Nebulae and Cosmic Filaments - A Second Anthology of SF SD Shorts

Part 3 - The Mission

McCarty frowned as he stared at the image of the blueprint, his mind easily absorbing the details and the intricacy of the building's layout.

"Looks a bit like a labyrinth, actually," he said before looking over at Kinsey.  "And you want me to sneak in there, find this collection and return it to the station?  Won't this Librarian fella have some sort of security system in place?"

"An automated one, perhaps," Kinsey conceded before making the image disappear with a slap on the bracelet.  "His contingent of Caretakers were lost in the initial battle.  And, if the rumors are to be believed, so was he.  Along with the rest of the Assembly as they cowered in their supposedly bomb-proof shelter when it was destroyed by the Revaat."

A thin smile appeared on the old man's worn face.

"But I don't think you have anything to fear from security systems, or labyrinths of any sort, Mr. McCarty.  It's one of the reasons I chose you to assemble.  Your past self was fearless, clever and quick thinking, getting himself in and out of more harrowing situations than this one.  He also was ambidextrous and skilled with weapons."  He paused to tap on his bracelet and McCarty instantly recognized the type of each weapon on the shelf, and what exactly it was capable of.

"I've augmented those characteristics with additional engrams carrying tactical information.  So you'll be able to use the weapons and equipment here, in the armory, without fail."

That was when Kinsey suddenly turned to regard McCarty with narrowed eyes.

"However, even though you are an assembled human, not true born, you still have all the rights inherent to being a living creature.  So I cannot force you to participate in this venture, if you're not willing."

McCarty returned his look for a moment, thoughts whirling.

"Well, whatever or whoever I am, if I can do something to save Humanity, I want to do it," he finally said, looking down at the weapons in his hands.  "Even if it means fighting my way in and out of that place."

"Outstanding!"  Kinsey beamed.  "I was hoping you'd come to that decision.  Because we really can't do this without you.  Select your weapons of choice and armor, then come with me.  I still need to show you how you're going to get there!"

McCarty took the twin handguns, their holsters, and the rifle, along with chest plating and leg guards and heavy boots for protection.  Outside of that, he wore the overalls he had been given straight out of the assembly tank.  Kinsey had said he was selected because he was quick and agile.  So it was logical that he would need those traits for the mission.  And wearing a whole lot of armor would just slow him down.

Thus equipped, he followed Kinsey once more through a series of corridors that did little to reveal the inside of the station.  Not that it would've mattered.  Anything that he would've seen inside would've paled in comparison to what he saw outside.

Looking into the pale, purple sky, he immediately stumbled to a halt at seeing the great, unfinished sphere that filled the greater part of it.  Noticing that he was no longer being followed, Kinsey also paused to look over his shoulder at McCarty, a questioning look on his face.

"What,..?  Ah yes, I had almost forgot.  You haven't seen the Enclosure before, have you?"  The old man turned to also look at the great shape that dominated the sky.

It was immense on a scale that McCarty simply couldn't comprehend as it filled everywhere he looked.  A great, rounded sphere that stretched from one side of the limits of his vision to the other.  And yet, it was incomplete, a great, jagged rent in the side facing them that showed the part of a distant star within.  Regardless, it easily rivaled the giant planet with its red dot that dominated what was left of the sky in terms of scope and grandeur.

"It was to be the Assembly's greatest achievement," Kinsey explained.  "Justification for taking away our ability to explore.  The Enclosure would surround the first four planets of our system, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, capturing the Sun's energy for them and them alone.  And it would create enough living space for countless generations over a million years to occupy."

The smile that appeared on Kinsey's face was thin and rueful.

"Yet, such was the Assembly's arrogance, they didn't realize that they had neither the technology or the resources to actually build the thing.  And so it hangs in space, only two thirds completed, a mere shell that all the rocky moons in the solar system and most of the Asteroid Belt died to build.  Not to mention the number of lives lost by the slave laborers the Assembly employed over the span of a hundred and eighty three years to build the thing."

Kinsey sighed then waved McCarty on.

"Come.  We've got more important things to do than debate the merits and morals of building a Dyson's sphere without proper technology and resources."

Nodding, McCarty tore his eyes off the incomplete shape dominating the sky and followed Kinsey to what looked like a launch facility of some sort.

"Basically we're going to stuff you inside an asteroid and fire you from our base here, on Europa, at Earth," Kinsey explained as he looked up at the complex mechanism that they now stood beside.  "With Revaat warships dominating orbital space above Earth, anything resembling a vehicle would be instantly destroyed.  So we're going to pretend you're a piece of space debris and sneak you onto the surface that way."

He touched his bracelet and a large sphere rotated into sight, revealing a space inside that had a harness and basic controls.  The old man then reached out to give the harness a tug before looking back at McCarty.

"Time to saddle up, as they used to say in your day."

Once McCarty was settled in the harness and secured, his weapons and equipment stowed, Kinsey favored him with one last bit of instruction as he pressed some sort of medical device against his arm, the device discharging with a hiss to push medication into his body.  He could feel it dissipate in a wave of warmth.  And along with it, his consciousness.

"This is a tranquilizer.  I'm going to put you out both to make the trip less arduous.  And to prevent the Revaat from detecting your life signs.  Now, you're going to see a lot of strange things in the Librarian's retreat, Mr. McCarty," Kinsey said as McCarty began to fade away.  "Stay focused on the task.  Locate the collection and find the retreat's life boat.  It'll punch you back into space where I can send a signal for your retrieval."

"Sounds good," McCarty mumbled, almost out.

"Remember: find the collection," Kinsey repeated.  Then everything went dark.

The next thing McCarty knew, his body was still trembling after a shock had gone through it and the small space he was waking up in, was filled with flashing lights.

"Emergency hatch deploying," a soft voice said from the rudimentary control panel in front of him.  Then the space abruptly cracked open, spilling in pale light from outside.

"The passenger is advised to immediately egress before the capsule self destructs," the soft voice warned.  Grimacing, McCarty quickly strapped on his weapons and gathered his gear before scrambling through the crack in the capsule's ceiling.

Outside he saw a deep gouge plowed into the rocky soil by his landing, the melted exterior of his craft resembling a chunk of rock as Kinsey said it would.  He pulled himself free and upon hitting the ground, jogged several metres away before turning to look back at the chunk of stone.  Just in time to see it explode, the compression wave sweeping over him a second later with enough force to make him stagger as he hastily threw a protective arm up over his face.  'Well, I am truly stuck here now,' he mused before a look upward showed storm clouds approaching.  'And I better find shelter before that storm hits.

Thankfully the dark mass of a distant building was visible from where he was standing.  Pointing himself in that direction, McCarty began to walk.