Path of the Hive Queen

Antarctica was, by all accounts, the same as always.

Mostly ice, a bit of snow, the earth buried underneath it, cold, and home to only the occasional animal.

Of all the continents, it was definitely the one that had changed the least in the last thousand years, or before. In fact, with the climate stabilized somewhere closer to where it had been, it had probably changed more in the time leading up to the Cataclysm than afterward. Now, there were basically no signs of any human activity.

Well, there had been research bases here, once. A long time ago. They were probably buried under ice and snow, or maybe some were still left as empty skeletons. Perhaps the people living here had been some of those least affected by the Cataclysm. They could have had some of the longest survivors. Then again, you couldn’t live off the land very well here. If a team didn’t have a plane or ship and there were no more ships coming with supplies, they might have starved in their base, she supposed. Not a good way to go, by all accounts.

Either way, it was vast and almost uncharted. Empty wilderness, or the closest you could get. It truly wasn’t surprising why the people they were searching for might have chosen this place.

Galatea resolved to be very careful. She considered herself well-traveled, especially compared to most people in this day and age, but she still hadn’t been on this continent before. She’d mostly avoided the Arctic as well, seeing how sparsely populated it was. While she wasn’t bound by the constraints of a biological body, so the cold didn’t bother her, she still wasn’t very familiar with this environment. Any more than with the quarry they were seeking.

“It’s damn cold out here,” Zephyr complained in a whisper. “You’re sure this is the place?”

Iseis sighed. She was huddled deeply into her clothes, and very little of her was visible. “Yes, this is the place,” she said, sounding just a bit strained.

“We’re ready, just tell us where to go,” Dan said cheerfully.

“We’re not even properly on the continent yet,” Anuis muttered.

Galatea looked at the team for a long moment. All of them were experienced and high-leveled, admittedly some more than others. They were all reliable. And most importantly, they should, in theory, be somewhat capable of stealth, or at least not announcing their presence. Especially with their combined skills and magic. Having Madris and Armin here would have been very nice, Galatea reflected. It’s a shame they’re still in the Eternal Dark, they would’ve been almost perfect for something like this.

It left them a little hard up for psychic support, a lack she felt keenly right now. They could have used June, but Regina had vetoed the idea of bringing her along, and Galatea supposed she was right; June’s level wasn’t that high and her absence would definitely be noticed. Then there was Lianne, but they weren’t really sure how far they could trust her. Which just left them with Edmund and Fred, probably the weakest on the team in several ways. They would just have to make do. Going in without any psychics would probably have been much worse.

“Before we head inward, we must make sure our stealth is properly active,” Galatea said. “Everyone, do whatever you can. I will try to check your work, and I’ll be invisible as well.”

They all acknowledged her words and used their magic or Skills, or, she supposed, their psychic abilities. That would probably be hard to keep up continuously. Galatea turned herself more insubstantial than normal, as well as invisible to mundane means, and tried to assess their preparations.

Currently, they were standing on a sort of island or float, little more than a patch of ice just off the main continent. With Leian’s help, Iseis had brought them close to it, using a portal that led them emerge over the open ocean, and then they had used a bit of magic to get here. Taking a boat or raft through it might have been better, but that would have required leaving the portal open for longer, or making it bigger. It was a trade-off. It didn’t look like anyone had noticed their arrival here yet, at least. Or so she hoped. And the others did well at hiding their presence. If she hadn’t known they were there, it would have probably been impossible to notice — they were invisible, their magical signature was dampened, and their minds were hopefully hidden as well.

Fortunately, they wouldn’t have to keep it up for long. While Leian and Alianais had stayed behind in the interests of stealth — assuring them that the goddesses would intervene if they needed to, like if there was an actual Mesen force present that discovered them — they had managed to pinpoint where exactly they needed to go, somewhat. At least to an area of a few kilometers or so. And luckily, it wasn’t too deeply inside the continent.

“Alright,” Galatea said quietly, making sure to carry the words directly to each of their ears and no further. “Let’s go. Quickly and quietly.”

They set off. She cast a bit of magic to freeze the water underneath their feet for a short time and they hurried across, before climbing the shore and then continuing to walk inward.

The coast was relatively nice. Still cold, but she knew it would get much colder as they headed deeper into Antarctica. It was certainly autumn in the Empire now, which just meant it might be spring here, but would be closer to winter deeper inside the continent. And there was actually a lot of animal life in the ocean and directly by the coasts, which would no longer be the case further in.

Galatea kept a close eye on her mana reserves. They were draining faster than she’d have liked, even if she didn’t need to account for the cold. But she had a lot of mana. It would last for a while. And with how quickly they moved, at least she wasn’t in danger of running out before they were there.

Usually, they would have used flying mounts to travel. But fliers were easier to spot and more exposed. Instead, they had prepared before setting out. In particular, using a somewhat overpowered ritual with Conjured ingredients and some of Regina’s prodigious mana reserves. Surprisingly similar to that time the king’s army had used a ritual during the Cernlian civil war, Galatea supposed. This was much more restricted and also had a stronger effect, but it would keep them moving more quickly than they should be for roughly half a day. The overpowered ‘haste’ effect combined with their high Stats meant that they reached speeds only proper vehicles would have been able to reach, or at least sustain, before. Naturally, they still had to move carefully and take the terrain into account.

Here, it was little more than an ice desert, and they also had to head uphill. Their destination wasn’t in the deeper part of the polar highlands, fortunately, but deep enough for the wind to cut to the bone, and for the ice to hide treacherous crevasses. Galatea went first, and checked on her companions intermittently. While they were dressed for the weather and their Con stats should help, it was clearly not easy on them. They would have to use more magic to keep everyone warm enough if this continued.

Finally, they neared their destination, and Galatea slowed down. She held up a hand, telling the others to be careful without words. Edmund’s touch whispered across her mind and that of the others; she could sense faint echoes. From now on, they should be as silent as possible. It was unlikely to matter very much, but she wanted the best odds they could get, and there was no point in risking it.

Still, as they got closer, Galatea wondered for a moment if they even had the right place. Everything looked just the same as it did elsewhere, a plateau of frozen stillness at the top of hundreds of meters of ice (perhaps thousands). But finally, as they carefully moved forward, she felt something in her magical senses, the faintest stirring. Somewhere near the top of the glacier, she estimated.

She mentally alerted Edmund, who passed it on to the others. Then Galatea carefully floated forward, keeping just above the ice. The glacier around her was silent and beautiful. Her companions made no noise. The magical signature was still weak, even as she could tell they got closer.

What is it? the young psychic finally asked. She could sense his careful, slightly anxious alertness through the psychic link.

A structure beneath the ice, I think, Galatea finally replied.

They approached until the magical signature, while still weak, was strongest — as she started to move further forward, it actually started to get slightly weaker, as far as she could tell. Galatea stopped, retreating a few steps. She looked down again, not that she had really looked elsewhere much.

And now what? Zephyr asked, his voice relayed by the slight psychic connection between them. There is clearly something beneath the ice here. Are we meant to dig it up?

I think that would go against the idea of hiding our presence, right? Edmund said. If there’s someone down there, and they’ve missed us until now, wouldn’t this just tip them off?

Galatea frowned to herself (not that it was necessary) and tried to look further down. The others were silent around her, clearly trying to come up with a response to that dilemma. There was definitely some kind of structure underneath the ice. Maybe ten meters down? She was a bit unsure. It was definitely larger than a single artifact, at least; she was relatively sure of that. Which still, of course, left them the question of what to do now. It would be possible to dig down, but hardly something they could hide if there was anyone to notice, or any surveillance measures.

There’s nothing for it, I will need to go down into the ice, she said.

That caused a slight stir in the group, more felt than seen. She felt Edmund’s reflexive alarm at the idea.

That would be very dangerous, Dan said. We can’t follow you down there, at least not without making a way in first. What if you’re attacked or overwhelmed by defenses they have down there and we can’t help you?

It’s less risky than trying to blast our way in, I think, Galatea responded. I’ll stay mentally connected to you, and Iseis, you can teleport me out if necessary, right?

I hope so, the old elf said hesitantly. If they don’t have countermeasures against it.

In the worst case, you can call in Leian and Alianais for backup. But I’m probably best suited to go in, anyway. She was incorporeal, so she wouldn’t be harmed by mundane weapons, and she was possibly their best mage, anyway.

The others still clearly didn’t like it, but they didn’t come up with any other arguments against it. They all knew they didn’t have many options. Galatea still had to spend a minute reassuring them before she finally went ahead.

Diving through ice wasn’t intrinsically too different from moving through the air for her. It felt a bit weirder, but that was simply the lack of familiarity. It was also much harder to see. Not that she had regular eyes, but there was less light here, though the ice did still let light through. It was just broken and reflected every which way. Fortunately, she could use other senses to navigate, and her mana senses were most important here and allowed her a good picture of her surroundings, anyway.

Galatea still went slowly and cautiously. She didn’t know if there were any kind of defensive wards in the ice around her. Well, she looked for them, of course. Up until just before the borders of the structure itself, the space seemed clear, with only the ambient mana she would expect. She extended a very thin tendril of her own mana to check, and moved it toward her destination very carefully, circling around to approach it from the side instead of from above. As she got closer, she also got a better look at the structure itself. What she sensed made her pause for a moment, trying to reevaluate.

She had expected a building of some kind. A base, maybe even a station or something that had been sunk beneath the ice. Instead, the walls of the thing (probably metal, but she wasn’t sure) were too curved. And moving around it gave her a better overview. No, this wasn’t built like a house. It looked more like a vessel — like someone had sunk a boat or submarine in this ice. Or rather, she supposed, a spaceship. The general outline was kind of cylindrical, with several bulges and clusters of what were probably instruments, and one slightly flatter section at the bottom — or what had been the bottom — with what looked like it might have been landing struts. Half of them were broken off, though. There was still the outline of a hatch visible nearby. Overall, the design looked unfamiliar, even if she could guess at the purpose of most parts.

I think this might be one of the Mesen’s vessels, Galatea told Edmund, making sure he received an impression of what she sensed. It looks … damaged.

Badly damaged, actually. The hull seemed intact, trying to scan it, but the landing struts weren’t the only parts where something was missing. There was even what might have been a breach in one side, closer to the ‘head’ of the vessel, with a noticeable dent. Focusing on it, the material looked to be a slightly different color, though that was mostly an impression since she didn’t exactly have clear visuals here. Still, a patch job, maybe?

What is a Mesen vessel doing here buried in Antarctica? Edmund asked.

That, my dear, is the question, she mused, looking at it as closely as possible.

I can’t sense anyone inside, but it’s not easy and  I suppose they could be shielding. You don’t sense any life either, do you?

No, unless they’re very good at shielding the insides, I don’t think there is anyone alive in there.

Galatea frowned and moved a bit more to the side, circling the buried ship(?). It was made from a dark material, probably metal or maybe an advanced synthetic polymer. To be honest, it didn’t seem particularly aesthetically appealing, clearly built for function over form. She could tell mana had been woven into its hull. Instead of separate additions, wards were clearly integrated with the vessel directly. The existing wards seemed dim and drained, though, merely scraps. It really did feel like this vessel was hidden mostly by being buried meters deep in the ice here.

But why had they abandoned it? Assuming they have, that is. Was it too damaged, or was there another reason? Trying to hide?

What are we going to do now? Edmund asked after a while.

Galatea sighed. She floated a bit closer and tentatively reached out to touch the hull with the faintest trickle of mana, cut off from her actual form. The wards flickered the slightest bit, but didn’t otherwise react.

Well, we probably still shouldn’t try to breach it or just dig it up, she said reluctantly. It doesn’t seem immediately dangerous, but who knows. At least now that we found the source of the signal, we have more information.

They would have to inform Regina and the others, and, of course, the gods. Iseis and Anuis would be able to do that easily. Maybe Leian would know more once she saw this find.

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