Excerpt from my latest WIP
by J. L. Young

“Port calculation complete. Port calculation complete. Port calculation comp….”
Syrane sat up, “Understood.” Under her breath, she said, “I have to get this thing a personality.”
A map of the Home Spiral appeared on the console. A line denoting the path of the port was highlighted. The destination was marked in common, ‘Darcnayl.’
“Computer, analysis of the Darcnayl System.”
“Data regarding the Darcnayl System incomplete.”
“I guess I’ll have to figure it out myself,” she murmured to herself.
The ship’s sensor array detected a solitary planet in a large orbit around a white dwarf star. Because of the decline of the host star’s thermal output, planet-wide glaciation had taken place. Pockets of thermal energy with artificial signatures dotted the surface within the equatorial region of the planet. Other signs of habitation are listed as inconclusive. A large subglacial paraboloid crater lies south of the equator. One of the larger artificial thermal pockets was detected within the cavity.
An orbital scan of the planet revealed the atmosphere to be suitable for humanoid inhabitants. Oceans with high salinity remain in a liquid state. Algae belts in the equatorial region maintain a stable atmosphere.
The dropship settled into a circular pattern over the crater. Syrane angled the craft to where she could glimpse the entire crater. Barely visible because of a storm, the skeletal remains of a city as it reached out from the thick layer of snow. She suspected the snow layer to be thick and compressed into glacial ice. The ice didn’t appear to be stable near the ruined buildings, so she rested the ship on its omnetic cushion near the rim.
After securing the ship, the Eunukan approached the ancestral armor with reverence. It sensed an Avvel and opened. She took a deep breath before turning about and stepping into the carapace. Slowly, the device was sealed along the ventral sagittal plane. Flexible tendon-like structures formed and interlocked over the sternum. The suit powered up.
Now, with the helmet in place, the suit’s power increased. The subtle hum of the power supply became inaudible. Strong fibrous metal attached the helmet to the suit. It didn’t feel claustrophobic like some suits. It felt as though it was an extension of her being. She examined her gauntleted hands as she formed them into fists, extended her fingers, and contracted the muscles to extend her claws. The suit reacted, extending curved, sharp points. A subtle thought and the claws changed shape. Talon-like serrations appeared on the inside of the curved horn. Similar structures were built into the toes.
She omnetically attached her ring and plasma pistols to her thighs and approached the ramp. The pressure equalized and the seal broke. Snow crunched beneath her sabatons. The suit’s display agreed with the ship’s atmospheric analysis.
Syrane approached the rim. As she looked over, anxiety mounted. Her heart rate quickened, her breathing became erratic. She looked away until it passed. “Oreif, if only you were here to talk me through this. I know you’re looking for me. I’m here.”
She sat on the frozen edge and extended her serrated claws. “Focus on climbing down. It’s not that far,” she squeaked.
With a quick snap of the wrist, the claws bit into the rock. “Alright. That works. Will it hold the weight?” She rotated her body and stabbed her toe claws into the rock face. “That works. Now it’s just like climbing a ladder. It’ll be alright.” She rested her head against the face of the cliff and drew a deep breath. “It’ll be alright.”
Her head pulled back and her eyes scoured the face to find another handhold. One came into view within a crack. It was within reach. She pressed her gauntlet into the cleavage and tested it. The serrations bit into the rock. Her weight shifted and she released her other hand to search for another grip.
‘It’s working,’ she thought as she reached the halfway point of the descent. Her toe-claws slipped from an icy, thin ledge. The grip in a small fissure held. She watched some small pebbles and glistening ice fall out of sight. Trembling, she whispered, “Don’t get confident.”
Syrane pushed through the fear and took a grip of a lower protuberance, allowing the soft artificial reptilian setae to take hold, and her other limbs followed suit. She pressed on. Another handhold. Another foothold.
The face cracked. It was large enough to wedge her gauntleted hand into. She tested the rock. Once her other hand released to take hold of another, the cleaved face gave way. Her right toe-claws tore away. She fell back, and her ankle screamed.
Her heart rate shot up, pulsing in her ears. Autonomically, the suit increased the level of oxygen. The Eunukan squeezed her eyes shut to focus. It was futile. She pushed the air from her lungs and lunged upward, trying to grasp at the wall. It, too, was futile. Her body was pulled violently back by the planet’s gravity. The force dislodged her claws, tearing away the rock.
Without input from Syrane, the suit fired omnetic grapnels from the underside of the gauntlets. The elbows and shoulder joints solidified to take the force. The left grapnel failed to attach. However, the right gained purchase, slamming her into the face.
Shaking from the fall, she reached to take a grip on the rock. The omnetic device at the tether’s end pulled, breaking a slab from the face. Its weight threw her off balance. Her grip slipped. The rock face sped upward.
In a heartbeat, she found herself immersed in ever-darkening water. The increasing pressure attacked the suit. The grapnel was released, and her descent was arrested. Though the darkness that enveloped her held the unknown, she felt an intense calm wash away the disquietude.
The pinpoint of light above her was the guide star drawing her eye to the surface. She attempted to swim, but her stroke wasn’t strong enough to break the equilibrium. She rested. The suit’s propulsion uses gas as a propellant. Using the gas, though self-recharging, would cause her to sink further into the darkness.
“If Emmi were here, she could figure this out. What would she do?” Syrane closed her eyes. A thought passed through her mind, “Overcharge the propulsion gas. Thank you, Emmi.”
She entered the command via thought, “Increase breath gas concentration. Redirect propulsion gas to the core. Recharge.” The injection of pressure began with a pneumatic whistle. The metered release gave herself time to acclimate to the increasing pressures within the suit. This also gave the suit time to recharge.
An arn had passed and the eyes up display read 150 percent of nominal atmospheric pressure. The darkness abated and the pinpoint of light grew in intensity. As she approached the hole, Syrane realized she was off target. The imperceptible current pushed her off course. Impact with the ice was imminent and unpreventable. She reached up and fired an omnetic tether at the ice on the far side of the hole. The grapnel failed to engage with the ice.
All the suit joints solidified as she crashed into the ice. Syrane floated against it as the suit returned to a flexile state. She turned over and sunk her claws into the ice, crawled toward the hole, and climbed out.
Free of the lake, the Eunukan rested as the internal suit pressure returned to normal. Her eyes opened to find the scatter of red targeting lasers on and about her.