The Slave Planet

by Seven Steps

  Is this what love is?

  She felt like a feather floating on a pond, completely at peace, completely oblivious to any danger.

  She knew in her heart that she would never leave Lex or Mahala again.

  Suddenly, the peace turned to screams, to the sound of running feet and hovercraft taking off.

  “What’s going on?” Eva asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  Lex stood and looked out the door. The hovercrafts were leaving in droves.

  Fear gripped him.

  “We’ve got to go!”

  He shoved his feet into his boots.

  The sound of loud engines grew closer.

  Then a whistle.

  “That sounds like a-”

  A fireball rose on the Northern border of Mahala.

  Screams.

  Men and women scattered, escaping into the forest.

  The sound of blasters booting up, firing.

  Another explosion, this time in the center of the settlement, sending bodies flying.

  More blaster fire.

  He grabbed Eva’s hand, and dragged her out of the hut.

  They raced through a war torn Mahala. Explosions ignited the wooden huts.

  Men and women stood their ground, blasters firing at the approaching Enforcers.

  The dome above glowed while Mahala burned.

  Lex found a hovercraft, began to climb in.

  “No!” Eva cried. “The Enforcers will shoot us down. We’ve got to escape on foot, into the forest. They won’t burn down the forest.”

  Lex looked at her, confirmed what she said was true, jumped back down from the hovercraft, and dragged her past the green houses, to the rear exit of what once had been their place of freedom.

  A large metal duel cannon stood near the greenhouse. A small, frail man sat in the seat behind it, his narrow arms directing the cannon to the Enforcer ship. He aimed, fired. Two long blue lasers shot from the duel cannon, striking the belly of the ship. It burst into flames and banked left, crashing somewhere in the forest.

  Cheers arose from the village.

  Heavy Enforcer fire came from the front of Mahala, mowing down the rebels.

  The duel cannon aimed at the front lines, firing repeatedly at the approaching Enforcers.

  Men poured out of the huts, weapons ready, defending their homes, sending their wives and children away.

  Lex and Eva joined the growing exodus, running out of the swinging gate, and into the woods.

  “Stop right there.”

  She heard the whiz as a Blaster booted up.

  Cobb appeared behind the Enforcer, swinging at the back of her head.

  The Enforcer dropped to the ground.

  “Follow me!” He said.

  His wife in one hand, and his baby girl in the other, he ran through the woods.

  She and Lex followed close behind.

  Something exploded to her right, forcing her to cover her eyes against the heat.

  When she looked again, Cobb’s wife Star was on the ground, her body badly burned. Cobb and the child stood over her, while Enforcers crept up from behind.

  Cobb whipped around, pushing his daughter behind him.

  “No!” Eva screamed.

  The Enforcers let out a blast of fire.

  Cobb, and the child, were gone.

  “Cobb!” Eva screamed.

  Lex released her hand.

  “Run, Eva!”

  “But-”

  “Run!”

  Another round of blaster fire sent Eva scurrying into the woods alone. She took cover, hidden behind a deep tangle of foliage.

  Lex.

  She peeked out of the foliage in time to see Lex surrounded.

  “Where is the woman you were with?” the Enforcer barked. “Where?”

  Lex didn’t respond.

  “We’ll catch her,” the Enforcer said. “And when we do, we’ll kill her.”

  The Enforcer stepped forward, grabbed Lex’s arm, ran a small device over it. She watched as it beeped.

  “Aahh, so you’re the one we were looking for. We would have never found this place if it wasn’t for the tracking device in your arm.”

  Eva held her hands over her mouth as the Enforcer hit Lex across the face with her blaster.

  He collapsed, and they dragged his still body back towards the ships.

  She followed at a distance, careful to keep in the deepest shadows.

  She stayed with them all the way to their hovercrafts. She saw Lex, along with hundreds of other men, being dragged aboard.

  What do I do now?

  She wondered if any men were left in the settlement that might help her.

  Not likely. And that place will be crawling with Enforcers by now.

  She walked back into the woods, staying close to what remained of Mahala.

  What will I do? How can I help him?

  Then, a flash of color ran through the forest.

  Another.

  Who can that be?

  Staying low, Eva followed the colors as they weaved through the forest and disappeared.

  Where could they have gone?

  She found herself in the middle of the woods. She was alone. Although no colors greeted her and no one appeared, she got the distinct impression that she was being watched.

  She tried to keep her mind rational, tried to breathe, but thoughts of Lex, and her own welfare clouded her mind. Her head scolded her for coming out here, following Lex to what was certainly her doom. Her heart, however, saw no wrong in it.

  I wanted to be with him. That’s all that mattered. It’s still all that matters.

  Too dark to find her way back to her ship, and totally alone, she sat on the cold, hard ground with every intention of sobbing when her backside bumped against something round.

  She turned, brushed the ground away. Saw the circular, steel door peeking up at her.

  An outline of a hand glowed green.

  A service tunnel? Out here?

  The mist began to fall from the top of the dome, making her jumpsuit damp.

  She put her hand on the scanner.

  It glowed red.

  She hissed, sat back down on the ground next to it.

  She ran her hand over her neck, trying to rub away the goose bumps that had taken up residence there. She looked around again, the feeling of being watched heavier now.

  She stood, put her hands in the air.

  “Who’s there?” she said, hoping that her voice didn’t carry through the forest. “I know that you are out there. I feel you watching me. What do you want?”

  Silence.

  “Please, if you know a way out, please tell me what it is, and I promise that you will never see me again.”

  The silence stretched on.

  Have they gone away?

  “Wait. I know her.”

  The familiar voice of Mitt drifted towards her. He stepped out of the darkness, before bending down and placing his hand on the scanner.

  It glowed green, popped up.

  “Go,” he said.

  “Thank you,” Eva replied, looking into the tunnel. It seemed brightly lit, the dirt covered walls sturdy.

  She climbed down, took a deep breath, and ran.

  Chapter 36

  The incessant buzzing of an incoming comm stopped Marie half way out of her front door. She looked at Maxwell, who already stood outside,

  Who could that be?

  She lifted her wrist to take the comm.

  “Accept.”

  The blank screen faded into Eva’s face, tight with worry.

  “Eva, is everything alright? How is your mother?”

  “Mother is fine. I know that you’re off world but there are things you need to know.”

  “Is this about Arees? I already heard from Nadira. I came back this morning.”

  “Oh thank Mother Venus! Can you give me a ride to the Hall of Judgment? My servant’s has been arrested. They found us together in Mahala. I escaped, but they
took him into custody and destroyed it. I have to save him.”

  “You turned Rogue?” Marie gasped. “Oh Eva!”

  Eva ignored the comment. “Where is Nadira? I’ve been trying to comm her all day and she hasn’t answered. Is she with you?”

  Still shocked by Eva’s proclamation, shook her head. “Nadira has been taken into custody.”

  “What? When?”

  “They are holding her on burglary and murder.”

  “Murder?”

  “Yes. They said that she broke into Arees’ house, stole some files, and convinced two slaves to kill Maharani Nina and Princess Niadad.”

  “She didn’t have anything to do with the murders.”

  “I know.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m working on that now. The final vote for the election for Council Leader is in an hour. I’ll send Maxwell to pick you up. Where are you?”

  “Behind the trash and recycling center.”

  Marie paused. “The trash and recycling center? Eva what are you doing all the way over there?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  “Stay where you are. Max will be there as soon as he can. End Comm.”

  *****

  Max arrived just as the pungent stench of the trash and recycling center forced Eva to vomit.

  He landed the strange blue ship, and waited for her to wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, and climb in.

  His eyes didn’t register shock at seeing her out here by the garbage, filthy, and alone. Instead, there was a knowing in them, compassion, as if he already knew her secrets.

  The ship rose in the air and sped forward.

  “So you’ve been to Mahala?”

  “Mahala is gone. Enforcers blew it up.”

  She remembered the time that she and Lex had shared there. She wiped away a tear.

  Maxwell sighed, shook his head. “Arees has no idea what she’s done.”

  “So it’s true?” Eva asked. “They use the men in Mahala to father us?”

  “Since Mahala began,” Maxwell replied.

  “Does Arees know?”

  “If she did, she would not have done what she did. No one has ever sent Enforcers to destroy Mahala.”

  “What do we do now? Without Mahala, how will we go on? Will they use slaves?”

  “They can’t. The wiping makes the men infertile. Our only hope was in Mahala. And now, there may not be any hope at all.”

  They rode on in silence and, before long, Maxwell landed on the grass in her front yard.

  “Why are we back here? I thought we were going to the Hall of Judgment?”

  “You must get your things, Empress. You will not see this house again.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “No time to explain now. You must hurry if you want to have any hope of finding Lex.”

  Eva looked at Maxwell. She saw the seriousness in his eyes.

  She jumped from the strange ship, and ran to her door. Pressing a finger to the scanner, she waited for the click before bursting in.

  Amerish sat in the sitting room, staring at the news feed. She turned with a start when Eva came in, her eyes a mix of relief and anger.

  “Where have you been?”

  Eva marched to her room.

  “Did you find him?” Amerish asked. “Are you Rogue now?”

  Eva returned a few minutes later with a suitcase, clothes hanging out of the top of it.

  Amerish blocked the front door. “You will answer me, Eva Amerish. I am your mother. You carry my name. You will tell me what is going on immediately.”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “I understand legal things, Eva. What you did, was it legal?”

  “It was right.”

  “I knew it! You went Rogue! Eva how could you? How could you do this to me? How could you leave your mother?”

  “Yes, mother I went Rogue. I ran away and I would do it again. I felt cold every day I was here. My heart was like a block of ice in the middle of my chest every single day. But then Lex came, and I felt something for the first time. I felt warm, I felt safe. Lex did that for me.”

  “What are you saying? Eva, I’m your mother. I love you.”

  “I know you do, and I love you too. But I need Lex. I need him in ways that I don’t even fully understand. And now, I’m going to go. I’m going to save him.”

  “Save him from what?”

  “The Enforcers found us in Mahala. He’s going to be taken to the Hall of Judgment, processed, and executed. I can’t let that happen.”

  “Eva, please don’t do this.”

  “I may never see you again, mother.”

  “Eva, you’re talking crazy. You are going to stay here for the night, and everything will be all right tomorrow. You’ll see.”

  Eva pulled her mother into an embrace.

  “I love you, mother,” she said. “I will always love you.”

  “Eva?”

  Eva squeezed past her mother, opened the door and walked out.

  “Eva, wait!”

  She was running now. Running back to the ship.

  “Eva stop!”

  Running to the Residential. Running to the future.

  Running to Lex.

  Chapter 37

  Marie walked into the Hall of Judgment, her mouth working as she chewed the bean that had previously resided in her locket.

  Though bitter and crunchy, she choked it down, her mind focused on her daughter.

  Bragnia was hunched over the front desk with two other Enforcers, eyes full of fury. She looked up at Marie, the gold caps on her teeth gleaming as she snarled.

  “You did this!” she cried. “You released these feeds to the news!”

  “Yes, I did.”

  Bragnia sprinted around the desk, heading straight for Marie.

  “I’ll kill you!”

  Marie lifted her hand, and suddenly Bragnia left her feet, flew backwards, and was pinned against the wall.

  Marie felt power go out of her, felt the weakness began to close in. She thought of Nadira and fought it.

  “What is this?” Bragnia roared. “What have you done?”

  The other two Enforcers looked at their leader, then back at Marie, their eyes wide in disbelief.

  “Don’t just stare at her. Kill her!” Bragnia cried.

  Before they could move, Marie lifted her other hand, and pushed back the desk, pinning all three Enforcers between the desk and the wall.

  “Get this off of me!” Bragnia screamed, struggling to break free.

  Against their shouts of protest, Marie ran past them, and down the stairs.

  She found Kiln pacing the cell, hands on his hips, eyes downcast.

  When he saw her, he froze.

  “Grand Empress?”

  “Stand back, Kiln,” She commanded.

  Marie focused on the lock, warped it, broke it. She then lifted the glass door from its hinges, and threw it away from her.

  Kiln didn’t budge. He stared dumb struck at his Grand Empress.

  “How did you-”

  “Follow me, Kiln,” Marie said. “We’re going to get my daughter out of here.”

  She didn’t turn to see if he complied as she ran down the hall, and up the stairs to where Nadira was kept.

  “How did you do that?” Kiln asked.

  “You know that locket that I wear around my neck? Well, I opened it.”

  They arrived at Nadira’s floor, found her asleep on the cot.

  Kiln banged on the glass, relief washing over him as he spied the object of his desire.

  Nadira stirred, but didn’t wake.

  “Stand back Kiln,” Marie commanded.

  With a twitch of her hand, she broke the lock.

  Nadira’s eyes fluttered.

  With a push to the right, she tore off the glass door.

  Nadira awoke, her eyes wide as she looked at the door.

  “Mother?”

  “No time, Naddie, we’ve got t
o get out of here.”

  Kiln ran into the room, and, after a quick, unsatisfying hug, helped Nadira with her shoes, while Marie put her hands on her knees, and tried to catch her breath.

  Behind them, someone tapped on glass.

  “Mother, you have to help Baleen.”

  Marie turned around to see Empress Baleen, bruised and dirty, eyes wide as she banged on her glass door.

  “Let me out!” she cried. “I have to get to High Council Hall before the vote. We don’t have much time.”

  “Mother, you have to let her out.”

  “Nadira, the fire seed took a lot out of me. I don’t know if I have anything left.”

  “Nothing will be left of Venus if you don’t help her.”

  Marie looked into her daughters eyes and frowned.

  Suddenly, alarms sounded through the Hall of Judgment.

  Oh no! Bragnia must’ve gotten free.

  Pooling the last of her energy, Marie raised one hand. They heard the lock crack, then shatter. She leaned forward, her hands extended in front of her. She pulled back. The glass shook but didn’t break.

  “Mother you can do this,” Nadira said behind her.

  Marie leaned forward again, pulled back.

  The glass cracked, but did not budge.

  Taking a deep breath, Marie leaned forward, and, letting out a cry, sapping the last of her energy, she heaved backwards, taking the glass with her as she fell into Nadira’s cell.

  The heavy door shot off the hinges, aiming for Marie’s tired body.

  Marie closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. Instead, she heard a heavy grunt, then shattering. She opened her eyes. Kiln had thrown himself between her and the glass. She found him hovering over her, his face strained at the force that had knocked him backwards.

  “Kiln!” Nadira cried.

  “We have to go!” Baleen said.

  “Nadira, I’m so tired. Go on without me.”

  “We need to get to High Council!” Baleen cried.

  Kiln picked up Marie, and Baleen led them from the hallway down the stairs.

  “Where are we going?” Nadira asked. “We can’t go out the front. Enforcer’s will be everywhere.”

  “I know another way,” Baleen said.

  Instead of heading down to the ground floor, she stopped two floors down, and led them down a hallway filled with empty cells.

  “What’s down here?” Nadira asked.

  Baleen didn’t reply, but continued to lead them forward to the middle cell. It was partially open.