Page 31 of Alien Guardian's Vow
Rivera— Rivera —moved forward cautiously, her silver markings brightening in response to the technology around us. My lifelines pulsed in answer, gold light reflecting off the metal surfaces. I leaned against a pillar, giving myself a moment to recover while keeping watch for any hidden defenses. The ceiling looked unstable, large sections already collapsed.
"Be careful," I called out. "The structure isn't sound."
She barely acknowledged my warning, drawn to the central console like a moth to flame. Her hands hovered over the surface, not quite touching. The silver lines along her arms rippled with energy.
"It's still active," she said, voice filled with wonder. "I can feel the power source... deep below us. Massive, but failing."
I remained by the entrance, scanning the shadows. Ancient technology surrounded us, beautiful and deadly. My people had learned the hard way what happened when we meddled with the past. The Great Division had nearly destroyed us. Yet here I was again, watching a human interact with the very systems that had fractured our world.
A distant groan echoed through the chamber as the structure shifted. I straightened, ignoring the pain.
"Can you stabilize it?" I asked.
Rivera's fingers finally made contact with the console. The silver markings on her skin brightened, sending patterns of light dancing across her face. Despite my distrust of the technology, I couldn't help but admire her focus, her courage in the face of the unknown.
"I think so. The interface is responding to my markings."
She spoke a language I didn't understand, technical terms flowing from her lips as she worked. Her hands moved with certainty across the controls, as though she'd been born to this task. Perhaps she had. The markings connected her to this place in ways I couldn't comprehend.
She understands this machine language.The thought came unbidden, along with a reluctant admiration. For all my training as a warrior, I could do nothing here but guard her while she worked.
I moved away from the pillar, circling the chamber's perimeter, keeping watch. The bond between us tugged at my awareness, making it impossible to ignore her presence at the center of the room. My duty was clear - protect her while she worked to save our peoples.
Even if it meant embracing the very technology I'd been taught to fear.
Rivera's hands danced across the console, silver light flowing between her markings and the ancient technology. I moved closer, drawn by curiosity despite my better judgment. Along the walls, I noticed glyphs similar to our oldest writings, and began deciphering what I could while keeping an eye on Rivera's progress.
Her breath caught suddenly. "Varek."
The urgency in her voice pulled me from my study of the wall markings. "What is it?"
"Look at this." She gestured to a display showing complex energy patterns. "The system needs a specific signature to stabilize. An amplified marking signature to channel and regulate the power safely."
I moved closer, studying the pattern on the screen. "What does that mean?"
"It means normal markings aren't enough." She pointed to a pulsing template on the display. "This is what the system requires - way beyond normal baseline output. Nothing I've ever seen comes close to this level of amplification."
The pattern looked wrong somehow - too intense, too bright. I frowned, recalling reports from Lazrin after his encounters with Hammond's operation.
"Amplified," I muttered, pieces falling into place. "Lazrin reported Hammond's experiments. He's been trying to force more power from the markings, especially from Claire."
Rivera's eyes widened. "You think Hammond's already figured this out? That he's trying to amplify markings to interface with the system?"
"Not trying. Succeeding." My jaw tightened. "The reports described painful procedures, devices attached directly to the markings. Claire was his primary subject, but there were others."
Rivera turned back to the console, fingers flying across the interface. "If Hammond has already successfully amplified someone's markings to this level..."
"Then we need that person to stabilize the system." The implications hit like a physical blow. "We need Claire."
"Or whoever else Hammond has successfully amplified." Rivera looked up at me, determination hardening her features. "Our rescue mission just became even more critical."
I nodded, anger burning through me. Hammond twisted the sacred bond between human and planet, forcing it into something unnatural to serve his own ends. The thought of Claire suffering through such violations made my lifelines pulse with fury.
"We'll need to move quickly," I said. "Hammond's captives are our only hope of providing the amplified conduit the system needs."
"And if we can't get to them in time?"
I didn't answer. We both knew what failure meant - catastrophic system collapse, destruction spreading outward from this facility to engulf both our settlements.
