Divine Awakening

Ash glanced around, taking in the celebrating team members and marveling at Nomad's genius. Stitch and Patch both knelt next to the, now seated, Nomad, who was recovering from his nasty shock. He glanced up and gave Ash an approving smile.

“Shamrock. Nomad,” Captain Riegel said from behind the chairs.

Ash turned to find Colonel Rogers with the captain. The two medics helped Nomad to his feet.

“You okay there, old man?” Shamrock asked.

They walked toward the officers.

“Mission accomplished. And while the involuntary scream was unfortunate, I didn't crap my pants, so I'll take the win.”

As they approached, Nomad saluted and Ash waved a hand in greeting.

“At ease,” the colonel said to Nomad. “Our timeline has shifted and we are wheels up within the hour. Things are spiraling out of control globally, and there’s a real concern that the area will soon be too radioactive to approach.”

Nomad took the information in stride, but Ash raised a hand.

“Are you saying we might get nuked ten minutes after reaching the Pit?”

Captain Riegel answered. “If you’re inside, you have nothing to worry about. We know for a fact that bombs don't detonate down there, and the escaping energy will keep any radiation from seeping down. You'll be safer than the rest of us. Well, that's not true, but you won't be exposed to any radiation.”

“We aren't the only ones moving,” the colonel continued. “Everyone is sending more teams so the quicker we move the less traffic we'll encounter at the target.”

“We haven't had a chance to get Shamrock any gear,” Nomad said.

Ash pointed at his bug-out bag and responded. “I have everything I need.”

“You have your orders,” the colonel said. “Whatever is down there, you must secure and control or—if that's not possible—destroy it.”

Nomad saluted and the colonel returned it.

“Good luck and Godspeed,” the colonel told them.

Captain Riegel saluted and once again the colonel returned it before pivoting on his heel and striding out of the hangar.

“Get them moving,” the captain told Nomad. “Rendezvous back here ASAP. I need a quick word with Shamrock.”

Nomad turned and dashed toward the still-celebrating teams.

The captain looked uncomfortable. “Remember the person who found you?”

Ash knew the captain meant Persephone, the military’s sapient AI, and he nodded.

“She says there's a way I can keep in contact with you even in the Pit and it will facilitate communication between all of you as well.”

“What's the 'it?’”

The captain frowned. “I’m not sure exactly, and it's worse than that.”

The captain paused as the two teams rushed past and out of the hangar, leaving the two of them alone.

Ash found the captain, who didn't seem much older than him, interesting. The only thing he knew about the military came from TV and movies, but he thought captain was a higher rank than someone her age should be. His Throat chakra also detected that she didn't seem comfortable, unlike the colonel and Nomad, who both resonated with the military atmosphere.

The more Ash thought about it, the more the situation bothered him. If he took responsibility for nineteen other humans, he wanted to make sure the mission had a level foundation.

“I don't want to lie to you, Shamrock. I know how counterproductive that would be, so take that into account when you hear this next part.”

“Why are you here?” Ash asked.

The question seemed to surprise the captain. “I handpicked this team and I want to give you every chance at succeeding.”

“No, that's not what I mean. Why are you in the military? You feel out of place. If it wasn't for the uniform, I’d think you were one of us civvies.”

“Is this really the time for a biography?”

Ash shrugged. “I'm already here at the rendezvous point and packed to go, and I bet you’re always packed.”

The captain sighed. “Fine. I'll give you the TLDR. I earned my first doctorate before my thirteenth birthday and discovered our mutual friend a couple of years ago while snooping around the government's quantum computers. More precisely, she discovered me. And ratted me out.”

“I had the choice of rotting in solitary confinement the rest of my life or agreeing to help the very people I despised. My views have obviously mellowed since then—I'm not as naïve. I'm a captain because it's the minimum rank for the project I'm on, which happens to be in some type of critical skill bucket that allows for rapid advancement.”

“And what skill is that?”

The captain shrugged. “The military calls it a quantum specialist, but it's a cross between hacker, programmer, and AI modeling.”

Ash's Throat chakra validated the captain's words. “Thanks for telling me. Now tell me what you don't want to say.”

The uncomfortable expression returned to the captain's face. “Find somewhere private and trust your instincts.”

“That’s incredibly vague, and I fail to see how it helps any of us communicate.”

“I know, but that's what she said.”

None of Ash's chakras reacted, so he nodded. “Okay.”

“Thanks, Shamrock. I'll fetch my bag and return here ASAP so we can talk before the rest arrive.”

And with that, the captain hurried out of the hangar. Ash retrieved his bug-out bag and glanced around. One side had a few offices, and he headed that way.

A minute later, he determined all five rooms were empty. He left his pack in the first room which had a window looking into the hangar. Then he moved into the first office and closed the door.

The moment the door closed, an oval portal appeared five feet in front of Ash, hanging in the air. He carefully walked around it. The front and back had the same silvery surface, but the portal wasn’t visible when viewed from the side.

Ash stopped in front of it once more and focused on his chakras, looking for any excuse not to step through a portal to who knew where.

The chakras didn't react, and so Ash did what he always did—he trusted them and stepped through the portal.

Ash exited into a poorly lit cave. A figure sat cross-legged ten feet away. It wore a cloak with a deep cowl. The only light in the cave came from a small sphere sitting on the ground in front of the figure, and twenty-one grey bands were arranged around the light.

Despite the villain’s-lair atmosphere, Ash's chakras remained quiet.

The figure spoke in perfect Spanish. “Greetings, Amauta Sicu. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Ash froze in surprise. Probably because of the surroundings, he’d made some assumptions that hadn't included a leprechaun, which was exactly what the figure sounded like. As if it had just stepped off a boat from Ireland. It was a voice fit for a pub, not for a dark cave.

The second surprise was the use of Ash's family title, which the leprechaun had pronounced correctly.

Ash resumed walking toward the figure and sat cross-legged five feet away. Despite the light, he couldn't see into the hood, and the cloak wrapped around the figure, hiding its hands and feet.

“You can call me Ash. What should I call you?”

The figure gave a small bow. “I am known as Lir, but please keep that name to yourself.”

Ash realized his chakras were too quiet. One of them always would react slightly when someone was near. Right now, they behaved like he was alone. In fact, in the deafening silence of the cave, he couldn't detect the man breathing either.

“Why aren't you breathing?” Ash asked in a friendly tone, more curious than concerned. “And did you just create some type of Stargate? Now that I think about it, that movie had a bunch of Egyptian stuff in it too.”

“I had no intention of revealing details of my identity as our time is limited. Recalculating the pros and cons, however, I believe another shock to your world paradigm would hasten your acceptance of the new reality.”

Lir spread his arms, revealing silver metallic hands. They rose and pulled the hood back, exposing his face.

Ash thought Lir wore a mask at first, the metallic surface contained no expression and the mercuric color reminded him of the Silver Surfer. But no seams were visible, so he came to a different conclusion.

“Are you a robot?” Ash asked. “Or is this some type of remote avatar?”

“Remote avatar is an excellent description and entirely suitable. We do not have much time as bringing you here is barely within acceptable statistical risk constraints.”

“Is that portal magic? Are you a wizard? Where are we?”

“Yes, the portal is magic, and I am much more than a wizard. Our current location is Peru.”

“Sweet baby Jesus.”

The silver band closest to Ash smoothly rose into the air and moved to hover in front of him. None of his chakras reacted, so he reached out and took it. It was the width of his thumbnail and thin as paper. He applied a little force and the band didn’t even flex. The consistent grey color was broken up by a small white swan embedded into the metal as the surface remained smooth.

“Who are you exactly?” Ash asked.

“I am a friend of a friend. A curious bystander. And now, perhaps, an interested party.”

“That is really vague. Are you one of those gods that are suddenly everywhere?”

“Perhaps. Recently I am leaning into my strengths and I am still unsure of the final result. For simplicity, from your perspective, yes, I am a god.”

Ash lifted the band. “And you want me to wear this? What does it do exactly?”

Lir didn’t hesitate. “It serves multiple functions. It provides a template to facilitate communication with the femite layer. With the help and guidance of our mutual friend, it will allow the wearer to harness what you call magic inside the Pit by connecting the wearer to the System. Eventually, some of you may no longer need such assistance. For instance, the femite cloud surrounding you is incredibly dense and unexpectedly organized, which means you might not need a band to access the System. Regardless, the bands will always be valuable as they form a localized party chat without the requirement of an appropriate Class.”

Bruja had used the term femite along with the word template. It hadn’t been long after that when displays appeared in Ash’s vision. He remembered her warning about mentioning her though, and while Lir had not set off any chakra warnings, maybe that was because he used an avatar. For all Ash knew, this Lir could be one of the beings that wanted him killed.

But that didn’t make any sense. If Lir wanted Ash dead, he could do that now. Why go to all the complications of these bands? Plus, this meeting had come from Captain Riegel’s AI.

Even so, Ash was reluctant to mention Bruja had already given him a template or that she’d mentioned the femites.

Ash concentrated on the grey band and imagined placing it on his wrist while focusing on his chakras. Once again, they remained completely calm.

That was good enough for Ash, and he slipped the grey band onto his left wrist. It grew warm as it shrunk to fit comfortably around his wrist.

The seven-year-old blonde witch appeared directly in front of Ash, her pigtails tied with black bows and her eyes narrowed in displeasure.

Ash let out a yelp of surprise and threw himself backward, shocked at the sudden appearance.

“Cheating on me already, I see,” Bruja said, placing her hands on her hips.