by A. R. Knight
“Freedom.” Sax and Bas rasp the word together.
“Yes, until your own army comes to eliminate you. Until someone else here stabs you in the back, slices your scales while you sleep. Poisons your next meal. Nobody wants an Oratus in charge.”
“Then what is your offer?” Bas says.
“I’ll let you go. Let you see my sisters, who can help you get what you really want.”
There’s a moment where Sax considers whether eliminating this Ooblot would really hurt their negotiations with its sisters, but the sheer helplessness of the creature is killing Sax’s bloodthirsty drive.
“How do we know you’ll keep your word?” Sax says.
“You’ve got an awful lot of witnesses.”
Sax glances back at the crowd, and several dozen pairs of eyes stare back at him. To make sure they get the point, Sax gestures one claw towards them, edges out.
“You’ll back us?” Sax asks.
His question is answered by a parade of nods.
“Then we have a deal,” Bas says.
With the prospect of violence gone, the crowd dissipates fast, with some even returning to the tables and gambling machines, while D’Arscale’s mix of robots and staff cleans up the mess.
“I’ll take you myself,” D’Arscale announces, thawing itself.
Sax and Bas release the Lutos, who stumble back, massage their necks and smooth their fur.
“You two useless mooks can stay here,” D’Arscale says to them before rotating its eyestalks towards the Oratus. “Follow me.”
The Ooblot rolls itself out of the casino, Sax and Bas following. If one Oratus drew attention wandering the station, two of them with one of the Ooblots catches every stare in the place.
“We’re celebrities,” Bas jokes as they walk. “I’ve always wanted to be a star.”
“How bad are you hurt?” Sax asks.
“I’ll get through this,” Bas hisses. “It’ll take some time to get my perfect pink back, though.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“Sometimes I wish you did,” but Bas laughs, then, when D’Arscale sends a stalk to look, switches to a hard glare.
Sax, meanwhile, blinks. Appearance? Why should he care about that? Bas is a glorious killer who can wield words as well as her claws. The color or condition of her scales means so little...
Sax is still turning the remark over when they reach another bank of lifts in the middle of the Nexus. Only it’s not multiple, just one large platform, with only one apparent option.
D’Arscale approaches the large glass gates, and they remain closed as it nears. Then, abruptly, another face appears, one that Sax recognizes:
The blue-gold Vyphen from the Junkyard’s Rest.
“What did the sisters do to deserve the punishment of your visit, D’Arscale?” the Vyphen warbles.
Sax waits for recognition, but the reptilian shows none. It’s a mystery that’s solved a second later when Sax notices a camera’s black nub above the door. The two Oratus are standing well back from D’Arscale - at the Ooblot’s suggestion.
Now Sax knows why.
“Eneks, let me up. I don’t need a reason to see my sisters,” D’Arscale replies.
“But you have one.”
The doors don’t move.
“Are you really pushing me on this?” D’Arscale’s injecting plenty of ire into its slapping speech.
“Yes.” Eneks, for his part, doesn’t seem to care.
“This would never happen on a Vincere ship,” Bas whispers to Sax.
“Because we don’t have any Ooblots to deal with,” Sax replies, and Bas hisses a quiet laugh.
“It’s about security. I need more for my casino, and for the station in general. Too many fights, too much killing. It’s hurting business,” D’Arscale says the whole thing in a rush.
Eneks finally changes his distant skepticism, though, and manages a large sigh. “That, D’Arscale, might be the first thing you’ve ever said that I agree with. If that’s what you’re coming up to argue, I’ll let you through.”
A moment later, the glass doors slide apart and D’Arscale slithers through. As soon as the projection disappears, D’Arscale waves at the Oratus and they dash forward, diving through just as the glass doors slam shut behind them.
“What happens when we get up there and they see two Oratus?” Bas asks.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to solve any problems.” D’Arscale answers.
“Any solution’s going to start with you.” Sax settles into a crouch as the elevator begins to move, ready to spring as soon as the doors open.
11 Clarity’s Dawn
Malo’s still holding Viera by the wrist when the grate begins to move back towards us. It pulls along a pair of long metal bars that serve as runners and retract along with the grate. Malo looks like he’s about to fall, and my white-knuckle grip on the terminals isn’t helping him.
I turn around and dash back to the hole in the floor and ask T’Oli to open it. The Ooblot does so, the barrier shunting aside as it issues some command from the Beast’s terminals. I slip down to the red-lit lower level, and look out as the grate comes closer. Malo’s slid his shoulders forward, brought his right arm to double-grip Viera’s wrist. Doesn’t look like he has the leverage to pull her up, though.
Across the tube, a squad of armored Flaum crashes into view, their fur covered in patchwork armor and their hands holding miners. The first one points towards my friends, and the Flaum aim their weapons.
Malo and Viera are easy targets.
I have to change that.
I grab one of the pieces of junk, and throw it. It’s heavier than it looks, but it flies over Malo and Viera as the grate pulls closer. The piece of scrap doesn’t make it across the tube - falling through the air and into the pit. But what the junk does do, for one instant, is stop the charging Flaum. They watch the rusty miner to make sure it’s not a risk. It buys Malo and Viera a moment.
“T’Oli, turn the grate!” I shout.
The Ooblot follows the order immediately, turning the flat platform up so it acts like a shield. A shield that exposes Viera directly to any fire.
“Now reverse,” I continue. “Go backwards!”
The Beast rumbles to life and sprays muck everywhere as its treads take the machine back through the tube. With the grate retracting, and the Beast retreating, Malo’s over the muck. He drops, landing in the goop with a splash. Viera follows a second later.
The Flaum, meanwhile, seem to be setting up on the other side of the large tube. Why aren’t they shooting? Why aren’t the Sevora gunning us down?
Oh that’s right. They want us alive.
Malo and Viera run around the receding grate, dive into the Beast and join me. I barely have time to say hello before T’Oli’s voice bursts over the speakers. “Looks like they brought bridging cables with them. We’re in trouble.”
“Can’t you outrun them?” I ask.
“This thing isn’t meant for racing,” T’Oli replies.
“How slow is it?” Viera whispers to me. “They’re all on foot.”
“I didn’t think it was that slow.”
The three of us scramble up through the gate back to the second level, where we see why T’Oli’s not confident in our escape: the Flaum brought more with them than just miners. They’ve launched a pair of thick ropes across the central tube, and each rope is deploying small fibers that stretch across the gap between the two cables, making a bridge.
But the real surprise comes when the Flaum start to run. They don’t move like anything I’ve ever seen; each one twitches their feet and they lift half a meter off the ground. When they pump their legs, the Flaum burst forward, free of the muck.
“You’ve never seen mag boots before? These guys can move. No friction, all speed,” T’Oli’s burbling sounds awfully casual, considering the wave of death coming for us.
“How do we fight back?” Malo asks.
“We don’t,” T’Oli repli
es.
The Beast shudders to a stop and I’m about ask what T’Oli’s doing when it starts up again, only this time going forward. Back towards the central tube, back towards the Flaum.
Seeing the Beast come at them, the Flaum open up. Bright flashes of red and blue as miners unleash destructive energy against the front of the Beast. The bolts splash against bottom of the machine, and I can see little parts of the terminal start to shift yellow and red.
“How much can this thing take?” Viera says. “Because you’re not really avoiding anything.”
“She’s a strong one. She’ll take a hit or three,” T’Oli says.
As we approach the central tube, the Flaum begin to back up and spread out, some retreating onto the bridge and others using those boots to push themselves up the sides of the tube around us. Their miners continue to unleash molten energy into the Beast, and I’m noticing new grinding sounds coming from its engine, but the Beast keeps on churning.
Right onto the cables.
“We’re going to fall in, you moron!” Viera yells.
“That’s the point.” T’Oli’s casual dismissal is the only thing keeping me from full-out panic - if the Ooblot, self-professed member of an organization the Sevora hate, isn’t worried, then why should I be?
And then the Beast’s engine sputters to a halt.
We’re most of the way onto the bridge cables, hanging out over the edge of the abyss. Yet the Flaum’s ropes are holding, and we aren’t falling.
“That’s not good,” T’Oli says as the engine whines down to nothing.
The Flaum notice too and hold their fire, start to ease in back across the bridge. I can only imagine the ones on the sides are looking for ways in.
“So what now? Surrender?” Malo says.
“We can’t,” I say. “I’d rather die than go back to the Sevora again. You think they’d give us any more chances to get away?”
“I need you all to run, when I say so, and push against the right side.” T’Oli’s command catches us.
“Run?” Viera’s saying. “Clearly you’ve got the wrong idea about how big this place is.”
“Do it! Now!”
It’s the loudest I’ve heard T’Oli yell, its skin hammering out the words, and we jump to follow. All three of us rush to the blank metal wall on the right side of the Beast and push. At that same moment, there’s a bang from the back of the Beast that shunts the machine forward a meter or so. Our weight, plus the burst, sends the Beast teetering to the side of the cables.
I see the world turn sideways out the front glass, the Flaum’s mouths drop open, and then we’re falling.
My stomach shoots up as my nerves freeze and my mouth opens into a scream. The lights outside vanish as we plummet, dropping us into darkness.
We land. At least, that’s what T’Oli says. I’m battered, bruised and bloodied, having slammed against the floor and walls as we bounced off of the main tube on our way down. But in the end, we plunge deep into a huge pool of soupy liquid. The Beast itself doesn’t float, and its crumpled body is slowly sinking down.
Muck leaks through the sides of the machine. Seeps onto terminals, drips from the ceiling, and even sprays Viera from a corner, coating her in brown awfulness.
“If we keep the swamp out for a bit,” T’Oli says. “We’ll be all right.”
“We’ll be all right?” Viera says, backing away from the sprays. “The fall didn’t kill us, so now we’re going to drown instead?”
“You asked for an escape. That’s what I gave you,” T’Oli replies. “Might be bumpy, but you’re alive.”
Malo lurches to his feet and catches my eye. We both move to a couple of leaks and press our hands, grab whatever’s loose and push it against the creeping liquid. Trying to keep the Beast sealed for as long as we can.
“What happens now?” I ask T’Oli we descend further and further into the dark.
“Wait and see. We either get lucky and someone’s paying attention, or we don’t, in which case it’s been a real pleasure meeting all of you.”
I’m sure my eyes are as wide as Viera’s, who finally notices what Malo and I are doing and joins in our efforts to keep the sludge from completely filling the Beast.
“At least we’ll die free,” Malo says.
“I was hoping we wouldn’t die at all,” Viera replies. “Guess I’m the optimist here.”
“Ignos takes everyone eventually,” Malo adds. “Now might be our time.”
“Would you all stop being so glum?” T’Oli interjects. “The only reason I drove off those cables is because it seems like the Sevora really want you. And if they want you, then Clarity’s Dawn could probably use you too. So shut up, and keep that muck from making my poor junker too dirty.”
T’Oli’s words keep us quiet for a minute, until I point out an orange glow from beneath us. It rises up, past the Beast’s splintering windshield and I see it’s a circle, wide enough to be the entrance to another tube. As we pass, the orange lights flare and the door - a sequence of eight curling plates - slides open. The muck’s too thick to see what’s on the other side, though.
“Hold on to something,” T’Oli advises.
There’s a sudden burst of pressure and all of us are thrown forward into what’s left of the windshield, towards the suddenly open tube. I don’t see it, but I can hear the door slide shut as the Beast passes through. What I do feel, what I do see, is the Beast slamming to the floor of a square room as the liquid sludge drains away through metal grates.
Hurting all over, I pick myself up. Look out at the deep red lights glowing in here, just as they did in the Beast’s lower level. T’Oli said those lights give away if someone’s hosted. Guess this would be the way to see if whomever owns this room had trapped anything they didn’t want.
“This isn’t exactly the front entrance, but we’re walking into the only place on Vimelia we are allowed to be free,” T’Oli says. “And please, please tell me that you’re worth it. Because my baby’s going to take a long time to run again. I don’t think you appreciate the sheer horror of cleaning all the muck out of this thing’s gears and grinders.”
T’Oli’s barely finished speaking, and I’ve barely finished figuring out whether any of my broken bones are broken – thankfully none – when a wide door at the far end slides open. It’s big enough to admit something like the Beast, and it’s lit with soft yellow lights. Another crew armed with miners comes out, only instead of the Sevora’s endless Flaum squads, this is a motley mix up of species. Some I’ve seen, some I haven’t.
“You get yourselves down and out of here. Sure they’ll be wanting to talk to you.” T’Oli punctuates its sentence by opening the grate again.
“Do you trust it?” Malo asks me before we move anywhere.
“I don’t think we have a choice.”
“At least this thing hasn’t tried to kill us yet, or enslave us,” Viera adds. “Though, somehow, I’m still hurting all over.”
“I’d tell you to get use to it, but I bet you already are,” I say.
“The day your warriors scooped me up from the jungle,” Viera nods to Malo. “Was the last good day of my life.”
The three of us drop down and climb out of the Beast, with T’Oli turning the grate so that we can leave.
It feels wonderful to be walking outside of the muck for a change. My feet step freely, though nothing’s changed about the smell. My mask is covered in gunk, Malo and Viera are much the same. We look more like swamp creatures than humans.
“So you found your way to us after all,” says the watery voice of the lead figure, who I recognize as our would-be prison escape-artist even beneath his armor. “I wasn’t sure you would ever get down. Jel isn’t one to set people free. Not ones she can use.”
“We had to work for that,” Viera replies before I can. “May have left our mark on her home too.”
At the creature’s tone, the other five members of his team loosen their grip’s on their miners. I notice they don�
�t relax entirely, and they’re still spread out, giving themselves plenty of space should things turn sour. Trust doesn’t come easy on Vimelia.
“The name’s Rackt,” the creature says. “Welcome to Clarity’s Dawn.”
Rackt takes us out of the room, while the rest of his crew follows behind. T’Oli announces it’s staying to clean the Beast, and there’s a lot of resignation in its pattering voice. Given the mess we’re wearing, I don’t envy the Ooblot.
Beyond the initial room - something Rackt refers to as an airlock - we pass into another tube, albeit one generally free of muck. That doesn’t mean it’s clean, though: junk litters the corridor, and the yellow light that looked so inviting from the outside dims and flickers along the ceiling as we walk. There’s a sharp smell that burns my nose, a sour taste that lingers on my tongue and buzzes in my throat.
Malo and Viera, for their parts, keep quiet. I figure, like me, they’re trying to take everything in.
Some part of me wishes Ignos - the creature, not the god - was still in my head. The Sevora could’ve told me more about Clarity’s Dawn, whether to trust them or not, how the faction had begun, and where Rackt is taking us. Instead, I’m forced to ask Rackt, who falls back a step and walks beside me.
“The name tells our story,” Rackt says. “A group of Sevora outcasts, left behind by their masters, came down here and found it to be better off working together than separate. Over time, enough like-minded species started what you see.”
“And now you’re fighting back?”
“Now we’re trying to survive,” Rackt says. “If the Sevora ever stop fighting the Vincere and the Amigga, they’d have the attention for us and we’d be wiped out. We’re hiding in a bunch of tubes, human. We have nowhere to go, no way to get off this planet.”
“So what do you want us for? You said, back at the prison, that saving us was a big cost for you.”
Rackt pauses, gives me a straight look. “There are few known species that the Sevora can’t dominate. Mine, the Vyphen, the Ooblots, who are rare, and, now, yours.”