Dryth uses the autocarriage's instruments to examine the signal again, this time without playing it. "If this was done by the signal, it should be reversible though it will depend on the time exposed. It might take just as much time to free you of it. We will have to stop the current transmission though."
Simeon nods. He has come to the same conclusion. He looks at Artemios. "We have to stop that signal."
Dryth turns back to the man. "Tell us about other parts of the farmstead. You said there was resistance at the armory. Tell us about that. Are the 'awakened' armed like you were? Or do they have other technology? "
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Tannaris nods his head, seemingly distracted by thoughts of his mental freedom. "Some of us we're armed with bows. We have many such weapons in the armory. The guards put up a fight, but we outnumbered them badly once the overseers ordered them to come out. None of them we're awakened, but I don't know why. Once we secured the armory, we distributed the weapons to the rest of the awakened. There are a few firearms like yours, but not nearly enough to go around. Meyanda and her inner circle - the overseers and the ones who were the first to awaken - have more advanced weapons. But I haven't seen any of them in days, not since they entered the transmission tower control room."
Dryth taps his lips with his finger. "If we try for the transmission tower, we should expect someone there with firearms, maybe advanced weaponry. I can't believe they would leave it unguarded or with farmers with ancient weapons."
He shrugs. "But I don't see a better option. We need to stop that signal to have any chance of freeing the people."
His heart urged him to rush to find the entrance to the caves, hoping to rescue Althea ex-Diocles. But Artemios knew that Dryth was right. This antenna would need to be destroyed first.
"As ever, speed and surprise are our best allies. If we assault this antenna now, we may destroy it before they manage to reinforce it. How soon can we have the wounded ready to go?" he asked, looking over at Simeon.
Turning back to Dryth, he asked "What kind of god needs an antenna to transmit his will?"
"That's suicide," explains the prisoner with a grimace. "It will be too well-guarded and secured. Maybe you can get into the control room from the caverns if they've finished drilling, but a frontal assault would have no chance of working, even if you drove your vehicle straight to the doors. What about the research team you mentioned?"
Dryth motions the group away from the prisoner. "I think he's right. We try to find the entrance the team used. If we can get in that way, then we wan infiltrate our way into the hill, hopefully before they know what's happening."
Dryth activates the display on the autocarriage, removing the jury-rigged transmission receiver in order to resume its normal use. He brings back the image of the farmstead, charting out possible paths to arrive at the secret entrance to the research lab. Once they've made it into the research laboratory, they can likely find a way into the caverns. It seems their best bet, but also a danger. With Tannaris's explanation, they know that most of the farmstead has been taken over by mentally-enslaved zealots - and that they are actively hostile to anyone who hasn't been 'awakened'. They have to drive between the buildings, putting themselves at risk of being ambushed or attacked. Fortunately, they know that the Residents should only have horses - horses that they can outrun with the autocarriage, even if they can't outmaneuver them.
Dryth uses the display to drive the autocarriage forward. He seems to have strong skills with making the vehicle move as he wants, but this will likely test them if he has to make sharp turns or quick stops. He shuts off the lights - except for the display, which illuminates the interior of the cabin slightly - in order to give them some chance at a stealth approach. The quiet engine and low lights keep them from being spotted from too far away, but any reasonably attentive lookout will be able to see them when they are close enough. Dryth smoothly maneuvers them forward, quickly picking up speed as they close the distance to the farmstead.
They pass the point where Tannaris and the two others attacked them, swiftly approaching the farmstead itself. The hill looms over the rest of the farmstead. Their destination is on the west side of the hill, partway up. They may have to go part of the way on foot if the hill proves too steep, as there is no road to the secret facility. As it stands, they have to pass through a fair amount of hostile territory in the autocarriage, a task that will take several difficult minutes of driving. Dryth double-checks the path on the display, charting out the best route, and presses forward with the vehicle to burst into the farmstead. The path will lead them through a pair of buildings, then a few quick turns towards a main avenue.
There is a guard atop one of the buildings on the north side of their path. Taking a slight detour to the south should prevent him from seeing the group, as it uses a building to block his sight. They can use the detour to make it to the main avenue without being seen.
Simeon nods at the plan, which sounds workable - although he'd be the first to admit he is not a master of tactical matters. Nevertheless, medical training includes a certain amount of combat drills; he just never thought it would come to pass. Hermea is supposed to be the safest place in the world - and the idea that he would have to fight other Hermeans was literally unthinkable a few short hours ago.
Sighing, he keeps his thoughts to himself and occupies his time in looking out the window. Thus it is that he spots the guard.
"There's a lookout, up there - see that building on the North side? If we detour round to the South, that grain silo will block his line of sight to us. That way we can get to the main avenue without being seen."
Dryth nods and quickly adjusts the route to follow Simeon's instructions.
Dryth adjusts the route of the autocarriage, deftly avoiding an early detection. They pull onto the main roadway of the farmstead, a dirt road that circles most of the way around the hill. They have several hundred meters to go before the map alerts them to turn onto the next leg of the path. The roadway appears entirely empty. The group scans the rooftops, looking for more lookouts, but they don't see any. Once they cut into the denser collection of dormitories, smithies, and manufacturies, they will have to slow down to make the sharp cuts through narrow and winding passages.
The avenue is too empty. It's just a hunch, but it might be a trap. With their presence probably known from the sound of gunfire, the defenders might be trying to lure them into an ambush at one of the tight spots. They shouldn't know where the group is headed, but engaging them on the open road would put the farmstead's defenders at a disadvantage. The group should slow to scout possible points of ingress before committing to one.
Simeon frowns slightly. "Quiet, isn't it? I mean, I'm no expert, but if I had heard gunfire I would keep some sort of a watch."
He smiles faintly. "I have to confess though that the tactical classes were the ones that put me fastest to sleep: give me a lecture on corticosteroids any day..."
Artemios's eyes narrowed as he squinted up at the too-close rooftops. "You might need those drugs shortly. This smells like a trap. The streets are too narrow. This is where I'd set up an ambush."
"Dryth, slow down. Everyone, eyes open. Let's look for a better route."
Again, the driver nods, pulling back on the throttle to slow the autocarriage. He sweeps his eyes from sides to side to take in the area around the road.
Dryth slows down dramatically, scanning the route for danger. He doesn't see anything, but that doesn't mean that it isn't there. These defenders are dedicated and canny enough to hide their presence as they awoke one at a time. The first wave of defenders - Tannaris and the others - might have been too quick to attack, but the rest might not be. They drive past, waiting to find the most-open path through the buildings. They cut through carefully, still looking for enemies.
Several sharp turns in later, the night turns to day. Bright spotlamps from positions far up the hillside illuminate the entire block. A loud alarm sounds over the same loudspeakers that play over the daily pledge to Unity. They avoided an early discovery for quite some time through their skillful infiltration, but they have been discovered. Dryth glances back down at the display. It is only a hundred meters or so with a few more turns before they hit the edge of the hill. They will have to take the autocarriage as far as they can, but sooner or later they will have to get out on foot. Somewhere behind them, they can hear the sound of horses galloping towards their position.
Using the same technique of splicing the whisperline to the transmission receiver - and some creative reversal of the signal via an echo transmission - the lights and loudspeakers can be temporarily overwhelmed. It will buy perhaps a minute at the most, but that will be enough time to give them a head start to the secret lab entrance. Alternately, they can re-route some of the engine power to the propulsion system, giving the autocarriage enough power to make it up the steeper parts of the hill. They don't have the time or the material to do both - unless...
The spotlights and the alarm seem to be amplified in Simeon's perception; he's used to the laboratory, or the operating theatre, where things might be tense - but this is something else.
He does his best to clear his head, to no avail; mute, he watches for direction from one of the others.
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"Well, S+!+, we've been spotted, that's for sure...
The smart thing to do here would be to try to remotely take control of- or at least, overload - that alarm system and shut it down. I wish Aeg were here right now... this is what she's good at, g%&!@+nit. Simeon, you're the technician, think you can do it?"
The prisoner coughs from the back seat, croaking out a suggestion. "They're linked on a network... Maybe you can..." He slumps, temporarily overcome by his wounds.
Simeon nods, suddenly brought back to the present by Soractus' prompting and the prisoner's suggestions. "Of course - if we splice the whisperline to the transmission receiver - and use some creative echo transmission to reverse the signal - I can knock out the lights and loudspeakers for a minute or so; enough time to give a head start to the secret lab entrance. Also Dryth, I've just thought - these autocarriages have circuitry redundancy. If we splice the propulsion system, we can re-route some of the engine power to get us the steeper parts of the hill." Meddling with the back-up systems is probably breaking the rules, but Simeon doesn't think anyone here would report that back.
He beams. Problem - solved.
"Right, good call. Let's do it." Dryth keeps his eyes on the road ahead, but his allows his hands to drift down and opens up a circuitry compartment below the interface screen. He grabs a bundle of wires and, with only a glance down, singles out two wires. He cuts them with his knife and quickly splices them to each other. He slips his hand down into the compartment and pulls out four chips, swapping their order. Suddenly, the engines roar and the engineer smiles. He returns to the controls and makes some adjustments in power distribution from his control screen.
"Ok, I'm tied into your whisperlines. Let's see if we can get some horrendous feedback!" He cringes as he taps the button. This was exactly the type of interference you built things not to do!
Dryth creates a quick modification as the nimble riders gain on them. The alarm and the lights make it clear that they have a difficult path ahead of them unless they can regain some degree of stealth. The autocarriage interior starts to flicker as the unorthodox wiring provides them with a source of safe passage. The whisperlines send out a burst of feedback - feedback that squeals and grates their very ears as it emits several short and repeated bursts that sounds like metal scraping against glass - and the city is suddenly dark and quiet again. The sounds of horses fall behind as darkness veils their path for a few moments. The only other sound is that of the autocarriage itself as it strains and heavily whirs to compensate.
They hit the slope of the hill hard. As they climb, the autocarriage rumbles and jostles all of them greatly. It was not designed for such strenuous actions. Without the added power, they would have likely had to get out and continue on foot with the horse-riding foes following them. It takes all of Dryth's concentration to keep them on a path. He gazes up the side of the black hill to his destination, relying on the shorting display when he can but trying his best to simply chart a course by sight alone. They turn often and wind up the side of the hill as it grows ever sharper in slope. They avoid outcroppings and dips alike, but even the path they do take is far from smooth.
After a few minutes, the disruptive countersignal comes to an end. The alarms echo through the farmstead again, and the renewed spotlamps search fruitlessly for them. A few of the riders seem to still be following them, but it is a slow climb up the side of the hill on the back of a horse. They have a few minutes of free reign thanks to the ingenuity of the engineers, but they must make it into the safety of the laboratory or they will be eventually captured.
Dryth brings the autocarriage to a stop. The destination marker from the display shows that they should be within a few feet, but they see nothing. Quickly, all of them - except for the unconscious Archelaos and the nearly-dead Tannaris - leap out to take a look. It takes half a minute of searching, but the perceptive Soractus notices a subtle crevice in the side of the hill. He strikes his fist against the ground next to it, hearing a bang of metal rather than earth. The secret door stands closed to them, but they know where it is. A defiant voice comes from the other side, barely audible through the secret door: "You'll not take us alive!"
"Listen to me," said Artemios, loudly. "We are a team sent from Promise to rescue you. We are not under the influence of this Hellion creature and we will keep you safe. But we don't have much time. Open the door now, please."
Dryth pleads with those on the other side of the hatch. "Let us in! We were sent to help! We're from Promise and we know of the research mission."
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A skeptical voice emerges from the other side. "Do you think we are fools? We received the last transmission from the tower. You convinced them to open the door. We won't fall for the same mistake!" Even as they attempt to negotiate their way into the laboratory, they can hear the sound of horses from lower on the hill. Spotlamps continue to seek them out, roving across the hillside trying to illuminate them.
"If we were with them we wouldn't be in a hurry, you fool!" Artemios snapped, feeling short on patience. "We'd have all the time in the world to dig you out. But we don't because those bastards are coming back and they're going to kill us if we're still standing around out here. Let us in or your one chance of rescue will be gone."
"Is Althea ex-Diocles in there with you? Tell her it's Artemios ex-Lucarus. Tell her I came like I said I would," he said, remembering his promise to her at their last parting. He'd promised that if she ever needed him, nothing would stop him from coming to her aid. And now here he was, arguing with a frightened scientist through a closed hatch.
"Dolga sun-Origines sent us to come find out what happened to you. And if you let us die out here, then we'll both fail in our missions for Unity!" Dryth kicks the hatch.
"Well, if they won't let us in, we'll just have to force the matter... Simeon, help me find the seam on this door. You two, keep an eye down the slope, and holler when we've got incoming..."
Soractus gets down to his knees and begins tapping on the steel panel, hoping to locate it's edge, and with it, a latch or mechanism that he can break...
There is a rustling sound from inside the hatch, giving Soractus enough time to back away from his attempts to open it himself. It would likely seem quite suspicious if he were seen forcing their way in, but they have enough warning that it won't come in. The hidden door opens with a clank and a creak; the lab team did a good job of merging it with the terrain. A half-dozen of the researchers have taken whatever cover they can in the narrow corridor, holding makeshift blades and clubs to defend themselves if needed. Artemios sees Althea in the back of the hallway, not quite cowering but not prepared for violence. A middle-aged man stands in the front, having taken command of the situation from the scientist who first spoke with them through the door. He has long, dark hair flecked with white streaks, and an impressive stature common to the finest Hermean paragons. He holds an advanced-looking firearm in his hand, held in a low ready position of wariness. "I am Khonnir et-Diocles. Identify yourselves and drop your weapons as a sign of good faith."
"Yeah, that's not happening," said Artemios, whose own weapon is pointed skyward. "We don't have time for that. But we are here to help. You'll have to settle for that. I'm Artemios. That's Dryth, Simeon our doctor, Soractus and Valerius. The injured man is Archelaos and the other man is our prisoner. Stand back. We need to get inside and lock up now. Do you have medical facilities?"
Artemios doesn't wait for Khonnir to respond, but simply moves inward unless the gunman physically blocks him.
"Are you in charge? If so, tell me what's happened. If not, take me to your commander."
Khonnir stands in front of Artemios, ready to keep him from entering the shaft. "That was an order, not a suggestion." It is clear from his tone that he is not willing to compromise on this issue. "If you are from Promise, then you still recognize my authority as the highest-ranking Citizen present. I won't surrender our research to an unknown, armed team that might have already succumbed to the signal."
From behind, Althea pleads with him. "Artemios, do it. He opened the door because I vouched for you, but you have to do as he says."
Recognising the other's superior rank, Simeon has already downed his weapon and gestures to the others that they should probably do the same. His only concession to the circumstances is to offer what in Promise would likely be considered gross insubordination, but here he hopes it will be taken more leniently.
"Revered Tribune, we're being closely pursued by horsemen - might we conduct this discussion inside?"
Artemios looked into the older man's eyes and held his gaze for a while. "You can have my weapon," he said evenly, "If you renounce the works of Hellion."
If Khonnir does so renounce the cult's apparent god, Artemios will put away his weapon and submit to his authority, signaling his team to do likewise.
Simeon is not sure whether to be relieved (that his own insubordination pales in comparison) or astonished at Artemios' boldness: clearly, all that he has heard about the hot blooded nature of the Lucarus tribe is true!
Doing his best to adopt an I'm not with Stupid posture, he slowly sidles away from Artemios' immediate proximity: the Tribune's coming outburst could well lead to everyone in the vicinity being put on report, and he has rather too much to lose if he is scrutinised too closely. There's no way he can fully explain all of the pharmaceuticals he has been using to make Zoe's contraception, for example.
Khonnir gives Artemios a strange look when he makes his demands, but quickly responds. "Not a problem. We're not completely sure what Hellion is, so renouncing it is easy. Now, your weapons." He looks out at the autocarriage a few dozen paces away, along with the lights looking to spot them. "Can you activate that to head off in a random direction? We can't have them finding the entrance."
Artemios holstered his weapons and signalled everyone else to do the same. He nodded to Dryth. "Send it," he said, leaving the details up to the engineer.
"Sorry, sir," said Artemios, without a trace of remorse in his voice, "My men have already come under one attack. I had to be careful.Now then, do you have medical facilities? Archelaos is injured."
Having said this much, he allowed his gaze to travel back to Althea. He regarded the love of his life for a long moment during which no one else existed for him. Then he wrenched his attention back to the matters at hand.
"Can I ask what your situation is here, sir?"
Dryth holds up his empty hands. "What weapons?" He shrugs. As Khonnir and Artemois has out the command ranks, Dryth looks over his shoulder to watch for anyone approaching. He glances back when he hears his name and it takes a moment for the engineer to process the command. "Right! A decoy!"
He rushes back to the autocarriage to program the guidance computers. He plots a course around the hill and then off into the forest on the far side. He sets a time delay of 30 seconds before the carriage's light cycle on, hoping the light will make it a hard target to miss. The engineer enables the program and quickly climbs back out. The autocarriage door closes smoothly and then begins rolling off on the pre-programmed instructions.
Dryth quickly runs back over to the hatch. "Ok, ok! Let's get inside. We can question each other when we're not in immediate danger of being shot."
Khonnir beckons them to come in, taking a moment to look out at the autocarriage as it careens down the side of the hill back towards the town. As the five men enter, carrying the two wounded, he counts their numbers. When everyone is inside, he shuts the door and seals it with a twist of the bar. The portal should hold for a while if the madmen find their location, but hopefully they won't be able to find them. He nods to two of the men. "Joramus, Balthazar, keep watch. Let me know if anyone else comes knocking." The pair of scientists nod back to him. The entire group looks exhausted and terrified by the events of the last few days.
Khonnir leads the group through the narrow corridor to a larger room. The research facility has tables and devices set up through the main laboratory. The machines look state-of-the-art, set up to analyze the ore specimens and synthesize some substances. Even Dryth and Simeon are surprised. Some of the machines are considerably more advanced than anything they have ever seen before, even in the best research facilities in Promise. Khonnir points to one of the tables, currently covered with display tablets. "Move those aside and you can put the wounded there. Althea, can you find some medical supplies? I believe that we brought a few kits." The dark-haired scientist goes deeper into the facility to gather the items, lingering for a moment to share a glance with Artemios.
Khonnir looks down, rubbing his eyes. "I had hoped Promise would send a rescue force. If they knew the extent of the issue, they would send an entire regiment to put down this insurrection. It began a few days ago rather suddenly. Four of my researchers were in the farmstead when they attacked. Only one of them was able to get back. We determined that the residents were affected by some sort of high-frequency hypnotic signal. We were able to block it here in the lab area using a scrambling frequency, so I don't think any of us are at risk of hypnosis. The insurrection interrupted us as we discovered the source of the purple flame that drew our attention to Torch in the first place. We discovered while drilling that there is a structure deep inside the hill, one that is hundreds of years old at least! We had just breached its outer walls when the crisis outside occurred."
Artemios watched Althea go, a wistful look crossing his face. He dragged his attention back to Khonnir.
"Do you think you precipitated this...this signal? Or was it merely a side-effect of whatever brought you here?" asked Artemios.
"And who in Promise's name is Hellion?"
Dryth looks around the research station in awe. "I've never seen anything like this! Why did you need this sort of technology were you needing to examine the flames?"
He looks back up at Khonnir, suddenly realizing they had more immediate concerns. "What do you know about the signal?" He points to the wounded farmer. "We were able to free him from the signal. We listened very briefly before shutting it off. What do you know of this Meyanda?"
The engineer glances at Simeon. "Can you heal them here?"
Khonnir offers them a weak shrug and a look of exasperation. "I don't know who Hellion is. Perhaps he is their leader? We scrambled the signal as soon as we realized what it was doing, so I fear we know less than you do about Hellion and this Meyanda. Perhaps your prisoner could shed more light than I can on the situation." Althea returns to the room, handing Simeon several boxes of medical supplies. She glances at Artemios again, unable to keep her eyes off him for more than a few moments at a time, but doesn't make a move to speak to him directly. They place both Archelaos and Tannaris onto the cleared tables, giving Simeon space to examine and treat their injuries.
Khonnir continues as the doctor begins his work. "You raise an interesting question, Artemios. We don't know if the signal is related to the purple flame, though I find it a likely hypothesis. We believe the flame is somehow linked to the underground structure that we discovered, but we need more information. I didn't have the manpower to send an expedition inside to gather more data, but you can go in. We can equip you with communicators and scanners to transmit the data back to us here in the lab. Do you have a plan for shutting down the signal? I imagine that they are using the transmission tower at the top of the hill. Our scans showed a cavern system within the hill, although it may actually be the structure itself. You could use that to gain access to the tower, drill up from the caverns with our tools, but it is all the way on the other side of the hill. "
Simeon busies himself with the injured personnel. He gives no sign of favouritism to either one of them: you would not be able to tell from his manner which of them was friend, and which was enemy. As of now, his focus is on triage - determining which of them is most severely hurt and acting accordingly.
As the others plan, he listens with half an ear open to the conversation; but says nothing.
Simeon works so skillfully that even he is impressed. Within a few minutes, he is confident that both will survive - likely with no permanent injuries, should one not count the mind control in the case of Tannaris. He stems their bleeding, determines that there is no further internal injury, and sews up their remaining injuries with a quick-acting sealant that stitches the skin together. Both remain unconscious and in need of rest in order to recuperate from their grievous injuries.
He also has the opportunity to fully examine Tannaris, especially the strange markings. He determines that they are actually fully part of his skin, rather than a superficial adornment like a tattoo or a insertion of some type. The markings are organic and part of him. They don't seem to follow any pattern that would explain their shape, such as following blood vessels. He withdraws several vials of blood that he can test. Fortunately, they are in a fantastic lab that he can easily use to run his tests - even if that was not the intended use of the machines. He places a few drops on a slide and begins examining them, hoping for some clue as to the nature of his transformation. Under magnification, he finds an answer: amid the normal blood cells one would expect to find in a blood sample, he finds thousands of tiny creatures smaller than the cells themselves. They are not organic, he quickly determines, but rather mechanical in nature!
Dryth looks at Khonnir. "You want us to go into the structure without you? Aren't you worried that eventually they'll find this entrance and pry it open?"
Once Simeon finds the mechanical creatures in Tannaris' blood, he moves over to assist.
Responding to Khonnir, Artemios said "I can't say that I have a plan, having just learned of the situation now. But I suppose that we'll find the signal generator and blow a hole in it. And figure out who this 'Hellion' is."
He looked past the officer's shoulder at Althea for a long moment and then back at Khonnir.
"Would you excuse me, sir?"
With Khonnir's permission, Artemios approached Althea. "It's good to see you," he said in a low voice. "You didn't have to go to all this trouble if you wanted to see me." He smiled to show he was joking.
Dryth and Simeon examine the microscopic creatures mixed into Tannaris's blood. The nanotechnology is far more advanced than anything that either of them has ever seen before. Not even the laboratories in Promise where the most cutting-edge research occurs would have a chance of replicating the tiny creatures. They move around in the blood, clearly moving under the power of their miniscule legs. There's no way to tell how the creatures - which resemble nano-sized termites - were introduced into the man's bloodstream, or what their role and purpose are. It is also unclear if their role is sustaining the mind control or something else. There are so many of them within the blood sample that his body must be entirely teeming with them.
Althea nods at Artemios with a nervous, polite smile. "It is good to see you as well, Artemios. How long has it been, four months, since we spoke last?" She is stragely formal, a far cry from the passionate, fiery woman who he spent a year with. "I'm glad that you and your team have come to rescue us. We are doing important work here."
Simeon frowns. "There isn't a laboratory in Promise that could make something like these - these nanobugs. They're more advanced than anything we can manufacture! That - that shouldn't be possible." And yet, there they are, nevertheless.
Shaken, he looks up from his research bench - and sees Artemios and Althea. He and Zoe share something not-quite-licit; his senses for such things are therefore very keenly attuned. He can see that there might be something similar going on here, at least on Artemios' part. Not that it's any of his business. He just can't help noticing.
Quickly dismissing such thoughts, he turns back to his studies.
"How do they even move? I don't- Nanobugs, yes that's a good name for them. Who could have made these things? Wait, let me try..." Dryth waves his hand over the blood sample, casting a simple Daze spell to see if the nanobugs are affected.