by Nick Braker
Troy took several careful steps toward Brice, but the lamp’s cord stopped him. It was still plugged in. How could he be so stupid? He stood only a few feet behind Brice now. Troy was so close to stopping him.
Septima must have seen it because she grabbed Brice by his testicles. Brice screamed at the same time Troy shifted the lamp as far behind him as possible and swung with everything he had. Septima had told him he was stronger due to Pira’s gravity. Troy’s face grimaced as he forced all of his strength into the swing. The lamp arced up and then back down. It snapped the cord as it continued along its path in Troy’s hands and smashed the back of Brice’s head. Blood and parts of Brice’s skull splattered everywhere. The lamp crushed his head and lodged itself in place. Brice collapsed to the floor as thick red liquid began to pool around him. The spray of blood had covered both of them. Brice was dead. Troy had killed someone again.
Troy stepped over the man’s body, reaching Septima. He lifted her up by her shoulders, staring into her eyes, and searching her face. Was she hurt? He tried to wipe the blood from her face but the effort smeared it. Was any of it hers?
“Are you okay?” Troy asked.
Septima’s eyes, wet with red tears, were filled with relief. She managed to smile weakly back at him, nodding. He felt sick with rage and nausea. He’d killed another man and, again, he wanted to kill. He suppressed an urge to smash Brice’s corpse with the heel of his foot. Troy’s arms shook. He still wanted to rip Brice apart. He would do anything to protect her.
Why am I not in a fetal position, rocking myself into a lull of insanity? Where are my fears?
His eyes opened wide.
“The gun,” he said, remembering Brice still had it.
Troy let go of her, kneeling next to the body. The pool of bodily fluids around him had spread. He had to be dead, Brice’s skull was exposed and parts of his brain were visible. He took the gun anyway.
“What are we going to do now?” Troy asked.
“Tohmas,” Septima said. “I don’t know, but if they find out, we’ll be exiled.”
She called him Tohmas. Troy kept his face neutral. Her words angered him but a tiny part of Troy felt relieved.
“We can’t leave him on a train this time,” Troy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Troy had killed two men inside of what, two days? He’d been kidnapped from his home world, watched his friends die and she had called him by another man’s name. Who was this Tohmas and why did it infuriate him?
Chapter 5
ALTA
That night, Cienna and Septima helped him hide the body. The weather on Pira was seasonal like Earth’s and, right now, they were in the winter portion. Septima explained that this complex was large enough to hold thousands but they had less than 500 people left. According to them, this was the last remaining stronghold of the Piran race.
Not even 500 people? Is that really all that is left of their people?
The size of the facility meant there were many places they could hide Brice’s body but none of them were good for the long term. Troy needed to find something permanent. He had a lot of questions for these two but right now he had to focus on getting rid of Brice. Troy warred with himself over Brice but it felt right to get rid of the evidence. After some discussion, they chose what Septima called the tar pits. The tar pits were near the shield wall and she claimed no one ever traveled there. According to her, the shield wall surrounded the military complex and an area of land called Gen-Pop which was short for General Population.
Factoring in the tar, ice, and Pira’s long winter, Brice’s body would likely never be discovered. Apparently their seasons were longer than Earth’s which was fortunate but their days were slightly shorter. Troy had questioned them on their time keeping system as he wanted to know whether they had time to hide the body during the night. A full day on this planet they called Pira was a few minutes longer than 23 hours.
Troy wore the same gear as both Septima and Cienna - a jumpsuit, a pair of boots and light gloves. The three of them carried Brice’s body, wrapped in bed sheets, outside the complex and through the snow. Cienna scouted ahead along the way and would then return to help with the body. Luck was with them and they didn’t encounter anyone.
Troy shivered the entire time. The cold of the Piran winter leached the heat from his body, the jumpsuit and gloves weren’t enough to keep him warm. It was easy going at first but the depth of the snow grew higher as they moved away from the base, eventually reaching Troy’s knees. They found a spot and Cienna cut through the upper barrier of congealed tar with her blaster. The group forced Brice’s body into the tar and used the snow and ice around the area to conceal it. Septima told him that normal weather patterns would cover it up as it snowed almost every day during the winter. Finishing up, they returned to her apartment. Troy was exhausted and hypothermia had nearly overwhelmed him. He stumbled in, pulling his gloves and boots off, then collapsed on the couch.
“What have we done?” he asked, shivering.
Troy buried his head in his hands as Septima covered him up.
“The way you told the story to me, he would have killed her,” Cienna said, warming her hands in her lap. “Sounds like you saved my friend’s life.”
“Agreed. Troy, you saved me. Twice,” Septima told him.
Septima’s words warmed his soul. Keeping her alive meant everything to Troy.
“Are all the men on Pira crazy?” Troy asked.
“No,” Septima said. “We should talk with Alta about that. Brice and Yenthar have been getting worse but never like this. They are warriors and are not accustomed to being the hunted. They were stressed, certainly, and probably mad with power.”
“Agreed,” Cienna continued. “I’ve seen some edginess in them for months and, in hindsight, it seems obvious. They’ve been distressed for some time now. I initially attributed it to the war and the death of their loved ones.”
“That seems a stretch to me,” Troy said, “but I don’t understand your race enough to know if that is normal, so I’ll take your word for it. Why can’t we tell your people it was self-defense?”
“Because Septima is next in succession,” Cienna said, jumping in quickly. “What do you think would happen to her? Look, don’t think at all, just trust us. It would be bad for her. Besides, your involvement in his death would come out, too. He died from a blow to the back of his head. Do you think Septima could do that alone?”
He resigned himself to let it go. It was done now and it couldn’t be undone. Brice’s death couldn’t be easily explained by claiming self-defense since he was hit from behind and any link between Septima and Brice’s death would draw suspicion upon her. Cienna had mentioned something about war and death of family members. What else was going on around here?
Troy raised his voice.
“Okay, it’s time to fill me in,” Troy said. “What is going on?”
Septima exchanged looks with Cienna, exactly like the first night he met them.
“Troy, the first thing I need to know,” Septima said, taking a deep breath and pausing, “do you want to go back?”
“Wait,” Cienna interjected. “Know this, you can’t go back for several weeks. We don’t have enough energy stored up to send anyone anywhere. You’re stuck here until then.”
“Great...” he said, sarcasm intact. Troy waited for her to continue. “Well?”
“We’re the last remaining Pirans to our knowledge on this planet,” Septima said, sounding like a minstrel weaving a tale of woe and misery. “We are at war with a race we call the Reptaurans who have invaded and completely conquered our world. If it weren’t for the shield wall, they would detect us and finish the job. This facility is surrounded by it and, due to its remote location, we’ve gone undetected now for two years. We are low on energy, food and water. Every day is a struggle to survive as we prepare for the Reptaurans to eventually find us--”
“Or we take the war to them and finish those bastards off,” Cienna sai
d.
“Why in the hell would I want to stay here then?” he asked.
Septima turned her face away from Troy, hiding her reaction.
Why did she do that?
“We need you,” Cienna told him.
“Cienna,” Septima exclaimed.
Again, they exchanged looks.
“What is it you two are not telling me?” he demanded.
“Septima may have saved you for other reasons but I helped you because you look like a man we both know and admire,” Cienna said, pointing a finger at him. “You look like him so much that Alta and I believe you can lead our people back from the brink of destruction and route those bastards off our planet.”
Route those bastards off our planet.
Cienna’s words sounded familiar but Troy couldn’t remember where he’d heard them before. Septima put her hand on Cienna’s knee.
“They believe if you can convince our people that you are this man, we can gain back our fighting spirit. Most of us gave up when we lost him,” Septima said.
“His name is Tohmas, right?” he asked.
Both of their eyes went wide, studying him.
“Wait, why don’t you project off planet to some other world?” he asked.
“We got the system working less than a year ago but it’s the power demand that prevents us from getting our people to safety. There is no way we can project nearly 500 people,” Cienna said. “It’s why it will take roughly three weeks to charge the system to send you back.”
“Okay,” he continued. “Do you have a plan to pull this off?” he asked.
“Alta does. With her help, we can do this,” Cienna told him.
“How did this Tohmas die?”
“Borit’un, the leader of the Reptaurans in this quadrant,” Cienna continued. “He extracted Tohmas’ essence like we do with S&Gs, keeping it as a symbol of his victory. He keeps it in a vial on a necklace of trophies around his neck. Between him and Kelit’an, they have laid waste to all of Pira.”
“Kelit’an?”
“His second in command. They are both ruthless but Borit’un is the smart one. He is satisfied in simply killing his enemy and moving on, whereas Kelit’an kills and then stops to enjoy the carnage.”
“Great,” Troy said. “What about essence? Is that the green liquid you pulled from my friends?”
“We need you to meet Alta,” Cienna said, standing up and ignoring his question. “Troy, get dressed. We’re going to the research lab to meet her.”
Septima hesitated.
“Fine,” he said. “Will I get my questions answered there?”
Cienna nodded. He felt warmer now and his exhaustion took second place to learning more about what was going on around him. Troy stood and then Septima did too. They followed Cienna into Septima’s bedroom. He started to put on his old tennis shoes but they both shook their heads at him.
“We need to get rid of your old clothing. You won’t be wearing it anymore,” Cienna said. “Clean up and wear these instead. This clean jumpsuit, these socks, these shoes and Tohmas’ ring.”
“You’re not getting rid of my old clothes. I’m going back to Earth someday.”
“Fine,” Cienna said, dismissing his comment with a wave of her hand.
Septima opened the top drawer of the end table next to her bed and pulled out a ring. It was a thick gold band with the letter ‘T’ engraved on a larger flat surface. The letter was highlighted in a shiny platinum-like metal. She handed it to him as if she had given him a king’s crown.
Their people are eventually going to find out who I am and kill me.
Troy sighed.
“Don’t do that in public,” Cienna ordered.
“Sigh?”
Cienna nodded.
“I want answers, so I’ll humor you both. I better like what you have to tell me,” he warned.
“Your threats are meaningless,” Cienna said.
“Cienna,” Septima exclaimed.
“Looks like the honeymoon is over,” Troy said.
The two of them turned their heads to the side, narrowing their eyes at him.
“Never mind,” Troy said.
____
Cienna led the trio through the corridors of the facility. Troy examined every adjoining hallway and door they passed but found no other people. Shouldn’t there be others walking through the hallways too?
“Why is it so empty?” he asked.
Cienna explained that Septima was now temporarily in charge until a new leader could be chosen by the council. Since Brice was missing, she was next in line. Septima had ordered this area cleared of all personnel. She did it so they could move him through undetected.
“Are they looking for Brice?” he asked.
“Yes,” Septima said. “Brice ordered a search for Yenthar before he died and I ordered one for Brice. Both searches are still underway and, in normal circumstances, these events would create suspicion.”
“Troy,” Cienna said. “Both of them were despised. Brice abused his power and let Yenthar do as he wished. Alta has a plan to create a perfect cover story for their deaths. She wants to make sure Septima is not linked to their deaths although you killed both of them.”
“It’s all my fault, huh?” Troy said.
Cienna ignored him. The death of Brice and Yenthar gave Troy a feeling of satisfaction. He had saved Septima twice as a result of these two monsters’ actions. He’d do it again, if needed.
How is this possible for me? Where are my fears, my uncertainty?
“Why doesn’t Alta come to Septima’s quarters?” he asked.
Cienna didn’t hesitate.
“Alta almost never leaves her research facility and, since it’s safe for you to move through this area unseen, we’re taking you to see her.”
The metal bulkheads, large automatic doors and embedded lighting lent more proof that Troy was not in Kansas anymore. He still had trouble believing all of this. After all, he had been heading to New Orleans, not to a new planet. He needed to see more of this place. Perhaps if he checked the constellations? He scolded himself. Why didn’t he check when he buried Brice?
That would be because you were carrying a dead body and you were half dead from the cold, asshat.
“Brice’s disappearance couldn’t have come at a better time, wouldn’t you agree, Tohmas?” Cienna asked sweetly, breaking the silence.
It sounded like she was mocking him.
“My name is--”
“Is Tohmas,” Cienna interrupted. “Get used to it and don’t use your old name anymore.”
Troy exchanged glances with Septima. He still trusted her at least. She seemed to be on his side, though what if her feelings for this Tohmas were blinding her? She could quickly become disillusioned with the real person under this fake Tohmas persona they were building. Of course, he could use it to his advantage. She was certainly comely and one of the brightest women he’d ever met but did it go deeper than that? For Troy, there was something more when it came to her but he couldn’t put a finger on it.
Troy stumbled on some loose cabling that ran across the corridor.
“Careful, Tohmas,” Septima said, reaching out to brace him.
Her concern for Troy was genuine but it was her touch that reached deep into him. He liked being with her, but he couldn’t let that distract him as he needed to pay attention. He needed to focus on remembering the layout and on any possible items he could use as weapons. Honestly though, what could he really do? Troy had no formal training and had been lucky so far. He reminded himself he was stuck here for several weeks because they couldn’t send him back due to energy constraints. Was that true?
“Why do you have energy issues?” he asked.
“The war,” Cienna said. “Hold your questions for Alta.”
The corridors were damp and cold. The metal seemed free of rust and, while it could use some cleaning, it seemed structurally intact. There were no signs of bullet holes or damage from blaster fire on the walls. The
war hadn’t reached this facility which agreed with what they had told him about this complex being shielded.
The walk through the corridors took roughly three minutes and most of it in semi-darkness. The hallways behind him were dark but immediately ahead they were well lit and the light illuminated another bulkhead door, currently closed. This was not an apartment complex as he initially thought. No, it was indeed a military facility as they had told him. It made sense that they would take refuge in a place like this but wouldn’t the Reptaurans know about its location? Cienna keyed in a pass code. The door rumbled as the machinery within the wall pulled it open. The light inside blinded him. Troy blinked trying to adjust his eyes. Septima gently put her hand on the small of his back, motioning him to enter.
The laboratory was an octagonal room, easily 100 feet in diameter. There were normal sized doors on six of the internal walls with the exception of the one they had entered from the east and the one on the north wall. These two doors were sliding bulkheads. A second floor could be seen above through the metal latticework, with two stairways leading up on the outer edges of the room roughly 20 feet from the interior walls. Several technicians moved about the facility, busily working. A few of them spotted Troy first and then all of them noticed him and immediately stopped in their tracks, staring. Some of Piran people had their mouths wide open but one of them looked the most surprised. She was a dark brunette with deep blue eyes. Troy’s step faltered and he slowed down. Troy covered his reaction and looked away. There was something about her though, something familiar. Troy felt he knew who she was but that would be silly since he’d never been here before. Of course, he was semi-conscious when he arrived, so maybe he saw her then.
Cienna ignored their stares at Troy and moved across the room. They had entered on the east interior door and were now headed to the northwest door. She knocked and then opened it, entering. Troy and Septima followed her inside. Numerous server racks of computer equipment lined the left and back side of Alta’s office. In front of the backside server racks, a young woman sat behind a large, black metal desk, typing away at two different keyboards. One in front of her and the other to her left. Several monitors were arrayed on her desk and she seemed to be examining all of them.