by Jake Bible
"Wait. What excruciatingly painful deaths?" Roak asked. "You said we weren't well. You didn't say anything about excruciatingly painful deaths."
"I didn't? Hmmm," Pol replied. "Yellow Eyes?"
"Hey! I asked you a question, Pol! What excruciatingly-"
"Let the guy talk, dude," Vogga said casually. "You're wasting time."
Roak growled low, but stopped talking.
"Go for it, yellow dude," Vogga said.
"Well, I was just thinking that while it'd be good to have Roak and Reck each in healthy, brand spanking new bodies," Yellow Eyes said, "it'd be even better if maybe we had an army of healthy, brand spanking new Roaks and Recks. Father can't take you over and, well, we need an army."
"He can't take over Chassfornians either," Vogga said.
Roak pointed a finger at Vogga without taking his eyes off Yellow Eyes. "We'll get to that after this."
Roak turned and walked away from everyone. He started to pace close to the wall then he turned and faced the wall.
"Can it be done?" Roak asked, still facing the wall.
"He's talking to you," Yellow Eyes whispered to Orvra.
"Oh! Um, yes. It can be done," Orvra said. "If we have access to the entire facility, that is. With full production we could generate two hundred clones of you in about ten days."
"We don't need that many," Roak said. "How about a dozen of each?"
"A galactic week, at the most," Orvra said. "If we have original genetic material. And if we no longer have to deal with…him."
"Has he damaged any of the equipment?" Roak asked. "How do you know he hasn't sabotaged the rest of the facility?"
Orvra turned to the other Klav and they conversed quickly in their own language. He turned back and frowned.
"We do not know the total extent of the damage he has caused, but we are certain we can repair any damage and have the facility back online and fully operational rather quickly," Orvra said. "But he must be removed."
"Or just outright killed," Roak said.
Vogga laughed. "Dude! You think I haven't tried?" The Chassfornian made finger guns, made pew pew noises, pantomimed melting then pantomimed regeneration. "He always comes back."
"Then we remove him and toss him into one of the system's stars," Roak said. "What are his weaknesses? How'd you take him down before?"
Roak held up a glove before Vogga could answer.
"No. Start with why you can't be taken over by Father."
"He can't get in here," Vogga said, tapping at his temple. "Chassfornians have a very special cerebral matrix. It's why my kind can…lose it so easily. It's also why even with inhibitor chips in our heads, my kind needed a physical handler to keep us under control back when we were used as shock troops during the War. We're different."
"How are Chassfornians different?" Roak asked Orvra. "And can we replicate that somehow so we can protect other beings that aren't Chassfornian?"
"Ah, now that is intriguing," Pol called from the loudspeaker. "If Orvra will send me any and all data they have on Chassfornians then I can get to work synthesizing…something that may mimic the Chassfornian cerebral matrix. Or at least the protective parts."
"Good," Roak said. He looked to Vogga once more. "Alright. Now tell me his weaknesses?"
"He melts," Vogga said. "Every thirty minutes."
"I know that. What else?"
"That's it. He melts every thirty minutes. Even if I tear him limb from limb, he still melts every thirty minutes and those melted limbs find each other. Containment is the only way to slow him down."
"Then why haven't you contained him?" Roak asked.
"We have," Orvra said with a sigh. "Multiple times. He always escapes."
"Always," Vogga echoed.
"Kinda like you, Roak," Yellow Eyes said.
"How long does it take him to escape?" Roak asked.
"Minutes," Vogga said. "He's a slippery dude, dude."
"Then we capture him, contain him right before he melts then eject him out into open space on a trajectory towards one of the stars," Roak said. "Let's see him escape…that… What?"
Vogga and Orvra were frowning at each other.
"He can survive in open space," Vogga said. "He's really good at getting back inside."
"Eight Million Gods dammit," Roak snarled.
"I have a suggestion," Hessa said. "If you can capture and contain him and get him outside the facility's shielding then I may be able to moltrans him directly into a star. It would not give him time to return to form or to the facility."
"Anyone have a problem with that plan?" Roak asked.
No one did.
"Good. Then it's time for me to meet…me," Roak said. He waved at the wall. "Open this up."
Panicked Klav voices echoed through the laboratory.
"What now?" Roak snapped.
"We must wait a few more minutes," Orvra said. "Once he melts then we will open the wall and let you out to rescue your friends and capture the abomination."
"I really don't like that word," Roak said coolly. He faced Orvra. "Why did you say that this guy won't harm Reck or Poq or Pol? How do you know that?"
"He said he only wants to kill you, Roak," Orvra said. "He will keep them alive so you will try to rescue them and then he will kill you."
"How in all the Hells can you know that?" Roak asked.
"Oh, dude…" Vogga said and brought up a holo.
The holo was of Evil Roak and he began talking.
"Oh, I cannot wait for Roak to finally come here. I mean, he will come here eventually. We're connected. I can feel it. When he does, I am so gonna kill him then I'll be the one true Roak and go out there in the galaxy and be a badass bounty hunter and live a life of-"
"Turn it off," Roak said. "Now."
Vogga shrugged and killed the holo.
"It goes on like that for about three hours," Vogga said. "And that's only one of six thousand holos he's recorded."
"Damn!" Yellow Eyes exclaimed. "His ego is bigger than Roak's!"
"How many minutes until I can leave?" Roak asked, ignoring Yellow Eyes.
"Four," Orvra said.
"Four," Roak said. "Pol? Can I talk to Reck? Can you connect me?"
No answer.
"Shit," Roak said.
He crossed his arms, grunted at the pain, and waited the four minutes out in silence.
9.
"You didn't need to come with us," Yellow Eyes said to Vogga.
"It's no bother," Vogga said. "I know how the guy operates, so it'll be good to have me with you."
"And you're huge so you can squash him if we need it," Yellow Eyes said.
"There is that, dude," Vogga agreed.
"Right, Roak?" Yellow Eyes asked.
Roak stood facing the wall, waiting for it to open. He didn't respond.
"Roak? You good, man?" Yellow Eyes asked.
"What if he's not evil?" Roak asked.
Yellow Eyes and Vogga shared a look.
"Um… I'm thinking the murdering of clones and the blood trail might say otherwise, man," Yellow Eyes said.
"But that's just it," Roak said. "He murders clones, but Reck is a clone. Why hasn't he murdered her?"
"The Klav said-" Yellow Eyes began.
"I know what the Klav said!" Roak snapped. He winced and took in a shallow, slow breath. "I know what they said. But none of it makes sense. Why take Reck and Pol and Poq at all? He could have just killed them and then waited for me to arrive."
"Bait, dude," Vogga said.
"I'd have still come over," Roak said.
"Yeah, he would have," Yellow Eyes agreed. "Roak tends to do the revenge thing."
"Oh," Vogga said. "Do you know what revenge does to you emotionally, dude? It's not very-"
The wall began to open.
"Save your philosophical terpigshit for someone that cares," Roak said as he stepped through the wall as soon as there was space.
Roak stood in the corridor, looked both ways, then turned ba
ck to the laboratory.
"Ten minutes?" he asked.
"Ten minutes," Vogga said and followed Roak into the corridor.
Yellow Eyes blurred next to both of them.
Roak looked all around. No sign of a puddle of cloned Roak.
"Where would he have gone?" Roak asked.
"This way," Vogga said and started to jog.
Roak tried to keep up, but after a couple of turns down new corridors, he slowed to a stop and bent over.
"You good, man?" Yellow Eyes asked.
"Great," Roak said. "Never better."
Vogga jogged back to them. "Sorry. I'll go slower."
"How do you know he's this way?" Roak asked as he straightened. He grunted and breathed slowly.
"He's always this way, dude," Vogga said. "Did he mention his mural?"
"The blood and piss and shit mural?" Yellow Eyes asked. "Yeah. He may have mentioned it."
"He is always working on that mural," Vogga said. "It's…interesting, dude."
"Fun interesting? Or nightmare interesting?" Yellow Eyes asked.
"No one cares," Roak said. "Take us to the mural."
"We only have a few minutes," Vogga said apologetically. "You do have to put a little hustle in."
"Fuck," Roak said.
Vogga started jogging again. Roak followed, his teeth almost cracking as he clamped his jaw down against the intense pain.
They made it to the cafeteria. And the mural.
"I never wanted to know what made up Roak's psyche," Yellow Eyes said and pointed all nubs at the mural on the far wall of the cafeteria. "That right there is why."
He turned and vomited.
"I feel ya, dude," Vogga said.
Roak stared at the mural.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, it was like looking directly into his mind.
Every job he'd ever taken as a bounty hunter was represented on the wall. Every job.
And then some.
"Dude…how many beings have you killed?" Vogga asked.
"Doesn't matter," Roak said.
"You know, little known fact," Yellow Eyes said as he wiped his mouth. "Roak doesn't actually like killing. It causes too many problems for…" He looked at the mural again then turned and vomited again.
"We all tell ourselves things to get by, dude," Vogga said.
Roak didn't argue.
Instead, he crossed the huge room to a set of light armor sitting in a puddle of goo. Roak looked from the goo to the rest of the room.
"We need a bucket. A big bucket," Roak said. "Fast."
"On it," Yellow Eyes said. He was gone then back in a blur. "Big bucket."
He set the very big bucket down then blurred out of the cafeteria.
"I'm going to stay out here, if you don't mind," he called from the corridor. "Holler if you need me."
"This is going to be tricky," Roak said as he studied the goo.
"Not really," Vogga said. "Like I said, we've done this before. Watch."
Vogga took the large bucket and turned it upside down, placing it over the goo and armor. The Chassfornian then slammed his fists through the floor on either side of the bucket and scooped it all into the air - floor, bucket, goo.
Vogga flipped the floor upside down and set it all down. He lifted the portion of the floor off the large bucket and tossed it aside. He then reached in, fished out the armor, shook it off, and tossed it aside too.
"Bots will fix the floor later," Vogga said. "Guess we should head to the airlock and toss him out."
"Hessa?" Roak called. "You ready?"
"Ready," Hessa said.
"Any word from Pol and the others?" Roak asked as he followed Vogga out of the cafeteria and down the corridor to the closest lift.
"Nothing," Hessa said. She paused. "Roak?"
"What?"
"Is this right?" she asked. "Killing this other you?"
"He's in the way," Roak said. "And if anyone gets to make the call whether or not he dies, it's me."
"In a disturbing way, you are probably right," Hessa said. "He is a clone of you."
They reached the lift and stepped inside. Yellow Eyes joined them and the lift started to descend.
Then the bucket shook. Hard.
"Uh oh," Vogga said. "We're not going to make it."
He set the large bucket down and stepped back. Which wasn't far since the Chassfornian took up almost all extra space in the lift.
"Hit the interface, dude!" Vogga shouted. "Get us off this lift now!"
Yellow Eyes mashed his nubs against the interface and the lift ground to a halt. The doors opened and Vogga gave the bucket a hard shove, sending it out into the corridor just as some of the goo slithered up over the top.
It took less than a few seconds for Evil Roak to become whole again. Despite the danger and risk, Roak and Yellow Eyes watched, totally transfixed.
"Don't see that every day," Yellow Eyes said.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Evil Roak screamed. "Fuck that hurts!"
The naked, reborn, re-formed clone stepped out of the big bucket. He grinned at Roak, at Yellow Eyes, frowned at Vogga, then looked down at himself.
"Hold on," he said and glanced into the bucket. His face became red with anger. "What? You couldn't bring my armor?"
"Would have defeated the purpose," Roak said, his hand on his Flott.
Evil Roak stared at the Flott then looked Roak directly in the eyes.
"That isn't going to kill me," Evil Roak said. "So far, nothing does."
Roak began to draw his pistol, but hesitated. There was something in the way Evil Roak said those last words. A tone, an inflection, a…feeling.
"Nothing?" Roak asked.
Vogga slipped from the lift and started to circle Evil Roak.
"Stop," Roak said.
"Roak, man, I think we should let the huge Chassfornian do whatever he feels is a good move," Yellow Eyes whispered.
"No," Roak said. He let go of his Flott then studied the corridor they were in. "The Klav can see and hear everything on this station?"
Evil Roak smiled. "Yep."
Roak smiled at Evil Roak's smile. He knew that smile.
Evil Roak was lying. The Klav could not see and hear everything.
"So, there isn't a single room in this station that they can't see?" Roak asked.
"You got it," Evil Roak replied, the smile widening.
"Alright, even without the scars, that smile is starting to creep me out," Yellow Eyes said.
"Hey, dude," Vogga said, his massive hands up in the air. "Let's talk about our next moves. All of us. I'd hate for any misunderstandings to occur. Maybe we should just take a step back and chill for a few minutes. Let the heat cool down."
"You mean let my time run out so I turn into a sludge puddle again?" Evil Roak responded. "Good plan. Didn't see that coming."
"Roak? Why are you hesitating?" Hessa called.
"How much of the station can you see?" Roak asked. Roak didn't bother explaining even when he received questioning looks from Vogga, Yellow Eyes, and even Evil Roak. "Do you have full access?"
Evil Roak's grin almost broke his face. He cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, full access. Wasn't hard."
"You asked me that question, yes?" Hessa said. "I do have full access."
"Where are the others?" Roak asked.
"In a room," Evil Roak replied.
"I don't know," Hessa stated. "I can't find them. There are a couple of blind spots."
"A room?" Roak asked.
"Yep," Evil Roak said.
"Yes, one of the blind spots is a room," Hessa confirmed. "Where are you going with this?"
"Can you see Pol? Is the old man alright?" Roak asked.
"I can't see shit from here," Evil Roak said. "Not without my armor's interface."
"No, I can't see Pol," Hessa said. "I already… Wait. My apologies, Roak, for being slow on this. Let me look."
"The benefits of not having implants outweigh the benefits of having them," Roak sa
id. "But not always."
"I agree. I agree," Evil Roak said.
"I found him!" Hessa exclaimed. "He's active in the station's system! I can't quite follow what he's doing, but it is significant. He must be putting his skills to the full test to keep his work from being noticed by the Klav."
"We assume," Roak said. "I have a feeling we'll find out soon enough."
"But how? Why?" Hessa asked. "I thought the other Roak had them captured."
"I know who's being held captive now," Roak said.
Evil Roak's smile faltered just slightly. He gave Roak an almost imperceptible nod.
Roak pulled his Flott and fired over and over until Evil Roak was nothing but a semi-obliterated corpse. A semi-obliterated corpse that dissolved into a puddle. Bits of Evil Roak that had been blasted all over the corridor slid down the walls, fell from the ceiling, and slithered across the floor to the main puddle of clone goo.
"Get him in that bucket," Roak snapped at Vogga. "We've only got a few minutes."
"That was too easy," Vogga said. "This is a trap, Roak."
Roak turned and faced Vogga full on.
"Yes, it is," Roak said. "The question is whether or not you're part of the trap."
"We're secure," Pol called over the comm. "I don't know for how long, but the Klav cannot eavesdrop for now."
"Shut this corridor down," Roak ordered.
"Already done," Pol replied. "Again, Roak, I do not know for how long. The House of Teeth's reputation is intact. This facility is a minefield even for me."
"Vogga?" Roak asked.
"What in all the Hells is going on, man?" Yellow Eyes asked. "I am so lost."
"Me too," Vogga said. "Why'd you ask me if I was part of the trap?" He pointed at the goo. "Do you think I'm working with that guy?"
"No," Roak stated. "I think you're working with the Klav."
Once more, Roak's hand rested on his Flott.
"I doubt you turn to regenerative goo," Roak said.
"Oh, I like that," Pol said. "Regenerative goo. Very nice."
"I am really confused, dude," Vogga said. He looked to Yellow Eyes. "What is he talking about?"
Yellow Eyes shrugged his many shoulders. "That is a question I never stop asking, man."
"Roak, the Chassfornian is good," Reck called over the comm. "His vital signs are saying he's telling the truth."