by Robert James
By now, both Sharon and I were easily recognised in Stonebridge, so, I decided to do a little looking around on the mainland. Sharon would only tell me that there were ‘Lots of little fishing villages along the coast’ and ‘Several railway shipping terminals for hundreds of kilometres to the North’. She had her mind elsewhere. “Who brings what to be shipped to where Sharon?” I asked the clearly aroused woman.
“Darned if I know Robert” She replied throatily. We were comfortable and alone in my T.T.V. cabin that night. “The trains deliver containers; there are three grades, perishable, fragile and general” She continued “We trans-ship the perishables immediately and whatever space is left we send the rest” She said
Then Sharon rolled over and lay her naked body on mine
“Frankly Robert only two things interest me” She said softly.
“And what might they be Sharon?” I asked, grinning broadly.
“Electronics and sex” Her voice husky replied. Why hadn’t I known? The next morning, well rested after a good dose of Sharon’s sleeping pills, as I called her unquenchable cravings, we planned the day, over breakfast in the town hall.
“Well there are fishing and farming villages all the way up the line I think” Supervisor Blarty replied when Sharon asked “Then there would be cloth and oils, and that would surely account for the general category” He added, then scratched his head, puzzled.
“But the fragile has got me stumped, were there many?” He asked
“Seemed like there was a few every week or so” Sharon replied “That wasn’t my function Ken” There was a chill in her voice.
“Er, no, of course not Miss Sharon” Ken Blarty apologised. She knew how to make men feel uncomfortable this one. I was to take off, under my own power, after breakfast, and return by the following evening. Privately, Sharon and I had arranged to meet that night, on the roof of Port Rualé’s administration building, where Elton had died. Then, after donning the clothes she would bring, we would attend a party. I was to be incognito, as a job officer from Centropolis. Just before I was to take off, Sharon came and put her lips to my ear.
“I do know something about the valuable freight” She whispered “I just didn’t want them to know I knew about that stuff” She added. As I went to ask why, she smiled “Politics my dear Lord Robert, you would never understand” I think I was glad about that.
“So, what is it that you know?” I asked, pretending to become annoyed at her habitual deviousness. She picked that up and dutifully got back into line.
“They were much smaller than the smallest perishables, because we could fit more of them into the same space. They all came from terminal twenty something, and they were all consigned to Centropolis, I think for the Supreme House” Sharon told me and was about to step back, but I held her now shirted shoulder firmly.
“Can’t you remember exactly which terminal?” I pressed her.
“They came from terminals in the twenties, four or five different ones, you know 23 to 28” She replied, looking concerned now.
“Alright, alright” I snapped impatiently. Right away I wished I hadn’t. Instead of wilting, Sharon looked down sadly at my hand.
“I serve you as best I can in every way Lord Robert” She told me.
“I’m sorry Sharon” I said, so only she could hear ‘I’ll make it up to you tonight o.k.?” I promised and her beautiful face beamed once again. My take off from the Town Hall balcony drew “oohs” and “aahs” and much applause, so I made a point of going several hundred metres straight up, before heading North. From up there I was all but invisible to the naked eye below, but I could see some of what I’d been told about.
It was like a small scale model. I decided to follow the railway line, which was quite far inland, only coming to the coast to link with what had to be seafood processing plants. I knew there were fishing villages on the coast, what I wanted to know was, what went on between terminals twenty and twenty nine? I saw no trains on the narrow gauge tracks, but often had to fly around mountains that the railway just tunnelled through. I didn’t want to go through them, in case a train came from the other way! Though I had only seen five or six terminals so far, when I flew down to check one, it was clearly marked Terminal 15! That didn’t make sense until I’d checked the next three, sure enough they were 16, 17, 18, 19, then I flew around a tunnelled mountain, a bit larger than any before, and the next terminal was 24! There were terminals in the tunnels.
After terminal 25, there was another, even larger tunnelled mountain, and the next exposed terminal was 30. So, the answer to the mystery of the ‘valuable’ containers was inside one or both of these last two mountains. Hovering over the entrance tunnel marked terminal 30, I saw no one, nor heard anything, so I lowered myself to the ground. The stonework, the track works, all the man made things around me spoke of quality design and construction. As soon as I entered the tunnel, the whole place lit up. Powerful spotlights caught me, like a rabbit in a car’s headlights. I couldn’t see a thing, but it would be hard not to see me my flame red kaftan.
“Who is that? Why do you not have a security pass?” A metallic voice asked. In my best booming voice I replied
“I do not need a pass to enter my own terminals” There was a few seconds silence and I could sense people moving around behind the lights. A voice laughed.
“State your business impostor” It ordered, adding “If Lord Robert was to honour us with his presence, we would have been told”. A half dozen hand held lights moved towards me slowly. I ‘switched on’ the golden glow and rose to float two metres above the ground.
“Since when do we of the Supreme Family have to announce our travel plans to terminal staff?” I demanded to know, as I’m sure Elton or Edmond would have. Within seconds the spotlights went off, as did the torches, and, in the still ample light, I saw that there were three men and two women.
They were on their hands and knees, faces to the ground. There were various mumbled apologies coming from the five of them. I faded my golden glow, came gently to the ground just in front of them and said to them quietly, in a voice more like my own “Enough, enough. You are right to challenge those who might impersonate me, though they may have trouble proving they are me” I laughed and they obediently but nervously laughed with me, faces still to the ground. “Alright now, stand up and let’s have a look at you” I ordered gently. They got up, dusted off their smart uniforms and looked shyly at me. Three clean cut thirty year old men and two women in their twenties, all wearing military uniforms, bearing the Supreme House insignia. They stood there looking sheepishly at me, waiting for me to say something.
“What do you ship from here?” I asked them, getting to the point.
“Uh we don’t Lord Robert” Stammered one of the men “We’re just here to protect those who do Sire” He added. It was only then that I noticed the very lethal Supreme House Guard weapons which the men had strung across their backs.
“I need some information” I told them “Terminal 29 is nearest right?” They all nodded. “Take me to the terminal management” I ordered quietly. The two women provided the escort for me, while the men stayed on station. That was the Senior Officer’s idea and she now drove the golf buggy vehicle that we were in. It was not unlike those at Supreme House, but not nearly as comfortable.
We drove through kilometers of paved and walled tunnels.
“This is the nearest one?” I asked the Chief Guard.
“Yes Lord Robert” She answered simply.
“How far to 28 then?” I queried my guard and her escort.
“About ten kilometres Sire” She answered dutifully.
“And all of that is underground right?” I confirmed with her.
“Yes Sire” The woman replied, getting more and more curious at my questions. Terminal 29 was a two story block house cut into and out of the stone, in the middle of a stadium sized cave. There were no windows, only double doors facing the tracks and a heavy duty crane. A platform alongside the tra
ck connected to the building, via a series of hand railed steps. I followed the ladies, enjoying the view they provided as they walked ahead of me. When we reached the top, the double doors burst open and a forty year old, much be-medalled General officer type stood there, with two much younger uniformed men. All three held the Supreme House Guards’ lethal machine guns at the ready, pointed at me!
“Colonel Rudd” The lady officer began “This really is Lord Robert sir…” But she was cut off.
“I don’t care who he is, I have my orders direct from Supreme House” The arrogance and smugness were sickening.
“And what are those orders Colonel?” I asked politely.
“Shoot on site” He snarled back at me, then the three of them fired a ten shot burst each. That would have, at that point blank range, damn near cut any of my siblings in half.
I looked down at the thirty spent bullets, I, quite literally, had not felt a thing, but they were flattened like they’d hit a wall. Then I slowly looked up at three now-terrified soldiers.
“Lord Robert I tried to” The Guard Chief began, but I cut her off.
“I know, and this lot would have been wise to listen to you, before committing an act for which the punishment is death” My voice was enough to scare the pompous and arrogant Colonel to death. I flipped him upside down a metre in the air, all his pockets emptied and some of the medals fell off. The two women could barely suppress their smiles. “I will know of these orders” I demanded of the hapless Colonel Rudd.
He was already bright red and gasping heavily. I put him back on his feet and he fell to his knees.
“Lord Robert” He gasped “Forgive me” He begged shamelessly “She told me you’d gone renegade, killed Lord Peter and Lady Margaret and were sending magician look-a-likes, to take over all the Supreme Family’s assets.” The man spluttered.
“Lady Ursula?”I asked, he nodded, barely able to speak with fear.
“Well that’s just three more lies she’s told you Colonel” I told him “I will waive your sentences, because you were tricked, but I now insist on your absolute oath of loyalty, to me above all others” I demanded. I got it from all five of them without hesitation. Later, sitting in his bunker like office, the Colonel, much recovered and now subjective, listened, as I briefly told him what had happened out there in the now New World.
The Colonel tried to understand, but a lifetime of absolute belief and conditioning made it nearly impossible for him to do so.
“So you will lead a force to conquer Supreme House and become the Supreme One” He asked, his awe growing. I played along.
“That’s why I must know everything that relies on the Supreme House for its survival” I explained. That made sense to him “Why is a man of your rank down here?” I asked “What business is done in this mountain that needs four terminals to ship it” I queried.
“Lord Robert” The Colonel looked up at me “I mean no disrespect Sire, but how is it that you don’t know these things?” He asked, and there was just a hint of suspicion in his still servile voice.
“I do not intend to explain beyond saying Lady Ursula has been engaging in many activities that none of us knew about” I answered the Colonel “It is she who killed my Brother and Sister and she plans to kill the Supreme One, after she has killed me” I told the shocked Colonel “So I have no choice but to stop her”.
“You do not intend to harm the Supreme One?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
“No Colonel” I replied patronisingly “He is very old and very feeble. My time will come soon enough, but Lady Ursula must be stopped. Now, tell me all” I demanded. Satisfied, he began by explaining this whole mountain was rich in veins of the highest grade gold, the base of this planet’s currency.
It was mined in tunnels that riddled the whole area, loaded into open truck carriages at terminals 27, 28 and 29, and then taken to terminal 26, where it was smelted into bricks in a factory over our heads, and loaded into fairly small containers, for shipment to Port Rualé. I had discovered the Supreme Family’s bank! I figured that was also what was happening in that other mountain, which had terminals 20 to 23 inside it. But, when I asked the Colonel about that, he just looked at me bewildered.
“Sire, there is so much industry in the mountains through which this railroad runs” He told me “I know only of that for which I am responsible Sire” He reported, now the most dutiful soldier.
“Very good Colonel” I told him “I’ll go see for myself. I want no one told of my visit, no-one at all, understand?” I commanded.
“Perfectly Lord Robert and it shall be so” He answered, saluting.
I flew back out of that place alone, adding proof of my ‘divinity’.
Terminal 25 and 24 were clearly for grain loading, with huge drums from which the containers were filled, sitting both sides of the open air track. I now stood at the entrance to the rail tunnel which led to terminal 23. I entered cautiously, fully expecting a blinding lightshow any moment. Walking slowly, peering into the dimly lit tunnel ahead, I noticed that the pavement was no where near as smooth as Gold Mountain, as I had named it. This was a far rougher passageway, though the walls and roof seemed much the same. The chatter of fairly high pitched male voices warned me I was about to arrive somewhere. Suddenly, the tunnel turned into a cave, about half as big as 29. There was no blockhouse, just run down huts and a platform about shoulder high.
There were eight men in there, all wearing boiler suit work clothes and with long straggly hair. The tallest of them was only a metre and a half at most. Now frozen in fear at the sight of me, each held pale white dishes of varying sizes, beautifully carved from a material which was unfamiliar to me.
“I will not harm you my little friends” I advised them “I would have you talk to me, that’s all, tell me what it is you do?” I asked quietly. None of them moved, so I walked right up to the eight dwarfs, holding out my hand to the nearest of them.
“May I see your dish?” I asked, as I would a child. Wordlessly and without looking up at me he held it out. I was surprised at how light this intricately carved stone dish was.
“It’s very beautiful, did you make it?” I asked him and he nodded “Why are you so afraid of me? I have not come here to harm you” Still I got no answer, so I sat down on the ground and crossed my legs, my eyes were now level with the shortest of the eight men.
“Alright, we are going to just stay like this, till one of you talks to me” I told them in a friendly voice. It was at least a minute before the one whose dish I’d taken finally spoke.
“What is it we must say Lord?” The bedraggled workman asked.
“What do you do, who are you people?” I asked him, adding “Whatever has been before is no more. And I am truly sorry if I was any part of it” That last bit really startled them. A Supreme Family member actually saying sorry, that was something new!
“Are you not Lord Robert?” The tallest of them asked me sullenly.
“I am” I replied, adding “But I remember little I’ve come to learn.”
“Then how is it you have no knowledge of us” He asked defiantly.
“If you will tell me of your world, I’ll tell you of mine” I cajoled them. My acquiesce seemed to embolden one of the younger men.
“Could it be you have destroyed so many worlds that you have forgotten this one?” The man repeated Rama Karak’s question.
“Be still” The oldest man in the group warned him “Lest you die for your insolence”. I was about to say that it was o.k. but the young man upped the aggression stakes.
“What can he do Milton?” The young man challenged the Elder “He is no more than the others of his kind” He added disdainfully, so I blew a room sized hole into the back wall of the terminal cavern with my little black laser.
When the dust had settled, I turned to them, a smile on my face.
“There you go gentlemen” I said lightly to all of them “More office space. Now, you were saying young man?” I asked looking a
t him. Understandably, all eight turned white, once again terrified. The young man could not drag his eyes from the two metre in diameter, three metre deep hole in the solid rock face.
“Young man?” I commanded, he forced himself to turn and look back at me, his expression was one of total defeat.
“I most humbly apologise for my words Lord Robert” The young man mumbled fearfully.
“But are they true?” I asked him, genuinely wanting to know.
Expecting death for his true answer, the lad looked straight at me.
“Yes Sire” He replied “I spoke the truth.” He said simply.
The oldest went to chastise the bitter yet very brave young man.