Going Across - Chapter 3: The Roads We Take

Planet Bruth

"DOT!" Their screams were swallowed by the wind as Dot tumbled into the dusty abyss. Nova's pulse hammered. "Pip, focus!" he shouted, as Pip clung to a crumbling rock, legs trembling. "I—I can't!" Pip stammered. "Grab my leg! I'll catch you. Trust me!" Pip hesitated—then leapt. He missed. Nova reacted instantly—dropping two feet in free fall, grabbing Pip mid-air. They hung weightless for a split second before Nova grunted, clawing onto the rock again, muscles straining. "The only way's down," Nova thought, beginning his descent with Pip clinging tight. They endured violent jolts, fragments collapsing beneath them, until Nova spotted a flat platform below. "Last leap, Pip. Hold on!" He jumped—thud!—landing hard but stable. Pip slid off his back, glitching slightly. "Dot..." Pip whimpered. "We'll find him," Nova promised, just as the floating rocks above began sliding back into place—as if nothing had happened. "Like an enchantment," Pip whispered. Nova's mind raced. "This mountain wasn't crumbling. It was reacting." He tapped his comm. "Dot! Respond!" Static.

Below, Dot flickered back to life, bioluminescent moss illuminating his dented frame. "System reboot...complete. Ugh, I look awful. My roller's broken too." A deep, gravelly breath echoed nearby. Dot froze. Figures began to emerge from the darkness. "Bears, big bears, big brown bears," he thought, his processors whirring as he took in their appearance—"Standing on two legs. Clothed. And... is that some sort of a bazooka?" As they stepped further into the light, his thoughts scrambled. "Fluffy... soft... cuddly... but scary." "Who sent you?" one growled. "Uh—tourist? Totally lost?" Dot tried. They weren't amused.

Nova and Pip hurried down a narrow, muddy path, dodging loose rocks. "I'm picking up Dot's signal!" Pip chirped. "Let's move." They reached the cliff's edge. Pip scanned the valley floor. It was twenty feet below, covered in thick moss "How about a jump?" Nova asked. "Like landing on cream cheese!" Pip beamed. Nova sighed. "You better be right." They jumped—thud!—and landed safely. "Cream cheese huh?" huffed Nova. "Yeah... cream cheese, but refrigerated," giggled Pip. Then, a broken transmission from Dot: "Machine. – do you – here – none should –?"

Following Dot's signal, they arrived at a clearing—Dot surrounded by six bear-like beings, their weapons primed. Nova stepped forward, hand hovering near his EM gun, "We don't mean harm."

A slow, heavy silence settled over the clearing. The other bear-beings shifted slightly, their thick fur rippling with the light breeze as they exchanged unreadable glances. Dot broke the silence, "Yeah, uh, we're actually very friendly." He gestured toward Pip for emphasis. Pip nodded enthusiastically. "We're practically made of friendship." The bear-being's grip tightened slightly. "Who are you looking for?" Nova exhaled, keeping his hands open and visible. "My cousin Paltin told us that a group here knows about the Shield. We just wanted to learn more." For a moment, the bear-being studied him, his expression unreadable. Then, finally, he gave a small nod. "Understood." He turned to the others and gave a short command. "Go back and continue what we were working on." Without hesitation, the other bear-beings dispersed, vanishing into the undergrowth.

With a sly smile, the bear-being spoke up. "You and I need to talk. Alone." The atmosphere tensed instantly. He tapped on his wristwatch, and from the red vegetation surrounding Nova, Pip, and Dot, four strange orbs emerged, crackling with electricity. They hovered in place, enclosing them in a tight formation. In front of them, the bear-being pulled a tripod from his unusual bazooka, planting it firmly into the ground and aiming it directly at them. His voice was sharp, commanding. "Cut to the chase. Tell me everything—who you are, why you're here, and what you know." Pip and Dot stiffened, their processors kicking into overdrive as they discreetly began scanning the orbs, the bazooka, and their surroundings for information. Nova, however, remained calm. "I told you, we just need to know more about the shield. That's all. There's no other information relevant to you." The bear-being narrowed his eyes as the glow of the bioluminescent moss cast an eerie green sheen across his features. His voice was laced with suspicion. "And why do you want to know about the Shield? Do you belong to the Shield Guards' family? We should have known we left some estranged members behind. But now, you've walked straight into me." Nova frowned. He didn't know what this bear-being was talking about—Shield Guards? Estranged family? What family? "I don't know what you're talking about," Nova said, his voice firm but uncertain. "I don't know any Shield Guards, and I'm not related to them." His confusion was genuine. But the words had no effect. The bear-being's expression darkened. "Liar." His grip on the bazooka tightened. "You're here to spy on our arsenal tech—or worse, to steal it—so you can free your beloved Guard and his wife and son." The pieces weren't adding up. Nova, still struggling to grasp the weight of the accusations, held his ground. "You need to listen. We're unrelated to whatever you're talking about. Arsenal tech? Beloved Guard? His wife and son? None of that rings a bell. All I want is to get out of here, and we can both forget this ever happened." The bear-being didn't look convinced. Neither was Nova, knowing they weren't going to walk out of this easily.

The bear-being's grip on the bazooka tightened, its core pulsing with a dangerous blue light. "Liar," he growled, the air crackling with tension. Nova's fingers hovered over his EM gun. "We're not here for a fight," Nova warned. "Doesn't matter." The bear-being fired. Nova dove sideways toward the bear-being, grabbing Pip mid-air and kicking Dot against the wall just as the blast hit the ground where he'd stood—BOOM—sending rocks flying. The debris struck the hovering orbs, causing them to flicker and glitch, their energy fields destabilizing. "You didn't think this through, huh?" Nova thought, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth as he readied his next move. "Pip, smoke screen! Now!" Pip's chest opened, releasing a thick gray cloud that engulfed the clearing. The bear-being roared in frustration as the trio vanished into the haze. Nova sprinted, Pip and Dot both clinging to his back, sparks flying from Dot's fractured joints. "The Lynx is up the mountain—we need height!" Nova shouted. Pip pulled up a holo-map, scanning for a shortcut. "There's a cliff edge—forty feet up, but it's a straight shot!" "We're taking it." Behind them, the bear-being surged through the smoke, his weapon blazing. Plasma bolts cut through the mist, narrowly missing Dot, who yelped, "I'm not designed for this!" Nova skidded to a stop at the cliff face—red stone, unstable but climbable. "Dot, cover us!" Dot turned, despite his failing systems, and fired an extremely high lumen light beam, forcing the bear-being into cover.

Nova grabbed a jagged rock, scaling the cliff with Pip & Dot still attached, pulling them upward with sheer force, muscles straining. Halfway up, the bear-being shot another round. "Shit!" Nova twisted mid-air, slamming his EM gun into a rocky ledge, using it as a hook. His shoulder screamed in pain, but he hauled himself and Pip the rest of the way. Reaching the top, he looked down—more bear-beings were closing in, their heavy steps shaking the ground below.

No time to rest.

They bolted toward the Lynx, its sleek frame visible through the thinning dust. Blaster fire rained from behind—the bear-beings hadn't given up. Nova slapped his watch, the Lynx's ramp lowering. He threw Pip and Dot inside before diving in himself, plasma shots sizzling past him. "Close it!" As the ramp sealed, Nova slid into the pilot's seat, fingers flying across the controls. "Strap in!" The engines roared to life, lifting them off the ground as explosions echoed below. Pip's processors buzzing: "That was too close." Nova didn't look back.

The Lynx blasted upward, piercing through Bruth's dust-laden skies, the mountain shrinking behind them—while the revelation about the Shield burned in Nova's mind.

Planet Lumino

The cozy cottage on Planet Lumino offered Nyssa a brief moment of peace. The soft sound of the flowing river, the faint chatter of beings outside, and the soothing rustle of Lumino's trees created the calm she needed after the previous days. Nyssa sat cross-legged on the sofa, Mu floating lazily nearby, her crystals twinkling. Nyssa spoke out, "Alright, Mu, get me a hot coffee. I figured out how to get the truth out—the Independent Media Stream! I should've contacted them earlier, but I was..." "But you were afraid of going public," Mu interjected, tilting her head. "Yes," Nyssa admitted, adding, "But now that I'm already wanted, I might as well control the narrative."

"Have you thought this through? The consequences of showing your face, your location—alive and well—to every solar system in Inferife?" Mu asked, her tone laced with worry. "Yes. Yes, I have. Call Paltin," Nyssa replied firmly. Nyssa talked to Paltin and discussed the situation. He connected her to the Independent Media Stream (IMS). The chief editor, a sharp-featured being with snake-scale brown skin, appeared on a video call.

"We don't offer protection. You share your truth, ask for assistance, or anything else, and we promise it will be delivered to every being in the galaxy who has us subscribed. After that, you're on your own. You ready for that?" Nyssa nodded. "I am." A few minutes later, she received a message and joined the call. The stream went live.

"I am Nyssa, the Shield Guard's daughter. My family has been guarding the shield since its inception. Three weeks ago, a woman came to the shield, insisting on crossing it. My father prohibited her—the shield has been locked for a millennium. But she levitated upwards and, in the blink of an eye, crossed the locked shield. Before my father could find out who she was, he, along with my mother and brother, was taken away that evening by a group of beings. I managed to escape. Since then, I've been framed for a false charge and a bounty on my head, with mercenaries chasing me across the galaxy.

My message is this: something is happening in the galaxy—something that isn't right. We're not safe anymore. I'm available for communication via IMS."

She laid out her story. The host ended the stream, broadcasting the message into the fringe networks of the galaxy. For a brief moment, Nyssa allowed herself to breathe.

High above Lumino's sky, an Interplanetary Security Grid (ISG) Surveillance Craft hovered silently, its numerous cameras rotating methodically as it scanned hundreds of faces, movements, and identifiers.

Nyssa's brief media appearance was enough to trigger a secondary scan—facial structure, gait analysis, and micro-expressions all running through its central database.

MATCH FOUND. CLASS C WARRANT. PRIORITY 3.

A sharp, shrill beep pierced the silence, echoing through Lumino's skies as the craft relayed its findings to the ISG central network, activating protocols across the system.

Within seconds, the Lumino Police Force, registered bounty hunters, and Interplanetary Planet Authority received the alert—Nyssa was now a Priority 2 target, her exact coordinates transmitted across the galaxy.

Nyssa's bounty updated: 50,000 Cols.

Nyssa sat on the sofa, with Mu reviewing the fallout of her broadcast when Mu's sensors spiked. "Nyssa, we've got company," Mu warned, her voice sharp. Two beings, dressed in long gowns but clearly armored beneath, knocked on the window from outside. Nyssa didn't flinch. "Be calm," she whispered. One of the figures—an older mercenary with a jagged scar running down his hand—smashed through the window with the barrel of his listol. "Mind if we join?" he shouted. Nyssa raised her hands slightly, keeping her cool. "We can talk this through. You don't want to alert everyone and split the bounty, do you?" she called out. The mercenary hesitated, then lowered his listol slightly, realizing she had a point. With a grunt, he signaled his partner, and they disappeared from the window. Moments later, there was a firm knock at the door. Nyssa pocketed a small blaster, its weight grounding her, while Mu hid behind a pillar, her crystals dimming. Nyssa opened the door calmly. The older mercenary stepped in, his listol still trained on her. "Hands on the ground. I'm going to handcuff you," he ordered. Nyssa slowly raised her hands but didn't kneel. "Listen, you don't really want to do this." Her voice was steady, measured. "Oh? And why wouldn't I want an 50,000 Cols for one girl?" the mercenary growled. Nyssa tilted her head, her honey-brown eyes piercing "Because the entire IMS knows I'm here. If I go down now, someone will find you before your next meal. And this bounty? It's messy. You'll have bounty hunters tailing you before you can even cash it in. I'm being framed by people way above your pay grade."

The mercenary hesitated, the grip on his listol loosening slightly. "She's got a point, Korr," the younger mercenary chimed in from behind him. Nyssa stepped forward, her tone softening just enough. "Help me get out of here. You get nothing on your record, and I disappear—no messy complications, no half-bounty payouts." She flashed a slight smile. "Or turn me in, and you'll spend your next few weeks looking over your shoulder." There was a heavy pause. Then Korr cursed under his breath. "Fine. We'll drop you off at the departure port. But if you pull anything—" "I won't," Nyssa promised, lowering her hands.

Minutes later, the group rode in the mercenaries' hovercraft toward the departure port. The tension was thick, but Nyssa kept her focus. Mu stood close, whispering, "We need to change your look before we get there. The ISG's got scans on you by now." In the backseat, Mu extended a small compartment from her core, revealing a pair of blue contact lenses and a folded midnight-blue cloak. "Contacts first," Mu instructed. Nyssa popped the lenses in, her honey-brown eyes now a deep ocean blue. The cloak came next, its high collar and flowing fabric effectively masking her silhouette. As they neared the port, Nyssa noticed the younger mercenary fiddling with a pendant on his belt—a spade-shaped charm. The hovercraft came to a smooth stop. "This is it. Don't say we never did anything nice," Korr grumbled. Nyssa slid out of the vehicle, Mu following close behind. She turned to them once more. "Thanks for the ride," she said, her tone light but sincere. The mercenaries didn't reply—they just drove off. Nyssa and Mu quickly made their way into the quiet port. Nyssa's blue lenses and cloak, paired with her scarf now wrapped tightly around her lower face, helped her blend in among the travelers. They approached the private cab stalls, where Mu stepped forward and loaded the ticket. Nyssa's mind raced. "I need Uncle now. Cyan Nebula is the place."

Cyan Nebula

The ship drifted through the swirling blues of the Cyan Nebula, its clouds wrapping around the sleek vessel as Nikolai guided it toward the docking port. "Classy place," Maxim noted, scanning the crystalline structures floating within the nebula. "Bet they charge extra for oxygen that smells nice." They docked. A tall concierge being with iridescent skin led them through the spiraled hallways of the space station to their private room—sleek, minimalistic, and ridiculously expensive. "Your penthouse suite, sir," the concierge said. Nikolai nodded, tossing his jacket onto the sofa. "Oh yeah, billionaire perks. Forgot," Maxim quipped, leaning against the glass wall, his metal fingers tapping the pane. Later, in the room, Maxim worked at the screen, its surface flickering with layers of data as Nikolai scanned through records—people who had been replaced, infiltration patterns, playing cards, shield anomalies, and king references—searching for connections. "No surprise. Secret Kings don't leave online reviews," Maxim deadpanned. They logged everything into Maxim's archives, the web of theories growing, still incomplete.

In the evening, they strolled back from the café, nebula lights reflecting off the onyx floors. As they passed through the central promenade, an elder being wandered by, muttering to himself, eyes glazed as if lost in time. "Echoes of old magic, fading unheard. Oh Harrows, forgotten as you wished... or perhaps, not at all," the being mumbled before disappearing into the crowd. Maxim didn't even slow his pace. "Great. Another nebula philosopher. Love those." But Nikolai stopped, watching the figure vanish. "Maxim. Note that down." Maxim paused, tilting his head. "For real? He sounded one drink away from singing folk songs." Nikolai shot Maxim a pointed look. Maxim sighed, his processor whirring. "Harrows logged. Old magic logged. And, what the hell—existential dread logged." They continued walking, nebula dust swirling above.