that one of the Head nurses had been brutally attacked in the hospital where you were doing your morning duty.¡±


    She automatically clenched her fist and tried to control her inner emotions as a wave of anger and sadness mixed together in a turbulent struggle arose within. It¡¯s her fault.


    ¡°Do you know who? How is she?¡± Maybe I could try and¡­ A thought crossed her mind swiftly, but she crushed it immediately. No. She tried that before, and it never works.


    ¡°Akese is in critical condition. At this moment, there is nothing anyone can do to help her. We have reason to believe whoever attacked her could be the same person who attacked you.¡±


    ¡°Where is this assumption coming from?¡± Jason jumped into the conversation unwanted. The security officer measured him harshly for a few moments and then answered, ¡°The body of the bombing victim was destroyed, and all of the medical records have been erased. The head nurse and the detective were the only people discussing the topic to our knowledge.¡±


    ¡°There was a medical intern in the morgue. He was agitated because of me being there.¡± Pax recalled breaking her fingers. ¡°He grabbed me when I was leaving. It was unpleasant, but both me and Akese shrugged it off.¡±


    ¡°The man you are talking about is missing. We are trying to get more information. I really hope you had better luck down there, detective.¡± The man was tired; it seems his boring security job suddenly got too interesting and busy.


    ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s not the news you would like to hear.¡±


    ¡°More dead?¡±


    ¡°More dead and questions I don¡¯t have answers to.¡±