Matthew’s void walking ability gave him a significant head start toward Maluna’s Grotto, but we could assume that Owen and whoever was holding Dick captive would not have the same advantage. At best, they’d have an hour’s lead on us.
Fortunately, there were benefits to aligning ourselves with the local authorities. Koraf and his operatives didn’t need to travel to the Grotto via traditional means. Even the fastest vehicle traveling over land and sea couldn’t outmatch the shortcut we were about to take with the small contingent of operatives Griff had been able to gather on such short notice.
They called it the Oribital, so appropriately named because it could achieve long distances of travel across Kalo-Mahoi much faster via low space orbit. It was a highly monitored and restricted mode of travel only available to Commonwealth officials and the appropriate City-State governments. Since it was a Malunite network of transportation, even the Syreni wouldn’t have access to it.
We took only what we could carry on our person, as there was a need to save on the weight load so we could transport as many people as possible in one trip. Our journey started with a teleporter trip from a secure military facility in New Horizon City, to the even more secure facility orbiting Kalo-Mahoi. I had been in a teleporter only a handful of times; even in the Pact Worlds, this type of technology wasn’t commonplace and certainly not mainstream.
While there were many instances of people, like Matthew, who had been born with or acquired short range teleporting and portal abilities that could take them around from place to place easily, teleporter technology was limited in that it was only reliable between two fixed destinations. Hence, many city-states like New Horizon had access to the low-orbit hub through their linked teleportation platforms, which made the first leg our journey quick and effortless.
But since there were no linked platforms inside or even close to Maluna’s Grotto, the second half of our trek would be more traditional. We loaded into a waiting inter-orbit transport, fitting as many of us as we could in the two they had available. From there, we would skip most of the distance between New Horizon City and the Grotto by reentering the planet’s atmosphere on a direct approach to our destination.
Given the nature of Matthew’s ability, we expected to arrive at the Grotto after Matthew but before Owen. In our hastily put together plan, we had decided to set an ambush and await Owen’s arrival. If we spooked Matthew, he could very well disappear with the Diadem in a blink. That was Koraf’s concern. Our concern was making sure Owen arrived with Dick, which wouldn’t happen if Matthew got spooked and zipped off before we could subdue him.
Overall, once the exchange was made, Owen wouldn’t be able to just teleport away with the crown, and Matthew wouldn’t be able to do so with Dick either, or risk killing him and the entity inside him. This was a status quo we could all live with.
“So, we let Koraf handle Owen and the crown and we worry about Dick, is that right?” Ryuuk said, though I could tell he had issues with this plan.
Our ire over Gramps’ death and every other fucked up thing that had happened to us on this planet had shifted considerably from Owen’s shoulders to Matthews, but none of us were entirely comfortable just letting the Owen thing go.
“That’s what we told Koraf,” I said, keeping my voice low.
We were crammed in the back of one of the transports, and the nearest Malunites to us seemed preoccupied going over their own operational plans.
“But we're not really doin’ that are we?” Ryuuk guessed.
“No,” Vomero, Cash, and I all said at the same time.
“Don’t you feel a little bad about lying to the guy again?” he asked.
“No,” the three of us spoke in unison once again.
“Well, me either really, not if it gets justice for Gramps,” Ryuuk said. “But I mean, it does kinda give me a twinge of guilt after he let us come along here.”
“Koraf wouldn’t even know where to look if it wasn’t for Cash,” Vomero said.
“Exactly,” Cash added, “we don’t owe him anything.”
“One thing wasn’t a lie,” I said. “The priority is getting Dick back. If an opportunity presents itself to send Owen back to the demon he crawled out of, then so be it.”
Soon, we fell quiet as the rumble of reentry had us all bracing ourselves. The transport vehicle’s shields and inertial dampening systems were solid, so there was no need to strap in to harnessed seats. Instead, most of the people in the transport held pull bars running along the top and sides of the cabin. It was a design common for military transport vessels, leaving people on their feet with weapons strapped and ready for deployment.
Because the transport was only built for low-orbit travel, several long narrow windows ran horizontally along the cabin. Through one of them, I caught a brief glimpse of Kalo-Mahoi from orbit. It was a vast, beautiful blue disc, dotted sporadically with clusters of islands both in the ocean and floating above its surface.
The angle didn’t allow much of a view in front of us, so it was hard to tell how close we were to our destination. As the windows cleared of the familiar orange glow associated with aerodynamic heating, I could see we were at a part of the planet that was strangely devoid of the island outcroppings I had seen peppering the rest of the planet. We appeared to be approaching a swath of vast, empty ocean.
“The Grotto is only accessible underwater,” Vomero said. “That’s why Lord Acheron has been able to hold the Malunites off of it this long.”
“Perfect,” Cash grumbled. “Back to being trapped like rats in some underwater location that is sure to be my grave.”
“Well, you survived at least two near death experiences underwater, so far,” I said cheerily.
“Exactly,” he said. “What are the odds of me surviving a third? I much preferred the whole floating high above the water on an island.”
Before we could have any more discussion, the transport plunged beneath the ocean’s surface and the windows filled with deepening shades of blue as we descended toward the Grotto. Surprisingly, the ocean floor here wasn’t very deep, but the small cavern serving as a type of moonpool entrance would make locating it without coordinates like finding a specific grain of sand on a beach.
As we approached, an eerie and familiar moan rocked the cabin, and Koraf’s men looked visibly shook.
“MMMMMMRRRAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”
Our presence had not gone unnoticed by Acheron, as the transport rocked from underwater turbulence as the spirit passed uncomfortably close to our vessel. Yet, it did not attack or seem more than mildly interested in us.
Our transport, which contained both Griff and Benzo along with a large contingent of Malunite operatives, was the only one to enter the water. Koraf’s transport had stopped to hover near the surface, unwilling to endanger the Senior Councilman’s life without first testing the waters, literally.
“GUUUUUUURRRRRRMMMMMM!!!!!!!”
The water spirit’s groan was almost deafening this time, followed by a series of high-pitched clicks. Acheron made another pass at our transport, this time kicking up a rip current so strong it sent the vehicle rolling onto its side. The inertial dampeners weren’t built to withstand that type of turbulence, and the occupants of the cabin were left scrambling to stay upright.
Luckily, we made it to the entrance before he returned for another pass. As the transport surfaced, we could see it was part of an underwater lagoon lit by incandescent stones lining the walls of the structure. The effect was that it caused the lagoon to glow. The transport pulled carefully up to the edge of the lagoon and the loading doors opened, allowing us to file out.
Before we did, however, Griff went over the basics of the operation one last time.
“Remember, maintaining cover is key. We want to set up a perimeter without being detected. Our transport won’t be able to remain here, or it will be detected as soon as our targets arrive. We’re on our own down here. Stick to your assigned objectives.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
We had already been told that the plan was to scout out the main chamber and the surrounding tunnels in small groups to avoid detection. With the tracker, we’d be better able to pinpoint Matthew’s location now that we were in the area.
Our one advantage was that Matthew shouldn’t realize that we knew his location, and therefore wouldn’t be looking out for us. If anything, he might mistake our party for Owen’s group on initial contact. As such, our group would travel alone and away from Koraf’s men because we were the only ones Matthew would recognize right away.
Soon the groups were dispersing. We had about 12 people who came down with us, not including our own group. We made our way down one of the side tunnels, checking things out as we went. For the most part, the Grotto looked like a basic underwater cave structure with stalagmites and stalactites everywhere.
The one unique feature was the faint glow of the incandescent material running like veins through the walls. It was sporadic at best, but it provided enough ambient light in some places for us to make our way without the need for a light.
Even deep underground, the occasional distant moan of Lord Acheron could be heard reverberating throughout the caverns. It made for a good noise cover, at least. As soon as we were clear of the Malunites, we resumed our discussion from the transport.
“It looks like Acheron is roaming free without someone to control him,” Cash said.
“You'd think since Matthew has the crown, he’d use it to keep people out,” Ryuuk observed. “Or is he confident nobody will be lookin’ for him here?”
“My guess is Matthew doesn’t know how to use it, or isn't be able to,” I said. “Remember our encounter with the water spirit? The crown resonated when it summoned him. I doubt Matthew knows how to work it, hell maybe even the Malunites don’t know how to work it.”
“I guess that explains why the Malunites have had the diadem in their possession for nearly a week and yet haven’t moved on the grotto until now,” Cash said. “Even if Acheron isn’t actively attacking people, his presence would make it hard to access and difficult to secure.”
“The entity knew how to work the Diadem,” Vomero pointed out. “I’m thinking that the fewer details we mention to Koraf or anyone about the entity, the better. We can surmise that Matthew has kept that info to himself, as well, or else nobody would be handing over Dick to him.”
“If the Malunites want to do a thorough job of securing this scepter, they’ll have to come up with a way to gain control of Acheron,” I said. “That’s even more reason not to mention the entity’s special connection with the Diadem. You’re right, Vomero, we don’t want Dick getting caught up in that quest for control. ”
“I wonder how the Syreni queens and kings did it,” Ryuuk mused. “You think the Syreni just know the trick, and if Owen gets his hands on the crown, he could use it?”
“There’s something in the Syreni historical records about a coronation ritual,” Vomero said. “It could be some type of incantation or magic that bestows stewardship of the Diadem to a particular person.”
“Perhaps that’s why Owen and Katra kept Queen Lethe alive until the trap was ready to spring,” I said, “to maintain control of the Diadem.”
We reached a spot in our passageway without the glowing ore; it appeared to be the entrance to a small cavern. Cash called for a short pause while he used his infrared eye to check for anyone present. The iris of his eye pulsed with a green light as it scanned, and I noticed he kept his other eye closed as his bionic one performed its task.
“It’s clear,” he said and motioned to me.
“Supernova,” I whispered.
I was able to channel tiny amounts of my cosmic energy into the ability to provide a dim spark of light. This wouldn’t blind anyone but made an effective light source. It floated about six inches above my palm, and I could direct it with a thought to hover around me as long as it stayed within a certain range.
By this time, it felt like we had descended deep into the bowels of Maluna’s Grotto. Even the reverberations of Lord Acheron’s moans were distant background noises at this point. As the light of my supernova ability panned over the area, the light reflected off something shiny in the corner.
I stepped closer and gave the light just a little more juice to see clearly. It was a door. Not the type usually leading from room to room but the type of hatch usually found on the outside of a ship.
“A ship?” Vomero asked. “What is a ship hatch doing buried in the side of an underwater mountain?”
“Look closer,” Cash said, scanning with his eye. “This isn’t part of the mountain proper. It looks like a cave in covered it in rubble.”
Cash paused in his assessment to think about that situation as he glanced anxiously at the cavern ceiling.
“Cave collapses,” he muttered. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
“If you can clear the opening enough, it’s possible I can get the door open,” Vomero said.
“That’s all well and good,” I said, “but remember we’re on a deadline here. Take a look and see if there’s something useful, and then we have to keep moving.”
“I’ll keep an eye out to make sure nobody is sneakin’ up on us unawares,” Ryuuk said, seeming less interested in the discovered ship than he was in moving on to our destination.
Cash used his superior strength to move the pile of rubble away from the door. As a result, part of the pile started slipping down to expose a portion of the ship’s hull. I could tell the material was resistant to natural decay. Though dusty, it looked untouched by corrosion and shone with the familiar blue sheen of an engineered material usually found on high grade vessels. I didn’t recall the name.
“What’s this material called?” I asked.
Vomero stepped up to the door and placed a hand on it, closing his eyes as he concentrated the energy flowing through him.
Cash scanned the exposed metal with his eye.
“No idea,” he said. “The closest identifiable metal is a space grade triple reinforced carbo-tungsten, but it’s not exactly a match.”
“If it’s RCT, it’s the most high end version I’ve ever encountered,” Vomero said, still concentrating on opening the door. “This is tricky, almost like you need a certain passcode or biosignature to operate the main systems...there’s got to be a way to override it, though...”
As he muttered to himself, Cash and I continued to slowly and carefully uncover more of the hull. Tucked under a thruster was a small lever and a symbol that clearly marked it as accessing the door.
“Found it,” I said, and Vomero blinked as he opened his eyes to glance at us curiously.
“The override,” Cash said, pointing at the lever. Then he reached down to give it a pull.
The door rumbled shakily open, as if shaking off decades of dust and dirt.
“Rudimentary but effective, I suppose,” Vomero muttered grumpily at being outdone by simple mechanics.
“Remember, we have to be quick,” I said, following Vomero through the door.
The interior was dark but surprisingly spacious. I had the sense that the vessel was a lot bigger than the pile of rubble hiding it suggested, possibly twice the size of the transport we had sold. I let my supernova spark float ahead of us to light the way.
The door, which we could now tell was located on the side of the ship, opened into a large commons room. The design looked foreign to me; it had an ancient quality to it but didn’t feel dated. On the contrary, everything looked slightly more advanced than was common among vessels these days.
Comfy looking seat benches lined a sunken area in the center of the common room in a semi-circle. The seating area faced a large viewing screen that was currently unpowered like the rest of the ship. There were three corridors that led from this room—one to the left of the seating area and two to the right.
I shared a look with Cash and Vomero and shrugged.
“Splitting up would make this faster,” I said.
“What exactly are we looking for?” Cash asked.
“I’ll take the single passage toward the front,” Vomero said. “It probably leads to a control room. It would be interesting to know if this thing is operational in case things go sour down here and we don’t want to rely on the Malunites for a ride out.”
“Even if it does run, it seems very stuck in a cavern,” Cash pointed out.
“True,” Vomero said, suddenly at a loss.
“Just take a quick look around and see if there’s anything useful around, then,” I said, and we split up.
Cash and Vomero each took out light sticks and made their way down a corridor. I took the passage on the right that Cash hadn’t taken.
My corridor held a series of five rooms. All the doors were open by default. Some looked like sleeping cabins, others looked like workspaces. There was also a small lavatory and shower unit on this corridor. The ship was obviously not a transport. Transports focused on storage with a single, no-frills passenger cabin. This was a research vessel, if the workspaces were any indication, and built for longer stretches of habitation.
Where did this come from? And why was it left here? Was this something the Syreni were hiding?
Given the still preserved state of the vessel, it was hard to tell if it had been here for the few decades the Syreni had control of the Grotto or longer.
The hallway I traveled emptied out into a large cargo bay. There was little contained within it but several bays harboring technology I wasn’t familiar with. Cash emerged from another door into the cargo bay, apparently both corridors led to this area.
“Find anything?” I asked, and he shook his head.
“Just a bunch of rooms and labs,” he said, “you?”
“Same,” I said with a shrug. “Looks like a bust. We need to get going though, so let’s collect Vomero and go.”
Back in the commons room, Vomero was just emerging from the front corridor.
“This place is fascinating but not very useful for us, unfortunately,” he said. “As far as I can tell, the ship is mostly intact, but there’s no way to use it without some specific biomarker I can’t identify with my skills alone.”
“We’ll have to leave the mystery unsolved,” I said. “We need to be moving toward the rendezvous quickly.”
He nodded, then followed me back out into the cavern. Ryuuk approached us as we emerged.
“I took a stroll down the corridor ahead,” he said. “We’re not far from the main chamber, and I can hear some type of loud conversation happening.”
“Let’s hurry then,” I said, eager to make sure we were in position to prevent anything detrimental happening to Dick when Owen arrived.
Seeing that the corridor ahead was once again lined with the incandescent ore, I extinguished my supernova, while Cash and Vomero turned off their light sticks. Then we quickly, but quietly, made the final descent down into Maluna’s Grotto.