* * *
The last wolf let out a loud yelp as Aeria drove her blade into its heart. “Too easy,” she mused, removing her blade as the foul-smelling creature fell to the ground lifeless. She looked around at the scattered remains of the wolf pack and grinned. This planet was turning out to be much more interesting than she had expected. She looked off in the direction that the two girls had fled and snorted derisively. “So they think they can run and hide, do they? So be it. So long as they keep that holodisk I’ll know exactly where they’ve gone,” she said aloud to herself.
Sheathing her weapons again, she turned back towards the large building behind her and began to walk. As she approached the large stone structure she stopped to gaze upon it. There was no mistaking the design, it had to be a transport building; but who had built it? And when?
She pressed her hand against the cold damp stone and felt the texture under her fingertips. The structure seemed to be half finished, not quite taking the shape of a pyramid like the ones on Tython. The stone was not nearly as smooth and the outside covering that would normally give it a sleek, flat angle had not been put in place. Instead it appeared to have steps, as each layer of stone blocks made up a smaller and smaller square grid. The top of the structure was also flat and incomplete, missing several layers of the stone blocks.
Aeria wondered if the building was functional, despite its incomplete form. She knew that the pyramids didn’t have to be complete to still work, so long as enough of the underlying structure had been finished. She began to walk along the base of the building, dragging her hand along the stone as she went. Somewhere along the side there would be a hidden entrance that would illuminate as she passed it if the building was operational.
She’d walked about a third of the length before a small panel of symbols illuminated on one of the stone surfaces. Smiling to herself, she pressed her thumb to the uppermost symbol. Immediately a low rumble could be heard and the stone block in front of her slid to the side, revealing a dark passage leading towards the heart of the structure.
As she stepped into the passageway the stone door behind her slid closed with a soft thud. The air inside was warm and stale, having been sealed in the structure for countless years. She made her way down the long corridor until it came to a junction where she could either continue her descent down or begin to make her way upwards. She knew that if this structure was like the ones on Tython, the lower path would lead to an ancillary control room that would be of no use to her right now; although she did plan to investigate it on her way out. Her destination would be upwards, towards the heart of the structure. The path was steep, but she climbed it effortlessly.
After climbing about a hundred feet, the passageway came to another junction as the incline leveled into a wide platform. This time there were three directions she could go: one straight ahead, one continuing upwards, and another to her side that would lead to a maintenance conduit above her. She continued her ascent and after a short while she entered a large gallery. It was much wider and taller than the passageway had been, extending several feet to either side of her and angling upwards in a semi-triangular shape. As she entered this room, lights hidden behind the large stone reliefs hanging from the walls illuminated, casting green light across the floor and ceiling of the gallery. Aeria smiled at this, as it indicated that the structure seemed to be functioning at regular capacity. The lighting systems were always the first to be shut down, in order to conserve energy should the building be left in a dormant state. If they were still functioning, then there was probably enough energy stored for regular use and transport.
She made her way up the gallery and came to a large stone step approximately six feet wide by three feet high. This step formed a platform extending about eight feet, where it came to another horizontal passage leading to an antechamber with a massive stone door. Aeria stepped up on to the platform and made her way into the antechamber. Once inside, she put her hand up to the wall beside the large stone door. Immediately a hidden symbol illuminated with green light and the massive stone door rotated inwards, revealing a large chamber.
The room was a large rectangle, nearly twenty feet tall, cut straight out of the stone. Stepping into the room, Aeria could make out a large stone coffer covered in symbols similar to the one that had opened the stone door. As she approached the stone coffer it burst to life, illuminating a large projection of controls, similar to the ones she used to fly the Trident.
Aeria frowned at the controls before her, noting that they were different than what she was used to. They had an older, less organized layout but seemed similar enough that she wasn’t concerned. She began to work at the controls and after a few minutes was able to pull up a screen that projected against the stone wall at the far end of the chamber. A listing of information projected on the wall and after squinting at the words for some time, Aeria began to grasp what had occurred on the planet. It seemed that the commissioning of the building had been authorized by her grandfather Kronus thousands of years earlier, but for some reason was never completed before his departure from the planet. The last record indicated that even though the building was fully functional, it would be abandoned and sealed shut in order to, “protect the local inhabitants.”
She wasn’t sure what to make of the information as it didn’t provide any clues to what had driven them from the planet, or why they had felt the need to protect its inhabitants. They wouldn’t be able to interact with the technology so what harm could they do? It was true that the structure had a self-destruct mechanism that would initiate a nuclear reaction if activated, but who would use such a thing? No one in her family had ever used that function, as these buildings were far too valuable to destroy on a whim. If one of them was ever abandoned on a planet it would just stand as an unusable stone monument that no one outside of her family would be able to operate.
She wondered if the two girls had anything to do with it. They had been able to use the holodisk, so it stood to reason that unless it had been malfunctioning, they would have been able to interact with the structure’s controls, but how could that be? How was it possible that they could use the holodisk at all? Could all of the inhabitants of this planet use their technology?
Aeria shook her head. It was an absurd idea, but then again nothing else was adding up. If they were to be believed that they had just found the holodisk, then what were they doing at the structure? Were they trying to break into the building? If so, to what end?
Aeria felt frustrated. Nothing was making any sense and the more she learned the less she seemed to understand. Closing her eyes she tried to focus; tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. But as she stood there contemplating, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming from the direction of the antechamber. Her eyes flew open and she whirled around, unsheathing her weapons. Who could be coming? Maybe the two girls had decided to return after all. She dashed out of the room with blazing speed and entered the antechamber, ready to kill whomever she found. She was stopped short, however, as she came across a familiar figure at the edge of the large platform.
With a look of surprise on his face, Thanatos stood up with his hands in the air, blinking at Aeria. Stuttering, he said, “Mis… Mistress Aeria! I thought that ship on top of this building looked familiar, but aren’t you supposed to be up on the Trident?”
Aeria glared at the man for a moment but couldn’t hold the look. Breaking into a grin she replied, “You fool, I nearly ran you through! You should try to be more careful.” Walking over to him she clapped her hand on his shoulder, nearly knocking him backwards off the edge of the platform. Chuckling, she asked, “In all the years that we have known each other, how many times have I listened to my father when he’s asked me to stay behind? You should know better.”
Regaining his balance, Thanatos grinned back at her. “It’s true that you rarely do what you’re told, but I doubt your father will be so forgiving this time. This planet seems to be filled with mystery and I suspect h
e had good reason to ask you to stay.”
“Well if he did have a reason, then he’s kept it to himself,” she snapped, her grin fading into a scowl. “Regardless, I’ve discovered some interesting things in the short time that I’ve been here, this structure being one of them, but hardly the most intriguing. Speaking of, why are you here?” Aeria measured him with a piercing gaze, wondering if he had discovered the holodisk beacon.
“Well, the scouting ships discovered several structures on the planet’s surface that are inconsistent with the technology levels of the indigenous species. I was sent here because this building registered an energy spike shortly after our arrival. But it seems you might be to blame for that energy spike?” Thanatos asked.
Aeria paused for a moment, wondering if anything she had done could have been detected by the sensors. It seemed unlikely, but there was no other explanation. Remembering the girls, she tried to decide how much to reveal to him. He had been a loyal soldier and a decent friend for all the years that she had known him (he was even a distant cousin, of royal descent like her) but despite their long history she wasn’t sure how much she could trust him. She doubted he would knowingly betray her, but she decided it would be better to keep some of her discoveries to herself, at least for the time being. She still wanted to find out the truth for herself without the interference of her father. “You probably registered my ship as I descended through the atmosphere. Either that or you might have picked up on the energy stores of this building which, as you can see, seem to be fully functional,” Aeria pointed to towards the lights in the gallery.
“I can see that, yes. It’s intriguing that a building like this would exist on this planet, isn’t it?” Thanatos wondered aloud, looking around at his surroundings.
“Yes, although it’s not completely finished. I was just looking through the logs before I heard you coming. They indicate that my grandfather commissioned the construction some time ago, but was forced to leave it dormant before it was completed,” Aeria replied.
“So it seems your suspicions might have been right. There was more to Kronus’s story, after all. Was there any indication as to why the building was left unfinished?” Thanatos asked.
“No. The logs didn’t say anything; only that it was to be sealed shut,” Aeria lied. She wasn’t sure what to make of the information about protecting the locals, but she suspected it might be important.
Thanatos gave Aeria a skeptical look and after a moment asked, “Forgive me for prying, Mistress, but why have you come to the surface? What are you doing in this building?”
Aeria forced a fake grin and with as jovial of a tone as she could muster she said, “My friend, I thought we already discussed this! You know I can never resist a chance at adventure! Especially when my father forbids me!” She lied again, but Thanatos didn’t seem to be buying it this time. Seeing his skeptical look she pressed on, “I saw the initial scans of the surface, and this building seemed to be most curious. I wanted to see what it was and find out why my father had told me to stay.” This time Thanatos seemed convinced. Maybe it was the hint at truth that had sold the deception, or maybe she was just getting better at lying; either way she was anxious to change the subject. “I noticed a settlement of the indigenous species nearby. I was planning on exploring it after I finished here. Would you like to come with me?” she asked, hoping he wouldn’t notice the uneasy tone in her voice. He didn’t, but his response didn’t make her feel much better either.
“With all due respect, Mistress, I was sent here on orders from your father to investigate the building and to discover the source of the energy readings. As I’ve done both of those things I think I should be reporting back. Perhaps you ought to come with me? Your father will eventually figure out that you’ve come to the surface and it would be better for both of us if he discovers it sooner rather than later,” Thanatos suggested with a wary tone.
Aeria frowned at the man. She didn’t like the idea, but decided it might serve her purpose best to go with him. If her suspicions were correct, the two girls were heading for the nearby settlement, but wouldn’t arrive there for a while. Going to see her father would buy some time. He would undoubtedly be angry with her, but unlikely to send her back up to the Trident. If she sent Thanatos back alone, he would ultimately have to report that he had seen her and that she was heading to the settlement, which would undoubtedly lead to questions as to why she had gone there. This would not serve her goal, not if she was going to be the first to solve the puzzle. Aeria shrugged and said, “Perhaps you’re right. Let’s go.”
Thanatos seemed relieved by her answer. “Good! I have a few other stops to make before we head back to your father’s encampment and having you with me will make things easier.”
The two of them prepared to leave. Aeria was glad he hadn’t insisted on seeing the logs for himself. If she played her cards right she would be able to get what she wanted without anyone getting in her way. She would discover the planet’s secrets and be the hero of the day if it was the last thing she did. The time had come for the history books to forever remember the name of Aeria, goddess of wisdom and strength! Her chest filled with pride as the green lights of the gallery faded behind them.
CHAPTER 6