Ancient Hunter

I sat in the canteen sipping a decent cup of coffee. The room was painted in a powdered blue and twice the size of the prefabs that surrounded it. To one side was a kitchen area. Scattered across the floor were a half dozen chairs and twice the number of chairs. Seated opposite me was Joyce, the canvas packet she had on her back was leaning against the table. There was an intense gaze in her eyes as she scrutinised me.

“Now Gwen tell me everything,” she said in a soft voice.

“Where do you want me to start?” I answered. Joyce was one of the few people I could truly trust.

“Start from the last time we met?”

I told her what I could which was not that much, it didn’t make any logical sense.

“These Keepers of yours took your form made from your eggs? Am I getting this correct?” Joyce said to me.

I nodded. “Which is why they mostly look like me. There are differences.” I did wonder what she’d say when I was going to tell her about Juliana.

Joyce leaned forward and examined me carefully. “Fascinating,” she uttered.

I had to ask the question. “I thought you’d still be on Melanos?”

She waved her hand, “Melanos is a waste of time the Guardians drip feed you information like a miser with a coin purse. I have to admit I am glad to be away from there. Especially with what they did to you.”

I had told her how the Guardians had implanted a device in me to destroy the remaining Keepers.

“The Guardians have a lot to answer for. I’m wondering now if my niece has one of those in her.” She shook herself. “If they had they wouldn’t have needed Lottie. In the end it didn’t go the way they planned.” Joyce sighed. “Their loss is our gain.” She patted the canvas covered pole nest to her. “Roddy’s far better at giving us the info we want.”

“Roddy?” I blurted out confused.

Joyce unzipped the canvas to reveal the data rod I’d given to her. A gift from the Keepers, the one I had given the Guardians was supposed to be a peace offering. Green symbols whirled across it surface.

“Roddy the data rod. A childish name I know but he gives me the information I want when I want it. Without the convoluted way the Guardians did and then only a dribble.”

I had a question I had to ask. “Where exactly are we?”

Joyce blinked her eyes wide. “You are joking right?”

“I’m not,” I replied.

“How did you get here?” Joyce sounded genuinely puzzled. “The only way in is by shuttle. Were on a mesa. We would have heard a shuttle and the Elafi would have commed us. Any inbound flights would have been screened. Captain Kyrikia is very careful who she lets come here?”

I’d better tell Joyce that it wasn’t the only way to get here she still hadn’t told me where I was. “Came through a door or gate or whatever you’d call it.”

“What?” Joyce looked shocked.

“A door like the one that got me into the Cavern beneath Saros.” I was certain we weren’t back of Saros somehow I don’t know how I’d known it.

“No wonder Sheila almost had a heart attack.” Joyce suddenly looked thoughtful. “Show me.” She stood, zipped up the canvas sleeve on the data rod all in one fluid motion.

With the rod slung over her shoulder she walked back to the boulevard. At least now I knew I was on Demeros but how far away from the Landottir town was something I didn’t know. As we walked away from the compound I guess I’d labelled that way I brought Joyce up to speed on my adventures and miss adventures. It certainly looked more like misses to me. Finally we reached the doorway which looked no different from the one by the pond it had a panel rectangle beside the doorframe.

“This is it?” Joyce said her hand resting on the strap of rod on her back.

I patted the stone. “Yep.”

Joyce shrugged. “ Oh well there goes Professor Camaridies’ theory that it was a sculpture.”

I placed my hand on the panel it glowed green. The door rippled turning from stone to a silvery surface.

“Amazing and you came through that?” Joyce stared at the door a longing on her face.

I explained the pond and it surroundings.

“I’d like to see it.” Joyce enthused.

I wasn’t so certain about that. “You sure about that I know next to nothing about these doors I don’t even know if it will take us there.” In fact I wasn’t sure it would take Joyce. I told her so.

“I want to see it.” Joyce said as if that was the final word on it she turned her comms on. “Elafi I’m going off grid for a while. Call you when I can.”

Before I could stop her she put her hand to the silver and it sucked her in. I darted after her in a panic.

I felt relieved on seeing the pond as I exited the door. Joyce was standing there staring I almost ran in to her with my speed. I was even more relieved to see her. She was so still I began to worry about her.

“Joyce?” I asked anxiously.

Joyce turned to face me. “Beautiful here,” she enthused.

“It would be if it didn’t hide a terrible secret.” I hadn’t told her about the passage I hadn’t had that chance.

Joyce took in the seriousness of my expression. She just nodded thoughtfully.

“We can talk about that in a moment. I need to locate our position.” She opened her comms. “Elafi, Joyce here.”

There was no reply. She took the canvas covered data rod off her back and in zipped the holder to reveal the rod.

“Roddy I need a comms boost please.” The rod glowed under her fingers.

I was a little taken aback that she was talking to the rod as if was a person. Wisely I held my opinions to myself.

She tried again. “Elafi, please respond. This is Joyce Neilson requesting a location fix please.”

“Elafi to Professor Neilson reading you loud and clear,” a male voice replied.

A Human if I was correct.

“Good,” Joyce said. “I need a location lock on my comms signal.”

“Correlating position now ma’am,” A different voice said with a slight lisp.

Possibly a Fandaren then most Confed ships had a Fandaren navigator.

“You are at…” the Human on comms rattled off a list of numbers.

I understood some of it from the time I few shuttles on Saros. They were planetary co-ordinates.

“Interesting,” Joyce commented.

“What is?” I had to ask.

“We’re sixteen hundred kilometres north and west of the dig site.”

That surprised me, but when I thought about it was about the same distance between the dais and Saros City.

Joyce zipped up the data rod and slung it back over her back. “We must be in the Cloudy Mountains.” Joyce turned her attention back to her comms. “OK Elafi monitor our location.”

“Yes Professor Neilson,” the Elafi commed back.

Joyce turned off her comms and walked around the pond to the platform closest to the doorway and gazed out at the dying sun.

“So beautiful,” Joyce uttered her hand shading her eyes.

“It probably was once,” I admitted. It was now it was the entrance to an atrocity. I glanced to the horizon the sun was lower. “We should probably get back?”

“Yes you are right we are losing the light.”

We walked back to the door. She reached into her tool pack and pulled out a hand scanner. It looked to be the same as the Medtech hand scanners I’d seen. The ones the battlefield Medtechs carried Kelli had one. I guessed this was more attuned to her work. She scanned the door a puzzled expression on her face.

“I not getting any signals off this door. If I hadn’t seen it in use than I would have thought it some alien sculpture.” She placed her hand on the panel it didn’t react to her.

“Ok,” she said. “Its either not meant to be opened by me or it’s ceased functioning?” Joyce gestured to me. “Give it a try Gwen.”

I placed my hand on the panel. It glowed under my hand and the door shimmered to silver.

“Now hold the pose Gwen!” Joyce activated her comms and stepped back to get a better angle.

Unfortunately she’d taken a step back too far. “Whoa!” she cried out her hands flailing.

In a reflex action I pulled her away but inadvertently stumbled into the pond. The icy water soaked my boots. Luckily it was only calf deep. Joyce was luckier she’d landed in a bush. She climbed of dusting herself off.

“You ok?” she asked me concerned.

“Funny I was about to ask you the same question.” I replied.

“The bush cushioned my fall but your feet are soaked.”

At least I didn’t fall all the way in and my pack was dry. I took a step towards the edge and from behind me I heard a rumble. Swiftly I turned to see a column with a sloped top rise out of the centre of the pond.