Castaway Planet

Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 153 of 365. Sol standard year]

Days after of Crash landing/ 2

Unknown Island / Tunnel leaving Clawbash’s Realm/

Galactic Standard Time / 0600

As he finished his work, Olv’xic looked around at the others. Already Ro’borlar was up and had started to make a small breakfast for them all. The prince sat near him as Jen’dra and Tar’lroia moved towards the back of the chamber, near the only route forward. Ken’tricx was at the blocked hole, making sure nothing was coming after them.

Looking over the last thing he needed to check, Olv’xic let his mind go over what he knew. Something about the way the Insects acted bothered him, something he couldn’t see. The one thing he knew was that his instants had saved his life more times than he could count. So when his mind told him something was wrong, he listened.

A beeping caused him to look up. Seeing Ro’borlar’ss symbol on his HUB, he sighed before accepting the call.

“[Almost Done Olv’xic]?” Ro’borlar

“[Yeah. Just doing the last part now]!” Olv’xic said as he looked up, turning his head towards Ro’borlar.

“[Good. Thanks again kid! So how bad was it]?” Ro’borlar asked as he walked over with two small bowls in his hands.

Olv’xic took one willed the bottom part of his mask away and slowly started to drink from the bowl. He had to admit, that the way that Ro’borlar made food was a work of art.

“[So how’s my armor kid]?” Ro’borlar asked with a jovial tone.

Olv’xic swallowed another mouthful of soup and sighed.

“[Like I said, the Aether Shadow is broken. But the crystal cracked in a way that I was able to repair it, partially],” Olv’xic said sternly. Ro’borlar looked up and grinned.

“[You fixed my Aether Shadow]!?” Ro’borlar asked in complete shock.

“[Partially]!” Olv’xic “[It won’t block skills, that's beyond this work. But if you use Aether to only increase your physical capabilities you shouldn’t be seen. That’s the limit to what I could do]!”

“[Still this is great! Thanks kid! This should help me a lot]!” Ro’borlar said with a laugh as he started to put his armor back on.

“[Yeah],” Olv’xic said as he looked at the door they would be going through soon. He had called this place a bio-weapon factory but something was off. He couldn’t see what it was, but something about the way this place was set up bothered him.

He had been right, this place wasn’t for evacuating the Ruin. But something else was here, something that bothered him a lot. He tried to think of what he was missing, but no matter what track he went down he couldn’t find it.

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Je’ndra looked over at Olv’xic and tried to keep calm. Even just removing his mask from his mouth bothered her. She knew that the forces let people enlist with only a first name, it happened. But there was just something about how Olv’xic acted bothered her. The kid was strong and smart. He knew how to repair an Aether Shadow of all things, the most secretive piece of tech they had! The guilds never let those things out, and the members always had to be known. The fact that the kid knew how to repair it was something

A beeping made her look at a request for a private talk. Seeing the sender was Tar’lroia, she accepted. “[What’s up]?”

“[You tell me sis. You’re burning an aether line through the kid]!”

Je’ndra only sighed and shook her head. “[He’s too good. I can’t understand why he’s a Nameless. And he knows how to repair Aether Shadows].”

“[So]?” Tar’lroia asked.

Je’ndra almost exploded before she realized that her friend didn’t know. “[Tar’lroia, the Aether Shadow is the hidden part of our armor. If Noble houses knew how to make them, they’d create assassins to kill other nobles. Or even attack the Royal family! And a Nameless one knows how to make them? The Royal Guild would have grabbed someone like that in preschool]!”

“[Oh],” Tar’lroia said with a haunted edge to her voice.

Je’ndra only nodded. She could accept that the kid was a genius, it happened. But is someone able to figure out how to grow a new crystal for an Aether Shadow? That was beyond anything that anyone could do.

“[So the problem is that the kid doesn’t know how next level his knowledge is. Strange, but where did he grow up? It’s like……]” Tar’lroia stopped talking as she seemed to come to a revelation.

Je’ndra looked at her friend as she stopped talking. For several seconds she stayed silent but then she shook her head. All these actions made Je’ndra more worried, not less. Je’ndra had known Tar’lroia for many years, and she was only like this when she was stuck on something. Give her a medical problem, she’d solve it on the fly. But give her a logic problem? She’d do this.

Most of the time, Je’ndra let Tar’lroia figure it out on her own. But not this time.

“[What is it Tar’lroia?]?” Je’ndra asked. As she looked at her friend, she started to feel worried. Tar’lroia was very smart, and she could read people like a pro. If she saw something Je’ndra missed, it was usually bad.

“[First I asked myself, who would know how to repair not in the Guild? Then I asked if he was a spy. But the kid doesn’t act like that, and he’s thrown off every time he was offered a higher rank. Je’ndra……. I think the kid was beaten down during his growing period],” Tar’lroia said with a hard edge to her voice.

Je’ndra went still, staying at her friend through her mask. The one thing that their people did was love children. If the community in any city saw even the hint of that, they’d break down doors to find out the truth. There was even a popular show about the worst mistakes when people did that. It was so rare, it was a legend on most worlds.

“[And our genius thinks that we’re going into a bio-weapon plant. Just what I needed on top of everything else],” Je’ndra said with a sigh.

She didn’t need this, not now. After everything that happened, she had sent them all here because her team had raided Ruins. Even if the Prince was here, then with Kon’gric they could have protected him. But a bio-weapon Ruin…… Nothing like it had ever been found. Part of her was hoping Olv’xic was wrong, but it made sense. And now she had to take in the fact that Olv’xic might be completely self-taught. She couldn't understand, that meant that Olv’xic was a genius unlike anyone before.

“[What does this mean]?” Je’ndra asked softly.

“[It means that the kid is too smart. And since he probably learned everything he can do on his own, he might not know what he knows. This is going to be a problem].” Tar’lroia said bitterly.

“[Hey gang]!” Ro’borlar’s voice came over the team’s channel. “[The kid fixed my Shadow! I can run now! Ready to move people]!”

Je’ndra looked into space, then looked at Tar’lroia. Their masked faces looked at each other for a few seconds before Tar’lroia leaned down.

“[See? Too smart for his own good! That’s the only thing that makes sense],” Tar’lroia said softly over their private channel

“[Everyone, we move! Three minutes people]!” Je’ndra said over the team channel before looking at her friend.

“[We just need the kid to trust us. If that happens then I think we’ll be good. And he’s not a spy],” Je’ndra said to Tar’lroia over a private channel.

Tar’lroia only nodded before walking towards the door. “[Gonna guard the door boss. I’ll let you know if I hear anything].”

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As he looked around, Ar’thor tried to let his mind calm down. He had been feeling something for the last few hours. Even when he was asleep, he dreamed of something watching him beyond his sight. He had rarely if ever felt like this, and now it seemed like something was eyeing him for a snack. The only explanation he could think of was that he was coming off the mind link with the false mite leader. If that one felt that most of the time, it might have transferred into his dreaming mind.

Ar’thor shuddered as he looked up. He had heard about the Ruins, but he had never wanted to come to one. Now they were going into one, and it had sent the robot that had attacked them! The Firstborne robots were monsters of combat! A full squad of over ten people was needed to raid a Ruin, and most suffered fifty percent casualties! This was beyond dangerous, but they had no choice. To live they had to move through it.

As everyone gathered at the door, Ar’thor climbed onto Kon’gric’s back. Hooking onto Kon’gric’s hard points he forced his body to relax. He looked at his armor’s sensors, ready to watch their surroundings at least.

“[Listen up, everyone! The order is Me, Tar’lroia, and then Ro’borlar. I want Kon’gric in the middle with Olv’xic and Ro’borlar behind him. Remember, the prince is the priority]!” Je’ndra said.

Ar’thor felt his heart drop into his stomach. He had never liked how people chose to give their lives for his, and he never would.

A beeping on his mast caused him to look up. Seeing it was Je’ndra he sighed and activated his comms. “[Leader Je’ndra, what is it]?”

“[My prince. I’m sorry, but I must ask for your help. I know your armor only looks like a normal Squires set. How better are the sensors]?” Je’ndra asked.

For a few moments, all Ar’thor could do was stare at her symbol with his eyes. The secrets of even Royal Squire armor were part of the balanced politics of their empire. To tell anyone not of the family….. but they were in a terrible situation.“[Better].”

“[Please be our eyes my prince. If anything comes from behind, let us know],” Je’ndra said before her symbol disappeared.

Ar’thor let out a small sigh and tried to keep calm. The secrets of the Royal family were what kept the Empire together. They were already going to reveal one of them if he released more….. he didn’t want to think about what might happen.

Keeping his mind calm, he activated his enhanced sensors. All he could do was keep trying to think about what he should look for.

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As he walked, Ro’borlar looked around for anything that might be helpful. They had to do this right, they had to identify when the Firstborne made this place. And the only way to do that was to find the little things. The few tricks the Imperial Ruin Delvers had found, the tells of the architect that told novels. He had to find them, that was his job.

Looking around, he sighed as he was grateful for his mask’s dark vision. To him, it looked like it was day, but it could be as black as night and he wouldn’t care. And as a Wayfinder, his mask had the best vision enhancements to

And that let him notice it first.

“[Light source ahead. Bets on what era this is]?” Ro’borlar asked a hint of amusement in his voice.

And with that knowledge, they’d know just how hard this would be. Of the two eras, he was hoping it would be the easiest. But the way that this place was a bio-weapon factory, bothered him. Something in his mind was going down the black hole, and something was at the edge of his mind.

“[What do you mean, eras]? Kon’gric asked with worry in his voice,

All Ro’borlar could do was chuckle as he turned off his microphone with a simple thought. That was what he loved about first timers, they always asked the stupid questions. He wondered who would explain the truth to them.

“[It’s like this sir],” Olv’xic began.

Ro’borlar felt a smirk. He had to admit, that part of him wanted it to be Olv’xic to explain. The kid spent more time than any of the team reading what scholars figured out about the Firstborne. To hear from someone like the kid, might be educational.

“[See, the only way to tell what era is it is by the aether lights. The Founding Era used star-shaped crystals. Some people think it meant Unity, as this era was before the war. The next is the Falling era. This time is said to be a time of war and chaos when the Firstborne all died. The Ruins of the Founding Era are stronger but they have fewer guards than the Falling Era. It’s interesting really],” Olv’xic said with a note of wonder in his voice.

“[What’s interesting about that]?” Kon’gric

“[Because the Ruins of the Founding era are mostly only able to affect a space the size of a continent at most! But the Falling Era Ruins effected the planetary scale! It stands to reason that the Firstborne learned to effect Aether through the Ruins. But no Sage has ever been able to find any Aether engines in any Ruins at all]!” Olv’xic explained.

Ro’borlar let his smirk take up his face, he was right. The kid knew everything and he explained it like he was talking to a child. Those were the best teachers, the kid had a great future. “[That’s the way! And we are in an era…….. none of them].”

“[Wait, what]?!” Je’ndra demanded.

All Ro’borlar could do was point shakily at the round Aether crystal light on the wall.

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Olv’xic looked at the crystal, trying to understand. This wasn’t possible, there had never been round Aether crystals found in Ruins! All the knowledge that Ruins had given them told him this. But here was a new kind of crystal. Part of him was seeing this as a wonder, part of him was seeing this as a horror. They had no idea what this was, or when it was from. All the rules that they had to stay alive were thrown out here and now.

“[What is this!? Olv’xic, explain],” Tar’lroia asked with a note of hope in her voice.

“[I…… can’t. This is beyond me],” Olv’xic said, completely shocked. “[I…. don’t. There has never been anything else recorded anywhere! No one even learned about any other]…..”

As soon as he spoke those words, something registered in his mind. An old story, one that was considered to be an example of how dangerous the Ruins were. How no matter what you did, don’t end up as he did. The scholar Ruin raider, one who had charted out the paths to the minds of many horrors. A one-time hero who spent his final days broken. The man who wrote one final book that most people thought was proof of his mental state. The book called ‘The writings of Od’ylis the Mad’ was published after his death.

Olv’xic went still and sank against the wall. He remembered reading that book once, the horrors within almost made him throw up. If even half of what Od’ylis wrote was true, then they were heading into the mouth of a black hole. But they had no choice, there was nowhere else they could go. All they could do was dare to brave the Ruins, and they meant facing dangers that no one alive ever had. He was so caught up in his memories and thoughts that he never noticed anything until a hand hit his shoulders.

“[HEY! KID]!” Ro’borlar exclaimed.

Olv’xic looked up and saw the others all gathered around him. And he swallowed as he tried to gather his thoughts

“[What is it it]?! Ken’tricx demanded.

“[Od’ylis the Mad, he wasn’t mad],” Olv’xic said bitterly.

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Je’ndra looked at Olv’xic. “[Who]!?”

“[Od’ylis the Mad. Ruin Raider first class. The man who first charted the route to the decaying mind of a Ruin. The first person who destroyed a Ruin and had a Firstnorne robot try to destroy his mind. But it didn’t],” Olv’xic said softly.

“[Then what happened…. No. What did he know]?!” Ken’tricx asked with a shocked tone.

“[A lot! After that, he said that the Firstborne had chosen him to be their messenger. The final witness. He wrote that some Firstborne survived the final battle on all sides of their war. And these survivors, seeing how many of them there were made a choice. To find other ways to fight],” Olv’xic said with a note of horror in his voice.

“[What happened? To the Firstbonre? What did that thing download into him]?” Tar’lroia asked with a note of awe in her voice.

“[He wrote that the Firstborne turned to the banned ways of war. Some created robots only to destroy. Others created viruses that killed all in their sleep, denying their worlds to all others . And now it seemed some others turned to bio-weapons],” Olv’xic said with a shudder. He looked around and they could all hear the horror in what he would say next. “[He called it the era of Successors, as in Final Successors. He wrote that their culture became who could kill the most of the others first].”

Je’ndra turned away and looked ahead. They had been making good time and she could see other Aether lights ahead of them. The facility was the only way they could even think of surviving now, there was nowhere else they could go. This one path represented the only way they had to go.

Ken’tricx however spoke before she could. “[First ones into a New Era Ruin. That’s one for the books I’d think]!”

Je’ndra only looked at him before she laughed. “[Yes, but we have nothing else to do! Onwards and upwards. And everyone, Aether to your feet run]!”

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Within the firm things, the Dweller slowly woke up. For the last few hours, it had been renewing itself. Parts of its body had been eaten while it slept and it desired vengeance. That had happened when those things came again to eat. But this time the Dweller had grabbed them and brought them all its stomach.

Already it felt its strength returning, and it had started to tunnel back to its slaves. Once it ate enough it would find a speaker and give them their orders. It saw the spark of the Scream disappear but it had sent some of its remote limbs to the entrance. Either its parts would die or the Screamer would come, it would win either way. But when it had cast its eyeless sight out, it had felt so much food above it. It had sent one of its limbs to that place, but it had found a small hole only. When it had tried to break through, it had encountered something so hard. After nothing, it had been forced to try another tactic. Already it was changing its limb to end a proto-pod to see what was there. It had spent some of its will to break its limbs, the results looking into what the hardness was.

But part of its remote limbs had found something and scampered off, out of its range. It was already making a Broadcast limb to chase them down. And the food that their instants had to have found!