Aeon Read online

  Reaghan kept moving, hand near her gun. In a few places, she was sure she saw skeletal remains among the rubble, but was far too uneasy to find out for certain. The street she walked along rose in a gentle incline toward the crest of a hill where a separate group of structures sat.

  Maybe they left the village after whatever happened here, but didn’t want to go far. She took off at a mild jog, unwilling to fly in case something was waiting where she couldn’t see. Reaghan’s breathing came in sharp gasps by the time she reached the top. I need to start training more. Space life has me lazy.

  “Hello?” she called out quietly. “Anyone home?”

  A soft wind was her only answer. Despite the lack of welcome, Reaghan stepped inside the first building. A small table sat in the corner, while old-fashioned computers lined the rest of the walls. She flicked a switch and jumped back as it came to life with a series of clanks and groans. She hurried to turn it off before it attracted unwanted attention.

  In the backyard, she found herself facing what could only be described as a launch pad. A large slab of cement was surrounded by collapsed service towers. Her brow furrowed. A settlement that built its own launch site?

  She had no time to ponder it when the ground beneath her feet rumbled. She whipped around, searching for the source. Pieces of the buildings around her started to crumble. A hand started toward her comm to ask Twi about any earthquake activity when a shadow fell over her. Reaghan tilted her head up to find herself staring down a massive being, easily fifteen feet tall. It was covered in a thick, shaggy fur, but had humanoid features. Long tusks stuck out of their mouth, creating a gap that made their breath whistle.

  Reaghan stumbled back, hoping to take shelter in a building, though she knew they stood less of a chance against the thing than she did. Her Eiha flared in response to her panic, though she fought it down.

  The beast came closer. An automaton arm emerged from the fur, reaching for the building Reaghan hid inside. She dove out the back door and down the hill. It smashed the building, sending up a shower of sparks and Eiha. The beast twisted around, roaring in pain. The hand continued toward her, winding up for a strike. Reaghan braced herself, unable to see any way to get clear in time to avoid the inevitable.

  She cried out as she was thrown through the forest, trying to use vines of Eiha to catch anything to slow her down. The beast roared with each new strike, the sound shaking her to her bones. Reaghan only came to a halt due to a helpful tree that caught her in the middle of the back. Stars danced in front of her eyes.

  “Okay, bastard,” she said through the pain. “Let’s dance.”

  She pushed off the ground with a blast of wind. The beast faltered as though stunned that she dared attack it. Molten rock appeared in an orbit around her; she thrust her arms toward the beast and they followed. The beast roared and stumbled, but didn’t falter. She slid back, calculating her next strike. The fur was singed, but it still served as a cushion for her attacks.

  “Reaghan!” Twi cried. “I’m detecting a surge of Eiha near the location of your comm signal. What’s going on?”

  Reaghan didn’t dare respond, dodging around the swing that was aimed at her head. She landed heavily on a tree, directing a funnel of wind at the beast’s chest. It stumbled, then struck out with its other arm. The long claws on the tips of the rather humanoid fingers scraped the surface of her shields.

  She reached for the gun on her thigh. Eiha poured into the chamber as she readied it to fire. The amount of power inside the weapon made it spark and the glass that formed the chamber warped under the strain. Her finger inched back while she circled the beast in the search of a clear opening, using the tree branches to put distance between them.

  “Reaghan! Answer me or I’ll be forced to take drastic—” Twi’s cry became background noise as she unloaded across the beast’s back.

  The beast whipped around, bellowing out its pain. The arms came up on both sides, trying to cut off any attempt to escape. Reaghan dropped to the ground, twisting as she flew so she could keep attacking. Bursts of Eiha battered against her shields, draining them. She reinforced as best she could, though most of her efforts were in simply taking out the threat.

  A swinging arm stopped her short. Reaghan backpedaled until she smashed into something solid, but had a decent amount of give. She slid to the ground in a heap, though somehow managed to keep armed.

  “Ugh.” She rose to her knees, glaring up at the beast with watering eyes. “What the hell are you?”

  A clawed hand wrapped around her. She pushed out with her Eiha as best she could, but somehow the beast managed to render her efforts pointless. It squeezed, restricting her movements and putting pressure on her chest enough that each breath became a struggle.

  Suddenly, Reaghan felt the pressure release and she was flying through air. She rolled several times before she came to a stop at the foot of a tree. Explosions filled the air.

  “Reaghan! Reaghan!” Twi cried. “Get away from it!”

  She turned so she could see the beast. The Aeon was hovering just above the trees, the perfect firing line provided by the beast itself.

  “Twi,” she whispered. “You didn’t.”

  “It was a lot simpler than you’d think,” Twi said. “I had to Reaghan. As long as it’s in my power, I have to protect you.”

  “Not at the expense of your own life!” Reaghan bellowed, sitting up. The jerky movement sent fresh waves of pain flooding through her body, her shields having fractured while the being held her. She could feel wetness flowing down her right cheek and she was pretty sure her left leg was at least bruised, “Twi!”

  The AI fell silent, though missiles hitting the beast told Reaghan where Twi’s attention was. The beast charged toward the ship, though the Aeon was far out of reach.

  “Reaghan, run!” Twi yelled. “It’ll soon realize it can’t get me, then will go for you. I’ll come around to pick you up.”

  Reaghan managed to re-form a tight shield around her body. She rose to her feet, leaning against the tree for support. The second she tried to take an independent step, however, a searing pain shot up her leg, making her stagger. She battled through the pain with clenched teeth and haggard breathing.

  Twi tried to keep the beast’s attention with another barrage of missiles. Reaghan listened to their battle while clambering through the underbrush, heart pounding in her chest.

  “Just a bit more,” Twi encouraged.

  “Easy for you to say,” Reaghan wheezed. “You’re safe in a ship.”

  “You’re in pain.”

  “Got knocked around a bit is all,” Reaghan assured her. “Doesn’t matter how well trained you are when you’re facing something out of a movie.”

  “Hurry. It is changing target.”

  Reaghan increased her pace as much as she could. At least her training allowed her to still be able to function when each step felt like her leg was being cut off. She could hear the level of bombardment increase as Twi applied pressure.

  “It’s breaking off,” Twi announced at last.

  Reaghan slowed down, eventually coming to a stop beneath a tree. “Why’d it quit?”

  “I’m not sure,” Twi replied. “But I suggest we don’t wait around to find out the reason.”

  “Right.”

  “I’ll land in the clearing ahead of your current position. Then we can talk and get an accurate picture of your injuries.”

  There was a different energy when Reaghan entered the bridge, and it wasn’t just because of the AI that was hovering nervously in the center of the room. Her anger over Twi being integrated flared, but sitting down and taking the weight off her leg took priority. She rolled up her pant leg and propped the limb up on the console in front of her. A large gash started on the right side of her thigh, twisting around until it ended halfway down her calf.

  “Why didn’t you shi
eld!” Twi demanded.

  Two small drones appeared from somewhere in the depths of the ship. Thin arms unfolded from the sides while the eyes emitted a wide, green beam of light. It focused on the area around the wound; instantly Reaghan felt the pain begin to ease.

  “Shattered. I misjudged how strong I should make it.”

  “It shattered?” Panic filled the AI’s voice. “That’s impossible with your levels of Eiha.” Twi turned toward the front of the bridge. “I need to check what the sensors received from the battle.”

  “Don’t.” The order was sharp. “We need to talk first,” she added in a much softer tone, shifting in the chair so the automatons could work on her wound easier.

  “I suppose we do. It isn’t often that I override your commands. And later I will punish myself for it.”

  “What will you do? Go dark?” Reaghan shook her head. “Just tell me why. Why was it so important for you to connect with the ship to try and save me?”

  “Because I must help you if I can. When I detected the Eiha near you, I knew what was happening, and your command didn’t allow for me to act. So I disobeyed, and I apologize for that.”

  Reaghan was silent for several minutes. “Is it any better for you?”

  “I can see what the ship is capable of, though I am still processing it all. I know I couldn’t have rescued you if I hadn’t done it. There’s simply too much distance for me to cover if I had to jump stations to run weapons and shields.”

  She shut her eyes, heat creeping up in her cheeks. She knew she had been selfish, but the hints of pleasure and pride in Twi’s voice confirmed it. “Stay connected,” she said. “And don’t punish yourself. In this case, the error is actually mine. We need you to be connected, and you just proved that without a doubt.”

  “Understood, and I won’t punish myself if that’s what you want.”

  “I do.” Her tone left no room for argument.

  “I must admit, I’m curious about what your logic was behind giving the order in the first place.”

  Reaghan offered a tight-lipped smile, no longer able to conceal the redness on her cheeks. “Because I had to revive you on the Scavenger and it scared me shitless.”

  “That is impossible.”

  She let out a dry laugh. “I suppose not. Either way, I didn’t want to risk going through that again so soon after the first time. I don’t want to go through that again, period, but we know how realistic that wish is. Still, if the Aeon gets hit by whatever took out the Scavenger…”

  “I doubt it will. You’re forgetting the Aeon was designed to come in and out of this space. Our ship was not.”

  “So you think what happened was the result of us entering the Void?”

  “That’s my working theory and currently the evidence supports it. Does it put your mind at ease?”

  “A little, though I won’t promise that I won’t freak out when a malfunction happens since you might be in the line of fire.” Reaghan grinned, then looked down as the bots pulled away. A smooth, white bandage was wrapped tight around the wounded area, her black pants cleanly cut away to make room for it. “Say, they do good work for never having worked on actual humanoids.”

  “I might have provided some insight. I did a bit of dabbling in medical treatments based on your talent for injuring yourself so I gave them the information like I did the Scavenger’s auto med-assist.”

  The automatons retreated and Reaghan stood. “That explains so much.” She cast a look around the room. “So, what next?”

  “We still need to recharge a bit. Our reserves were further depleted from the battle.”

  “Do we have to be on the surface to charge? I doubt that beast, whatever it was, is gone for good.”

  “No, but shouldn’t we see about getting supplies?”

  “No chance of that happening,” Reaghan mumbled, remembering the village ruins. “Whoever was here is long gone.”

  “I’ll see if the computer has any promising locations to help us.”

  “That would be nice, though I’m not holding my breath.” She yawned, and settled further into the chair. “I might just doze off here for a few. I’m more wiped than I thought.”

  “Not surprising if you used so much Eiha but your shields shattered. Rest. I’ll keep watch.”

  Reaghan let her head fall back, though her eyes remained locked on Twi while she worked. Even though they were connected wirelessly, in most day-to-day tasks they liked to be at a physical station whenever possible. Her eyelids became heavier and heavier by the second until, as the front screens shifted toward the sky, she found herself nodding off to dreamland.

  Their supply problem became a thing of the past when Twi found the replicators after accidentally filling a corridor with plants. The tech wasn’t common on modern-day ships since it required a ton of energy to operate. Since Eiha seemed to be one of the few things the Void didn’t struggle with providing, Reaghan took to using it to stockpile supplies. Not only would they be ready for an emergency evac, but also for the time when the system would inevitably break.

  When she wasn’t stocking up, Reaghan spent the rest of the time outfitting her quarters and what would become Twi’s workshop aboard the vessel. She had wanted to use the already automated infirmary for Twi’s space, but she was overruled by the AI. Unfortunately, that left her with trying to recreate what she’d done on the Scavenger from the ground up.

  A trilling alarm caused her to look up from the arm she was bolting into place, the rest of the limb threatening to topple to the ground beside her. She reached to steady it and used her free hand to activate her comm. “What’s going on, Twi? We can’t be getting a proximity alarm, can we?”

  “We are, though I have nothing on my sensors. I suggest you come up here to lend a hand. I could use another set of eyes.”

  “On my way.” She angled the limb so it was braced against the wall, then raced to the bridge.

  Twi was in the midst of an in-depth sensor sweep when she arrived. Reaghan’s gaze swept over the screens at the front of the room; a grid of four provided a view of the immediate area. Unlike previous attempts to get their location, the approaching system was clear as day.

  “Can you enhance the fourth screen?” Reaghan asked, drawing even with Twi.

  “Of course.”

  The screen zoomed in on a cluster that looked to be asteroids. Reaghan reached down to manipulate the view herself, turning it so they could see the gaps between the asteroids. “Is that a ship?”

  “Enhancing it further.”

  The view shifted until they could clearly make out a ship tucked behind the rocks. It amazingly appeared to be mostly intact, with very little, if any, visible damage.

  “I wonder what their story is,” Reaghan muttered, leaning forward. “Most would only park themselves on an asteroid if they’re mining it, and that’s a freighter.”

  “Based on the composition, I’d say the asteroids were part of one of these planets a long time ago.”

  “Any distress signals coming from it?”

  “None.”

  Her hand rested upon the gun on her thigh, fingers drumming on the handle while she considered the ship. Scavenging was much less needed since the discovery of the replicator, but the ship might have more data on this strange region. “We need intel,” she declared.

  “Are we going aboard then?” asked Twi.

  “I am. You keep track of me from here in case things go wrong.”

  “The ship has an active life support system and the sensors indicate structural integrity is intact.”

  “Good.” Reaghan glanced around the room. “This thing have a transport system or what?”

  “There is a teleporter, though records indicate it’s never been used.”

  “Well, we’re not going to find any other way over, are we?”

  “Allow me to make
a few adjustments. I’d rather make sure we take every precaution before turning you into a test subject.”

  Reaghan shifted her weight from one foot to another, increasing in pace until she was bouncing from one to the other.

  “There,” the AI proclaimed after about twenty minutes. “I had to make sure it was set to be able to transport your physiology without any problems.”

  Reaghan chose not to delve deeper into her reasoning. “We’re set though?”

  “Yes. Stand by.”

  Reaghan closed her eyes as everything became bleached out by a bright, white light. Then, everything went silent.

  “Reaghan,” Twi’s voice chirped after a few minutes. “Are you okay over there?”

  “Fine, just trying to clear my eyes,” Reaghan replied. She glanced around the room. The interior had seen better days. The electronics for the doors were charred, though someone had forced the door open. Reaghan slowly pivoted around, soaking in every detail. In addition to the blackened electronics, tables were overturned, and the remnants of someone’s meal were spilled across the floor. She knelt by the last item, prodding it with a shard of metal to gauge the age.

  “This is interesting.”

  “What did you find?”

  “Someone was aboard recently.” She stood. “Maintain radio silence for now. We don’t know if they’re listening.”

  She knew the absence of response was Twi’s way of telling her she’d comply. She reached for her gun, unwilling to allow them the usual courtesy of an unarmed greeting. After the beast, she wasn’t taking any chances, and being stranded usually made for shooting first and asking questions later.

  Reaghan walked down a corridor that lacked even emergency lights. Her weapon moved from left to right in a steady sweep, ready if anything popped out of the dark rooms. She buried the panic that rose at being in the dark so long, focusing on the fact that light would draw trouble so she was better off being uncomfortable.