Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

when underwater, and Gus looked at his hand, which also seemed to move more slowly through whatever medium made up this place. It was the closest he had ever felt to being awake in a dream.

Gus began to wander down the halls formed by the green walls, looking upward to see them extend into a vanishing point above him. A misty white light filtered down, its source masked by the fog or clouds above. Gus tried to fly and found that he couldn’t activate any abilities. Trying Bound met with similar results. Apparently, in this place, he could not use any abilities.

Gus began to explore, his footsteps making a hollow echoing *thonk* as he stepped ahead. The scope of the labyrinth must have been vast, because he noticed no visible change after what felt like half an hour of walking. He would need to find a way to move more quickly or he would never be able to explore this area fully.

He began to be aware of a high-pitched tone, faint at first but becoming more pronounced the longer it was there. All of a sudden Gus felt a pull backward and he was once again in his seat, the stab of a headache driving in his temples. A quick look at his MP showed it was bottomed out. Electronic Mind must have been draining MP the entire time he was exploring.

Accompanying the pain was the hint of a rising nausea, and it took him some time of massaging his temples with eyes closed and deep breathing before the feeling passed. He sheepishly looked over at Aurora, not wanting to throw up around her a second time. She continued to sleep, a slight smile on her face.

He wondered how long he had been inside the cube, but hadn’t checked the time beforehand so he had no real frame of reference. He would need to figure that out so he could avoid bottoming out again. Nick usually would warn him once he was getting close to hitting the 5% mark, but he had no such warning while in the cube. A quick check showed that he had progressed in the skill, but was still around 20% short of getting another level in Electronic Mind.

He committed to check some of the logs Yuki downloaded to see if there were any hints or references that would allow him to navigate the labyrinth somehow as he waited for his MP to recharge. Stuffing the cube in the pouch behind the seat in front of him, he retrieved the tablet from the backpack. There was probably nothing there, but it was the only other lead he could think of at the moment.

He searched for Quorian and cube, but only found two small references:

6/25/2020 - I have come across an unbound Quorian cube. I have had to pay a heavy price for the item, but it was necessary to secure the help from Dr. Flak. His intellect and innovation will serve us well on the island, allowing us to reach new heights as we implement his research into integrating—

He fumbled the tablet, almost dropping it. The horizon rocking through the windows revealed that it wasn’t just him. He blinked a couple times and realized that the transport itself was jockeying back and forth. The blast of large explosions made the transport shudder as the pilot went into evasive maneuvers. The cabin rotated as they dodged and rocked back and forth to avoid getting hit.

“The damned base defenses are still active!” Darik yelled, face plastered to the window on the other side of the transport like a little kid.

Gus almost laughed, but the transport dropped in freefall for about five seconds as a loud boom shook the ship from above. The impulse engines kicked back in and they sped forward, briefly shoving everyone into their seats until the dampeners reoriented.

Through the oval window, Gus saw them skimming across the water. He could see multiple contrails crisscrossing the air all around them, but they had difficulty targeting them at such a low altitude. A nearby explosion splashed water over the windows, momentarily blocking his view of the outside.

“Hold on!” a canned voice blurted over the intercom. The ship began to pull sharply to the right and Gus was pulled almost out of his seat as they slid. They drifted and the transport began to wobble as it skittered across the water. Something dark was quickly approaching the far side of the transport and everyone braced for a crash that never came.

A large pulse of the inertial dampeners flared and the ship stopped neatly in a cove under the base, bobbing on the water, a huge wake rolling away from them. The maneuver reminded Gus of the Blues Brothers parking in a tight spot between two cars. Water sloshed against the nearby pier and the ship settled on the water’s surface, bobbing up and down as the waters settled.

A cheer went up among everyone and they began unbuckling and getting their stowed gear. This seemed like an everyday occurrence with how unflappable everyone was with the whole affair.

Gus sat wide-eyed, hands gripping the armrests for dear life.

Aurora yawned and stretched. “Are we already there?” she asked lazily, acting as if she was totally unaware that anything had happened. Maybe she was. Gus looked over to her and nodded numbly.

Seeing everyone almost ready to disembark, Gus shrugged and got up. Grimdark opened the side hatch and secured the transport to some pylons near the dock. Everyone filed out, assembling into their groups and adjusting their gear as needed. It was pretty damn impressive to see a group like this in action.

Definitely a different affair from henchmen getting ready for a raid or mission. Most of his groups more closely resembled someone waking up late for school, grabbing something quick to eat while half-dressed and running out the door, almost forgetting their books. These individuals were disciplined, organized, and knew how to support each other.

Gus scratched his head, having nothing to