Chapter 44

"Board the Comet?" Mek-Tek barked, pivoting his head towards Haledon. "Are you out of your forswyn mind?"

"Yeah, there's no way that's a good idea." Spark agreed with Mek-Tek as she raised her empty hands. "I don't even have my daggers."

Gazeas glanced between Haledon and the Comet. Her eyes widened as the pink glow washed over her, and she realized why the Druid was pressing forward.

"This is your dream, isn't it?" She asked, looking back at him with a curious look.

"Yes, and I feel that boarding the Comet is what we're supposed to do!" He replied confidently.

Haledon felt a familiar calm wash over his body as though he was again living in that first dream. He shook it off and looked to the Guild.

"I think we should board the Comet," Gazeas said to the group with an acknowledging nod.

"You Astra Druids and your longing to become compost," Witch-Hazel remarked as they tapped at the Mecharrion panel, enhancing the view of the Comet's trailing arm. "Since I'm the tiebreaker—and have decided we're going in—this is where we need to land."

Haledon leaned closer, examining the odd spherical shape that rolled over and into the liquid metal arm of the cosmic jellyfish. Attempting to count the sides, he lost sight of the polyhedron as it dipped beneath the living metal ocean.

"How do you know?" Haledon asked Witch-Hazel.

"Sparrow and I encountered a Comet once before. We thought it was the only one and that we had disabled it—either way, we were wrong. We discovered that the engine is in this structure and should be a singularity with a mass far greater than any of the Scouts. Enough for an escape."

"This is a bad idea," Mek-Tek grumbled as he gripped the reins to guide the Broadhead towards the tail. With a snap of the vines, he stared at his hands with a nervous squeak. "Uh—everyone? We don't have control anymore."

"What do you mean?" Haledon asked as he watched a confused Mek-Tek snap at the reins and pull them from side to side.

"I mean, my organic override was further overridden by the Comet. And it's pulling us directly into the bell!"

"Well, we don't want to be there!" Witch-Hazel bellowed and began to dance their hands over the panel.

"We need to retake control of this ship," Mek-Tek said with a forced calm voice before inhaling deeply from his straw. Exhaling a vapour cloud, he clicked away at the metal console. "Witch-Hazel, get the primary power crystals rooted and ready for a restart."

"Got it—Haledon, Gazeas," Witch-Hazel ordered the Druids. "I need you to place your hands here and repeat after me, 'Arbour abstergo ferrum.' Got it? Don't stop until after the reset."

Witch-Hazel gripped Haledon's hand and put it beside their bramble frame on the console. Tapping the metal for both Druids to begin, Witch-Hazel began to click away at the hovering red lights.

"Arbour abstergo ferrum," Haledon began to chant alongside Gazeas. He watched as plants crawled from his hand and across the board.

Witch-Hazel's fingers became knotted amongst the crawling roots, but their hands failed to slow. The metal began to disappear beneath the vines, and Witch-Hazel's woddy fingers eventually dug deep into the console. Releasing a low grunt, they withdrew a thick root made of bundled smaller root hairs.

"I have the primary power roots bound," Witch-Hazel told Mek-Tek. "Tell me when you're ready."

"Three, two, one," Mek-Tek reached into his panel. "Now!"

Witch-Hazel bent the root until its crystalline interior cracked in half with a loud snap. The ship went dark, with only the light of the Mecharrion bomb casting liquid reflections against the metallic interior.

"And reset," Mek-Tek announced, and Witch-Hazel snapped the two pieces of the root together.

The lights of the Broadhead turned back on, filling the space with white light. As the panels began to blink their multicoloured lights again, the Mecharrion audio filled the cabin with hollow, metallic thuds and rustling grass.

"We've retaken control," Mek-Tek replied and snapped the reins. "Here we go!"

The Broadhead twisted and rolled as it dodged past Druid and Mecharrion debris that filled the void between the fleets. Approaching the edge of the Comet's bell, Haledon felt his jaw drop as he examined the immensity of the vessel. Structures the length of the Astralaceaes appeared to reach up from the churning surface, forming geometric designs before collapsing into the sea of fractals.

"How does that work?" Haledon asked no one in particular as he leaned closer to the window.

"No idea," Witch-Hazel replied. "But, I wouldn't want to run along the surface..."

"I'd speculate that it's for defence." A concentrating Mek-Tek said as he pulled the reins and crested the bell margin. "The churning surface makes it difficult for landing parties to navigate or tell where an entrance will emerge."

"And the object we're heading towards?" Haledon asked.

"It functions similarly by dipping in and out of the living metal sea that makes up the Comet's tail."

Haledon watched as Mek-Tek ripped at the reins, and the Broadhead rolled to the side as the tip of one of the long tentacles lashed out toward it. Static began to crackle through the ship as a blue-white light arced from a nearby console and licked Haledon's hand.

"Ah," He jumped at the strange numbing shock as more micro-lightning strikes arced from the ship's interior towards the Druids. "What's happening?"

"The tentacles have an electric sting," Mek-Tek grunted. "Everyone brace, we're going to—umm...I guess crash?"

"Wait, Mek-Tek—" Haledon started as he looked back towards the front of the ship in time to see the rapidly approaching face of the polyhedron. With a slackjaw expression, Haledon realized that just one of the structures' faces was the length of an Astralaceaes, and they were on a collision course.

In a panic, Haledon began to transcribe runes into the air as he muttered in Druidic. Support vines crossed from his SOIL to Gazeas and Spark before reaching Mek-Tek and Witch-Hazel. Their bodies quickly began to root together before merging with the metal wall in a web-like binding.

Using the Druidic that Witch-Hazel had just taught him, he chanted louder, watching as the roots drove into the metal. Confident with the anchor, Haledon examined the Guild once more.

"We're ready," Haledon said as he observed sweet-smelling blooms crawling along with his roots.

"And a little extra," Gazeas said as she finished her hand movements. "A dose of stimulants to prepare us for what's coming."

"Mmm, I love the taste of N-P-K in the morning." Witch-Hazel laughed as they gripped their console. "Everyone, hang on."

Haledon watched anxiously as their target dipped beneath the angry sea again.

"Mek-Tek." Haledon panicked.

"I know—" Mek-Tek replied with a concentrated grunt

The stars disappeared, and all Haledon could see before the Broadhead was the faint blue glow of the metal ocean that churned. They raced closer, and as they did, the waves took shape. They crested, and he could see they were made of thousands of metallic pieces that pumped, lifted, and sank in a delicately manufactured waltz. They began to churn faster, appearing to retreat from the approaching Broadhead.

"Mek-Tek!" Haledon screamed.

"I know! Hold on!"

As the nose prepared to hit the ocean, a metal surface, like the face of a mountain, violently lifted itself from the sea. The metal cogs flowed to the side, and a triangular portal opened. Bright light overwhelmed the Guild as the Broadhead slid across a polished metal floor towards a honeycombed wall.

The ship collided with the far wall quickly and hard. As it did, Haledon felt the roots pull taut against his SOIL and overheard the Guild releasing a collective groan as the ship spun to an eventual stop. As the spinning eased, Haledon watched everyone quickly inspecting each other. At the same time, the binding roots began to retract into their SOILs.

"Like a seed in the crack of a—" Mek-Tek chirped.

"Asteraceae Guild, can you hear me?" Haledon felt the warm, weak breath Birchbark whisper in his mind.

"Birchbark?" Haledon responded. "Everything okay?"

"Mecharrion Mekanauts are attempting to breach the hull. My sisters…are all gone. We have attempted to persuade the Megacolides to push us toward your position, but Mesa continues complicating our plan."

"Birchbark," Witch-Hazel spoke up. "I may have something to help. Tell Mesa that 'the sun always rises in the east, even on cloudy days when the world seems grey.' That, 'the Willow, no matter its niche, will always shield the weary child from the sun.' He will know what it means."

Birchbark was silent. The warmth retreated from Haledon's mind before emerging again with a pained voice, saying, "I will attempt this. Now, hurry. We don't have much time before our biosphere is permanently compromised."

Witch-Hazel turned and looked to the Guild. "We have to move now."

"What about the bomb?" Haledon asked as a turtle-shelled Mek-Tek flung himself past.

"I've got it," Mek-Tek said with a wave of his hands, creating a large acorn shell from the foliage of his SOIL. Haledon watched as the plants slowly disappeared from his protective suit, revealing patches of greyish-brown fur poking through.

"One storage nut for a Mecharrion bomb." He finished, capping the top of the seed and motioning towards Witch-Hazel, who picked it up quickly.

"What's happening to your SOIL?" Haledon asked.

"No organics on this ship," Witch-Hazel answered, tapping Mek-Tek and restoring his SOIL to its full vigour. "We just have the foliage on our backs to channel Nature. So...produce no waste."

"Vastum..." Haledon muttered.

"I sure wish I had my daggers." Spark groaned once more, this time loudly.

Haledon watched as Mek-Tek reached into one of the walls and withdrew a familiar-looking silver cylinder. With a wave of his hand, lichen quickly covered the exterior. He tossed it to Spark, who instinctively dodged the Mecharrion technology.

"You're part synthetic and in a bramble. It won't hurt you," Mek-Tek said, pointing to the canister. "Use the cannon I modified."

"I know! I was testing you." She said and turned to the cylinder. Picking it up, she released a squeal of glee and turned to Mek-Tek. "See. I knew it wouldn't hurt me."

The back hatch opened, drawing Haledon's panicked attention. But, instead of a threat approaching, he watched as Witch-Hazel carefully stepped down the ramp with their staff extended. Following his companion, Haledon emerged from the Broadhead and felt a sense of vertigo washing over him as he examined the scope of the room.

Looking from one direction to the other, the rectangular silver room stretched beyond what he could see. Above him, the ceiling appeared littered with distant obsidian structures hanging like stalactites that sparkled dimly like stars beyond the windows of the Astralaceaes. Turning towards the massive wall the ship had collided with, Haledon looked at an uncountable number of Broadhead-sized hexagons. They stacked one on top of the other, filling the wall, disappearing so high and wide that the closed cells blended.

"Whoa...it's so..." Gazeas muttered in awe. "Sterile."

"This way." Haledon heard a whisper in the back of his mind as a distant Witch-Hazel waved the Guild forward. "I don't want to be a blighted oak, but we've exhausted our time. Move it."

Haledon raced as fast as he could, his vision sweeping the cavernous room for signs of Mecharrion. But, to his surprise, despite the size of the ecosystem, not a single creature existed to catch his eye.

Witch-Hazel waited at the edge of an octagonal threshold twice Haledon's height, where they examined the sealed iris with a frustrated look. As the Guild approached, Mek-Tek jumped from Spark's shoulder to Witch-Hazel. With one paw gripping the arbornaut’s foliage and the other touching the Mecharrion wall, Mek-Tek quickly transcribed Druidic runes across the surface. Small patches of green transferred from Witch-Hazel to Mek-Tek and eventually the wall.

The iris opened with a hiss, revealing two bipedal Mecharrion armoured in a silver carapace. Taking a step back, the creatures began to raise their limbs but were quickly overtaken by darkness. Haledon raised his arms defensively, waiting for a shot to hit him. But as the light returned, all that remained was an unscathed hall and two crumbled Mecharrion frames now several steps away.

Spark giggled with delight as she marched forward with the Mecharrion weapon.

"Modified indeed." Witch-Hazel looked to Mek-Tek. "When did you even have time?"

"You see, I—" Mek-Tek began to reply, but was interrupted by Witch-Hazel.

"Don't need to know. I just call dibs on the next one you find." They looked to Haledon and Gazeas. "Let's go."

Rushing down the hall, the footsteps of the Guild beat against the floor with echoing cracks like rocks striking a larger stone. Entering a pentagonal junction, Haledon examined the four identical and diverging paths. A grackle's cry echoed down one of the silver halls, followed by several more as Mecharrion called out to each other.

"Witch-Hazel?" Haledon pleaded.

"This way!" Witch-Hazel said and rushed down the left-forward path as the shrieks grew louder. Haledon looked back to see a dozen bipedal Mecharrion enter the room they had left. With erratic head twitches, the insectoid bodies stared down the hall through which the Druids fled. Haledon turned to run faster as the cries of the beasts intensified behind him.

"We've got trouble," Haledon yelled, watching as Witch-Hazel turned their head in his direction.

With a slap of the arbornaut’s hands together, a leafy clone erupted from the back of their running body. Haledon passed by the light and leafy clone of Witch-Hazel as the body burst into a dense wall of brambles. It dug into the metal and quickly hardened into a thick, red bark.

"That'll hold them off long enough," Witch-Hazel said, their body now less dense than before with patches of light shining through. "In here."

Waving the Guild into a side passage, Witch-Hazel placed a hand against the wall, and Mek-Tek quickly sealed the threshold. Beyond the barrier, Haledon could hear the Mecharrion racing past in their pursuit.

"Okay, that gives us a minute to breathe." Witch-Hazel huffed and turned around. "Or not..."

Haledon turned to see a collection of metal consoles below a wide window. Beyond, in the distance, a stationary dodecahedron larger than an Astralaceaes pod hovered in an inky black abyss. Dotting the darkness around the object, stars sporadically blinked their faint light.

"What's that?" Gazeas asked, approaching the window.

"The containment field for the black hole drive," Mek-Tek said in awe. "And that must mean that—whoa."

Mek-Tek stared towards the base of the windows, drawing Haledon forward.

Looking below, Haledon saw a vast cavern of obsidian walls and jagged crystalline monoliths. He now realized that what had looked like stars beyond the containment field had been hundreds of thousands of crystals. And that each wink of light was an arching bolt of electricity that raced from crystal to engine.

"They're kind of pretty," Gazeas remarked as she looked at the different coloured monoliths before a nearby pink crystal was suddenly struck with a lightning bolt. Haledon turned to examine it, admiring how it had transformed into a pale blue before slowly changing to its original colour.

"And probably dangerous," Haledon remarked. "So, how are we supposed to get across?"

"We don't," Witch-Hazel said. "We need to get deep enough into it so the bomb causes a chain reaction."

Mecharrion cries erupted from beyond the threshold as claws began to tear into the metal door separating them from their prey.

"Okay, let's do it," Haledon said. "Spark, destroy that window!"