Chapter 5, Pieces Fitting Together
Nagate has fought well with his artificial Kabi sword, but its reach was a problem he would struggle more and more to overcome. The undead were becoming bigger, stronger and more complex in every encounter; chopping off their weaponized limbs would still guarantee a mission kill, the main issue would be getting through the blades and hardened skin.
Luckily, Dr. Kyne directed Samuel Irons, one of the ship's resident fixers and a fellow believer, to help him figure out a solution. Spending some hard-earned time at a Bench, the two built a well-balanced sturdy connection handle for the katana, turning it into a makeshift spear or long Naginata.
"I swear to Altman, even a Line Gun won't break this weld. This is the same formula they use for armor on a Level 5 suit."
"Thank you, Irons-san." Nagate gave the spear a brief whirl at a safe distance, "I'll be ready to go with the hydroponics repair team in no time."
"Chief Vincent said you should take one more shift off, gather your pubescent brains before you exhaust yourself."
A third of the security team has been incapacitated, killed or mutated since the crash landing, and Benisuzume has been practically deputized as a high value core asset for quick response. She went through stasis packs at roughly the same speed as Security consumed ammo, although she has learned to prevent herself from breaking more packs.
The mission from first mate White was to keep every major system operable by protecting the key staff members running them and responding to calls, until the communications system is repaired. Fixing the Shockpoint drive was essential, but the captain said returning home would only be possible after reconfiguring the gravity tethers to ditching the landmass from Aegis VII first. They need more manpower, preferable a combat ship or two from Earthgov.
"The sooner the hydroponics section is fixed, the sooner I can get extra food. Extra oxygen for the ship, too."
"Cab't argue with that, kid. The air has gotten unnatural, unfit for the Marker's creations since the creature outside latched on."
Oh, right. Many people here believed the Marker, their Kabi equivalent, created intelligent life. There were people that worshipped Kabi and complained when artificial Kabi were mass produced, while others wanted to artificial Kabi swords as religious idols.
Thanks to some broadcasts from Dr. Kyne and preachers in the crew, people were ecstatic about the "Messengers" that arrived before the second Marker - Nagate himself, and Benisuzume. He struggled inside on whether to still call her that or Hoshijiro, like in the old times. She said he can just call her Shizuka now, though those videos of her could only remind him of her previous life as the murderous, skeletal, red entity of raw power. She was still a strong disturbance in his tight-strung brain constantly on the lookout for Gauna intrusions, while the mutated undead were more recognizably human-sourced. Flesh and blood, not physics-defying Hyggs substance.
Once in a while he would catch himself thinking: "I'm fighting alongside a Gauna, against things that used to be people."
Some Unitologists on the ship were very open to her following Kyne and Irons' example, too open for his sensibility. For example, they've claimed that since the red Hyggs particle cannon disintegrated the dead - and undead - it touches, Benisuzume possesses the power to take their souls nearer to Convergence with the entire universe. It was completely different from the flamethrowers used by the security team.
The ecstasy of meeting Shizuka again has subsided very fast, after they parted their ways on different patrols cross the maze-like interior of Ishimura. With some alone time, he thought he could start to understand how those scared of Tsumugi felt on Sidonia, though it was unfair to compare the two demi-humans. No, Benisuzume wasn't a hybrid, only a flawed copy built from physically unspeakable materials. Or worse, a reanimation.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Didn't he always hope to see a reanimation of Hoshijiro Shizuka's own body and soul one day, ever since he recovered the first Ena humanoid from Gauna-491? Now seemed like the dream has come true, her being alive and retaining her compassionate and humble identity. If she could truly become the first speaker between humanity and Gauna, then it would be her dream coming true too.
Something pained Nagate every time he tried to solidify these arguments in his mind about true Shizuka surviving in the altered frame of Benisuzume. Worse, glances of his worst memories would resurface to dissuade him: Gauna 487 assimilating Yamano Eiko then wearing her face, whose radio desperately calling him simultaneously to save her and kill her; Benisuzume's finger claw blades cutting Honoka Hou into bloody ribbons in her cockpit, then reporting in human language; an entire spaceship assimilated by Gauna, its crew visibly melted together into their seats.
The spear in his hands felt much friendlier and easier to emphasize with than the "Messenger" in a shroud of red particles. After all it was made with artificial Kabi, the solution against all Gauna.
"Hey! Good looking pig sticker there, Nagate!" Mike has returned from his patrol, "You sure you're going on the next trip?"
"Yeah, I'll get going right now. Shouldn't keep Ramirez-san and Zoe waiting."
"I'll buy you a mango Dejarta once food processor is fixed. Which one your girl gonna like, how about Saffron?"
Nagate was out of the room before he finished.
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Third day after the outbreak, it was long enough for Jesus to return from the dead and Altman to see the times of the Dinosaurs. Dr. Kyne has finished the SCAF book of blacksites and sent some choice sections to Mathius, along with his advice on immediate operations. They were all left unreplied on "read".
He made his way to the bridge with the last sliver of hope to resolve things gentlemanly. Still, he had a sedative syringe ready.
"The SCAF was simply unready for their test before Convergence." Turns out Mathius has read his notes, "All I see is we need to be stronger than them."
"Benjamin, are you strong enough to leave behind your pride, then? Forget the honor of discovering this Marker. We had enough data for the church to analyze back home, but the window for us to make a run for it is smaller and smaller."
"The church back home! What do they know? It's me crossing the galaxy to pick up the Marker, and they called this errand a reward for years of my loyalty. And you?"
"Please, look at what happened to Barrow when he tried to claim the Marker. I can already feel its wrath. Cut our losses and drop it, it has been three days."
He held back the quiet part: The captain was effectively using the crew as hostage unless he was allowed to take credit for discovery.
"If it takes forty days, if Convergence comes to us, I stand by the Marker. Do you? Trying to get me to leave the Marker, you said you want to let your so-called "Messenger" fire her laser at it You're too proud of her."
"Subject H is a completely new life form from a different universe. She's cauterizing the wounds left by the Marker. For the red Marker, there's nothing about it we haven't observed from the original. Nothing!"
"How much faith have you lost, Terrence? Oh, if I let brother Eckhart know, every Paragon will be cursing your name till Convergece happens."
"Eckhart is long dead by now. The shuttle port below is all fucking blown! All we can do for him is dropping the Marker."
Mathius took a long breath, maybe it was him finally seeing reason.
"Navigations, we're going. We have all the time to talk on Earth. Lock every bulkhead, then activate Shockpoint."
Kyne saw White shudder.
"The holy artifact must be delivered to the Church, if humanity is to be delivered into the welcome arms of the universal awakening!
"It's giving our dead extra arms, and making even more of them. Don't you see what the SCAF experienced in their awakening? The crew can't stand another day, another hour being murdered by reanimations. They could even lose their faith in the Marker! The Messenger can destroy it if you don't want to stain your hand, she is our only way out!"
"The faithless want to destroy the artifact because they fear it. I won't allow it, Kyne, I will not allow it! Altman watches us."
"The Marker is making us paranoid and delusional; it's the only explanation for the irrational behavior that has been plaguing the colony, the crew, and now the officers." Kyne made a brief wink to White, who gave a shrug.
"Your sudden loss of faith is delusional. I'm not going to allow you or your devil-spawned "Messenger" to destroy the Marker. White, have the Doctor restrained! Nobody onboard feeds that thing again, that power is nothing more than temptation."
"Sir, he's right." White gestured for the other crew members to listen.
"Is this a mutiny? He's speaking heresy! The book on SCAF research is simply jealousy trying to deter the faithful. He's a spy, planted on my ship to destroy any hope we have of transcending death."
Talk was no longer an option. Kyne pulled out his syringe and readied it: "By Maritime Law Article 54-69, I hereby declare Captain Benjamin Matthius unfit for duty. Gentlemen, carry him to his room and set the lock for remote access only."
"The Marker's true home is Earth! Bring it back, Terrence! Please!"
"I'm sorry, Ben, but I can't let you do this... Shit!"
The captain deactivated magnetic boots and lunged at him, shaking off the two men holding him. A hair-raising dance of fists and syringe movements followed, ending up in the needle sticking into Mathius' eye. The others tried to prevent permanent damage; though, after one poorly balanced dodge, Mathius fell onto the floor. It was just enough momentum upwards to drive the needle all the way into his brain.
"What's done is done, then." White slowly managed the words as Kyne tried and failed to revive Mathius. When the doctor finally gave up, both thought of the next step in this new normalcy, "Is Subject H ready? Can we call her up to send Ben off on his way?"
"She's too busy." Kyne sighed, "Plus, the church wouldn't be happy if he's unceremoniously evaporated by the kid I chose. Just... Put him in deep Cryo."