Scavenging for Survival

by Reserved Rodent

A bloated, orange sun bore down on the shimmering tan dunes of the desert, reflecting off the bare metal of the skimmer-bike zipping across the endless miles of sandy wasteland. The driver of the aged hover vehicle was wrapped in layers of ragged black robes, covering all but the wolf-head shaped helmet the biker wore and his furless rat tail that trailed behind him.

Floating a few feet ahead of the bike, just to the left of its path, an image shimmered into view. Just over five and a half feet tall, it appeared to be a dragon, standing with wings folded down over his shoulders like a cloak and hands held behind his back. The image was mostly transparent, made up of a few clean, black lines like an unshaded sketch. Except for his glowing blue eyes, the desert showed through the clear spaces between the lines of the body.

“The hollow that the tower is hiding in is just over this dune. You’ll be able to see it soon, Dent. Everything looks quiet.” The dragon commented, his rich voice sounding in the biker’s mind over the hum of the vehicle.

The helmet gave a brief nod, “Did you scout a way to get inside the place, Quingor, or is it going to be an exciting race of time to see if I can get in and away before the storm buries everything again?”

In the distance behind speeding bike, though certainly large enough to be seen across the horizon, the dark, dirty brown wall of an approaching sand storm flickered with lightning flashes.

“I have been focusing on making sure nothing hostile is around,” the dragon's image huffed. “The last three places you've gone there's been other scavenger teams, killer robots, mutated reptile predators, killer robots or a mixture of those with bounty hunters added in as you're leaving a site. Your world is just a horribly dangerous place even before one takes into account the planet is on the edge of being burnt to a crisp.”

The wolf shaped helmet tilted to point at the image instead of straight ahead. The rider let out a light sight, which didn't pause the dragon's rant at all.

“It's very difficult to keep you out of trouble while hunting down a means to get you off planet, but I do my best. Anyway, for once, the area around you appears clear. I can’t view things more than a few kilometers from your position, as you know, so if there’s a swarm on the way here ahead of the storm front, it’s still out of my range. And while the area around the tower is clear, I have failed to view inside it, so who knows what defenses might still be active.”

“You can’t see inside the place? I thought you could peep through anything. Will our link get severed once I get inside?”

“I’m not sure,” the dragon rumbled, “but I also didn’t poke around too hard. You’re coming up soon enough I figured I’d do better to check in and see how you wanted to proceed. There will be plenty of time to find where the key card I found for you can gain access. You’ll be safely inside a secure structure for this storm, hopefully somewhere far from this dying planet.”

“You’re counting coins before they’re dug up again – maybe even before they’re minted.”

“Have I led you wrong yet, Dent?”

The dragon received a snort in response, but anything else that might have followed failed to materialize as the skimmer bike reached the crest of the dune. The vehicle was brought to a stop as the rider looked down into the narrow valley the last windstorm had carved in the sand.

At first glance, it might have been possible to mistake the tall silver tower for another shimmering heat mirage. Certainly, at its base, it shimmered with actual heat mirages in the hot orange light. At least sixty feet of the cylindrical structure thrust up out of the sand, narrowing slightly as it rose to the last ten feet, which consisted of a rounded dome.

From a distance, the reflective material making up the main structure appeared untouched by the abrasion of sand or the tarnish of time, unlike the one visible secondary structure which appeared added on. It looked like a rusted, skeletal arm reaching up, gripping the main tower.

Dent chuckled. “Really, Quingor? One half buried giant humanoid robot to scavenge was more than enough. I didn’t need to tackle another – especially one that the ancients built anatomically correct that need’s its cock jerked off. This one must be getting real desperate for release.”

With a toothy grin, the sketched dragon shook his head. “As you know, the tower is rumored to be a ship or a hanger holding a craft that can travel between the stars. Thus, I suspect you are projecting your own dirty thoughts into the mindset of the ones who built the structure.”

“I've certainly got sand in uncomfortable places and need a good cleaning, but I don't know that my mind is dirty just because I can clearly see how the ruined building appears to be a paw stroking off the hard shaft that the shiny building resembles.” The wolf’s head helmet turned to look back towards the approaching storm wall. “I know you’re hoping to find me a way off this planet here, but we need to be aware that if things don’t work out, that storm will likely fill this place back in, so we need to hustle. Dragons might be able to hibernate and survive a century or two under the sands, but rats? Not so much.”

“This will all work out Dent,” Quingor assured the rat, “Soon you’ll have the means to escape this world before it’s burnt to a crisp. You’ll be able to see everything else the universe has to offer.”

Facing back and revving up the skimmer to go down the slope to the tower, the rodent flicked his tail at his companion. “Where all are you unable to snoop? Is it just the main tower, or are you blocked from exploring the skeletal arm and the part that grips the main tower like a desperate paw?”

“I can’t get past the seemingly solid silver shell of the tower. The rusty metal that you seem obsessed with being a robot pawing off the tower like a cock is actually some deteriorated stairs and corroded equipment. I’ve no idea if it was used to grant access to an entrance or if this was some form of scaffolding to build or maintain the ship. So much of the structure has wasted away.”

“I’ll move around the base of the main tower first, then. Are you able to tell how much is still buried of the structure?” Dent asked.

The dragon’s image shook his head. “I think the tower goes beneath the sand about half as far as it rises above here. I am unable to tell where the ground level was when the ancients built this.”

Dent nodded. “There might not be any entrances I can easily reach. But either my presence or the card you had me grab might activate something. There might also be something I can sense that you’ve been prevented from viewing.”

“It might be,” the dragon’s thoughts admitted to the rat. “Telepathy and remote seeing do operate differently, so what blocks me might let you through. You also have your physical senses to back you up here, which no psychic shield can stop. Of course, as you get close, my own remote viewing and clairvoyance will be more powerful as well. Our link is my point of focus on your planet.”

“While you get started, I will do another scan of the surroundings to make sure nothing dangerous has shown up. I’ll keep in mental contact through the link.” Quingor said, his image vanishing after Dent nodded again.

The bike zipped down the steep, sandy slope and sped across the hot sands to stop at the side of the secondary structure. Up close, it was obvious that only reinforced stairs with a decayed shell remained of whatever originally existed, rising up out of the sand.

Dent shut the skimmer bike off and dismounted, resting it against the side of the rusted stairs. “I sure hope I don’t have to climb those to get inside. They look like they’re hanging together only because no one is paying attention.”

“I’ve seen you clamber up worse, reckless rodent,” Quingor's thoughts responded.

The rat strode towards the shining metal wall of the large tower. “Don’t be obnoxious, dragon. You weren’t the one being chased by killer robots. You get to lounge about on your planet in comfort and let me face all the hazardous risks.”

From this closer position, the silver surface appeared to be one smooth, seamless piece – untouched by the countless years spent surrounded by the desert sands. It didn’t seem to be radiating heat like the rusty stairs had, on fact, the air as Dent approached became noticeably cooler than the surrounding environment.

“As I'm getting closer to the tower, the air is growing noticeably cooler, taking the edge off the normal heat,” Dent reported to Quingor. “Just at the edge of my ability to hear it, there's also a soft hum I almost missed.”

“Temperature differences are something my viewing can't detect, so I'm not sure if that's new or not. I didn't detect any hum, but if it was soft enough you almost missed it, my distraction with not being able to see inside the building might have kept me from picking up on it in the background.”

“Any insight on what is causing the temperature thing? Is it potentially dangerous or part of why you can't get into the tower?”

“I can't think of any connection, but that doesn't mean a thing. I'll be able to manifest back with you soon to see if I can hear the hum, but it may be caused by an electric current being passed through the tower wall. It may also be that the wall is much colder than the air, so I would avoid touching it directly before making sure it won't shock or freeze you to death.”

“Yes, Mom,” Dent chuckled.

“That's what I usually told my Mom when I knew I was going to do something wrong anyway,” Quingor returned, chuckling himself.

As the rat drew closer, the surface began to change. Patterns and shapes in different grays, yellows and greens started appearing on the shiny surface. Different symbols also began flashing across different areas of the metal near the rat. “It looks like the structure is responding to my presence. I can’t tell if it scanned me or can detect the card I’m carrying. I don't see any of the red warning symbols we got before the automated defense systems attacked at the ruins we grabbed the key card from, so hopefully that means the place is not registering me as a threat.”

“Excellent,” the dragon responded. “Now we just have to find a way to take advantage of this and get you inside. If the metal is changing color like that, the hum may well be the sound of whatever is powering the surface. If there's enough of a charge running through the outside of the tower, which might have something to do with interfering with my ability to view inside remotely. As soon as I finish checking out the perimeter again, I'll be there and we can see if I can view inside with you nearby.”

Dent started walking slowly around the structure, keeping his eyes open for any signs of an entrance as well as remaining aware for any signs of life. The symbols were all gibberish to him, and none of the patterns of color suggested a route to a doorway. No indents or physical signs that the structure was anything other than one continuous curving piece of multicolored metal showed by the time he got over a third of the way around.

“I’m picking up something else alive nearby,” Dent said, coming to a sudden stop and tilting his head as he tried to determine where the sensation originated.

“Do you need me to come see if I can help track it down?” Quingor responded. “The perimeter is still clear, so I I’ve been trying to locate something up where the stairs led to the side of the tower, but I’m still blocked despite your presence here at the tower.”

“Quiet... easy...” Dent whispered, the helmet tilting slightly.

The rat was doing his best to mentally focus on the connection he could just barely feel trying to form in his head. His species possessed the ability to form psychic bonds. With close family and friends, the bonds were incredibly strong, allowing the group to send each other their thoughts and allowing the whole to be able to have a good feel for the emotional state of every member. This level of awareness also allowed them to sense other life forms vaguely and allow shared thoughts with others in the bonded group. Quingor and Dent shared this level of bond.

Even with nearby strangers, a light link formed to allow rats to be better aware of their surroundings and possible threats. These lesser links could be shored up by the rat to pull more information through, or even strengthened by both sides to form the stronger level of a bond.

There was something nearby that seemed reachable to Dent. Barely. Maybe. The hint of a beginning link.

The rodent concentrated on trying to follow the hints of the mind and narrow down the position of the other life form. Though he had no idea why knowledge of an individual’s location helped form a connection, it made things much easier whether or not they could be seen or were even within the nearby vicinity. Detecting the life form required it to be active and not too far away, though Dent had made contact with individuals he had only just met through radio contact with a good description of their location. That’s how he connected with Quingor across the vastness of space.

This mind felt different than any the rat had previously encountered. There was a thick feeling to the thought – not like it was blocking contact, but rather like the mind's thoughts there were trapped in sticky tar. Normally, thoughts were like fine sand, wind blown sand.

As he honed in, though, it became apparent to Dent that what he saw was not motionless thoughts, but some sort of construct within the strange mind. The structure felt similar to a dream more vast and consistent than the rat thought possible. The thoughts forming it held similarities to a bonded group, but other than the mind present somewhere in the tower, all the other thoughts seemed completely static – without the flowing nature expected from

But all the thick thoughts in the background were not what needed to be connected with. That was the mind within that mental landscape that Dent needed to reach. It seemingly held not only a main stream of conscious thought that rolled along – branching occasionally before returning to a central path – but also the perception and mental analysis of its environment as well as several subconscious webs of processing information.

This mind seemed line the most solid conscious line of thought Dent had ever encountered – well beyond anything he had ever believed possible. There was nothing he was able to pull from the signal that translated – no indication of who or where it came from. He could feel a vast age to the mind, so much so that it made the being seem more alien rather than helping draw the connection closer.

So the rat tried sending a simple, clear memory of his own to try and get a common reaction to a primal thought back. Despite what he claimed minutes ago to Quinror, Dent's thoughts often defaulted to sex, so he selected his standard mental outreach – the oncoming edge of orgasm worked for any being that had reached sexual prime. If the age he felt had not reached puberty there would be no means of connecting with such an alien being, and likely nothing but confusion at the quick pulse of approaching pleasure.

Surprise slammed into Dent. The other mind seemed to grip his like a fur caught in a flash flood. Deep, unnaturally long solitude and loneliness filled the mind trapped inside the ship.

Dent's mind reeled.

His own thoughts sped along their normal course, learning the language of the new mind as it had its reaction to his touch so that more meaningful communication would be easier. As the language and everyday facts from his target began to settle in, Dent realized that he was communicating with the mind of an ancient – the rat would soon be able to use the lost language as well as his natural tongue. In the hopes it would make the ancient more willing to cooperate, the scavenger also let his language be learned in return.

But even having learned the language of the ancients, feeling it slowly settling into his mind, Dent could not hear a coherent line of thought from the thick presence of the mind that he had located in the tower, forty feet down. Certainly, his search for information about the tower brought back tidbits, but they were scattered and without order. The rat happily soaked up every scrap, but no coherent greeting or even casual thoughts responded to his attempts to begin a dialog, only a solid rumble filled with both loneliness and excitement to sense contact another being.

“Get up!” Quintor's scream brought the rat back into awareness of his surroundings, leaving him surprised to be laying on the ground, staring up at the dragon's image standing over him. “There's a swarm of whatever it is you call those huge bugs that eat metals – including the iron in your blood – on the way here, perhaps stirred up by the storm. You've got to get moving now! They're fast and closing quickly.”

The buzzing hum of the swarm was audible to Dent as he stood up from where he evidently had fallen while connecting with the ancient's mind. Thousands of tiny humming thoughts were beginning to press against the edges of his mind. The thoughts were all simple drives of hunger and fear that were not all in sync with each other, but more like a boiling mass of those two thoughts in one communal pool. The rat’s mental shields bulked up against the onslaught, blocking them out so it was only a general pressure against his thoughts instead of slowly filling him with those primal needs.

The ship, visible from the corner of his eye, had colored text rolling across its surface in ancient. “Welcome to the Svarog, Major of Astrovation. The ship awaits your orders.”

“This is a ship, Quingor, and it's not a metal shell we're looking at, but one of solidified energy.”

“That's not important Dent, you've got to get to you're bike and get out of here,” The Dragon responded, his eyes flashing a deeper blue.

“Svarog, is the cargo bay hatch clear?” Dent asked aloud in ancient as he sprinted back the way he had come around the towering ship.

“What language is that?” Quingor asked, floating in his normal position relative to the sprinting rodent. “I thought we'd swapped all of those we knew already.”

“I just learned it. It should slowly filter to you or we can strengthen the bond when I'm not rushing to save my life,” Dent replied, trying not to trip while running back towards his hover bike while watching the wall for its response, hoping there was enough time.

“The cargo bay's floor is three feet above the current debris layer by the loading arm.” Text scrolled on the wall in a block that kept pace with Dent as easily as the Dragon's floating image. “An entrance can be generated there, but contact with the loading arm has been lost, so cannot be used to assist with any transfer.”

As the rodent reached his skimmer bike, the buzzing of the oncoming swarm began causing small slides of sand on the steep slopes around the tower.

“Dent,” the dragon's image bowed it's head, green eyes disappearing as if they closed. “The leading edge of the swarm is almost here, I'm trying to figure out which course will get your skimmer out as quickly as possible, but... I think I didn't sense this fast moving swarm in time. Your skimmer bike isn't going to get out of this valley before they've filled it.”

“I hope you're right!” the rat growled, pulling the bike out from under the stairs and hopping on.

Quingor's eyes popped back open as his jaw dropped open. “What? But you'll be killed!”

The bike was kick started, engine giving a roar that was barely audible over the roar of the swarm as it crested the nearby dune. Dent turned to face the vehicle at the wall, pushing more power into the hovering assembly. “I mean about what we will find inside! Svarog, open cargo door to receive a vehicle and passenger!”

If any sound accompanied the silver wall seeming to fade into a dark opening, it was lost to the rumbling buzz of millions of fist sized insects. “Focus on staying closely bonded with me!” Dent screamed, speeding the bike up towards the entrance.

The dragon's eyes narrowed as his image vanished. “Understood,” Quingor's voice said in Dent's mind as the vehicle hurtled towards the tower.

As the speeding bike approached the doorway, lights come on inside, revealing a large open area in an enormous room filled with stacks of crates in orderly rows. Dent got through the entrance and spun the skimmer around in time to see the leading insects start devouring the rusted metal of the loading arm.

More swarmed past the rapidly disappearing stairs, headed for the tower.

“Close cargo door!” Dent shouted, hoping he could be heard over the roar tortured metal and buzzing wings. The opening was replaced by a solid surface immediately, completely cutting the sound of the swarm off.

Dent remained still and silent for several minutes, listening for any sign that the ship was unable to withstand the voracious insects. When nothing changed, the rat got off the bike and started taking his desert gear off, starting with his helmet, revealing his chestnut colored furry face. The rat's right ear was missing a circular chunk about the size of his fist. “Quingor, is our link still operating in here?”

“It is. My viewing range has been cut down to just the insides of the tower. I hope we can find what you need in this place so you’re not trapped if the sandstorm hits and buries this place. It will be hard timing things cut off like this.”

“We will deal with it. I may just be delaying the inevitable, but a possible, distant death by starvation or dehydration sounded better than being devoured by that swarm. Besides, I've been informed that legends suggest there is a way off the planet here.”

The dragon's image appeared before Dent, still in the same formal pose. “I will start scanning for threats immediately. Stay in contact and try to stay here until I get this level and the next ones covered.”

Dent opened up the saddlebags on the skimmer bike, setting his helmet inside. “If you haven't learned the ancient language through the link by the time you finish your first quick sweep, come back and we'll get you up to speed. I'm not sure of an exact location, but the life form I connected with briefly is down that way.” The rat pointed down in the direction he could still barely feel the mind he connected with.

“I'll view in that direction if the closer sweep doesn't locate it,” Quingor said before fading away, still sending through the link. “I assume that was how you learned the command to open the doorway as well?”

“Yup,” the rat sent as he started unfastening the clasps that held the flowing cloth robes around him. “The mind knows the language of the ancients. I can’t say that it is one, but the thoughts are very alien. There are aspects like it’s in a group mind. Not any style I’ve ever seen, admittedly. It seems asleep, but not exactly as well. Just odd all the way around.”

As the robes were taken off, more of the rat’s chestnut fur was revealed. Dent was trim with wiry muscles and multiple scars across his shoulders and chest. “I was able to get the basics of the language but I was unable to communicate meaningfully with the being. I managed to grab a basic understanding of the ship and some of the commands because I was purposefully looking for them, but whoever or whatever is here is also very lonely, so might have helped push them to me. The ship recognized the card we found without having to show it – I just needed the right commands.”

Dent got the last of his robes off and folded away in his bike’s saddlebags. He wore only a knee length shendyt with a holster on the belt. The rat pulled his old pistol out of the holster built into the front of the skimmer bike and started checking to make sure it was good to go.

“So you decided to get inside the half buried ship with some ancient, alien life form that is lonely and are now trapped inside?” Quingor asked through the link.

“Again,” the six foot tall, slim rodent said, satisfied with the condition of his firearm, “at the moment, possible future death versus more definite immediate death seemed like the right choice. You’re still helping me, so I assume you still have hope of learning a way to get me off this planet.”

“I’ve not given up. I just don’t like the thought of you dying in here because you trapped yourself. I know you make a habit of getting out of tight situations, but if we can’t get you out and you end up buried in an ancient ship in the sand...”

Chuckling, Dent finished packing away his desert robes, closing that bag and opening the other one to pull out a backpack. “Then let’s avoid that horrible fate and find a way out,” the rat sent through the link before calling out with a firm voice into the large room. “Svarog, can you hear and respond to commands from me within this cargo bay?”

Dent’s ears swiveled as a gentle, feminine voice responded. He could not pinpoint where the voice came from. “You are heard and may give orders from your current location, Major. Unfortunately, your specific biometric readings have not been sent from Launch Control. Before your authority to issue commands of code Blue or higher can be acknowledged, you will need to submit yourself for full scan to allow systems to recognize you. Apologies are offered for this inconvenience.”

“Did you hear that, Quingor?”

“I did, Dent. I even understood the words ‘you’ and ‘blue.’ Nothing else, but before long I will learn a vowel, I’m sure. It didn’t originate from any one point, but seems more like a general announcement. Everything okay?”

Out of habit, the rat nodded though unless the dragon was viewing him, it would not be noticed. “Yeah. I have to submit to some kind of identification scan to be able to give commands above a level called Blue. Evidently, Launch Control didn’t send information ahead about me.”

“How inconsiderate of them. I’d make sure you understand everything that the scan involves before submitting yourself to one. I’d hate for you to lose what access you have trying to get more. I’m also concerned about you being exposed to something that was harmless to the ancients but fatal to you. We have no idea what the ancients were like.”

“Noted, Quingor.” Dale’s ears flicked and his whiskers twitched as he considered what to ask next. “Is the Svarog capable of being successfully launched at this time?”

“The systems of the Svarog are capable of launch, though a standard launch under current conditions will almost certainly result in failure because of excessive debris around the base of the ship, the swarm of pests in the air both around the ship and along its projected escape trajectory, and the approaching weather conditions,” the feminine voice replied in an upbeat tone.

“I caught most of the words in that one. Enough to gain the concept that this ship isn’t taking off like a rocket into space for you,” Quingor said. “But then, we came planning on actually using the power source, if it’s the kind legends say it is, to open a gateway for you to reach me, so that’s not a big loss.”

Dent nodded, though his ears were flat in frustration. “I know. It just would have been nice to have a ship the ancients built.”

“Built and didn’t use. There might be lots of good reasons you can’t lift off in this place.”

“Pessimist dragon. Do you have a route for me to take to start moving lower in the ship?”

“Yes,” the dragon replied slowly. “I’m not sure you should go down the way you pointed though.”

“You’ve found a threat? You’ve found the ancient and it’s a threat? You haven’t looked because you found a stash of porn and don’t want to share it with me?”

“I’ve not found whatever ancient you sensed – at least, not that I recognized as what you found. But it isn’t pretty two levels down. If that’s where your life form is... well, there’s a lift you can take down if you move five rows in from the outer wall and two rows to either your right or left. Just, be careful, Dent. I don’t think there are any problems, but I have been known to miss seeing a contaminant or subtle trap when doing wide scans like this.”

“Right,” the rat responded slowly. “Svarog, what lies two levels down from my current position?”

“That level is where the colonists rest as well as holding a medical bay. The medical bay holds the equipment for you to be scanned, Major of Astrovation.”

“Are you designed to detect any contaminants in the air of that level that might be harmful to me?” Dent asked, his tail jerking back and forth in concern.

“The last scan within the medical bay showed no traces of any known harmful substances. Without a thorough medical scan on record of you, I am unable to verify the absence of potential allergens there. There is no current data on environmental conditions in the hallways where the colonists rest. Apologies are offered for this lack of data.”

Dent couldn't tell if the voice was being sarcastic about the last or not. In any case he decided it might be good to wear his helmet and make use of its air filtration system. It would be able to both protect him from any contaminants and alert him to their presence.

“Svarog, why is there no current data about that area?” the rat asked while retrieving the helmet from his saddlebag.

“Major of Astrovation, your clearance at this point and time is not sufficient to receive that data. Please report to a medical facility for a full scan to verify your clearance level. Apologies are offered for this inconvenience.”

“I don’t think that sounds as sincere the third time it’s said,” Dent communicated through the bond.

“Yeah, I’ll be wearing my helmet,” Dent returned while sliding the sculpted wolf’s head back on and checking it secured properly. “Have you been checking what’s in these crates?”

“Not yet,” the dragon responded as the rat began walking down the rows to get to the lift. “I figured I'd wait until I got a better idea of what kind of shape the engines are in as well as finish learning the language, It looked like there were labels on them from my quick glance. Besides, I figured you might like to help me look through them if you get trapped in here forever.”

“Thanks,” The rat muttered as he went deeper into the huge room. Dent realized that all of the ship might not be as well lit as this room currently was. While the dragon had senses that allowed him to operate in dark underground environments, so would likely be okay either way, a well lit room might be the difference between a quick remote viewing catching an important detail or not. “Svarog, please turn all interior lights on and maintain good illumination.”

“Lighting levels adjusted as ordered, Major of Astrovation.”

While he could hear the mental background hum of the ancient below him, Dent resisted connecting with it again from a distance. Not only was it dangerous to try and reach one unknown mind while shielding against all of the swarm, but as difficult as it had been to understand what all was happening in the alien mind, he needed to get to the being and see if he could communicate with it in another means. Being able to see the being directly should allow for a better mental connection and might give insight on all of the unusual aspects of the mind.

While he had the exact direction to his target, and that it was likely two levels down, there was every likelihood that the straight path would not be available. While Svarog was communicating decently with the rat, the ship admitted to not having data available on the crew resting level and was unable to clarify why. So the search could be a long one.

“Why are you so determined to go and see this other life form, Dent?” Quingor's thoughts asked through the link.

“He might be a surviving member of the ancient species that first lived on this planet. The ones who built this ship and so many of the other places we've scavenged from.”

“I get that. But what exactly do the ancients mean to you? Dragons have ruled our home planet for billions of years and have been the only species that evolved sentience here. I've never understood why you care about a species which obviously failed to maintain control of your planet and died off – other than because they let behind neat loot to dig up.”

The rat made his way past more stacked crates of rations, uniforms and survival equipment similar to what Dent tried to keep with him on the skimmer bike. He began to wonder if it was one that had been arriving instead of leaving. Sure, there was being prepared, but this seemed like the kind of stuff he would pack to come here, not to go out into the universe where one hoped to find something better. If they were going to another scorched, dying planet, why bother leaving in the first place?

Shaking his head, Dent responded to the dragon’s question, “They’ve left so much behind that we are constantly reminded that they were here. So much of what we have ourselves is built on or from their leftovers and ruins. So of course, they have been a part of our life for countless generations. Our various creation myths for the species even include them more times than not. But despite all of the physical artifacts left behind, the people themselves are gone. We don’t even know for sure what they look like. There are too many conflicting images of the ancients in legend and even the rare surviving piece of artwork.”

Dent paused, bit in his explanation and his walk. “I’ve made it to the lift,” Dent said, recognizing the doors. The up arrow and down arrow buttons were either universal or often copied up to the current day buildings.

The doors opened as soon as Dent hit the call button. Since he could read the language, the control panel on the inside was easy to figure out, though he wasn’t sure what the floor names meant.

While he still held the assumption that two levels down was where he would end up, Dent still rode the elevator down four levels to make sure his direction sense of the ancient’s mind kept directing him towards the expected level.

“It looks like our information and assumptions were correct. I’m getting off the lift two levels below the cargo bay. The level is labeled ‘Cr’ – I’m assuming for Crew Rest. I’ll try and track down the ancient, or whoever it is.”

“Understood, Dent. I’m going through what appears to be power generation on the top level.”

The doors opened very slowly into a hallway that didn’t have full light, but instead held strips of light between shadowed sections. Three bright areas in, the light was not consistent, flickering slightly.

“Svarog, lights to full illumination,” brought no change when Dent gave the command. The ship didn’t even respond with its usual apology, which seemed to make the hallway even less inviting.

“The lights seem inconsistent down on this level. My vision will handle it fine. How much have you scanned here? Any idea if this odd lighting is intended or a result of some damage? I am continuing onto the level, which appears to be a hallway with several alcoves set in the walls of the hallway. There are cylindrical columns in the alcoves that appear to be at least partially electronic and mechanical.”

“I didn’t find anything hazardous,” Quingor replied softly through the link, “but if I had to guess, I’d say that floor suffered from a lot of sabotage.”

As he stepped from the lift, Dent’s nose wrinkled under his helmet. “The helmet is sensing a mild, very ancient smell of decay. There’s a lot of dull gray sand covering everything. Nothing toxic according to the helmet, but I think I’m happy I’m breathing recycled air for once.”

Wiping the padded tips of his fingers across the powdery gray layer clinging to the front of the nearest column removed the layer easily. It didn’t feel as grainy as sand and seemed to stick a little to his pads as well as roll together into a fuzzy mess like soft cobwebs. The substance didn’t cling fully to his fingers, though it did have to be wiped off.

“My viewing didn’t find anything living on that floor, Dent. I’m not sure what it is you’re sensing with your telepathy.”

As more of the grime was removed, it became apparent that the cylinders had mostly transparent fronts with something inside them. Wiping most of the grime from the first one, it became apparent that it held a humanoid skeleton with what appeared to be a deformed skull, with the muzzle flattened almost completely.

“There are remains in the first column on the right. Either the ancients had jaws that didn’t extend from the face, or else this one was damaged or deformed. The decay is great enough and my knowledge limited enough that I’m not sure which,” Dent admitted over the link.

“Why would they have packed their deceased in this ship?” Quingor's voice asked through the link as Dent crept over to the column across the hall and verified there was another oddly shaped skull and body there.

“And why would something ancient be hibernating surrounded by them? I’m still sensing a mind on this floor,” the rat sent back.

What first appeared to be tattered clothing and tarnished jewelry turned out upon closer inspection to be some kind of wiring that ran from the back of the chamber in the column to various points on the remains, including some odd crown around the skull.

“I’m not sure if they were once some kind of sensors or some form of restraints to keep the bodies posed standing, but there are a lot of wires that run from the machinery to the corpses,” Dent reported.

“Odd, potentially interesting to study, but not exactly important right now,” the dragon’s voice returned through the link.

“I’m sorry if I’m sharing too much while wandering into a creepy hall with dead bodies on display, Quingor.”

Moving slowly down the hallway, the next two alcoves held similar remains in identical devices. The mind Dent had reached earlier was somewhere down the hall and to the right. It appeared as if there might be hallways ahead running perpendicular to the one the rat was currently moving down.

Not every body was in the same state of decay. Some were little more than aged bones, but others still had rotting, desiccated flesh on them.

Where he had rubbed the container, letters were visible, so Dent started wiping the dust from the surface so he could read what was there. “The equipment seems dead, but it appears as if there were readings for temperature, humidity, power, data transfer and delta waves.”

“I can understand wanting to control the environmental variables for the storage of remains, but I’m not sure what significance the last two hold in relation to the storage of bodies,” the dragon said over the link. “I am beginning to wonder if they were dead when they were in there to begin with.”

Shivering at the thought of being alive and sealed in the tight containers, the rat reached the first intersection and headed to the right in hopes he could quickly reach the individual in here and get off the level.

As he walked by the first set of containers in the new hallway, the one on the left made him pause and look more closely, wiping the front clear. “I think that you were right about them being alive in these things. I just found one that looks like it has claw marks on the inside of the clear material on the front. The finger bones look twisted a little. It even looks like there’s some weld marks on this one. Were these prisoners?”

The dragon didn’t answer back, but then, Dent realized there was no way for him to have any answer that wasn’t a guess.

“The power supply on the ship is excellent. The reactors can supply enough power to form a gate. I’m still looking into a few systems to make sure we’ve got the right components,” the dragon rumbled through the link, happiness pushing with it. “Maybe we should start on that before you get into trouble.”

“I’m closing in on the life form,” Dent sent back, ignoring Quingor’s suggestion while creeping up to the next intersection. The hum was loud against his mind, like a low growl, though the feelings of loneliness and frustration were beginning to grow clearer despite not trying to link with the ancient. There was a tickle of curiosity that seemed to be an itch to the other feelings, which almost completely over powered it.

Looking cautiously around the left corner, Dent could feel that the mind was in the second alcove down the hall. There were no lights, flickering or otherwise in the hallway itself, but light came from the alcove in question. Almost hidden to the rat’s ears under the hum in his mind, the sound of a powerful, working electric current feeding a machine also came from that area.

“I think the being is in one of those columns,” Dent thought softly into the link, eyes growing wider as he felt the curiosity grow. Could the ancient be able to feel the rat use the link he shared with the dragon?

“Be careful, rat. You’re so close to being able to leave this planet. Don’t do something stupid that means you die on this forsaken planet.”

“Yeah, yeah, dragon. Be aware that our use of the link is drawing some curiosity from the being. I’m going to move closer and see if I can communicate better with visual contact.”

Slinking quietly around the corner, Dent padded through the dust to get a better view of the alcove.

Dust was as thick on it as elsewhere, but in the darkness, the lights of the displays shone through the gray layer. The rat crept closer and brushed the dust from the front, head level.

Trapped within a misty green energy field within the column, the ancient was frozen, light gray eyes open wide.

Upon seeing those eyes, Dent’s world shifted.

Music with a driving beat thumped loudly in the rat’s ears, a back drop to a dozen blurred conversations happening simultaneously in a large and crowded room. He was no longer wearing the helmet, though the air tasted just as stale and filtered.

Dent was still processing the look of the furless ancients with unusual, often bright clothing styles and wild manes of hair when one of the strangers walked through him like he wasn’t there. All of the humanoids were shells without minds of their own. There were being guided by the framework that also made the room and music. A framework that didn’t realize Dent was within it because the constructs existed only for the mind of the ancient. They were created by some outside force that only seemed like a mind by how it interacted with the ancient. Without meaning to, Dent had connected with the dream of the being in the column – a dream generated perhaps by the machinery inside the container.

Now he just had to figure out where the dreaming mind was and try and communicate with it. Though falling into this odd, artificial dream did have Dent worried. “Quingor, can you still hear me through the link?”

“Yes,” the dragon responded slowly. “What did you do, Dent?”

“I found the ancient. He's in some kind of field one of the columns that's still working. The machine is generating some huge, vivid dream landscape for him, I think, and I am in his dream right now. Can you come down and make sure nothing happens to my body? Also help insure that I don't lose track of time in here? You might also use that scientific brain of yours and see if you can figure out how we can get him out alive if we need to.”

“You've already decided you want to do that, haven't you, rat?”

“He might convince me that I shouldn't,” Dent sent as he started moving through the room, looking for the one furless humanoid that actually had thoughts of its own.

Moving through a room of beings his size who were completely ignoring him and unable to react to his presence was odd. Normally in a dream, he’d be able to lift himself over the crowd like this to get a better view, but while the structure of the dream didn’t acknowledge his presence, the rules were firm enough that he was forced to walk, quite literally, through the different patrons of the dance club.

At least, it seemed like a dance club to Dent. Tables set along the outside walls of the room with several open spaces in the middle where individuals, pairs, and larger groups of the muzzle-less humanoids gyrated and swayed in time to the music.

None of the dancers seemed to be the being the rat was looking for. They all were following a routine without original thought. The nooks and cubbyholes around the outside wall, with tables and booths shielded to different levels had to hold the actual dreaming ancient. Not wanting to waste time slowly making his way through the crowded room to get a view at each one individually, Dent decided to break the rules as much as he could.

Selecting a large speaker on one side of the dance floor, the rat scrambled up the side of the tall box and started looking around the room.

A boisterous laugh drew his attention over to a hidden table against the far wall where a being with a familiar pair of grey eyes stared at him as he perched on top of the vibrating box.

“I knew it, I’ve finally gone insane,” the one other being with a real mind attached said loud enough to carry to the rat’s sensitive ears.

“I’ve found the ancient’s dream self,” Dent sent the dragon, “I’ll see if I can hold a conversation.”

“I’m viewing outside, Dent. Your body looks fine, though you might have a stiff neck when you wake up. I’m examining the device. There’s some sort of stasis field inside the column affecting the passage of time. I’ve never seen this kind of technology.”

After jumping off the speaker, the rat made his way over to stand by the table where the ancient sat, back against the wall, chair tipped back slightly to rest on only two legs. The individual looked more real than the others in the room. The humanoid’s round face was framed by a well groomed, solid black mane that parted to reveal white teeth to offer a smile.

“You’re new.” The dreaming humanoid commented. “And I’m sure that your appearance has something to do with the voices in a strange language that is starting to sound coherent. I had hoped – so very much so – that you would be someone come to release me from this place that all the others left me.”

The rat assumed this was an excellent time to introduce himself. “Hello. My name is Dent and I am pleased to meet you. I just recently found the place you’ve been staying and –“

The furless individual moved incredibly fast, perhaps drawing on the fact it was his dream. The being suddenly had his arms around the rat giving the rodent a strong hug.

“It has been so long since there has been another in the system with me. I thought I had been left behind and forgotten.” Tears ran down the furless cheeks of the ancient. “But they destroyed you all. That’s why they didn’t need me in the new world. They didn’t want any species but human after the wolves rose up.”

Even in a dream, the touch increased the intensity of the mental communication between the two.

The ancient was a male human. He had been alone in the artificial reality set up to keep those in stasis sleep sane while the ship traveled to a new world. He had no idea how long he had been alone in here, but all the others had disappeared long ago.

Since his position was to generate members of the servant species upon arrival at the new world and the last members to be placed in the artificial reality spoke of those very same species beginning to rise up against the ancients, his being the last one here made the human assume he had been left behind because his special skills were no longer needed. The constructs in the simulation were okay, but there could be no satisfying, real relationships. Dmitri missed having other people with him who were real instead of constructed to his needs.

“Your fur is so soft and warm. The others hated the rebellion so much that they wiped all images of all the servant species from the program. I have missed having your handsome species around,” the human whispered into Dent’s bitten ear.

A warm, wet tongue followed the words into the scarred ear, licking at the furless skin there and making Dent shiver.

All of the heavy loneliness and frustration had been replaced with lust – lust to touch, to be touched, and much more. The strong primal emotion slammed into Dent's mind through a quickly growing mental link. The powerful physical desire to be intimate kept the mind's natural defenses from interfering with sharing thoughts, so Dent usually sought to develop and encourage it when forming a mental link with someone.

Now, the rat was struggling to not have the stronger bond form without having a better understanding of this human. So much information, including the male’s name was slamming into the rat’s mind. Mostly, though, the human’s worry that he was going insane, coupled with the realization that maybe Dmitri didn’t care

Dent needed to regain control of this encounter.

“Wait, slow down, Dmitri. First, I am, in fact, a rat. I am also here. You are not going insane. I’ve connected with you while you remain on the Svarog within the stasis field column thing. I’ve linked our minds as my species can so I might learn the language to fly the ship off my planet, which is dying as the sun grows larger and hotter. You are learning my language and seem to be hearing some of the thoughts I share with the other in my group bond.”

The human pulled back from nuzzling Dent’s ear. “You would say you were real even if you were something I made up in my insanity.”

Wiggling his whiskers, Dent let out a sigh and gently pulled free of the Dmitri’s hug. “I’ve never had to prove to someone that I’m not a hallucination. I’m not entirely sure how I could do that in a way you would believe me.”

Bringing a hand up to rub his hair covered chin, the human growled softly. “That is truly a tricky problem. If I have lost my sanity, then anything you do can be dismissed as a part of that psychosis. You would have to say something that I do not know, but that you could then prove beyond the shadow of a doubt was in fact real.”

“Which would rule out anything inside here,” Dent muttered, ears twitching.

“Very true. Though I must admit that I am curious why you are not cuddlier if you are a hallucination in response to my long time alone. I often daydream about having someone other than these repetitive programs,” Dmitri waved a hand at everyone in the club. I have long given up on getting out of here and simply fascinate about having others, especially individuals like you, to share time with in here.”

Dent was impressed at how well the ancient had both picked up the modern language from the mild link between them and how calmly he was using it. Many who encountered a rat were not comfortable with the fact that their minds were trading information on language use and more.

“I came in to here to meet you and to see if I could find out more about the Svarog and its insistence that I take a medical scan to identify my full clearance as a Major of Astrogation. If you’re willing to help me out, perhaps we can figure out a way to make you believe you’re still sane. I can’t guarantee we will be able to get you out of the stasis field and machinery – “

Dmitri started chuckling, but it soon grew into a full on guffaw, tears rolling from the human's eyes.

Dent stared and began to feel that he was wasting his time. When the ancient stopped laughing, the rat started to open his mouth, but was cut off again.

“I am sorry, my friend,” Dmitri grinned, wiping a last tear from the corner of his eye. “I do not mean to make fun of you, but your claim to be a high ranking member of the space force – while certainly something I hoped would one day be something my children could achieve, is nothing but a ruined dream. You are not helping me believe myself sane. The others would not allow you to have such an easy life.”

Jaw clenched, Dent looked away, sending an angry thought out. “This being thinks it was easy getting the card. I'm beginning to think he might be right about not having a sane grasp on reality.”

“It's your call, partner, but please try and make it soon. Our window to get you off planet might be closing soon and I'm still not sure we can get a stable gateway built,” the dragon responded.

Before the rat could respond, Dmitri showed surprising quickness again, gripping the rat's chin and turning Dent's head to face the ancient. Fingers reached up and touched Dent's scarred ear.

“I had no idea,” the human said. “You have memories of a full life. You –“

Dmitri gasped.

Dent tried locking down on his memories as he felt the ancient sifting through them. How had the rat missed that this being was another psychic like himself?

“They're all dead. The Svarog never launched and my children have spread across this planet.”

Dent's shields slammed fully into place finally and cut off the human's ability to riffle freely through his memories.

“I am sorry,” Dmitri admitted, his hand slipping from the rat's chin to rest on his furry shoulder. “That was wrong of me, Dent. But it proves you are real. If I am not completely in my right mind, the insanity does not include you being a hallucination. If your partner can help you deactivate the field and open the chamber, I will happily help you get off this planet. If I am the only living colonist on the Svarog, as the senior project member, I will be able to access anything your reduced clearance misses.”

“Why should I trust you suddenly want to help me?” Dent asked, stepping back so the human's hand slipped off his shoulder.

“I am willing to let you into my mind fully to verify my intentions, but if time is of the essence, perhaps you can believe that it is in my best interest to get out of my stasis chamber and off this dying world.”

Dent grinned as his whiskers twitched. “I can understand and respect the survival instinct Dmitri. Let's see if we can survive together.”