Part 28: Heart of Mine

Chapter 23: Heart of Mine



Central Tower felt like the only safe place in Algo right now. I'd be public enemy number one everywhere else on Mota if they found out I was still alive, and as for my home... well, I wouldn't be going back there in a hurry.



I let out a resigned sigh as I entered the spaceship and stared at its controls, or lack thereof. Fully-automated machines had caused nothing but trouble for me so far. At least this one wasn't under Mother Brain's control.



I was going to a distant, icy planet to meet a man who may or may not exist and, if he did, may or may not know something about Mother Brain. It seemed like a fool's errand. Maybe there was a grain of truth in what Shir said about running away.



Still, what else could I do, when there were so many reasons why I couldn't stay here? I flipped the switch and listened to the roar of the engines as the spaceship took off.



The spaceship was comfortable enough -- the interior was kept pleasantly warm, and the seats were roomy and well-padded -- but try as I might, I couldn't relax. My mind kept going back to those last moments on Gaila, and to Shir's kiss. There was nothing romantic about it, just an impulsive act by an impulsive woman who thought she was about to die. It was unplanned and clumsy and meaningless.

And despite all that, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Shir. Why did it have to be Shir, of all people?

Life would be so much simpler with someone like Amy. She's kind, and sweet, and she's always thinking about me. In some ways, she reminds me of Nei. But that's exactly the problem -- there's no spark between us. She's just... nice. Pleasant. A little bland. She's more like a big sister than a lover.

But that's not an answer. If I'm falling for Shir, it's because of what she has, not because of what Amy doesn't. What could I possibly see in her? She's a shameless thief who came to my house on a whim and who's been freeloading off my hospitality ever since. She never takes anything in life seriously. She's a free spirit, irresponsible, uncontrollable... and wild, and unpredictable, and spontaneous -- and that's what fascinates and thrills me about her.

And what does she see in me? After all, I'm everything she's not. I've spent my adult life as a loyal agent, always putting duty above personal concerns. I'm supposed to be a respectable member of society -- or at least I was, until society turned its back on me.

If I'm in love with a thief, what does that say about me?



The spaceship touched down in Skure, a long-abandoned mining complex. Its doors slid open and we stepped out onto the launch pad.

Thick, faintly sweet-smelling fog filled the air, obscuring all vision beyond fifty feet or so. The part of Skure visible from our current position was a spiderweb of walkways branching and twisting in all directions, all hanging with distressingly little visible support above a pit with no bottom in sight. The decaying metal of the walkways creaked and rattled underfoot, threatening to give way at any moment and send us plummeting to certain death. Flakes of rust, dislodged from pipes and girders above us by the ship's landing and our own motions, drifted down into the darkness like dead leaves in autumn. The icy Dezorian wind blew a howling gale through the open-air complex, chilling me to the bone.

"Ho-lee shit," Kain observed. "I'm a-freezin' mah balls off."



We set out along the walkway that seemed least rickety, and soon regretted our decision when we came to a long (and long-neglected) iron ladder leading deeper into the complex. I climbed down first, testing each rung with one foot first to find and avoid the ones that were almost rusted through. The others followed, one at a time. In the end, even Rudo reached the floor below without incident.



A pair of old mining robots sat motionless in the middle of a walkway. As we approached, their engines whirred and sputtered noisily to life and they rose to their feet. Our hopes that they were simply about to move out of our way were dashed when one swung a hefty metal arm at my head, its worn-out sensors evidently seeing us as valid targets for ore extraction. My laser sword was a definite step down in power from the deadly weapon I'd wielded before: it glanced off the robots to little effect. Luckily, Rudo and Kain's guns and Hugh's acidshots all burned through their reinforced bodies very nicely.



An old leather suitcase had been left to rot down here. It was hard to tell for sure in its current state, but it looked too fancy to belong to a miner. If this was the only spaceport on Dezo, I guess tourists must have come through here too. Inside the suitcase was a tall, pointed yellow hat. On the inside of the brim was printed the words "GENUINE MAGIC CAP: ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES".



The hat was just the right size for my head. When I put it on I felt a strange sense of pressure inside my head, as if it was trying to put thoughts into my brain, but it didn't feel sinister like my now-discarded sword. Instead, it seemed like it was trying to tell me something.

"Rolf," Hugh said, "far be it from me to criticise your judgement, but it seems to me that this is neither the time nor the place to be trying on other people's hats."

I grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that. It's just that every time I find a new piece of equipment, I like to try it on and judge whether it's better than what I've already got."

Hugh raised an eyebrow. "So despite the fact that you are already in possession of a titanium helmet specifically designed for protecting your head, you felt an urgent need, which could not be delayed until such time as we were in safer environs, to try on a cloth hat -- specifically designed for, apparently, looking like a bishop at fancy-dress parties, but in any case most certainly not for protection -- and assess whether it would provide better protection than said helmet."

I shrugged. "Stranger things have happened."

I put my helmet back on and kept walking, still unsure what was so magical about the hat.



Another ladder led even further into Skure's depths. Blocking our path to it stood a pair of security robots armed with heavy laser cannons. They were even more heavily armoured than the mining robots, and my sword was almost useless against them. As before, the others had my back, shooting at the robots while I ducked and weaved around them, acting as a decoy to draw fire away from everyone else.

After the battle was over, I turned to face my friends. "Thanks, guys. I couldn't do this without you."

Rudo acknowledged the compliment with a nod. "You're welcome. And I have to admit, you weren't so wrong about Hugh. He's a good shot with those acid things."

Hugh smiled nervously. "I do my best. I must admit, I find it easier to fight when what I'm fighting doesn't bleed."



We arrived at a luggage terminal for the spaceport: bags and suitcases lay abandoned around the edges of a platform. A small, catlike animal ran up to me and brushed up against my legs, meowing. It looked harmless enough, at least compared to all the killer robots.



In the pocket of an old pair of jeans I found a credit stick with a sizable amount of meseta on it. It wasn't doing anyone any good down here, so I took it.



Another bag had a copy of the Zosa Post in it. The print was faded, but still readable.



A gas leak, eh? So that was what all this fog was. I wondered if I should be worried.



Well, that answered that question.



August 11th. That was the date of the spaceship crash that killed my parents. They must have been aboard that last spaceship to help with the evacuation. And here I was, standing in the very place they'd died trying to help get people out of. What would they say if they could see me here now? "Stop trying to be a hero and get back in that spaceship this instant, you stupid boy," probably.

Well, I guess I'm still a stupid, stubborn boy at heart, because I'm not going back.



In one bag I found another of those tall pointy hats, dyed a garish shade of purple. Inside its brim was printed the words "AUTHENTIC MOGIC CAP: REFUSE ALL IMITATIONS". Hmm.



I tried on the Magic Cap again first, to remind myself of what it felt like. Much to my surprise, when I was wearing it I could hear the cat speaking to me! It didn't have anything particularly useful to say to me, on account of its being a cat, but it was remarkable all the same.

Next, I tried on the Mogic Cap.



Either it was defective, or this cat hated my fashion sense.



The next thing I found down here was of more immediate practical value: a breastplate made of Laconia, designed to protect miners when they worked with hazardous machinery.



Laconia was an amazingly strong metal found almost exclusively on Dezo; ever since mining activities in Skure shut down, it was practically impossible to obtain Laconia on Mota, so this armour was a real find.



My new armour was going to see plenty of use. A huge bird, with a wingspan wider than I was tall, swooped down to attack us. If it was a Biomonster, it wasn't one I'd ever heard of before. Its feathers proved surprisingly resilient against my blade, and once again my friends picked up the slack to finish off the beast.

Hugh stared at the bird's corpse with sadness in his eyes. "Remarkable. It's simply remarkable that a creature like this could survive in such hostile conditions. The diversity and resourcefulness of life still leaves me speechless. A shame we had to kill it, really."

"Don't be too sentimental," said Rudo. "I'm sure you didn't want to end up as a meal for that thing any more than I did. Human life is what really matters."

"Yes, yes, of course," Hugh said distractedly. "Humans, like most animals, must kill in order to survive. It's a skill we've become rather proficient in."

Rudo's eyes flashed with anger. "Don't twist my words! That thing attacked us; we were defending ourselves. And besides, it's only a bird."

"My apologies," said Hugh. "I meant no offence. Shall we move along before we need to defend ourselves from another one, then?"



We soon came across another credit stick loaded with money. I pocketed it, although I wasn't sure where I could possibly spend it on this planet.



"Boy howdy," Kain said as we faced another group of bizarre monsters. "Them there is the most fucked-up bunnies I ever did see."



I could almost see the bottom of the pit clearly from here, suggesting that we were finally heading out of Skure. On our way out we stumbled upon an old but functional pair of powered boots.



In addition to protecting my legs, the boots improved my balance, allowing me to react more quickly to any threat.



We weren't getting out without a fight, though. Yet another pack of hungry monsters blocked our path. The apelike creatures were both strong and cunning, hiding in the shadows until they were ready to attack and recovering quickly from any non-lethal wounds we gave them.



A long passage angled upward and led east out of Skure. With any luck, we could find a native village nearby. I was eager for any chance to get out of the all-pervading cold on this planet, and we might even gather some information about this mystery man we were looking for.