12 Miles Below

This bunker had seen better days. A clear-cut line of rust painted the entire structure, marking where the water line had once been before we’d opened the door. When breaching the door, a lot of that water had flooded out into the streets, giving an unrestricted view of the topology of the mite built roads. It wasn’t even. A rather large pool of water had somewhat equalized in front of the bunker doors.

The flood was more ankle deep, and still flowing out at a leisurely pace. What it left behind was broken everything.

Empty racks that had collapsed on themselves, traces of disintegrated chairs, old computers filled with corrosion and cracked screens. Sounds echoed everywhere, mostly of water dripping down walls and into the remaining pool. Eerie would describe the whole place. Atius surveyed the site, headlights flashing around, while Kidra and I followed behind him.

“It’s just ahead.” He said, stalking past all the wreckage with single-minded intent.

There were a few bulkhead doors in our path, but none locked, and it looks like he’d already opened them. Even if the internals had seized up, the strength of relic armor had clearly ripped them free again.

I couldn’t quite place what architecture this was from, but I noticed something. There were candles almost everywhere, old incense burners that had rusted over, and glimmers of light faded gold in just about everything. The real pick in the ice were sigils on the walls. The gold emblazoned had peeled off, and yet it was still recognizable enough.

If this wasn’t an imperial bunker, I’d sell my rebreather. Leave it to them to house so many ritual items and other such memorabilia. Even in a military bunker hidden out on the edge of nowhere. At least they had the sense not to decorate the outside of the walls.

“Do we know what imperial order they garrisoned here?” I asked, curious.

Atius turned, armor lights shining at the walls as he did so. He had a soft grin that would have fit an old man perfectly. “Oh? And what made you suspect this?”

"I don't want to say it's all the gold and candles, but it's definitely all the gold and candles."

He chuckled under his breath. “They can keep everything secret except for their obsession with shiny things. Almost makes me think it's a front. Almost." He glanced back at me and gave a full answer, patting his sword. "Yes, I know that sigil. They’re the same ones who once held onto this blade, after all. That, however, is likely an actual coincidence.”

“Your reclusive friends?”

“Friends would be stretching it. Respected acquaintances, that’d be more accurate. They acknowledge my kind and our role against the machines, however they see their tasks as more important. They’re called the Indagator Mortis. Elites of the Imperium, an old order that were said to have served the lost emperor, now supposedly taking direct orders from their sun goddess. Still around, very zealous, highly respected, and dangerous. I suspect your armor belonged to a crusader from this order.”

“Cathida?”

His headlight lingered on the peeling golden glyph on that wall. “I can’t be sure of anything when it comes to the Indagators, lad. They have a tendency for misdirection and secrecy. A very strong tendency. Never expect straight answers from them, only theories. It’s when you get straight answers that you should be worried.”

“So, what are your theories here? Are we walking into some sort of conspiracy?”

“Perhaps. I don’t think it’s a coincidence we found a hidden imperial bunker within spitting distance of a crusader’s gravesite. Especially one of the fifth vow. Add the fact that your armor doesn’t bear any sigils, which is usual for a low rank crusader but never done in the higher ranks. Since you found it in such a small expedition group, I would hazard it to be intentional. Your armor’s name is Journey, yes?”

“It is. I didn’t rename it when I recovered the armor.”

“Well then. Let’s clear the low hanging fruit.” He coughed, clearing his throat. “Journey, do you recall anything about this location?”

It responded. “All logs have been locked behind a password protected entry. Answer is unknown.”

That made the old Deathless laugh. The sound echoed, bouncing off the empty hallways. Joining in with the water drops and occasional collapses, still happening in this bunker. “If I wanted even more confirmation of your armor belonging to this order, that would be the icepick left behind.” He settled down, now more chuckling to himself. “To be fair to those zealots, they claim their enemy is a goddess. Gods are not opponents to take lightly.”

We passed by a barracks, four bunk beds. A fairly small crew had manned this bunker, if I was right. There was only one shower and toilet, from the looks of things. The mess hall was equally small. Had there not been a table, I’d have thought we were just walking through a slightly larger room.

We’d reached the center of the bunker when Atius held a hand out to stop. This room was large and circular. Four pillars lined the center, vertical rail tracks on each. And oddly enough, some screens and equipment still looked intact. Like they only needed a power cell to turn back on. They’d built the center heart of this bunker with encapsulated and durable components in mind.

The clan lord noticed my stares. “They likely had everything wiped, if those still work. I’d let you try your luck on it, but we’re on a deadline, lad.”

He pointed down at the very center of the circular room and the murky water flashed his reflected lights back, rippling with the waves we had made as we marched through the complex. It was clear enough to see hints of details. The floor simply gave way to a circular drop, like a center pool. There was depth to that pool, since our headlights saw nothing but blackness.

“It’s still down here.” Atius pointed. “They contained it in a liquid solution to further scramble any signal leakage from my examinations. The flooding was likely caused by lack of maintenance.”

Journey provided me with a small three-dimensional model of the bunker, showing the places we’d walked through. Data collected from Atius’s armor. The entire room was visible, which included what we were after.

A capsule. That’s what was in the center of the room, submerged a good dozen feet into the hole.

Completely separated from the bunker, except for large gear wheels connected to the railing. Massive springs on the wheels dampened the structure, and if the map was correct - they were all still intact, despite being completely submerged. The capsule itself was large enough to fit two people inside comfortably. Given that they made the thing out of metal, it must weigh tons.

“The lift system is still intact from what I saw, but the trigger mechanisms don’t work anymore. No free meal. We have to lift the structure up manually.” He looked around him at the surrounding destruction. “Let’s find something to jam the capsule once we’ve dredged it up.”

Given the massive amount of debris, and our blades capable of cutting anything into fitting pieces, it was quick work to find a few rebars capable of doing the job.

As three, we each kneeled down into the water, hands searching around for the top of the capsule to grip on. Atius told us there should be manual handholds put there for this specific possibility. The headlights were harsh on the surface reflections of the water but Journey polarized the view, letting us see a lot more clearly through the water. The silt had deposited to the very bottom into a layer, leaving most of the water somewhat clear enough. It didn’t take long for us to find handholds and prepare.

“Winterscars. On three.” Atius ordered. A countdown later, we pulled.

Bubbles rose from the depths as our movements dislodged old, trapped gasses underwater. Ancient gear wheels turned slowly on their axis over all four sides of the capsule, slowly coming into view from the darkness. The top of the capsule peaked over the lip of the pool and then surfaced above the flooded ground. Water streamed out of all the nooks and crannies of the old structure, stirring up the silt even more. We continued to lift.

Water started rushing into the pool now, being sucked from the surroundings, trying to fill the void that the capsule was causing. The wheels on the side of the object turned on their hinges, clicking into the groves of the pillars without issue. Halfway out of the water, we readjusted our grips.

With the gears now coming out of the water, we could hear groans of metal on metal bounding around the room.

The capsule itself had only one side that looked to open up, like a door, almost. It had a thick glass window on that side, small and barred up. Too filled with piled on detritus to see clearly through, however.

With one final grunt, the three of us slid our scavenged rebars under the capsule. Moment of truth and we let go. A massive groan of metal happened next, and all three rebars seized up as they supported the full weight of the capsule. It dropped a half inch, but then remained steady and held.

We all took a step back to admire our work. The capsule waited motionless before us.

“This is where it ends.” Atius said, drawing out his blade and turning it on. “I’m not sure what we will find behind here. The only fact I know is that it called out to the Deathless, somehow. Has been this whole time, only nobody around to hear it. Ready arms in case of hostility.”

What sort of signal could even escape something as thick as this thing? I don’t know what senses the Deathless had that could penetrate through both the bunker, the water and the capsule itself. But somehow it had.

Kidra drew her knives, and I did the same with my long-sword. At this close range, the occult blades would serve as better weapons to tackle what we found.

From the looks of this thing, the door opened downwards, with all the hinges on the bottom. Once opened, it could serve as an entry ramp into the capsule. Atius cut at the sides of the door. His blade sliced through the old metal without a single issue. The door groaned halfway through the operation and then snapped forward, lowering down until one last deadbolt to the side held the whole thing at bay, halfway opened. He slashed that loose with a precise flick.

The door fell down fully, hitting the flood of water with a massive splash. Whatever hydraulics had been built to soften the speed had long ago leaked out.

Our headlights peered into it.

Inside were instruments, screens and keyboards all lined around a pedestal. There hadn’t been room for any chairs, so they had made these old computers for users to shuffle around the tight space and work standing up.

Even more impressive were the small signs of glowing light on some consoles. Power was still active and working in this capsule, only deep in sleep. The pristine screens and equipment made me sure the whole modular structure could still function exactly as intended. They had engraved imperial markings and decorations all over the interior, making it look like what we had dredged out of the pool had been a small shrine or chapel.

What really drew the attention lay on the center pedestal. A single metal sphere, just about perfectly hand sized, floating. It held intricate markings carved across the whole surface. A wave of yellow soft light floated across, lighting up the markings as it passed by, seemingly at random. Like the waves in a lake, unpredictable, crashing against one another. I could hear humming coming from the base of the pedestal, likely from whatever was keeping the sphere in midair.

“Ah. I understand now.” Atius breathed out, a look of recognition briefly passing through his face.

“Seen this before? Or is that on a need-to-know basis?” I asked from the side, curiosity driving me.

Kidra rebuked me immediately after. “That’s the clan lord’s business, Keith, keep your curiosity in check.”

Atius chuckled, watching with a naked eye the floating sphere. “I’m sorry lad, but it is indeed need-to-know. There is a reason the Indagators went this far to keep this hidden. Knowing what this is, I’m inclined to honor that decision.”

He took a step into the capsule. “The sphere will be coming with us. As for the pair of you, if you’re casually talking to each other about today’s events in private, or if someone asks - the official story is that we didn’t find a sphere, we found an encrypted hard drive. Is that understood?”

Kidra and I nodded. Atius hadn’t finished, however. “Following through, should you find yourself captive or interrogated, you will reveal that we hadn’t found an encrypted hard drive but discovered this was a research facility focused on machines. The capsule contained a machine head, connected to wiring. We took it with us but had to discard later into our return due to danger. Understood?”

“That’s… pretty thorough?”

He chuckled. “We’re dealing with matters a few leagues beyond us now, lad. Basic counter-intelligence becomes widespread at this level. Always have two lies prepared. An obvious one that everyone suspects as the lie, and a second lie they’ll believe is the truth you were hiding. The Indagators were filled with such redundancies. I don’t expect you to ever need to use these, the hard drive will probably do for the rest of your lives. Still, failure to prepare is preparing to fail.”

Atius took a further step into the capsule and reached out with a gauntleted hand, touching the sphere. The waves of yellow didn’t change at the contact with his relic armor. The fuzzy light still floated around the sphere, flowing now over his hands. He pulled the sphere out slowly.

The moment it left the pedestal, Journey chimed in my ear. “High priority connection request received. Accept?”

Atius stared at the sphere, transfixed by it, while Kidra remained on guard. Her headlights slowly circling around the room. It seemed neither of them had gotten this message, given they hadn’t reacted at all.

“You two didn’t get a connection request by chance?”

The clan lord spun his head in my direction. “A connection request? Inside a comms protected bunker?” I could see him running the math in his head, narrowing down the only possibility left. We both turned to stare at the capsule at the same time. A yellow light blinked within it, slowly strobing.

“Should I… Should I accept?”

He didn’t answer for a moment. “Let’s see what these crusaders left for us. Patch it through the speaker. I’d like to hear as well. I’m curious about why it’s picked you of all of us to speak to.”

“Journey, accept request.”

The moment I ordered it, a woman’s voice spoke in my comms. “Ahh, Atius. I’ve been hoping for a chance to speak to you for years. And Keith, I’ve been watching over you since the site collapsed, I’m glad to have a chance to clear the air.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

She answered back immediately. “I led you to the armor. I led Atius to this bunker. I detonated the site. And I unlocked the administrator account for your armor. I've been the yellow light guiding you. You both know me as Tsuya.”

I took a step back, by pure reflex. Tsuya - like.. like-

“The goddess?” Atius asked, completing my train of thought. He didn’t seem perplexed or surprised.

“Goddess is a misnomer.” She said. “I was a researcher that discovered the means of uploading my mind and soul into a digital format. I don’t have many opportunities to speak directly to anyone, my enemy is everywhere and in almost every system. Over time and generations, cultures shifted, and I became more myth.”

I glanced at Atius, who matched my gaze with a befuddled shrug. As if this immortal demi-human was also just as puzzled as I was. Considering my world was getting completely upended, I felt oddly calm about all this.

“Assuming you are who you say, why reveal yourself here?” He asked.

“I don't need to hide this site anymore from the enemy, I'm free to burn its use. We should be quick however, she'll notice this port soon. First, forgive me for taking advantage of you earlier, Keith. I led you to the armor, not only to help you, but to have you carry that relic on your belt and deliver it back into friendly hands for me. Consider Journey as payment. You’ve been acting as my agent without realizing it and I’ve benefited from it more than you can imagine.”

“Cathida’s primary objective?” I glanced down at the black box.

“The very same. This is Cathida’s true mission. And for a few hundred years, I had no agents nearby that could possibly recover it. Attempting to be more direct would only invite Relinquished to notice its existence.”

Atius shifted, turning his gaze at the capsule. There had been a snap change in his demeanor, as if talking to Tsuya herself hadn't phased him - but mention of 'Relinquished' had.

“Relinquished." His voice had no levity to it, only the weight of centuries. "I’ve heard that name before, always surrounding heavy moments. What is it? I want the real answer, once and for all.”

"We don't have time for a histo-"

"No. Tell me what, or who Relinquished is, or I will cut the channel."

“...So be it." She said almost with a sigh. "Relinquished is an AI built by an old doomsday cult that wanted to wipe out humanity and themselves, some seven thousand years ago now. She controls all the machines, with exception of the mites. No one controls the mites."

Atius nodded, slowly. As if contemplating the information. His outburst earlier had likely been a bluff I think. I hoped.

"The death cult stumbled on power early on that snowballed catastrophically. Even today, I don’t have the raw processing power that she has at her command and never will." Tsuya said. "I can’t fight her on fair ground. However, I’m far more creative. We've been at war for a long time now. I fight, scheme and try everything I can to keep humanity alive while she tries to snuff the light out.”

“You could have led my team to this object instead of Keith. Why him?” Atius asked.

“You are a Deathless. You and your kin are my lightning rods. You drew her at-” Tsuya stopped. “She’s found me. Don’t speak, no time. All logs of this conversation will be auto-deleted in your armors, pay attention, you won't hear this twice. Atius, the sphere is complete and ready for use. You know what it is. Keith, I need you to do some work for me. Are you willing?”

"Uhh, yes?" I mean this was the goddess.

For some reason I got a distinct feeling this one-word hastly thought up answer was going to change the entire course of my life. And not even a few seconds in hindsight, I was sure it was going to. Still, I felt this was the right direction to go, down deep in my gut.

On my heads up display, an mp3 file showed as downloaded correctly, simply named ‘mission’.

A moment later a clicking noise sounded in my helmet. Journey chimed. “User logs, unlocked. Historical archive, unlocked. Map data, unlocked. Motion data, unlocked. Twenty-three additional items, unlocked. Please see event logs for further details.”

“Ho-”

“The recording I sent you will show you how to use the seeker on your belt and what the goal of your mission is. I have time for exactly one question, anything you wish to know, if it is my power to answer, then I shall. Go.”

My mind froze. The world flowed by me, all the things I wanted to know. If this was the goddess or an avatar of her, I could ask for anything, learn anything. The internet, why the world was how it was, who she really was. And when I opened my mouth, there was only one question I truly needed to know.

“Is my Father alive?”

“What? No. He perished. Why waste tim- Wait. Am looking into the full logs now.” There was a second delay and then she spoke again. “Novel, never seen this approach before. Incomplete, done without precision and in trauma. His soul might be within the soul fractal inside the armor.”

The capsule flickered, lights blinking for a half second. Her voice returned. “I’m sending you the coordinates for a book I've hidden on the surface. A very valuable book that Relinquished has gone to great lengths to halt the spread of. Find that textbook. Master the fundamentals outlined. Research the soul fractal - the Julia set, it’ll be written somewhere on one of those pages. You’ll figure out the rest yourself. Do not let the warlocks know of this book, they'll likely take it and kill you. Thirty seconds. She’s actively tracking me down. After that, you all need to run. Last question, now.”

Atius sprung in before my fat mouth could ask the fucking goddess herself another irrelevant, selfish question.

“What are the new Deathless?” He asked, a desperate tone in his voice.

She answered back. “My doing. Research uncovered the equation to a meta-fractal. A tenth di--“

The capsule went dark with a loud mechanical clank, and her voice cut. It was dead silent all in a single moment. We only heard the slush of water at our feet. The waves we’d made still hadn’t calmed down.

That silence only lasted for a moment in that darkness.

Then there was a laugh, and a voice returned on speakers. “Oh, you silly humans. Scheming again are we?”

The tone was slightly deeper, and there was a feeling of… darkness dripping from each word.

“Who are you?” I asked, feeling shivers in my arms. This clearly wasn’t Tsuya anymore.

“Who am I? Why dear, you know me already.” She said, as if the answer were obvious. “I have many names and titles. You humans come up with new ones for me every few centuries. However, deep inside, every human knows me. How could you not? I am death. Specifically, humanity’s death.

Now, what exactly did my little sister tell you?”