Tahu was in a little too deep. They knew this. They knew it after the first bolt of lightning slammed into their ship and they lost power. The rotating loss of control was one thing. They didn’t mind that. They liked the excitement as they wrestled with the yoke to right the ship even though it shouted at them that it wasn’t on.
Reaching down they pressed a few buttons then punched them to restart the systems. Their displays flashed several times but then glowed brightly and the thrusters came to life. Shouting in excitement they yanked the yoke up and shot into the air spiraling upward. Piercing through a thick clump of clouds they floated in the sky.
Everything was purple. Various hues of it in every direction. Clouds rolled and moved angrily across the sky. Also, rapidly, no formation in the same place twice after a few minutes. Checking one of their sensors were still on the fritz, static jumping on and off.
“Really? Come on. Don’t leave me stranded in this place. A week of searching is a little too much already. I mean might be my fault but still.” The sky lit up in front as jagged bolts streaked in front of them. Their ship beeped at them, alerting them that lift threatening heat was nearby. “Yeah you don’t say.”
Turning the ship again they spun it and went away from the rapidly forming storm ahead. Then again everything on this planet was storm. Storm above, storms below, storms behind. Storms everywhere.
Shutting their eyes they took a slow breath. Their silver skin flashed with the lightning. Their thick cable like hair was plugged into the back of the ship and their body suit needed to be changed out. They needed a recharge to be honest. Sharp features like most Zorgs marred by their animated features.
“Hey, systems. What’s below all this mess?”
The computer was silent, which was new, then whirred to life showing a display of the planet. It showed space, the planet, where they were and then several hundred miles down was a mass. Below that for another several hundred miles was solid. “Is that water?”
“No, not water. Highly compressed liquid puromine,” they said to themself, reading aloud. “Beneath that is the core of the planet. It is as dangerous as is everything else here.”
“Wow, that’s just terrible.” Tahu said shaking their head slowly and took another swift turn. “And what about that thing I’m supposed to be finding. Is it nearby?”
The radar pinged over the map and it showed a red dot actually within the ocean of don’t go in. Beside it was a diamond shaped object. A stone with markings and runes all over it. Somewhat near the surface but still within the ocean. “So can the ship actually survive it?”
A bar appeared on the display as it calculated what they asked. It showed the percentage of survival being only 19%. “Oh that’s lovely. How long can I survive down there and then make it back out?”
A sudden flash of lightning and they dove the ship downward. Something like wind snatched the ship out of the air and threw it into a cloud. “If I weren’t a zorg this would probably be sickening.” Hands gripping the yoke tighter they whipped it to the right and that turned the spin horizontal.
Pulling the yoke back and turning the ship right with the winds they accelerated to fly into the winds. Regardless they were stuck in a storm and they had to figure a way out of it. “Oh this is lovely. And what’s the direction of the storm?”
The cockpits windows changed and the display showed arrows. The side window displayed the current direction of the storm. As they glanced to the opposite window they saw the radar continue to beep. “So this is a bad idea but can’t be worse than where I am now. Right? All this for a magic stone.”
Touching the display, they shut their eyes and then took their hands off the yoke and let the ship be carried by the wind. It threw them around, them him like a leaf but they kept themself calm for this one. Gripping the yoke tightly they took steadying breaths as the ship hit the top of the clouds.
As gravity took hold they turned the ship to point nose down and then shoved the yoke forward and punched the engines to max as they exploded into the storm. The lightning, the clouds, everything blurred around them as they shot through the storm like a bullet and hoped for the best while expecting the worst.
This was the last ditch effort that they were good at doing and they knew that Ula wouldn’t approve and that Ya’Cahin would be at their side. She’d probably be the one to suggest it. Lightning flashed again as they exited the storm but that was only the beginning of the escape.
Below them was a vast silver mass completely still. Unaffected by the storm above this was a peaceful sea. How a planet could be tearing itself apart up above and the ocean below not bat an eye was beyond them. But they hated storm planets.
Shuddering they checked the radar again. They were off by a few units and going to miss the stone. They had to change the trajectory. Turning the yoke the ship spun rapidly as they angled it slightly up. Swerving downward it slammed into the ocean with a thick thud.
Everything was bright purple and the ship’s alarms went off immediately. The shield levels showed and the power levels were rapidly declining. Turning the yoke rapidly toward the radar’s signal. Time ticked down in the corner of their eye and the ship wasn’t responding the way they wanted.
“Come on ship. I can’t believe you’re being like this just because of a little cold puromine.”
The ship blasted forward trudging through the liquid as their eyes tried to lock on to the stone. Time ticked down as they navigated the ocean and homed in on it. It was worrying how close they were coming to the deadline. Yet in this ocean of purple they saw it.
A glowing orb pulsating with flickering electricity. In the center they could see something diamond shaped and knew that it had to be the shard. “Alright, here we go.”
Pushing the yoke forward they started toward the object tapping on the dashboard deploying a claw mechanism from the bottom of the ship. Reaching to a joystick on the right of the ship they watched a cursor appear on their windshield.
Directing the joystick around and the cursor moved. They nodded as they felt around for the sensitivity and aimed at the circle. Squeezing the trigger, the claw shot outward and glanced off the shield. Swearing to themself the claw slowly retracted and they glanced at the display. The power levels were down to 6%.
“That’s really not a lot of time left. Gotta get this soon or I’m screwed. For real.”
Taking their hand off the joystick they grabbed the yoke and hit the thrusters. The ship darted forward swimming toward the shard. As they got closer the puromine was starting to bubble and one of the ships alarms went off. Eyes wide they grit their teeth and pressed on.
As they got closer their displays were shorting out left and right and the power was getting lower. Lowering the tip of the ship below the shard they started to raise the ship and the moment shard made contact a jolt of power ran through the ship. Things went dark and they jerked their hands away from the console swearing.
“Ship. Emergency power. Now! We’re getting this stupid thing.” The lights turned red and their display gained a percent so they were at 3% now.
Dragging the yoke upward and punching the thrusters the ship began to ascend. With moments to spare they broke the surface of the ocean and let out a shout of triumph. However that was cut off almost immediately by the alarm ending with a pitiful whine.
“That can’t be good. Uh ship what’s our power levels?” The display didn’t react. They tapped a few buttons and then flipped a switch. Taking a communicator out they dialed on it and then pressed it against their ear. While they did that, they fumbled with a compartment to get a remote out.
They rested the communicator against their ear but was receiving static the entire time. Scowling they tried again and again, and again. Static each and every time. Shoving their head back against their chair they sank against the seat. “Is this the end of Tahu?” they asked of no one but the storm above.
The ship rocked suddenly and they looked up. Their vision turned white as lightning struck above the ship. Lightning had struck and they were still in one piece. That bolt should’ve turned their ship to slag. Looking out the windshield they stared at the shard which was spiraling around on the nose of the ship. As they watched they noticed the orb of energy that had surrounded the ship itself.
The radio’s static caught their attention because it stopped. Instead it was a steady hum and they turned to check the display. They were getting a signal. Not the best but it was a signal. Eyes wide they laughed and dialed to the ship’s frequency.
Before speaking they hit a switch on the side panel and ejected a flare. They watched the tiny missile go into the air and then explode with red. However the wind picked it up and they watched it spread and mix with the clouds. Something they didn’t expect.
“Hey this thing says I have a signal. I’m on the far side of the planet. Deep in a storm. Got the shard. Releasing smoke signal. Please come soon. Would love it.”
With that taken care of they stared at the stone precariously floating on the edge of the ship and decided that they’d been brash this whole time. If the stone was keeping the lightning out it might be keeping something else in.
Flipping a few switches they took a deep breath and then opened the cockpit. Air hissed as they did and they fully expected to the die instantly. However they were no worse for wear except for the smells around them. Hurriedly they stepped forward and grabbed the stone. It was like holding onto a hot coal but they didn’t let go.
Backing into the ship they set it between their legs on the floor. The ship rocked from another blocked bolt and they stared at the stone. It pulsed as if aware of their gaze. “Yaya really wanted this thing. I hope it’s worth it.”
The Harlequin Library 