by Edward Brody
The taxi reached the poor corner, and Mich flipped a couple credit to the driver before exiting the craft. He immediately felt nervous and thought back to when he had been kidnapped by the Keeper. He hoped that his freshly shaved head was enough for him to avoid any more unwanted attention.
Mich strolled down the familiar street that he had entered on his first day at Rashada and noticed the brothel door was now closed, and no women were hanging outside looking for customers. There no ladies throwing oil out into the street or beggars asking for money. To his surprise, the man he had saw lying in street before was still there, but now he was lying on his back with his eyes rolled into the back of his head and the smell of decay emanating off of his body–dead.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small boy dip around a corner and recognized him as Jimmy. Still not trying to draw attention, he picked up his pace, but did not call out to him. He rounded the corner and found Jimmy crouched into the corner of a sunken door entrance, hiding and looking afraid.
“Jimmy,” Mich whispered.
“Ay, I didn’t do nothin’. Just leave me alone!”
Mich placed his hands on Jimmy’s shoulders. “Hey, I’m not going to do anything to you. It’s Mich. Don’t you recognize me?”
Jimmy tried to shake away. “I’m not fighting. I don’t want to fight!”
“I don’t want to fight you, Jimmy.” Mich thought back to the words that Tristyn had told him, and he muttered, “Do you believe in freedom?”
Jimmy’s muscles slacked, and he gave Mich a good look in the eyes. “Eh, it’s you! I thought you were dead!”
Mich put his finger up to his mouth and made a “Shhh” sound. “Don’t talk so loud. I don’t want anyone to hear us.”
“What happened to your hair? Ya look funny.”
Mich smiled at the boy’s innocence. “Yeah, I look funny, and I want to show Tristyn how funny I look. Can you take me to the base?”
“Oh, it’s not safe there now, Mich. It’s bad…”
“What do you mean?”
“The soldiers done came and got in the base. It’s big trouble now.”
Mich gritted his teeth. “Are the soldiers still there? Can you take me?”
“I think they’re gone now, but I don’t know when they’ll be back. I’ll take you to the door, but I ain’t going in.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Jimmy led Mich through the streets until they reached an unassuming building with a door. He opened the door, which revealed another door, but rather than opening the second door, Jimmy pushed on the wall nudged in between both doors to reveal a secret passage. “Go ahead,” Jimmy said. “If you come back the same way, make sure everything is closed up before you open the door.
Mich nodded and entered the dark area. That passage lead to a smaller opening that Mich had to duck to pass through, and eventually he reached a roped ladder that lead him into the main area of the rebel base.
When he jumped down from the ladder and started walking through The Crawlspace, he realized there had clearly been a struggle. Everything that had been organized before was now in complete disarray, and there was the occasional blood splatter on the wall and floor.
The armory was completely cleared out of all the weapons that had been there before, and outside of the armory door were two dead humans. He briefly stopped to check if they were showing any signs of life–they weren’t–and he moved on with even more urgency.
He pushed opened the door to the tech room, and everything was in shambles. The flying devices were smashed to pieces, and papers were scattered all over the floor. Scraggs was left lying on the ground, but he was still alive and groaning. Mich rushed over to help him.
“Scraggs?”
“Oh… It’s you. Nice haircut,” he moaned as soon as he saw Mich, not seeming nearly as surprised as Jimmy that Mich was alive.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“I’m not really sure what happened. One minute, I’m listening to rock music and working on the omincron, and the next minute Nerrian soldiers are tearing through the place.” He tried to lift himself up but winced at the pain. “I’m pretty beat up, but I’ll be alright. I think I’m more hurt they destroyed my bots.”
Mich placed his hand under Scraggs neck and help lift him into a chair.
Scraggs slouched in the chair and struggled to hold himself up. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “Go check on the others.” Mich nodded and turned for the door, but just as he was about to exit, Scraggs called out. “Oh, and here’s that old telephone. It was pretty easy to charge up after altering the power supply and soldering a custom adapter.”
Mich reached out, took the phone from Scraggs hand, and squeezed his shoulder in gratitude. “Thank you,” he muttered.
His heart raced as he continued through the Crawlspace, trying to remember the turns that he had made previously and where he had met Walter St. James. Was Tristyn okay? Was Walter still alive?
He wasn’t walking much further when Earl came limping around a corner, holding his sagging shoulder. He looked badly beaten and his eye was black, swollen. When Earl saw the newcomer, he briefly grimaced, and then his eyes refocused on Mich’s face.
“Mich?” Earl asked. “Is that you?” Mich rushed up to Earl’s side to give him some support. “How did you…? They said you were dead.”
“Almost but not quite. What the hell happened here?”
“That fucker Carl…”
“Carl? Candy’s assistant?”
“Yeah, that asshole came here and asked to join the rebellion. Said they tried to force him to work the mines. Turns out it was just a ploy to flush us out.”
“And the Nerrian soldiers?”
“Not sure, but Carl went about yappin’ to them that we had kidnapped and tortured him. Claimed we killed Candy too. The whole thing barely makes any sense.”
“Candy is dead?”
Earl nodded. “Apparently so.”
“Where’s Walter and Tristyn?”
“Gone…” Earl sighed and then grimaced as he felt a pain jolting through his shoulder. “They took both of them prisoner. Wanted to take me too, but I managed to get away.” Earl paused and shook his head in disgust. “We weren’t ready… Didn’t even have our weapons out. Most of the other rebels managed to get to the surface, but a few got killed.”
The two navigated to a small table with two chairs that was once used to feed soldiers. “So what now?” Mich asked.
“What do you mean, what now? They took our weapons, even took my blade. Our leader’s been caught.” Earl waved his hand through the air. “The rebellion’s finished.”
“So if it’s finished, where will you go?”
Once the soldiers clear out, I guess I’ll go work the same as everyone else. I’ve got a brother who works in the factory. I’ll join him there.”
“And what about the others?”
“What can we do, Mich? Don’t you understand? We’ve got nothing on these monsters. They’re fully armored, fully armed. The Queen controls everything.”
“I’ve met the Queen, and she seemed like a good person. Something just isn’t adding up about this whole thing.”
“You’re clueless, Mich. The galaxy hates humans. Ever since The Cleanse, we’ve been regarded as scum.”
Mich sulked and thought back to the book he read about The Cleanse, but he was still finding the whole thing hard to process.
“Anyway, how are you alive? They said you’d been murdered.”
“Someone tried… It was a Keeper who damn near succeeded too.”
“You’re telling me a Keeper tried to kill you and you managed to survive?” Earl coughed out a laugh. “A Keeper could take on a hundred humans at once. A single man wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Another one showed up. One of the Queen’s men–has a dragon tattoo on his face. I saw him at the palace in Nerria.”
“Tamor Landry… No fucking way he would be on Rashada unless something big w
as going on. They must have known you were targeted–by someone with a lot of influence no doubt.”
“He had the other guy down, but still couldn’t save me.” Mich reached behind his back and pulled out the copper sword that he had hidden underneath his shirt. “Threw this right into my stomach from several yards away. It’s a miracle I didn’t die.”
“Fuckin’ hell!” Earl said as he eyeballed the sword. He reached his hand out and rubbed his finger across the edge of the blade. “I’ve never seen one of these in real life… This sword–it must be worth at least a hundred million credits.”
“And what exactly is a hundred million credits worth? I’m still used to American dollars.”
Earl chucked. “If we sold this sword, we could outfit the whole rebel army.”
“But it’s copper? Wouldn’t it be better if it were gold or something?”
“Fucking hell, you’re still living back on E-17! Gold is one of the most common metals in the galaxy. Copper is not only one of the rarest resources available, but it’s one of the most desired. Sure, gold was rare on E-17, so humans thought it was something special. But now they’ve got mining crews that go back to the shithole specifically for the copper.” Earl sighed. “If humans had integrated with the rest of the galaxy rather than fighting all the time, they would’ve found out that they were sitting on a goldmine.”
“Don’t you mean copper mine?”
“Sometimes old puns travel across planets.” Earl laughed. “Anyway, everything would be different. Humans would have an upper hand with other species–at least economically.”
“So, why don’t we sell it? Outfit the rebel soldiers…”
Earl’s tilted his head to the side as if he was in a deep thought. After a moment he said, “You know, if we could regroup our people, that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. But are you sure you’d be willing to give this up for us? This little sword could send you to any planet you wanted to go to, buy you your own starship, live the good life.”
It was then that Mich realized the gravity of his choice. The good life–it was what he had built himself up to before. It was what he was missing now. Had wondered if he snuffed up by suggesting that he sell the sword for the rebellion. It could afford him the kind of lifestyle he had before he stepped inside the cryonics chamber. At the same time, he had no idea how or where to sell it and would probably get himself robbed or killed trying alone.
“Who has a hundred million credits to buy a thing like this anyway?”
“We’d have to get off of Rashada to sell the sword. Find a private buyer or a broker… A bit dangerous and would also require a starship. That’s something that we currently don’t have.”
“You’re not very good at suggesting solutions,” Mich mused.
“We’d could steal a ship. Not sure how well that would work with Nerrian soldiers crawling all over the place. Or…” Earl looked away and grimaced. “Walter has a starship over at port. But he’s the only one who knows the access keys.”
“Do you have any idea where they took Walter?”
“Trist and Walter are probably being held at the port before being transferred to the elected Council for criminal trial. Should still be there. Lots of red tape to be signed before a man can be pulled off of Rashada.”
Mich let out a big sigh and closed his eyes as he considered the options, but just as soon as he started pondering, he cracked a slight grin. “I think I have an idea… “
Chapter Twenty-Four
Scraggs sighed. “I’m not sure about this. If it doesn’t work, we’ll be just as screwed as Walter and Tristyn.”
“Working the mines is a better alternative?” Mich questioned. “It’s the only chance we have to save your rebellion.” The two men were crouched in the shadows behind a small building near the port’s holding cell.
“We’re not even sure if they’re in there. And the disrupters haven’t been tested on anything of that size. What if they don’t work?” Scraggs held one of the grey-colored, experimental eggs in one hand and a metal pipe in the other.
“Look,” Mich said sternly. “I heard the way you talked to Tristyn. What will she think if she finds out that you’re responsible for her rescue? I’m pretty sure it’ll get you some major brownie points.”
Scraggs rubbed his chin gently as he thought. “Alright, but if we die, I’m blaming you.”
Mich nodded. “Okay, so remember the plan. Once the mech is disabled, we’ll rush into its piloting room and take over.” Mich held up large utility hammer. “We’ll attack the guards with the mech, and use the hostage inside to demand that they free Tristyn and Walter.”
Scraggs nodded, and Mich gave a return nod to signal the go-ahead. The two men waited for the mech to patrol closer. They needed ample space from the Nerrian soldiers posted at the port, and a short enough distance so that they could run to the mech and get inside before the disruption wore off.
After several minutes, the mech that they were eyeing came within 100 feet, and Scraggs leaned back and let his egg fly. When the disruptor egg landed on the mech, the shell shattered and the bright energies inside crackled and seemed to be sucked directly in the metal machine.
The mech let off a low hiss, and suddenly its 4 legs stopped moving; it appeared to have shut down. The two men went running for the mech as fast as they could, but within a second of stopping, the mech moved again, this time erratically, standing itself upright and then kneeling itself back down. The hydraulics in the mech seemed to be moving faster and more robotically than normal, and the mech spun from side to side and began firing random laser blasts in various directions. Rather than disrupt the mech’s systems, it seemed the disruptor made the mech go haywire.
The two men ducked behind another building when they realized that they were in danger, and as the mech unleased laser bolts, the Nerrian soldier’s took notice. One soldier standing near the port pointed at the mech, and just as soon as he pointed at it, a laser shot was sent his way, landing near his feet and sending dirt and debris up in his face from the impact.
“Shit! That’s not what was supposed to happen,” Mich huffed.
“I told you. I freakin’ told you!” Earl scolded.
The mech continued spinning around, firing shots in every direction, and the nearby Nerrian soldiers were gathering up and trying to figure out how to shut the mech down. A shot landed between a group of three soldiers and sent them all flying off the ground. Another shot landed in front of the holding cell, and the two guards in front of the door ran off to seek cover and assist the others.
“It wasn’t what was planned, but at least they’re all distracted,” Mich said and poked Scraggs in the shoulder, motioning for him to follow. The two men scurried towards the holding cell while the guards were busy trying to get the mech under control and slipped through the opened door unnoticed.
When they arrived inside the cell, they immediately saw Walter and Tristyn sitting behind bars in a small room with benches lining the unmarked walls. A typical-looking prison. Walter was lying on a bench, and Tristyn was sitting down. She stood up quickly when the new faces entered. “Scraggs!” Tristryn shouted. She squinted her eyes and breathed heavily, confusion etched across her face. “Is that you, Mich?”
“Shhh,” Mich said. “We need to get you out of here while the guards are distracted.”
“Yeah, well how are you going to do that?” Walter asked groggily as he pulled himself up from the bench. “He banged the back of his hand against the metal bars, causing a slight clang. “Solid Rashadan steel. That hammer isn’t going to help you.”
“Well, the original plan was for us to–“
“I’m going try something really fast. Everyone be quiet,” Mich interrupted Scraggs.
The three others eyed Mich as he approached the cell door and closed his eyes. He stood there silently and began to focusing on his breathing. Outside of the holding room, Mich could hear laser blasts and chaos, but he pushed his mind into another world, trying his harde
st to zone out of the situation.
Eventually, the noises disappeared. Everything obscured, and all that Mich could see was the strange color dancing around in front of him. He picked up the color and held it in his imaginary hands, willing it through his body and down to his real hands.
They all watched quietly in awe as a light blue hue began to appear around Mich’s fingers, and then suddenly Mich’s hands shot out quickly, striking the metal bars near the area of the door lock, causing a huge dent in the door and the lock to break.
“What the fuck was that?” Scraggs yelped, his face twisted and his mouth set in a large ‘O’.
Mich opened his eyes and smiled at the success.
“That’s Keeper power,” Tristyn said, mouth agape. “I can’t believe–“
“It’s not a Keeper power. It’s a power that everyone has inside of them. Keepers have just learned to harness it to the highest degree. I personally can’t do much more than what I just did.” A laser shot hit the side of the holding cell, causing the whole place to rattle, snapping all of them back into the severity of the situation. “Anyway, we need to get going, fast!”
Walter pushed open the cell door, and the four humans went running as fast as possible from the holding cell. Outside, one of the soldiers fighting the mech noticed almost immediately when the humans ran out and shouted to the others. “Oh fuck! They’re getting away!”
Two of the soldiers moved their attention off of the mech and ran in pursuit of the escapees, but no sooner than the starting giving chase, a large speeder zipped past the haywire mech and stopped right next to the humans. Earl pooped open the speeder’s cockpit door and motioned for everyone to get inside.
“Engaging,” one of the soldiers said into a communication device attached to the arm of his armor, and then the two soldiers started sending shots in the direction of the speeder.
“What the fuck happened?” Earl asked as Mich, Scraggs and the two escaped prisoners hopped inside, shots ricocheting off the speeders’ body. “Wasn’t this supposed to be a hostage negotiation situation?”