At the pyramid of madness – part 1
A blink … Simon and I looked around us confusedly… we were on a dark, metallic surface, with railings… Everything was black, no doubt the durasteel we had come to look for… We looked out.
That looked like a kind of truncated pyramid with stairs on both sides… It was not very high, and from that kind of terrace we could see around us… Without a doubt, we were still on Next Island, but where?
According to our SatNav, we left that kind of TP on Sherman on [Next Island, 127228, 87993, 252, TP], and now we were near Shadow Hill, on [Next Island, 128092, 85069, 182, Pyramid]… everything had explanation: there were a series of rock formations that hid the pyramid, in addition to the fact that this area was quite depopulated and little visited. No doubt this explained why it seemed that we were the first to see this building. Or it had been built very recently and no one had seen it yet…
On the ground there was a system similar to the TP that we had come from. We deduced that it was a one way TP to the Sherman Outpost, and as it had been shown, also back, but… would there be other points similar to Sherman or this one? From this TP were guardian robots sent to other TPs like Sherman’s?
So… originally, where did those robots come from? What is the purpose of sending them from here to other points? Questions and more questions appeared in my mind…
Possibly only Desmond could help us but we still had no communication with him, so we would have to fend for ourselves…
We began to explore the pyramid from all sides and angles… Nothing… there was no door, but there must be a way to get in or out of the interior.
Simon was thoughtful for a second, and then he asked me for the portable activation system that we took from the robot in Sherman … The sliding button was still there, the three pilots also lit … wait, I think I remember that there were only two lit before, maybe …?
I pressed the button, and automatically a panel on the floor opened, showing an entrance to somewhere… Simon and I looked at each other: Back in action…
We go down a few steps and enter the interior of the pyramid. What horrible things were we going to find in there?
At the Pyramid of Madness – Part 2
We didn’t see anything, so we turned on the flashlights… The beams of light illuminated a durasteel corridor, with pipes, panels and maintenance systems…. We were in a huge instance.
The lack of light was logical: Robots do not need to see with visible light, their sensors are capable of capturing Microwaves, Infrared, Ultraviolet…
We advanced through those emaciated corridors, rooms full of strangely made material and equipment .. Our hearts beat wildly for not knowing what we were going to find, and suddenly…
Our SatNavs showed several red dots: robots… we had certainly been detected, so we barricaded ourselves behind some boxes of equipment…
30 meters… 20 meters… 10 meters… Seconds later, several robots appeared before the beams of our flashlights and, with a great metallic clatter, advanced threateningly in front of us…
Fortunately, the size of the corridor did not allow them to deploy correctly, but in pairs for what was practically a target shot…
Suddenly, red lights went on, emergency I suppose, and the SatNav went crazy… We were surrounded.
Simon looked at me… well, we were going to sell our lives dearly since we did not know if under all this metallic armored Pyramid the revives would work correctly … Also, if they worked, we would end up very far and the pyramid could deploy some defense system…
We went down a corridor that seemed less crowded with possible targets according to SatNav… We saw them arrive, black, large and squeaky, with red lights in their eyes…
With a short weapon in each hand, we gave a good account of those robots… and something began to haunt my mind…
Those robots were so crude, so badly finished… It’s as if they were simple skirmishers, cheap and expendable shock troops… so if so… where are the elite troops?
Simon swept his Ardener down the corridor, giving us a break, so we moved forward and turned left… A huge door blocked our way… It had no locking system, so we carefully pushed it… it opened, and we entered a wide hangar…
What was there defied all logic…
In the center of the room there was a strange machinery, with a system similar to the Sherman Outpost TP, but of enormous dimensions, and…
A company of Drones, flanked by a dozen Drokas… in the background several Defenders… Calypso robots on Next Island? What the hell is happening here ???
In the Pyramid of Madness – Part 3
We couldn’t believe what we saw… an army of Calypso robots there, disconnected but ready and menacing… and they hadn’t been detected? How did they get there?
-Simon, how is this possible?
-I don’t know, boy, but this is serious … if these robots connect I don’t think the colonists of Next Island will have enough capacity to defend themselves … This is not Calypso.
-I do not understand anything…
-IT’S EASY, HUMANS…
We turned with our weapons ready to where that strange voice, modulated as if it were synthesized with a vocoder, emerged…
From the shadows emerged a tall figure… his long neck, his bulging eyes, his claw with pincers… I had once seen that being.
It was long ago, in Calypso, fighting in an Instance they called “The Gaunlet”…
The robot looking at us was a Warlock… General Kratos…
-SURPRISED, HUMANS?
Simon and I looked at each other… I took a step forward.
-Hey, Kratos… what the hell is this?
-I SEE YOU KNOW MY A.I. WELL, THIS IS THE FUTURE OF THE QUADRANT … AND IT DOES NOT START IN CALYPSO, BUT IN NEXT ISLAND…
-But how is it possible? How did you get here?
-NOT FOR SPACE, HUMANS … THE CALYPSO SPACE PATROLS HAVE BLOCKED US OR DESTROYED OUR SHIPS… SO WE DEVELOPED SOMETHING NEW…
Kratos stared at us… if his metallic face could reveal any emotion, it would undoubtedly be a malicious smile upon seeing our expressions of incomprehension…
-WE DEVELOPED A PLANETARY TELEPORTER…
Gods!! That’s the worst that could happen… With a planetary teleporter, they could invade any planet: Arkadia, Cyrene, Toulan… all the planets in the Entropia Quadrant … and who knows if they could one day reach Earth…
– AT THE MOMENT ONLY THIS IS WORKING … IT HAS BEEN THE ONLY ONE THAT HAS PERFORMED ITS FUNCTION CORRECTLY, SO WE CAN START ON THIS PLANET… I HAVE BRING AN ADVANCED SQUAD, WHILE THOSE GUARDIANS OF THE PORTAL ARE IN CHARGE OF THE DEPLOYMENT AND MAINTENANCE.
Simon and I looked at each other, and understood… Our lives didn’t matter if the revives didn’t work there… there was something bigger that we had to do whatever it took… we had to stop Kratos and destroy the teleporter…
And the worst thing was that our communicators were still not working… There would be no reinforcements, no one would know anything if we failed… But there was no choice but to act…
With loud clicks of the strikers we cocked the weapons and prepared to Sacrifice… or Victory…
At the Pyramid of Madness – Part 4
We lunged straight for Kratos… He just waved his claws as strange lights flashed on his head, and…
As in a nightmare, the eyes and sensors of the drones, drokas and defenders simultaneously lit up red… He had connected the entire army !!!
There was no time to lose… we knew their systems would have to do some kind of initial check-up before going live, so we had a few precious seconds…
Simon’s Ardener began to sweep them away while my Armatrix pierced the Defenders’ armor… they awkwardly fell sideways, and sometimes dragged a partner…
Suddenly, a blow like a gigantic punch threw me into the air: A missile had hit very close… My ears were buzzing and everything was spinning… Simon was alone…
A droka approached me and readied his secondary weapon… Dazed, I managed to aim my Armatrix at him, and his head was thrown towards the ceiling… I was able to connect the healing chip and recover…
Simon had taken cover behind some boxes, and was about to use a Ravenger… I ran to his side while dodging several shots…
-Simon, cover me!!!
Simon got up and started unloading a burst of gunfire as I crawled under cover of him… I plugged in a “toy” I had bought at Crystal Peak: An Electric NanoChip VIII.
The rays came from my hands as if it were Zeus himself… Robots are that… robots, and their systems are sensitive to electricity…
While all this was happening, General Kratos dedicated himself to protecting the teleporter with his body… He was looking at us, perhaps impressed by our feat…
Because, between shots, the last droka fell…
Simon and I looked at each other satisfied… now we had to finish off that huge robot…
-As in the Gaunlet, Simon?
-As in the Gaunlet, Dante…
As horsemen of the Apocalypse, we advanced madly emptying every last ammunition of our weapons… Kratos defended himself as he could, perhaps thinking how it was possible that two simple and stupid humans had finished with his troops…
Kratos began to back painfully, his armor shattered, limping with his damaged cybernetic muscles… Suddenly, a greenish light illuminated his head and something like a huge spark went flying towards the corridor that led to the outside… without a doubt, his A.I. was leaving that body and fled with the necessary information… surely he would soon have another body in Calypso or elsewhere…
With a scrapping sound, Kratos’ body collapsed heavily…
With the feeling of a job well done, we were silent for a moment…
-Well, boy, now we have a spare durasteel to sell…
-Right, Simon, but… the teleporter… what do we do with it?
-YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING WITH IT!!!
A well-known voice was heard from the shadows…
-THIS SYSTEM BELONGS TO US!!!
Desmond appeared from the shadows…
At the pyramid of madness – Part 5.
-Desmond … what are you doing here?
-Taking a walk to see if you had gotten the Teleporter…
-Did you know about this?
Desmond looked at us with self-sufficiency, like someone who has to explain a lesson in Quantum Mechanics to a clumsy student…
-Let’s see, Dante, Simon, listen to me well… a long time ago a Stel spy in Calypso placed a reconnaissance drone near Hadesheim and we captured a series of communications… This is how we learned about the existence of the Planetary Teleporter …
Simon and I looked at each other… Desmond knew about all this and had sent us to… what?… Desmond continued.
-We did not know the place where it was going to be assembled, only that there would be basic robots to deploy and build the system… we finally found out that something was happening in Sherman Outpost, and we sent you with the excuse of the durasteel which, on the other hand, is us necessary for the craft…
I still didn’t understand… Desmond looked at me mockingly…
-You were able to find the exact location of the planetary teleporter, and now it belongs to the Stel… Simon, you are a Resa, so I feel sorry for you… anyway, for your silence, we will add a generous tip to your pay.
-Desmond, this teleporter is dangerous … it could be remotely connected by those robots and the invasion of Next Island would begin…
-Dante, you still don’t understand anything? With this teleporter we will get rid of the transportation fees of the Space Guild !!!
At that moment we saw it clearly … Warp transport was expensive, each flight took a good part of the profits of the merchants… but with that Teleporter, ships like Kronan, Varyag or Yamato would cease to be useful…
-Do you see Dante? Cheap and instant transport, the Space Guild on its knees and ruined… we would charge a part in Peds and another in merchandise, and we would have customs in operation … and all of this controlled by the Stel… Thanks to you…
I looked at Simon… in his eyes I noticed that he felt betrayed and cheated…
-Desmond… How did you know where we were?
-Dante, when we repair your armor we place an inhibitor of frequencies for communications, and a tracker to send me your exact position… And now we are leaving here… I will disconnect your inhibitor and send the coordinates to our base so that they can come and take charge… – he said while connecting his communication tablet.
– Desmond, at Sherman Outpost people died…
-Come on Dante, with them revives no one dies anymore…
-True, but one of the scientists took hours, maybe a whole day, to die… dying horribly… you don’t care about that?
-A simple collateral damage… nothing important…
I couldn’t take it anymore… I walked the three steps that separated me from Desmond and, with all the strength that the hatred I felt gave me, I gave him a tremendous punch that knocked him senseless at my feet…
I searched him… I took the Tablet, the Heal Chip, the Teleporter Chip and his food rations… Simon dragged Desmond out of that room while I placed some incendiary charges that we had carried on the TP.
A couple of minutes later, between explosions, the TP hangar was a sea of fire… the only planetary teleporter ever built had been destroyed…
Simon and I left the pyramid… we had a long way to go to the nearest outpost…
At the pyramid of madness – Final
Simon and I arrived at Crystal Peak a few hours later… After a couple of calls, two representatives of the Stel who i did not know appeared; no doubt they would be VIP… Simon was visibly uncomfortable surrounded by those who, under normal circunstances, would not be his friends … We sat at a table and ordered drinks…
-Well, Dante… and Desmond?
-He stayed in the pyramid studying the Teleporter… because you will already know that we have found it…
The Stels looked at each other with expressions of surprise… logical, since Desmond had not been able to send any communication.
-Excellent news then… I guess you and Simon are aware of the details…
-Of course; Desmond explained everything to us -I said with sufficiency- It is strange that he did not send you any communication…
-True, but it doesn’t matter since without a doubt you have the coordinates – The Stel looked at us questioningly.
Simon chimed in:
-Well, we don’t have them, because our NavSat were damaged all the time… as if we had the signals blocked by an inhibitor. –He said with a smile while savoring an Arkadian whiskey- Anyway, when we were able to teleport we appeared in Kamba Outpost…
Simon was a big liar… radio communications were blocked by the jammer, but not MASER communications with the positioning satellites… And the mention of Kamba Outpost would push the search for the pyramid far to the north …
The Stels looked at each other again… Without the coordinates, they should wait for Desmond …
-Let’s see, gentlemen -I said with a touch of impatience- That doesn’t matter now… what matters to me is our payment…
-Dante, Simon… as long as Desmond does not appear, that topic will not…
A huge blow on the table with the butt of a Chikara… Simon knew how to make himself heard… The Stels were astonished…
-Listen to me, Stels… We don’t care if Desmond has already arrived or has entertained on the way having a drink in a Club… -Simon fiddled with the gun and sometimes accidentally pointed at one or the other Stel- We have fulfilled, we found the pyramid, Desmond will be back soon… and we want payment for the durasteel sent… ah! and a tip for my silence… I’m a Resa, remember?
The Stels spoke quietly among themselves for a moment.
-Okay, gentlemen… follow us…
Outside the bar there was a Kraka… one of the Stel opened the back and a treasure appeared before my eyes: a wooden box whose label read “500 GENERIC FUSES”… The payment for the durasteel sent and my efforts… With the MU, that would be worth a fortune…
Simon received a transfer to his Ped Card worth 2k peds… a nice tip for his silence…
Simon and I were silent as the Kraka took off with the two Stel…
-Simon, for now this has ended well; but if Desmond comes back we may be in danger…
Simon thought for a moment, looked at me and said:
-Listen Dante… you are not a bad guy to be a Stel… except for the scar you gave me and we will talk about it one day… If you have problems with your faction, I can talk to the Resa so they can take you in…
Simon proved to be a good guy… If one of these days I go to Arkadia, I’ll bring him the Viceroy helmet that he likes so much… For now we will wait… Desmond may not return…
EPILOGUE 1:
Desmond painfully opened his eyes and barely saw anything… just a long corridor illuminated with emergency lights… he verified that he did not have any of his chips, no weapons or anything… he began to explore the Instance…
Many hours later he was really aware of the situation: the pyramid had the exit blocked, he had no teleporter chip or communicator… nothing to eat or drink… it could take days and even a week until he died of hunger and thirst, and then he would appear in a Revive… or not, with that metallic shield covering him…
He remembered his own words: “A simple collateral damage… nothing important…”
A cry of despair rose from his throat…
EPILOGUE 2:
In Calypso, General Kratos’ A.I. was connected to a new Warlock body… He explored his databases with the information obtained in Next Island…
Contact had been lost, no doubt the humans would have destroyed the teleporter, so he should explore other options for the invasion… His A.I. loaded the Neural Networks with the data from the planets in the Entropy Quadrant and, suddenly, he processed a revolutionary “idea”: In Arkadia, in Cyrene, everywhere, there was a lot of fauna… What if on any planet, for example Next Island, were animals manipulated to join forces and, like an army, advance against human settlers?
On his metallic face, no doubt, a smile would have appeared had he been able to…