The Celestial Way

Chapter 4.2 - No Way Out

The next several days he spent traveling and climbing across the vast mountain range. On the fourth day the weather cleared, and the black-grey clouds were chased away by the bright, silvery rays of the local twin stars. The strong daylight activated the polarization filter of the power armor, revealing endless jagged outlines of gleaming white and sky-purple. The temperature remained deadly arctic, yet Airo was adequately protected by his armor. The dragon egg was another matter, but he didn't care. If it froze to death, it wouldn't be his fault.

He was still headed toward the giant energy anomaly, due to a lack of better destination. Both he and the onboard computer scanned all frequencies and comm channels, yet the air was completely devoid of any signals, same as in orbit. He had no way to track his progress; he passed over several mountain ridges, and crossed a couple of high valleys, and then made his way toward a distant summit, yet the landscape around was only snow, ice, and rocks stretching endlessly in every direction. On his way, he found no traces of civilization.

By the end of the first week, after covering almost a thousand kilometers with the fri-skis, he noticed what was wrong.

He was traveling in a circle.

The pattern of peaks stayed the same. He climbed the same-looking summits over and over. The valleys cropped up at precisely repeating sequence. The constellations in the night sky never changed even a fraction, according to the power armor sensors. When Airo stopped to rest during the night, he consulted the only source of information he had.

"Computer... SAI, have I been changing directions during travel?"

"Not to my knowledge, Commander. You always kept a completely straight heading, making minor deviations whenever necessary, but never more than ten degrees on average."

Airo grimaced. "Then why the void I have crossed the exact same region several times already?"

"Analyzing... Analysis done. Results are interesting and medium-level concerning. It appears you have encountered a non-Euclidean route, Commander, which has spatially looped you around the current zone."

"What?!" Airo burst out. "A non-Euclidean route? How is that possible!?"

"My conclusion suggests this is some sort of anomalous behavior on part of the paraworld's multi-planar topography due to interaction with other unknown energy field or fields currently present. Sensors detect elevated background radiation and increased amount of exotic particles, which support this conclusion."

"Wait, Terra Para is a paraworld?"

"Affirmative, Commander. This characteristic was described in the mission files for your convenience and to ensure proper preparation for planetside operations."

Airo shook his head. A paraworld. That explained it. He needed to change his strategy; he had already risked much for assuming for so many days he was on a normal planet. "SAI, scan and process the region's topography at maximum range, then prepare a detailed map with all possible routes leading out of the area."

"Yes, Commander. Please wait a minute."

Yeoman Cloud provided the requested data. Airo followed the generated routes, seeking a way to leave the mountains. A couple more days passed. To his dismay Airo found that no matter which direction he took – even opposite of the energy pillar – he always ended up going toward what he determined was the center of the region.

He was trapped.

He began to travel haphazardly, taking turns at random points and making mid-step adjustments. He climbed peaks and overlooked the entire area, searching for an exit. He glided with the fri-skis without stopping for hours, using stimulants to stay awake, checking if it was a matter of crossing some kind of a threshold. Nothing helped. Airo felt his already dulled spirit falling even lower, sapping his willpower.