Page 14

VAREK

T he control center loomed above us, a temple to forgotten technology. Massive and circular, the space spoke of grandeur diminished by time. A central console dominated the middle of the chamber, humming with an erratic rhythm that set my teeth on edge. Wall interfaces flickered weakly around us, struggling against the darkness like dying stars.

I paused at the entrance, pain shooting through my side. The wound from earlier throbbed in time with my heartbeat, a constant reminder of our perilous journey. Water dripped from the ceiling, a steady patter against metal floors. The air carried the sharp bite of ozone mixed with damp decay, burning my nostrils.

"This is it," I murmured, scanning for physical threats. "The heart of the failure."

Rivera— Rivera —moved forward cautiously, her silver markings brightening in response to the technology around us. My lifelines pulsed in answer, gold light reflecting off the metal surfaces. I leaned against a pillar, giving myself a moment to recover while keeping watch for any hidden defenses. The ceiling looked unstable, large sections already collapsed.

"Be careful," I called out. "The structure isn't sound."

She barely acknowledged my warning, drawn to the central console like a moth to flame. Her hands hovered over the surface, not quite touching. The silver lines along her arms rippled with energy.

"It's still active," she said, voice filled with wonder. "I can feel the power source... deep below us. Massive, but failing."

I remained by the entrance, scanning the shadows. Ancient technology surrounded us, beautiful and deadly. My people had learned the hard way what happened when we meddled with the past. The Great Division had nearly destroyed us. Yet here I was again, watching a human interact with the very systems that had fractured our world.

A distant groan echoed through the chamber as the structure shifted. I straightened, ignoring the pain.

"Can you stabilize it?" I asked.

Rivera's fingers finally made contact with the console. The silver markings on her skin brightened, sending patterns of light dancing across her face. Despite my distrust of the technology, I couldn't help but admire her focus, her courage in the face of the unknown.

"I think so. The interface is responding to my markings."

She spoke a language I didn't understand, technical terms flowing from her lips as she worked. Her hands moved with certainty across the controls, as though she'd been born to this task. Perhaps she had. The markings connected her to this place in ways I couldn't comprehend.

She understands this machine language. The thought came unbidden, along with a reluctant admiration. For all my training as a warrior, I could do nothing here but guard her while she worked.

I moved away from the pillar, circling the chamber's perimeter, keeping watch. The bond between us tugged at my awareness, making it impossible to ignore her presence at the center of the room. My duty was clear - protect her while she worked to save our peoples.

Even if it meant embracing the very technology I'd been taught to fear.

Rivera's hands danced across the console, silver light flowing between her markings and the ancient technology. I moved closer, drawn by curiosity despite my better judgment. Along the walls, I noticed glyphs similar to our oldest writings, and began deciphering what I could while keeping an eye on Rivera's progress.

Her breath caught suddenly. "."

The urgency in her voice pulled me from my study of the wall markings. "What is it?"

"Look at this." She gestured to a display showing complex energy patterns. "The system needs a specific signature to stabilize. An amplified marking signature to channel and regulate the power safely."

I moved closer, studying the pattern on the screen. "What does that mean?"

"It means normal markings aren't enough." She pointed to a pulsing template on the display. "This is what the system requires - way beyond normal baseline output. Nothing I've ever seen comes close to this level of amplification."

The pattern looked wrong somehow - too intense, too bright. I frowned, recalling reports from Lazrin after his encounters with Hammond's operation.

"Amplified," I muttered, pieces falling into place. "Lazrin reported Hammond's experiments. He's been trying to force more power from the markings, especially from Claire."

Rivera's eyes widened. "You think Hammond's already figured this out? That he's trying to amplify markings to interface with the system?"

"Not trying. Succeeding." My jaw tightened. "The reports described painful procedures, devices attached directly to the markings. Claire was his primary subject, but there were others."

Rivera turned back to the console, fingers flying across the interface. "If Hammond has already successfully amplified someone's markings to this level..."

"Then we need that person to stabilize the system." The implications hit like a physical blow. "We need Claire."

"Or whoever else Hammond has successfully amplified." Rivera looked up at me, determination hardening her features. "Our rescue mission just became even more critical."

I nodded, anger burning through me. Hammond twisted the sacred bond between human and planet, forcing it into something unnatural to serve his own ends. The thought of Claire suffering through such violations made my lifelines pulse with fury.

"We'll need to move quickly," I said. "Hammond's captives are our only hope of providing the amplified conduit the system needs."

"And if we can't get to them in time?"

I didn't answer. We both knew what failure meant - catastrophic system collapse, destruction spreading outward from this facility to engulf both our settlements.

"We will," I finally said. "We have to."

Rivera nodded, turning back to the console. "I'll try to buy us more time. Maybe I can implement a partial stabilization protocol while we?—"

A sudden alarm cut through her words, sharp sonic pulses that stabbed at my sensitive hearing. Red lights began flashing across the displays, bathing the chamber in crimson.

The console erupted with warnings, displays fluctuating wildly as the alarms continued their piercing wail. Rivera's hands flew across the interface, trying to counter whatever had triggered the system's panic.

"What's happening?" I moved to her side, wincing as the sonic pulses hit a frequency that sent pain shooting through my skull.

"Someone else is accessing the system." Her voice rose to be heard over the alarms. "A remote interface... crude but powerful. Like a hammer blow against delicate circuits."

The console sparked under her fingers, forcing her back. "It's Hammond! He's trying to force his way in from outside the ruins."

My blood ran cold. "How?"

"The linked artifacts he stole, probably." Her markings brightened as she pushed forward again, refusing to yield control. "And... something else. These energy signatures..."

Understanding dawned in her eyes, horror replacing confusion. "He's using Claire! Or someone with amplified markings. Forcing them to interface remotely."

Fury surged through me, hot and sharp. Hammond dared to interfere now, when the system teetered on the edge of collapse? His clumsy, ignorant intrusion would only accelerate the failure.

"Can you block him?"

"I'm trying!" Her hands moved frantically across the console. "But his signal is strong. Too strong. He's going to cause a meltdown if he keeps this up!"

Another alarm joined the cacophony, this one deeper, more ominous. The floor beneath us trembled.

"He's making it worse," Rivera shouted. "The power fluctuations are destabilizing the containment fields!"

I pushed through my pain, moving to stand beside her at the console. "Tell me what to do."

She glanced up, surprise flickering across her face before determination replaced it. "We need to shield the core systems. If we can isolate the primary controls from his interference..."

"Show me."

She pointed to a secondary panel. "Place your hands there. Your lifelines might help create a buffer."

I hesitated only a moment before pressing my palms against the indicated surface. Gold light flowed from my lifelines into the ancient technology, an act that would have been unthinkable days ago. The sensation burned, foreign and intrusive, but I held firm.

"It's working!" Rivera called over the alarms. "Keep going!"

The connection deepened, drawing more energy from my lifelines. Pain lanced through me, but I gritted my teeth against it. Hammond would not destroy everything with his ignorance and greed. Not while I still stood.

"He's trying to override the environmental controls," Rivera said, fingers dancing across her section of the console. "If he succeeds, the atmospheric stabilizers will fail. The entire region could become uninhabitable."

"Not if we stop him first." I pushed more energy through my lifelines, creating a barrier between Hammond's crude attempts and the core systems. "Can you trace his signal? Find his location?"

"Already on it." Her markings pulsed in rhythm with my lifelines, our energies synchronizing through the bond between us. "Western canyon, just like we suspected. That's where he's holding Claire."

The console sparked again, but this time the alarms began to subside. Rivera let out a breath of relief.

"We've blocked him for now, but he'll try again." She looked at me, exhaustion and determination mingling in her expression. "And next time, he might succeed."

I nodded, understanding the unspoken conclusion. We needed to move quickly - to stop Hammond, rescue Claire, and return with someone capable of providing the amplified signature the system required.

"Then we need to leave immediately." I straightened, ignoring the protest from my injured side. "Can you stabilize the system enough to buy us that time?"

"I think so." She turned to the console, fingers already moving across the interface. "But without the amplified signature, it's just a temporary fix."

I watched her work, this human who had somehow become essential to saving my people. Our bond hummed with shared purpose, strengthened by our confrontation with Hammond's interference.

We would stop him. We would save Claire. We would find a way to stabilize the ancient systems before they collapsed.

There was no other choice.