Under the Sundowner Part 07
Under the Sundowner: Part 7
by Prowl-Ar Nightiger
The group sat along the side of a forest road resting up from the battle they had just completed. They had been at it for nearly a week and for a while they thought they'd been catching up to Dare. And then things started to go wrong. First was the village where they had been told that Dare had just left to explore a cavern. They had rushed to catch up, only to discover a giant living in the depths of the cave. They defeated the beast, and returned to the village. The villagers then admitted that Dare had moved on but the monster had been terrorizing them for years so they tricked the group into defeating it.
It wasn't a big delay; they had earned a lot of gold, and had the satisfaction of saving the village from a monster. However when they reached the next town the people had sent them in the wrong direction forcing them to backtrack loosing nearly a week of game time. And only an hour earlier they had arrived in the latest town only to have the sheriff forcefully throw them out.
"I get the feeling that something is going on." Alec said, as he leaned back against a log.
"No, you really think so?" Duo said, as he closed his menu. "I hate to say this, but we're out of healing items and I'm out of elemental energy."
We've got at least another six battles before we reach the next town." Daniel said, as he looked at the map. "Wait, according to my map there's another trail through the forest that will get us to a town in only two battles. It isn't far out of our way and it'll only be four battles after that to get to the town we need to reach."
"That sounds good to me. We didn't have any problems in the town were they'd never heard of Dare before." Duo said
"I've been thinking about that." Tye said, as he pulled up his own map. "I get the feeling that Dare has reformed and has been helping the townspeople instead of robbing them. So they've been lying to us since we've been acting like bounty hunters." Tye stared at the map. He'd checked it as they'd reached the rest stop and there hadn't been a forest path or a town. Something was wrong, and he wasn't happy. He quickly checked the VR's safety setting and said a silent prayer that it hadn't reset itself to master level.
"But we didn't even get a chance to tell anyone that we're bounty hunters at that last town." Alec said as he gave his last energy drink to Duo.
"You know how it is, rumors travel faster than the wind. I'm betting Dare has found out that he's being pursued by bounty hunters so he's made sure to turn the towns people against us." Tye said, as he converted his hook blade to its staff configuration. "Still, I don't think it's a good idea to take the forest path. It feels like a trap to me."
"We don't have much choice. We'll never make it through six battles. Even if we get hit with two boss battles we have better odds with the forest path." Daniel said, as he removed the ice element from his revolver and loaded all six chambers. "I hate to do this, but I'm out of elemental energy as well. So if things get tight it's going to get expensive."
"Well, if you three are sure about this then we'll do it. But from this point until we reach the next town we play this as if the VR chamber is on master level. Don't hold back, treat each battle as if you could be killed for real." Tye said, as he shifted to his median form.
"What are you doing? We're not allowed to shift while in the game." Daniel said, as he checked his status screen to see if the rules had changed.
"Listen, something about this path doesn't seem right and I've had experience with VR glitches. So, as I said, consider the game set to master level and prepare for the worst."
Daniel and Alec looked at each other before Alec shifted to his median form.
"But I-"
"Daniel, I'm telling you to sift to your median form right now." Tye said, as he glared at the reluctant young man.
Daniel glared back for a moment. "Is that an order, Sir?" He snarled.
"Yes, it is."
Alec and Duo looked at each other and shrugged in confusion.
"Fine." Daniel said as he shifted. Where the young man had stood was an anthro-tiger with milky white fur and pure white stripes.
"Right, now lets go." Tye said, as they headed down the forest path.
They walked in complete silence for fourteen minutes and then lifted their weapons for battle. They kept walking and fifteen more minutes passed, then sixteen. Before long another full thirty minutes had passed.
"I think Tye was right." Alec whispered to Duo. "We should have been attacked by now."
"Stay alert." Tye snapped as they were suddenly covered in a thick blue mist. "Shit." He hissed, before falling unconscious.
Tye was roughly shaken and he woke up. Instantly he tried to jump to his feet only to discover that he had been tightly bound in his full tiger form. He was swinging on a pole that was being carried by Daniel and Duo, both in their human forms. Alec was stumbling along beside him bumping into him every few steps.
"Hey Alec, it seems our pet is awake." Duo whispered.
"We're sorry we doubted you." Alec whispered just before he was hit in the stomach with a wooden staff.
"Prisoners are not allowed to speak." A gruff voice said, just out of Tye's visual range. "We are approaching the Forest Lord's court."
Tye relaxed and let his head fall back. It took a moment for him to adjust to everything being upside down, but he could just see the Forest Lord coming into view. The Lord was a short, naked, well-endowed man with hairy brown skin, green hair and a fuzzy red beard. Several minutes later Tye realized that Lord Forest had only seemed small because they were some distance away from him. He still had the appearance of a naked man but he wasn't short, unless twenty-foot tall could be considered short. His hair was green moss and his beard was thin, bright red roots. His hairy body was actually covered in bark.
"I am Lord Wood." He said in a booming voice that echoed through the court.
"No kidding." Duo whispered. "I'm betting it isn't just because of his resemblance to a tree."
Alec and Daniel both quickly looked at the ground and clamped their mouths shut in an attempt not to laugh at Duo's innuendo.
"Do I disgust you that you have to look away?" Lord Wood bellowed, as he stood and looked down at the group.
"No my Lord. It is because we feel so inadequate in the presence of a power as great as yours." Daniel replied.
"Silence! Guards, take the infidels to the holding cave until I have decided their fate." Lord Wood said, as he once again sat on his mountain of a thrown.
The group was shoved into a dark cave where they collapsed.
"Now what?" Duo asked, as he carefully tried to set his end of the pole, holding Tye, on the ground.
"First thing we're going to do is get these ropes off." Daniel said, as he set his side of the pole against the wall. He pulled his survival knife out of his boot and cut his ropes off before handing the knife to Alec.
Alec freed himself and then Duo and Tye. As Tye hit the ground he shifted back to his median form and opened his menu. This was too much, he was going to hack an exit and get them out of the game. However as the screen came up words began to scroll across it.
"Tye, save your game. Exit by pushing the boulder at the back of the cave to one side. The Rescue team has found Prowler and Rusty and are on their way back."
"Everyone save your game. It seems that this little side trip was a set up after all. A set up to provide us with a quick exit." Tye said as he pushed the boulder aside. "Daniel I'm sorry about earlier but I thought it was for your own good. I hope you can forgive me. We'll talk about it later. Right now I have to get back up to the Shadow Runner!" He yelled as he ran down the hall.
"What was that all about?" Duo asked as they exited the VR chamber.
"There's only one thing I can think of, Prowler must be back." Daniel said as he entered his room and slammed the door.
"I meant what is going on between the two of them?"
"I don't know, but this is the first time I've ever known Daniel to shift where others could see him like that." Alec said, as he stared at Daniel's door. "Something is definitely going on that we don't know about.
* * *
Tye tried to push his throttle forward even though he was at maximum thrust. The Firebyrd spun and dived as Tye evaded repair crew and other obstacles between his fighter and the Shadow Runner. He aimed for the main hanger deck at the front of the ship and again tried to increase his speed.
"Tye, the main deck is full. Divert to the Accordia Defense League Hangar, port side on the upper deck." Dare's voice yelled from his comm. unit.
Tye rolled to port and pulled his nose up slightly. He could see the hanger doors opening and he fired his lateral thrusters spinning the fighter so that its tail was facing the opening. He was thrown against the side of the cockpit as the inertial damper couldn't completely compensate for the maneuver. He quickly pulled the throttle back slightly as the thrusters slowed his entry. As the ship passed through the magnetic field holding the atmosphere in the hanger he pushed the throttle back to full killing his momentum and lowered the landing skids. Unfortunately he hadn't activated his antigravity generator and the fighter fell the four feet to the deck. At first the landing skids seemed to take the impact. A sickening crunch of breaking metal echoed as the fighter collapsed onto its belly.
Tye covered his face as his canopy spider-webbed, as though it was going to shatter. When it didn't he pulled the canopy eject lever. Four loud explosions filled the bay and the canopy flew off and shattered when it hit the deck. However, Tye was all ready running for the lift that would take him back across the Shadow Runner's wing and then to the main hangar.
"Shock! You're going to have to pay for the repairs on that, since it isn't battle related." Dare yelled as he stepped out of the lift.
Tye slammed against the back of the lift and spun around slamming his hand against the close button.
"You want the Med. Deck!" Dare yelled, as the door slid shut. "That's where Prowler is at and where you should be." Dare muttered, as he shook his head at the mess Tye had made of the landing deck.
The lift door slid open and Tye sprinted down the hall to the medical unit. The two minutes in the lift seemed longer than the flight up from Vesuvia. As he rushed into the room he found Dawna, Trace, Errant, Ghost, Thunder, and Jen standing around two medical tanks. He could see form the monitors that both occupants were in stable condition.
"That was quick, we just barely got here." Trace said, as he stepped back so that Tye could see the tubes.
"What happened?" Tye gasped, trying to catch his breath.
"Your father had a run in with the Kriosh. Have you ever heard of them?" Dawna asked in a flat emotionless voice.
"Only the spacer legends about an unknown planet where unwary pilots are lured in with a distress signal and are never heard from again."
"Unfortunately it looks like those legends are all true. Dad and Rusty landed and were captured. They were kept in cages that block the telegems powers without food and very little water for a week. They only escaped with the help of another prisoner who sacrificed her own life to free them." Trace said, as he sat down on one of the exam beds.
"It would seem that the Kriosh prefer to feed on sentient beings. They keep their victims in the cages until they are too weak to fight back. Once they reach that point they take them out and slowly eat them alive." Jen said, as she adjusted the settings on Rusty's tank.
"When we arrived we found Rusty trying to free the other prisoners." Dawna said, as she found a chair and pulled it up to the side of Prowler's tube. "I immediately went to help Prowler only to find him kneeling on the ground, completely covered in blood, clutching a dead boy, and in a deep state of shock. It seems he . . . Well, the only word that fits the scene I found is, massacred the entire tribe of Kriosh."
"No wonder he was in shock."
"Yeah, I was a bit surprised as well. Even when we were serving under Kindra he was never able to kill anyone." Dawna said, as she stared into the tank.
"According to Rusty, the only time he ever killed anyone was when he killed the man who murdered you mother." Errant said as, she found her own chair so that she could stay next to Rusty's tube.
"I'm not sure, but I think the telegem put him into a deep state of meditation until he can begin to cope with what has happened. Even though the monitor is showing an abnormally low amount of brainwaves, I can't get through to him telepathically because of the flurry of activity in his telegem."
"I don't know about his mental state, but he is suffering from dehydration, starvation, and a deep state of shock. As for Rusty he is also suffering from dehydration and starvation. There is also an extra fifteen percent higher loss of body mass that I can't account for."
"He says it's because he was using his telegem to keep himself prepared for an escape. He'll be fine after a couple days in the med. tube and a few months in the gym." Errant said, as she placed her hand against the window in the tube.
"When did he say that?" Dawna asked, as she stared at Errant.
"Just now."
"How can you hear him without a telegem?" Trace asked, as he jumped off the table.
"I can hear him through the shard he gave me."
Trace, Tye, and Dawna looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Errant.
"What? Is there something wrong with that?"
"This is the first time I've heard of that happening." Dawna said in surprise.
"Maybe the person with the shard has to be in close contact with the person who owns the gem for an extended amount of time. The reason I'm the first to experience this is because you have a telegem rather then a shard."
"I guess that's possible." Tye said, as he looked at Trace. "So can you hear me?"
"Yeah. You know, we probably should have tried this a long time ago. After all, we had the clear shards with us until Dad gave them to Thunder and Ghost." Trace thought back to Tye.
"I guess this means that telepathic communication is also possible from shard to shard as well." Dawna said, as she smiled at Trace and Tye.
"So is there any way to block out what others are thinking?" Ghost asked, as he rubbed his chest. "I don't like the idea of having my shard getting hot like that. I thought I was having a heart attack at first."
"I hadn't thought of that." Dawna said, as Jen quickly ran a hand scanner in front of Thunder's chest.
"There doesn't seem to be any reaction. I think the two of you will be all right."
"Tye Lightstripe! I'd like to have a few words with you!" An angry voice said from the doorway.
Tye slowly turned around to find Ice glaring at him.
"Go on, your father is going to be in this tube for a full week and there's no reason for all of us to sit here with him. If his mind clears before then I'll be sure and have him contact you." Dawna said, as she held up her telegem and smiled.
"I don't know about that, I really think I should stay here." He said, as Ice grabbed his arm and started to pull him out of the room.
"Yeah, with all the laser scalpels." Trace said.
"On second thought maybe it isn't the best idea." Tye said, as he gave up and followed Ice.
* * *
Tye sat in a comfy chair watching Ice place three coasters on an overly large coffine table. He was tense just waiting for the attack that he knew was coming.
"Would you like some coffine? Or perhaps some tea?"
"Wha-water will be fine." He stuttered as, Ice walked over to the matter generator.
"I just don't know what's keeping Dare."
"Oh, uh, he's probably working on the ADL hangar. I didn't exactly make a text book landing." Tye said, as he glanced around the room looking for all the escape routes. "Oh crap they're going to kill me I just know it!"
"I guess we're just going to have to start without him." Ice said, as she carefully sat the cups on the coasters.
"Here it comes."
"As you may have guessed I wasn't happy with you for hacking into the VR program. Though Dare was good enough to point out that it didn't really change the game since your group isn't from the planet."
"So you're not mad?" Tye asked as he took a sip of water.
"Not about that." Ice said, as she leaned forward and placed her palm on the center of the coffine table. "Activate holographic map." The black surface of the table shimmered and a globe of the game world formed in the air between them.
"Zoom in on Tye's current play location." She commanded, and the globe seemed to grow as it descended to the table surface. Soon a three dimensional map of the region, that the group had been playing in, formed.
Tye was surprised to see Ice and Dare's markers showed them to be in the town that the group had just been kicked out of. "That explains a lot." He said, as four more markers appeared on the board.
"There we go; this is what I needed to talk to you about. I didn't program that shortcut, and after seeing the footage of your play through, I'm pretty sure you didn't program it either."
"Wait, you've been watching us? That isn't fair."
"You're lucky I was watching. When the trail appeared I was in here trying to figure out how Dare and I would be able to get around your group. I immediately cut the feed and had Dare declare a red alert to cover the fact. Otherwise the entire crew would have found out about your friends being from Shendria, and I'm sure they wouldn't want that fact public."
"Are you saying that everyone has been watching us!"
"Strangely enough, your group is the most watched VR simulation on the ship. You're so popular in fact, that Dare wants to start selling recordings."
"He can't do that. If any recordings get back to Shendria Lord Dacat will massacre their clans!"
"Yes, I pointed that out and Dare has agreed that for the time being the show will only be available here on the Shadow Runner."
"I still say I could make you a lot of money if I could sell it though." Dare said, as the door slid shut behind him. "However, right now, that isn't important. It seems that we have a hacker that's trying to mix things up. When we discovered that the rescue group had found Prowler I left a message in the next town that you would receive on arriving. Unfortunately you never reached that town. Instead someone created a new path for your group."
"Yeah, I noticed that. I was afraid that somehow we'd picked up some malicious code so I had the group prepare to fight at master level."
"Yes, and now you're going to have to edit that portion of the game. I've removed the security measures so that you can do so." Ice said, as she replaced the map with a recording starting from the moment the Tye shifted. Only in the recording he remained human. The recording then ordered Daniel to expect a master level game and they entered the forest.
"What's going on?" Tye asked, as he stared at the recording.
"It seems that someone started editing the program the moment I removed the security protocols. I guess you're not going to have to edit it." Ice said, as she advanced the recording to the point where the bushes, that surrounded them, attacked the group.
"Bushes, we were attacked by the bushes? I guess that explains why I never got a look at our captors."
"So do you want to leave this part where you shift into your tiger form?" Dare asked, as they watched the bushes lash Tye to a pole with their own vine like arms, which they then broke off.
The recording suddenly froze and they looked at each other.
"Uh, I guess not. Everyone on board already knows that I'm a shifter." Tye said and the recording started playing once again.
Ice advanced the video to the scene in the cave where the recording changed to show Tye hacking an exit, claiming that he had received a message from Dare, and that he had to return to the Shadow Runner immediately.
"I didn't contact you." Dare said, as he looked at Tye. "Really!" He said, as Ice lightly punched him in the arm.
"I wouldn't worry about it. I have an idea of who is doing the hacking." Tye said, as he cleared the table's display. "So now that you've been meddling would you like to show yourself?"
"Who are you talking to?" Dare asked, as he stared at the blank table. He flung himself backwards as Mahan seemed to rise from the depths of the table.
"Mahan? I thought you were a character generated by the game." Ice said, as she stared at the image.
"As you can see I'm not a part of the game."
"Well then, drop the disguise and let us see who you really are." Dare said, as he stood up and looked Mahan in the eye.
Tye started laughing and Ice just stared at him in confusion. "Dare, you're not looking at a masking program. Mahan is the ship's main computer."
"What! You mean he's like you were?"
"No, I wasn't a generated character who was given sentience in the VR chamber. I became aware of myself some time ago. Of course I wasn't able to really understand my existence until Prowler had merged with me."
"I don't get it."
"You're living inside of me. I am the Shadow Runner."
"Well if you say so." Dare said, as he sat down and picked up a data pad from a side table.
"Is that all you've got to say?" Ice asked, as she stared at Dare.
"Yeah, it isn't like this is the first time I've been introduced to a living ship. If anything this will make my job of getting the Runner repaired easier."
"Since the emergency is over I think I'd best get this recording posted so that the fans can watch it. Before they start to suspect that it's been edited." Mahan said.
"You're not even going to give us a hint as to what we should do now?" Tye asked, as Mahan's image began to sink back into the table.
"Of course not. Now that I'm in charge of the game there will be surprises for everyone. It should make it much more fun now that none of you know what might be around the next corner." He said, as he completely faded away.
"I'm not sure I like the sound of that." Ice said, as the map reappeared and multiple new paths opened up.
"It'll make it harder for the bounty hunters to catch us this way." Dare said, as he grinned at Tye.
"But we're not really bounty hunters. We're the rescue party sent to the planet to extract you. Didn't you know that?"
"No, it seems to have been left out of the briefing I received when you started playing the game." Dare said, as he glared at Ice.
"It doesn't matter. Dare's character lost his memory on arrival and the rumors that he's been hearing is that your group is composed of bounty hunters out to get him."
"Well, now that you know-"
"My new mission is to avoid you at all costs while getting my memory back being secondary." Dare said, as he smiled evilly.
"What!"
"I told you, you're the most watched group on this ship. If you catch me then the game ends, and we can't have that happening."
"I hate you."
"Good, it'll make the game even more interesting." Ice interrupted.
"Fine, but since I won't be going back down to the planet-"
"Dawna will contact you if Prowler regains consciousness. He isn't due out of the tank for a week, that gives you plenty of time." Dare said, as he leaned back on the couch.
"I wrecked my Firebyrd and my Shendrian Lance heavy fighter is in storage behind the main deck. Which, if I remember correctly, is currently crowded with ships from the survivors of the Kriosh."
"There is a Dart light fighter, in your colors and with your call sign on it, fueled and ready for take off in the starboard hangar bay." Dare said, as his smile grew even larger.
"Thought of everything, haven't you?"
"Yep."
"I have bridge duty in three hours so you missed-"
"Isn't that a coincidence, your schedule has been cleared for the next week." Mahan's voice said from the table's speakers.
Tye bit his lip in frustration. "Fine, but I'm going to go and take a nice long bath before I head back down. I'm tired of only getting to take sonic showers." He said, as he stood up and stalked out of the room.
* * *
Several hours later Tye entered the living quarters under the Sundowner. He wasn't surprised to find Daniel waiting for him.
"So, how's your dad?" Daniel grumbled.
"He's in a coma."
"I'm sorry, it's just that . . . well . . . look I'm sorry, really."
"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I had no right to order you around like that." Tye said, as he dropped into his favorite gray chair.
"You're a member of the Lightstripe Clan, and according to the law I am required to follow your orders without question."
"I'm not really a Lightstripe, sure I have the genetic markers but I wasn't born a Lightstripe like you were. I was created in a VR program and Prowler felt responsible for me. Or more appropriately, he felt guilty since he had to kill me in order to stop another sentient program from destroying the galaxy."
"Since you have the genetic markers and you can shift you're more Lightstripe than . . . Wait, did you just say what I think you said?"
"Probably, if you think I said that you're a member of the Lightstripe Clan. I asked Trace about your unique coloring."
"Really, I suppose he had a good laugh then?"
Tye sat up and looked Daniel in the eye. "No, in fact he told me that you're not the only one who has white stripes on cream fur." Tye looked around the room. "Where are the others?"
"Duo is working on a project with Arlen and Alec is in the gym practicing on the flight simulator, why?" Daniel asked, as he sat up and scooted to the edge of the couch.
"What I'm about to tell you is information only members of Clan Lightstripe are allowed to know. In order to become a Lord, a member of the Clan must make a pilgrimage to the Lightstripe Sanctuary in the Sacred Lands. When they arrive they are met by Seer Lightstripe."
"How is that possible? He'd have to be immortal like Arlen." Daniel whispered.
"There are several important things you need to know about Seer. First, is that he is the one that trains the Clan Lord. Second, he has the ability to travel forward thorough time. Third, he is the son of Shendria. Finally the most important fact, where you are concerned, is that he has the same fur coloration as you do." Tye said as he leaned back. He was enjoying the stunned look on Daniel's face. "Of course you do realize that you can't repeat a word of that to anyone or I'll have to kill you."
"I, yeah of course."
"Good, now I'm going to go and get some sleep. Between the VR session, the flight up to the Shadow Runner, and the trip back I haven't had much rest. Let Alec and Duo know that I'll fill them in on the details of what's happening with Lord Lightstripe in the morning when we would normally have our VR planning session." Tye said, as he stood up and headed for his room.
"You say that as if we won't be having a VR planning session." Daniel said, as he turned to watch Tye leave.
"Yeah, I'm going to have to fill all of you in on a few details about that as well." Tye mumbled, as he closed the door.
"I wonder what that was all about?" Daniel said, as he reached under the couch and pulled out the comic he'd hidden before Tye had exited the lift.