Scarlet Steel

I do another check of my survival suit, and everything comes back green. Despite that, I’m still anxious. Dying from sulphur burns in temperatures well beyond boiling is maybe the worst death I can imagine.

“You’ll be fine.” Exa reassures me. She’s in a suit identical to mine. Everyone is except for Elara, Luna, and one of Andromeda’s bodies. 

At least if the suits fail, I won’t die alone. That’s an awful thought, but I’m sure Exa’s thinking the same thing. It’s what she’d want.

“I know.”

“And if not? It’s a quick death.” Graff shrugs.

“If it’s a complete failure, maybe? If there’s just a small hole in my suit it’d be incredibly slow.” I might be able to patch it with just a small bit of my body being cooked alive? That sounds almost just as bad.

“We’d get you home.” Juno reassures me.

“You better.” I watch the screen of our dropship as we approach the station. “My gun can survive in there, right?”

“For the most part.” Exa confirms. “It’s not good for it of course. Keep it in its compartment, but it’ll last you a few hours if you need to draw it.”

“Great.” I check that one last time as well. It’s hidden in a pouch on my hip, entirely sealed off from the outside atmosphere.

The outside of the station is purely chitin whose color seems to fluctuate in the sunlight. A small section of the outside folds away as we approach, pulled back by thick strands. A blue dome stretches across the entrance, keeping the atmosphere inside. As freaky as that is, the inside looks like any landing bay I’ve ever been in. Human ships, a steel floor, and an atmosphere that won’t kill us on contact. People are able to walk around without survival suits. 

A set of flashing lights built into the ceiling guides us to our designated docking bay. We touch down and Juno climbs out of her pilot’s seat. 

“Let’s get this over with.” Juno leads us out of the ship where a single AI is waiting.

“Welcome.” He bows deeply. “If you would be willing to confirm your identity, we can begin.”

“Of course.” Elara says. “Juno, if you would.”

Juno holds out her hand and reveals a wire running down the arm of her suit. She disconnects it and holds it out to the AI, who removes a wire of his own and connects the two. A moment later he disconnects, and bows once again.

“The Mnemosyne welcome you. Please, if you’ll follow me, you must go through decontamination before entering their half of the station.”

“Lead the way.”

The AI leads us towards the wall of the hangar, not to the main entrance into the station. We get some curious looks from people as we pass by, but nobody dares to say anything.

Against the wall is a hidden service door that opens on its own. We step into a small closet, barely big enough to fit all of us.

“One moment, please.” The AI says. “I will begin decontamination. If you smell anything abnormal, please inform me.”

“What’s it supposed to smell like?” I ask.

“You’ll know. It’s specially designed to be as pungent as possible to check for leaks.”

A yellow gas fills the room and everything goes dark. Not even the lights in the ceiling can reach me. Lights on my helmet automatically flick on, but it does nothing to pierce the gas. It’s only when I press my palm to the front of my helmet that I can see it.

A few seconds later the gas shifts into a green color before being vented entirely.

“When you return, I will bring you to this decontamination room again to negate the sulphur smell. Please wait while I pressurize the room to the Mnemosyne atmosphere.”

The room fills with a yellow gas once again, although not nearly as dense. Still, I can barely make out the vague shape of Exa beside me. At least we prepared for this. I hit a button on the side of my helmet to activate a full spectrum filter. The gas vanishes, although the filter slightly messes with the color of everything around me, slightly shifting everything darker.

“I welcome you to their station.” The far side of the room opens up, and I step through, taking it all in.

It's all chitin, the same exact stuff that makes up the outside of the station. The roads, the buildings, the people. With the filter on it’s beautiful. The colors shift in the light in almost hypnotic patterns, intricately layering over itself dozens of times. Bioluminescent bulbs are attached to walls and streets at random, casting a dazzling, flickering light onto all their surroundings. Vents built into the walls seem to breathe, taking in and expelling air rhythmically.

The Mnemosyne are made of chitin as well, equally dazzling in the light. Their shapes are inconsistent. Large behemoths carry raw materials on their backs. Tiny creatures dart between buildings, weaving between the larger creature’s feet. Every size in between is accounted for, each hosting a seemingly random number of limbs, a few tails, and more than a few even have multiple heads. They’re all constructed of overlapping plates, grown for a singular purpose.

“Please if you would follow me,” the AI’s voice makes me jump out of my trance. “I will lead you to the liaison."

“Right.” I take a step back and let Juno follow first.

The Mnemosyne part for us as we walk down their streets. None of them so much as glance at us, much less stare. Their pitch black eyes stare straight ahead. I almost wish they would react at all, it’s creepy that they don’t.

The AI leads us down a few streets, each of them looking identical. This place is more like a machine than a city. None of the Mnemosyne stop to talk, none of them take a step out of line. They do their jobs and nothing else. 

Eventually we reach a small building. The front of it opens in the same way the station opened into the docking bays, and the AI gestures us inside.

Juno takes the lead, stepping through without fear. The rest of us follow.

The inside is uncanny. It looks like a facsimile of any human office. A collection of chairs, a large circular desk in the center, even a few fake plants, all made of that same dazzling chitin. Everything is lit by a bioluminescent bulb hanging from the ceiling. Standing in the center of the desk, completely surrounded by it, is what I think is their best recreation of a human. It’s a smooth, featureless body. The face is roughly correct, with two black eyes taking us in. The back half of it is a mirror of the front, with its hands buried in some sort of green goop.

“This collection of memories welcomes Apollo.” Its voice is stilted, a collection of clicks and smacks that end up close to human speech. “Please, take a seat if it pleases you.”

There’s precisely enough seats for all of us. Juno takes the one directly in front of the Mnemosyne, and I claim one as well. Xenia ends up being the only other person to take one of the seats, while Exa, Graff, Elara, and Janus remain standing.

“We’re honored to be here.” Juno speaks slowly, carefully picking her choice of words. “I assume the fragment of the Mnemosyne we are speaking to knows why we are here?”

“This collection of memories is aware.” Only after it finishes speaking completely does it pull its mouth into a strange, unmoving smile. It disappears completely as it begins to speak. “You will have to forgive this fragment if it skips the pleasantries.”

“I’d prefer the same.” Juno confirms.

“The Mnemosyne require your assistance recovering a fragment that was stolen by humans. The liaison was designed to confer with human groups in person on their planets, able to survive and breathe human atmosphere. All memories are precious, but those that the humans stole hold a particular importance to the Mnemosyne.”

“What are we looking at? What kind of defenses?” Juno asks.

“It is currently held beneath the ground of a military compound situated in a rural area a few hundred miles outside a planetary capital. Surrounding the planet is a wide range planetary defensive system capable of shooting down any unauthorized attempt at entry. Human and Mnemosyne technology are fundamentally incompatible, and so it falls to Apollo. The Mnemosyne require you to deactivate said defensive system. After that the Mnemosyne request your presence during the attack. The time that Mnemosyne warrior fragments can remain in human atmosphere is limited, and in case of emergency, you will be left to finish the task.”

Juno leans back in her chair, her fingers tapping against the arm rest.

“I assume the Mnemosyne have a plan and we’re not just left trying to deactivate things on our own?”

“Of course.” The creature nods, and for a moment gives what I think is supposed to be a reassuring smile. “Do the Mnemosyne have your word that, regardless of your decision to help the Mnemosyne, our discussions will remain purely between Apollo and the Mnemosyne?”

“Of course.” Juno nods. “Earth would warn your species if we were untrustworthy.”

“The Mnemosyne thank you. Fragments are hiding unseen in orbit, ready to infect the orbital defensive platforms. A momentary lapse in connection to the orbital defense platforms is required for the fragments to approach safely and without notice. The Mnemosyne’s only other option is the complete destruction of said orbital defense platforms, and we the Mnemosyne foresee a retaliatory strike for anything more than a precise attack. That would cascade into a war that would harm too many humans and force Earth’s hand.”

“You don’t think you’d lose that war?” Juno asks.

“This collection of memories does not have the necessary memories to speculate on the human’s chance of survival.” Their face is once again pulled into a frozen smile.

“Right, of course.” I wonder if it can detect Juno’s amusement? “The fragment I’m speaking to is aware we can’t just walk in and disconnect a planet wide security system, right? The processing power alone would stop Janus before he could do anything, even if we had a direct connection.”

“Of course. An array of quantum AI are willing to assist. Apollo will have all the processing power it could want at its disposal. You will have an army at your back. Both in this, and during the ground recovery.”

“You’ll need a relay.” Elara speaks up. “Any of your friends that are close enough to me?”

“Earth would not recommend you if you weren’t. And if it’s a problem, the quantums can send one of their own, although they hold little practical experience in the field.”

“I can do it then.” Elara nods. “Things could get… weird if they’re not prepared.”

“I’m still not sure how we get access in the first place.” Janus says. “Even if they have a military installation elsewhere in the system, they’d be dumb to give it a connection to their defensive network.”

“You will need to gain their trust and gain access to the surface of the planet. They have an off-the-books outstanding bounty on Mnemosyne technology and relics. The Mnemosyne can supply unimportant relics that they have never seen before. Reports have shown mercenaries inside their military compounds many times. Gain their trust, and gain entry.”

“That’s a slow method.” Juno says. “We’ll have to wait weeks between each dropoff to make things realistic. Can the fragment hold out that long?”

“No.” It says simply. “We require the fragment as soon as possible.”

“Right. And what about payment?” Juno asks. “This is big. No offense, but we’d be declaring war with an empire. I don’t like making enemies with groups that big. An entire section of the spur would be cut off, too dangerous for us to operate in. The chances of them sending bounty hunters or assassins are high. What can you offer?”

“This collection of memories does admit that the Mnemosyne hold little that would interest humans. The Mnemosyne can offer no money, no shelter. What can be given, however, is Earth’s blessing.”

Juno’s entire body freezes while the offer hangs in the air.

“You would have free reign.” The being turns its head to each of us in turn. “Act freely without oversight, and learn the truths of the universe.” It says to Graff and Xenia. “Modify yourself with technology you’ve never imagined.” It offers to Janus, but also glances at Exa. “Modify your mechs as you will and use them in contested zones, free from regulations,” it says to Exa and I, and finally settles on Juno and Elara. “Come and go from Earth as you please.”

We have to do this. Hoppy deserves this. This is how I’ll hold on to my promise. I can put my engineering skills against any fighter and come out on top. Limits are set in steel, and my limits would be only held back by my resources. I glance at everyone else, and they’re reacting the same way I am. Even Graff seems caught off guard.

Juno looks at each of us, and we nod in turn. Juno slowly nods back at each and every one of us.

“Load up the relics, give me as much info as you have, give us a location, and I’ll figure it out.”

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