FREEDOM Legends

by Stephen Arseneault

  Hallik began to pace the room with his hands clasped behind his back. "Future assignments may require a young girl or boy, or perhaps muscle like our friend Martin here. You see, I have many competitors in a variety of industries and trades. You will be my great equalizers, as I said, my eyes and ears. And the more successful you are, the greater autonomy you will acquire, and the more perks you will receive."

  Dester said, "We don't know the first thing about being spies."

  Hallik nodded. "Not to worry. You will soon be meeting with my newest employee, Bersa. She's an individual who, let's say, is on the outs with the Betuaon government. Intelligence was her tradecraft for many years. An unfortunate incident lost her favor. She will be your teacher and you her willing and eager students."

  Jamus said, "I don't get why you're doing this. I thought the Realm was all divided up and you masters had it easy. Don't you personally run several colonies?"

  "Parts of, yes, and those colonies compete in trade with other colonies. The same happens between States. Bersa was previously employed by Betuaon State. The Markux Empire is a very competitive place, Mr. Turnbull. It is also very political. Spies are usually limited to managers who are of other alien persuasions, primarily the Girda. They are also very easy to detect and to turn, always giving in to the highest bidder. Humans, however… no one would suspect Humans who are addicted to Shackle of being spies. I'm almost giddy with excitement over the thought."

  Bersa entered the room. A sinister looking alien of the Girda species, she was a thin biped of modest height. The Girda had ultra-white skin, greasy black hair, and dark eyes. She cleared her throat before speaking in a raspy voice. "Good evening." Her beady eyes surveyed the room. "You look like an average group of Humans. This will do nicely, Master Hallik. Very nicely. When can we begin training?"

  Hallik smiled. "Who's the eager one? You will have them soon enough, Bersa. They have yet to even accept my offer."

  Jamus asked, "Do we have a choice?"

  Hallik tilted his head to one side in jest. "I said you did. Join and live a much better quality of life than you were… or die. You seem intelligent, Mr. Turnbull. I have confidence you will make the right decision."

  Jamus leaned back on the bench he was sitting on. He was confused and apprehensive, and at the same time intrigued. A part of him wanted to fear the entire situation, but for whatever reason he didn't. "I guess I'm in then."

  Daniel Pike nodded. "I follow him."

  "Mr. Gecka? I could use a man of your muscle."

  "In."

  Hallik turned to face the Bachran sisters.

  Greta nodded. "We're in."

  "And that leaves Mr. Marr. Are you prepared to become a spy for the House of Hallik?"

  "What's really in it for me?"

  "Life."

  Dester scowled. "Sure, why not."

  Hallik slowly walked around the room, looking each new member of his team in the face. He stopped in front of Bersa. "I believe you have your students. Training may begin whenever you are ready."

  Chapter 2

  * * *

  Hallik left the room with a smile. Bersa walked in front of each volunteer, looking them over from head to toe as she contemplated future missions. The ship briefly rumbled as it lifted from the dirt of the farming compound.

  "Where are we being taken?" asked Jamus.

  Bersa replied, "To a specially-constructed facility in the mountains. A place far from prying eyes. You will be trained in all areas of espionage. And just so you know, should you fail at any mission, Master Hallik may choose to have you terminated. I personally have been given that decision authority as well. So remember to keep your situation in mind, there are others out there who have become immune; you are easily replaced."

  "Why us? This group?"

  "Primarily because of you, Mr. Turnbull. Of Master Hallik's slaves, you have been aware the longest. As for the rest of you, you know all Humans receive a basic education as a youth. The purpose being that you will be able to perform whatever tasks are put before you. But this also means you are interchangeable. Your selection was a matter of convenience. You were all together, nothing more."

  Bersa walked to the bench where Daniel Pike was sitting. "Mr. Pike, I have the perfect mission in mind for you. It will be in a diamond mine, on Gatumon. But don't fret about the peril of the labor. You will be a food courier to the miners. The information you gather will be on methods of production, and on labor turnover. Master Hallik is interested in opening up such a venture here on Caloran. He would like to have an idea of what is required to make the mine productive and profitable. The mine you are to be placed in on Gatumon is the top diamond producer in Betuaon."

  "I don't know anything about mining."

  Bersa nodded. "As would be expected. The six of you will be fully trained before being sent out on your missions. I've been given ninety days to make this happen for the factory job of Mr. Marr. Once that is well underway, we'll be putting effort into the mining operation."

  Forty minutes later, the ship settled on a concrete pad. The door to the room opened, the group was hurried into a hall, out to the ramp, and down onto the tarmac.

  A grinning Hallik stood at the top of the ramp. "Welcome to your new home. As we discussed, ninety days, Bersa. I'm expecting good things from my investment in you. See to it our missions are carried out and you will be rolling in credits."

  Hallik turned, clapping his hands twice as he looked toward his aide. "On to our next meeting, Bilg. The governor doesn't like to be kept waiting."

  The ramp rose as the Greft lifted from the tarmac. Residual gravity waves pushed gently down on the group of Humans and their trainer as the master's ship accelerated toward its next destination.

  "Come," Bersa said. "The brown building will be our quarters. Seeing as I don't care for the natural odor of Humans, you will each shower and dress yourselves with the clothing you will find in your quarters. And please, scrub hard and make use of the soaps provided. For the next ninety days at least, you will be glistening and smell of nothing but the provided soap... or you will be replaced by another."

  "What are the other buildings?" asked Jamus.

  "The white is for dining, relaxing, entertainment... essentially any time that is not spent in training or asleep, which will initially be very little. The green is our training facility. We will begin in classrooms. However, as training moves forward, there will be a physical aspect to all this. You will be fit, adept at the jobs you will be doing, and trained in self-defense and self-termination."

  "Termination?"

  Bersa sighed. "We cannot risk discovery, Mr. Turnbull. Should the need arise, you will be trained in using extreme measures to protect your mission. If your jobs are done well, there will be no need for use of this training."

  Dester scowled. "So our choice is get the info or die. I can't wait to get started."

  "You must understand, Mr. Marr, if suspected, or captured during commission of your efforts, interrogation will follow. You will self-terminate or we will do it for you and for the rest of your team. There can be no notion in anyone's head that Humans are being used as spies. None. It would be disastrous for you, me, and Master Hallik... all of us."

  The group proceeded into the quarters. Eighteen individual rooms equipped with private baths lined a main hallway.

  Bersa opened the door to the first room. "As you can see from the nameplate, this particular room belongs to Mr. Marr. You have a bed, desk and chair, and a small table with two additional chairs. Over here is a wardrobe for the jumpsuits you will be wearing during your time here. I slept on one of these beds last night. They are quite comfortable. The private bath has a shower, sink, and commode."

  Jamus asked, "You stay in these quarters as well?"

  "I do. Just down the hall."

  Dester nodded as he looked around at his assigned room. "Hmm. A bed with a real mattress. Can't say I've actually ever slept on one. Had cots my whole life."

  Bersa s
tepped back into the hallway. "The rest of you will find your name on a door. Enter your rooms, bath thoroughly, and dress. I will be back to collect you in one hour. You will find a disposal bag just inside your door. Make use of it for your old clothes, please. They will be collected once we leave for our dinner meal."

  Dester grinned. "Dinner meal. Sounds like we're getting treated like real aliens."

  Bersa stopped. "We are all aliens on this planet, Mr. Marr. And we are all aliens on almost every planet in this galaxy. Now, I suggest you get started on your cleanup. If I come to collect you and you are not ready, you will be dragged out in whatever condition you are in. After today, we will be keeping precise schedules. For those who are unable to follow those schedules, there will be immediate termination. Enjoy your showers. And as I said, please be thorough."

  Jamus followed Daniel to his door. "This one's yours. Go clean yourself up."

  Two doors down, Jamus entered his own room. The disposal bag was pulled open and the hut-clothes he was wearing were dropped inside. Ten paces had him standing in the bathroom, staring at the glass door going into the shower. After several seconds of observation, he opened the door and stepped inside.

  Jamus scratched his head as he looked up at the shower head and down at the controls in thought. What am I supposed to do now?

  He pushed a handle down, and then side to side. Nothing happened, until he flipped the handle up. Cold water emerged from the shower head in a heavy stream. Feeling the initial chill, he hopped back, and then took a timid step into the cold flow. A button on the wall beside the shower control showed an image of a hand. The button was pressed and a shot of soap squirted out onto the shower floor.

  As Jamus looked down at the wad of soap, a voice came from over his head. An image of Bersa showed on a display just above the shower controls. "It's called soap, Mr. Turnbull. Place your open, but cupped hand under the outlet and press the button. Use the soap to lather yourself and thereby remove the dirt."

  "I know what soap is for."

  "The one beside it is shampoo. That is suited for creatures with hair or fur. Human heads are covered with hair. Use the shampoo as you would soap, but for your hair. And I see you are avoiding the water. Is there a reason why?"

  "Yeah, it's cold."

  "Twist the handle to your right, but not all the way. The water will warm. Adjust the temperature to your liking. When complete, you will find towels for drying in the small closet there in the bathroom. And please be thorough, Mr. Turnbull. I will come to collect you shortly. As of now, I see that I have five other Humans that require instruction in bathing."

  The display turned off.

  Jamus scowled. "I know how to wash myself."

  A hard scrub was in order. The warm water brought a satisfying feel. The soap worked to loosen the dirt the pump water neglected to reach in his earlier attempt at getting himself clean. Drying with a soft towel had the fifty-two-year-old slave in a chipper mood. As he dressed in the provided white jumpsuit, that moment of cheer faded. What was he being set up for? What was really about to happen? Was the spy story a ploy to keep them compliant? Were they cleaning themselves up before dissection?

  A knock on the door startled him back to the here and now. "Mr. Turnbull, come. Dinner is waiting."

  Jamus entered the hall with his disposal bag in hand.

  Bersa rolled her beady eyes. "Please, Mr. Turnbull, place the bag on the floor. It will be collected while we eat."

  A Human slave entered the hall at the other end, walking into the far room and collecting the disposal bag of Martin Gecka.

  Jamus returned a look of concern. "Wait... we have slaves?"

  Bersa replied, "Menial tasks will be taken care of by workers. Those tasks are no longer your concern. Your focus will be on learning the skills needed for the mission to be performed and nothing more."

  Dester Marr slowly nodded his head. "Never thought I'd have my own slave boy."

  Martin moved close with an angry look and a clinched fist.

  "What? You want to intimidate me? Careful, big man, I'll punch you in the marbles. I've been in a scrap or two during my day."

  Bersa stepped between them. "Do I have to remind you of the termination clauses of both your agreements?"

  Dester huffed as he stepped back with a scowl. "Nobody pushes Marr around. You keep your space or you'll pay the price."

  A short walk had the group entering the white building and the dining hall. A half-dozen tables that would seat four persons each were centered in an open space. A Human cook, a smudger, stood behind a counter at a small buffet bar with a slight smile on his face and an empty gaze.

  "On your left we have a lounge area. If you achieve goals, as a group, you may be rewarded with lounge time. I don't expect that to happen during the first half of your training. In the back you will notice the pool of water. You will each be learning how to swim. As of yet that skill is not required, but it may come in handy in the future. You will each be spending at least one hour per day in the pool.

  "To the right is a study area. Terminals will be used to read up on information. Who here is practiced with the Markux alphabet and reading? Beyond the basic education you were all given?"

  Dester Marr raised his hand as the others stared. "What? Had to learn it for the factory work. You were expected to understand both the design and order displays. Not to mention reading manuals for machine maintenance. Those things didn't fix themselves."

  Jamus withheld his hand, wanting to keep the knowledge of his abilities to himself. Had his hut been heavily searched, a small stack of writing would have been found.

  Bersa nodded. "Mr. Marr, you will be my assistant for that particular portion of our training."

  Dester grinned. "And what do I get for that?"

  "You get to live."

  The grin returned to his normal scowl.

  Martin released a single smirk.

  "Now, on to the dining. You will be given thirty minutes to consume your food during each dining period. There are four per day. Your weight will be monitored along with the remainder of your health. You will be given fitness goals to achieve and you will be expected to achieve those goals within the timeframes allotted to you."

  Bersa walked closer to the buffet bar. "You will take a plate and utensils. You will select the food items you wish to consume. You will carry your food to a table. And you will move over here for a beverage before returning to eat. When finished with your meal this evening, you are free to roam about the lounge, take a dip in the pool, or peruse the knowledge available on the terminals. You will have two hours of free time before returning to your quarters. Tomorrow, before sun-up, your full training will begin."

  The former Girda spy turned and walked toward a door. As she approached, an automatic lock could be heard as it clicked. The door opened, Bersa walked through, stopping briefly as she looked over her shoulder. "Thirty minutes. I suggest you eat well. The buffet contents will be restricted during future meals."

  Dester was the first to hurry over to grab a plate. "Starved. Ooh. That looks good. What is that?"

  The buffet slave, with a blank look in his eyes, replied, "Gallot ribs."

  "And that?"

  "Mangolan sausage."

  "And this one?"

  Jamus stepped up. "Just fill your plate. We're all on a clock."

  "Fangule brains."

  Dester grabbed a ladle and dished out a healthy portion of fangule. "Brains. Gotta make me smarter, right?"

  Martin gave a single smirk. "Do you know what fangule is?"

  "It's the stuff that's gonna make me smarter."

  "It's the vermin that feed on our trash piles."

  Dester gave a perturbed look as he reached past Jamus with tongs for a pair of Gallot ribs. "Mind your own business, idiot. The fangule are already smarter than you."

  Plates were filled and beverages selected. Martin took a chair at a table with Greta and Kerena. Dester sat by himself, facing away from the remainder
of the group. Jamus sat across from the elder Human, gesturing for Daniel to join the others.

  Dester scowled at the intrusion. "What do you want?"

  "I want us to all be a team. You're making enemies where enemies aren't allowed, or needed. You keep trying to push Martin's buttons and he's either going to snap you in half or Hallik will have you dissected for causing dissension. I know you don't like the sound of this, but from here on out we have to function as one. If someone has a problem, we all have a problem."

  Dester huffed. "Either move or shut up and eat. You're wasting your breath and wasting my time."

  Jamus sighed and glanced about the room before hurrying through his meal. A second plate was filled and eaten before Bersa returned to the dining hall.

  "You have two hours to lounge about or do whatever. Please do not attempt to leave the confines of the building."

  Dester asked, "You aliens all have a single name. Why is that?"

  "I've always wondered why Humans have two. We are all individuals. What purpose is had by keeping a last name?"

  "Tells us where we came from."

  "And what purpose does that serve? Are you not unique from those who birthed you? Do you not live and breathe on your own? Is your entire life not separate from theirs?"

  "We just like knowing where we came from, that's all. And it makes us easier to identify. How many Bersas are there out there? Does nobody get confused when making reference to you if there's another Bersa around?"

  "We are each given a numeric sub-name at birth. I am Bersa-45221. It is a system much like the numeric tattoos you each have on your shoulders and forearms. No further identification is needed."

  The group glanced down at their identifiers.

  Bersa pointed toward a clock. "A time unit is on each wall of this facility. There is one in each of your quarters. There is also a unit in each room of the training building. If given a time, you are expected to adhere to whatever schedule it relates to. I know you will become tired of hearing this, but if any one of you fails, you all may be held responsible. Master Hallik may decide to end this entire experiment at any time."