Ancient Hunter

Finally I could see it get lighter ahead I must be reaching the end of the passage. The light faint at first grew slowly brighter. The beam of my light lit up another skeleton on the floor of the passage. This was a female a smaller skeleton nestled in her pelvis.

“Mother!” I called out involuntarily. Probably the first words in thirty millennia uttered in this awful place. I hadn’t wanted to invoke the Valkyrie Mother of All but the sight in front of me called out for justice. I wasn’t religious but I felt a prayer would be appropriate in this case. With that I shed a tear for the long departed. I had to get out of here before grief overwhelmed me. I hurried on towards the light. Thankfully I encountered no more remains along the way. I couldn’t ever hope to comprehend the terror suffered here. At last I arrived at was I guessed was a vault door. Or it had been, the door had been blasted apart. Scattered across the floor were the twisted remains of the door. Carefully I picked my way through hearing the sound of thunder in the distance. The light grew brighter and the floor of the passage changed from rough dusty stone into pools of water interspersed with mud and slippery algae. I eased my way over it reaching the entrance a hole fronted by a waterfall. Sunlight glinting off the waterfall made a rippling rainbow against the entrance of the passage. A sight that would have filled me with wonderment if it hadn’t been concealing a tragedy.

I walked closer to waterfall feeling splashes of water on my face. I was in a circular area with high cliffs walls. There was a circular pond at the centre at least forty metres in diameter and shallow I could see the bottom. A paved path consisting of crumpled flagstones ran along the edge of the pond and was overgrown with grass and weeds. Little purple flowers peaked out of the grass. I guessed this had once been a tranquil haven but the contents of the cave had forever changed that. The waterfall poured water into the pond in a never ending stream. To the right of my position was an opening in the towering walls around the pond. These same walls topped with bushes and trees. The walls easily too high for me to climb and at first I thought were natural cliff of a terracotta colour but realised they weren’t. I don’t know how long they’d been here but there were places the elements had worn the walls down to show a metal lattice underneath. The sun low on the horizon and it rays lit up the circle.

I stepped out from the waterfall and followed the paving to my right. A small weir held back enough water to fill the pond and the rest flowed over it. There was a platform ahead I picked my way through the overgrowth to it. The platform jutted over the edge. Carefully I stepped onto the platform and looked down. Instantly I regretted that and hastily stepped back. I estimated from my quick investigation that I was at least five hundred metres above a mist that covered what I could see. In the distance I could see the tops if spiky snow covered mountains. The water flowed over the weir catching the sunlight as it fell creating a vivid rainbow. Seeing the mist I wasn’t sure if it was the bottom or air. The air had a sharp cold to it like mountain air. Was I on top of a mountain? I had no way of knowing it that was true. All I could see was the mist the water fell into. I was uncertain of Demeros geography, in fact I wasn’t even certain I was still on the planet. I backed away from the platform and edged my way to the other side. Another thing the waterfall had obscured was a door like the one on Saros in the cavern. It was like the one on Saros which, was standing in the middle of the path not attached to anything. It was a large piece of greyish masonry with a coffin shaped door in it with a rectangular panel beside it. It reminded me of the tunnel I’d been trapped in that door and answered to my touch, which had pulled me into the Cavern of the Keepers. I couldn’t go back, I certainly didn’t want to go back though there again. I might as well see where this lead to.

Cautiously I placed my hand on the panel it was the way I activated the last one. Although that one had let me in but I couldn’t exit. But anywhere would be better than here. The panel lit green around my hand and there was a brief shimmer as the grey in the doorway shifted to silver which rippled in the sunlight. I gripped my pack with one hand sliding it under the strap and reached for the silver. I felt myself slowly drawn in. Not like the last time where I was savagely yanked through it. A more pleasant sensation, like sliding through silk. I emerged into what I could only describe as a ruined city, tall crumbling structures lined was could be called a broad tree lined boulevard a least thirty metres wide. The trees broken and as dead as the buildings that flanked them. The air was warmer here and felt drier. Not has hot as the desert on Saros but milder. The sun was higher in the sky so where I was it was earlier in the day. The boulevard ran directly from the doorway. I walked down the boulevard wary my hand hovering close to my holster. I had no idea of where I was. The boulevard exited into a large open area with familiar looking fabricated cabin styled buildings lining one side. The type a colony or explorer ship would carry. The fabricates were bright blues, greens and yellows starkly contrasting the browns and beige of their surroundings. If fact they somewhat reminded me of the cabins on Melanos but these looked newer. There were people living here and if they weren’t hostile I’d be able to speak to them. A familiar looking young woman emerged from one of the cabin bearing a heavy tray. She was at least ten years younger than I was by my estimate.

“Er…Hello?” I said trying hard to be as non-threatening as I could. I guess I ’d been associated with the Valkyrie too long as the words came out more sharply than I intended to.

The young woman screamed. The sound of the scream echoed around the building as her tray hit the ground. Staining the dirt with broken crockery and the contents of two coffeepots.

“It’s ok, I’m friendly!” Desperately I searched my mind for a name I was certain I’d seen the woman somewhere before.

The young woman blinked and despite my assurances screamed again. The next I heard was the sound of running feet as a number of people ran out from behind one of the buildings. With them were four soldiers in full combat armour their deadly coil assault guns at the ready. I held my hands away from my body as the group approached.

An older woman I recognised instantly stepped out from behind the soldiers. Her face still retained traces of beauty and her grey hair had been had been cropped to the nape of her neck. She wore a scarf around her neck and had on a dusty coverall in pale blue. Around her waist was a utility belt holding a number of tools. On her back was a tall canvas covered object that jutted out over her shoulder. She smiled on seeing me.

“Stand down Marines,” she ordered the soldiers. “She’s one of ours.”

I wasn’t happy that she had called me one of hers. They immediately lowered their weapons taking up a more relaxed stance.

“Joyce?” I was surprised to see her. “We’re not on Melanos are we?” I added that was the last place I wanted to be. The Guardians had tried to use me as a living weapon to kill the last of the Keepers. They had implanted a device in me that made me go crazy. Digger had removed it reaching into my chest and pulling it out. No surgery no blood.

Joyce laughed. “I’d be freezing my butt off if we were.” She waved to the mix of civilians and Marines. “Everyone back to work the show’s over.” She glanced to the young woman sheltering behind the Marines. “Sheila clean up the mess you made and brew some more coffee?”

“Right away ma’am,” Sheila replied with a quiver in her voice. I instantly noticed her Imperial accent speaking Galactic.

Joyce sighed. “Sheila this is Gwen.” When Sheila didn’t reply she added. “You do remember Gwen? She came to visit us on Melanos.

“Sorry ma’am.”

“Go about you duties we’ll not speak of this again.” Joyce gestured to me. “Come along Gwen we need to talk.”

I followed her to one of the cabins.