Ayhoe's Diary

[Ayhoe]

Children of Silver

My name is **** *******.

Rainy Brilla, or 'Rain Man', as his friends called him, was my father. He left for Calypso several years ago. I never saw him again. My father was a skilled rifleman. He would often spend days at a time in the wild with only his gun and enough cells to keep the beasts off of his back. This would, I suppose, eventually be his downfall. Shortly after we stopped recieving transmissions from him, one of his Calypsan friends informed us that his body had been found in the wilderness. He stumbled upon a herd of Atrox one day, and they ravaged his body so badly that no revival terminal could repair it. There are reports that shortly before his death he was seen in several cities, pawning off his possessions and ranting like a madman about 'the end' and 'leaving'. Nobody knows what caused him to go mad.

You may wonder why we have different surnames. My father was a mysterious figure. Brilla was not his real last name, nor was 'Rainy' his original first name. It's been so long since he told me what it is that even I cannot remember. My father was the head of a secretive organization known as the 'Silvertongues'. Little is known about the group; it had few members and even fewer allies. Those who were known to be members were noted as being amicable and fluent with words. Hence the name, I suppose. However, after my father's death the group disbanded and no record of the members was kept.

I loved my father. He was a caring, helpful, and devoted person. The transmissions he sent our family from Calypso spoke of 'wonder', 'progress', and 'growth'. He spoke of his many adventures, his accomplishments, his friends. He spoke of creatures taller than the tallest giraffe, more massive than the colossal whale, and more deadly than the ferocious tiger.

His death came as a shock to my family. We were always so sure of him.

I am the youngest in the family. When I suggested I wanted to go to Calypso to find out what happened to him, my family protested. My father was a strong man, and Calypso is a dangerous place. I wouldn't last a minute off the shuttle. So I told them I would stay. I told them I'd forget about it and we could put the matter to rest.

I snuck out. When they were asleep, I crept from my bedroom and left. I haven't taken anything with me save for this worn diary; I hear the shuttle regulations prevent you from bringing any possessions. I'll have to smuggle this.

The shuttle leaves mid-morning. In a few hours I will have to be at the port to pay my fare. I will contact my family when I get to Calypso to assure them I am alright.

The sun is creeping over the lowest buildings in the city, and it is a long walk to the port. I am coming, father.

 

[Ayhoe]

Maybe I'm not as unprepared for Calypso as my family thought.

As I made my way to the shuttle port for departure, I had to pass through a seedy part of the city. Since it was eary morning, I didn't think too much of it. But as I passed through a narrow alley between two buildings, two men that I had not seen before appeared: one before me and one behind me.

They demanded I give them all the money I had. Since the shuttle regulations prevent one from bringing most possessions, I had only enough cash to pay my fare - and I wasn't about to give that up. I told them I had nothing. At this point I noticed that each of them held an old and very worn looking short energy blade, which one of them brandished menacingly.

'Well then,' he said, 'If yer gonna to lie to us, we'll have to see what you've got for ourselves.'

They began to advance. The walkway I was trapped in was not wide, so I could not escape past either of them. I looked around for anything that would be of use in defending myself. An old, tattered broom leaned against the wall on my right. Shrugging, I grabbed it.

The two thugs were both about the same distance from me. If I stayed where I was, I would be attacked from two sides at once. I reasoned that I should move either forward or backward in order to face each of them seperately.

The next few moments are a blur in my memory. I remember charging forward, broom in hand, to meet the first thug. As I approached him, he brought his knife down in a quick slash. I raised my broom handle to block it, but the charged energy blade cut through the wooden handle like butter. Thankfully, the blade whizzed to the left of me and I was not hurt. Following the slash, I quickly rotated and thrust the already-rasied broom towards the thug's face. He yelped as the rough and sturdy bristles collided with his eyes and mouth. Swinging my now-shortened broom handle around, I smashed the base of his neck with the blunt end. He clutched the area of impact and crumpled to the ground. His energy blade clattered and sparked at my feet.

I whipped around, expecting the second thug to be on top of me. He stood some distance away, obviously unsure of his attack. I bent down, grabbing the first thug's blade from the dirt, and threw it in the second thug's direction. It ricocheted off the building wall a few feet from his head, sending a shower of sparks over him. I had not intended to hit him, but he was startled enough to buy me some time. I turned tail, stepping over the first thug, and ran off.

Running from a fight, I'll admit, is not the most honorable thing to do. However, I was short on time and patience. As I cooled down, the adrenaline draining from my body and my heart rate returning to normal, I realized that I had defended myself. Courage. I had courage. I was brave, I was able, and I was strong. I kept my cool in a sticky situation. How different could it be facing a huge Calypsan alien? Well, that may be a bit of a stretch, but I felt confident knowing that I was not a pushover.

I was quite late for the shuttle. It had gone by the time I arrived at the port. I could not return home; though I knew I would have to catch the next shuttle; no doubt my family would soon be aware of my disappearance, and I wanted to be on Calypso before they came looking for me. That way there would be no chance of being dragged back home.

Don't get me wrong. I love my home and my family. But I also loved my father. And when nobody else wanted to go and discover the mysteries behind his death, I secretly took up the torch. I believe that this is something that needs to be done. My father was a good man, and to die alone, far from his family was a damn shame. I wish I had been with him.

Another shuttle leaves in several hours. I understand that there are a number of ships traveling between Earth and Calypso. It is a long journey, but there are enough shuttles to provide a regular departure schedule. So I will busy myself about the port, trying to dig up more information on Calypso: what the other colonists are like, the weather, the animals. I want to know as much as possible before I get there. Knowledge is power.

With any luck, my next entry will be written on a shuttle - or better yet, Calypso.

 

[Ayhoe]

This shuttle is cramped and not very comfortable, but fortunately the ride is almost over. I've been talking to a few of the other passengers, but most of them seem unfriendly or unwilling to talk more than they have to. I've learned a little about the wildlife, and about something called 'Mindforce'. I had heard of it back on Earth, but from what one of my shuttlemates tell me, it is much more common on Calypso. Colonists actually insert small chips into their brains to amplify and channel their psychic power. This ability sound intriguing. I will look into it when I arrive.

A little about my nickname. 'Ayhoe' is an odd name, and I've never heard of anyone called it but myself. It originated as a joke several years ago; some of my friends and I were chatting about a long-gone pop singer who used only the first letter of her first name and the first two letters of her last name to refer to herself. I applied the rule to my own name, and ended up with 'A-Ho'. After the initial amusement wore off, the name seemed to stick and I began to use it more and more often. It is much easier to spell out as one word, however, so I prefer the five-letter Ayhoe.

The shuttle crew had us passengers turn in all of our possessions and change into 'colonist gear', a flambuoyant orange jumpsuit and some plain shoes. I can't say it's the most exciting outfit I've ever worn, but rules are rules. I managed to smuggle my diary fairly easily; after recieving my new outfit but before turning in my possessions, I stuffed the diary into one of my new shoes, then proceeded to put them on after claiming to have no luggage with me.

A transmission just came from the shuttle bridge, and a pilot says that a strange craft has been detected in the vicinity. There are no windows, so I cannot look out. The pilot just told us to remain calm, though a dull red light has begun throbbing throughout the - what the...was that an explosion?

 

[Ayhoe]

Chapter 1: Outset

The shuttle was destroyed. A rogue robot fighter spotted us and opened fire. I am told that this is a fairly regular occurence. Part of the reason Calypso needs so many colonists is due to the overwhelming robot presence there. The mysterious machines seem to have a grudge against humans, so the colonists fight back.

Most of the passengers on our shuttle were killed, but thanks to a nearby space station the DNA of every one was salvaged and reconstructed perfectly. We remained aboard the space station for a little while, recieving some final instructions, before we were packed aboard another shuttle to make the final descent to the surface of Calypso.

The shuttle ride was short, and we landed in a city called Port Atlantis. The pilot told us this is the busiest merchant city on the continent, and as I stepped off of the ship I could hear the shouts of sellers and buyers in the distance. A few well-dressed individuals stood in booths, apparently serving to welcome new colonists to the planet. I approached one of them, a gruff-looking man in a green and purple jumpsuit, and asked him what to do next.

'What should you do?' he retorted. 'You can do whatever you like, young man. You can run around in your underpants here for all I care. But if you ask me, one of the most productive things to do is activate the continent's teleport network so you'll be able to use it later. You able to walk long distances?'

Remembering my trek from my house to the shuttle port back on Earth, I nodded yes.

'Well, that's what you should do,' he replied. 'You see, Calypso cities are connected via a network of teleporters. However, if these teleports accepted just any lifeform, we'd have aliens popping in and out of cities and that wouldn't be safe at all. So you have to manually activate each teleporter so that it recognizes you every time you use it. Do you understand?'

I told him that I did.

'Personally, I think it's a pain in the ass, but that's just the way the system works. You've got to travel somewhere on foot at least once before you can teleport there. So it'll be worth your while to activate teleports now and get it over with. Oh, and don't forget to activate this city's teleport while you're here. You'll find it in the marketplace up ahead. It's a big spinning blue thing.'

I thanked him and proceeded onward, following the sound of yelling merchants. Soon the square was before me, and the noise was nearly deafening. People were advertising their wares, shouting out requests, and everything in between. Something called 'sweat' seemed to be a popular commodity. I saw what must be the teleporter in the centre of the square: a circular blue covered platform emitting a bright blue light. Some kind of reciever rotated slowly atop the machine.

I approached the teleporter and quickly noticed what looked like a retinal scanner on the side. A green arrow with the label 'ACTIVATE' pointed to the scanner. I lowered my head and looked into the scanner. A red beam swept across my eyes, recording the image of my retinas to store in the teleporter database. I could barely hear a quiet female voice above the din of the crowd: 'Teleporter activated.'

Near the retinal scanner there was a brightly lit map labeled 'EUDORIA' showing the continent and the locations of other teleporters. I would estimate that there were twenty or more. Port Atlantis appeared to be on the southwestern shore. The nearest teleporter, a place called Billy's Spaceship Afterworld, appeared to be some distance to the northeast, across a swamp. I figured that would be as good a place to start as any, and made a mental note of the landmarks surrounding it.

Turning my attention away from the teleporter, my ears remembered the noise of all the shouting people around me. If I valued my hearing, I would have to leave this area soon. I noticed a gate leading outside the city walls, and headed in that direction.

 

[Ayhoe]

Shortly after leaving Port Atlantis, I came upon the swamp. It stretched out before me, smelly and damp, encompassing my entire field of view. A thin mist hung about, and the air was warm and sticky. Descending a small hill, I began my trek across.

Despite the smell, it was not difficult going. Where there wasn't water, the ground was dry and firm in most places. I tried to keep my bearing of northeast using a small compass device sewn into the sleeve of my colonist's outfit. At points I had to veer around ponds or streams, but the route was fairly straightforward.

After some time I began to notice that I could not see as far into the distance as before; a low fog was settling over the swamp. Soon I was engulfed in a grey haze, and could not see more than a few arm lengths in front of me. It was then, when the swamp became cramped and unknown, that I began to hear the creatures.

There were three; at least three different kinds, judging by their voices. One sounded much like an Earth frog, almost a joyous ribbit. Another let out a high-pitched whine, and the third a long and slow single note. The sounds came from all directions. My ears were telling me that this swamp was teeming with life, but my eyes told me otherwise. Either there were only a few very noisy animals about, or there were a lot and I'd been lucky not to bump into any so far.

Picking my way across a stretch of land between two small ponds, a twig snapped sharply under my foot.

'Hello?' I heard a distant, female voice.

'Is - ' my voice caught in my throat. I tried again. 'Is there someone there?'

The voice replied. 'Yes. Over here. Hurry.'

I carefully but quickly made my way toward where it seemed to be coming from, scrambling across small rocks and bunches of twigs. Presently I made out a small, female figure standing motionless in some reeds.

'Are you alright?' I asked her.

'Not quite. My foot's caught. I was wondering if you could help me.'

As I approached her, she looked up and met my gaze. I felt a shiver go through my body. Her eyes were blue like raw electricity and her hair was firey red. It fell to her shoulders, dancing about when her head moved. She wore a colonist's outfit similar to mine. I looked down and saw that her left foot was covered in mud halfway up to her knee.

'The trick here,' I told her, 'is not to pull on it too hard. You have to be gentle and let the mud release you.' I had spent a lot of time in the forest as a child, and had encountered this problem more than once. I placed my hands around her calf and slowly lifted upward. Gradually the foot began to rise, but I could also feel the mud sucking it back down. I held my grip and continued to lift.

As I pulled, I happened to look up, and was startled. At the edge of the fog, about a hundred feet away, stood a large creature. It had a round body with long, slender legs and stood tall, at least twice my height. From its face there emerged two tentacles that danced in the air before it.

'What the...' I mumbled in disbelief. This was my first encounter with Calypso wildlife.

'Shh.' She whispered. 'That's an allophyl. He's been hanging around since I got stuck here. I hear they're awfully fast and fairly dangerous, especially if you're unarmed. Try not to make too much noise. He might notice us.'

I nodded and continued to pull. Slowly, and with a drawn-out sucking noise, her foot came free of the mud. Unbalanced, she fell backward into a patch of dry grass. She laughed, then quickly covered her mouth, realizing how loud she had been.

We both looked up. The creature had turned in our direction, and its tentacles were wriggling furiously in hopes of discerning what had made the sudden noise. It began to lumber in our direction, slowly picking up speed as it entered the water.

'Damn.' She whispered. We've got to get out of here. Run!' She leapt to her feet and dashed through the grass, not looking back. 'Thanks!' I heard her yell.

'Where are you -' I started, but she had disappeared from sight. I glanced at my compass, then back at the allophyl, which had spotted me and began to trot meaningfully in my direction. She had run in the opposite direction. I began to run, northeast again, hoping that the fog would hide me from the beast's view.

I could hear the beast plodding along behind me. With its long legs, it kept up with me easily. Whenever I looked back, I saw it emerging from the fog, one long leg before it and one in tow. It emitted the same long, low note that I had heard earlier.

Looking ahead once again, I cursed as I careened off a small bank and into a pond, causing a huge splash. I picked myself up and half-ran, half-waded to the other side, where I continued to run. The allophyl followed close behind me.

My legs were burning and my breath was short as I ran, but I soon emerged from the swamp. The fog lifted, and before me was a hill bordered by a dusty embankment. My compass still read NE so I began to scramble up the dirt hill. The allophyl stomped behind me and began to clamour up the hill. My lead was diminishing.

I reached the top of the hill and looked back to see the beast not ten feet behind me. Not watching where I was going, my foot hit a small rock and I tumbled forward, the wind knocked from my lungs. The allophyl roared triumphantly and covered the last bit of distance in one long stride. It stood before me for a moment, then lowered its head toward me, its slimy mouth opening slowly...

A roar of machinery sounded and brilliant red light punched through the allophyl's body, burning it severely. A wave of heat rolled over me. The beast roared, turning to face a new enemy.

Some fifty feet away, there stood a human-shaped figure. It was made of polished metal and glass, and its arms were shaped into cylindrical laser cannons, one of which spouted a puff of smoke. A robot drone.

The allophyl loped toward the machine, though it was visibly wounded. The drone, not moving from its position, emitted another blast from its cannon. The allophyl, hit again, stopped, teetered, and fell to the ground with a loud thump. By this time I had regained my breath and stood up.

The robot, uninterested in its newly fallen victim, turned toward me and immediately broke into a run, traveling surprisingly fast for a machine. I had heard enough about the robot threat to know that this was a very bad situation to be in, so I turned and began running again.

I ran, my lungs and muscles still burning from the previous chase. The robot fired its laser cannon at me and I saw the red beam flash slightly over my right shoulder, missing me by inches. My skin felt the heat of the blast. I had not noticed before, but towering above me not far away was an automated turret, built to keep aliens out of cities. Slowly the turret turned in my direction and erupted into a cacophony of bright lights and loud gunshots.

When the smoke cleared, the turret was motionless. I looked behind me again as I ran, noticing the sudden silence. The robot lay in a mangled pile of broken and melted scrap metal, sparks jumping here and there. Apparently the turrets kept robots out too. I stopped to catch my breath. Looking up, a sign caught my eye.

Welcome to Billy's Spaceship Afterworld​

 

[Ayhoe]

A faint hum pulsed in my ears. My eyes opened for the first time in what seemed like ages. Above me, a metal ceiling mottled with veins of rust. I tried to lift my head, failed, and then tried again. The room was empty save for a few small cots similar to the one I seemed to be lying in. My limbs felt weak and heavy as I struggled to lift myself from the bed.

What happened? Where was I? The last thing I remembered was stumbling into Billy's Spaceship Afterworld, then nothing. My memory was blank. Determined to find out where I had ended up, I stumbled toward the door.

As my arm reached out to steady myself against the wall, I noticed a medium-length scar on the inside of my right forearm. It wasn't there before, yet it seemed to have been healed for some time. I felt no pain. Near the scar something dark appeared to be resting beneath my skin, about 2 centimeters wide and square in shape. Something had been implanted in my arm.

The doors to the bed-room opened and sunlight poured in, stinging my eyes. I stepped out onto a narrow lane in a rust-covered city. All was silent, the sky was bright, the air calm.

How long had I been here?

 

[Ayhoe]

As my eyes adjusted to the sunlight, I could make out a man leaning against the opposite wall down the lane to my right. He stared down at his feet, and I could barely hear that he was humming something. As I stepped toward him, he looked up. His expression turned to shock as he saw me. Pressing a communicator to his lips, he stated plainly, 'He's up.'

'Stop!' He yelled in my direction, grabbing a nearby laser rifle that I hadn't noticed. He pointed it in my direction and I froze. 'Don't move.' he ordered. I stood still and he crept toward me.

Suddenly a figure clad in colonists' armour leapt from the ledge above him. The figure landed before him, grabbing his gun before he had time to react. Whirling around, the figure was suddenly behind him. His face froze in a state of confusion as the butt of his rifle came bashing down upon his head. He crumpled to the rusted ground, unconscious.

The figure lowered the gun and I heard a voice from within the mask. 'Too easy.' It looked down at the rifle. 'And a free Brave for my effort.' I noticed the insignia for the weapons manufacturer A&P on the gun. Approaching me, the slender figure reached up to remove the bug-like mask from over its face.

'Miss me?' the girl said as she pulled off the mask. It was the same girl I had rescued from the swamp on my way to Billy's.

'You!' I gasped. 'What's going on here?'

'He's a member of the Atrox Syndicate,' she informed me, thumbing over her shoulder at the fallen guard. 'And you were their prisoner. Funny, you look almost the same - it's been...13 months since they took you.' She looked at me and saw my puzzled expression. 'Oh, I guess all this is a surprise to you, huh? Let's walk and talk - they'll be arriving in droves soon and we ought to make ourselves scarce.'

Grabbing my hand, she began to jog down the lane towards the outskirts of the city.

 

[Ayhoe]

As we ran, the girl would occasionally crane her head backwards and give me more information.

'You've been out so long! The Syndicate were keeping you there for as long as they could, but they must have run out of sedatives - supplies have been scarce lately. I can't tell you why they took you - it's as much a mystery to me - but I can bring you to someone who knows. Word on the street today was that a large number of Syndicate members were meeting in secret aboard the Crystal Palace Space Station. When I heard the news I immediately thought of you, and came here to see what I could find. This is also known to be a base of operations for them.'

I realized again that we were in a foreign place. The city was in ruins. Crushed roadways and shrapnel lay everywhere. Everything was rust-colored and dusty.

'This is Zychion Citadel, a former city that was destroyed during the robot wars. It doesn't seem to attract the most pleasant of inhabitants. From here we'll make our way north and east. There's someone I'd like you to meet hiding out at Anok Sellim's.'

'Hold on,' I told her, and stopped jogging. She stopped and turned to look at me, puzzled. 'Just who ARE you, anyway?'

'Oh!' she laughed. 'I guess it's about time we were introduced. My name is Fiona Fleming. Well, that was my Earth name, but on Calypso people usually call me Apple. And I know who you are, so now we've met!' The name - Fleming - sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where I'd heard it and dismissed the thought.

'How do you know who I am?' I probed.

'That will all be clear when we reach Anok Sellim's.' She stated simply. 'Now come on, we've got a long walk ahead of us!'

Our journey took us north, across a great lake and through damp wastelands. Along the way, we stopped to activate two more teleporters for me to use later. The sun was sinking slowly as we trekked through the forests of Atlas Island, and my legs were beginning to burn when in the distance I spotted a small shack.

'There it is.' Fiona indicated.

Minutes later we had arrived. Anok Sellim's was a small, damp squat, a haphazard mining station with some service terminals and a defense turret. We approached the hut and Fiona leaned in and rapped on the door - three short knocks, a pause, then two more. She silently opened the door and beckoned for me to follow.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could make out a small man sitting in a chair in one corner. An amplified laser rifle sat beside him on a stool, presumably for defensing himself against intruders. When he saw me, his eyes lit up.

'Ah! This fellow needs no introduction, I'm sure. Come in, come in!' The old man beckoned us forward.

'Ayhoe, meet my father.' Apple stated.

'Pleasure to meet you, sir,' I stammered. 'Can you tell me what's going on?'

'Please,' the man said, 'Call me Flu. That's what your father called me.'

 

[Ayhoe]

Chapter 2: Footprints

Jackson 'Flu' Fleming was one of two original members of the secret Silvertongues organization. Born on Calypso, he had befriended Rain Man after a business transaction in Port Atlantis. The two companions became inseparable, and the foundation of the Silvertongues organization was set on their philosophies and ideals. As they met others like them, their numbers grew. Only the finest were accepted, and they were always chosen with the finest scrutiny.

After some time, Flu simply disappeared. Rain Man never saw him again.

'You...knew my father?' I stammered.

'Knew him? Of course I did. He and I were good friends for a very long time.' Flu replied.

'You're Jackson Fleming!' I said, surprised. I remembered the name being mentioned in my father's transmission to home before he died. 'What do you know of my father? What happened between you two?' I asked him. 'Do you know why he died?'

'Unfortunately, no - at least not for sure. I do not know what was the downfall of Rain Man. I have some ideas, but I do not want to confuse you with them, not just yet. Our friendship, however, never did come to an end. I had to go away, and so I did. I went into exile for several years, and unfortunately I could not tell him, or anyone else, where I was going. Except, of course, my dear daughter.' he smiled at Apple.

'Exile?' I probed.

'I am a strange man,' he began. 'When I grew old enough, I did what most do to earn a living: I gathered sweat from Calypso's native wildlife. I became very proficient at the art, so much so that eventually I was able to extract sweat from creatures without their knowing. I could sweat all I wanted, nestled in the bushes among the creatures. I began to grow more daring, gathering from larger and more fierce beasts. Sometimes I would leave town for days at a time, to return with thousands of vials full of the stuff. I began to venture further and further, and one day, I suppose, I went too far.

'I was wandering the desert southeast of Fort Pandora when I can upon a strange sort of ship. As I drew closer to investigate, several robot drones emerged from the opening in the underbelly. As I was accustomed to hiding from animals, I did not realize that my stealthiness would not work. They quickly spotted me. I raised my hands to shield myself from their guns - but nothing happened.

'The drones approached and seized me. They dragged me onto their ship and sedated me. I remember nothing - I woke up in the desert with a fierce pain in my head and my vision blurred. I wandered for several days until my vision returned and someone found me unconscious just outside Fort Fury.

'After all this, I began to notice that I could see...things that had not yet occurred. At first it was minor - I would guess, in my mind, how much a trader would offer for my sweat before he offered it, and always my guesses were correct. After some time I began to experience visions, then see them come to life several days later. I surmised that the robots had implanted a powerful Mindforce chip in my head, one that allowed me to see into the future. I began to grow accustomed to my new sight, and used it to my advantage. I predicted my successes at the market and began to profit extraordinarily.'

I interrupted him. 'You can see into the future?'

'I can see many things.' He smiled. 'I knew your father would come before I met him. I knew that we would become friends. I saw - at least faintly - what happened when he was killed.'

'What happened?' I asked. 'Please, I must --

He spoke quickly, and interrupted me. 'I can also see, right at this very moment, that there is someone just outside that wants me dead.'

 

[Ayhoe]

I whirled around just as the door to the shack burst from its hinges and a hulking figure charged through.

The beast was immense and highly unattractive. Its flesh was a pale red colour as if it had been badly sunburned. Two large, green, bulbous eyes sat atop its head. It looked otherwise human except for its bulk - if it were human, it was overweight, and it sported a rather large but unattractive bosom. The figure pointed at Flu.

'This ends here, Fleming!' It shouted.

'Ah, but you always underestimate me, Raeky.' Flu said calmly. In the blink of an eye he dashed forward and vanished in a blaze of light.

Apple had stepped by me and lifted her father's rifle, which she now pointed at the creature. 'Don't move, now. Stay still.' She said calmly.

The creature shrieked, rummaged in the folds of its ragged clothes, and pulled out a shoe, which it hurled at Apple. Apple deftly fired and the smell of burnt leather filled the cabin as the tattered shoe scraps fell to the floor.

Shrieking again, the creature, Raeky, lunged at me, grabbing my arm. It was immensely powerful - but before it could do any harm, Apple fired again. The creature screamed as its arm was severed from its body. The amplified rifle had blasted it clean off. The useless arm fell to the ground, followed by the beast, who whimpered in submission.

'Let's get out of here!' Apple yelled at me. 'Come on!'

Stepping over the pacified creature, we dashed into the sunlight.

'What happened to your father?' I asked. He had simply vanished into thin air.

'It was Mindforce,' she explained, as we traveled eastward from the outpost. 'My father has a teleport chip that he uses in such situations. He's often on the run from something or other.'

'What was that thing?' I probed.

'That was Raeky.' She repeated the name. 'Don't worry about her arm, it'll grow back. She's a tough cookie, that one. Always showing up at the worst times.'

'Why was she after your father?' I inquired.

'That requires a little explanation. We've pieced together most of the information we've gathered and have figured out what most of this mess is about. Most, but not all.

'Years ago, the robots began abducting colonists, often performing strange experiments on them. Most colonists didn't remember the encounters and continued on with their lives. However, some knew what had happened to them. My father was one of them. Raeky was too. The robots abducted Raeky and altered her DNA, causing her to become as you just saw her: huge and malformed. Her body also regenerates at an alarming rate.

'After these experiments, as I said, the colonists who were abducted often returned to human civilization. We think that the robots wanted to see what sorts of results their experiments would have in a real-world setting. Raeky was quickly outcast from mainstream society for her deformations. My father had better luck, however. Nobody knew he was a psychic, so he kept it quiet.

'After some time the robots must have decided to terminate their experiments. Many colonists who had, months before, reported being abducted were killed in surprise robot attacks. Raeky, being one of the stronger experiments, was taken as a prisoner and a servant. Flu, my father, escaped. He was able to sense that they were coming for him, so he disappeared. Went into hiding. Of course, he had to keep moving, as the robots kept searching.

'That is why he vanished. He did not have time to bid your father farewell or get in contact with him afterwards. He had to avoid cities and outposts, and lived off the land for quite some time.

'Of course, all of this information is second-hand coming from me, but he has told me much of his life. For more details about your father we'll have to find out where he's gone into hiding again. I'm certain he'll send me some sort of message.'

'That's a lot to take in.' I stated simply.

'And as for you,' Apple continued, 'we still haven't gotten to the part where you come into the story. There's much more to tell you yet.'

Sensing something, we both looked up. Not fifty feet away, a large beast stood staring at us. Its thick hide was a dull greenish yellow and it sported four small arms and two powerful-looking legs. Saliva dripped from its enormous jaws.

'An atrox!' Apple whispered. 'We're in trouble...'

 

[Ayhoe]

The beast had caught our scent, and began to bound towards us.

'We'd better think fast,' Apple stammered. The atrox closed in quickly. In a few steps it would reach us. 'When I say so, dive away from me, to the right. If it can't figure out which of us to attack, it'll be confused. That will buy us time.' The beast's powerful feet stamped louder as it closed in -

'NOW!' Apple yelled. I leapt away from her just as the atrox crashed between us. A deafening roar escaped its jaws, one of the most frightening sounds I had ever heard. Tumbling over myself, I quickly jumped to my feet and saw that Apple had done the same. The creature looked from me to her, its massive tongue dancing across fierce teeth. Apple raised her father's gun, which she had taken from the shack earlier.

The crackle of burnt ammunition sounded loudly, and the amplified laser scorched the atrox's thick hide. It roared again and turned its attention to Apple, who walked steadily backwards while keeping her eyes fixed to the rifle's sights. She fired again. This time the atrox was hit in the jaw, and out of the corner of my eye I saw one of its teeth, which had been blasted out, spiraling through the air toward my head. I deftly reached up and caught it as I heard Apple's rifle fire again.

The tooth was about six inches long and razor-sharp. It was hot to the touch and the root was stained with a small amount of blood. As I leaned in to examine it further, I heard a shriek. The creature had reached the spot where Apple stood, and while it had been weakened from her attacks, it was still putting up a good fight. Apple was knocked to the ground and the beast stood over her, growling.

'HEY!' I yelled, and began to run towards them. 'Leave her ALONE!' Hearing me, the beast looked and snarled, but turned its attention back to Apple, who scrambled to grab the rifle that she had dropped when she fell. She screamed again as the huge beast lowered its head, its jaws opening wide...

I shouted as I leapt toward the creature's back, brandishing its own tooth. As I landed upon him, I drove the tooth with all my strength into his skin. The atrox roared again and spun, thowing me onto the ground. I had distracted it, however, and Apple snatched up the rifle, firing straight into the beast's eyes. With one final scream, the creature fell and died on the dusty ground.

Apple strode over to me and reached down to help me up. 'You OK?' she asked. Before I could reply, she froze. 'What's that on your arm?'

'What?' I asked, then noticed she was staring at the strange object I had discovered when I awoke from my captivity. 'I...don't know, it was there when I woke up at Zychion Citadel. I don't know what it is.'

'I do,' Apple said solemnly. 'It's a tracking chip. If only I had known - the Syndicate's been watching us - and probably following us - this whole time. I should have known it wouldn't be so easy.' She held my arm, staring intently at the chip under my skin.

'We have to take it out. The sooner, the better. In fact, I have an idea that will not only slow the Syndicate down, it will get them out of our hair for quite some time...' Her gaze drifted over to the dead atrox, its dull hide still smoking from the rifle blasts.

 

[Ayhoe]

I winced and groaned as Apple inserted a small knife blade into the flesh of my arm. 'This won't take long.' she soothed. She quickly withdrew the knife and produced a small pair of forceps, used for handling very small objects. Inserting it into the small incision she had made, she attempted to get a grip on the tracking chip. Once she succeeded, she was able to slowly extract it from my arm. It was small, square, and black in colour, but otherwise unremarkable. 'We'll bandage up that cut and I'll have a look at it with my Vivo when we get back to civilization.' she said.

After she had wrapped a length of cloth around my arm to soak up the blood, she stood with the chip in her hand. 'Now we plant the decoy.' she giggled. Stepping over to the dead atrox, Apple knelt and slipped the bloody chip into its unmoving mouth, between its teeth and upper lip. 'Now they'll think you were eaten, and the chip got caught in its mouth! Of course, the plan's not perfect.' Apple quickly added. 'They'll wonder why the creature's dead; it's obvious that it was killed by someone. No, it won't throw them off completely, but it will buy us some precious time.'

'What do we need time for?' I asked.

'To meet up with my father, and find out what the plan is.' Apple responded.

'What do you mean, "plan"?' I probed. 'He doesn't sound too eager to tell me about my father.'

'Listen up.' Apple started tersely. 'There are much bigger things happening here. Don't you see? Your father was just a fragment in a much, much larger puzzle - one that my father and I are still trying to fit together. The Syndicate, the robot experiments...we think they're all related, somehow. And we think that you fit into the puzzle, somehow. We're not sure exactly how, but we know you're a big part. Your father, too. If my dad seems distant, it's because he is. He's got a lot on his mind - as you would expect of someone who can see not only the present but things that haven't happened yet. If he seems to be skirting the issue, it's because he's got much bigger things on his mind.'

'I understand.' I replied. 'I just wish I knew why all of this was happening.'

'Believe me,' Apple said, 'I wish I could explain it all to you. Even if I knew, we wouldn't have the time.'

I spotted a small bunker and a teleporter in the distance. We had neared a small outpost. As we approached the teleportation platform, a small beeping noise sounded. Apple's communicator was alerting her to a message.

'Abandoned mining shaft...TP.' she read. 'Dad wants to meet us in Twin Peaks. Have you been there before?'

'No, never. I don't have that teleporter yet.' I said.

'No worries, it's not too far south of here - a couple hours' journey, but we won't have to be in such a rush with the Syndicate off our backs. We won't have to worry about any of the local wildlife, either.' She grinned and hoisted her father's rifle, winking at me.

The journal ends here.

 

[Ayhoe]

...