Darklight: Precipice

Part 24: Utopia's Shadow

The south-eastern coast of Utopia City was a great cliff face, a vertical drop that was hundreds of meters high. Many a broke businessmen, troubled teen or any other other person who couldn’t handle life any longer chose to dive to their death from this location, hoping to end their lives on the jagged rocks below. But these rocks didn’t stretch out for long until there was another vertical drop, but this time below the water - a great trench that was also many hundreds of meters deep and lead to a part of the ocean where the pressure would crush anything that reached that depth.

Within this sea floor trench sat a modest complex: a few laboratories and enough accommodation for around two hundred people. The old and forgotten deep sea research post was protected by a dome shaped forcefield, a shield generator stolen from a Skry installation hundreds of years ago. Within the artificial bubble of atmosphere pumped into the shield from pipes that spread out for hundreds of miles in all directions and that were hidden amongst the maintenance shafts of Utopia City, was a Lordship, resting on the once wet rocky sea floor next to the collection of strutted square boxes connected by tubes that made up the installation. This Lordship belonged to Lord Regina, and as she looked out at the ship that had not moved in several weeks she grew impatient.

“We should make our move, now”. She spat, banging her fist down upon the dilapidated pine and chrome desk at which she sat, a map of Utopia City behind her and a dated but still functioning tabled computer perilously close to the edge. The square room was small, tiny in fact, and there was a small porthole style window looking out to her Lordship which sat there like a beached shark, its stark aero and aqua-dynamic fins looming in the little light that made it down this far. The reinforced glass in the porthole distorted the view a little - the base was designed to withstand flooding and was totally waterproofed, but the pressure would crush them all if the shield failed.

“We are not in a position to attack just yet” the man sitting opposite her replied. The solitary lightbulb that hung from a wire from the low ceiling was swinging slightly, casting strange shadows on his face. His skin was pale and his eyes bagged. He wore black military fatigues and combat trousers, with boots to match. The straps over his shoulders could hold grenades and ammunition but were currently empty and the medium black hair that was slicked back matched his goatee as well as displaying the four veins on his forehead that marked him as a Skry.

“We’ve got ships at the ready hidden all around the coast and our spy network have full barracks. We could take them down in one fell swoop”. Regina herself wore a white blouse with grey pinstriped trousers and high healed boots. She may be organising a rebellion, but dressing the part of commander in chief set her apart from the dregs of both humanity and Skry that she had to stoop to in order to win this cold war.

“Do I need to remind you that they still have the hybrid?” The Skry man said calmly, looking at Regina with a cocked head of mild interest. He looked like he was in his mid thirties but for all Regina knew he could be hundreds of years old. Probably was.

“Soran?” She snorted. “He’s been neutered, he’s harmless”.

“Harmless?” The man replied. “May I remind you that this man destroyed my farther even before he came to possess the hybrid powers that he now commands?” Regina remained silent for a moment.

“My apologies” She said, feeling slightly embarrassed at her oversight. “The death of Lord Mallix must have been difficult for you”. The man grinned at her, revealing pointed teeth. The shadows under his eyes lengthened. Were they really cast by the lightbulb above, or something else?

“Oh my love, don’t be sorry” he jeered, leaning over and putting one of his long, black nailed pale hands perilously close to her own. It looked like a claw. She dared not move away, the man was unpredictable.

“For if it wasn’t for my father’s death, I would never have learned the secrets of the shadows”.