Chapter 9. The trial by the planet

They never used chemical nutrients on the base. Young hybrids were getting only the best organic products, even if it cost more than typical space food. People on Earth might've objected… if someone told them about it. But who would do that?

Arriz wasn't outraged over such expenses because he was enjoying this privilege. He couldn't be upset about the tasteless mass from the tube being replaced with well-roasted salmon steak with grilled vegetables grown here, on Ceres.

Unfortunately, he couldn't just relax and enjoy the food. Because his companion for this dinner was Iutah, who sat opposite him, looking gloomier than ever.

"Don't you think you've reached a dangerous line?" he asked. "You're about to start liking them!"

"I can say the same thing about you," the telepath noted. "You're the one calling them your friends."

"It's not the same. I'm just calling them this way, and you're starting to think so!"

"How can you know what I'm thinking? Reading thoughts is my thing, remember?"

Arriz intended on denying everything, even though he knew his partner was right. He was spending more time with the hybrids than before. Just hanging out – not because it was really necessary, but because it was fun. The difference between them and normal humans was fading for him.

And Iutah had noticed that, which was a very bad thing. But still, the telepath's getting friendly with other hybrids meant they could sit together in the cafeteria without causing suspicions.

"I'm on your side," Iutah assured him. "I'm telling you that not because I'm trying to boss you around. I'm just worried! I know how perfect they are at deceit, they'll trick you and use you long before your telepathy has a chance to influence something."

"They haven't tricked you so far…"

"Because I see right through them. I've been watching them for years and I know they're rotten demons inside. You should keep that in mind too. They're just pretending to trust you!"

"Well, you're not even pretending that," Arriz chuckled. "I've been here for two months and you still haven't told me what the transformation into hybrid is like, what it feels like and how it changes you. So I'm trying to make contact with the others to get the answers from them!"

That left Iutah cornered: he couldn't deny it. Through these months all he did was looking at Arriz with distrust and staying away from him. One didn't need telepathy to sense his aversion.

"My mission is very important," Iutah said after some thinking. "I am the first member of the Organization to infiltrate Ceres. I sacrificed everything for that! I can't let that be in vain. So your behavior alarms me sometimes. I need to be sure that you're loyal to the Organization and pretending around those freaks, not vice versa."

"How can I prove that?" Arriz questioned, taking another sip from a glass of fresh orange juice.

Actually, he didn't have to prove anything. He and Iutah were agents of the same level, no superiors and subordinates here! But Arriz needed his trust…

Because he was beginning to doubt himself. When Norman asked him out to train together or when the Silver twins invited him for a game of football, he usually agreed – and he sincerely wanted that! During those hours he forgot about his mission and just enjoyed the ride.

But his main concern should be the wellbeing of the Organization, not personal entertainment! Iutah had better control over such things, and Arriz valued his opinion.

"There is one way," Iutah lowered his voice, even though no-one in the cafeteria was paying any attention to them. "It involves some risk, sure, but you'll gather highly important data and you'll demonstrate your devotion to the Organization."

"Intriguing start," Arriz grumbled. He had a bad feeling about this.

"You already know how to find your way around the base pretty well. You're also aware of the fact that some parts of it are still under construction."

The telepath simply nodded. There were ten practical training halls already available to the students, but more of those exercise grounds were being built on the surface of Ceres. The construction was performed by giant robots that were working without breaks or shifts. They were drilling through the ice, heating soil, making new walls and thermic protection systems. Basically, they did most of the work automatically, and the participation of humans and hybrids was needed only to install new computers there.

He didn't think it was too important – up until now.

"We need to study the construction site," Iutah continued. "That may be a huge breach in their defense system. If the Organization decides to attack Ceres, using that tunnel will become the best option."

"And to see that I need to go there personally?"

"Yes. That part of the tunnel has no cameras in it, I've already checked that."

Iutah's access to the video control system of the base was nothing new to Arriz. The hybrid was generally good at professional spying. He knew there was a chance of being caught, but believed the information he received was worth it, and his acts would go unnoticed. Arriz wasn't so sure about that: he could sense the growing distrust coming from Lady Laura and Damian.

In comparison to what he'd done before, getting into that tunnel was simple for Iutah. He knew how to move quietly, like a shadow. But he wasn't even going to try it!

"Why can't you do that?" Arriz couldn't help asking.

"Because you're a telepath."

"Not an argument. You're a hybrid, and it means more for a diversion like that. This place is probably freezing, it's too close to the surface! Your powers make the chances of turning into a popsicle smaller."

"You won't freeze there either," Iutah promised. "There should be a heating system working between the finished part of the tunnel and the construction site. You'll reach it, study what you find there and go back. I'm not asking you to sacrifice your life! It's just simpler for you to do that. You can sense when someone is close to you, hence it's harder to catch you off guard. And they're on to me already! Laura keeps giving me weird looks ever since she's learned I know how to break locks."

So he didn't think he was that elusive after all! That didn't make Arriz's situation any better. He didn't want to go into that tunnel, his intuition was screaming for him to just say no. But he couldn't – if he did, he'd lose Iutah's trust completely, and he wouldn't survive here alone!

"Okay, I'll see what I can do," Arriz sighed. "But I don't think that can actually help the Organization!"

"Your opinion is not too important here. I'm good at strategy, so just believe me: the Organization will be very pleased with you."

For now, the only one who was pleased was Iutah… But there was no turning back anymore.

Arriz decided not to postpone that "spy mission". Thinking about it was robbing him of sleep and freaking him out, and the sooner he was over with it, the better. He went for the tunnel on the following night.

During his time on Ceres his telepathic abilities didn't develop, but they adapted to the new surroundings, and he could use them freely again, which allowed him to catch the moment when everyone around him fell asleep. That didn't mean that every living creature on the base was in deep slumber now. However, around him no-one was awake.

He left his room and walked down the corridor. Arriz wasn't paying any attention to the cameras: Iutah assured him that he'd take care of them. The telepath had to act fast, because the tunnel was rather far from the living quarters and he still had to come back before the hybrids' waking hour.

The lights in the hallways were always on, they were just made dimmer for the night. The area around the tunnel was almost drowning in darkness though, only a row of tiny lightbulbs was still working. Their soft glow wasn't enough for Arriz, and he had to trust his luck while walking along the railroad – taking the platform would make too much noise.

He had no idea what could he possibly see at the construction site – what if it had no lights at all? But he'd already gone too far to turn back.

Once he grew accustomed to the darkness, he sped up, knowing that running wouldn't wear him out too much, but it'd save him precious time. The gates were flying by, one by one, until all ten of them were left behind. But the railroad continued, and Arriz kept moving forward. He dropped his speed though, because he had no idea what to expect here.

He thought there'd be some sort of a block here, or at least a warning sign, identifying that this was a restricted area. But there was nothing of that kind on his way, while the air kept getting colder. Soon he saw thin ice on the walls, and then the railroad just ended… It wasn't a dead end, just the borderline of where one could get on a platform. The ground here was earthy and solid because of the cold, but the lighting was better – and there was an echo of sounds coming from the distant part of the tunnel.

Low rhythmic blows of metal over metal were flying across this place, and the further Arriz walked, the louder they became. The robots were working… they always did. He had no idea what those machines looked like, but he was about to find out.

The first thing he saw from afar was the shining of gold. It reflected the light of dozens of lamps by the ceiling, making it look like moving bars of gold. But soon Arriz was able to see the precise shape of those robots…

They reminded him of giant scorpions: same body and tail and claws, their heads equipped with powerful lamps and a couple of cameras. Each leg of the machine ended in a talon that fixed its position on the bumpy frozen ground. The wide back was covered in tentacles of different sizes. From what Arriz could see, the robots were using their tails and feet to break through the soil and then the tentacles were moving away those broken pieces and installing supporting columns in the tunnel. Each of the scorpions was the size of a one-storey cottage.

The area Arriz was in still wasn't the end of the tunnel. Two robots were working here, but he could see the movement of others behind their backs. They didn't show any reaction to his arrival, they weren't programmed to interact with living creatures.

Arriz knew he shouldn't get too close. The cold was really getting to him, turning his breath into little clouds of steam. Plus, the air here was thin, making it even harder to breathe – this area didn't have an air generator installed yet, so it was basically using the remains of the atmosphere from the finished part of the tunnel. The chances of losing consciousness were critically high here.

And still he wanted to get a closer look. Those things were really beautiful! The gold covering their bodies was probably no mere paint, diamond razors were glowing modestly on their giant claws. The movements of those machines were so smooth that they looked like real monsters, not the results of superb engineering. This feeling became especially strong when he got close to them. Arriz couldn't think about his mission now, or about how the Organization could use that tunnel. He was simply admiring the technological miracle in front of him.

That made him forget how dangerous it was to enter the construction site. He paid for this soon enough. One of the tentacles shot forward – and Arriz was standing in its way. It didn't mean to harm him, it was just reaching for a tool, but it still hit him, throwing him back.

He smashed into one of the columns supporting the ceiling. The power of the impact was so great that the column fell down, dropping an avalanche of rocks onto Arriz. It all happened so fast that running away was out of the question – he didn't have enough time to stand up! He could only cover his head with his hands and pray that he'd survive this.

He felt like an eternity had passed before the rumble of rocks quieted down. Arriz knew he was alive, but he was afraid to open his eyes. He could feel pain coursing through his body, though the shock stopped him from identifying its source. He couldn't believe he acted so foolishly! But it was too late to blame himself, he had to deal with the consequence.

When he finally gathered the courage to open his eyes, he was rewarded with two discoveries – good and bad one. The good one was that he survived this without serious trauma – no broken bones or torn lungs, just cuts and bruises. The bad discovery was that he was hopelessly stuck. The stones pressed the lower part of his body to the cold ground. The fact his spine was intact was a true miracle!

But that wasn't enough to save him. Arriz tried to break free, used all of his power to push the stones off, but it was all in vain. The trap was locked, he couldn't move a millimeter from his current position.

Meanwhile the robots continued working beside him. The collapse of one column wasn't crucial to them, they could deal with it later, and the trapped human just didn't exist in their world, he was no different from the stones holding him down. It would be the same when this creature stopped breathing and turned into a corpse.

Arriz doubted that he had more than an hour left. The burning cold of the ground was numbing his pain – as well as his whole body. Breathing with the thin remains of oxygen was harder now, and he could black out any moment, and then he'd lose even the slightest chance of being saved he still had.

It didn't matter anymore how the hybrids would punish him for getting here. He just had to survive this! They wouldn't kill him, the worst they could do was wipe his memory and send him back to Earth. But he was ready to accept this failure and disgrace, because the death he was facing, pointless and stupid, scared him too much.

"Help!" he shouted. "Anyone! I'm here! Help me!"

The only reply he got was the echo. The robots didn't react; they most likely didn't have any sound sensors at all. And everybody else was too far from his deadly trap, asleep and unaware of the destiny that awaited him!

His voice had no chances of reaching them. Besides, screaming took too much of his energy, filling his head with throbbing pain. It was suffocating him, he had to take a long pause after each word to inhale the poor air of the cave deeply.

That way he'd only speed up his demise! So in spite of his body already shaking with cold and his eyesight going dim, he forced himself to calm down. If screaming was no good, he had to use other means of calling for help…

He didn't know how to pass his thoughts or to get into someone's mind. Furthermore, he was aware of the fact that catching the attention of a sleeping person was even harder, and everyone seemed to be asleep at the base. So he realized how pathetic his efforts were, but he simply couldn't just lay there and accept the inevitable. He kept trying, filling the space around him not with thoughts, but with emotions, the feeling of pain, fear and despair.

Suddenly the enormous distance separating him from Earth was so sharp and real! He was being killed by the frozen soil of a foreign planet – the planet he came to destroy. Ceres had long since adopted hybrids, it loved them – that was why Damian called it a "she"; and Arriz brought evil and betrayal into its heart.

"Please…" he whispered, his lips pale with cold. "I'm sorry… I'll change, I swear… Just let me survive this…"

On some other day such attitude towards a planet would seem hilarious to him. But things were different now: he was looking into the eyes of his own death. Arriz knew his time was running out, and asking for forgiveness somehow made him feel better…

When he first caught the sound of hasty footsteps approaching him, the telepath thought he was hallucinating; just his fading mind's desperate attempt to keep some hope alive! But the sound didn't go away, it was getting louder, and soon a person in the black student uniform appeared by the end of the railroad. Above that uniform he was wearing a green jacket.

The hybrid noticed the trapped human at once, he ran towards the pile of rocks and fell to his knees beside the telepath. Even through the mist in his eyes Arriz had a chance to see a triangular face with high cheekbones and big brown eyes leaning over him. The face was framed by dark spiky locks, not long enough to hide an earring shaped like a snake piercing through one of the student's ears.

Arriz knew who it was, but his head was spinning too much to remember that hybrid's name. He could only whisper:

"Help me…"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine!" The hybrid took his jacket off promptly and covered the telepath with it. "Keep holding on! Is your spine damaged? Can I move you?"

"I can move myself, just get those rocks off of me…"

"Give me a minute!"

He got up, studied the boulders for a moment, and even walked around them. Those rocks seemed too big to move, but the hybrid wasn't discouraged by that. He was more worried about harming Arriz than anything else.

In the end, he came up with a perfect decision. He used the fallen column as a lever to throw the stones away. They rolled towards the robots with deafening noise, but the machines didn't even turn to them.

Arriz knew that his life was no longer in danger, but the fear in his soul was still too real. He began crawling away from the wall, though his frozen body could barely move.

The hybrid was by his side again just a second later. Moving the boulders didn't affect him at all – not a droplet of sweat on his brow and his breathing even. He helped Arriz to his feet and offered his shoulder for support. The green jacket was still on the telepath, helping him stay warm.

"You can take it back…"

"Not yet," his unexpected savior shook his head. "I'm a hybrid, and the cold doesn't hurt me as much as it hurts you. Come on, we need to get you to the doctor!"

"No doctor!" Arriz objected instantly. Even in his current condition he knew what kind of trouble it could bring.

"But you need help!"

"I'm fine, nothing broken! I just need to get warm and rest!"

"You're too cold to feel all the damage," the hybrid pointed out. "It's very important to see a doctor after an accident like this!"

"I can't! Nobody should know I've been here! If they find out about that, they'll kick me out of the project. Please, just lead me somewhere where it's warm. And don't call anyone!"

Generally speaking, this hybrid had all the reasons to report to the management about the accident. He had to – and he'd get praised for this, maybe even rewarded with some extra points. But the student just gave him a confused look and then nodded.

"Okay. I can't say I understand what's going on, but I'll do as you wish. You owe me an explanation!"

"Sure thing, as soon as my tongue stops feeling like a frozen trout!"

The further they moved into the operating part of the tunnel, the warmer it got. Arriz could see from afar that the gates to the third hall were open. They went inside, ending up by the building that the telepath had already seen – but this time the house wasn't burning.

The hybrid led him into the building, and they chose one of the first floor apartments to rest. The student walked Arriz to the couch and even found a blanket for him.

The telepath was feeling much better. He was still trembling a bit, but the numbness and headache were gone. Only now he fully realized what happened to him – and what could have happened! If that hybrid didn't appear, Arriz would've died there, on a hostile planet, an icy crystal lost in space! He wasn't happy about such perspective.

Not knowing what to do now, he checked the emotional condition of his savior. He expected the student to be suspicious – after what he had witnessed and after Arriz's denial to see the doctor, it would've been logical! But in reality the hybrid was overcome with compassion and the desire to help, those were the only feelings in his soul at the moment.

"Remind me your name, please," Arriz asked.

"Alexander St. Rio, Green Team," the hybrid announced with mocking solemnity. "But my friends call me Alex. How are you feeling? Better?"

"Much better. Told you I'm not wounded."

"Then you can get down to explaining what the hell were you doing there and why I shouldn't tell Dr. Deshanti about this. That's really confusing, you know!"

Arriz couldn't tell him the truth – not all of it, at least. So he had to cut it down to general facts together with a set of his lies.

"I knew that the construction isn't over yet, and I wanted to see how it was going. That was my only chance to see the robots of this type! But since I'm just a guest, I don't have any right to go there. I decided to do it at night… and got into trouble. One of the robots pushed me, and I ended up where you found me. I'd have died there if it wasn't for you! So… thank you."

"Don't mention it," Alex smiled broadly. "But I still don't understand why you're so afraid of going to the doctor. Not like you did anything wrong!"

"Weren't you listening? I broke the rules!"

"Well, I don't know… Maybe there are some special rules for you, you know, guest rules… Than sure, you shouldn't be telling about what happened. And don't worry, I won't tell! I respect our rules, but I don't think you're guilty of something. Justice as such is more important to me than those rules."

"Another reason why I'm lucky to have met you. By the way… how did you know I was there?"

Arriz had only just understood that the third gates couldn't have been opened by accident. The hybrid confirmed this:

"I was here, not too far! Though I can't say I heard you… It was a really weird feeling…" he frowned. "I suddenly got anxious, like there was a danger nearby! It was so unusual that I walked into the tunnel to check things out. That's where I heard weird sounds – like screaming and labored breathing. I ran there – and found you. I guess it's a coincidence!"

It was clear that Alex wasn't sure about the origin of his own reaction, and it was troubling him. Arriz couldn't tell him about telepathy, so he hurried to change the topic. And this time he didn't have to think it up, one thing bothered him greatly.

"What were you doing in a training hall in the middle of the night?"

"Well, just like the name goes – training! We had a mission of saving a human from a burning building here, and I failed it. I decided to practice some more – I have insomnia anyway."

"And you're allowed to come here at night?"

"Sure, why not?" Alex shrugged. "Everyone is allowed that. That's why I was surprised to hear you might get punished for that! There's no restriction of movement for hybrids around the base. Any kind of training is making us stronger! The thing is that most of us get so tired during the day that we simply have no energy left to practice at night, but it's not a big thing for me."

"Any hybrid can come to this tunnel at night?" Arriz specified. "No exceptions?"

"Any, I told you! I guess you're still in shock… Have some rest, and then I'll walk you to the living quarters. You need to hurry if you want to get there before the teachers wake up!"

Arriz nodded absentmindedly, his thoughts were running in a different direction now.

Iutah said he was afraid to inspect the site because he could be punished for coming there at night. But there was no punishment, since there were no restrictions! The strongest hybrid of the Red Team had to know that. And Arriz trusted his only partner so much that it didn't even occur to him to check Iutah's words.

Could it be that Iutah wanted to set him up? Or even kill him? No, he couldn't have known that the wall would collapse! But then why did he start this whole thing? It was much easier for him to go there, study everything and return without any risk! The danger was much greater for Arriz to begin with.

He couldn't believe it was a trap. There had to be some other explanation to this! Iutah would never do anything to harm him.

Arriz made himself believe that, because if he accepted the truth of Iutah setting him up, he'd be in a much greater danger.