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Chapter 12

The relaxed atmosphere of Ark became unusually tense on the day of the first expedition. Future operators, medics, pilots and engineers gathered on the glade, they were ready to use all their knowledge to find a place that could be their new home.

 

'Nervous?' said Lee, squeezing Onica's hand reassuringly.

 

'Pff, not a big deal.' Onica waved off, but squeezed his hand back.

 

'On this vital day I am glad to see you all here, my dear friends.' As always, Eim's smile was giving a sense of peace, while he was talking to students. 'Everyone of you have different dreams of a perfect place. But this place we all have been dreaming about is actually the same…'

 

The weather started to get worse, the wind was rising. But eyes of all students were fixed on the doctor, sticking to kindness and confidence in his voice.

 

'It's the place where you are with those you love and it's the place where you can find peace.'

 

The clear sky was getting glitchy with intimidating void.

 

'Where you can be safe.'

 

The fake reality of Ark was crumbling, and hollow screens were breaking in violent earthquake.

 

'I just wanted to say thank you. That you still have this dream, as it will lead us to the better world together.'

 

Students exchanged determined looks and took each others hands. Above the fading glade, there echoed Atlas' voice notifying everyone to take their position in the shuttle. Dr Eim descended to Onica and Lee and led them to the lift, connecting Ark and the SID headquarters on the upper level, but this time they went deeper. Seeing how Lee and Onica were getting nervous, Eim said calmly:

 

'Lee, do you remember I promised to show you my masterpiece?'

 

At last the doors opened, revealing a large dark hall with a round platform similar to the place for a pilot in the Anchor. Lee drew nearer and turned back at Eim hesitantly to see his gentle smile.

 

Onica didn't leave his side and was holding his hand all the time until he lay down on the platform. The doctor tried to aid him too, but Lee turned away. The man nodded slightly, accepting the cold treatment.

'Lee, I just wanted to say…'

'There is no time for that. We need to start the ship,' he snapped, taking his place on the table.

As soon as glowing threads enveloped him, he was stunned to realise how large the spaceship was. He felt everything at once - blinding white wards with familiar black corridor, holographic net in the emergency shaft, four towers with plenty of crew quarters and the cold of destroying planet, which was holding the shuttle of Ark.

 

Lee looked at Eim with shock in his eyes, but the doctor gave him a reassuring nod.

 

'You are ready.'

 

***

 

The Ark construction was shaking severely under pressure of the destroyer's gravity, Mattias and Lumi hardly managed to follow Atlas on a metal bridge across the wide shaft. Its walls faded into the darkness, but from there, they could feel the laboured breathing of fuel veins.

 

'Be careful and watch your step.'

 

As soon as Atlas warned them, a wild burst shook the shaft, and the darkness flared with violent explosions. Mattias heard Lumi's shriek and rushed to grab her hand, but next moment the crumbling bridge took them both into the void beneath. Fortunately, they were caught safely into a shining orb - Atlas came in time, and while he returned them to the other side of the hall, Mattias could catch a glimpse of wounded fuel lines, dripping with pure gold.

 

'What do you fill the lines with?' He couldn't keep from asking. 'It shines so painfully, as if it's the blood of a star…'

 

Atlas turned away and hurried inside the passage.

 

'Do not look or it will blind you.'

 

The passage was pulsing with red emergency lights, and the bitter metallic smell lingered in the air. Atlas ran his fingers over a panel with numbers and symbols, and the door revealed a golden hall with weakening generator. No, it wasn't a generator but a monster, spreading its pipes throughout the hall and up into nowhere. Mattias and Lumi hadn't seen a Power Core larger than this before.

 

'I will deactivate the fuel supply, be ready to take over the engine.'

 

'Professor…'

 

Mattias suddenly realised that Atlas wouldn't be there if anything goes wrong, like on the days when the Radiance took him from the dying planet, and from the brim of the destroyer. He looked at fuel pipes of the generator, filled with golden blood. Maybe their native star turned into a destroyer long ago, but all this time there was another star to look after them. And when Atlas goes away, it will be in fact the first time when Mattias will be on his own.

 

'You will do fine, Mattias.' Atlas' voice became gentle, as if he read his thoughts. 'Just hold on until the Ark crosses the horizon of events.'

 

He gave a weightless touch to Mattias' shoulder and vanished in the passage only after he had got an affirmative nod from Mattias. As the young man was watching him go, he felt Lumi taking his hand.

 

'Don't worry, Lumi will look after Mattias, Lumi has everything under control.'

 

Mattias couldn't resist smiling. Maybe the confidence of this silly child was everything he needed now.

 

'Right. Let's rely on captain Lumi and wait for a catastrophe.'

 

'Hey!'

 

The young man looked around to see the hall fading, the dangerous gold was gradually leaving the fuel lines, and eventually the Power Core became completely grey. Mattias approached an interception of pipes in generator's heart. As soon as he leaned to them with his back and grabbed the pipes with his both arms, he felt as if he was a part of the engine, a part of the Ark. Violent fire began surging inside him, and there was no fear anymore.

 

'Okay, let's save the world, I guess!' he said enthusiastically, ready for a challenge. 'Lumi, when I unleash the energy, your task is to control the temperature. Ready? I'm starting…'

 

'Mattias, wait!' The girl fixed her gaze on the huge generator, trembling. 'Lumi is scared.'

 

'You told you had everything under control.'

 

'Lumi knows! But what if Lumi's power isn't enough?'

 

Mattias sighed. He had never been good at lifting spirits of his subordinates, and at that critical moment for their base on Icarus-2P, he chose to be more intimidating than the approaching storm to urge his students to take an action. This wouldn't work on Lumi, though.    

 

'Lumi. Your powers are incredible. You froze the whole base, you made a shield that resisted storms of the gas giant and you brought me back from the death door. Do you remember how we started the engine on Icarus-6S? We did it together. We are a team, remember?'

 

The girl moaned and looked all the way up at endless pipes of the Power Core. Where did they go? How huge was this contraption?

 

'Lumi, this will end, I promise. On the other side the land of snow is waiting for you. Only we can take everyone there.'

 

'Okay, fine. Lumi will try her best.'

 

The girl came to Mattias and placed her tiny hands on his shoulders. The fuel lines answered with heat, gradually becoming red with Mattias' fire. The girl felt the heartbeat of the whole Ark inside Mattias, and she forced herself to resonate, when suddenly the hall shuddered and started shaking.

 

'W-what's that?'

 

'Lumi, dummy you! Don't take away your hands, no matter what comes!'

 

Lumi gulped nervously and nodded. The man looked around the red hall with content.

 

'We are taking off.'  

 

***

 

'They started the engine, are we ascending, captain?'

 

Lee checked all the systems and crew of the spaceship, but he couldn't feel Dr Eim on board. He was getting restless, but then he felt a gentle touch to his hatch.

 

'A captain is now you, my Lee.'

 

'Eim! What do you… what are you doing?'

 

Lee's heart pondered violently despite the soothing smile in Eim's voice.

 

'Lee, my dear, listen. When you reach the horizon of events…'

 

'Eim, are you leaving? Don't tell me you are leaving!' Lee began shouting. He was still mad at Eim, and he hadn't forgot what he had done, but now, all of a sudden, it didn't matter anymore. What really mattered was Eim.

 

'When you reach the horizon of events, the facet with the sun will appear for a quick moment. You will have to direct the ship inside on time, otherwise the destroyer will devour you.'

 

'Why did you leave the ship? You said I am a captain, I don't allow you that!'

 

The doctor sighed and stroked the hull gently.

 

'Lee, the pilot of my heart! As a captain it is your duty to take everyone to the brightest future of Icarus. Don't worry, you'll be safe, I will slow down the radiant spear.'

 

Lee felt sudden pain in his chest. There was the air of fear and hope inside the Ark, and he could feel everyone's worries, as the destroyer was approaching. He had no time to linger and no right to cry, but he couldn't keep tears from falling.

 

'How can I lose you? Don't make it to me twice…'

 

'You know that it's the right thing to do. I am proud of you, my boy. Fly everyone to the Promised Land.'

 

With these words Eim let go of the hatch, and Lee couldn't feel him anymore. Then came emptiness, gaping void, devouring him like a destroyer.

 

'Lee, the ship!'

 

Onica was trying to bring him to senses, as the ground around the Ark started to crumble. Lee turned an empty gaze on her, and the look of her worried face stirred something within him.

 

'Hold on tight. Initiating launch sequence.'

 

***

 

The Ark burst the ground, breaking free from shackles of the dying planet. Atlas didn't see it, as he was watching brightness of a rapidly approaching star in Synod constellation, when Eim joined him.

 

'You should not stay here, Eim.'

 

'Sir, you remember my promise, I'm not going to leave you. Besides, you may need some backup, right?' The way Eim was speaking to Atlas was now more laid-back and friendly.

 

'As you say. But I will not let you be here till the end, your place is with Icarus.'

 

The darkness started swallowing the light of stars around them, and when the destroyer devoured the last planet, a blazing spear tore down from the heavens. The ground under their feet crumbled, and Atlas spread the body of a planet high above, joining it with bright threads in a form of a shield. These rays of light weren't flickering anymore, as Eim slowed them down, setting the shield in stone.

 

'Sir, the last thing to ask, if I may.'

 

'Sure, Eim.'

 

'You mentioned that Icarus had turned into a destroyer as a result of misbalance. Don't you think we are violating the Order now even further?'

 

'We are,' said Atlas calmly. 'And maybe humanity will struggle even more to protect their land. But this all is not in vain, Eim.'

 

For the first time the doctor could see the peaceful smile on Atlas' face.

 

'Humanity will reach unseen power, and together with Icarus you will do better than me.'

 

***

 

It was snowing in the Power Core. Snowflakes turned into the heavy pattern of ice, and pipes were losing heat - there was too little fuel left. Lumi was crying beside Mattias, who was giving his last energy to the engine.

 

'Mattias, say something! Say that you are mad at Lumi, please, just anything…'

 

Mattias was silent, and his body was getting cold. Lumi's presence was getting distant, as well as the place he was dreaming of. Maybe he wasn't destined to enter the land with the warm sun, but the Ark will get through, and with every heartbeat he was forcing it to happen. Every step was much more exhausting than the other, but Mattias wasn't afraid. He knew the ship would make it to the end, he had calculated it, as he was an exceptional scientist, a genius that makes no mistakes.

 

'Teacher, teacher!'

 

Voices of his students swept into his awareness. They had always been so noisy and tiring, but now he was relieved to hear them again. He could feel how they take him out of the engine and put on the floor, when suddenly the Power Core flared with the bright energy of unseen power. Forced to open his eyes, Mattias saw a crowd of engineers holding to the fuel pipes, giving their energy instead of his.

 

'They retrieved their memories…' Mattias said with a weak smile. 'They evolved too… It means that…'

 

'Yes, we made it, we crossed the horizon of events!' Lumi bent over him with concern. 'We will soon be there, Lumi promises! Just don't sleep, hold on, Mattias!'

 

***

 

The Ark shook violently the moment it got inside the destroyer. The pressure Lee endured was miles greater than the time when he approached the destroyer in the Anchor for the first time.

 

With precise thrusts Onica was giving him energy to prevent him from collapsing, and Lee focused on maintaining the stable speed. Soon the facet had to appear, but Lee couldn't keep from turning back his gaze. He was watching the shining shield break in the skies, the blazing span of Atlas' wings and the crossing of two radiant spears. It meant Eim didn't survive. Lee felt how all the strength left him, but he couldn't tear his eyes away when Atlas buried the deadly ray in his body and kept it inside to give Lee some more time.

 

'Crankshaft, Lee! Do you hear me?! Flux, Lee!'

 

He opened his eyes to focus on Onica, but his sight was getting blurry.

 

'Thank stars, I thought I fried you! Don't worry Lee, I'm here, whatever comes, okay?'

 

Onica's voice was unusually calm and reassuring. She didn't use to give in to brother's silly dream, but now she was ready to share his hopes and admit that it had always been her dream too.

 

'We'll fly together to the safe place, you remember? This is what you wanted, isn't it? I'll be with you, I travel there with you, and everything will be fine.'

 

Lee closed his eyes and allowed himself to find peace in her words, dreaming of the rainy ocean under the peaceful sun with Onica's shore. Suddenly, his eyes were filled with warm light ahead - it was the facet. It flared for a brief moment, and Lee tried to reach for it, but the destroyer drained all his power. The moment was gone, and the facet began to fade away.

 

'I am sorry, Eim…'

 

He felt Onica holding his hand gently. When the blessed vision inside the facet was ready to disappear, something happened to his sight, as if he could see everything clearly at once. In front of his eyes appeared the grid with facets, calculated properties and distances. What was happening? There was more to that ocean, it began spreading and revealing places he had never seen - the facet was growing.

 

'Ready for the warp, can you copy?'

 

'On it, holding position.'

 

'Set, warp jump in progress.'

 

There were voices in Lee's head, as if the Ark came to life, and all its systems were communicating with each other. He could feel power of many operators surging inside the spaceship, relieving the pressure.

 

'Onica… He is remembering… Icarus is remembering us!' Lee exclaimed, watching the blackness of destroyer fill with light of the newborn star.

 

'Oh, stripped gears, I'll never agree to another rusty trip like this…' said Onica, sinking to the floor with relief, and Lee laughed to her words.

 

Lee felt a giant wave approaching. Created and coordinated by his fellow pilots, it was way more massive than the one he was given during his first jump. Ahead of the Ark, there was a place woven from memories of everyone on board - the Promised Land.

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