Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 4

Boiling Point

The silence of space was defining at the same time it was familiar.. Accelerating down towards the curvature of the strange moon, Adam found that he had too much on his mind to really appreciate the view. On his shoulder, Lord Celex lounged like they weren't falling at ever increasing speed towards the planet surface. It had been Adam's idea to do an orbital insertion with a low opening down to the planet's surface. They didn't know for sure what kind of technology these people had, so it was best to operate assuming the worst.

From the omen, they had used orbital cameras to zoom in on the plant's surface. The cameras on the Empyrean were so powerful that they could pick up the resolution of a single dust moat. Needless to say there wasn't any evidence of weapons stations or gun batteries,, but that didn't mean it didn't exist.

From what they HAD seen, the entire planet was a geological hotbed for volcanic hot springs, though there were no noticeable volcanoes. It seemed that the abundance of geothermal activity was enough to vent pressure from under the moon's surface. Much of the planet was covered in a thick layer of minerals shed by the boiling water, and this included vast deserts of shallow, brittle crust covered in lightly simmering water.

Barring that there were shallow mountain ranges made primarily of piled crystal, and strange formations including arches and natural monoliths. Adam would have loved to explore the palace had they not been currently dealing with a potential void crisis.

The zealot compound was easy to map on their cameras, a large sprawling complex of tunnels, pools and open air amphitheaters that the zealots used for their strange rites and rituals. Guessing where the theocrat might be had not been difficult. One of their mapping specialists had been quick to point out the massive temple just off from the main compound. It was tall and thin stretching many stories into the sky, It was seated on a small island surrounded by a lake of boiling water and curtained at all times by a thick layer of steam.

That was their target.

However the zealots and their acolytes weren't the only thing to worry about. Their orbital scans had indicated and abundance of life that seemed native to the planet. Strange long winged bat like creatures, three meter tall snail things. Foot wide crabs that lived almost exclusively in the hot springs, herds of long legged animals, all of which seemed impervious to the boiling water.

But there was also evidence of some larger predator. They hadn't gotten a good look at it because most of its body had still been inside a spring, but the group of them had watched as a massive worm like creature lunched out of one of the hosprings and took one of the deer in its mouth hole before vanishing back into the boiling water.

Adam had no desire to meet one of them, but he was prepared in any case.

The suit around his body began to rattle as they entered the upper atmosphere. The cooling coils hidden within the armor began to pull power as heat and flame licked up against the edges of his visor. That was alright, now that he had better access to his anima, he was basically a power source for the suit, a convenience that fealty greatly appreciated.

Outside, Celex clung to his his suit with his strange celex feet, his fur whipped straight back behind him. Fire licked at his fur though it did not catch.

How strange they must have looked.

A gage inside his helmet clicked away at their altitude.

"So, have you come up with a name?"

The casual conversation was done telepathically, so the roaring of the fire did not interfere with the volume. Adam sighed, "No, not yet.... I guess I still haven't grasped that this is really happening. HE had other thoughts about it too, and so did Sunny. They had chosen not to tell anyone barring Celex and Conn who would have known anyway. Sunny was still very early in the pregnancy and both of them weren't willing to say anything for another month or so. Sunny's own mother had a history of difficult births miscarriages, and genetic defomities in her children. Out of all the kids she had given birth too (the total was still unknown as they couldn't be sure Dzara was the only abandoned child) Kanan was the only one who had come out hole. A part of Sunny expected to follow the same path as her mother, and didn't want to get her hopes up too early.