An Uncharted Abyss

Author: Lynn Yi

Original post: https://backstage.eve-inspiracy.com/index.php?topic=7608.0

Entry for YC121 New Eden Capsuleer’s Writing Contest in the Prose category.

Part One

YC 121.08.04

“Ling?!” Lynn cried, seeing her slightly older sister for the first time in over a year. Ling wasn't her sister by birth, but they had spent the first fourteen years of their lives together with Lynn serving as Ling’s slave from birth.

“Father told me where to find you. And he was right,” Ling answered.

Lynn grimaced, remembering the man who had masqueraded as her father but thought nothing of her but a toy for his actual daughter. “That man,” she whispered then shouted the rest, “was never my father!”

Ling nodded. “So I've learned. I ran away from home trying to find you and found far much more.”

Taken back, Lynn remembered that first kiss at their death defying separation. “But if you know, then why are you here?” asked Lynn.

The guilty and bashful expression Ling made wasn't something Lynn often saw. “I needed to be with you.”

Lynn knew her every tell and whatever this was it wasn't a lie or even one of her games. “I won’t return to San Matar,” Lynn said, referencing the constellation of star systems claimed by the Ammatar Mandate.

Again Ling nodded. “Then nor shall I. I who am a traitor of traitors.”

An incredulous look spread across Lynn’s face. “You know you're Nefantar?”

More nodding. “And I betrayed them by joining the Tribal Liberation Force in order to find you. I’ve fought and killed those in the 24th Imperial Crusade.” Ling said. “And still I had hell just landing here on Pator and on your clan’s grounds.”

The words of Lynn’s actual father echoed in her mind. Trust no one. But her own eyes told her the closest thing to truth she knew. Ling’s nostrils always slightly flared when she lied and there was enough light in the corridor to clearly see Ling's face.

“I realize this is the Yi Clan’s sarcophagus, but,” Ling continued then suddenly rushed forward towards Lynn who instinctively reached for one of the kri’tak at her belt before realizing she was being held. Ling held the embrace long after Lynn started to relax. “I've been waiting to do this again for so long!” Ling said through tears. “For so long.”

The nostalgic memories of Ling’s scent had Lynn returning the embrace before she even realized what she was doing. She could feel Ling’s breathing had become more ragged and crying even more at the returned embrace. Lynn let it be and just held her for a moment a bit tighter. It seemed to help Ling calm down some. “Dondai told me how this had all been an experiment from the beginning,” Ling said once she had caught her breath. “And he has already started over, with a male this time. So that was his way of telling me I have a brother and that I've already been replaced. He collects any slave with our family name and now he is trying the same thing he did with us except with a pair of males now.” Ling pulled back from the embrace to look Lynn in the eyes. “I know it is asking a lot but I would like to join your Clan.”

This was a lot for Lynn to take in, so she decided to not make any hasty decisions. “My father, Hongtian, is our Clan shaman so he would make the official decision, but since I am next in line he wouldn't refuse my request to include you. Still, there are a number of trials you must past including the chance you could be exiled to Starkman Prime.”

The intense fighting over the Arzad system came back to mind with how the two opposing factions fought tooth and nail for that system where the Minmatar exiles were sent. Ling had many questions as to the reason it was so heavily fortified with an armistice in place so that the Amarr wouldn't touch that barren planet of Minmatar outcasts. But Ling would save those questions for yet another time. “So I would need to go through the Vovul ritual to first determine if I would be an outcast and receive my mark.”

“Exactly,” Lynn said, “Among a number of other rituals and trials.” Lynn started stripping off her upper clothing so Ling could see her skin. “Each mark has great significance. First is the mark of the Seven tribes,” Lynn said pointing at her left shoulder. You should be very familiar with that. Your clan goes here divided by your mark as a capsuleer or baseliner. That's new for you obviously and might have the original date as to when you joined a clan. With the ease with which tattoos can now be altered it's not as critical anymore. Even with amnesia you can still know who you are and your history. Then here on my opposite shoulder is my corporation along with my allegiance to the Tribal Liberation Force and underneath that is my rank.”

Ling interjected, “And your facial tattoo you've had since shortly after,” Ling hesitated to say abduction and changed it to something Lynn would appreciate more, “your rescue.”

“That is from the Vovul ritual. The Eyes of the Snow Cat. My father has the same mark only his are umbral and mine are blue. The difference is a matter of the four elements. Another ritual as my ascension to Clan shaman was, among many other things, useful in explaining what this mark means. But first we can place your Minmatar and Nefantar tattoos in place along with your faction and rank,” Lynn continued, “while wearing a sleeveless shirt so that people will understand what you have been through to get here. They may take exception to you being Nefantar, but there’s nothing we can do about that. You’ll have me to back you up.”

Ling nodded at the wisdom in Lynn’s advice while admiring her body as Lynn covered back up. “I was told from above that I could find you in this Clan sepulchral, but not why you were here.”

“Yes, indeed,” Lynn answered, “my mission here is important but not public knowledge,” she said as she pulled out a scanning device. “This measures heat sources and identifies their type. At first I was checking the cracks around the ancestral pods. But there wasn't any unusual readings there. But a preliminarily analysis by another team showed a new potential power source for our home. We currently use radioactive nuclear waste products buried deep underground but we suspect a geothermal source somewhere in the unexplored areas of this sepulchral. If you want to wear a harness and gear we may need then you are welcome to go discover this source at my side.”

Tears started to well up in Ling's eyes as she enthusiastically consented to the exploration, taking note of the duplicate gear and extra navigation equipment she would include on her harness. Lynn wasn't going to wait for her so a manager helped Ling attach the gear she would most like need to use to compliment the gear Lynn was already carrying. The moment she was ready she headed back down into the sepulcher and followed the available map made so far on the holographic data pad and the life sign belonging to Lynn. It didn't take her long to catch back up with Lynn taking measurements and noting them on her pad.

Lynn immediately took charge of Ling as soon as Ling caught up. “Welcome back. Launch a camera probe, like so,” Lynn said. Ling then noticed the black sphere that was following Lynn. Ling watched as Lynn moved in closer to access her data pad launch the drone. Ling had already come to terms that she was in love with Lynn. At the moment it seemed that love was unrequited, but not exactly rejected. Lynn had become a professional at the tender age of 14 and was putting their mission ahead of anything she might otherwise want to say. As she had learned in order to get promoted within the Tribal Liberation Army, the mission comes first. Lynn now seemed to be the embodiment of that train of thought, and being the senior officer here she had immediately took Ling as a subordinate.

“I’ll debrief you as I continue,” Lynn said. “As I said this is an important mission. Presently our buried nuclear waste acts as long term batteries. Their usefulness as a nuclear energy source will only last approximately 50 years. Both you and I will outlast those batteries, unless we happen to die down here without our pods.”

Ling knew Lynn well enough that she was attempting humor, but as usual it wasn’t something most people would find very funny.

Continuing scanning nearby surfaces, Lynn said, “If we can get a precise location on what the survey team that came ahead of us reported it is possible that we may have access to a geothermal vent. The outgassing has some other exit we can’t easily access, so until we get considerably closer we won’t need to wear any protective gear for our susceptible organs. Our ‘bird-in-the-coal-mine’ sensors will suffice to let us know when our air starts to get fouled.”

“Part of what I’m scanning for,” explained Lynn, “is to see if those gases have flowed up in this direction before and to see if they match the gasses of a geothermal vent. It’s possible, depending on the concentration, that they could have left a film on the damp surfaces of the walls. Oh, and it appears there is more danger down here than just the air we’re breathing. The survey team encountered previously undocumented species which tried to eat said team. They managed to get away with a flare before returning to the surface, not having come armed for that contingency. I’ve brought flares, and you have them as well. I also have my blades. I hope you brought something you can use as a weapon aside from the power pick?”

Ling smiled. “They took it away from me the first time I came down here, but,” she reached behind her back pulling out a short graphite rod which caused Lynn to involuntarily take half a step back to better her balance and to lay a free hand on the kri’tak at her hip. Lynn knew this weapon and how deadly it was. Ling finished her sentence, “they decided to return it when they got your command for my support.” Ling put the graphite rod back behind her under her pack where it latched into place. “I really wasn’t sure what to think of that, but now I understand. As much as I’d love a sparring match, I understand this isn’t for practice. I should be of use against any manner of beast we cross.”

Lynn started to relax her stance, but continued to rest a hand on her kri’tak whenever that hand wasn’t otherwise occupied taking measurements. “Well, it’s good to have reliable backup,” Lynn commented as she continued along through the corridor as they started to reach the end of the artificially lit area. “We need light at our back. I’ll leave my drone dark as I’m up front but I need you to light your drone so we can clearly see what is ahead of us.”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am. Setting peak values at 200 lumens.” Ling answered, reverting to military protocol to an officer of a higher rank, being struck with the irony that Lynn was her slave the last time they parted ways. Ling opened the controls on her data pad, setting the drone to turn on both the full visible spectrum and infrared at a low brightness level while they were in this fairly confined dark space and to stay positioned back behind a shoulder.

Spectrum 1: 450 nm; Lumens: 200 Spectrum 2: 550 nm: Lumens: 200 Spectrum 3: 650 nm: Lumens: 200 Spectrum 4: 900 nm: Lumens: 200

“Good,” Lynn commented. “The camera drones and our ocular implants should handle those wavelengths just fine. We will lower the lumens across the field as needed later.”

“Lower?” Ling asked, a bit confused.

“Yes. We’ll take at least half an hour break in complete darkness then switch to a lower luminosity using just the third spectrum. After our eyes adjust to the darkness, the red portion of the spectrum will permit the rods of our eyes to work better than our other two cones,” Lynn explained. “We could use the second spectrum, but the third has a significantly wider field of detection.”

“I… don’t really understand,” said Ling. “But I’ll take your word for it.”

Lynn smiled knowing that taking her word for it wouldn’t be necessary. This sort of ignorance is what happens when you don’t spend enough time away from your pod, and down planetside away from the big cities. The Yi Clan’s property was intentionally settled far away from the bright city lights in order to appreciate the beauty of the night. Getting to show Ling what Lynn had learned the past year was going to be quite the ego boost. Still, as Lynn well knew, one’s ego had the potential to make you your own worst enemy. So Lynn would do her best not to gloat over this little bit of knowledge which Ling had yet to experience.

They had reached the end of the sepulchre where the corridor opened up into a somewhat larger natural cavern. She checked her data pad to see where they were at in relation to the home that her father had built here on this side of the mountain range facing the steppes of Mikramurka. There was little in the way of dispute of the Clan’s claim of this area since it wasn’t directly on the steppes itself. Any expansion was made into the rock which provided considerable cover from the elements. There were plenty of caverns carved back into the rock for raising of livestock. A particular fast growing grass from Vherokior lands grew around the home her father built which could reach several meters in height. Harvesting the younger shoots provided most of the food for the livestock and some nutrients for the humans living there as well. It added a natural feel to the scenery of the home built there onto the side of the mountain range making it appear far less out of place.

As it turned out there were only a few stories down beneath the home’s ground level, although several thousand meters above sea level. There were still graves being carved out behind them towards the staircase that led up into the main living area of home where it was adequately sealed against unwanted guest, including young ones doing some exploring. The door to the sepulcher was plainly marked as to what it was for, and that the only treasures that lay beneath were the genetic markers of its past inhabitants and the knowledge that they had past down often in the form of resin coated bamboo strips tied into rolls for reading. More recent corpses of the more recent of technological ages provided lectures recorded to be displayed postmortem when accessed.

Lynn had already spent plenty of time researching her Clan’s history and traditions, many of which had survived the purges of the Amarr invasion. The sepulcher had remained undisturbed for centuries, so it provided some of the most pristine intact records from before the Day of Darkness. While it may have been a treasure trove for archaeologist, eons ago the Elders had decided to keep it both hidden and sealed to prevent looting. Only a shaman of the clan kept the secret record to operate the heavy ornate latch on the hidden doorway made with technology still unknown to the Yi Clan of the present. One day that secret would belong to her.

If it hadn’t been for the research from the survey team, Lynn could have spent months trying to find her way to her mission’s target. Much of what was down here had been created via natural processes and the upper portion had only been taken advantage of by the Yi Clan as a sepulcher. It was clear where the man made walls and floors ended and where the environment had been left as it was. None of the records she was taking could be examined and compared until she returned to the surface. Judging but more in depth examinations of the surrounding area it was clear that this was indeed a place of death and that the air had only recently been cleared to make it breathable where they were. The closer they got to their target, the contents of the air would be nothing comparable to the heat. The suits and gear they were wearing were designed to deal with a few hundred celsius for a short amount of time. A geiger counter was also in her suite of sensors in the event that they came across any natural sources of radiation.

Where the path became difficult to follow, the previous survey team had left adequate gear behind them to continue their exploration. Lynn was relieved to have Ling alongside her in the event that she needed some help. Normally she would be accompanied by a team but some of the research she was doing was sensitive and only would be entrusted the the Clan’s Shaman. Apparently he trusted her enough to do this mission alone, or felt that it would help her grow in some way. Ling, an outsider, shouldn’t be down here by her side but it seems given the circumstances her father, the Yi’s Shaman, had determined this would be useful to her development as the next Shaman. Whatever the case, Lynn hoped it wasn’t assumed that Ling wouldn’t make it back alive. Try as she might to ignore it, that particular scenario could actually have been a deciding factor. There were some aspects of their relationship that Lynn hadn’t revealed to her father so going off of just the main aspects of her existence as an Ammatar slave one could easily assume that Lynn might welcome some accident in which Ling didn’t make it back alive.

However, Lynn still had some questions of her own about the significance of their relationship and how it had started to develop prior to her rescue at the hands of the Tribal Liberation Force. Perhaps those questions would be answered before they finally made it back to the surface… assuming either of them managed to actually do so. Lynn was lost in thought about the nature of human biology that she had learned in some detail from one of the Brutor slaves who had been working the fields near the palace and how out of curiosity had applied some of that knowledge to her duties regarding Ling’s hygiene. Curiosity led to more curiosity for Ling, and while Lynn had greater access to the public and their slaves during her own enslavement, Ling on the other hand was for the most part left with only Lynn for human interaction. This may have been a direct consequence of her father’s experiment involving slaves he purchased with the last name Yi, but Lynn wasn’t privy to any of that sort of intelligence.

The two of them spent little time in idle chatter. This was a mission and as they both were still a part of the Tribal Liberation Force they both had the nature of professionals about them as they made their way further and further down. Non mission critical chatter was not excusable. Still, Ling’s extra set of eyes proved to be of use as she pointed out what appeared to be marks left by previous explorers aside from the last survey team which had apparently aged since the time they were made. They back tracked some so that Lynn could examine the marks and take her own readings. While the leftover materials used to make these marks were different from the materials that they commonly used they were still being used in the same way the survey team had made their own to assist in dealing with precarious areas of exploration.

“Thank you, Ling,” Lynn said, still not having referenced her rank even once. Ling had done the same, but still behaved in a manner befitting an officer of a lesser rank. Despite the highly unusual conditions and not being in the field, Lynn had simply fallen back on what she knew and she knew that Ling had joined the ranks of the Tribal Liberation Force. Lynn had been avoiding a confrontation, using the chain of command and the rules that came with that hierarchy. Lynn remembered that Ling had mentioned that Dondai Yi, Ling’s father, had provided the intel as to her present location. That Dondai knew her whereabouts was something she needed to address and soon. The other part of this situation that seemed strange was the fact that Ling even had been granted permission to visit her in this place, or any place for that matter on Yi Clan property, without supervision. That had to have been the doing of her own father for reasons she had already considered.

Mass spectrometry from some of the gear that had been provided in Ling’s pack helped to establish that the materials used to make these older marks were of semi-native origin placing them perhaps around the time of early moon mining efforts when it was suspected that Matar had more than a single moon and that the remnants of that moon were indeed the materials used to make the relic site still in Pator’s orbit. This could be a huge find, although if the results match the discovery then it would remain a secret of the Yi Clan due to the location of the discovery. That was assuming such a find could be kept a secret. But that would still be nothing compared to why Lynn had been sent on this mission alone as the next in line for becoming the Shaman of the Yi Clan. This knowledge sent shivers down her spine of what her father, Hongtian, must surely know that he is unable to make public knowledge. A simple example would be the extent of the remainder of the Yi Clan given what was visible via satelite compared to how many members of the Clan have managed to survive here in secret. Lynns thoughts couldn’t be echoed allowed with Ling present. Still Ling was now privy to what in effect were Clan secrets. Lynn would have to be careful that Ling survived this journey into the deep. There were now only two outcomes to this where Ling was concerned. She either died here or converted to the Yi Clan. No pressure.

On that note, Lynn decided to make her suspicions known to Ling. “Give me an inventory report of your pack and anything you were provided before your decent.” Then another thought struck her. “Your weapon was also taken from you. Let’s do a scan of that just in case it has been tampered with.”

Ling looked shocked for a moment since the subject seemed to come out of nowhere without any apparent reason for concern. “Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” Ling replied and started lying out everything that in her pack out in a formal pattern from the way it had been stacked in her bag so that she could fit everything back the way it had been put in, trailing the tactical pack down below the equipment. “Permission to speak freely?”

“Granted,” Lynn permitted without hesitation wanting to make this concern known.

“Is it possible that our fathers have corroborated to have me killed?” Ling asked.

Lynn paused at that not having suspected collaboration, but under the circumstances she couldn’t rule out the possibility. “That’s precisely what we need to find out, and quickly. First, you shouldn’t have been granted access to a Clan site full of undocumented secrets. Access which had to have come from my father, Hongtian. He may consider this a favor to me by getting rid of my highly persistent enemy tail. Second, I can’t figure out how your father, Dondai, knew my exact location. I suspect that there was communication between the two and given your willingness to turn traitor could mean that your father wants what he considers a family blemish eliminated without any investigation. A cold case scenario.”

“You think your father would willingly work with mine?” Ling asked perplexed.

Lynn sighed a moment before answering, wondering just how much she should say. Trusting no one wasn’t black and white. Sometimes you had to roll the dice and see if you made a good bet or not. Instead of trust this was going to have to be a calculated risk based on how well Lynn knew Ling.

“Hongtian has found common ground to work with criminal elements before, such as the Angel Cartel and the Secret Starway coalition,” answered Lynn. “This common ground is how he got a Tribal Liberation Force behind the Ammatar Mandate lines using an Interstellar Railroad used specifically for smuggling slaves out of Ammatar space. Using these backdoor Stargates my half sister Sunon rescued me and got me back to Minmatar Republic space without so much as a slaver hound getting involved. You may not know this, but Garret and Hongtian are half brothers.”

Lost for words, Ling set down the last of the items, the pack, and finally removing her weapon from behind her waist setting it down at the bottom of the chain of objects. “So we’re actually family.”

“We share an Ammatar Grandfather, yes. I am your half-cousin.” Lynn replied. “Although your Grandmother was Ammatar and my Grandmother was a Minmatar slave of the Vherokior Tribe. Between the Reclamation and our system regions being literally next door, this shouldn’t be all that surprising.”

“And yet..” Ling paused. “I feel like I need to confirm this somehow.”

“You should,” Lynn answered dispassionately, again her father’s words echoing in her mind to trust no one. Even himself. “Just keep in mind that this is just another skeleton in the family closet. The name of my grandmother should help. Dijanne Yi. You passed her grave on the way here. You will find his shared genetic markers between us. Thus if you died, were buried here, and were found postmortem it wouldn’t be all that interesting.”

Starting with the safety jumpsuit to protect Ling from the dangerous elements they would encounter in the depths, Lynn started scanning for anything different from her own jumpsuit. It didn’t take long to discover a flaw in Ling’s jumpsuit. At the soles of the feet the insulation wasn’t up to spec. Fortunately, Lynn had a fix in the event for just such a problem. It wasn’t common, but it happened where a suit became damaged and needed a quick fix repair. A pressurized can of temperature insulation mixed with a pH base was applied to the soles of the jumpsuit. Ling didn’t even have to take it off but had to prop up her legs while the mixture bonded to the soles.

While waiting on the mixture to cure, Lynn continued on with scanning the rest of her equipment. As advertised, she had the standard gear for this expedition along with a number of items that would have increased her own weight past acceptable limits especially for the length of this excursion. Scanning equipment she simply didn’t have room or the weight limit for, but after checking each piece for defects she didn’t find anything else until she got to Ling’s weapon.

The graphite bar was a mere 45cm in length and 2.2cm in diameter. Lynn was intimately familiar with this piece of equipment as she and Ling had sparred together with it on more occasions that she could have kept track of. Nothing was obviously wrong with it to the naked eye, but the scanner immediately picked up a pin shaped device wedged inside. The graphite bar was impervious to most everything, but the user wasn’t. The problem was how to remove the pin without activating the weapon’s ability to change its shape into one of its one-hundred-seven configurations.

“Find something?” Ling asked as she observed Lynn from a rather comfortable position.

“Yes,” Lynn answered. “A sort of explosive that is currently under high pressure but would presumably destroy your suit and kill you the moment you activated the device. I can imagine a few configurations that would have allowed for this to be compressed down inside the blade.”

“The Blood Letter,” Ling said, naming one of the configurations with a slot that ran down a portion of the 90cm extended, twisted, and serrated three-bladed configuration. Projecting the opposite end as a continuous bar gave it the extra length of a short or long spear. “If you were very careful of the blades you could slide something inside the inner groove that would get very compressed when the blade was withdrawn. Any configuration change would discharge the unknown agent explosively under the sudden vacuum.”

Lynn thought for a moment. “We might be able to use this to our advantage in a particular situation. In fact, you might want to consider using this yourself when the situation calls for it.”

Pouting, Ling asked, “Okay, tell me how to use my own weapon in a way better than I do.” Ling was accustomed to this. Lynn was a Sebiestor after all.

Lynn got that evil expression she always got when coming up with some new idea that involved making something new, or something old work far better than before. That expression always sent shivers down Ling’s spine. Oblivious to that fact Lynn explained her idea. “Okay, here’s what you’ll want to do..”

Part Two

YC 121.08.03

“And then!” Lynn continued which most would consider in amazement but Ling could only listen to her describing yet another engineering project. Lynn appeared to pause for effect. “Configuration One-Zero-Eight!”

The only reason Ling hadn't completely zoned out while taking measurements where Lynn indicated by pointing was because her ideas were about a new way to use Ling’s own weapon. Lynn continued to build on her original spark of inspiration by going off on a slight tangent. “So what should we name One-Zero-Eight?!” Lynn asked as if they were naming some special move that had to be called out beforehand.

There it was, Ling thought. The inevitable question that you either told her you were interested in the conversation or were bored and she couldn't be permitted to continue to share with anyone what she was going to do anyway. “How about ‘Pigeons-and-Rice’?” Ling answered.

Lynn laughed. Really laughed like she hadn't laughed since they played together as kids. They both had grown considerably in the past year, from childhood friends to mortal enemies. If not for being in this damp stuffy cave instead of a brilliant white and gold orbital space station then it might feel like nothing had ever happened. Ling smiled a bittersweet smile at her.

Wiping her tears from her eyes after laughing so hard, Lynn said, “A rather disturbing if accurately descriptive name. I give it a thumbs up.”

“Really?” Ling asked. “It's not too much of a jest for you?” Exactly why Lynn had a say in the name had always been another curious game of theirs. But if Lynn designed something, even if it belonged to another person of much higher status and she but a mere slave, Lynn felt that it was obviously her due to get naming rights. Lynn took it all rather seriously.

“It's just too perfect of a fit. And if it fits,” Lynn started an often repeated saying of hers. Ling finished the saying, “There it sits.” They looked at each other and laughed.

An alarm on Ling's scanner interrupted their moment of bonding. “What is it?” Lynn asked, her demeanor suddenly back to professional as if nothing had just passed between them.

A little perplexed Ling looked over her tablet for the source of the alarm. Hesitantly pressing through the red that led to even more red she answered, “Barometric increase, followed by a slight temperature increase, then a tiny tremor.”

As Ling was answering that question Lynn’s scanner started tweeting, paused a couple seconds and restarted. Before Lynn even looked at her own holographic tablet she said, “Headgear on,” and then slid a switch on the collar of her jumpsuit as a helmet unfolded around her face. Lynn grabbed a tube on the front of her harness an attached the quick lock at the end of the tube under the chin of her helmet.

Ling had been watching Lynn so she had her headgear closed up around her face but between not getting a good look at what Lynn did next, not knowing how to operate the quick lock, and having very little air inside the helmet Ling started to panic.

“Calm down,” Lynn's voice came through her helmet as if she was right next to her ear. Ling forced herself to control her breathing as she noticed that Lynn's voice sounded closest to the direction Lynn was standing at. A hiss momentarily whispered in her helm before she could easily breathe again. Ling sighed in relief.

“Let me guess, no one showed you how to operate the headgear?” Lynn asked her. Ling shook her head noticing the windowless helmet Lynn was wearing before realizing the images she was seeing were also from a closed face helm. She saw her tablet in the corner and it expanded to fill her vision, but as soon as she focused her eyes past the tablet she saw Lynn again.

“Based on our individual readings, and the order they occurred in, I'm guessing that the wind outside died down which in turn stopped pulling the hot gasses out of the outside vent causing the cavern pressure to increase. A sudden increase in pressure translates to a temperature increase. This backed up what we assume is a geothermal vent causing the tiny tremor we didn't even feel,” Lynn explained. “The alarm on my tablet was an increase of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide as the geothermal vent lost its oxygen Venturi. The heat will still head toward the surface, just not as quickly.”

Ling suddenly realized the white lines lit up on Lynn’s headgear where her face was formed the same shape as Lynn’s Tribe. Also, according to her data pad the camera drones had been set to shut off the RGB light sources once the headgear was active. A left side Sebiestor Tribe shoulder patch and right side Minmatar shoulder patch were apparently also IR reflective. Given the technology and refinement on these suits, spelunking had to be far more than just a hobby for the Yi clan of the Sebiestor who lived planetside.

Lynn was looking at their immediate surroundings. “This is a reasonable place to spend the night, at least until the wind picks back up outside,” Lynn said, removing her harness, taking out a bed roll to provide a little extra comfort. Ling had set her harness aside and sat watching. After a moment Lynn remembered everything that was in Ling's pack. She hadn't been provided any bedding. Lynn knew this had to have been intentional. The Nefantar were merely tolerated not warmly treated among most Minmatar. Lynn decided this would need to change amongst the Yi Clan, particularly concerning Ling.

Lynn set both packs side by side above the bedroll then removed another spare quick connect tube and plugged it into both packs. “I'm splitting the load between the scrubbers, just in case,” Lynn said. Ling smiled behind her mask, saying nothing at the thought of directly using each other's air. Lynn had lay on her left side facing Ling while on the bed roll and then stretched out an arm for Ling to join her. It was all she could do to make up for the rude treatment of her guest.

Silent tears ran down Ling's face. Here was Lynn, no longer her slave but ironically her senior officer, trying to comfort her as as she had so many times before. Lynn now had Ling's life in her hands in this place and was doing everything she could for her sake while still doing a thorough job during this dangerous mission of hers for the Yi Clan. Accepting the familiar embrace, Ling snuggled her backside against Lynn who wrapped her arms around Ling.

“Good night. Pleasant dreams,” Lynn whispered. Ling’s throat was constricted from crying so all she managed in return was a choked up, “Night.” Hearing the cry in her voice anyway, Lynn gave Ling a tight squeeze before the familiar tangle of legs quickly put them both to sleep in the dark cavern’s deadly atmosphere.

YC 121.08.04

The heat woke Lynn. She checked her sensors and the temperature in the cavern had indeed gone up around 20° C. Ling had rolled away and was seeming to sleep poorly. Their suits had been equipped with regulators but the cryo cores were almost depleted.

Lynn turned a switch behind her right shoulder and the core slowly ejected with a pneumatic hiss. The old core went into the side of the scrubber to refreeze via a photodiode chemical reaction and a new one was placed back into the suit. It didn't take long before Lynn cold feel the cold starting to circulate through the network of salt water tubing returning her body core temperature back to normal. Ling had spread out with one leg still holding Lynn’s down. Lynn chuckled as she reached across Ling's helm and repeated the procedure to get Ling cooled down as well. She apparently relaxed more rolling back closer to Lynn.

Before trying to go back to sleep, Lynn quickly checked on the camera drones which had landed with three struts to go into power saving mode. They were watching everything silently, but any movement got their attention. Since Lynn and Ling were the only moving things right now they both were focused on them. The occasional drop of water which had trickled down from the surface, or the blind insects using chemical and vibration perception, would momentarily catch their attention. Lynn hoped they didn't run into any sizable predators since she never did get a full debriefing of the incident with the previous crew. She was confident in her CQC skills with her kri’tak. Deciding all was well she lay back down and put an arm around Ling who had curled back up against her.

Ever since they had begun to mature, Lynn felt like a mother with a child when it came to Ling, not as a barely younger sibling. Perhaps she did have some of those motherly instincts, but a relationship would just get in the way of her ambitions. When it came to what Ling felt, Lynn wasn't sure what she needed from her but apparently it was important enough for her to be here now, trusting Lynn with her life. If this was loyalty, then no amount of Isk in the New Eden could buy it. Lynn wished it was loyalty rather than a setup for betrayal. Getting sleepy again Lynn drifted back off with thoughts of the girl who had found her way back into her arms.

“Lynn. Lynn!” Ling was urgently whispering. Coming to, Lynn asked what the matter was. “Lynn. I really have to go!”

Lynn didn’t know if to laugh or cry. “Find a corner and take a squat. Your suit will do the rest.”

“How does it work? Nevermind. I don’t need to know right now,” said Ling before quickly moving to the other side of the cavern and squatting down. A few moments later Ling exclaimed, “The Gate that’s cold!”

“Sorry,” Lynn replied. “I didn’t take the time to figure out how to use warmer saline solution. Hurry up, I’m next.”

“When did you have time to design this too?” Ling asked incredulously heading back to their bedroll.

Lynn got up and started moving across the cavern. “Insomnia. Last night is some of the best sleep I’ve had in the past year. I just designed them and outsourced the industry.”

Ling tilted her head to the side while sitting on the bedroll, her arms wrapped around her knees. ”Insomnia? Huh…I’ve just been drugging myself to sleep.”

“That thought crossed my mind, and I had to on occasion, but between work and work I had plenty to occupy the time with,” Lynn explained. “That, and a lot of Quafe.”

“That explains how you’ve always stayed several steps ahead of me this past year,” Ling commented.

“I’m going to change the subject,” Lynn announced, looking at the readings on her tablet. “The site we are in is a very ancient one for the Yi clan and family. There is some writing you likely couldn’t read at the entrance that says, ‘Beyond this point, here lie Dragons’.” Lynn opened her helm and took a good deep breath.

Ling started to react in fear before seeing on her own tablet that the air was breathable again and the temperature had dropped back down to a very comfortable level. Apparently the wind had started back up topside and had started blowing quite some time ago.

“The ancients believed something lived down here that could kill by merely breathing fiery noxious fumes and that they were commonly found deep within mountains,” Lynn continued. “They called them Dragons. The fire breathing part was likely largely due to explosive gasses in the presence of a fire when entering a natural methane pocket. Today, we know what they were finding and how they came to their conclusions. It was believed they hoarded treasures, so the Yi clan has always been attempting to figure out ways to explore this area. We once sought precious metals and gems, but now we seek electricity. We are delvers of the underworld and now explorers of the heavens. There is much lore on how each process likely occurred without the many scientific instruments we have today. Many of the dead lie several hundred meters above us and likely many are now covered in lime deposits who died to these natural planetary occurrences.”

Stunned, Ling wanted to ask a question but was at a loss for words. “That’s some family tradition,” she commented instead. “Dragon hunting. Whatever a dragon may be, it certainly sounds fierce. And yet you know that there are creatures living down here… aside from these bugs,” Ling said eyeing a small multisegmented that had raised itself up and appeared to be judging her in return as it’s long antenna swept back and forth through the air.

Lynn was looking over their plotted course for the next day, figuring their rations, and how much they would need from their natural surroundings to keep their equipment powered and running smoothly. “There is always something, typically a nematode of some sort, living in every place we’ve searched planetside. But apparently, aside from a few toxic bugs down here there are also creatures down here roughly the size of a slaver hound that we will be needing our camera drones here for watching our backs.” She nodded in their direction as the drones bounced up off the ground and started hovering to beside each other’s shoulder. “Setting their red spectrum emissions at 507 nm. And I’ve dropped their lumens to 150. That wavelength should be optimal for maintaining our low light scotopic vision since our organic rods don’t respond to red which in turn will give us a wider field of view than with white light.”

Looking around the cavern Ling seemed amused. “You’re right. It is better than a white light beam as far as being able to see all around you. Nice.”

“Okay, follow me. This is a labyrinth down here and I’d prefer to take the shortest route to where we are going,” Lynn said walking up to a certain point before coming to a stop. Ling followed her and started to walk past her before Lynn shot out an arm to stop her. “Look down.”

Ling looked down at the huge pit in the ground right in front of her. Instinctively she took a backwards step. “Shortest route, eh?”

Taking a cord out of her pack, Lynn tossed it up towards the ceiling and the weighted end seemed to suddenly take on a life of its own as it changed directions mid air shooting for a dark circle set into the top of the cavern directly over the center of the hole. When the cord struck the dark inset at the top of the cavern it sounded like a pair of rocks clapping together where it stuck fast. Lynn brought out out the rest of her repelling gear and Ling pulled her own out as well, copying everything that Lynn was doing. Lynn was taking her time so it would be simple for Ling to keep up with what needed to placed where, starting with the D-rings being clipped onto her harness.

“Do what I do,” Lynn said holding onto the cord attaching her D-ring to another metal part she had wrapped into the coord. “Make sure you wrap your leg around the cord twice so that you can do this,” Ling continued while shifting her weight so that the cord held her firmly still on one foot. “Being able to rest like this is important for going up and down at a comfortable speed. Also shut your helmet. We won’t have time to make adjustments during sudden shifts in the air current.”

“Here are some other guidelines. For every hour that passes going down,” Lynn explained, “it takes almost ten hours going back up. So we’re going to be down here a few weeks at least.” As Ling got onto the cord, Lynn looked up to make sure she was doing everything right. “Another is that you watch out for the person behind you. So I’ll be continuously making sure you’re safe as we move along. A lot of the scans I’ve been doing is to verify whether or not something is of significant historic evidence so we don’t accidentally destroy or contaminate it. You identified what I think is new significant find back there which we will need to update our maps with the main server once we return to the surface. Then they’ll make a way of going around it so as not to accidentally destroy it. The clan owes that to you, and it is a big find. We do have a network that transmits information back to the surface, but it isn’t used for that. It’s more like a transponder network to keep from getting lost and updating the map of the complex.”

Ling was in awe of it all. She could see how ancient spelunker gear that used materials from what used to be Pator IV’s second moon would be a significant discovery, despite still not knowing when that moon was destroyed. Given how much information was lost to the Matari after the Day of Darkness, which was the Matari name for the invasion of the Amarr which started with an orbital strike during a massive storm before landing to start rallying up prisoners to be used as slaves. While Ling was aware that most slaves were nothing more than cattle to die and be replaced very cheaply, Lynn had fetched a higher price during auction due to her heritage and age to the right holder. Despite living the life of a slave, Lynn seemed to have had a better life living with her than everything she had been through after being returned to her people. That wasn’t for Ling to decide. It was merely an observation. Although it was clear the opportunity to learn was greater out here than in San Matar. Only a single train of thought was offered within San Matar which closely heeded the blessing of the Tribunal via the Amarr governor. No other historical possibilities existed as they had both found here in the neighboring Minmatar Republic’s regions of space. There was actual evidence supporting the Minmatar claims and not the absolute word of the Amarr Tribunal.

The silence between them continued until they reached the bottom of the shaft. There were a number of items sitting around a tall cavern they had climbed down into. To Ling they appeared as if they could be remnants of a base camp. “This is as far as I've ever had time to descend. Camp Alpha One. It gets considerably more dangerous the further down you go but it also stretches many fathoms in other directions, often under water. The place we made camp last night had a stream nearby that falls into a reservoir which shoots back up to the surface via a heat source which we use as a place for an open air hot bath. Fauna have developed there for metabolizing dead skin tissue as well. It is symbiotic and thus sacred to our clan. If you aren't shy, we will bathe there sipping our best plum wine once we have returned.”

“Sh-shy?” Ling stuttered, her face turning red behind her helmet. “Why would I be shy?”

Lynn smiled out of Ling’s line of site. “Good. It's a promise then. Let's switch out some of our gear here. Each forward camp is stocked with what is useful for the next leg of the journey rather carrying it all every time. Ready for some cold rations?”

“Anything sounds good right now,” Ling answered, opening up her helm to the cavern’s atmosphere.

“Then you are in luck. Camp Alpha stays rather well stocked for keeping up your energy. I will fix you a bowl, but first I want to show off a little,” said Lynn as she approached a metal box mounted to the wall. “While we still have our thermal gas vents pulling out the toxic fumes, turn off your ocular optics except RGBY.”

Ling made sure IR was turned off, switching her optical implant to their visual spectrum which was usually red, greed, and blue, only much of the population also had a fourth cone for yellow overlapping red and green causing yellow to get a lot of attention. Amarr especially seemed fond of it in contrast to the multi spectral reflection seen as white. Once Ling finished, Lynn took that moment to throw a heavy breaker in a metal box.

Lights scattered along the floor shot up in strategic locations and lit up the massive cavern giving Ling the sense of being very small. In places where water flowed there were bamboo bridges encrusted with calcite and massive amethyst crystals jutting up from the floors and walls obscuring her full scope of the true size of the cavern. Although Ling could still make out bamboo lookout towers which might have been invisible if not for lighting shining all throughout many of the massive amethyst crystals coloring nearby surfaces a soothing lavender color.

“Now that you've had a taste of that,” said Lynn, “keep your IR turned off.”

Without a question, Ling closed her eyes a moment as she heard the breaker box shut off the light. After a few moments in complete darkness, Lynn told her to look up. Far up on the cavern’s roof were bioluminescence which reminded Ling the distant stars in space. Ling asked, “What are those?”

“Bioluminescent fungi mostly. Aside from the bamboo and those lights, this cavern has been left protected in its natural state,” Lynn said while preparing rations with other ingredients to create a soup of sorts which she heated using an old but reliable chemical to electric stove. Once the soup was warm Lynn handed Ling a bowl with bamboo spoon saying, “It is what it is. The salt sauce is right here.”

Ling took a bite and closed her eyes for a moment. Without comment, Ling added a small amount of the salt sauce and tried another bite. “It's not Nefantar cuisine but I can tell it will help keep my energy up over the long term. The pickled plum is a nice touch.”

“Well then, I'm glad you approve,” Lynn answered as she also added a little of the salt sauce to her own bowl.

They finished their meal in silence and began packing their back packs with help from an itinerary which Lynn was following. The remainder of the descent would be uncharted territory for them and they would have to rely entirely on what had been mapped out by others here and there. “There will be other base camps below,” Lynn said strapping her scrubber pack back onto her suit. “We’ve had a good rest here, so we should get moving.”

Ling finished rinsing out her food bowl before putting it up, seeming to have had something on her mind and decided to voice her concern. “You say you haven’t been past this point. Is there a reason they wouldn’t have sent an experienced guide with you that is more familiar with where we are headed?”

Lynn chuckled. “You’ve gotten a lot better at questioning your reality,” she said, side stepping the question.

With a shrug, Ling commented, “I’ve had little choice in the matter. I’ll have to tell you about it some time.”

“We can talk about it now,” Lynn said, trying to divert the lines conversation as she started walking out towards the elevated bamboo trail head of the lavender lit cavern.

Looking to one side with a pained expression, Ling replied, “Later, when I’m ready. First,” she continued undeterred by Lynn’s segue, “I’m curious why you were taking this trip alone. Is it one of those tribal rituals or something like that?”

Lynn smiled. “That was a good guess. No, there are no initiation rituals involving this sacred site. Our initiation ritual is done up on the surface. You’re not even supposed to be down here as you haven’t joined the clan. But, if you make it out of here alive you will be required to undergo the initiation ritual and sworn to secrecy about this cavern complex.”

Pressuring further, Ling asked, “So why?”

“Well, I don’t suppose telling you at this point matters much given how far things have been circumvented by permitting you entry to my clan sepulcher. I am to be the next shaman of the Yi clan,” Lynn said, pausing for that information to sink in while looking back over her shoulder at Ling. Ling’s mouth gaped open momentarily before shutting again. Lynn looked back where she was walking before continuing, “So this is more the duty of the Yi clan’s shaman. My father, Hongtian, has been acting shaman since my mother died and I was born. Only women of the Yi clan are traditionally clan shaman. I was supposed to have been raised to be prepared to take on that role here in another half of a year when Hongtian must relinquish that role to myself.”

Ling watched Lynn’s feet as they continued along the trail marked either by bamboo or stacked rocks. “So, where will I be in your life when that happens?” Ling asked.

“You have options, but I would really like to have you as my first handmaiden,” Lynn answered, looking back to see what Ling’s reaction to that would be.

Ling beamed. “So does a ‘First Handmaiden’ stay by your side?”

Lynn smiled back before turning her head back to watch the trail. “Aye, it does indeed.”

“Okay,” Ling said, “What does that have to do with why you were sent on this dangerous journey alone when it is policy to do this in teams?”

“That’s because I’m not just coming down here for research. The research is secondary to my mission down here. There is something stored down here that is for my eyes only, a journey which only I can make past a certain point,” Lynn answered. “I will have to leave you behind for a while, not because I want to, but because it simply isn’t possible for you to follow me. It is my clan’s most hidden secret. I don’t really know what I am going to face, but it is comforting to have you here with me. I know you will watch over me and keep me safe during my trial.”

“Are you going to be drugged or something?” Ling asked, not liking the sound of this trial.

Lynn smiled a sad smile. “Or something,” she replied. “I don’t really know what it is, but it’s nothing so simple as a drug. It hasn’t been disturbed since my mother last used it. My dad, Hongtian, talked about it like it was alive, but he didn’t seem to really understand it all that much either beyond what my mother had explained to him. That I would one day have to face it too. My ma, Meilin, knew I would come here and do this before I was even born.”

They continued across the cavern in silence long after that. Ling’s question had been answered as well as Lynn could answer it, but Ling needed to convey in return something more that didn’t feel that words would carry the weight of the meaning. So instead, Ling reached out a hand to take Lynn’s. Lynn looked back to see the comforting smile on Ling’s face so she smiled back as they continued hand in hand toward the path that led to the deepest, most dangerous, point in this abyss.

Somewhere deep in the dark a rattling growl echoed throughout the Abyss followed by several more answering calls.