As Above the Stars So Below the Abyss

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

Roland smiled as he glanced up into bespectacled sky of another world. Almeera started every story like that. Always at night when they were alone and their parents were asleep and most especially when they’d watched some scary holo film; add to that the ever-increasing exploration of the galaxy, her stories focused on aliens and some of the horrid ways they’d infest Roland’s mind.

Even if you could scream, she’d say with that manic grin of hers, they wouldn’t let you. They’d hollow you out like a coral reed and you’d be helpless.

Despite the trauma her tales had given him, Roland still looked fondly upon the memories. It had been years since he and Almeera had been in the same system, let alone face-to-face. Even quantum-banded (Qb) as they were, where distance factored little in communication, they hadn’t spoken in months. But that was Almeera, a free spirit who, once focused on her newest obsession, forgot about everything else. For the better part of a decade, it had been xeno archaeology. Sentient life had yet to be found but, as Terrans had ventured out from the Sol system and into other parts of the galaxy, there was no doubting their existence.

Koh. A disgruntled voice sounded inside his mind. Are you going to stare into space or do your job for once.

Roland took his attention from the expanse above him and glanced down the craggy path that led into the valley. Out of the six individuals in front of him, only the one closest to him looked back. Maybe half a click down from him, Evie stood, the plasma carbine slung across her torso at a low ready. Like Roland (and the others) her nano-weave combat suit (NCS) made it all but impossible to make out any distinguishing features. But he’d seen her enough, in and out of combat gear to spot her irritation. It wasn’t that this had been the team’s fourth jaunt in as many weeks—an unusual load for an XO team—but the fact that Roland had volunteered the team without his usual check-in with them. Even now, he still didn’t know why he’d done it.

Jogging down the path to catch up with Evie and the team, Roland covered the distance in the span of a handful of heartbeats. Though Evie’s stance of irritated tension remained, a blip of begrudging admiration slipped to Roland through their neural cast.

Apologies, Sargent, he replied and neural-casted with a smirking image. I was just admiring the view.

Some of the tension leaked from her posture and she rolled her eyes. At least, that’s what he imagined as she turned away from him.

Well, sir, she said and stalked down the path towards the rest of the team, shouldn’t we get on with it?

---

For centuries, the idea of aliens being out there had been a Terran fascination. From the supposed structures on Mars to the impenetrable veil of Venus, not to mention the outer planets, theories on extraterrestrial life in the Sol system captured the minds and imaginations of millions, including those who’d had close encounters with the ‘little green men’. But it wasn’t until the late 22nd century when the first manned mission touched down on Triton, Neptune’s largest moon, that removed all doubt of whether or not humanity had always been the only sentient life in the universe.

A long-standing hypothesis had been that Triton didn’t originate in Sol, but had blasted its way into the system, only to be captured by Neptune’s gravitational pull. After unmanned studies proved the hypothesis true, the first team of scientists were dispatched to search for biological and technological remains from Triton’s last denizens.

It had been a slaughter.

Though sentient life had long since abandoned Triton (or the structures within the core, to be exact) some of their defenses remained; not all had been mechanical in nature. Out of the thirty-six men and women—twenty-four scientists and support staff with twelve Space Force Guardians as escorts, only eight escaped the failsafe that had been triggered by one of the junior staff. Massive EM interference had killed even the ocular recording circuits of the Guardians but the surviving members detailed biomechanical horrors—horse-sized dogs with squid-like tentacles that enveloped their victims, rending flesh from bone, even through the advanced suits many had worn. The report had read like something from Dante’s Inferno.

There had been other run-ins with alien species but none ever reached the bloody crescendo of the Triton massacre. Part of that had to do with the species encountered over the next century and a half being decidedly less hostile. But for the instances where violence had been required, technology and the formal introduction of Aegis had all but eliminated needless deaths.

Always inspired by his sister’s sense of adventure—sometimes to the disappointment of their parents—Roland embraced the idea of being a part of the space exploration division. Aegis was an organization founded by Elgin Banach, one of the surviving Guardians of the Triton debacle. Acting in concert with, but always autonomous from, Sol’s governmental agencies and always cutting edge when it came to tech, Aegis had a single job: vet specific locations of a planet or moon to the point where it could be deemed safe for civilians. These weren’t necessarily terraforming outfits (though some were), but scientists searching for the echoes of alien life. Though one couldn’t forget the discovery of precious metals which had, thanks to a second mission to Triton two years after the slaughter, was a primary driver for why humanity was truly able to travel the stars.

So, for the last ten years, Roland had worked his way through Aegis and now found himself in command of the most sought-after Aegis team out there.

Thinking about home? Evie asked as they walked the path. The rock formations looked like broken pieces of glass, raised to the sky. Their colors varied though, the farther they got from the plains and their initial assignment, the darker the pigmentation got.

Roland shook his head before ‘casting. Almeera.

Everything okay with her?

Roland laughed. If only I knew. I still haven’t been able to reach her over the Qb.

Do you know where she went this time?

Not a clue. The walked in silence for several meters before Roland ‘casted. The last time we spoke, she was at the farthest reaches of Alpha Centauri studying this civilization her science team theorized had learned to travel instantaneously between systems.

Worm hole tech is the most efficient there is, Evie replied. And that is far from being instantaneous.

Apparently, there are ways to break the laws of physics that we’ve yet to discover. Roland shrugged and readjusted his own plasma carbine. I just hope she’s okay.

Evie got in front of him, turning her back to the rest of the team a few hundred meters away. Her NCS helm parted enough for him to glimpse her coal-black eyes and caramel skin. A curl from her raven hair dangled just between her eyes. She radiated concern and the love he had for her; first as a comrade, then friend, and now lover ticked up just a bit more.

You and Almeera have a bond, Roland. Even in the short time I’ve spent with the two of you, I could sense it. If something happened to her, you’d know it.

Roland’s sigh was one of contentment as the ball of worry he’d tried ignoring shrank just a bit more. He ‘casted a smile to Evie. You know, at one time, this thing we have would’ve been against the rules.

Evie snorted and her face again disappeared behind the black NCS. We’re Aegis. We make our own rules. Roland couldn’t contain the bark of laughter that echoed through his helm as they moved to join the team.

Lowell, Roland ‘casted as he and Evie stopped in front of the others. What do we have?

The team had touched down on the planet—designated Kepler-62e centuries ago—six hours ago. Their primary assignment had been to verify and clear the massive ruins that had been nearly swallowed and absorbed by the indigenous plant life. They had been set to give the science team still in orbit the go-ahead when Lowell, the team’s newest member, had identified unusual readings that had earned nothing but a shrug from Roland and the others. No matter his thoughts, Roland had selected Lowell for a reason and he knew that ignoring the young science tech would have crushed her confidence early on. Instead, he ordered a halt to the science team landing for a closer look into what it was.

Now, four clicks and a whole lot of negative elevation later, they stood at the mouth of a cave that put Roland in mind of some of the classic books he had read as a child.

“Abandon all hope,” he whispered to himself, “ye who enter here.”

What’s that, sir? Lowell asked.

Boss man fancies himself a poet, the massive human that had taken point just in front of Lowell said. Roland was not small but the man before him—Callum Gentry, who traced his heritage back centuries to the Germanic tribes that had harried Ancient Rome (or so he said)—was a full head taller. Though he used the neural-cast, Gentry’s accent came through, though that may have been in part to Roland’s relationship with the big man and knowing what he sounded like in the first place.

The rookie turned towards him and Roland felt the confusion that seeped from her. It was a small emotion that shouldn’t have bled through their connection but was a reminder that this was only Lowell’s second deployment with the team and though neural links were a way of life for most of humanity, shielding one’s emotions in a high-stress situation didn’t come as easily as some would think.

From Dante’s Inferno, Gentry ‘casted to the team. Classic Italian poet from the Middle Ages. It was the sign the character saw above the gates of Hell.

Roland studied the topography surrounding the cavern entrance. Even more than the path behind them, these formations looked as if they’d been blasted by volcanic lava or nuclear winds. A mishmash of grays, black, and deep purples outlined with angrier lines of red and orange. But more than that; the seemed twisted. Malformed. As if something had poisoned them with something more spiritual than chemical. It didn’t help that the temperature emanating from the cave was several degrees warmer than what was on an already hot planet.

Dante’s Hell indeed.

Damn, Ayles, the team’s weapons specialist muttered over the ‘cast, gaining Roland’s attention. That’s not at all morbid.

I’m more surprised by Gentry’s dabbling into the classics, Evie ‘casted, plastering her response with her signature sarcasm. I didn’t know you read.

The big man huffed. Haha. Still embracing the stereotypes of a bygone age, Torres? Physicality does not equate to a lack of intelligence.

Hopper, the team’s comms expert, chimed in. Those are some fancy words you’re using there, Gentry. You know what they mean or are you just jacked into your language mods to up that barbarian vocabulary of yours?

Though he sent out a smile—and a few swears in German—Roland knew the big man wasn’t the most agreeable when it came to being teased, even by the team.

Banter later, Roland ‘casted, work now. Lowell, your readings led us here so, what do you have?

The rookie re-focused on the task and took a few seconds to gather her thoughts on the readings displayed on her HUD. It’s the same type of radiation I picked up at the structure. Some gamma, some UV and proton but…I don’t know if this is radiation or something else but I can’t make sense of what I’m seeing.

Can’t make sense of it? Theron asked. As a Martian, he was the only team member not from Earth. What does that even mean?

Come off it, Theron. Evie replied. You’ve been with us long enough to know the subtleties of this type of stuff.

The Martian shrugged.

If I could compare it to something, Lowell continued as if Theron or Evie had never ‘casted, it’s like when you wake up from a dream where…where you know what it was about but not really? Like the dream is only the fringes of your memory and, if someone described it to you, you’d remember it all, just like that. She emphasized that last part with a snap of her fingers.

We can send a few drones through, Evie suggested. It’s the safest route and our best bet before we leap into the abyss.

Evie’s words reminded Roland of Almeera and he started to open the Qb to his sister before committing a major breach in his own protocols.

When he didn’t reply, Evie touched him lightly on the arm. You okay? The words were just between them and was tinged with the affection the two shared. Roland nodded curtly before ‘casting to the team, Do it. Hopps, relay to our friends upstairs of our current state and set another communique for sixty minutes. Stay will Lowell while the rest of us will do a quick sweep of the area. We’ll meet back in ten.

With everything set, the team slipped into their roles with the ease of a perfect system. Still, even as he opened a wide-cast band as the team separated, Roland couldn’t quite get rid of that itch to reach out to his sister.

When the team regrouped at the mouth of the cave, Lowell’s excitement was palpable. Everyone had remained in contact during the walk of their specific sectors. Once everyone did a final report in on their return jaunt, all eyes turned to Lowell.

“Preliminary readings…”

Cast it, Noob, Hopper drawled. Much faster that way.

“Right, sorry.” Lowell shook her head. Sorry. Anyway, the drones did a sweep of the cave and some of the lines go way, way down.

How far down? Evie asked.

As it, based on the estimates, to the planet’s core.

Roland frowned. But that’s not what has you excited, is it?

Lowell turned towards him. Like all of them, her face was hidden behind the NCS helm but he imagined her bright blue eyes dancing with unchecked excitement of a first discovery.

No sir, she replied.

Then what is it? Gentry asked and glanced over back at the cave.

About five hundred meters in, Lowell continued, down the primary path that, at its widest point, could fit the rover…

If not for the meter-wide cave entrance, Ayles said.

Well, yes, Lowell agreed. But there are a few spots that would be tight or impassable even then. But the thing is, after those five hundred meters, there’s was another opening, like an inner area to the cavern.

And? C’mon kid, enough with the stops and starts. Tell us about the big reveal. Evie couldn’t hide her impatience and Roland privately chided her for it. To Lowell:

What did the drone readings tell us.

That’s just it, sir. They didn’t.

Explain.

Lowell’s deep breath came through the open audio channels but she ‘casted her response. Other than the same scraps of radiation, nothing came back. No readings whatsoever. It was like the drones flew into some sort of interference field.

Have you… Theron began but Lowell interrupted him.

Yes, I had each drone enter the area individually and then backed them out to triangulate. Nothing. She turned back to Roland. The sensor suites in these are top of the line, sir. Even a full-on cloaked ship couldn’t hide its signature with these babies up close and personal.

So, most likely alien tech.

Lowell nodded. Either that or some sort of natural anomaly I’ve never seen before.

Evie laughed. There’s a lot you haven’t seen honey, you’re like twelve. Before Lowell—or Roland—could respond, Evie held up her hands. But point taken. Was there any sign of life or, better still, anything that screamed ‘security measures, prepare to die’?

Negative. Well, at least not from what I analyzed. As far as what’s in the inner cavern…Lowell shrugged.

Hopper stepped forward. Getting pinged by DeMarcus upstairs. Wants a report on where we stand.

Roland sighed. He knew it was their job to investigate the caverns since following Lowell’s discovery that they connected to the city structure above them on the plains. But he was feeling antsy though couldn’t quite pinpoint why. Was it his stray thoughts of Almeera, the workload he’d put his team under, or something else?

Koh. It was Evie on a personal ‘cast. Talk to me.

Roland closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The breathing units of their suits was almost pure oxygen, so much so that only modified personnel such as his team would reap the full effects of it without reservation. It was a welcome hit that cleared his mind and, while not banishing them, tempered his unease.

I’m fine, love, he told her. To the rest of the group, he ‘casted, we get paid to do a job, folks. We’re going to do it. Ramp up your defense systems and pair up: Ayles, you'll be our overwatch. Find a position where you can spot any trouble from the cave, back up if we call, and ex-fil in either case. Hopper and Theron will be rearguard. Hopps, give DeMarcus a sit-rep and remind him that fifteen minutes is decidedly not the same as sixty minutes. Gentry and Lowell, you take the centerline. Lowell, make sure you focus on any readings you can, don’t worry about what’s in here, Gentry will have your six. Torres and I will take point. Staggered lines with standard spacing. Be mindful of the walls. The drones have given us the information but don’t assume it’s right. Keep focused and no undue chatter leaking through the ‘cast. He sent a single ping reminder straight to Lowell who nodded.

Okay then. No time like the present. Let’s get on it.

It took Roland a few minutes to adjust to the cave. Despite the relative ease of movement, it was still an enclosed space and Roland was no fan of these environments. He refused to admit to being claustrophobic and his track records and sheer number of confined areas he’d been through was generally enough to disabuse others of that notion.

Nobody can hear you scream in the vacuum of space…

An unbidden memory of falling rock, broken bones, and shrieks of terror filled his mind. He stumbled but caught himself. He felt Evie’s eyes on him but she maintained discipline, not even speaking over their personal ‘cast. Roland cursed himself for his lack of discipline and picked up the pace. Even in their caution, they covered the ground to the inner cavern in twenty minutes.

When they reached the inner cavern, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. There was nothing to see nothing beyond the entrance, merely a blackness and blips of sparking lights that whispered of the infinitude of space and that undulated and throbbed like a living organism. Roland was entranced, staring into the nothingness.

Nobody will hear you scream when it comes for you, little brother. Almeera’s voice teased. But that was another time. So why did it feel like now?

Before he knew what he was doing, Roland to five long strides towards the anomaly. Evie’s voice was somewhere far away and it was nearly enough to halt his steps…but the momentum he’d built up pushed him forward and then through the barrier.

It was like fighting against a current, that nothingness. He waded through and his muscles burned. With every step, he either heard her voice or caught flashes of better days long forgotten. Their best moments and the not so good ones. But still he pushed on, refusing to quit.

Then he was through.

Roland gasped, only now realizing he’d been holding his breath the entire jaunt. He stared down at his suit and extremities. The NCS felt tight, squeezing him like it would to cauterize a catastrophic injury but everything looked intact. On his HUD, suit integrity and function along with standard visuals were all online but audio was out. As was any enhanced scans.

Torres? Roland tried through the neural-cast. Evie’s voice sounded again but even farther away than before, as if she were calling him across a valley. Cursing his stupidity, Roland turned towards the way he came, ready to return (if that was possible) when another voice whispered to him.

Little brother.

Roland turned around and, through the NCS visuals, searched the cavern. It wasn’t large, maybe 12 square meters in diameter with the same aggressive rock formations as the walls. Except where the outside walls had been sharp and uneven, these were smooth, like they were carved by an artist’s hand. He didn’t see any imperfections though his suit refused his attempts to further analyze his surroundings.

Lowell said the drones stopped working when they got to this point. Is the suit the problem?

Following his own hunch, Roland lowered his suit’s helm and it retracted into the suit. Every reading of the planet had said that the air on Kepler-62e was breathable but Roland had never been one to take chances. Except now I’ve done it twice in as many minutes. Agreeing with his trepidation, Roland’s lizard brain readied for death as he inhaled his first lungful of air. Though stale, it was tinged with a metallic scent not unlike one would find in a spaceship, though decidedly more humid and Roland felt the beads of sweet begin to form across his brow. It was the type of humid that made breathing during strenuous activity difficult.

All concerns about oxygen and humidity were forgotten when Roland’s eyes fell upon the room a second time.

Where it had originally been empty now stood four cylindrical chambers similar to the old stasis pods used in space travel before the inception of worm hole drives. Spacefarers would often spend weeks, even months (and, on occasion, years) in suspended animation as their ship journeyed across the stars.

Like those stasis pods, the front of the chambers, made of a metal Roland assumed to be foreign, were adorned by a translucent window the size of Roland’s torso. Each one held a humanoid figure shrouded in some dark material. Even from six meters away, he couldn’t make out any more details of the figures thus, like any other explorer, Roland stepped towards the chambers.

The smoothness of the metal was even more impressive the closer he got. It shone but not like a polished material; rather like a sheen only an endless light source could produce. He narrowed his eyes; for some reason, his own enhanced vision worked where the suit’s would not. Whereas all metals harbored some imperfections, however minor, these chambers—at least the one in front of him—was…perfect.

Nobody can hear you…or so they say.

Almeera’s voice again and, of his own accord, Rolande moved closer still. He stopped within arm’s reach and, at this distance, he saw more of the figure before him. Whatever clothing that covered the humanoid shape undulated just like the barrier had, though on a lesser scale. The sliver of flesh visible was not too dissimilar to his own. It was pale though Roland saw the freckles and faded tan of an olive complexion. The torso looked to be even longer than Gentry’s though more lithe than muscular. Judging by the way the material fell over the chest, it was female and, despite the humanoid’s height—Roland guessed it was well over two meters—the arms still seemed a bit too long. He reached out with his left hand, his carbine nearly forgotten in his right, heart pounding but not out of fear. It was that of an explorer catching the first sight of a virgin land over the horizon. Or being the first person to set foot on an unknown world. Somewhere in the distance Evie called his name. She was closer now…pleading.

It won’t take long, Evie, he thought. I just want to see this.

Fingers a few centimeters from the window, Roland felt the thrum of energy, vibrating from the chamber. Taking another breath, he pressed his palm into it.

Nothing.

Roland frowned. He didn’t know what he had expected but not this. It was so…anticlimactic. Maybe it just needs time. He waited for several more seconds, expecting something to occur. Something that he knew was there but needed…

Slowly, the pulse of discovery ebbed and Roland came back to his senses. What the hell am I doing? Everything he’d done in the last few minutes had been so out of character. It wasn’t just that he’d put himself in needless danger, hanging his team out to dry was unforgiveable. At least they hadn’t followed him through.

But how long until they did?

Shaking the mania from his mind, Roland pulled his hand away from the chamber when something inside moved. He jumped back two meters and raised his carbine into the ready arms. He commanded his helm to re-engage but nothing happened. He ‘casted out towards Evie first, then the rest of the team. No distant voices answered his call this time. Just an empty whistle of falling down an endless shaft.

He was alone.

Not alone, Rolly. Never alone.

The humanoid shape moved again, each movement a deliberate act of someone—or thing—waking from a fitful slumber. As it slowly raised its head, Roland saw the angular chin that gave way to a heart-shaped jawline. One bisected by a scar that traveled to the carotid artery and stopped just above the left collarbone. The pinprick mole on the left nostril was the only other blemish on an otherwise flawless face. More than that, it was familiar.

When the eyes opened, any doubt Roland may have held vanished. They weren’t any color he recognized and the swirling pool drove him to near madness. They stared at him, through him. Into him. He was helpless to do anything but fall to his knees, carbine clattering to the ground from nerveless fingers. He never once breaking the creature’s gaze from the other side of the window.

“How?” he croaked.

The thing that was impossibly Almeera Koh—and not—smiled. There was nothing sweet or loving, or even teasing about that smile. It was vulpine, savage. A predator salivating at its hobbled prey.

I told you, little brother, Almeera’s voice sounded in his ear, its languid almost sexual tone sickening Roland to his very soul. I’d always be here for you.

He didn’t notice when or how the barrier between them had fallen away but Almeera was there, towering over him, elongated fingers—stained with the same living sludge that had powered the barrier—trembling as they reached towards him.

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, Almeera said. We’re not there now, my love. Don’t be afraid to scream. It’s okay. I’ll let you.

Her fingers caressed his face and Roland screamed.

As the darkness threatened to overwhelm him, Almeera’s words returned to him.

They’d hollow you out like a coral reed and you’d be helpless.

Then the screams sounded from all around him and in Roland’s final moment of consciousness, laughed.

She lied. You can hear the screams in space. Even if it’s just your own.