Ancient Hunter

The shuttle flew across undulating sand dunes. It had taken four days to reach this point. Getting the shuttle was the easy point. I just had to show them my shuttle licence and that was that. The rest of the time had been tied up in red tape. I hadn’t realised how bureaucratic Saros had become. The damn annoying thing was that I couldn’t travel faster than five hundred kilometres an hour and it was a fifteen hundred kilometre journey. Or three hours flight time the shuttle could have travelled faster but I had to stick to the limit I was set. I’d never had this trouble flying shuttles before. I’d have to ask Ljufu about it later but for now I had my task to complete. I found it hard to stick to the limit. Then there was the twenty kilometre exclusion zone to deal with. A light on my console warned me we were getting close to the zone I slowed the shuttle to a hover and commed Saros Control.

“Saros Control this is shuttle X dash nine, one, seven, three. Asking permission to enter the exclusion zone?”

“Shuttle X dash nine, one, seven, three permission granted.”

I breathed a sigh of relief although I did wonder what they’d do if I landed the shuttle here and walked the rest of the way. Which would be stupid in the heat I wouldn’t get far even with all the supplies I’d packed into the shuttle. I powered up and flew on taking a circuit of the LZ before landing. I hadn’t realised the extent of the ruins. Then I hadn’t seen it from above.

When I emerged from the cavern the first time I’d called for a pick up from the Valorous Star little wondering what kind of reception I’d get. I hadn’t expected Kelli zap me with a sedative and bundle me aboard the ship. The reason she had taken the reading on her glove literately thinking I was an impostor. I had to agree to let Xenai walk through my mind to confirm the truth. The second time I’d been here was with Jervic after we discovered Ljufu’s office had been bugged. I had been too worried about what I’d find to take in the scenery. One the way back I’d been in a lot of pain with half a hand. I did another circuit and landed. Once I was down I hurried to the small bathroom and did what I needed to do. I was glad that I’d picked a shuttle with facilities albeit the bathroom the size of a small closet and just as cramped. The small kitchenette was just as bad. I picked up a pack and slung it over my shoulders and picked up a bandoleer containing my water bottle. Only when I did that I realised I should have put on the bandoleer first. Quickly swapping things around I was ready to leave.

The hot wind and scorching sun blasted me as I made my way through the ruins. I should have been more prepared and brought a hat but I wasn’t going back I pressed on through the ruins to the dais at the centre. I noted in passing the writing on the walls the strange alien symbols were unlike those of the keepers. Was this another race an older one judging from the state of the ruins? The toughened wall edges were smoothed down by the action to wind and sand on the structures. I reckoned it had taken more than the thirty thousand years since the war against the Rhosani to wear these walls down. Just how old were the ruins? I had a lot of speculation but no answers. I walked on ahead of me was the dais a circle of black material the same as in the cavern. Oddly there was no sand on it. Eddies of sand had blown around it but none where there should be. I hitched my pack higher on my shoulders and clambered on to the dais. Slowly I reached out with my hand in the way Mouse had shown me or how I remembered she told me and hoped for the best. Nothing I tried again, nothing despair gripped me. “This isn’t going to work!” I said despondently.

I shook myself, I hadn’t come this far to fall at the last hurdle. I glanced around in an effort to find inspiration. I realised that I wasn’t in the centre of the dais. I moved to the centre. “Ok let’s try this again?” I wasn’t really expecting anything to happen it was the way my luck was going. I outstretched my hand not thinking there would be anything. A holographic panel appeared under my hand and a bright light surrounded me. “Shit!” was all I could exclaim as I dropped.

I blinked the scream forming on my lips faded. The harsh sunlight replaced by the constant twilight of the cavern. The burning heat of the desert gone in it’s place the coolness of the air flow. Slowly my vision cleared and I surveyed my surroundings. All around me was devastation this was the Keepers fake computer area deliberately created to make intruders believe this was the real cavern. I stepped to exit the dais. Feeling lighter on my shoulder my fingers reaching for the straps of my pack. And closed around nothing. I turned to see my pack of the floor something had slashed through the straps. I examined them noticing they were clean cuts I’d sow it back together later. At least one of the skills I learned from the Valkyrie would come in use. Gudbjorga would be pleased at that. I picked up the bag and stepped off the dais. A stack of columns like a pyramid was off to one side. I’d climbed the real one to discover a sliver cube and skeleton that turned to dust when I touched it. The cube had been some sort of control device. I shivered at the thought it was a Rhosani device I threw it away into the lake the surrounded the columns. It dissolved in the fluid like it was acid. I wouldn’t have been able to do this here the lake was empty in fact the whole place looked as if it had been long abandoned. All a ruse to keep any intruders away from the real site. I headed in the direction I was sure I’d find the wall the separated the false from the real. I walked for what seemed at while.

It was difficult to tell the time down here or even determine the direction. Finally the wall loomed up a head at that moment I realised I was leaving a trail on the dust that even the most absent minded could follow. I turned and stared in shock I could see my footprints. Except they only followed me a couple of metres behind. I almost panicked for a moment as the truth all but slapped me in the face. I was walking on a carpet of nanobots the same as the ones in my blood. I shook of the sick feeling in my stomach and carried on. With grim determination I carried on reaching the wall. Now it was the hard part finding the entrance. I had looked around but couldn’t see any of the mining equipment that was on this side of the wall. It had been a heap of rusted components but it would have given me a staring point. The silver cube had forced whatever the skeleton was to bore a hole through the wall to get to the other side. It seen the results a hammer and chisel the chisel smashed to bluntness. I was glad the cube had been destroyed. The device could control organic life and machines. That wasn’t something I wanted to think about. I touched the wall it feeling cold under my hand. Slowly I felt along the wall hoping beyond hope that I’d find the door. Suddenly without warning I fell forward I’d found the door and it had opened for me.