Fragment of Destiny

Tess was instantly bombarded by cold sleet as she stepped outside. Pulling her jacket tight around her she reached for her phone but hesitated. Damn, but it would have been nice to hail a skimmer about now. Instead, she sloshed the three blocks to the C-terminal.

The foot traffic in the station was sparse, but Tess took some small pleasure in knowing her morning was not the only one ruined by the weather. Waiting for the next tram to arrive Tess fiddled idly with her letter from the assignment committee. Despite denouncing the Imperium yesterday, she found her resolve was beginning to waver. It was not too late, she could still take the tram to the city center.

The tram to sector one arrived first and immediately she could feel the weight of its presence. It was like invisible bonds had encircled her and were beginning to pull her toward the loading platform. After several tense moments and grudging steps, the tram to sector six glided to a stop. Relief washed over her and the invisible bonds vanished.

Tess waded up the letter and dumped it into the nearest wastebasket before boarding the tram bound for sector six. There was a sense of finality to her actions as the doors slid closed behind her. Despite her momentary determination her eyes lingered on the wastebasket with one last moment of indecision.

She felt a thrill of fear as the car began to move. Even on her wildest adventures, she had always known where she was headed, but now... there was something both terrifying and invigorating about an open-ended journey.

Arriving in sector six she was greeted by sleet which fell in fits and starts as she made her trek towards Radin’s den. Even from the moment she exited the station the towering spire of Raidn’s den dwarfed the surrounding buildings. Tall as it was from afar the four-level structure only seemed to grow larger as she approached.

When she arrived twin frosted glass doors each the size of a skimmer parted as a large man in a couriers uniform dashed past her. Just beyond the doors painted concrete spread out in a semicircle as it butted up to a spectacle the like of which she had never seen before. Plants and flowers covered the room as small stone pathways wound their way like threads through the chaos. Small pools of water connected by trickling streams dotted the space and people reclined on old wooden benches. Her only thought was, that it had to be a garden, but not at all like the ones she had learned about in primary school. Instead of row upon row of identical plants arranged neatly along the ground, this was chaos... beautiful chaos.

Tess was still trying to take it all in when Yami appeared from behind a tall hedge.

“What is this place?” Tess asked.

Yami cocked his head to the side for a moment then smiled. “That’s right you have never been to here before. It is called a natural garden.”

“It’s… beautiful.”

“It is, and it’s also something you won’t find, oddly enough, occurring naturally around the Imperium. But I’ve heard in some places across the rift, it looks like this everywhere you go.”

Tess laughed, if that were true, then why the hell were they all still living here.

“Are you ready? I have a few things to show you, and we need to get you registered.”

Tess followed Yami as he wound his way through the garden picking paths seemingly at random. All to soon however they had traversed the maze and were headed down a narrow hall which led to a circular hub. Four identical halls fed into the room as they converged on a clear central elevator spire with five chambers. Yami pressed his hand to the nearest keypad and the door slid open. Despite being able to see through the floor Tess was unable to make out where the spire ended. Even inside the gargantuan central tram station, she had never been on an elevator that extended down so many levels.

As the elevator descended Tess began to wonder just how much further it could possibly go before delving below Central’s aquifer. At last, they came to a stop and frosted glass doors slid open exposing a grated metal walkway with a single rail to either side. An involuntary shiver ran through Tess at the sight of dark water below.

“What is this place?” Tess asked attempting to subdue a rising panic as images of a dark pool surrounded by countless dead bodies assaulted her.

“You can’t see it well with only the walkway lights, but it used to be a quarry before it flooded. Raiden’s Den was built over top of it though the structure down here is still functional.”

Tess wondered when the place had flooded. She was sure the Imperium would not have knowingly allowed access to the water supply. Tess couldn’t help feeling uneasy at the thought. She had given up everything to come here today and unauthorized access to city water was a major crime.

Yami seemed unconcerned by the potential felony as he beckoned Tess towards a tee off in the walkway. To the right, the grating led to an old building held aloft by questionable scaffolding that jutted from the cavern wall. To the left, the unfinished walkway ended only a few paces from the stone wall. A simple chain was the only protection from falling to certain death. Yet instead of turning towards the old building Yami turned left toward the dead end. Mysterious as always Yami explained nothing instead he retrieved a small segment of cabling with four connector pins from his jacket. Jacking two ends into his phone Yami felt around the underside of the rail before slotting the wires inside a concealed compartment.

A moment later the sound of a heavy bolt unlatching rang in the cavern. A segment of wall receded and another metal walkway slid out to link with the first. Crossing the new bridge Tess could feel the hum of machinery as Yami led her across to a cluttered workshop.

Sparks flew from behind a large metal contraption at the center of the room. Yami ignored the sparks and the sound of hissing metal as he wound his way to a worktable littered with fist-sized stones. The stones themselves were varied in color, most shades of blue or green. Yami hefted one and wordlessly turned it over in his hand examining it before giving it to Tess. Though it was still partially encased in ordinary rock there was no mistaking it for what it was. Despite the Imperium’s natural aversion to aesthetics gems were one of the few things Tess could not bring herself to deem a waste of resources.

“They are amazing,” Tess said, her worry replaced with fascination.

“I thought you would like them,” Yami said eyes darting towards the contraption in the center of the room before returning to Tess.

“Just one of these would be incredible enough, but so many. You must have been searching them out for years.”

“Well actually-” Yami began before being cut off.

“Actually, it is none of your damn business!” Shouted a voice from across the room. A slender woman, face hidden behind a welding mask stepped into view. She wore the typical greased stained overalls of a tinkerer along with long sleeve leathers and formerly tan gloves for protection from the sparks. Lifting the mask revealed a smooth face with a dark complexion accented by even darker eyes. Eyes which gleamed with a hint of purple. Shaking her head in disapproval the woman’s short hair brushed just below her ears. She eyed Yami with a vicious stair that would have had most people quivering. Yami only stared back in sullen defiance.

“What the hell are you thinking, barging in here while I’m working and dragging a stray along to boot!” The heat in the woman’s voice and eyes was for Tess every bit as much as Yami.

Yami only shrugged. He grinned when he noticed Tess’s annoyed stair targeting him. He picked up as if nothing had happened, “As I was saying I actually just found these a few days ago,” By his gesture, Tess realized he was referring to all of them.

“You found them?” Hissed the tinkerer. She stalked up to Yami and seemed to loom over him despite the top of her head only reaching his chin. Yami didn’t even flinch, instead, his mischievous smile was back. Whoever she was, it seemed Yami enjoyed getting a rise out of her.

“We found them. You would have stumbled around forever wondering which way was up without me! Who the hell is she anyway?”

“You would know who she is if you ever paid attention to anything besides your doodads here in the shop,” Yami said flicking the welding face guard into place. A gloved fist struck Yami in the gut. He grunted and shuffled back a few steps, wheezing a laugh, the mischievous smile never leaving his face. Flipping back the welding mask the woman face went violet.

“Admeta calm down. You know I’m only playing. This is Tess LaBou, she’s the one I was telling you about. You know the professor’s daughter.”

Admeta gave Tess another sidelong glance, and let out a heavy sigh as she threw up her hands, before stomping back out of sight.

“Just keep your little project out of my way!” Admeta bellowed from behind her contraption as the sparks started up again.

Yami rolled his eyes before continuing. “As I was saying WE,” Yami raised his voice adding extra emphasis to the, we, so Admeta could hear. “Found these a few days ago and only just got them back here last night.”

Fingering a blue stone Tess stole a glance towards where Admeta had gone. “Is she always so friendly?” Tess asked bouncing the stone on her hand as if she intended to use it as a means of self-defense.

Yami nodded with satisfaction “More or less. But to be honest, I think she likes you,” He said, his tone still playful.

“Could have fooled me,” Tess mumbled. “How did you find them all so quickly?”

“It’s... hard to explain,” Yami said with a thoughtful pause, “How about I just show you,” Mischief flickered in his eye as he nodded towards the door. Back across the walkway, Yami led her to the small building on the opposite side of the chasm.

Beyond its steel door laid a sparsely furnished apartment that made the cluttered workshop look tidy by comparison. Diagrams, grids, odd-shaped parts to random objects and even old paper books were sprawled haphazardly across every surface. A shaggy tan carpet was visible only in random patches along the floor as it stretched the length of the room then to the left down a short hall. The walls were a standard Imperium mat gray with the occasional photograph or design schematic. Yami lifted a pile of books and papers from an old couch which had clearly seen better days.

“Here, have a seat. I still need to find it,” Yami said setting the books on top of an existing pile. They teetered precariously as Yami waved his hands in front of them as if willing the tower to remain upright. Scanning the room, he smiled at Tess and shrugged with both palms in the air. “This could take a while. Why don’t you work on the registration form?” Yami said as he magically produced a datapad from under a pile of papers.

Taking a seat on the couch, Tess was nearly swallowed alive as she sank into the unsupportive cushion. When was the last time this had been used for sitting rather than as a bookshelf?

Tess busied herself with the registration form as Yami moved from one papered pile to another searching for whatever “It” was. She was about to ask if he needed help in his search when Yami darted around the corner. If the room or rooms down the hall were anything like this one, she could be here a while.

With the registration complete, Tess pulled herself from her sunken seat and began to wander the stacks. Most of the books were old and worn from repeated use. Although any books in print would have to be old, older than her at least. The schematics were newer, most of them anyway, some hand drawn others printed. The majority looked to be for parts rather than full devices. But why bother with books and paper when everything could be done much easier on a terminal?

Tess was on the verge of calling for a rescue party when Yami reentered to the room. In his hand, he carried a black sphere composed of layer upon layer of slapped together metal plates.

“Found it,” Yami said beaming a smile from ear to ear. Tess cocked an eye at him and his smile broadened even more.

“This is the sensorium. It’s an advanced version of the academy neural grid device. This baby will let you relive anything saved to its data bank.”

“So what? I just rub it on my forehead and magically get to relive all your stored memories?”

“It works like dreaming. You will be put into a low-level sleep while you experience them.”

How far did he intend to take this joke before showing her how he actually found those gemstones? He must have taken her skepticism for worry because he rushed on to reassure her.

“Don’t Worry. Just like in a real dream your subconscious can process large quantities of information quickly. That means you can view hours even days in minutes. So there is no need to worry about adverse effects to your body and because you went to the academy it can sync up with your neural grid. Which is great because that basically saves me a few hours of getting everything calibrated.”

“Is it already on?” Tess asked.

With the device in both hands, Yami spun and rotated the metal plates like a spherical shuffle puzzle, until blue light seeped from the seams before handing it to Tess.

“So now I sit here staring at your light-up ball like a dolt until you tell me this was all an elaborate joke?”

Yami hissed through his teeth, it seemed she had finally struck a nerve.

“Activate entry: 110-524a71-p55.”

“Projection or Sensorium?” Asked a silky female voice.

“Sensorium,” Yami said turning the ball in Tess’s hand's so that a single point of light was facing her. “Focus on the light,” Yami said his voice distant and hollow. The last thing she felt was panic. She could no longer feel her body as everything went dark.