She hummed, and they spoke quietly with each other while she read the files. “Got it. I will need a copy of these files to take with me, but I have an idea of the moral and religious base of the Jeskulan.”
Guardian frowned. “That easy?”
She chuckled. “This is not a talent, it is years of study. Most species evolve their societies along predictable guidelines. Once you look at where they ended, you can usually locate the point at which they began, or at least the point at which they built the most structures.”
“How soon can you leave?”
She shrugged. “Get me some rations and shove me out the door. I am ready to travel.”
Guardian smiled. “Excellent. Phase and Rupture will travel with you. Not all of the bio-forming team are enthused by the investigation. There is money at stake, and whenever credits are involved, folks lose their objectivity.”
Wia nodded. “Greed is a harsh motivator.”
Braenar got to his feet. “The shuttle is waiting.” He turned to Rupture, “Shall we meet you there?”
Rupture nodded. “We will gather the supplies and the recording kits.”
Braenar offered Wia his arm, and he escorted her down the corridor and to the shuttle where they would travel to the surface of a dead world. The history of Jeskulan may be lost, but a piece of it may still be revived if they could beat the bio-forming team to the site.
Chapter Eight
The flight was short. One jump and five hours of full power saw Rupture approaching Jeskulan.
Phase scowled as she noted ships in orbit. “Uh-oh.”
The hail came through the com a second later. “Sector Guard vessel, turn around. This world is ready for bio-forming, and you are not authorized to step on its surface.”
Wiali got to her feet and whispered in Phase’s ear. Phase spoke quietly to Rupture, and he nodded.
Wiali took Braenar by the hand to the back of the ship, and when she tapped on the exit button, the rear hatch opened, sucking them into the blackness.
Wiali turned and kept herself limp as they fell away from the shuttle. When they were clear of the ships blocking access to the planet, she and Comet glided into the atmosphere.
The location was etched in her thoughts, so she directed them to the city that held the most promise. Three abandoned cities were passed until she saw the city that matched the images. Her com beeped. “Instructor, are you down?”
Wiali snickered. “We are abiding by the orders of the corporation. We have not touched down or stepped on anything. We have neared the city though.”
“Good. They are on their way, so you have a finite amount of time before they try to extricate you.”
Wiali looked over to Comet and winked. “We will try to solve the mystery of a dead civilization as quickly as we can.”
“Excellent. We are on our way down, and we hope to make it to you before the corporation’s little bastards catch up with you.”
Wiali poured on the speed, and when Comet was even with her, she pointed to an empty space next to the largest building in the city.
“So, we are just going to hover here?” Comet raised his eyebrows.
She sighed. “No. But there is something here that the normal eye cannot see. I am going to run through the spectrum. Keep your eyes on that empty space.”
Wiali pulled light from the surrounding stars and picked out the wavelengths that she wanted. One after another showed nothing, but finally Comet said, “There. That one.”
Wiali intensified the light waves, and they floated toward the structure that was taking shape in front of them.
Once they were over the stairs, they lowered themselves to the steps and walked into the disappearing structure.
“Do you think they will be able to see us?” Comet reached out and took her hand.
Wiali shook her head. “There were references to Jesku, the invisible, creator of all, power of the world. I am guessing that this is a planetary consciousness holding.”
Comet looked around, whistling softly. “I have heard of them but never seen one.”
“Neither have I. They were myth and legend, but most legends have more than a whisper of truth in them.” She smiled shyly at the warmth that rippled through her at the small contact.
“You certainly lived up to your legend.”
She winced. “I did?”
“You are as intelligent and wise as Sovalli said.”
“How much time did you spend with Sovalli before the end?” She walked with him through the entry corridor, and the space opened up into a huge chamber.
“A year. He was concerned for my wellbeing when Suek went nova, but he had nothing but respect for the star and its child.”
“He was a good man. Quiet, but good.”
“Yes, he was.”
She fought tears and swallowed. “This is the altar, and I am guessing that it was the conduit to Jesku.”
Comet pressed his hands to the altar, and he pulsed some power into it. “It is dead.”
She sighed and stroked the stone. “That would be very sad if it was accurate.”
“What?”
“They were puzzle makers, Comet. This altar is not the true one. Look at this.”
Intricate marks and carvings depicted a glowing world, a happy, living world. “The world was happy and alive, it was bright and shining. Something fell from above, and the world lost all of its people. Grieving for the loss, it went dead.”
Comet looked at the glyphs, and he nodded. “I understand. This is the history of a dead world.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, there is one problem with that. If everyone was dead, who carved this stone?”
His blue eyes widened, and she desperately wanted to kiss the surprise from his face.
Biting her lip, she frowned. “The images of the planet are buttons. What order do you think we should choose?”
Comet frowned. “If I was going to be bringing something back to life, I would start with death and work backward.”
He reached out and pressed the worlds in succession, each sunken stone began to glow.
When he finished with the first image, the stone groaned and slid backward. “Nice.”
Wiali looked into the altar and the stairway it contained. “Shall we?”
He chuckled. “Please. This is turning into a surprisingly fun day.”
She laughed and led the way down into the altar. Light warmed her skin as they went deeper and deeper into Jeskulan.
When she put her foot on the final step, the light glowed all around them, focussing on the figure in the sealed tank in the centre of the room that looked as if it ran under the entire city.
Wiali walked up to it. “This is an apparatus I am familiar with.”
“I can imagine it would be.”
As Wiali touched the status screen, a hologram sprang to life.
The language was low and liquid, so Wia looked and found the translation keys.
“Welcome to Jeskulan. If you have made it this far, you are already dead. The surface of the planet is infected with a deadly pathogen that attacks water in any living thing. No amount of medical treatment can stall this infection. I am Reha-Jesku, Avatar of Jesku. I am the last of my species, and it was my last act to seal the world and hide inside the tank. If my body has survived, please give me a proper burial.”
“Should we remove the Avatar from the tank?” Braenar looked at the orange creature floating in liquid.
“No. We have the holding object that we need.”
He frowned. “What?”
“We have the last living example of this planet’s population. Technically, this body is not only the last Avatar, but also the last Jeskulan. They can’t do a bio-form on this world without its consent.” Wiali turned and hovered above the ground.
Comet asked, “What are you doing?”
“I am heading back to the surface, and I hope that we get to Rupture and Phase before they leave the shuttle. If there is an active pathogen, I don’t want them infected. The stone here stops us from warning them.”
He passed her on the way out, and he beelined for the exit. He was out and in the air before she had reached the threshold, and she came out of the invisibility field in the middle of his conversation.
“Keep it sealed. If there is an actual pathogen here, we want to verify it.”
The Sector Guard shuttle was settling down, and as Braenar spoke, they lifted off again.
Wia pressed the com unit on her neck. “Did the corporation actually send employees down here or did they just launch the units from orbit?”
Phase’s voice came through. “They dropped it from orbit, thankfully. We will set up a biohazard lock on the planet until a full Alliance team can come in.”
“When will that be? We have a single survivor here, so there is no chance that bio-forming can be enacted anyway.” Wiali hovered fifteen feet above the ground and watched the incoming ship. “Do they know there is a possibility of contamination?”
Phase confirmed it. “They do, but they didn’t believe us. They ordered their ship to land and defend the city.”
Comet was already moving. As the ship came down, he came up, lifting and shoving the shuttle back into the sky. If there were a chance that a normal person could be infected by exposure to air, they wouldn’t chance it.
“Phase, can you get me some biological samples? Anything that we could use to test the statement of the Avatar?”
There was a pause. “The flagship has medical samples from a dozen worlds on board. The captain agrees to give them to you if you come and get them.”
Wiali shrugged. “Comet, will you remain here and keep any other shuttles from landing?”
“Of course, Instructor.”
Wiali lifted off and followed the beacon to the flagship. A hatch opened on the side, and she slipped into it, waiting in the airlock.
A hiss and cascade of vapour made her grin. If they were trying to drug her, they were sadly misinformed.
A set of guards greeted her. “Please, miss, come this way.” The taller of the two Tival inclined his head.
She followed them, and two more guards followed her.
The captain was sitting in a boardroom with two other men. “Ah, the representative from the Sector Guard. Finally.”
Wiali raised her eyebrows. “I beg to differ. I am representing the Citadel, not the Sector Guard.”
That made the two men with the captain nervous. “The Citadel?”
She inclined her head. “Yes. Instructor Wiali, at your service. Now, I need those biological samples.”
The captain frowned. “In a moment. First, we need you to go on record as declaring the planet empty and void of life.”
She smiled. “No. There is one life, it is a sentient planet, and with little effort, the Avatar can be up and running.”
The two businessmen with the captain frowned. “It is a dead world.”
Chuckling and knowing something they didn’t know, she leaned her butt on the edge of the boardroom table. “Is it?”
Chapter Nine
The captain looked from one businessman to the next before he asked, “What do you mean, it isn’t a dead world?”
“The planet has an infection. Now, whether that infection has run its course is yet to be seen. The Avatar is in a stasis tube and safe for the moment, but only the Avatar is legally entitled to authorize any changes to the surface.” She leaned toward them. “I will swear to this, and I will fight you if I have to.”
The businessmen squirmed. “If you find that the infection has passed, what will you do? Our company has put a lot of effort into bringing this planet onto the open market for colonization.”
She shrugged. “Fine, but if the infection is still there, not only will your bio-forming be reversed, but you will be responsible for the death of every single colonist on that surface. Not to mention that the moment that the Avatar wakes, it can kick you off at its slightest whim.”
They looked from person to person, and the captain swiftly ordered the samples to be brought from medical.
Wiali asked a question she was dying to know the answer to. “By the way, how old were the contamination satellites that you collected when you started your work here?”
The businessman on the left opened his mouth in shock. “What…how did you know that?”
“The Jeskulan had enough tech exposure to buy the top of the line stasis module for their Avatar, they would definitely have enough tech to warn others away with satellites. I was just wondering where the satellites went.”
The captain’s face was showing alarm.
A knock on the door preceded the medical samples, and after a cursory examination, Wiali closed the case and walked out the door.
Her guards quickly formed around her and escorted her back to the airlock.
With the samples in her hand and her suspicions confirmed, she returned to the surface to run a little experiment.
Comet was watching for any incoming ships, so she landed near him to expose the samples to the air of Jeskulan.