⫸ [ TIME: 12:45 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: THE VERGE – JUNGLE EDGE ]
⫸ [ STATUS: EXPEDITIONARY MARCH ]
The transition between the Titan Wilds and the Bone Sea was not gradual. It was a scar on the face of the planet.
One moment Elian was hacking through vines thick as cables. The next moment the jungle simply stopped. The towering iron-bark trees ended in a jagged line as if they had been sheared off by a god with a scythe.
Beyond the treeline lay the wasteland.
It was not a desert of sand. It was a white ocean of dust. The wind whipped across the dunes. It kicked up clouds of pale powder that tasted of chalk and old blood.
Elian stood at the edge. He adjusted the straps of his scavenger pack. The weight of The Arbiter pressed against his chest plate.
"A.R.C.," Elian said. "Atmospheric analysis."
◤ ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Temperature: 55°C (Arid)
⬢ Particulate Matter: High
⬢ Composition: Calcium Carbonate (80%), Ferrous Oxide (15%), Unknown Biological Residue (5%)
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
[ Commander. This is not sand. ]
[ It is pulverized bone. ]
[ Millions of tons of it. ]
Elian looked at the white horizon. "The crash of the Vanguard must have wiped out an entire ecosystem. The shockwave pulverized every living thing for fifty kilometers."
"Bone Sea," Grom rumbled.
The Giant stood beside Elian. He looked smaller out here in the open. The jungle offered cover. The desert offered nothing but exposure. The ten warriors behind him shifted nervously. They gripped their Pneumatic Pikes. They did not like the smell of the white dust.
"We move," Elian commanded. His synthesizer clicked. "Standard spacing. Five meters apart. Do not bunch up."
He stepped onto the bone dust.
It was soft. His heavy boots sank six inches deep. It was like walking through dry snow in 8.5G gravity. The effort was grueling.
The heat was oppressive. The twin suns hammered down on them.
The Giants began to pant. Their grey skin darkened with sweat. They were creatures of the shade. They were not built for this solar intensity.
Elian felt fine.
His Thermal-Lattice Epidermis was efficient. The hexagonal scales on his arms flared open microscopically. They vented his internal heat into the air. He felt cool. He felt like a machine operating within optimal parameters.
[ Biometric Comparison. ]
[ Host: Stable. ]
[ Unit Grom: Core temperature rising. Hydration levels dropping. ]
[ At this pace the squad will suffer heatstroke in four hours. ]
"We need to reach the wreck before the suns align," Elian said. "March."
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: 15:30 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: THE BONE SEA – SECTOR 4 ]
⫸ [ STATUS: AMBUSH ]
They were three kilometers into the waste when the ground began to boil.
It started as a subtle vibration. The white dust shifted near Grom's feet. It looked like water bubbling in a pot.
Elian stopped. He raised his fist. The squad halted instantly.
"A.R.C.," Elian whispered. "Seismic scan."
[ Difficulty. The dust is loose. It dampens the vibration sensors. ]
[ Wait. Magnetic anomaly detected beneath the surface. ]
[ It is not biological. It is metallic. ]
"Iron-Eaters," Elian realized. He remembered Lin's warning.
The dust exploded.
A swarm of creatures erupted from the ground. They were not wyrms. They were beetles. But they were massive. Each one was the size of a shield. Their carapaces were rusted iron. Their mandibles were spinning serrated discs of diamond-hard flint.
There were hundreds of them. A tidal wave of rust and teeth.
◤ THREAT IDENTIFIED ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Designation: Ferro-Vore (Swarm Class)
⬢ Diet: Refined Metals
⬢ Behavior: Aggressive Salvage
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
[ Commander! They are attracted to the refined alloys in the armor! ]
[ They eat metal! ]
"Defensive circle!" Elian shouted.
The Giants slammed the butts of their pikes into the dust. They presented their scrap-metal shields outwards.
It was the wrong move.
The beetles hit the shields. They didn't bite the Giants. They bit the metal.
SCREEEEEE.
The sound of grinding metal filled the air. The serrated mandibles chewed through the hull plating like it was cardboard.
Grom roared. He stabbed a beetle with his pike. The piston fired.
KA-CHUNK.
The beetle shattered.
But three more crawled up his pike shaft. They began eating the titanium rod.
"They are disarming us," Elian shouted. "Don't let them touch the gear!"
Elian leveled The Arbiter. He couldn't use the explosive rounds. The radius was too big. He would kill his own men.
He switched the fire selector to Single / Kinetic.
He fired.
CRACK.
The sonic boom kicked up a cloud of bone dust. The heavy iron slug obliterated a beetle mid-air.
"A.R.C., analyze their biology. Do they have a frequency?"
[ They communicate via magnetic tremors. ]
[ If we overload their sensory organs we can stun them. ]
"The Sonic Chamber," Elian said. "But it's integrated into the gun. I can't broadcast."
[ You can. Vent the combustion chamber directly. Create a sonic shockwave. ]
Elian racked the bolt. He held the gun over his head.
"Cover your ears!" he synthesized.
He pulled the trigger but he held the charging handle back. He forced the sonic emitter to cycle without firing a round. It built up pressure. The whine became a scream.
He released the vent.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
A pulse of pure white noise exploded from the gun. It rippled through the air and was visible as a distortion wave.
The Ferro-Vores froze. Their antennae vibrated violently. The magnetic signal overloaded their tiny brains.
The swarm collapsed. They flipped onto their backs twitching.
"Kill them!" Elian ordered. "Stomp them! Do not use the pikes!"
Grom understood. He dropped his half-eaten shield. He stomped.
The Giants went into a frenzy. They crushed the rusted shells with their heavy boots. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Black oil sprayed across the white dust.
Minutes later the swarm was dead.
Elian inspected the damage. Three shields were gone. Eaten. Grom's pike had deep gouges in the shaft.
"Metal is bait out here," Elian said. He looked at his own gun. The Arbiter was titanium composite. It was a delicacy.
"We keep moving," Elian said. "But we walk fast. If a big one comes we run."
⬡ ─── ⬡ ─── ⬡
⫸ [ TIME: 17:45 AETHELGARD STANDARD TIME ]
⫸ [ LOCATION: THE VANGUARD CRASH SITE ]
⫸ [ STATUS: VISUAL CONFIRMATION ]
They crested the final dune.
Elian stopped. His breath caught in his throat.
Even A.R.C. fell silent.
In the valley below lay the corpse of a leviathan.
The U.S.S. Vanguard was not a ship. It was a city with engines. It was a Colonizer Class Dreadnought. It was three kilometers long.
It had crashed nose-first. The impact had shattered the tectonic plate. The ship stood upright like a jagged metal tombstone towering over the desert.
Its hull was rusted and pitted by five thousand years of sandstorms. But the shape was unmistakable. The Federation eagle insignia was still visible on the flank faded and ghostly.
"It is big," Grom whispered. "Bigger than mountain."
Elian zoomed in with his visor.
The ship was not dead.
Faint red lights flickered in the superstructure. Automated turrets tracked the wind.
◤ TARGET ANALYSIS ◢
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
⬢ Subject: U.S.S. Vanguard (NCC-1701-X Variant)
⬢ Status: Critical / Lockdown
⬢ Power Signature: Fusion Core Active (Low Output)
⬢ Defenses: Sentry Bots / Laser Grids
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
[ Commander. The Hydrogen Line signal is coming from the Bridge. ]
[ It is at the top of the spire. Two kilometers up. ]
"We have to climb it," Elian said.
He looked at the base of the ship.
It was surrounded by a field of white glass. The heat of the crash had fused the bone dust into a smooth Ceramic Lake. It was white and slick as porcelain.
And walking on the ceramic were the ghosts.
They were Automated Sentry Droids. They were humanoid rusted skeletal machines patrolling in perfect circles. They held plasma rifles that looked ancient but functional.
"Metal men," Grom growled. He raised his damaged pike.
"No," Elian said. He lowered Grom's weapon. "Those are Federation Droids. Mark-Vs. They have thermal sensors and motion trackers. If we fight them we die."
[ I can hack them. ]
[ But I need a hardline connection. You must get me to a terminal. ]
Elian looked at the perimeter. There was a breach in the hull about 500 meters from the droids. A maintenance hatch.
"We sneak in," Elian said. "We infiltrate."
He turned to the Giants.
"You stay here. Hide in the dunes. If the metal men see you run."
Grom looked offended. "Grom fights."
"Grom dies if he fights these," Elian said harshly. "This is my world. My ancestors. I deal with them."
He checked The Arbiter. He checked his ammo.
He looked at the massive rusted tombstone of his civilization.
"A.R.C.," Elian whispered. "Let's go say hello to the neighbors."
He slid down the dune. He moved into the shadow of the Vanguard.
[END OF CHAPTER 16]