The Secret Beneath the Ice (The Epic of Aravinda) by Andrew M. Crusoe

Author:Andrew M. Crusoe [Crusoe, Andrew M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Tags: Science Fiction, Adventure, Philosophy
Publisher: Aravinda Publishing
Published: 2012-11-29T23:00:00+00:00

PART 3

THE DIAGNOSIS

When he opened his eyes again, Oonak had no sense of how much time had passed. The command bay looked as though a tornado had swept through. The walls were still opaque, and dim emergency lighting filled the cabin.

The transparent dome above Oonak’s chair was bent to one side, and the walls were still slightly inflated from the last-resort protocol Navika had taken. In fact, just about everything was out of place. Even one of the kavasa berry containers had flown out of the compartment beneath the passenger bench and broken open, scattering dozens of indigo berries on the floor.

“Navika, are you there?”

Oonak listened carefully, but all he could hear was an eerie wind outside of the ship.

He felt his head. No blood.

“Navika!”

Still, there was silence. Oonak didn’t like to admit it, but Navika was the only reason he stayed sane during these last few weeks. Originally, the mission had called for a third, but the attack on Sumanas had changed all of that.

Now, that number might grow even smaller. If he lost Navika, how would he ever survive in this unforgiving place? Surely the cloaking field had failed by now. What would stop whoever attacked them from finishing them off?

Oonak pushed these thoughts out of his mind and took some time to scan himself. He found some cuts but no broken bones. The last-resort protocol had saved him. And now, he would repair Navika. He must.

Slowly, Oonak got up, walked behind the command chair, and placed his hand to a pad beside the door. To his delight, the door slid open.

Beyond the door was the largest room on the ship, the central node where Navika’s nucleus was kept. Oonak looked up and studied it. The sphere was still radiant, though less so than before, and each of the braided cables that led out of it appeared to be intact.

Except for one.

If that was the reason Navika wasn’t responding, there might be hope after all. With this in mind, Oonak headed back into the command bay, picked up one of the kavasa berries, sat down, and took a deep breath. If he made a mistake now, it was likely he would never hear Navika’s voice again.

Some hours later, Oonak was confident that all of the connections to the nucleus had been restored. The nucleus now hung near to the floor, and with confidence, he spoke directly to it.

“Navika, can you hear me?”

Silence.

“Navika, you must hear me. Your nucleus is showing activity, and I have confirmed that all connections are restored. Please, if you can hear anything, respond.”

Oonak waited and watched a few flecks of orange light fly around inside the sphere.

“Navika...” Oonak placed his hand on the nucleus and closed his eyes.

“Navika, I’m sorry.” Now purple and green flecks of light joined the others. “I’m sorry about what I said before. You do not focus on death. You were correct. I was allowing Lorelle’s memory to distract me.”

Oonak removed his hand and looked deep into the sphere, and to his delight, Navika’s voice filled the room.

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