HMS Valediction

Chapter 6

I deflate with relief. "It's good. Let's move."

They disembark behind me.

I scan the area from side to side, scoping out the flat land, watching for possible threats. A line of ships in varying shapes emerge from the mist. I recognize none. Doesn't matter, they appear abandoned anyway. We're totally alone out here.

Beyond the soft static in my ear, I strain to make out any sounds.

There's nothing.

I don't even hear the crunch of the land as we walk. The horizon waffles between yellow and white. It hurts to look directly at the line that connects the ground and sky, but we move forward. We tread in silence until a faint, repetitive beep catches my attention.

It's directly ahead of us. I crouch a little lower — a very uncomfortable position when my body is squeezing against its restraints and my child is pressing against my kidneys. The soft alert crescendos. Cautiously, we keep walking. The noise persists. It increases its tempo becoming a rapid thrum.

"Unknown noise is dead ahead," I say.

"The closer we get, the louder it resonates," Coodi confirms.

"I know. Keep your feet low to the ground when you walk, VIPERs."

The noise escalates into a rapid vibration. I no longer hear it as much as feel it.

I take one more step.

It stops.

We wait.

"Commander?" Coodi steps closer to my shoulder.

I slide my foot forward.

The land beneath my foot disappears. I bobble back and forth as my boot floats in the air.

"What the hell?" I pull back. The vibrations return. "The ground's gone."

No one says a word as I puzzle through this. I've discovered an opening in the planet.

Seven curious faces peer back at me through clear visors. They expect action. With a hesitant step forward, I dip my foot into the unknown.

I crouch closer and closer to the ground, my foot sinking into the hole under the thick cloud covering the alien planet. It hits the hard floor. Just to be sure, I sweep my foot around. It's another platform. Lower than the one before, but it's there. I jump into it with both feet.

The clouds circle around my thighs.

"All clear," I enunciate with a hint of pride. My foot juts out again and I feel the disappearance of the ground as before. I step down and realize that I've come across a set of stairs.

The next step down is taken with a bit more confidence. The flowing white surface is up to my neck and, taking a leap of faith, I duck down under it and check out the vast world below.

A new microcosm appears. Structures, pointed, jagged, and dark pierce the air from all angles. This world is made of sharp points. The stairs, as I can see them now, come straight down from the sky and curve around a massive, steep mountain that resembles a shard of black glass.

"You're not going to believe this," I whisper. I don't know why I'm whispering.

It's beautiful. The heavy, thick clouds roll over a rock ceiling. Massive obsidian pillars hold up the platform sky. I motion for my VIPERs to follow me so they can check out this lucid dream too.

"Holy Heap." Coodi's sentiments reverberate through my helmet as we step deeper into this sub-level city under the sandy canopy of stone.

The descent is short and when we reach the bottom, two humanoid creatures in matching pink skin greet us. Their proportions are similar to ours, maybe a stretch longer. The dome of their slick, bald heads shine above bulbous chestnut-brown pimples protruding from their scalps. They stare at us through filmy blue pupils the size of tennis balls, and with slim lips in a grim line, they greet us. Black slits framing their lips flutter open and closed with what I assume is quick breath.