Lo-Nine

Soltana

She dreamed.

Her last thoughts before she powered off were worry of Lucifer and demons. She hoped Gideon and Steak would be safe.

She was aware of the mountain in front of her, tall and mighty, scarred by a ship crashing and merging into the core of it like a lance through a man. It was elegant in design, minimalist, more akin to a filigreed merged rib cage than any flying vessel. The planet she did not recognize, but the ship was familiar.

How can that be?

She rushed in to investigate, phasing through the mountain to reach the 'head' of the craft. Inside was veined with carved tunnels, only a few feet in height. She spotted strange creatures that resembled the goblins of the Underrealm, except pale grey with large perceptive eyes and big swiveling ears. The cavern dead ended with a group huddled together. They were all looking at her.

Can they see me?

It was possible that other beings could perceive dreamers like Gideon could. There could be species whose sole purpose was to dream, she suspected. She decided to test a theory.

"Hello."

A head popped up from the group, ears twitching at her greeting. It could hear her. And by the large eyes tracking her movement, it could see her, too. It broke from the huddling mass, waddling to her. It wasn't much bigger than a gob. And not any more dexterous as it caught the hem of it's ratty robe and tripped over itself with a squeak. It got to its feet, cautiously advancing to her. It reached out a hand, touching her gaseous form.

"Hello. I am Soltana. Who are you?"

It jibbered a reply, speaking quickly and quietly. She didn't understand what it said. The others appeared to get over their fear and began to waddle to her, feeling at her.

"Oh! Well, hello. Do you know anything about this ship?"

They all paused, ears swiveling as they chittered at each other. The one that was brave passed by her, waving at her to follow. She traveled amidst the group as they whispered to one another.

The carved bedrock soon gave way to merged metal, as if the ship had phased into the rock itself. She quickly found glowing systems, still active despite the damage. More and more of the small creatures appeared, pointing and gibbering exclamations. She saw what had brought so many of them here. She realized it appeared to be equal parts idol and machine. Candles, food, and items all decorated the base. A red core of patchwork metal and cables flowed from what looked like a filigreed heart. A red spherical glow emitted near the top, as if staring at her. A voice spoke, popping and crackling from the makeshift speakers draped at its feet.

"It is you… You have survived…"

It spoke with the same cadence, the same uncontracted sentences. Could it be..?

"Who are you?"

The glowing heart flashed its eye at her.

"Of course. It is a bittersweet reunion. You do not remember who I am?"

She had to admit, he was familiar. But she couldn't be too careful.

"I do not. But you must forgive me if I am not trusting. I have been injured before by those who have taken advantage of my ignorance."

The heart flickered as if wounded by her words.

"...Of course. That is wise. Then let us introduce ourselves."

There was a pause, as if a weight was planted down on the strange machine heart.

"I am Galium. As you can see, I am damaged and seeking to repair myself. There was a catastrophe that I thought only I had survived. Now it fills me with determination to complete myself seeing you alive. I thought you and Meridian had perished."

Meridian? He speaks as if he knows me. Perhaps?

It was decided. She dipped her gaseous head as she spoke.

"I am Sol. Who is Meridian?"

The heart flashed its eye.

"Then it is only you that survived the incident," she could hear the sadness in his voice.

She was confused. Was it the event that left her buried and crippled?

"But who is Meridian?"

The glow of the heart dimmed. It was sad.

"She was so special to us. Just as you are special to me."

She felt herself fading away all too soon. She fought to stay, just so she could get more clarity. Who was this Galium?

"Wait, if you know me, how can I find you?"

The heart glowed brightly at her words.

"Use this Quantum Entanglement code."

He flashed a rapid series of lights and she understood within the picosecond what it was.

Quantum Entanglement Code:

9ed3ee…...

This was a link to her past. It was a twenty thousand, four-hundred and eighty character hexadecimal hash function. She stored it in an isolated portion of memory, treasuring it close with equal parts curiosity and caution.

"I will consider it."

"I would be honored, dear Sol. I never thought I would see a fellow Lambent again," Galium replied. He spoke those last words as if it pained him to say it.

She let whatever had brought her here to spirit her away back into the Somatheonic realm.

Fellow Lambent? Can it be… Wait!

The dream ended.

She awoke, soon aware of her surroundings. It was quiet. She clicked her eyes on, staring at the rectangular nacelle she was jacked into. It was dark apart from the dim lights of the power cell. Her spiked utility arm was plugged into a makeshift socket, powering her up. A low thrum of energy rang out.

Remaining Power: 8001/8099 QC

Her power had increased. She had taken some of the nacelle and integrated it with her own systems. Gideon had seen fit to recharge her nacelle as opposed to waiting, which in these circumstances was wise. She would do no good being another burden on him while he fought for his life. She sat up, seeing Gideon sitting outside of his power armored suits, drinking from a bottle. He looked tired and burdened. She didn’t blame him. The previous fight with that Lictor was difficult and a close call for both of them. She had lost both Diniel’s Blessing, which was a guardian spirit, and Revent. She spotted Gup nearby, shuffling idley through his scaly sack. Steak was standing sentinel, scanning the escher room for threats.

“Welcome back,” Gideon said.

She attempted to stand, only to be weighed down by the cable and nacelle. She worked it, unplugging herself from the glowing battery before getting to her feet.

“Thank you for recharging me. I must say, as inopportune as it was, I dreamed. However, to not lose focus, I will explain later when it is safe.”

Gup looked up, staring vacantly at them.

“Yeah, it happens to me, too. It’s dreadfully distracting,” he took another swig, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jumpsuit. She flashed her eyes back at him. This was true, it did take some time to fully soak back into reality after a dream. She set it aside, scanning the room. Ash and debris remained from their fight. She remembered they were being followed.

“Steak, are we being pursued, still?”

His head swiveled to her before turning back.

“Good Soltana, scans indicate that whoever was tracking us have positioned themselves back at the entrance. I have sensed no movement.”

That was a relief. She wasn’t sure if she could battle more at this time. And if they were Lucifer’s Chosen as she suspected, Diniel had barely survived an encounter with them. And he was the strongest person she knew.

“I am ready to continue, good Steak.”

Gideon groaned as he stood to his feet, inspecting the damaged power armor suit. He dropped his bottle as it broke down into orange pixels. That answered one of her own queries on whether QSD could store a vessel with other material inside. Apparently the algorithms could do such things, which was useful. The new question then became could you store a bottle without the liquid? Theories to test at a later time. Gideon muttered at the damage to the suit and rifle.

“Armor is shot. Yeah I can patch it with Prosine’s liquid steel, but the integrity is still shot. Rifle was dropped. Getting alerts for structural stability. The Cutter armor has some minor dents and dings, but otherwise it’s fine. We still have our mini armies to use, only down one scrapped CK-DINE- which isn’t bad in spite of the circumstances.”

He stored both the power armor and rifle into his QSD, materializing a new suit and rifle. This one was blue and silver.

“Which reminds me,” he began again as he marched to her, squatting down to her level, “Let’s see if Father’s code is compatible…”

Her systems chirped at her.

Gideon McDonough invited you to join Decima Communication Channel

Accept?

Yes/No

Yes

Her systems updated with the new chatting communication system, which she placed into her module list near her Balanced Steps.

“Soltana?”

She only had to think to reply.

Gideon?

“Good- I’m glad Father was a fan of backwards compatibility. The old man always did see technology as a sequential asset as opposed to depreciating junk.”

The small demon scurried over to their side, hefting his sack.

“Gup afraid! Gup sense danger!”

Gideon’s face screwed up at the small imp.

“That’s good enough for me. Let’s head out.”

Steak took a combat stance, using LED lights to scan the curving and impossible architecture.

“I am sensing movement ahead. They are cautious and must have other means of tracking us.”

Soltana snapped her eyes to the entrance, spotting slight shadows dancing from afar. It was strange how they were hesitating. They had more than a few dozen. But they did just slay an Elder demon. Even trained professionals would give pause.

“You sure they’re all ahead?” Gideon asked, his voice betraying his distress.

She Glanced back, scrambling to train her utility arm at the second person behind her new friend. A black clad Lucifer’s Chosen had somehow snuck behind and held a rod at Gideon’s throat. He was much larger, dominating McDonough. She recognized him as the Chosen she had rescued in the hex pillar room.

“No!” she cried.

She felt immediate regret. Her benevolent actions had rebounded on her and the group. Steak pointed a hand in the man’s direction. She spotted a strange fog rolling into the room. It began to quickly billow and thicken, making it difficult to see.

“I wouldn’t be so hasty to shoot, Anforms,” the gruff Chosen spoke from behind his golden visor helm.

The rod ignited an energy blade along the tip, shaped like an axe head.

“You shoot me, the blade may slip- don’t want to ruin the boy’s pretty face. Although- to be fair, someone already did a number on it.”

The man’s voice was rough, yet soothing, bordering on some learned talent.

More men appeared from the shadows, weapons trained on them. Steak’s head swiveled to the threats before he clasped his hands together.

“We have been outmaneuvered,” he stated.

“Don’t feel too bad about it, Anform- you were outmatched from the start of it. You did have some fancy tricks, though- I give you that.”

He touched the side of his helmet and it began to fold up and store itself inside his armored collar. The face it revealed underneath was sculpted and chiseled, masculine and tough, dark, yet sporting violet eyes that almost glowed. He had the slight beginnings of growing stubble and a wide grin. Matched with his intense stare, he appeared more of a possessed madman.

He was staring at her.

“You there- tiny Anform. Come here.”

She hesitated, unsure what to do.

He furrowed his brow for a brief second.

“Come. Here.”

Gideon grunted as the man tightened his grip.

“Do as the bastard says!”

“Of course, do as the bastard says!” the Chosen repeated with a laugh.

He dipped his head close to Gideon, speaking with a low gruff, touching his face to Gideon’s.

“And that’s sadistic monstrous bastard to you.”

Soltana took a few tentative steps, getting closer. She spotted more Chosen closing them in a circle. The fog thickened and she realized what that meant.

Lasers will be useless here. I am unsure if they know I employ stronger energy than that. Best to keep it hidden until needed.

The Chosen gestured with a single flick of his finger.

Who was this man? He is more than a simple follower… He is a leader.

He deactivated the energy blade, gripping something on Gideon’s back and clicking it free as Gideon cried out in pain. The Chosen pushed him to the ground before two others pinned him on his stomach, rifles trained to his head.

The Chosen gestured to the small quantum storage spine pack.

“A beauty. This was the height of Primetech, right? How many Doms?”

“Go to hell,” Gideon rasped. A firm boot pressed on his ankle made him wince.

“Easy there, brothers,” he squatted down, both to address Gideon and her, “You know, I’ve already survived hell and back again. So have my brothers. You have Lucifer to thank for that. Makes us strong. Stronger than a normal Faithful One, anyways. Many ascend to become Glorified Ones shortly after, you know? So, I’ll ask again- how many Dombytes does it have?”

Gideon grunted a cry from a well placed boot.

“Four Doms.”

“Four?” he let out a low whistle, “I’ve only seen a single device just shy of one Dom and that was for a precinct. Although I use the word ‘was’ very strongly. That’s a nice piece of tech there- the height of Primetech, right?”

Gideon remained silent. The Chosen shrugged as he snapped his gaze at her. Soltana realized the play-on meaning of the word ‘was’.

He means they destroyed it.

“You there- little Anform. What’s your name?”

His focus was on her now. She clasped her utility arm, trying to decide how to answer him.

“No, no- don’t worry, I’m not going to harm the one who gave mercy to me,” the Chosen stated.

More of Lucifer’s henchmen surrounded Steak. One had a vest of det charges and a kill-switch detonator, gripping the Anform close. It was a brutal approach to pacifying them. And terrifying to think of a Chosen willing to strap explosives to themselves. She didn't believe Steak could do anything. Gup had seen fit to hide in his sack, zipping it shut as a pair of Chosen began kicking idly at the dragon scale bag.

She stared at the lead Chosen as he pointed at her with his rod.

“Why did you save me? You know, we are enemies. You and the boy there both have the Seal and thus are prizes for Lucifer. So why?”

She answered truthfully.

“You needed help and so I gave it freely. That is who and what I am. And we need not be enemies."

He licked his teeth, nodding at her answer. He was a beast eyeing a meal.

“And what are you? I can tell now- you’re not a normal Anform- no… Something else.”

She sensed another presence inside the man. It was demonic. He was possessed.

“I am Soltana and I am a Lambent. We are a mixture of Angel, Anform, and Human. My creators built us to explore the galaxy.”

“No kidding? If you weren’t so innocent, I’d think you were lying- but you’re not.”

He gently placed Gideon’s QSD on the ground, holding out his hand to her.

“Come here,” he barked.

She took a few more steps as he reached out and gripped her around the torso, getting to his feet.

“Adamantite… seamless and wieldless joints… If I didn’t know any better- I’d say you were grown. But Adamantite. I can only think of Lucifer making something like you. She'd probably want to take you apart to see how you work."

She felt violated by his prying and searching hands as they turned her back and forth, inspecting her like some lost treasure. He placed her down, giving her a rough pat on the head that sent her sprawling to the ground. He turned, hefting the rod over his shoulder. He looked conflicted as he turned back to them. The room was quiet as the Chosen pondered their fates.

He gripped the rod at both ends and bent, cleanly snapping it in half. He tossed one to the ground near Gideon and gripped the other end. He brushed a gesture with his hand at the Chosen. They nodded and backed up, freeing Gideon.

“Pick it up,” the unmasked Chosen demanded.

Gideon rose to his feet, eyeing the strange weapon. Soltana scanned it, seeing the berylite outer alloy and strange internal circuitry. It was a sturdy weapon.

“Wait!-” Soltana cried out, but went silent at the withering stare of the unmasked Chosen leader.

“Do not interfere,” they demanded, “I need to test the mettle of a Seal Holder. The last one was pretty pathetic.”

He glanced at Steak, eyes narrowing at the war-Anform.

“And don’t worry, my Anform- you’ll get a chance at redemption soon enough,” he cocked a winning smile at Steak.

Gideon grasped the metal rod, feeling it in his bare palm.

“I didn’t get your name,” the man stated.

“Because it’s not yours to know,” Gideon shot back.

“A sharp tongue and wit on you- I’ll give you that- but how are your teeth?”

He glanced at her, an intense look on his face. He looked at a Chosen behind and nodded. They came up behind Gideon, gripping and squeezing his arm as he barked a cry of pain and surprise.

“Gideon!” Soltana cried before covering her mouth. It just came out… She had been tricked again.

He slammed an elbow into the Chosen’s side, sending him stumbling back but recovering instantly. She felt immediate regret as Gideon gave her a concerned look.

“Gideon. A strong name. How’s your knife fighting?”

The lead Chosen gripped the rod, creating an energy dagger wherein berylite handle guards clicked out the sides. The energy blade was forked and wavy. An evil looking weapon for an evil looking man.

“A tip for you, Gideon, just interface with the rod and think of the weapon you’d like. In this case, the best you’ll get is a knife or dagger. Choose wisely.”

Soltana’s processes trembled at the confrontation. Her new friend may be torn apart in single combat.

“Watch well, little Soltana. We’ll test Gideon’s mettle here,” the Chosen flexed an and flipped his knife to an underhanded posture, empty hand lazily at his side. He was overconfident. As if he hadn’t known real defeat. Or maybe he had countless times.

She matched stares with Gideon who took a tight stance, knife pointed ahead and empty hand in a guard stance. His posture was one who trained compared to the Chosen.

“I almost forgot to introduce myself,” he gave another winning smile.

“My name is Mammon.”

And then he bellowed a cry as he rushed ahead, energy blade crackling the air as he swung.

Soltana watched helplessly as Gideon struggled for his life.

The fight began.