by Rob Buckman
“Holy mother…” He watched as an order to withdraw all troops from every occupied planet scrolled up the screen. ”Nooo…” he moaned. A perfect reproduction of his, and the Emperor's physical and mental signature attached itself to the order before the screen cleared and Penn sent the directive on its way.
“Damn you to hell Penn!” Shunting through his outbox he tried to retrieve the message, but it was too late.
A dozen courier ships had already departed, and a hundred more message drones had already left the system. Chaos loomed in his mind as he mentally jumped back into his system. He needed to send a countermanding order to stop any withdrawal, but instead of finding the right file, he ran into a black wall. It wasn't there. Director Markoff looked at his empty screen for a moment in blank astonishment until a horrible thought occurred to him. With a thought he tried to bring up General Tandy's file, instead receiving a 'no such file exists'. He tried another and another before trying to pull up the main Directory. There was nothing there. All data banks were wiped clean.
“Damn you to hell Penn!” Now he knew what Penn was doing in the Palace.
The supposed attack on the Emperor was nothing but a diversion, giving him time for the courier ships, and the message drones to leave the system. Without a database, it would take even more time for him to create and send new orders countermanding the last ones. By then chaos would ensue. He had no illusions about this Empire. The moment the iron fist of the Imperial army and navy were removed, there would be open rebellion, and the Holy Mother knew how long it would take to put them all down, and restore order. In the end he flipped back to the vid of Penn sitting in his chair, but there was little to see after that, except Penn standing, and looking directly at the video pickup. He smiled and waved, knowing all this time it was there. Another hour passed with no sign of Penn or Ellis, and no more firefights or reports of sightings. Markoff looked at his crono. By this time, most, if not all the courier ships and message drones had climbed out of the systems gravity well and translated into hyperspace. Somehow, he knew it was over, and that the two humans had escaped. The question of how they got here in the first place remained unanswered. In the end, he called off alert, and sent the troops back to their barracks. Now he'd have to clean up this mess, and explain this to the Emperor.
With a sigh, he left his office to make his report. Thinking about what he'd seen of Penn in his office, somewhere in the back of his mind, he had the unpleasant feeling he was missing something. Sneer as he might at Penn's claim of vengeance from behind the safety of his shield, now it was a different story. Emperor Cytec II listened carefully as the Director gave him the bad news. Somehow, this lone human had dealt a terrible blow to his Empire, one that would be costly to recover from, but not impossible with the available resources at hand. On a galactic scale, irritating as it was, the rebellion on Earth meant little, until now. He never thought much about such an insignificant place other than the night horror of humans with weapons and ships, being one minor planet out of so many his forces invaded over the years. Nor did he wonder what horrors were perpetrated in his name. If these two humans could inflict such havoc on his Empire, what could a thousand, or ten thousand of his oh so inventive kind do? This had to be stopped, now, once and for all.
“Have Imperial order 101 prepared immediately. I want that cesspool of a planet obliterated before he, and possible his fellow humans can do further damage.”
“I'll see to it at once, your Majesty.”
“Good.” Cytec looked the Director in the eye. "In all the time you have served me, you have never failed. Make this the first and last Markoff.” Director Markoff bowed.
“Yes, your Majesty.
“I also think it might be the right time to purge our forces of all human elements.”
“I will issue the order of execution immediately, your Majesty.”
CHAPTER - FORTY FOUR: End game.
“So what do we do now?” Ellis asked. “From what you are saying, you intend to go back to Earth and carry on the fight.”
“Right, a second uprising, but this time we'll be on an equal footing when it comes to fire power.” Penn turned and looked at the glowing ball. ”You said something earlier about compassion. What did you mean?”
“Why did you spare the lives of the two Silurian's?”
“Because… well… I didn't see a need to kill them.” Penn shrugged.
“Not only did you let them live, you doctored their wounds, and gave them your food and water, even though they considered you their enemy?”
“I did. Not that it helped them in the end. They probably both died.”
“As I said before, no one died, Mr. Penn.”
“Even Dena?” Ellis grumbled, remembering the sick smile on Dana face when Sartac was pulling down into the mud hole.
“Yes, Sub-Major, even Dena.”
“If I meet him again. He won't be so lucky.”
“If you meet him again, Mr. Penn, you will find that he, like the other is a different person. No one who goes through even the simplest part of the test comes out the same as when they entered.”
“I'd imagine being dragged into the mouth of some black monster and being eaten alive might change your perspective on life.”
“So, everyone we saw die is now back on their home planet, safe and sound?”
“Yes, Sub-Major, they are, all except one.” It made sense in a way. If you were testing people to find the best to run thing, killing off all the wannabe's was counterproductive.
“So, if you fail the test the first time, can you come back and try again?”
“Yes, Sub-Major Ellis.”
“Even knowing the secret, so to speak?”
“It wouldn't matter, Ellis. No matter how much you knew, in the end your own mind would defeat you.”
“I see. You couldn't hide from yourself, and there is no way you could trick your way to the prize.”
“Hardly,” Penn chuckled as he turned his attention back to the glowing ball. ”You said one is still here?”
“Yes, Mr. Penn, the one you call Class.”
“Good heavens. I wonder how he survived.”
“It appears he has no monster in his mind from which to create anything.”
“That's odd.”
“The main thing I have been able to extract, is his dilemma about his sex.”
“Err… right. His sex?”
“Class is a neuter, or at least for the early part of his life. At puberty, he can choose which sex he wishes to be for the rest of his life.”
“Well I'll be damned,” Ellis muttered.
“And so? How does that effect him… why isn't he dead…”
“Penn, that's unkind.”
“That's not what I meant… it's just…” Penn threw his hands in the air and went back to pacing.
“I have tried presenting him with various alternatives, both male and female, but none of his… dreams involve violence of any sort.”
“That’s crazy. He’s sniper.”
“True, but to him it’s nothing more than a job he’s been ordered to do. He’s not a sociopath like most of the team we dropped with.
“But he can't choose?”
“That is correct. It is as if he is fixated on you, and Mr. Penn.”
“Us?”
“Yes. At some moments, he dreams of being you Major Ellis, and Mr. Penn's wife? Mistress… concubine. At other times, dreams of being you Mr. Penn to protect and love you, Sub Major.”
“Oh my lord!” Pen just stood there shaking his head in disbelief. Ellis let out a snort of a laugh. They looked at each other, both thinking of the same thing. Male or female, going to bed with Class would be the same as going to bed with a seven foot, 350 hundred pound gorilla.
“You have to be kidding. So where is he now?” Penn said at last.
“Still within my structure, sitting in a meadow by a pond, fishing.” Penn burst out laughing.
“Of all the dangerous situation I can
think up for this place, sitting by a pool fishing isn't one of them.”
“So what are we going to do with him?
“Can't you just send him back to his home planet?”
“Alas, no… he has not terminated, and until such time, he will remain here.”
“We could take him with us,” Penn suggested.
“Is that possible?”
“It is.”
“But not right now. Let's get this mission over with first, and then take him to Earth, if he wants to come.”
“By the way, do you have any problem with us using your abilities the way I described?”
"None whatsoever. I can make no judgment where such matters are concerned. Having successfully reached this level, you claim what you call the 'prize'. As a leader you must choice how you use the power available you for the greater good.”
"Yes, I can see that. You've been around so long you’ve probably seen it all.”
"Empires and kingdoms come and go over the life span of the galaxy, yet I remain here fulfilling my purpose.”
"Boring as hell I imagine.”
"Until you arrived, yes.”
"If we succeed, I can guarantee we'll be back, and a few others, if you want.”
"You want us to live here, Richard?” Penn looked at her, liking the way she said his name.
"Can you think of a better, or safer place to live?” he smiled at her.
"With all those monsters and traps…” She stopped shaking her head. ”Wait? No monsters right?"
“Right.”
“So what do we do now?”
“For one I'll like to see some real sunlight, and breathe fresh air before we leave.”
"Let's go then. Which way?”
"That portal will take you back to Sigma Alpha Prime. This ship will remain here in orbit until you are ready to use it again, Sub-Major Ellis.”
“What about the children?”
“They are all sleeping, and will remain so until you decide where they should go.”
Stepping through the portal, they found themselves back on the control room inside the edifice. The moment they stepped in, a bright golden light framed a doorway. Together, Penn and Ellis walked out of the room and much to their surprise the statue-filled passageway was gone. They stepped directly into the plaza at the main entrance and into the bright golden sunlight.
"Lord! Was it that easy?” Penn shook his head looking back at the short distance to the Prize. Only a saint could have taken those few steps to reach it. Mere mortals had to do it the hard way.
Penn took a deep breath, and let it out in a long sigh. Instead of the stifling heat and crumbling structures they'd encountered on their way in, a light breezes ruffled his blond hair. The city of rotting buildings was gone as if it had never been. Instead, they saw green fields of grass stretching to the edge of the bowl and breathed in the scent of grown things, of flowers and sunlight. Penn put his arms around Ellis.
“You know, for a while I never thought you, or I would get out of that place alive.”
“Me neither,” she kissed him. ”You got us though.”
“Did I?” He shook his head. ”Without you there, I don't think so.”
A sonic boom shattered their moment of contentment, and both looked up in time to see the death plunge of a survey probe as it made a fiery entrance through the atmosphere. It impacted somewhere in the distance but was too small to be felt.
“I guess General Tandy is still up there,” Ellis observed.
“Yeah. I think it's time we took care of the dear General before we go.”
“You know, he is kind of hot to land. How about we bring him down to play?” Ellis gave Penn a mischievous smile.
“Why not. They were somewhat desperate to get down here come to think of it.”
“Can we do that?” Penn asked, turning to face the pyramid. In answer, a glowing point of reddish light popped into existence.
“Yes, Mr. Penn. It would be a simple matter to increase the exclusion zone to encompass all, or one particular the ships in orbit. If you would come back inside, I'll lead you to the control room.”
“Let's do it.” Hand in hand, Penn and Ellis reentered the building, feeling no trepidation this time. This place held no terror for then now.
As they entered the control room, a screen on one wall lit, showing the scene out into the plaza. A moment later, the view changed and they appeared to ascend effortlessly up through the atmosphere and into the blackness of space. While Ellis watched the panorama unfold, Penn wandered about the room, examining it in detail. Without understanding how, or why, it felt as if he had somehow come home.
The room seemed to welcome and embrace him with its color, sights, and sounds, and he heard soft music just at the edge of his perception. Somehow, the music fitted itself to their mood, without being intrusive. Moreover, Penn found, that by merely touching something, he learned its function, how to control it and a host of other information. The last item he picked up off a contoured desk was a small glass sphere. It immediately fed him the necessary information and within seconds, he now understood how the gravity effect functioned. Penn smiled to himself. It was so simply really, once you understood it.
"Do you have a name?” Penn asked the glowing point of light hovering in the air.
"I will answer to any name you wish to give me, Mr. Penn.”
Penn turned to Ellis. ”I can't believe I have to ask this, but… what is your first name?” He'd never asked, and she'd never said. ”If you think I'm going through the rest of our lives together calling you Ellis, you can think again.”
"It's Alexis. Alexis Ellison really.” That was something she told few people.
"Hello Alexis,” he winked at her, and looked at the light. ”How about 'Michael' for you, after my father.”
"I will so answer in the future, Mr. Penn.”
"Please call me Richard from now on, Michael.”
"Yes, Richard.”
"Good. Can you transmit a message to General Tandy?"
“Yes, Richard, I can.”
“I have a few things I'd like to say to that… person.” He controlled himself and smiled.
CHAPTER - FOUR FIVE: Descent into hell
"General, there's a message coming in for you.” General Tandy looked up from a viewing the video log from the last probe, not liking what he saw.
“This is Tandy. Who's the message from?”
His hope that it was from one of his support team faded the moment he saw Penn and that bitch Ellis, standing outside the pyramid hugging each other. The gravity effect still functioned, so whatever they were so happy about, wasn't the success of the mission. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that this mission had gone to hell in a hand basket. Now a message.
"Is it from Sub-Major Ellis?” For a moment, he held his breath.
"Um, yes, Sir, I believe so…"
General Tandy grimaced. It told him that Dana had failed. Now the question was, how, was he going to explain this to the Director. The comm tech broke out in a cold sweat seeing Tandy's face. The General had a nasty habit of shooting the messenger.
"Put it on my screen.” He growled.
Tandy tried to prepare himself for whatever Ellis might tell him. If she'd followed orders, Penn should be dead, which he obviously wasn't. His one consolation was, that the two of them would be stuck on that God forsaken planet for the rest of their lives. Explaining the failure to the Director was another matter. Running was one answer he could think of to stay alive, but run to where? General Tandy felt his gut tighten as the main communication console came alive, and much to his displeasure it showed Ellis and Penn standing side-by-side, almost touching. Tandy expected them to be dirty, disheveled, and exhausted. Neither looked injured or even tired, and for a moment, he wondered if they'd even attempted the mission, let alone succeeded. Judging by the look of the sumptuous room, and their clothing, they were inside the pyramid. So, where was Dena? Moreover, if they had compl
eted the mission, why was the gravitational effect still working? There was something in their faces, an almost smug look, that could spell trouble.