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Episode 99: Nether
Captain Haru stared at the looming Gate. "Lady Daratina, if I may ask," he swallowed hard, "Why have we come to Gehenna's Bridge?"
Dara looked at him quizzically. "Come to what?" she asked.
"This Gate," Haru repeated. "It's been called that ever since it was discovered. It's the worst Gate in the network. I thought it was deactivated a long time ago."
Dara's heart leapt into her throat as she checked the waypoint floating almost directly in front of her now. "This is where we need to be," she replied. "Take us in, Captain."
"But –" Haru protested.
"I said, take us in," Dara repeated firmly.
Haru sucked in a deep breath and ordered the ship ahead.
The deep purple event horizon swirled nearer and more than once Dara thought she glimpsed crimson lightning streak across the portal. She absently fingered the time-spoor, making the waypoint disappear and reappear repeatedly. Every bit closer they came to the portal shaved off just a tiny bit more of the distance between her and her brother.
She wondered if he was well – and how he'd managed to get out here so quickly, not to mention the reason he was entrenched within this Gate.
"Captain, we're getting some rather anomalous readings from inside Gehenna's Bridge," one of the science team said.
"Show me," Haru directed. He tapped a control panel set in the arm of his chair. A display appeared in the air and the Captain stared at it hard. "Lady Daratina…" Haru looked at her wide-eyed. "This information can be viewed on the console beside you. You… should see it."
Dara brought up the readings. She was no science officer, but several of the results were much higher than she'd expected. "Why is there so much turbulence?" she asked.
"We don't know," Haru replied. "Last time a ship traversed this Gate and came out alive they reported numbers much lower than this. If we go in now…" He bowed his head. "We'll have to fight our way back out."
Dara swallowed hard. The feeling of cold metal in her hand brought back the moments she'd spent under the palace several months ago, at the beginning of Adiel's journey here. She saw her mother and father's faces clearly in her mind's eye.
She gritted her teeth and turned back to Haru. "There is danger, yes, but there is also duty." She stood up, some of the fire of years past reigniting in her. "Is there not a cause, my friends?" she addressed every man and woman on the bridge. "Does not our homeworld need their Leader back? Now, with everything torn apart, surely we must see to it that we do whatever is in our power to ensure a future for ourselves. If wading into a sea of troubles is the only way to achieve that, then it is what we must do." She stood before Haru. "I know you fear for your people's lives." She bowed her head to him. "I do as well, but I fear for the life of my brother and his crew. Let us forge on, and offer him whatever aid we can muster."
A single clap sounded throughout the bridge and a crescendo of applause soon followed it.
Dara stepped away from Haru as the captain stood and knelt before her. "Forgive me, Lady. I am at your service."
"Divert all unnecessary systems to hull integrity and sensors," Dara instructed, taking a seat again. "We're storming this place, and we are coming back out."
"Another ship has arrived." The dark ship's second-in-command bowed before his captain. "It is Gamilon. They do not know of our presence. Even now they are moving to enter the Gate."
The captain raised an eyebrow. "Are they fools?"
"We do not know, Sir," replied the second. "They are preparing for the Gate's poor conditions, but their ship is old. Should they encounter a storm with in the Gate, it will not stand up for long."
"Watch them carefully. Ensure they do not discover us. We will enter the Gate if we must, but we will not go past the half-way point."
"We cannot follow them!" The second's eyes widened in fear. "Gehenna's Bridge is a mass grave for nearly all who go into it."
"But he is there?" the captain asked.
"He is," the second replied. "We've found his ship. It is dug into the nether just before the middle of the Gate tunnel."
"Why does he wait there…?" The captain narrowed his eyes.
"The strangers' ship – it is headed this way," the second said. "Do you think he knows?"
The captain bowed his head and with eyes closed said thoughtfully, "Yes… He knows…"
The second replied, "He lies in wait for them. They will go straight into his trap without ever knowing what happened."
"If we do nothing, that is so, but I wish to ensure their safe return home. Only then – with the planet he covets green again will I truly be able to enact my vengeance. We must go through this Gate," the captain insisted.
"But –"
"It is not up for discussion," the captain growled. "Time is short. We must enter before the strangers – or anyone else arrives. Stay behind the old Gamilon ship, and send the strangers a message, but be sure they cannot track the source."
"Yes… Sir…" The second backed away and relayed the orders.
Celestella stepped into the lab just after the XO. She glanced around, curious. The space was much different from similar places on Gamilon. Everything was neat and straight. As they passed a huge desk Celestella brushed the enameled surface. It wasn't even dusty.
"Must come here often," she commented quietly.
"All the time," the XO replied.
Celestella swallowed her surprise and smirked. "So you understand me too."
"I am not as adept as others, but yes," he replied, leading her over to a small terminal. He tapped the screen.
Images and words Celestella couldn't decipher melted into existence.
"Tell me what needs to be done and I'll see to it," the XO instructed.
Celestella narrowed her eyes at the images and finally made sense of a few of them. "Your engine," she pointed to a symbol of a crystal shard, "what does it run off of?"
The XO hesitated. "Wave… motion energy."
"Ah." Celestella's eyes lit in delight. "Much better than I'd hoped. You can boost your power with a few minor adjustments."
"We had… a friend do that already," replied the XO. "If it were safe to adjust it further, they would have already done that."
"But this is an emergency situation, correct? Would your friend have anticipated this need?" Celestella watched the man's eyes. They remained stubbornly blank.
"Yes," he said.
"Did they know you were going through Gehenna's Bridge?"
The XO stared at his console. As Celestella watched, his finger hovered over the engineering icon, and then floated down to another symbol Celestella didn't recognize. He tapped it.
"Tell me how to enhance the shield without going through the engine," he instructed.
Celestella sighed. "Adjusting it that way will not be enough."
"Then we'll go without it." The XO stepped away from the computer, and the screen blinked off. He started to walk away.
"Wait!" Celestella stopped him. "There is one thing we can do without touching your engine."
The XO returned to the console. "Tell me what to do."
Adiel's bow dipped into the Gate portal, sending ripples through the tranquil surface. Dara held her breath as they plunged in.
A streak of red lightning flashed too near the front viewport and Dara caught a whiff of ozone. Crimson claws darted in and out of her view as they slipped through the event horizon and into the Gate. The bridge crew kept their attention on their stations. Few looked up at the stormy corridor ahead, and when they did, it was only with short, cautious glances.
Dara noticed Haru staring out into the blood-red clouds. His eyes betrayed his fear, but Dara admired him for not voicing the panic she knew coursed through him. She felt the electricity of terror running through her own body, urging her to turn around and run away from this horrible place.
She touched the spoor to her skin and the waypoint appeared a foot in front of her. The number above it was so small now compared to what it was when the journey began. Soon she would see her brother again, but this time, it would be as his sister, not just his comrade in arms.
Her heart stirred at the thought. All her life she'd been alone. Except for Constance, she hadn't had any family to speak of, and her memories of them were held captive by a mind that refused to remember her childhood.
When Constance was kidnapped and Dara went in search of her, she'd discovered who she really was – the lost daughter of Leader Deun and Queen Talonka. But not only that – she'd found out she was also the grandchild of the hated Malha Guardiana – the head of a militant cult.
The thought made her sick. Cruel laughter echoed in her head and the face of the Malha appeared in her imagination. Dara's heart cried out as the woman in her mind's eye dragged Constance away.
A tear fell down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away.
Outside the ship, the clouds rolled along, almost like they were sailing through the sky instead of a spatial-distortion.
She sat quietly, watching the waypoint number slowly dwindle.
"We're in as good a position to do this as we can be," Sandor said to Adam as they stood just outside the Captain's cabin door.
"Are you sure we can do this without risking the lives of everyone else aboard?" Adam whispered, glancing back down the short corridor to the empty stairwell.
"Reasonably – from a scientific standpoint at least. Right now, the ship is in the best condition it's ever been. There is nothing to indicate that she can't pull through a rough Gate with the assistance of the shield." Sandor's words echoed in the small space.
"What if the shield fails?" asked Adam, still eyeing the stairs.
Sandor looked away. "I don't know… Most likely we'll sustain heavy damage if the failure occurs at the center of the Gate corridor, or…"
"Or what?" Adam prodded.
"Or we could lose the ship."
"No – no we can't do this, Stephen." Adam shook his head and reached for the door panel.
"At some point, Adam, you must stop living in the 'what ifs.'" Sandor's eyes bored into Adam's, freezing him where he stood. The two old friends waited, mired in the full silence.
"Let's just get home," Adam acquiesced. "He's almost to the point where it's difficult for him to wake up."
Sandor nodded. "We'll be at the Gate in less than an hour."
Celestella sat quietly in a tiny room. She'd turned off the lights. Everything on board the Eratite ship was so foreign it was easier to cope if she didn't have to see it. At least then she could imagine she was onboard a different ship.
The cool ship air whispered across her skin, sending a chill up her spine. She could sense the Gate nether drawing nearer. Every other time she'd been through a Gate she'd sensed the Malha's presence. Even if the woman was nowhere to be found, it connected them in a way Celestella couldn't explain.
This time… She didn't know what would happen. The Malha had rejected her. Would that make a difference?
She drew in slow, even breaths, waiting for the instant the ship touched the event horizon. She squeezed her already-closed eyes tighter and clutched her knees to her forehead in anticipation of the connection.
Shock wracked her body as they phased through the Gate and into the corridor. Glorious power sung through her veins and the once-fiery link to her other-worldly compatriots, blunted by her sister's death, ignited again. Fire spread over her and her eyes shot wide. The darkness surrounding her deepened, but instead of hindering her vision, it revealed to her the many hundreds of ghostly faces taking refuge in her tiny abode.
She reached out toward the phantoms, calling to them to aid her in her efforts to destroy this ship. Whispers engulfed her mind, swelling into a tide of wailings and misery such as Celestella had never heard.
"Peace!" she finally bid them.
Silence.
"Who will aid me in inciting these Eratites to anger and fear, my friends?" she whispered into the darkness.
A host of twisted faces crowded forward. "We will all aid you," one grotesque visage offered. "We wish the downfall of this last bastion of hope just as much as you do."
"Gehenna's Bridge is open." A thrill ran through Celestella as she heard her own words. "Send fear and doubt, but do not give the cursed Enemy reason to interfere here. Let your work be silent, and your influence deft. Now, fly, my friends. Do the will of the one who sent you."
Even though she couldn't feel the usual bond with the Malha anymore, Celestella didn't care. The darkness thrummed with energy and she devoured it.
On board Adiel, four hours passed in silence. The quiet sent a persistent ringing through Dara's ears. She focused on menial sounds to banish it – the tapping of Haru's foot, the slow rhythm of her own breath, or the whoosh of the ship's air recycler. Nothing worked.
Dara sighed and turned her attention to the clouds outside. She sat up straight as she realized they'd changed color. Instead of a deep purple or scarlet, the clouds now billowed in tones of blue and green. Lightning still danced outside, but it shone brilliant white instead of threatening red.
"Don't let its appearance fool you," Haru cautioned. "This is the most dangerous part of the Bridge."
Dara glanced down at her waypoint. "Stop!" she ordered. "We've gone too far."
The ship reversed course.
"Sir, there's another ship approaching. It's hailing," said the comm officer.
"Put it through," Haru ordered.
A collective gasp washed over the bridge as the face of Admiral Talan appeared on the main viewscreen. "Get out of here," he rasped. Dara noticed the bruising peeking out just over his collar as he continued, "Take everyone you can find and leave now!" He pointed animatedly back the way they'd come.
"Admiral!" Dara exclaimed, leaving her seat and coming to stand just in front of Haru. "We came for Desslok. Where –"
"No time. You must go! He's sent everyone off-ship except a few officers, and he's raging about the Eratites."
"Did – did he do that?" Dara touched her own throat where the Admiral's bruising purpled.
Talan nodded slowly. "He forced me off the bridge and sealed the door."
A wave of panic hit Dara. "He's gone mad…" she whispered.
"In a way," Talan agreed, "but it is a madness of devotion to those he seeks to protect. And I fear… it is a madness that will drive him to his doom."
"Haru, get everyone on board right away, starting with Admiral Talan." To the Admiral she said, "Is there anyone else with you?"
"Two crewmen, both unharmed, but there are others who need to be retrieved first. We met with a Gatlantean fleet a day ago and there are wounded. They were sent out first."
Dara nodded. "We'll get them, don't worry. Sit tight. We'll have you on board as soon as we can."
Admiral Talan gave Dara a sharp salute and terminated the call.
She turned around to find Haru staring at the screen blankly. "Captain," she snapped her fingers in the man's face. "Get rescue ships out there, now!"
"Y – yes – yes," Haru stuttered, relaying the order once he'd found his words again.
Dara sat down and watched on the radar and sensor grids as several small craft tethered themselves to the escape ships and hauled them onboard Adiel.
"We can't keep all these extra ships onboard," Haru said. "We can barely fit anything else in the hold, much less several dozen more ships."
"Then jettison them once they're empty," Dara said.
"What?"
"I said, get rid of them. If they won't fit, we can't take them with us. Get the passengers and anything of value out, then send the ships back out into space."
"Yes, my Lady," Haru acknowledged.
"Captain!" radar interrupted. "There's another ship approaching! It's the Eratites!"
Masterson Talan stood on the bridge of the Hadar gazing out into the Gate corridor uneasily. Purple clouds grabbed at the ship's hull. They were three and a half hours into the Gate. He'd heard tales of this dreaded Bridge, but this was the first time he'd been here.
"Where's the Adiel?" Masterson asked.
"Not far ahead, and there's another ship – our sensors are blinking in and out, so we can't tell what it is yet," came the answer.
A knot formed in Masterson's stomach as they sailed closer to Adiel. He hoped Dara and the ship's crew were alright. A ship as old as theirs might not hold up if a bad storm were to rip through the Gate.
"We'll find them," David assured, stepping up beside Masterson.
"I know, but in what condition?"
David folded his arms across his chest and watched as the clouds outside melted into a deep blue, then a medium azure. "We're close," he whispered.
"The unidentified ship is nearing Adiel's position," supplied radar. "It – wait. There's a third ship, Sir. I repeat – a third ship is emerging from the fringes of the corridor. It was masked by the dense distortion field and clouds."
Masterson swallowed hard, the knot in his gut tightening. "It's… him… isn't it?" he asked.
"Yes, Sir. We're getting a positive reading from the third ship. It's Gamilon, call sign, Imperator."
"Imperator?" Masterson was taken aback. "That ship disappeared years ago – before Rapha'owr was built." He brought up the ship's schematics. When he saw the shape of the bow he understood. "It was built into the palace tower," he whispered to David. "He flew that ship straight up out of the middle of a warzone."
"Still has the same grit, I suppose," David commented.
"Indeed," Masterson replied.
"We've got a reading on the unidentified ship, Sir," radar interrupted again. "It's the Eratites!"
Masterson didn't bother to say anything to radar. He routed comm controls to himself and sent out an audio-only emergency broadcast to the Eratite ship, "Get out of here!"