Page 14

KAVAN

T he memory crystal pulsed before Selene, its pure light a stark contrast to the scene surrounding us. Her hand hovered near its surface, markings blazing, her focus absolute despite the water dripping steadily nearby – a constant reminder of our precarious position. Caution warred with the undeniable pull of discovery.

What secrets, what dangers, lay dormant within that ancient matrix? While she hesitated, caught between instinct and uncertainty, my gaze drifted past her, the pristine crystal a stark island amidst the vast decay of our surroundings. Dust shifted in gentle swirls around my boots as I examined the crumbling remains.

My ancestors spoke of these places with reverence—temples of healing where the wounded walked whole again and the sick left renewed. The reality before me mocked those stories. Exposed wiring hung from ceilings like dead vines. Crystalline surfaces, dulled by time, revealed only faint hints of their former brilliance.

I traced my fingers along an examination table, feeling the fractures and splinters in the crystal surface.

"This facility survived better than most," I said, half to myself. "The elders speak of these places as if preserved in amber, waiting for our return."

"It's still amazing," Selene replied, her voice hushed despite the decay surrounding us. "You can tell what this place was meant for."

Her words pulled my attention back with a healer's perspective. Despite the damage, patterns emerged from chaos—the circular arrangement of platforms suggested treatment areas. Recessed alcoves along walls once held supplies or monitoring equipment.

"How can you be sure it's a medical facility?" Selene asked, exploring what remained of a control panel.

"The configuration. These pedestals—" I indicated circular platforms arranged in a sunburst pattern around the room's center, "—would have held patients. And here."

I followed grooves in the floor to wall nodes that retained faint gold tinting.

"These channels conducted healing energy throughout the chamber. The patterns match diagrams in our oldest texts."

Selene nodded, then paused at a section of wall. "What about this? It almost looks like storage."

She brushed dust from a panel, revealing rectangular depressions. I joined her, studying the configuration.

"Likely a diagnostic array. Our texts speak of crystals containing the knowledge of healers past."

Compelled by the need to understand this place—and find if it offered another path forward—we moved deeper into the complex.

"Look—" Selene pointed ahead to a chamber branching from the main corridor. "Something's different about that room."

She stepped ahead, her curiosity outpacing caution. I followed, my tail swinging low for balance as we entered what appeared to be a central treatment chamber.

Unlike the other rooms, this one contained equipment largely intact beneath layers of dust. Crystalline instruments perched on stands—tissue regenerators, diagnostic arrays, pain modulators—all preserved as if waiting for healers to return.

But the chamber's center captured my attention. A crystal formation rose from the floor, its structure complex and purposeful. As Selene approached, it flickered with faint blue light, responding to her presence.

"Wait," I said, reaching for her arm.

Too late. She stepped within an arm's length of the crystal. The light intensified, illuminating her face from below. The markings on her wrists gleamed in response, sending my lifelines pulsing beneath my skin.

"It recognizes you," I said, astonishment in my voice. "That should not be possible."

Selene turned to me, brow furrowed. "Why not?"

"These facilities responded only to Nyxari lifelines—to our energy patterns." I approached the crystal, watching as it brightened further with our combined presence. "Your markings should not interface with our technology, yet they do."

This contradicted everything the elders taught about our sacred technology. If these human markings could interface with our ancestral systems...

Selene circled the crystal formation, examining each instrument with methodical attention, occasionally murmuring about function and design.

"The craftsmanship is extraordinary," she said, lifting what seemed to be a surgical tool. "The balance, the precision—whoever designed these understood both form and function."

"Knowing your commander's nature, he would see this place differently," I observed.

Selene nodded, setting down the instrument carefully. "Hammond would have his people strip this place bare, looking for anything that could be weaponized." A shadow crossed her face. "He doesn't understand that knowledge itself isn't threatening—it's the intent behind its use."

She moved to another station, brushing away dust to reveal a crystalline panel. "What do you think this?—"

A rumble vibrated through the floor, cutting off her words. We froze, watching as a section of seemingly solid wall trembled, then split along an invisible seam. The panels slid apart, revealing a darkened corridor beyond.

From the darkness emerged something otherworldly. At first, it appeared as liquid metal flowing into the room—a silver-blue substance that caught and reflected the chamber's dim lighting. Then it coalesced, rising into a vaguely humanoid form with limbs that stretched and reformed with fluid uncertainty.

"A guardian," I whispered, cold recognition washing over me. Our elders spoke of these constructs that protected our most sacred places.

This one showed signs of damage and decay. Its form wavered asymmetrically, one arm longer than the other, its head tilted unnaturally. It moved with jerky, unpredictable motions as if struggling against its own nature.

The chamber lights intensified, bathing us in cold blue illumination as the guardian assessed us with faceless scrutiny. Patterns of light activated across the walls, corresponding to its movements.

"?" Selene's voice held a tremor. "What is it?"

"A security construct. It protects this place from intruders." I positioned myself between her and the advancing guardian. "Stay behind me."

The guardian shifted, its form becoming more angular, threatening. Crystalline spikes extended from its limbs as it advanced with halting steps, each movement accompanied by a whisper like crystal against crystal.

I drew my blade, the ceremonial weapon all Nyxari carried. "We mean no harm," I called out in our ancient tongue, hoping the construct might still recognize the language of its creators.

It paused, its faceless head tilting as if considering my words. Then it struck with terrifying speed.

I parried by instinct, only to watch my blade pass harmlessly through the guardian's semi-solid form. The creature's arm reformed around my weapon, nearly trapping it before I pulled back.

"Weapons won't affect it," I called to Selene, backing up to keep her protected. "Its structure reconfigures around physical attacks."

The guardian advanced again, extending a crystalline appendage that flowed like water yet struck with the force of stone. I dodged sideways, the attack missing my chest but catching my shoulder, sending me spinning against a console.

Pain flared across my back where I struck the edge of the ancient instrument panel. I pushed away just as the guardian attacked again, this time extending both arms into blade-like projections that sliced through the air where I'd stood a moment before.

"Selene, stay back!" I shouted, rolling beneath another strike that shattered a crystal display case.

I sprang up into a fighting stance—balanced on the balls of my feet, tail extended for counterweight. The guardian paused, its form rippling as if reassessing.

Selene had backed toward the central crystal formation, her markings glowing intensely in response to the facility's activation. The walls pulsed with corresponding patterns of light, complex sequences from our oldest texts—security protocols executing after millennia of dormancy.

The guardian shifted again, growing larger, more threatening. Multiple limbs extended from its torso, each ending differently—blades, hammers, grasping appendages. It advanced with renewed purpose.

I feinted left, then dove right, trying to draw it away from Selene. The guardian compensated with unsettling speed, one limb stretching impossibly to cut off my escape.

"The wall patterns!" Selene called out. "They change when it moves!"

She pointed to sequences illuminating the chamber walls, complex glyphs that shifted with each of the guardian's actions. I dodged another attack, observing what she'd noticed.

She spoke truth. The guardian didn't operate independently—it responded to commands projected through the facility's systems. Its attacks matched patterns appearing on the walls moments before each strike.

"It's executing a program," I called back, ducking beneath a horizontal slice. "The facility controls its actions."

Understanding dawned. This wasn't a conscious entity seeking harm—it followed ancient security protocols without comprehension.

The guardian struck again, a crystalline fist hammering toward me. I rolled aside, feeling the impact shudder through the floor. As I rose, I noticed its movements becoming more erratic, less coordinated.

"It's damaged," I realized aloud. "Like everything else here."

This might offer an advantage, but damaged systems often proved more unpredictable than functioning ones. The guardian's next attack confirmed this—a wild sweep that nearly caught me off guard, forcing me flat to avoid decapitation.

As I scrambled back to my feet, I glimpsed Selene studying the wall patterns with intense concentration. Her analytical mind worked even amid danger—a quality I admired deeply.

The guardian lunged forward, multiple limbs extended. I leapt back, but not quickly enough to avoid a glancing blow that tore through my tunic and scraped across my ribs. I staggered, momentarily unbalanced.

The guardian pressed forward, flowing across the floor to corner me against damaged equipment. I searched for escape, finding none as the creature reformed, limbs coalescing into a solid barrier blocking retreat.

"!" Selene called. "The patterns repeat! It's cycling through attack sequences!"

I glanced at the walls, seeing her meaning. The glyphs illuminated in sequences—repeating patterns that forecast the guardian's next movements. If we could anticipate them...

The guardian paused, its form rippling as a new sequence of glyphs activated across the chamber. I studied them quickly, recognizing the pattern from moments earlier.

When it struck, I moved with it rather than against it, turning sideways to slip between two blade-like projections. The maneuver worked—I escaped the corner, rolling to a position near the central crystal.

"It can't improvise," I called to Selene. "It follows the command sequences exactly."

The guardian turned, reorganizing for another attack. I watched the wall patterns, anticipating its next move—a multi-pronged strike from three directions. When it came, I ducked beneath one limb, sidestepped another, and jumped over the third.

But the guardian adapted. Even as I evaded its prescribed attack, parts of its form broke away, forming smaller constructs that skittered across the floor toward Selene.

"Behind you!" I shouted.

Selene spun, backing against the central crystal as the smaller constructs advanced. Her markings flared brilliantly where they touched the crystal's surface, sending ripples of energy through the formation.

The guardian's main form surged toward me again, executing another attack sequence. I dodged by reading the wall patterns, but my divided attention left me vulnerable. A jagged appendage caught my leg, sweeping my feet from under me.

I hit the floor hard, the impact driving breath from my lungs. The guardian loomed over me, its form reconfiguring into a mass of sharp projections aimed at me.