Then, he was back in his apartment in Rio. Everything around him was fuzzy shades of white and grey but he somehow knew where he was as if in a dream. He was laying down naked while another body, just a different colored blur among the rest, rode on top of him.
Then he heard a voice. It was sweet, lilting and screaming in ecstasy. It was Althea and she was screaming his name: “Viekko!”
Pieces of the memory started to come into focus. The bright city lights streaming in through the window, the creaking of old bed springs and Althea in all her glory, tossing her fiery red hair back as she closed her eyes.
“Oh...Viekko!”
As far as memories go, this was a good one to end his life on. It was the last perfect night Viekko could remember. After that, everything went so horribly wrong that his inevitable death on some God forsaken planet was inevitable.
Althea’s voice changed from the breathy squeal of sexual ecstasy to something harsh and urgent. “Viekko!”
The memory started to fade even as he tried to hold on to it. The fine details he managed to pick out faded away.
“Viekko!”
New sounds filled his surroundings, like a hundred people all talking and shouting at once. It was as if he’d been dropped into the middle of an angry mob.
“Viekko! Damn it, come back to me!”
He opened his eye—the other was swelled shut—to see Althea looking down at him. Her expression bordered on panic, but it softened when he met her eyes.
Althea helped him into a sitting position. “Jaysus, Viekko. What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was waiting for you,” Viekko slurred. “I was just stalling for time.”
“With your face? Come on, let’s get you up.”
Viekko winced as Althea pulled him to his feet. “In the battle. I got…in the side…”
“I saw it. It’s not life-threatening, but you risk bleeding out and sepsis if I try to do anything here. We’ll get you somewhere safe first.”
Once Viekko was on his feet, he saw what all the commotion was. The Perfiduloi gathered around while Cronus held a black disk-shaped device in his hand. Lights shot from all angles and created a holographic map of the refineries hovering over the heads of the entire crowd.
“As you can see,” Cronus explained to Halifaco standing nearby, “Refining operations are still in progress. If anything, they are larger than ever. But storage tanks are not filling up. I will show you why.”
Carr was on his knees with his hands bound behind him. Two Perfiduloi men stood on either side, holding him there. He struggled and yelled, “This is insane! Halifaco! Don’t tell me you buy this nonsense.”
The map overhead fell to the ground, causing some of the forest people to duck and cover like there was a mountain coming down on them. But, instead, they found themselves surrounded by translucent images of tanks and pipes and pumping equipment.
“These tanks here,” said Cronus, pointing at a set of conical tanks that towered over the assembled crowd, “They hold intermediate products. Ethane. Methane. Propane. Carr and his people have bypassed the system. They are stealing from these tanks as we speak.”
Carr tried to stand up. “Lies! I’m tellin’ you. This is all a cheap light show to make you all slaves to these people!”
Viekko stood up with Althea’s help. “Slaves, huh? Rich. Halifaco, why don’t you ask this upstanding man right here, if these visions are not true, why don’t we all go look? I’m sure Carr here could arrange a tour to prove the honorable intentions of his people.”
Halifaco regarded Viekko for a moment and marched up to Carr. “Speak then. Show us what your people are doing there.”
Carr looked panicked. His eyes darted from Halifaco to Viekko to Cronus and back again. “I can’t do that. There’s security concerns and threats of sabotage. We can’t allow—”
Carr’s words were cut short by Halifaco’s blow to the side of the head. “I have heard enough. Withdraw your people now.”
Carr just looked up at Halifaco at a complete loss.
“Let me just help you out here,” slurred Viekko. “You want the refineries? You want them shut down for good, then they ain’t the ones to do it.”
“The Houston and the Urbanoi are ready to talk,” added Althea, “They now understand the danger of the outsiders. They want to help you expel them.”
Halifaco nodded, “We will go then. Bring that one with us,” he said motioning to Carr. “He may yet be useful in the negotiations.”
They were back trudging through that cursed forest. Cronus took a few deep breaths from the breather. He didn’t need it as much; that was good. He could breathe the air now with limited assistance.
Still, the forest unnerved him. It was a place of strange sounds and things always moving just beyond sight. In his imagination, it was a place where life was in a constant battle for survival. It was a place where everything could be divided into two categories: predators or prey, and being in one category didn’t necessarily negate being in the other.
The company he kept didn’t help his anxiety at all. There was Viekko, of course, but there was something wrong. Just like when they first approached the city walls, he seemed completely unaware of where he was. He hardly spoke and, when he did, most of it was slurred and disjointed to the point of incomprehension. Lucid moments were infrequent and brief. Most of the time, he stared off into space as if his mind was somewhere else. Althea had his arm around her and helped him walk.
Then there was the rest of the group: Halifaco and his pack of savages. They were like something out of a strange, neolithic nightmare. Most had scars and many were still wounded from whatever horrors this world put them through. They all marched straight ahead with a look of pure murder in their eyes. They were all just another item on the list of predators and prey and they looked determinedly predatory.
His thoughts went back the pyramid and the treasure trove of information stored within. Never mind the strange correlation between the refineries, the computer, and the indecipherable code between them; there were records from the colony before The Fall. Business reports, personal communications, ship manifests—he’d just begun to scratch the surface of the priceless knowledge that was hidden there.
“Cronus,” said Althea, straining under Viekko’s weight, “I don’t think the Corporation will bother us at the moment. Call Isra and tell her to get the Houston and bring him to the city gates. Tell her the Perfiduloi leader is ready to make an alliance against the outsiders.”
An alliance, thought Cronus. Great. An alliance meant another war. And another war put the precious data in danger yet again.
During the original battle, Cronus heard the roar of what he later learned were small rail guns. The sound of projectiles screaming at near-light speed and collapsing buildings echoed through the pyramid. He started downloading what he could at that point. He didn’t know what it was, but he would preserve it. But there were terabytes, maybe even petabytes of data on those ancient drives. It could take years to download and store it all. But all it would take was one stray projectile and another piece of human history would disappear forever.
“Cronus? Did you hear me?” asked Althea.
“Of course. I’m sorry,” said Cronus, pulling up his sleeve to activate the EROS display.
There was static and Isra’s voice came over the earpiece: “Cronus? What happened? You disappeared from my tracker.”
“It was an ambush. Corporation marines. We survived and got away, and we rescued Viekko. He’s hurt, but he will live.”
“That is good. What about the Perfiduloi? How did they react to the information we brought them?”
Cronus stole a glance at Carr. He had his hands bound and two ropes tied around his neck. A pair of soldiers carried the other ends like a leash.
“I suppose that depends on your perspective. The leader of the Perfiduloi wants to talk to the Houston. He’s ready to make peace at The City Ga
tes.”
“I will make sure he is there. Be careful.”
Cronus took a couple deep breaths from the breather. Be careful. The words seemed like the punchline of a cruel joke. Careful wouldn’t have them at the mercy of sociopaths in some disease-ridden forest. Careful wouldn’t have them on this moon in the first place. Of course, nobody forced him to come to Titan. That was his decision and one that he was regretting.
They arrived at the tree line in front of the gates after about thirty minutes. The plains in between them and the massive wooden doors still bore all the scars of war. Colorful birds circled over the bodies of Perfiduloi, Corporation Marines and Urbanoi. Smoke rose from two sizable craters near the trees. Besides the scavengers taking what they wanted from the field, the whole scene had an unreal stillness and silence to it.
Across the field, a group of around twenty people waited outside the gate.
Althea tried to shake Viekko awake, but he just stared ahead, glassy-eyed and unresponsive. “Cronus. See if Isra is with them. Try to organize a meeting that won’t get anyone killed.”
Cronus activated the communicator on the EROS suit. “Isra, are you standing by the gates of the city?”
“I am. Is that you I see near the tree line?”
“Yes.”
“I have spoken to the Houston. He and I will meet you, Althea, Viekko, and the Perfiduloi leader near the center of the field. Our respective forces will keep their distance to ensure security on both sides.”
Cronus relayed the message to Althea who told Halifaco. He consulted with his men and agreed. They marched onto that battlefield alone with Althea still helping Viekko walk and Halifaco leading the way with a kind of eager rage.
The Houston was in full ceremonial dress when they met. His short, thin frame almost dripped with colorful cloth and brilliant jewels. He was surrounded by a group of his soldiers. One, in particular, Cronus vaguely recognized, a squat woman with a hard, stone-like expression. There was a large ruddy stain on the front of her coat, the mark of yet more killing in the past. There was never going to be an end to this cycle, Cronus realized. People would be wounded or see friends or family killed only to come back and exact revenge on the perceived perpetrators.
The Houston bowed toward Halifaco and Isra spoke first. “We would ask that these proceeding be carried out in the language of the Kompanio if that is all right.”
Halifaco nodded solemnly. “I will agree to that.”
The Houston pulled up the sleeves of his robe so that his hands were visible and held them out to Halifaco. “Your people have been lost to us for many years, Perfidulo. Are you and your people ready to repent for your many transgressions?”
Halifaco’s eyes burned hotter. “False leader, it is you who betray Kompanio by carrying on in this holy place. You dishonor their memory by trying to replace them.”
The Houston started to retort but Isra cut in, “Gentlemen. This is not productive. There is clearly a long history between your respective peoples with wrongs on both sides. You must put them aside for now and work for the good of both your peoples. Can you do that?”
The Houston stiffened. “Your most recent transgression: you allied with outsiders who attacked out city. Will you repent for that at least?”
Halifaco calmed down. “That was a mistake, I will admit. I will repent for that.”
The Houston closed his eyes. “Your words are wise, but I fear they are not genuine. Give me a sign that your relationship with those people is finished.”
Halifaco nodded. “That is fair. I would like to bring some people forward, with your permission.”
The Houston nodded and Halifaco signaled his men back at the tree line. A moment later, two Perfiduloi men walked forward with Sergeant Carr still bound and being led by the neck. When they arrived, they set him on his knees and undid the leashes around his throat.
Halifaco walked behind Carr and addressed the Houston. “Do you know this man? He is the one that came to us after we found the weapons. He was the one who provided the weapons that damaged the city walls.”
The Houston eyed the soldier kneeling in the mud in his Corporation blues. “Is this true? Are you that man?”
Carr looked the Houston right in the eye. If there was any fear in him it was hidden behind a thick wall of defiance. “I am. What do you want to do about that?”
Before anyone could speak, Halifaco pulled a long knife from his fur cloak. With one quick motion as impersonal as cutting a slab of meat, Halifaco brought the knife to Sergeant Carr’s throat and sliced it open.
Blood poured from the wound. It spurted on the grass near where the Houston and Isra stood watching with stony impassiveness. Carr grabbed his neck in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. The look of horror on his face burned itself into Cronus's mind. This man who, moments before, seemed to hold no fear of anything, suddenly looked more terrified than anything Cronus had ever seen.
He fell forward gurgling blood. Nobody, not even Althea, moved to help him. She just turned her head and muttered something under her breath.
“...heee wasch a baschtard anywaysss...,” Viekko slurred. It was the most he said or did since they left the camp.
A few moments later, Sergeant Carr was dead. Cronus knew he wasn’t a good person. The specifics were fuzzy but he didn’t deserve this. Not in this place. Not like that.
The Houston watched and clapped his hands together. “I accept your demonstration. Let us talk.”
Halifaco sheathed his knife inside his cloak. “Jes, let us talk.”
The group turned and walked toward the city. Cronus turned around one last time. One of the large birds that had been circling overhead landed on Carr’s head and started nibbling on his ear.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The Corporation military effort during the height of Global Revolution was nothing short of astounding. Students of military strategy could spend a lifetime studying its complexity and still not completely understand its nuances.
And yet, The Corporation may as well have been pushing back a glacier. Their paid mercenaries were no match against the passion of the men and women in the grips of revolutionary fervor. The mercs fought for paychecks. The rebels fought for their very existence.
-from The Fall: The Decline and Failure of 21st Century Civilization by Martin Raffe.
Isra got up from her chair and paced around the room where the negotiations had been going steady for nearly three hours; negotiations being a loose term for what was going on. She’d seen better cooperation in a bar fight.
The room was beautiful like most of the rooms in the Houston’s palace. The walls were decorated with ornate carved wooden murals depicting humankind’s assent to the heavens, the colonization of Titan and, of course, the glory and supremacy of the Transplanetary Energy Corporation that made it all possible. The carvings were faded and cracked with time as were the ornately patterned red carpet and the dark wooden table in the center. The Houston and Halifaco sat on opposite sides of the three-meter-long table, staring each other down in icy contempt.
Isra stopped roughly in between the two men, placed her hands face down on the table, and closed her eyes. “Houston, please. In order for these negotiations—”
“There is no negotiation,” the Houston sneered. “If Perfiduloi wish to atone for their sin against Kompanio, it will require five-hundred of their people to bring themselves to the refineries.”
Halifaco snapped, “I will agree to nothing until you release all my people and destroy those cursed refineries!”
The Houston shook his head. “Why can you not see? Titan suffers because of the sins you have committed. The forest you love dies even while you argue with me, the one man who can save it.”
“Titan suffers because of you. Because the time of our freedom is here. Kompanio has shown us this and you deny it. You saw the light in the skies and you killed the people who come out to greet them. The forest morns my people and Komp
anio will avenge them.”
The Houston folded his arms and a slight smile crossed his face. “Five-hundred. That is what I require to ensure Kompanio is pleased and Titan survives. I will not discuss anything else.”
Halifaco jumped up and headed toward the door. “I have heard enough as well.”
Isra hurried to stop him. “Halifaco, please…”
Halifaco paused at the door and pointed at the Houston. “This man wants nothing but death for my people.”
The Houston remained maddeningly serene. He looked straight ahead when he spoke as if not even acknowledging Halifaco in the room. “I offer atonement. A chance for your people to be forgiven for their many sins against Kompanio. In truth, I am in envy of you for you will see Earth long before I ever will.”
Halifaco drew a knife from somewhere in his cloak. It was smaller than the one he used to kill Carr and about the size and shape of a letter opener. The warrior meant to conceal it, but Isra noted the glint in the light. As he rounded the table to lunge at the Houston, Isra stepped in front of him with her body in between the two and grabbed his wrist in a firm, bruise-inducing hold.
Holding his arm with the miniature dagger still she leaned forward and whispered, “That is not the way.”
“This man cares nothing for us. He will kill my people.”
“And how will your people fare if you die in this room today? Give me the knife.”
Halifaco pressed his weight against her for a second but Isra held firm. Then he relaxed and Isra was able to take the knife from his hand.
Halifaco stepped back and strolled toward his chair, watching the Houston as if just waiting for another opportunity to strike. “If that is the case, come down from your shameful city. Quit pretending to be as gods and come to the refinery yourself and I swear by Kompanio you will see Earth before the next sunrise.”
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