The Navigator

Fuel

Fuel

It took some time, probably close to half an hour, before Dr. Fox found a main avenue that ran into the central plaza. He began to trot toward the square, keeping close to the buildings, primed to dash into an alley at the first sign of pirates.

Reaching the plaza, he peered around the corner of a low stone building covered in vines and other vegetation. The coast was clear so he dashed over to their gear, scanning the surrounding buildings and avenues for any signs of movement.

Looking at the gear, he noted nothing had been touched. They had likely not made it here. He felt a knot in his stomach and hoped they were okay.

Then a flurry of rounds tore through the gear next to him. He looked over to see the Urnak pirate with the machine gun advancing, preparing to fire again. He sprinted toward the other side of the courtyard, dodging and juking, bullets flying all around him. Somehow he managed to dive behind a pile of rubble before the Urnak found his mark.

Damn this guy was persistent. Maybe the only way to escape is under? He could take that passage that had opened up. He even thought he could remember the way.

He didn't consider it a second time, he just broke into a run. Dashing through alleys, between buildings, over rubble piles and under hanging vegetation, he ran for his life. Darting around the final corner, he entered the alleyway.

It was a dead end. The stone door was closed, and the glyphs were gone. He ran to the end and was about to push on the door, when the symbols materialized on the surface, glowing green. Moments later, the door slid open for him. He subconsciously noted the glyphs read "Welcome Navigator."

Without thinking he dashed inside, just as he heard someone crashing through the jungle behind. As he passed the threshold, the door closed behind him. There was a faint glow coming from somewhere down the sloping tunnel, so he went toward it.

The passageway leveled off after what he could only assume was several stories worth of descent. Maybe he was ten meters deep? He examined the new corridor. A puddle of light from a wan blue emitter filled the center of the hall, leaving everything bathed in a dull blue.

The walls and floor, and ceiling for that matter, were all a deep blue material, metal-like, traced with faint gold circuitry and the odd component soldered to the wall in random places. As he tentatively stepped into the hallway, lights flickered on down the line, illuminating his path.

"Welcome, Navigator, to the city of Acheron..." A wheezing, weathered, ancient sounding voice echoed.

"Who are you?" he ventured, guessing it would be an AI of some sort.

"I am the Arbiter of this city. Your command is my purpose. Shall I gather your fuel?"

"Fuel for what?" he asked, pretty sure he knew the answer.

"Fuel for the journey, of course. It shall be done, we can brook no further delay."

A tearing sound came from behind. He whirled to see the floor peeling back and what he could only describe as a chrome octopus crawling out. Immediately he bolted, running down the hall and into the unknown.

Reaching a "T" intersection, he dodged left. Another long hall drew out before him, lights springing on just ahead of his arrival. Fear was pumping in his veins, fueling his flight. He heard the scratching of the octo-bot's many legs as it scrambled down the hall behind him. Pouring on more speed, he reached the end of the corridor and shot out into a large open space, a shaft or courtyard in the center.

The platform ringing the space was supported by large metal columns extending floor to ceiling. Dr. Fox spotted the backside of the column from across the way and noted the ladder like structure. With great trepidation he reached around and grasped one of the rungs then swung his legs around. He heard the octo-bot scrambling onto the platform just on the other side of the column.

He began to very softly climb down the column, reaching the next level without sign of pursuit from the bot above. Clambering onto the platform as quietly as he could, he quickly scanned his surroundings, tensing and expecting to see more octo-bots, or something worse. To his relief, the platform was empty. A corridor led away from the central shaft, and as he approached the lights flickered on as they had on the level above.

He wandered for some time, hours probably, admittedly completely lost. In the distance was a faint rumbling. He seemed to have escaped both the pirates and the octo-bots, but wasn't really any better off now. He turned down a corridor and faced a dead end hallway.

"If we are to journey, I must gather your fuel," the voice of the Arbiter came again.

"No thanks. How about instead you tell me how to get back to the surface? You said I could command you."

"Affirmative. But while you are the Navigator of Acheron, you are not accepted until you have given the fuel."

"And what is this fuel?"

"Your life pattern."

"DNA?"

"Affirmative."

He heard octo-bots rising from the floor behind him as it tore open. As he spun metallic tentacles grabbed him, lashing around his arms and legs. They wrapped tentacle after tentacle around him holding him aloft and exposing his forearm. A probe with a needle on the end hovered near the throbbing vein in his arm.

Then it plunged in and his blood began to flow up the clear tube that was attached. Screaming, his blood flowed and flowed. Were they going to leave him dry? He began to feel lightheaded and was on the verge of blacking out.