Chapter 69 – The Lost Shiva (10)

Archie followed her. She roamed the corridors of the laboratory while keeping an eye on this metal box that she would occasionally rip the metal wires inside. Archie was curious and since had calmed down. He asked. “What are you doing?”

She stopped walking. “Disabling this place so that no one can find what’s inside.”

“What?” Archie shouted. “You can’t do that! All the technology here might have some use!”

“No, what you see here is too advanced. They won’t do anyone good and if the Quietus finds this base then expect cities to burn and innocent people to die. Or would you like that?”

Archie hurriedly shook his head. “But that doesn’t make it right! Destroy this place? Imagine how things would go!”

“How things would go?” she laughed. “What you see here are things that nobody would know. It would take a thousand years before you could understand these things. And this place is nothing but a horrid laboratory for failed mutants. I guarded this ship as it escaped. Did you saw those non-human remains down the hallways? Those are the Quietus’s pets. Husks of monsters turned into cannon fodder for people like me to fight against them. And I am not letting you idiot’s messed things here. You speak of four-legged dragons and griffons. I believe you but at the same it made me want to destroy this place even more. I cannot risk anyone making use of the things here. Human ingenuity has been one of our biggest strongpoints after all.”

Archie made this miserable face. He looked at Zola in agony. “So you are saying that all of this is for nothing? We came here to find something. Yet the people that I was with are now all dead. Do you really think that I could just return back and say that they all died and only I was left alive?”

“Yes. I’ll let you carry that drone back with you. That’s my thanks for waking me up. But beyond that, I won’t just let anyone fool play with this lab.”

Archie felt anger in his heart. But he calmed himself down. He looked at Zola with this disappointed look. “So that’s it then? Destroy this place and leave me nothing? Hah, what a big joke this is...all of this for nothing?”

Zola folded her arms. She furrowed her brows and replied. “You will get something,” she said softly. “But I am sorry. I have to destroy this place. I cannot let the Quietus salvage this ship. Doing so would prove dangerous to this world.”

Archie’s face was pathetic. He clenched his fist tightly. He closes his eyes, opened it, asking softly. “So is this Quietus thing you keep saying are dangerous? They followed you here?”

“Yes, they are dangerous half-synthetic beings that will try to take these lands.”

“Why would they do that?”

“So they can survive. They are half alive after all. And I imagine them being pleased that they have come into this ripe cycle with untouched resources. I can imagine them taking this base. Making nasty bombs and wiping every threat that they could see. This era still has no way of fighting back. That thing you saw out there is made of titanium alloy. Now imagine the fiends I speak off as two-legged, seven-foot-tall creatures carrying far superior firearms, and imagine them attacking a city along with those things. Do you think any of you would survive? Even your gun there won’t work.”

“I have no what you are saying,” said Archie truthfully. “But you are saying that all of these wouldn’t work?”

“Yes. Unless you have something that can melt their metal instantly then you can’t win. Not to mention that some of them have Psion-based abilities that could repel any lead-based bullets or hot plasma launchers. These things you call as bullets would be akin to throwing a pebble at a cliff and expecting that cliff to explode.”

“That’s one way to put it.” Archie’s eyes narrowed as he takes a step. Zola arrived at another metal box and ripped the metal wires inside. She took some of the unburned fuses from the box and pocketed it on her belt pockets. She closed the box forcefully, before continuing deeper inside the place. Archie followed timidly. “So this is the right thing to do? Prevent them from taking this place? But is alright? No matter what, this place is yours.”

“Hah!” she laughed mockingly. “Why would I want this dreadful place? Do you find yourself pleased in owning such metal tomb? I don’t. I want this place to be gone.”

“You really hate this place.”

“I do. Those things you see back there are mutated freaks. They are poor bastards that were experimented here so they can fight the Quietus. If I had the choice I wouldn’t want to be on this ship.”

“Ship, you’ve been calling this place a ship.”

“It’s a spacecraft laboratory that orbited around an asteroid. If what I am thinking is right then you are wrong. This is no boat but a vehicle that can traverse the stars.”

Archie held his forehead, rubbing it as he tries to swallow all of the information that Zola has been speaking. “First it was flying warships, second these dammed ruins and now ships that could traverse the stars. I think I am going to go crazy at this point.”

“Flying ships...are they powered by helium?”

“They are powered by this.” Archie opened his left palm and conjured fire. “Runestones, they can produce fire this easily.”

Zola looked at the red rune stone attached to Archie’s gauntlets. She touched her chin saying, “It naturally produces fire yet it doesn’t burn you. Hmm, interesting, I would have loved to examine this but sadly I can’t just take it from you now can I?”

“The Commander has something like this. You can take it and study it for yourself. They are rare after all.”

“I see,” Zola nodded her head. She looked down at a flight of steps, descending down and readying herself for anything. She looked at the dimly lit room. It was huge and in the middle, there was an automaton standing tall. Archie could not take his eyes off this machine. He walked unsteadily towards it while feeling amazed at it.

“This is...”

“A Mechanize armored suit huh?” Zola circled around the tall thing. She looked for something and when she found the button. She pressed it, making the hulking giant shrink into a bracelet that fit rightly on her wrist.

“I thought you are going to destroy everything?” asked Archie.

“Not everything. And this can still be used.”

Zola did not explain any further. She continued on what she did and destroyed the fuse circuit boxes around the buried ruined ship. Like she said what she would, she destroyed anything that might prove useful. Archie could only witness her destruction of these things.