Ryanti had returned her rueful smirk, though his expression was a little softer. Perhaps it was not a smirk but rather a smile. One of the requirements for receiving a number in this line of work was to be a fool. He already had that part covered.
“That’s all I ask.†Ryanti responded to the notion that she wouldn’t drop him. He needed that re-enforcement. There was a lot on his plate already. The fact that his teammates weren’t there was such a massive weight on his shoulders; a weight that he tried not to let the Captain of the Roehmerl see as she dove into the ultimate unknown with him. There was no way he was going to try to convince her to come with him on this stunt, let alone be the one to walk out upon the ledge though her height might have made it easier.
He felt a great need to tackle the ‘hard’ parts when he could. Still though, in time he was sure that would change.
The ledge he was standing on that he had to navigate through in order to reach the other side of the massive shaft thinned out to a space that was shorter in length than even his feet. He could not even use the balls of his feet to balance himself upon the little ring designed to cushion and hoist the elevator that neither of them could see at the moment. There was a moderately firm wind that blew from deep within the gallows of the darkness, flicking his hair about and emphasizing the great distance he would meet with his death if he were to slip and fall – if Sounsyy were to go back on her word and drop him.
"So, when yer not 'seventy-seven', er, before or after this is over, yeh have a normal life that yeh go back to? Do yeh work or have someone waitin' at home fer yeh?"
Those were the kind of questions that took a little bit of time to fully sink in. But when they did, it always had a bit of an impact on him, especially coming from her. It was a little bit more than an oddly personal question, kind of penetrating as well, but it was something to focus on besides the fear of the immense space in front of him and the uncertainty that lied ahead. He didn’t mind. There was honestly a part of him that felt more at peace over it than he expected.
A stronger gust of damp, stale wind brushed across his face, pushing the beads of sweat from his concentration up into the air and flicking a bit of his dampened locks aside.
"Yeh there yet or...?"
Ryanti looked towards her for a moment, finally getting his second foot upon the razor-thin ledge. The palms of his hands were glued to the cerment wall of the enormous Allagan construct. He could see nothing except for the immense space visible by his torchlight, and the slight silhouette of the woman’s face that had joined him in this hell – this beautiful darkness.
One foot slid to the side. Another joined it. Ryanti was making progress, but it was slow and almost painful to watch due to how focused he was on the matter at hand. A moment later, Sounsyy could hear a light little buzz in her ear. The man had placed a hand upon his own ear and activated the local communication signal. It was an easier way to talk now, an easier way to not lose his mind from the other end.
“I’m getting there.†He replied softly in the linkpearl. It sounded as if Ryanti was right next to her, but of course he wasn’t. With every inch of space he covered, he drifted further and further away from the ledge – from Sounsyy. She was becoming more and more alone in the dark, but Ryanti’s voice was in her ear.
In fact, she could hear every single hiccup in his breath as he found himself more and more alone on the shaft’s ring. She could see the flicker of light as he occasionally moved his body, hesitated and inched his way along. She could hear the concentration, the nervousness, and the focus. That was when Ryanti finally answered.
“I’m a Lieutenant Quartermaster… for the Flames.†He answered after mulling for long enough. “I am usually in charge of weapon stockpiles, and I follow where they go. I make sure the right things go out to the right people, and that nothing is stolen or lost. I keep inventory and supervise. A lot of the time I travel. Sometimes I can be at home for a little bit. I deal a lot with other governments besides the Sultanate’s, including yours. It’s… its normal on paper, y’know? Like the ideal job for someone who graduated ‘Officer’s Camp’ … a perfect little life, right? Heck, sometimes I even help my family business out.â€
He was talking as if everything was normal right now. Where they were, what he was doing… but the tone of his voice was strained and serious. It was that tone which betrayed the situation that they could not escape from. However, Ryanti could escape from that perfect picture of his life outside of this job, and he had no issue doing just that.
“Y’know what, Sounsyy? It’s fake. It’s very fake. There’s no such thing as normal in my reality. Ever since I was brought into this world via Halfling blood, it has not been normal for me. My life hasn’t been normal at all. My identity is as abnormal as my blood. Take my career away from me and what do you have? What else besides a number? Who am I –really-? I ask myself that often. My hobbies, and my passions… they define me I think. There’s much more to be besides this suit. But I was never happy trying to be normal… I was never happy with my public face I’m forced to live because of my family. I’m happier here – knowing I can make a difference by doing –something- meaningful beyond words and actions of normal men.â€
It was then that his left foot made a little slip on the smooth surface of the stabilizer ring. Ryanti was almost two-thirds of the way there. His little slip echoed the noise to Sounsyy’s ear and Ryanti’s light flickered. His body seemed to light on fire inside as he immediately gripped a metal pipe or some such behind him as hard as he could to keep himself from slipping entirely.
He glanced to the left. His eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness that he could make out the grey rectangular presence of the control box on the other side. There was a large lever on the side of it, sticking out. It had perhaps not been disturbed in five millennia. It looked like a manual override. Curiously though, it seemed to have been tampered with. He was hesitant to believe that the manual lever would have been designed to stick out like that. From what he knew of Allagan life, terminals like that were operated by fingertips, not my muscle power. Something must have happened.
Even something like a control box had a story to tell in this behemoth of a ship.
Knowing that any false move at all could lead to a swift death, Ryanti’s inhibitions were a bit lower than normal for the time being. His mind had been mulling over her second question for a little longer now than the first. It was no doubt a more difficult challenge to answer the right way. Part of him wondering why she had asked, but… it was interesting that she did. It brought some feelings up to the surface that were very separate from his mission mindset.
His voice crackled once again in her ear. “As for my home, it’s as quiet as a mouse. The only thing waiting for me there is a bed and my belongings…. And maybe some incense and good book if I’m lucky.â€
He eyed the gap between the ring and the control panel. He would have to jump to the other ledge. Then it would be easy to go to the panel and try to re-activate it or… yank down the manual override. Maybe even kick the damn thing – if that could possibly work. One thing was for sure, he wouldn’t be able to go back until he got it working.
Unknown to them both, back within the room in which Sounsyy had crawled up the vent and Allagan equations laid decorated on the walls, the wires that had joined together and provided the entire floor with a brief surge of power were not done with making their presence known. Indeed one of the wire tips had been lifted up into the air with the power of electrical surge. However since then, gravity was slowing edging it back down towards it again… and this time their interference would affect them far more than psychologically….
Yet right before everything went to hell, Ryanti managed to ask Sounsyy a rather intimate question in return. A question that made his cheek glow a flushed red in the hostile darkness.
“So what about where you lay your head down? Is it quiet too?â€
That’s when everything went to hell.
---
An enormous RUMBLE echoed from one end of the shaft to the other. Sounsyy could hear the snap of the enormous spark caused by the two wired rejoining once more in the room far down the hallway. Bright blue lines shaped like computer circuitry flushed up the shape of the entire shaft in one enormous surge. Ryanti’s voice cried out from her linkpearl, fading out with a little sizzle of words from above the water, very faint but very clear.
“If you can h-… ething’s-- ..—ange… ac- …str-.. ge.. someth-- ….live… the sh-… “ And then it ceased.
Power had returned to the shaft as well. Crippled, malfunctioning power. The electricity had surged onto the stabilizing ring, and ultimately through Ryanti’s feet. It traveled along his rope and ended up providing Sounsyy with enough of a shock to race her heart, but Ryanti took the brunt of it. Sound disappeared from Sounsyy’s ear as her linkpearl shorted out and became non-functional and dead. Ryanti’s linkpearl did the same, and nearly shattered into pieces.
Ryanti’s body snapped in one huge spaz, a spark flying off from his torchlight and sapping the battery power from it. It was strong enough to stop his heart.
In a brilliant display, a tiny taste of what it would have been like to witness five thousand years ago, rings of red lights activated along the stabilizer rings and flickered on and off as it struggled to function. Blue light soon joined the circles of red lights, except these lights went vertical up and down the shaft, shaking off some of the ancient dust. Even under layers and layers of it, it was gorgeous. It would have been immensely beautiful back in the day to witness.
But there was nothing beautiful about this. There was only the horrifying image of Ryanti’s limp body losing balance, and falling forward... sparks flying out of his linkpearl and torchlight.
It had almost felt like slow motion. As if time kept stopping and going, stopping and going…
The left side of his body felt warm... yet very cold. He had his eyes closed, and it was almost as if he was sleeping. Just a brief little nap. Just some time to rest. He did not even notice nor feel the aetherial lines ingrained on the side of his face revealing themselves. They traveled all the way down it and further down his left arm. They were life stiff veins of a soft blue glow on his body.
Memories that weren’t his. Feelings not of his own. It was what he was experiencing in that split second as he fell without a pulse. It was the symptoms described by Jonathan and the others. The after-effects of seeing and experiencing. His left eye opened and glanced at the manual lever. His left arm that was not his anymore reached out and grabbed the lever, squeezing upon it. His weight fell upon it. The lever creaked and gave into his full weight. He was hanging from the lever as it tugged itself downward and activated.
The spectre of the woman stood over the exposed wires with tired eyes in the room they used to be in. She vanished. Power was cut once more, except for the auxiliary, manual mode of power Ryanti had activated with the elevator’s override.
The glow in Ryanti’s body left him. The beating of his heart returned.
Ryanti let go. His limp body sailed across the open space and swung from the rope.
All of this happened in a matter of moments.
His back slammed into the wall, dangling for a moment before another great rumbling occurred. Then, life returned to it. Warm, encompassing life. The man opened his aquamarine eyes in a bit of a dizzy state. His ears were ringing and his hands were shaking. Every occasional dim red light was not activated, blinking very lightly. Some glass from the lightbulb’s shells shattered and a few of the dim red lights shorted out immediately. The shaft was rumbling constantly now, and a feint grinding sound could now be heard from above them.
Above them… above them! That was when Ryanti knew where he was! His form immediately glanced up to witness the auxiliary Allagan gears wrenching and turning, managing to barely work and lower a huge circular platform. It was heading downward… coming down… it was coming towards them! Towards him! If it were to pass Sounsyy Ryanti would surely be killed by it. Ryanti had never grabbed rope so hard in his life.
“Sounsyy! Sounsyy!†Ryanti called out as loud as he could, struggling to try to climb up the rope as fast as he could, slamming the heels of his feet against the wall as he glanced up to witness what could very well be his impending doom. “Sounsyy, pull me up!†He cried out in desperation, trying to beat the elevator with his own merit but he needed her help now! Facing an event so close to death, Ryanti began to panic, realizing now how badly he actually wanted to live.
Of course, if he were to die there… Sounsyy would be trapped in this massive place… with no sense of direction… in the darkness… alone.
“PULL ME UP!â€
“That’s all I ask.†Ryanti responded to the notion that she wouldn’t drop him. He needed that re-enforcement. There was a lot on his plate already. The fact that his teammates weren’t there was such a massive weight on his shoulders; a weight that he tried not to let the Captain of the Roehmerl see as she dove into the ultimate unknown with him. There was no way he was going to try to convince her to come with him on this stunt, let alone be the one to walk out upon the ledge though her height might have made it easier.
He felt a great need to tackle the ‘hard’ parts when he could. Still though, in time he was sure that would change.
The ledge he was standing on that he had to navigate through in order to reach the other side of the massive shaft thinned out to a space that was shorter in length than even his feet. He could not even use the balls of his feet to balance himself upon the little ring designed to cushion and hoist the elevator that neither of them could see at the moment. There was a moderately firm wind that blew from deep within the gallows of the darkness, flicking his hair about and emphasizing the great distance he would meet with his death if he were to slip and fall – if Sounsyy were to go back on her word and drop him.
"So, when yer not 'seventy-seven', er, before or after this is over, yeh have a normal life that yeh go back to? Do yeh work or have someone waitin' at home fer yeh?"
Those were the kind of questions that took a little bit of time to fully sink in. But when they did, it always had a bit of an impact on him, especially coming from her. It was a little bit more than an oddly personal question, kind of penetrating as well, but it was something to focus on besides the fear of the immense space in front of him and the uncertainty that lied ahead. He didn’t mind. There was honestly a part of him that felt more at peace over it than he expected.
A stronger gust of damp, stale wind brushed across his face, pushing the beads of sweat from his concentration up into the air and flicking a bit of his dampened locks aside.
"Yeh there yet or...?"
Ryanti looked towards her for a moment, finally getting his second foot upon the razor-thin ledge. The palms of his hands were glued to the cerment wall of the enormous Allagan construct. He could see nothing except for the immense space visible by his torchlight, and the slight silhouette of the woman’s face that had joined him in this hell – this beautiful darkness.
One foot slid to the side. Another joined it. Ryanti was making progress, but it was slow and almost painful to watch due to how focused he was on the matter at hand. A moment later, Sounsyy could hear a light little buzz in her ear. The man had placed a hand upon his own ear and activated the local communication signal. It was an easier way to talk now, an easier way to not lose his mind from the other end.
“I’m getting there.†He replied softly in the linkpearl. It sounded as if Ryanti was right next to her, but of course he wasn’t. With every inch of space he covered, he drifted further and further away from the ledge – from Sounsyy. She was becoming more and more alone in the dark, but Ryanti’s voice was in her ear.
In fact, she could hear every single hiccup in his breath as he found himself more and more alone on the shaft’s ring. She could see the flicker of light as he occasionally moved his body, hesitated and inched his way along. She could hear the concentration, the nervousness, and the focus. That was when Ryanti finally answered.
“I’m a Lieutenant Quartermaster… for the Flames.†He answered after mulling for long enough. “I am usually in charge of weapon stockpiles, and I follow where they go. I make sure the right things go out to the right people, and that nothing is stolen or lost. I keep inventory and supervise. A lot of the time I travel. Sometimes I can be at home for a little bit. I deal a lot with other governments besides the Sultanate’s, including yours. It’s… its normal on paper, y’know? Like the ideal job for someone who graduated ‘Officer’s Camp’ … a perfect little life, right? Heck, sometimes I even help my family business out.â€
He was talking as if everything was normal right now. Where they were, what he was doing… but the tone of his voice was strained and serious. It was that tone which betrayed the situation that they could not escape from. However, Ryanti could escape from that perfect picture of his life outside of this job, and he had no issue doing just that.
“Y’know what, Sounsyy? It’s fake. It’s very fake. There’s no such thing as normal in my reality. Ever since I was brought into this world via Halfling blood, it has not been normal for me. My life hasn’t been normal at all. My identity is as abnormal as my blood. Take my career away from me and what do you have? What else besides a number? Who am I –really-? I ask myself that often. My hobbies, and my passions… they define me I think. There’s much more to be besides this suit. But I was never happy trying to be normal… I was never happy with my public face I’m forced to live because of my family. I’m happier here – knowing I can make a difference by doing –something- meaningful beyond words and actions of normal men.â€
It was then that his left foot made a little slip on the smooth surface of the stabilizer ring. Ryanti was almost two-thirds of the way there. His little slip echoed the noise to Sounsyy’s ear and Ryanti’s light flickered. His body seemed to light on fire inside as he immediately gripped a metal pipe or some such behind him as hard as he could to keep himself from slipping entirely.
He glanced to the left. His eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness that he could make out the grey rectangular presence of the control box on the other side. There was a large lever on the side of it, sticking out. It had perhaps not been disturbed in five millennia. It looked like a manual override. Curiously though, it seemed to have been tampered with. He was hesitant to believe that the manual lever would have been designed to stick out like that. From what he knew of Allagan life, terminals like that were operated by fingertips, not my muscle power. Something must have happened.
Even something like a control box had a story to tell in this behemoth of a ship.
Knowing that any false move at all could lead to a swift death, Ryanti’s inhibitions were a bit lower than normal for the time being. His mind had been mulling over her second question for a little longer now than the first. It was no doubt a more difficult challenge to answer the right way. Part of him wondering why she had asked, but… it was interesting that she did. It brought some feelings up to the surface that were very separate from his mission mindset.
His voice crackled once again in her ear. “As for my home, it’s as quiet as a mouse. The only thing waiting for me there is a bed and my belongings…. And maybe some incense and good book if I’m lucky.â€
He eyed the gap between the ring and the control panel. He would have to jump to the other ledge. Then it would be easy to go to the panel and try to re-activate it or… yank down the manual override. Maybe even kick the damn thing – if that could possibly work. One thing was for sure, he wouldn’t be able to go back until he got it working.
Unknown to them both, back within the room in which Sounsyy had crawled up the vent and Allagan equations laid decorated on the walls, the wires that had joined together and provided the entire floor with a brief surge of power were not done with making their presence known. Indeed one of the wire tips had been lifted up into the air with the power of electrical surge. However since then, gravity was slowing edging it back down towards it again… and this time their interference would affect them far more than psychologically….
Yet right before everything went to hell, Ryanti managed to ask Sounsyy a rather intimate question in return. A question that made his cheek glow a flushed red in the hostile darkness.
“So what about where you lay your head down? Is it quiet too?â€
That’s when everything went to hell.
---
An enormous RUMBLE echoed from one end of the shaft to the other. Sounsyy could hear the snap of the enormous spark caused by the two wired rejoining once more in the room far down the hallway. Bright blue lines shaped like computer circuitry flushed up the shape of the entire shaft in one enormous surge. Ryanti’s voice cried out from her linkpearl, fading out with a little sizzle of words from above the water, very faint but very clear.
“If you can h-… ething’s-- ..—ange… ac- …str-.. ge.. someth-- ….live… the sh-… “ And then it ceased.
Power had returned to the shaft as well. Crippled, malfunctioning power. The electricity had surged onto the stabilizing ring, and ultimately through Ryanti’s feet. It traveled along his rope and ended up providing Sounsyy with enough of a shock to race her heart, but Ryanti took the brunt of it. Sound disappeared from Sounsyy’s ear as her linkpearl shorted out and became non-functional and dead. Ryanti’s linkpearl did the same, and nearly shattered into pieces.
Ryanti’s body snapped in one huge spaz, a spark flying off from his torchlight and sapping the battery power from it. It was strong enough to stop his heart.
In a brilliant display, a tiny taste of what it would have been like to witness five thousand years ago, rings of red lights activated along the stabilizer rings and flickered on and off as it struggled to function. Blue light soon joined the circles of red lights, except these lights went vertical up and down the shaft, shaking off some of the ancient dust. Even under layers and layers of it, it was gorgeous. It would have been immensely beautiful back in the day to witness.
But there was nothing beautiful about this. There was only the horrifying image of Ryanti’s limp body losing balance, and falling forward... sparks flying out of his linkpearl and torchlight.
It had almost felt like slow motion. As if time kept stopping and going, stopping and going…
The left side of his body felt warm... yet very cold. He had his eyes closed, and it was almost as if he was sleeping. Just a brief little nap. Just some time to rest. He did not even notice nor feel the aetherial lines ingrained on the side of his face revealing themselves. They traveled all the way down it and further down his left arm. They were life stiff veins of a soft blue glow on his body.
Memories that weren’t his. Feelings not of his own. It was what he was experiencing in that split second as he fell without a pulse. It was the symptoms described by Jonathan and the others. The after-effects of seeing and experiencing. His left eye opened and glanced at the manual lever. His left arm that was not his anymore reached out and grabbed the lever, squeezing upon it. His weight fell upon it. The lever creaked and gave into his full weight. He was hanging from the lever as it tugged itself downward and activated.
The spectre of the woman stood over the exposed wires with tired eyes in the room they used to be in. She vanished. Power was cut once more, except for the auxiliary, manual mode of power Ryanti had activated with the elevator’s override.
The glow in Ryanti’s body left him. The beating of his heart returned.
Ryanti let go. His limp body sailed across the open space and swung from the rope.
All of this happened in a matter of moments.
His back slammed into the wall, dangling for a moment before another great rumbling occurred. Then, life returned to it. Warm, encompassing life. The man opened his aquamarine eyes in a bit of a dizzy state. His ears were ringing and his hands were shaking. Every occasional dim red light was not activated, blinking very lightly. Some glass from the lightbulb’s shells shattered and a few of the dim red lights shorted out immediately. The shaft was rumbling constantly now, and a feint grinding sound could now be heard from above them.
Above them… above them! That was when Ryanti knew where he was! His form immediately glanced up to witness the auxiliary Allagan gears wrenching and turning, managing to barely work and lower a huge circular platform. It was heading downward… coming down… it was coming towards them! Towards him! If it were to pass Sounsyy Ryanti would surely be killed by it. Ryanti had never grabbed rope so hard in his life.
“Sounsyy! Sounsyy!†Ryanti called out as loud as he could, struggling to try to climb up the rope as fast as he could, slamming the heels of his feet against the wall as he glanced up to witness what could very well be his impending doom. “Sounsyy, pull me up!†He cried out in desperation, trying to beat the elevator with his own merit but he needed her help now! Facing an event so close to death, Ryanti began to panic, realizing now how badly he actually wanted to live.
Of course, if he were to die there… Sounsyy would be trapped in this massive place… with no sense of direction… in the darkness… alone.
“PULL ME UP!â€