by Patrick Lane
“Greetings my Paramour,” Quage interrupted from Nifty’s side, still folded at the waist, bowing.
Inks expression darkened and her hair straightened into spikes at his voice and she rose to greater height. “There will be none of this Paramour nonsense from you Quage.” She began angrily, her voice raising several octaves as she turned to him.
“Upon my arrival I reviewed the records you hoped to keep hidden and found that your unsanctioned slaughtering of Submantlers has continued despite my directives. I left explicit orders that a Jax with a Key should be arriving to test the machine room doors only to find that you lied about his arrival and then murdered him, betraying our pact with Rion’s Ring. In ten words or less explain yourself.”
Quage’s fancy garb melted into rags at this and he shrank down to a mere seven feet. “I, I, I…”
“That’s three…”
“I couldn’t help it, they were touching things and taking things?”
“And?” she asked, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow
“My things?”
“Your things? Whatever made you think that they were your things? You do realize that their ancestors built all that surrounds us. And whatever made you think that murder was the appropriate response to taking things? Things can be replaced, life cannot.”
“Paramour, I’m sorry, I forgot my place, please forgive?”
“Did your victims ask for your forgiveness?”
“Yes, but…”
“It matters little, I have already forwarded the details of your misdeeds to the other members of the forum. You can expect their decision soon. Now remove yourself from my sight and pray Rion’s Ring will forgive us for your indiscretion.”
Nifty was stunned. Anger, pain, regret…these were all emotions he expected from organics, not from machines. He almost felt sorry for Quage as he melted down to a puddle at his feet and slunk off into the lake. Almost.
Ink returned her gaze to Nifty, adjusting herself back to his height once again her hair resuming its mesmerizing dance.
“My apologies Master Orediten. That has been long overdue and it is a fault of my own that I have overlooked it for so long. He has always been one of my more…exuberant supporters.”
“What are you?” Nifty asked, not able to help himself. “What are both of you?”
Ink smiled, revealing perfect silver teeth. “We have so little time and so much to convey young Niftmire. Perhaps a full explanation can wait for now.”
She dropped to the floor and her pool formed two chairs. “Let us sit while we chat.”
With a shrug he sat, all while fully realizing the absurdity or her actually sitting. She probably never needed to sit and if anything, he would now be sitting on part of her. It was her way of trying to make him feel comfortable he guessed. What a silly thought.
“You are wondering how I came to be at this machine room when mine is so far away and whether or not you are a Jax, yes?”
He nodded, surprised at her insight.
“I hope the discussion with Quage has assured you that our meeting will in no way end badly for you?”
He nodded.
“I am Rion Jax’s last creation, a Fluxform, and I have been protecting the Jax legacy for nearly fifteen hundred years. It would be easiest for you to think of me as a highly advanced version of a repair solution. I am that, yet something else as well. I was merged with the lake in the gears of Hellstamp shortly after Rion Jax’s exile topside.
Years later the Scourge virus managed to penetrate the depths of my machine room and I was forced into battle with it. It took me decades to finally overcome its vileness, only to find that it had somehow managed to change something inside me. I was thrust painfully into a kind of self-awareness that had me struggling with what I recognize now as my sanity. It also spawned something else inside me, something I find hard to put into human words, I became more…the first of my kind.” She said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“What about Quage?” Nifty asked, “He definitely seems like he still may be infected by the virus.”
Ink gave a small smile before replying. “ I managed to transmit components of my Fluxform programming and my…more-ness…sorry, I can think of no other word to describe it, into other machine rooms across Submantle, to awaken their lakes of repair solutions. As witnessed by Quage and his unrestrained propensity for violence, I was met with varying degrees of success and for that you again have my apologies.”
She paused a moment, as if waiting for a reaction of some kind. Nifty remained silent which prompted her to continue.
“You and nearly everyone else in Submantle have been lied to. Rion Jax was not the creator of the Scourge virus, Hadron Drake was.” At this her hair changed once more, forming into long thin barbs that began sporadically spearing the air in front of her.
A thin sheet of liquid metal appeared at Nifty’s side and images skimmed by on its surface as she spoke. “From what I have come to understand Drake’s name has been all but erased from Submantle’s memory. His sins clouded by time. But know this, as impossible as it sounds Drake has returned and a good part of him has combined with a host. He and his greenback forces are about to make their presence felt in every corner of Submantle.”
Nifty sat there transfixed by the images in front of him. Images of Submantlers in ancient garb, each one corresponding with her words. But these could be images from any place at any time. He began to think as he reviewed them, deciding to remain silent.
“You are not convinced Master Orediten?” Ink asked, as if reading his thoughts.
“Well, you are asking a lot. Everyone knows that it was the Rion Jax repair solutions that caused the Scourge. That’s a fact.”
“Is it? Or is it what you were told to believe? Parents telling their children, who tell their children and so on and so on. Societal indoctrination? I have the genetic proof to prove that Drake was its creator.
“Well what if you do? No one will truly believe it, and no one will care even if there are people that did believe it. It was over a thousand years ago for slagg sake. And how can he be Hadron fellow be back? No one lives for a thousand years.” Nifty replied, not able to hold it in anymore.
“Not only that, no one would ever admit to being a Jax anymore so they both seem like moot points. And to top it all off, you have a Fluxbot, one of the very things that started this whole mess in the first place…it shouldn’t even exist.” Nifty finished almost under his breath, pointing at the Dominion and its passenger while readying himself to run, as he waited for her reaction.
“Well I care, and so should his decendants.” Ink declared in a determined tone, her hair straightening to form an armored helmet.
“To begin with the Fluxbots can in no way be held accountable for the madness of the Drake Virus, they were victims like the rest of us. Once again, I have evidence to support that claim. And as far as Hadron Drake goes, all too soon you will find yourself caring young Niftmire Orediten and I can only hope it won’t be too late.
Everyone in Submantle will come to fear the name Hadron once he and his forces make their presence felt. Do you think it a coincidence there is an entire sect in Submantle that call themselves Hadrians? Living among us, posing as a harmless cult, marginalized as some kind of embarrassment even as they weedled their way into nearly every Helix.”
Nifty shrugged not quite sure what to say. Her story felt like too much of a stretch.
She chose this moment to display a file from the Ranger Corps database. His name flashed across the screen followed by a full breakdown of his personal file. Dozens of facts and figures streamed by until it finally settled on the medical file containing a complete record of his DNA. A second profile was displayed alongside it, a profile he knew must belong to Rion Jax.
Like a punch to the stomach Ink waved her hand and linked the two strands. Sure enough there were too many matching markers to deny his lineage. His mind fought against it but he knew Ink wasn’t pla
ying a trick, what would be the point? He was a Jax, descendent to the greatest mass murderer of all time.
“Who do you think abducted the missing Rangers?” Ink asked, catching him off balance.
“How do you know about that?”
“Who attacked your delve train on your voyage here?”
“What? How?...”
“Why do you think you were accepted into the Ranger Academy, the son of a stone mason, with next to no prior training, when so many other more suitable candidates were turned away?”
“What?” Nifty replied, surging to his feet. “What the slagg is going on here? How do you know all of this?”
“You are a Jax young Niftmire Orediten and you cannot escape who you are.
This is not how or when I pictured our first meeting taking place but things are beginning to escalate out of my control and desperate steps needed to be taken. Quage killed our original candidate Oakley and truth be told I was surprised to find you here. Even now I must make significant calculations to adjust our plans regarding the Jax operation.” She finished, pausing for a moment.
Nifty just stared at her, struggling with his own calculations and making adjustments. “Well what am I then?” He asked simply.
If Nifty didn’t know any better, he would have sworn she sighed.
“Your parents were chosen to make you Nifty, I hope you don’t mind me calling you Nifty. After a truly exhaustive search only a handful of candidates were found to have suitable pairings to produce the minimum genetic requirements to bypass safeguards built into my system by Rion Jax himself.”
Nifty fell back into the chair, the blood rushing from his face. He was made intentionally? And then accepted at the academy because he was a Jax? His whole life the product of some kind of grand plan? He was torn between anger and shame as he processed all the questions that were swirling in his brain. He felt sick.
“Do not dwell on this too hard young Niftmire. Try to think of yourself as boon, created to help Submantle in a time of need. You are extremely special to all of us.” She continued, leaning forward in her chair, her hair softening as she extended a delicate hand as if trying to make a connection.
“All of us? How many of you are there?” He replied, rejecting the hand.
“Fourteen Helix grade Fluxforms and the several thousand agents of Rion’s Ring.” She replied, returning the proffered hand to her lap.
“Rion’s Ring?” Nifty asked angrily, as he tried to force away several ugly questions he really didn’t want to know the answers to.
“Men and women who know the truth and are dedicated to the Jax legacy. Keeping Submantle safe from within. Present in all levels of Submantle society.”
A brief emblem of two R’s back to back, intertwined into a stylized circle appeared on the metal display at his side. He knew for certain that he had seen it somewhere before even as Chadlock’s mantle watch, with its embossed trim flashed into his mind.
“So what do you want from me then? And why now?” He asked,
“I didn’t have a specific plan in place when the circumstances regarding your creation were initiated. A hundred and twenty years ago Rion’s Ring began slowly integrating old Submantle tech with new and they decided that we were safe enough from the Scourge that a full-scale investigation of genetically linked machines from our past should be conducted.
You are one of many contingencies we felt the need to set in motion. The task we have set for you is simple really, you are to remove a device from my machine room at Hellstamp and deliver it to the surface.”
“What?” and he found himself on his feet once again. “What device and why to the surface?” A wave of excitement washed away some of his anxiety. Travel topside was what most Rangers secretly dreamed of. Breathing the rarefied air of topside earth, the marvel of the sun, not to mention the endless void of space.
“You are not the only Jax.”
“Well this just keeps getting better and better.” Nifty replied, his anger beginning to surface over his short lived excitement. Was he being used here? To be disposed of when it became convenient?
“You are a safeguard Nifty. Quite simply put, and despite our best efforts, your DNA needed too many variants. As a consequence you have a very low percentage of the genetic codes required to access the machines we need to use in the fight against Hadron.
I have worked diligently for over twenty years manipulating a portion of the safeguards surrounding even the single machine I need you to access. Your genes should take care of the rest. You will be delivering the device and four Flux-cubes to what I have come to think of as The Jax. A highly compatible topsider named Thomas Jackman, or possibly his sister Caitlyn.”
“So, he and his compatible family have been wandering around topside this entire time but instead of talking to them you decide to manipulate a couple of innocent Submantlers into creating me?
“It is not that simple. There are other factors we had to consider.”
“And what will the device do? And what’s a Flux-cube?
“The device will transfer a portion of Rion Jax’s knowledge into the candidate, and help you to convince him of our need. Unfortunately it will be a shock link so it will be a delicate task to put it mildly. The Flux-cubes,” She paused a moment, “will take some explaining and will have to be discussed further once we meet.
“So now I have to convince Scotty to go to the Gears of Hellstamp? One of the worst affected Bastion Helixes. Even the Ranger Corps gives it a wide berth. Why didn’t you just bring the device with you when you came here?”
“Well as I said, your genes are required for its removal and I am not really here.”
“What do you mean you’re not really here? I’m looking right at you.”
“Are you familiar with the topsider phrase piggybacking?” She asked, her hair finally returning to its gentle swaying.
“Yes, the topsider engineers joke about it with us and the pushsnouts all the time.” He replied, trying to remove the unwonted anger form his voice.
“Well, I am riding on a signal through this machine rooms communications devices and then piggybacking onto a segregated portion of Quage’s repair solution. You could say that a part of my mind is here but my body is not.”
Nifty slumped down in the chair once again, feeling defeated by the magnitude of who he was and what he was being asked to do.
“So it is these greenbacks that attacked our delve train? And abducted the Rangers?” he sighed.
“My sources inform me that the latter is true and I have yet to confirm the former.” She replied leaning forward once again, taking a conciliatory tone.
“Who can I confirm the truth of any of this with? Or am I to run headlong to do your bidding without question?”
“Now we have met officially, one of the Rings agents will report for service very soon after your arrival at Rocktower. It will be someone you know and trust. They will have access to any and all resources you will need to complete this mission along with the authority to send you with whomever you think you may need.”
Right now you must be on the move. The greenback dreadnaught has docked on the upper platform and as we speak their forces have begun their search of the gears. The nearest shield patrols are too far away to be of any assistance.”
“Slagg.” Nifty cursed, turning to the Fluxbot for his weapon. “Scotty is in no shape to face them by himself.”
The Fluxbot looked down at Nifty, its eyes narrowing, before turning to Ink for approval. She must have nodded behind Nifty, because the pint sized bot engaged one of the control levers in the Dominion’s head and it held out the bat, which Nifty snatched from its grasp.
“Master Orediten, wait. I have one last warning.” Ink began, sounding reluctant and as Nifty turned back to look at her he could have sworn her shoulders slumped. “I promised the Ring I would keep this a secret, but considering the circumstances I can not in good conscience keep you in ignorance.”
Nifty shook his head, almo
st not wanting to hear any more good news.
She let this sink in for a moment before adding. “Because of Hadron Drake I am trapped at Hellstamp so getting in and out will be more dangerous than you know. “
“Are you serious? Yup, still getting better and better. Do you at least know why Hadron wants the Key?” Nifty quipped, his emotions beginning to numb.
“We are uncertain what plans Hadron has for the Key. There are even regions of my machine rooms that I don’t dare enter as a result of the Scourge.” She replied. “Perhaps this gift may help with any more questions.”
Gliding forward she reached for him. He resisted the urge to slap away her arm away as she took his hand, her graceful movements, somehow keeping him transfixed. She pushed back his sleeve and a fine layer of repair solution trickled from her hand into the mantle watch, blending itself in seamlessly.