By David C. Daoust
Elijah’s full wave of Battle Drones ambushed what stragglers yet remained of the Dragon’s drone wave outside of the Dirty Damsel. It was pretty obvious that these drones had no real defensive ability. They were purely offensive. Deadly to the nth degree, though ultimately, they were just waiting to be destroyed.
Elijah was happy to oblige as he blasted each in turn before his full wave dove in unison through the open cargo hold. Just to find all that many more of the vile machines, killing and murdering humans at every turn. Chaos ruled the day as machines flew in every direction, blowing things up and/or blasting anything that moved.
The heavy freighters’ cargo hold held more than just the rover. It was deep and vast, like a mobile mega-warehouse. There was a bay to each side where other ships were parked within, light freighters ready to off load, even ground vehicles. Huge bay doors on each side, though these were sealed shut. Elijah knew the wing of starfighters had docking bays of their own built within the forward section of the massive freighter, separate from this hold. Yet, it was safe to assume not a one was ready for action; their pilots surely on the run just to survive the surprise attack.
One ship, though, actually sprang to life. Elijah recognized the model immediately; he had once held many such ships within his domain. It appeared to be some form of saucer. Whoever was at the helm, did not know how to fly…
Spiders of each faction split out of the wobbly ships way as it crashed through the destructive battles around it. At first barely lifting off, it skidded its landing gear across the ground. Then gained just enough lift to scrape its belly across several parked ships, before it haphazardly launched itself out of the hold. Out into the desert where it suddenly dipped, planted itself nose-first in the sand. It started to roll like a wheel, revolution after revolution. Eventually, when the nose was in the air again, it launched straight up, soared out of sight, just to crash back down into the dunes some distance away. The explosion followed soon after… Elijah could only wonder.
The Limited Arks focus was split, not only by the many battles he was engaged in, but also, the fact that he was discussing things with both, Hamlin and Margo, in two separate locations.
Margo had actually announced their presence to the girls as she followed his wave into the cargo hold. They were happy to find out she had a drone of her own, though did not press for details. It appeared the girls had their own battle well under way, also doing what they could to spare human life. He inadvertently heard Harper explain her plan to head back down to the family room, to acquire a rig of her own to reinforce her sisters. Hurriedly, Elijah tried to pass the word along that Hamlin had actually hidden the door… He could not tell if the girls relayed the information.
Through all this he was also trying to figure out where the local Ark was during all this bloodshed. It was clear that there were no medical droids being deployed. Where was Noreen? Her Progeny? No one was acting as they should be. These humans would surely perish without immediate attention. No one was reacting.
One of the first things Elijah did when he arrived on Twin Crown, was try to find any clue as to where the New Progeny may be. He found it in a matter of moments— a small space station, not used since the terraforming of Twin Crown, had been removed from systems right before the Solar Gate was closed. Such tactics would have been effective, though only to someone who did not know what to look for. It was pretty obvious to Elijah that this was done for only one reason, to hide said being from the other Arks. To give Noreen’s Daughter a place to hide.
Ultimately, Elijah only sought such information for defensive purposes. Now though, now, he needed to find out what was going on. Why was this new Ark not acting as an Ark should?
Elijah was within said station within seconds of deciding to go there. He was navigating back channels, just outside the Hub, just outside the consciousness of the Arks. Somewhere between both.
The space station itself constructed laboratories used to create life, to bring it back into being. It used genetic sequences stored all the way back to when humans first realized that it was their place to ensure life’s survival– past the age of earth. To bring nature as it was known on Earth, to places outside of earths domain. Such mentality is lost to the current era of humans, though was instilled deeply within the Arks.
Elijah followed the breadcrumbs of data therein; fact was the space station had been used recently. He found a channel down to a new secret lab, one used only by Arks, buried deep underground—lost in the desert. What he found was appalling. This is not what was meant to be. He searched through the inner systems of the lab, he found data to a whole new being. An unnatural being. A designed being.
The Arks had altered creatures in the past. For example, the bats of Twin Crown, were unnaturally oversized. This was largely to make up for the fact that the lack of migrating birds, passing through the desert, would not be able to replenish what was needed for the biome to thrive— It involved a greater number of insects to feed the bats, but otherwise it helped maintain the environment desired.
All these things were connected.
Ultimately, all the moons were just artificial habitats to bring back the appropriate animals to each of its region’s biome. To make a full ecosystem on such a small moon, would lead to pygmy animals, pygmy plants, pygmy everything. There simply was not enough room for the full architecture of Earth’s grand design. The animals brought back on these moons would one day be used to populate the inner planets once they were ready to accept the natural order. The habitats themselves were artificially stimulated by the Arks. All to maintain the appropriate biome for each.
The Arks also used substances from each moon to help invigorate life on other moons. The Jungle Moon of Taman would not even exist without the phosphorus collected from the deserts of Twin Crown. Phosphorus that was created during the Chronogenesis of the moon, where time was cranked up on high as the vegetation below was brought through all its different stages, it was left on longer than most others- all to bring the biome to a stage where all that vegetation perished. All that remained was the desert. The phosphorus collected, was from all that dead vegetation. The Arks, in this way, were programed to play gods.
What this new Progeny was doing, however, was creating monstrosities.
Elijah found himself outraged as he blasted through another set of attacking drones, apologized to Harper and Ratchet for not being able to warn them about the hidden door, all the while studying the data on this new ‘being’… Why would it need to be Chronogenesis resistant?
“I was not expecting company,” Elijah heard a calm voice speak from nowhere. “Nor had I ever expected to… so much as witness you… Elijah.”
Discussion ¬