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Pandemonium. Where was Corky. The noise. The sheer panic. She raised her weapon fired it. The shriek of it going off. The Kets stopped. Went quiet. Ah there was Corky. He waved at her beckoning her over. “We, have, a major problem.” Serenia looked around at the Kets. “ALL Kets except those Corky chooses to stay. LEAVE.“ She signalled to the two security units. They moved in to escort the Kets out of the control area. Only a few remained.
“OK, be gentle with me. Tell me.“ Corky pointed to the screens. He replayed some of the earlier material. “See there. Uanita. That Likorian crystal. She took it in, backdoor to whoever is now in control of the Strat systems. For them to use ITS properties as a conduit for it’s data streams.“ Becci rolled her eyes. “Look at the size of that thing!” Delise grinned. “According to the game, It’s her pet, well it was, till it got kinda big.“ Becci was fully aware as were the others of the fact, big it might have been, but at this precise moment.
It seemed to be having weight issues. Growing! But then, it was getting close, VERY CLOSE. Too close for comfort. Narya activated her laser, two others did likewise, now bracing themselves for the onslaught. Aldrei moved to remove a small tube, from which he now took a dart like object. Inserting it into whatever he was holding onto. "I say, take away it’s mistress, knock her out, lets see what it does.”
They sort of looked at him, A FEW with the look of almost hysterical disbelief at what he had just said. “What happen’s.“ Remarked Bjoi.“If it gets mad, real mad at you doing that.” “I know I would.“ Anora giggled nervously. “NOT that I would EVER keep a pet like that in the first place. Mama would never agree to me having a pet like that. Take far too much food to keep it fed.“ Her voice tailed off as she noticed several eyes glaring at her.
Bjoi ignored her. He was staring at Aldrei who had his weapon of sorts raised, about to fire the dart. “WELL.“ “We run!“ Becci stared at Soniette who now rolled her eyes. “Look.“ Hissed Aldrei, sounding rather impatient! “If it’s mistress is out cold, then it’s hardly likely to run after us now is it.“ He was interrupted by Narya. “That’s all fine, but it means we only delay the inevitable! SOONER or later we have to face it, it’s obviously been put here as one of the challenges!“
She looked at them. “Do we stand and fight it. Or run.” “OK we stand and fight.“ They all turned to face the consequences, weapons at the ready. Suddenly, the female and the beast, seemed to flicker, then vanish! Narya noted there was a shape forming. A six digit game roller, in front of them. She let out a howl. ‘WHAT THE.! It caused the others to now stare at it. Mechanical in its features and numbers across it. Bjoi had seen it too, he was now pointing at it hissing at the others present. “I’ve seen this before.“ He looked at Colfra who was now nodding. “Old Renais game counter. Hey remember the Drax slot machine with the mechanical tumblers and that handle you had to pull towards you to roll the digits! Heck that is so realistic.“
“Well I think whoever brought us here, has their own gaming rules! Including SCORING us. The digit sections, buzzed, flickered and the digits, rolled like the sections in a slot machine. Adding scores for all of them, 2000 credits each then a deduction of 50 credits each for hesitating. The script beneath it was clearly legible. ‘Hesitation, minus 50 EACH.’ “Did you see that!” Squeals Becci. “It deducted merits for, hesitating!“ "Something is wrong, not right not right at all.“ Aldrei was trying to remember what games in Renais they had played where the old digital rollers appeared.
He was of the opinion that this was NOT the last they were going to see of them. IT faded out, vanished. They started as a group, albeit in a line to walk along the path in front of them. Narya stopped, told them to be quiet. “Listen!” The sound a high pitch hiss, then like water cascading down a tunnel to die away and silence pure silence. No hissing, no squeaks, nothing! Not that it was going to remain quiet. There it was again.
Around them a tunnel formed, then flickered panels and sections, to fully and solidly interlock, taking them from wherever they had been, into a structure within a structure. The way it had formed, various Kets agreed amongst themselves that it was constructed, of two layers. Lilia looked at Doona as she moved closer to whisper “Its a Cashak.“ He looked at her.
“Leads into a labyrinth.“ Those places invariably contained all sorts of critters, beasties and similar! Including Skeets. Without the right tracking devices or markers, never knowing where you were in one of them! Doona was the first to point this out. “Have we got NO way of tracking where we are.”
In the main control area, things had settled down to a calm of sorts. Corky had been watching the Elder Kets. He had said nothing, but was acutely aware of the fact, that within the sealed game, what ever or whoever, was in control, was playing with the Kets and what it had in mind for them, re the Cashak didn’t bare thinking about.
The Cashak was the stuff of legends. Yet as Corky would tell you, legends often have their origins in fact, sometimes a very cruel and realistic down to earth FACT or FACTS that resulted in death. In the shadows of such a labyrinth, all sorts of things could lurk. Around you, above you, seen, unseen. Could shift their shape, be like chameleons, able to adapt their texture, their colors their images to that of what you were leaning against or on. Whatever was or could happen re the Kets was not to be, Corky was sure, anything the least bit pleasant.
Elsewhere. Hoki had halted them in the tunnels. Kephra, looked at her, as she told them ALL to stand behind her.
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