================================================================= The Dirty Pair in "T h e G a m e E t e r n a l" by Ryan Mathews ================================================================= ----------- P R O L O G U E ----------- For a brief moment as she opened her eyes, Nora was certain she was coming out of cryogenic suspension. She had all the symptoms: weak muscles, ringing ears, a feeling like something in her head was trying to push her eyes out of her skull, a mouth that tasted like something had crawled in there and died. Funny, though, she didn't remember getting in the cryo-chamber. But what else could make her feel like this? she thought. She and the rest of the crew of the _Lewis and Clark_ had broken out the ship's stores of synthetic gin last night-cycle to celebrate the discovery of their first viable terraforming candidate in the last six attempts. After nearly five years in deep space, the monotony was getting to all four of them. The routine was quite familiar by now: First came a tentative warp-jump to the outer fringes of an unexplored system, then back in the cryos as the ship traveled at sublight to the nearest planet (couldn't risk warping into an unmapped gravity well), scan the planet, reject it, back in the cryos. When the last planet turned out to be viable for colonization, a celebration was not just called for, it was *demanded*. The party started out innocently enough. A few stories, a few songs. But the night went on, bottles were drained, and the last thing Nora remembered was doing some dance as part of a game that was a cross between Quarters and Strip Poker, while Paul and Graham hooted and clapped. thought Nora. But not Red. He didn't even drink. Never did. she thought. "Nora, you awake?" Red's voice brought Nora back just as she had managed to tune out the intercom bell and was drifting back to sleep. She brushed her long black hair out of her eyes, and took a breath. "I am now!" This wasn't fair. If it was one of the others she could get good and mad at him for waking her up and it would make her feel better. But she couldn't get mad at Red. He was just too... sweet. "What is it?" "Paul and Graham are doing a shuttle recon of the surface. Just thought you might like to have a look." "They've gone down *already*?" Their recuperative powers were certainly impressive. "They said they just couldn't wait any longer. You wanna take a look?" "Yeah, sure. I'll be up in a minute." Nora sat up and her head exploded. "Give or take a few years." On the bridge, Red sat in front of a bank of monitors, most of which were showing various views of the planet below, relayed from the shuttle. The short, curly hair which had given Red his nickname looked only slightly less perfect than usual. With his boyish face, he looked almost comically innocent. thought Nora as she approached. "How're they doing, Red?" she asked. "Just fine. You wanna talk to them?" Red had already stood up and he offered his seat to Nora with a gesture. Nora sat down and spoke into the microphone. "Hey, dudes! What's it like down there?" There was no reply but a low buzzing noise. Nora turned up the volume. "You'll have to speak up, guys. I'm not receiving you very well." "HI NORA!!!!!!" screamed the speaker. "You ASSHOLES!" Nora screamed back, as the monster in her head tried to punch its way out through her forehead. "Told you she'd have a hangover, Paul. Pay up!" "Since I'm going to rip your throats out when you get back to the ship," said Nora. "Would you like to give me your report now?" "Oh, Nora, you should see this place," said Paul. "I mean, *really* see it!" "Yeah, not that wimpy 2-D image on your monitor," agreed Graham. "So I take it this one's a winner?" asked Nora. "Damn straight!" Graham replied. "Ask Red, we've been telling him for the past hour." Red spoke up, softly as always. "Paul thinks the UG could have this planet colonized in less than ten years." "Think?!" shouted Paul. "I know it! It's got a carbon dioxide atmosphere, and huge icecaps at the poles! All that's needed is to pump a little extra CO2 into the atmosphere to raise the temperature, and toss around some algae to get the oxygen cycle going. Our kids could grow up on this planet!" "You? Kids? That's a scary thought," said Nora. "Sorry, Nora, but you just can't pee on our parade today!" Graham exulted. "We're proud!" "Triumphant!" added Paul. "Excited!" Graham continued. "Driven!" Paul went on. "And in one HELL of a good mood!" finished Graham. "In fact, we feel like..." "Singing!" chorused the two. "Ohhh..." "We are brave explorers We sail the ocean black We sing to nights a-wasted With women on their backs A mug of ale, a bonnie lass Then back t'the inky sea To search out yonder planets for the olllld yoooo geeeee!" Paul and Graham broke into hysterical laughter as they finished their song, and Nora couldn't help but join them. "Y'know, guys," she said, wiping her eyes, "the part you're flying over now doesn't look all that exciting." The monitors showed a vast, dry, rocky area that reminded Nora of holos she had seen once, of the Grand Canyon of Earth. "Oh, this is just a barren patch. Every planet has these," Paul explained. "Besides, these rock formations should draw tourists. Must've been formed aeons ago, when there was still flowing water." Nora agreed that the formations were impressive. In her mind's eye, she could see tourists snapping photos of themselves in front of the giant rock columns, which would be given corny names like Sleeping Giant, Balancing Skull, and... Nora's chain of thought stopped as she noticed one particular formation. It was roughly arch-shaped, but the top was squared off in a way that did not look like the product of erosion. The shape seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it. As she watched, the shuttle seemed to pass it again. "Didn't you fly over that one already?" Nora asked. "Which one?" Paul asked back. "We can't see you point." "Don't be a smartass. I'm talking about that squarish arch." "Yeah, Paul," Graham agreed. "It does look familiar." "No, there's just a lot of them," said Paul. "See, here comes another." Sure enough, a third arch scrolled past the monitor. "Isn't that a little unusual?" asked Nora. "Now that you mention it..." Graham's voice trailed off, then exploded. "Holy SHIT!! Paul, do you think this could be evidence of... you know?" "An alien civilization?! God-DAMN! We'll be famous!" "Nora! Give us permission to take a closer look!" Graham was almost pleading. Nora laughed. "Have a ball, boys." Paul and Graham cheered as they banked their shuttle toward the nearest arch. "I don't think they should be doing that," said Red. His voice gave Nora a start. She'd nearly forgotten he was there. "Why not?" "I... don't know. Something..." It sounded like new-planet jitters to Nora, but just in case, she turned back to the com. "Guys, Red's getting some bad vibes, so, um, be careful, okay?" "Hey, no problemo!" Paul piped up. "'Careful' is my middle name!" "I thought it was 'Maurice'," said Graham. "Shut up," said Paul. "Wow. From this distance, it sure looks like the arch was carved, not eroded. What do you think, Nora?" Nora didn't know what to think. The picture was starting to get fuzzy. She told them. "A little closer and you'll be able to make it out," said Paul. "No. You have to tell them to come back," Red said. He was visibly nervous now, chewing on a knuckle. "What *is* it, Red?" Nora was getting annoyed. "They're in danger. We're all in danger. Something... Something..." Nora turned back to the console once more. The picture had almost completely broken up. She was not the type to believe in anything supernatural, and yet she now found herself becoming afraid of Red's unknown thing from the planet. she thought. She spoke into the mike. "Guys? I'm losing visual. Can you boost your signal?" There was no reply. Behind her, Red crept closer, one knuckle still in his mouth. "Guys? I'm not receiving you." There was a blast of static from the speaker, and then Paul's voice came on, sounding exhausted. "uhh... Nora, sorry, I... got hit by fatigue, I think. Guess the adrenaline wore off." "What about Graham?" "Uh, him too. Listen, I'm gonna set this thing down, okay? I'll hit us both with stimulants. We'll be fine." "NO!!" Red shouted into the microphone, nearly startling Nora out of the chair. "Don't! You have to climb, get as far away from it as you can! YOU'RE WAKING IT UP!" Now Nora really *was* frightened. "Waking *what* up?! What's happening to them?" "It's feeding on them. They're waking it up." On the speakers, Paul groaned again. "Ohhh... man. Some party, huh, Nora? Hmmm... tired, gotta sleep..." "Paul!!" Nora shouted. "Get out of there! That's an order!" Paul giggled. "Graham's already in lala-land. Nighty-night..." "Break orbit," said Red. "What?!" Nora could not decide what scared her more, what was happening to Paul and Graham or what was happening to Red. "We're in danger. Break orbit." It was not a suggestion; it was a command. "Bullshit," said Nora, and turned back to the mike. "Paul? Do you read me? Paul!" Red calmly walked over to the pilot console and worked the controls. The ship lurched, and this time Nora *was* startled out of her chair. "Red, what the hell are you doing?!" Red ignored her. Nora picked herself up. "Red, you release those controls this INSTANT!!" Red continued to ignore her. Finding anger a welcome antidote for fear, she marched toward him, prepared to beat the living shit out of him. Paul's voice broke through the static once more. "Ohh... wow. They're all glowing... it's so... beautif--" The static was suddenly replaced by a high-pitched screech. Nora clapped her hands over her ears as the speaker blew off the wall and clattered across the floor. "Look," said Red, and pointed to the planet as seen through the front viewport. "Now do you believe me?" There was a glowing ring on the planet's surface, thousands of kilometers in diameter. A ring. Nora's mind suddenly clicked, and she remembered where she had seen those arches before. Stonehenge. It was a gigantic Stonehenge. The ring flashed and disappeared, to be replaced by a single glowing point that grew larger -- no, closer. "What is it, Red?" "Something very old." "Can we outrun it?" "I don't know," said Red, and threw the EMERGENCY THRUST switch. Nora held onto a support post for dear life as the _Lewis and Clark's_ fusion engines cut in. Behind them, the point of light effortlessly left the planet's atmosphere and gave chase. Nora tried without success to pull herself forward to the co-pilot's seat. Red seemed oblivious to her, concentrating on keeping the fusion engines firing. He began to override safety controls. In an aft-view monitor, the point of light was rapidly overtaking them. Finally, to Nora's utter astonishment, Red shut everything down. "It's no use," Red stood up. The point of light passed them and hovered in front of the main viewport. It was immense, and blue, not the bright, vibrant blue of electricity, but the pale, sick blue of a dying man's face. Red smiled. "Very well, old friend. One more round. You and me. Crystal." The light-thing approached. The air on the bridge began to circulate rapidly, whipping Nora's hair. It was all she could do not to start blubbering like a baby. It wasn't so much the dying, as it was not knowing what it was that was killing her or why. She didn't want to die not knowing what the hell was happening. She wanted to go back to bed. Things had been so much more rational there. The light approached until it filled the viewport. Red stared straight into it, standing motionless. With an ear-splitting bang, every monitor on the ship exploded simultaneously, showering the two of them with glass. Red took no notice, even as a larger fragment drew a red line across his left cheek. Then he collapsed. Nora braced for an impact, but there was none. The entire bridge glowed in blue, brighter and brighter until the bridge was gone and only the blue remained. Nora closed her eyes, but to no avail. The blue enveloped her, it was inside her. It *was* her. Red opened his eyes. Nora was gone, as he had expected. "Crystal..." he muttered. He walked below decks to the cryo chambers, boots crunching on the broken glass that now carpeted the floor. He opened a cryo and got in it. "Crystal," he said again. He closed the lid and fell asleep for seventy-eight years. END PROLOGUE