Cath

The Cradle

They piled into the jet together. It was cramped and overcrowded; 595 squashed into the corner by the forward doors while the Senator was bustled to the hot seat. Dozens of civilians noticed they were preparing to launch and spilled past overstretched security onto the runway. “Stay your course.” She saw an advisor order the pilots through the open cockpit doors.

The jet thundered out of the hangar at breakneck speed, heading upwards and off to port, away from the Hegemon. 595 pushed her eye against one of the portholes, mesmerised by the asymmetrical slaughter unfolding before them.

The Hegemon appeared to have grown bored of the warships flitting around it now, and was lazily turning towards their own reef. The Agent watched on in horror as the quartet of lasers pored over her home, forming a perfect grid…

Suddenly a blinding blue beam, a hundred metres in diameter, connected the top of the Hegemon with somewhere above the waves of the sea. The machine’s horrific alien shriek disturbed the heavens. A pulsing shield flared across its entire surface area, and it wobbled precariously in the water, as if struggling below the weight of this beam

595 pivoted to look upwards, straining to catch a glimpse of what might be unleashing such fury on their aggressor. Flashes of confusion and awe rippled through the jet’s occupants.

In the blink of an eye, Hegemon shot towards the surface, breaking through and disappearing in an instant. The blue beam followed it, sporadically hitting the seabed before disappearing too.

In its wake, the Hegemon had left an enormous bubble of energy that was expanding in all directions. A solid wall of vaporising water rushed forward to encompass the reefs on both sides.

“Punch it!” The advisor gestured strenuously to the pilots. The engine noise rose to a crescendo and 595 instinctively grabbed hold of the door’s handle as alarm noises began sounding in the confined space. “EMP!” The co-pilot flailed, a few seconds before the wall of water hit them.

The Cradle

“Follow me closely, let's move!” The soldier commanded, before swimming up the sheer face of the reef. Flagging a bit from her wounds, 595 followed beside Vreta as they stuck close to the side; one of her beady eyes fixed on the Hegemon at all times.

The cephalopod warships were launching everything they had at the massive inverted pyramid. But the salvoes of time-delay missiles all bloomed harmlessly on crackling shields before getting close enough to deal damage. That deep, thumping laugh issued across the seabed again, making the Agent shiver.

The Hegemon ignored the vessels. A large red eye-like opening appeared in one of its faces, which then lazily turned to the reef closest to their own. A quartet of bright lasers expanded from the eye into a precise grid across the entire monolith. With barely a moment’s delay, the entire grid lit up in a blinding flash of white light.

595 stopped swimming and pushed the Senator and herself again reef as a supersonic bang exploded across the empty space. “Come on!” She saw the soldier shout, whacking them all with her tentacles. “Don’t look at it! We’re nearly there!”

595 looked anyway, and struggled to comprehend what was happening. The entire billion tonne monolith was beginning to fall apart, shrouded in superheated steam. Coral dust filled the water, and a second wave battered them against the rocks.

They reached a large rectangular aperture and rushed inside. Large civilian and military transports were mixed up together, hurriedly being packed with people to evacuate. It was a living hell of desperate people, driven by fear and loathing. They had to stop by the cave’s mouth to avoid being pulverised by a leisure cruiser coming in to land.

The soldier barged through the swirling crowds, one tentacle firmly holding onto the Senator. “There they are!” He signed, waving wildly at a sleek military jet that was taxiing to launch. The pilots must have seen them swimming into their path, because it stopped and one of the side doors opened. A mess of government officials and senior military officers spilled out and approached them.

“President Pro tempore! The President, Vice President and Lower Chamber are all gone. That makes you the commander in chief now, sir! We need to get you to safety right away!” One of the advisors signed hurriedly, gesturing for the Senator to come with them to the jet. A bulky general floated in close. “What are your orders? We’re being torn apart!”

595 looked nervously back at the Hegemon as they began swimming; it was still clearly visible through the hangar entrance. It was now picking off warships with dozens of precise energy beams, like a child might pull wings off an insect. Another grinding wail blasted her senses. “If we’re going to go, we need to go right now!” She urged.

The Cradle

595 felt compelled to follow the Vreta into the borehole, despite a niggling feeling in the back of her mind that this was a terrible idea. The whole area was unstable, and who knew what was on the other end! Somebody find me a weapon, she thought to herself, and her mind flashed back to two strange looking hands cradling an awkward-looking gun. The thought left as quickly as it arrived, and the Agent obediently entered the hole after the Senator.

They quickly wiggled along the claustrophobic tunnel with the help of their tentacles. 595 knew that these arteries crisscrossed the entire reef and were reserved for VIPs, military and government employees. She knew they were supposed to be reinforced, but that knowledge was no comfort when after a few minutes a crack appeared above their heads. The two sides began grinding together like two tectonic plates. “Go, go, go!” 595 flashed, pushing up against Vreta as the sides tightened around her bulbous form.

The soldier noticed the crack and turned a right angle at the next junction. They burst from the tunnel as fast as they could, just when millions of tons of coral shifted violently, crushing the last of the Senator’s staff members before they could escape. 595 flashed a pattern of pure anguish and rushed to pull at the tentacle tip protruding from the rock face - it tore clean away.

The Agent dropped the dead appendage and turned to face the group. Only then did she notice that none of them were looking at her. “What’s happening?” She asked, surveying the scene.

They were on a ledge of polished stone that wrapped around this section of the reef - a gargantuan monolith protruding from vast sandy plains on the ocean bed, extending all the way to the unlivable heights above. Far off in the distance, they could see other reefs through the dusty waters. One of them looked to be erupting with jets of lava.

The sounds of battle were deafening here. 595 noticed manned point defence cannons clinging like limpets to the ledge and reef above them. They were all firing missiles at once.

A sleek metal vessel shaped like a squid but hundreds of times the size roared over their heads before heading upwards. 595 followed it with her eyes, and realised dozens of ships were rising from the reefs, heading towards-

Oh.

High above them, hovering like an obsidian tear in the bright backdrop of the surface, was the Hegemon. Its tetrahedral mass hung completely motionless in the water, wavy points of energy flickering all around it like monochrome sunbeams. The shoals of combat craft strafing it looked miniscule by comparison.

Another mechanical siren pierced the cacophony around them, sending a chill through 595’s nervous system. A thought entered her mind that was entirely alien; a deep, soulless evil.

><^You

DARE

defy your

GOD?

“It’s not safe here. I need to get you on a transport right away, sire. Are you hurt? We need to swim along the reef.” The soldier shouted in front of Vreta, checking him up and down. A group of other soldiers barged past them, carrying nets of equipment behind them. “I need a weapon, and we should fight, not run!” 595 shouted, immediately feeling a disapproving tug in the back of her consciousness.

The Cradle

The swell violently dragged 595 against the verdant sides of the tunnel. Jagged rocks slashed her sides, mixing blue ichor in with the clouds of debris that’d come loose. Skin lighting up with pain, she used her powerful tentacles to push out from the wall and down, away from the initial surge.

“Stay close!” The Agent signed, maneuvering round a two-storey boulder that’d come free of its coral moorings and was sinking to the bottom. She searched desperately for an exit along the sides of the tunnel as they swam in loose formation, but all the main causeways were now jammed with hundreds of giant cephalopods desperately trying to escape all at once. Even more were emerging from their homes in chasms below them, swerving erratically to avoid being crushed by falling parts of the reef.

Another monumental explosion rocked the reef, and a billowing mushroom of superheated water exploded through a new crack in the roof a mile in front of them, vaporising dozens of their kind instantly. 595 did an abrupt about face, scanning the area ahead when two long tentacles grabbed her from the side and spun her around. She found a bulky soldier in full armour, with just her head and two arms sticking out of a borehole in the reef. “Where is your Senator!” They shouted at 595 through the chaotic din. “Who?” 595 signed back, confused.

The soldier immediately lost interest in her when Vreta swam into view. The tentacles dislodged from her and wrapped around the smaller male squid, pulling him towards the hole. “Senator! I need to get you to safety right now!”

Just then, a long, eerie, alien wail penetrated the waters. It was similar to the sound their ancient predators made when on the hunt, but finished with a deep thumping that almost sounded like...laughter. Most of the civilians in the tunnel cried out in fear and panic, redoubling their efforts to flee. The distant sounds of battle, weapons and bombs, wafted through the water from above somewhere, assaulting 595’s senses.

“What is happening!” She demanded, swimming over to the soldier, wrapping one tentacle around Vreta to stop him moving. The soldier looked at her. “It's here. Let go.” was the reply.

The Cradle

“...Vreta? Guys?” 595 asked, floating a bit closer, regarding each of them with her deep, dark eyes in turn. She instinctively tried to access her implants, but found she couldn’t access anything. She couldn’t find a connection to the rig either. “What...happened? How did we get here?” She awkwardly signed to the group.

More of their kind swished frantically past, just as the Agent felt the ripples of what felt like an explosion wash through the reef. For a moment, everyone stopped, listening to the current. The fluctuations grew stronger, and some of the group further down the tunnel turned and fled back towards them.

“We should-” 595 began to sign when the entire reef shook violently with another explosion, much closer this time. A gigantic surge of superheated water crashed through one of the nearby passages, turning the whole area into a whirling maelstrom.

Overcome by aquatic fear, 595 turned tail and fled, but was instantly buffeted by the surge, tumbling into the sides of the tunnel and losing her bearings as all hell broke loose. 595 shouted out, her skin pulsing wildly.

Ravening Horde! A zombie game where players are the zombies!

I also like it! Neat idea. Will there be dice involved or anything like that? I know you mentioned points...

The Cradle

“Your old name no longer applies. You’re a faithful servant of the Institute now. An instrument through which we accomplish the will of the Cradle, together.” The Director-General continued, both hands clasped on the desk in front of him.

Like everywhere in the Institute, his office was almost completely dark. Thin blue chemical lights stapled the walls about halfway up, leading to the door. The main illumination though, came from the two sets of augmented eyes which stared unblinkingly at each other.

Two walls of the office consisted of giant windows, including behind where the Director-General was sat. The Cradle’s white fibrous material whirled against the glass like a howling blizzard.

Agent 595 stood up perfectly straight in front of the Director-General’s desk, arms neatly folded behind her back. She was the happiest and most excited she’d ever been, but maintained a neutral expression. Her tutorial was finally over! Now the real work could begin.

“How do you feel?” The DG asked, studying her closely.

“I feel ready to get started, sir.” 595 replied levelly.

“Good, because I have your first directive. Take two of the novitiates, capture 127, and bring him to me. He’s lost his way, and will not return to the Institute willingly. If he tries to escape, kill him. Think you can handle that?”

“Sir, yes sir.”

“Good. You’re dismissed.”

595 turned and walked halfway to the door.

“Oh, Agent?”

She turned and stood at attention again. “Yes, sir?”

“Don’t take too long - this is just the start.”

---

When 595 woke up, she was underwater. She tried to open her mouth and gasp for air, but realised she couldn’t do that. She thrashed around desperately, but could see no way out of the cave-like complex she was in. She began swimming quickly down one of the passages, only stopping when she realised she wasn’t drowning. In fact, she felt completely at ease in the water. She looked around.

She appeared to be in some kind of vast underwater reef. All kinds of vegetation and wildlife clung to the rock around the edge of the circular passage. There were a myriad of different pathways, and she found she knew where she was. She was in her residential colony, just a short swim from the city centre.

As her senses gradually acclimated to her surroundings, 595 became aware of a shrill warning sound coming from nearby. Something must be wrong - she recognised it as the evacuation alarm.

Suddenly, a tightly packed group of pale grey flesh exploded past her. 595 shouted out in surprise at the unfamiliar sensation of them calling for her to escape with them. She didn’t even know what they were, so wasn’t about to join them.

Then she sensed a familiar voice, and swivelled to look towards the caller.

Four long swimming creatures approached her. They looked like the kind of giant predatory cephalopods that’d been apparently hunted to extinction on most of the Human planets 595 had visited. She instinctively backed up, unwilling to get too close, until she realised who they were.

The Cradle

The Archive

“Intriguing! This could be an archive, cold-stored to maintain integrity through millions of boot ups.” Dr Zimmermann chattered excitedly, sifting through their findings so far. “Freyr, you seeing this?”

“Umm...yeah. Sorry.” Freyr muttered, massaging her eye sockets. She put her hands on the holo-map console and blinked hard a few times. It felt like she had a migraine coming on, which should’ve been impossible. She closed her eyes again, and a voice rang out as if they were right in front of her.

“Mom, what’s this one?” Amy looked up at her with wide eyes, a tiny finger pointing to the 3D fish projected from the holopad. A gentle wave lapped against Freyr’s toes, leaving a soft pillow of foam.

“No…” Freyr managed a hoarse whisper, otherwise transfixed in place. She couldn’t move.

---

595 studied the bright hole in the floor and bit her lip. She considered sending a virus in there to reconnoitre, but didn’t want to aggravate the Navigator anymore than they probably already had. ”So you are learning…” a familiar voice whispered part of a muffled sentence in her ear. She looked sharply around, but saw no one apart from the Rothian soldiers on her other side.

She shook her head. “Fuck it. Take my hand.” 595 holstered her main gun and grasped the rugged alloy of Vreta’s armoured palm, ignoring his protests. “Don’t let go.” She directed a brave smile straight at the spook’s visor and winked, then her visor slid back over her face. The red targeting triangle blinked on, and 595 began walking them carefully towards the edge of the hole. She was leaning towards it at a thirty degree angle, holding Vreta’s hand at full stretch behind her.

---

”That’s an Outreman Anglerfish.” Freyr heard herself say in her head. She felt a tear squeeze through the gap in her clenched eyelids. “They use a bioluminescent fin to lure other animals into biting range. They’re very similar to deep-sea predators on other worlds, and we’re not sure why.” Freyr stroked Amy’s head, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. “Eww, he’s ugly.” Amy stuck her tongue out, then laughed and looked up at her.

“It’s not real, it’s not real.” Freyr whispered, bent over the console. With a titanic effort, she raised a hand above her head. She patted herself on the back of the head, willing the seizure to end. She was vaguely aware of people talking, but couldn’t hear what they said.

---

On closer inspection, the liquid in the hatchway was more like a gel. It lapped against 595’s boot as she carefully planted it next to the edge. She checked her grip on Vreta was solid, then carefully leaned over to take a look.

The bright light initially dazzled her screen and sensors, then subsided to a bearable level. It illuminated the walls of the square hatchway as it plunged into the depths of the cube below. The gel seemed to go down for miles, ending in blackness at the bottom. She could see moving parts, like clockwork intersecting the tunnel.

“You’ve been selected from your peers to realise our true cause. Congratulations...Agent 595.” The Director-General smiled at her.

The Cradle

Freyr nodded. “An audible fossil…” She murmured, deep in thought. From the unfocused corners of her vision, she vaguely noticed the Rübezahl clamped to the underside of the cube like a tic. Information had begun streaming back to the rig, indexed and prioritised by the program on the fly.

“Is it possible those creatures on the audio file are having the same conversation we are, right now? Or could this just be another expression of the entity’s psyche. An imitation of life...” Freyr mused, looking up at the mission timer. Her mind was whirring away at top speed despite her outward tranquility.

---

595’s boot crumbled a fragment of masonry into dust. They advanced in as tight a formation as the labyrinth of destruction around them would allow. The Agent’s heart was pounding in her chest, but her breathing was measured and deliberate. Her suit’s internal sensory suite was going haywire, detecting threats and changes in temperature around every corner. In the end, she switched it off, focusing on her own eyes and ears.

Unfortunately, they were just as provocative. The closer they got to the shaft of light, the more footsteps 595 felt around her than those of the ground team. Snatches of conversation drove 595 to manually scan dozens of dark nooks, only to find nothing there after all.

The throne the Navigator had greeted them from before had been destroyed by a large chunk of the roof. They carefully crept around it, forced to skirt almost to the side wall. 595 gulped to wet her dry throat when she finally clamped eyes on the source of the light.

A pool of liquid, lapping at the stone edges of a narrow hatchway that headed into the depths of the floor below. The shaft of light shone right through the liquid and into the sky. The flying creatures above flew all around the light, avoiding its narrow blade.

The Cradle

595 paused, but didn’t turn to look at Vreta. She didn’t want him to see the conflicted expression on her face, so she stared into the shaft of light before them instead.

It would be a technical triumph to escort the ground team back to the rig with very little to show for their efforts. She could jumble the spectrometer, and return to her low-level sabotage of scientific data from on-board the mobile lab. Out here, she suspected they were in danger of making a discovery even bigger than in their last expedition.

And yet, she still couldn’t bring herself to stop now. She could feel the Navigator calling to her. Even though the thought filled her with cold dread, the Agent had to know what it was saying.

“You head back to the rig if you want - I’ll be right behind you. In and out, two minutes max.” 595 answered in the end. She looked at Vreta, her whole face tense, and nodded encouragingly. “It’s ok. I have my transit station. Just make sure you get the civilians out of here if something happens.”

With that, 595 took a deep breath and began edging forward again, her chin resting on the stock of her raised gun. She understood if the death-averse Rothians wanted to retreat, but for the first time in a long time wouldn’t have objected to a bit of company.

---

Freyr bristled when Marae interjected, but held her tongue. They only had hours left to make contact with this thing - they couldn’t afford to be cautious anymore. As much as she hated herself for coming to this conclusion, Freyr was willing to risk the lives of everyone on the ground if it meant saving billions. But she was also beginning to realise how the Rothians operated. Despite appearing fully invested, they still believed they could survive this unscathed.

She watched Vreta and 595 talking to each other while her head worked on the new information they’d just received. Someone had been there before them. “Let me hear the voice clip.” Freyr asked. Soon after, an exchange of guttural clicks and growls assaulted her ears. She understood none of it. “So, we aren’t the first to tread this path. What were they doing here?” She murmured to herself, eyes still glued to the screens.