FREEDOM Legends

by Stephen Arseneault

  The crowd returned a confused but accepting applause.

  "This leaves us with a position to be filled. I would like to present to you the new wealthiest citizen of Betuaon, a Talion with a family of history, a person of honesty and integrity, a brilliant businessman, and the master that I believe you will elect as your new governor! Master Thelm of the House of Thelm!"

  The crowd's applause turned into cheers.

  "And now, in keeping with the purpose of this gathering, I would like to put the governorship to a vote. Please make your selection from the top eight names that now appear on your monitors. You have thirty seconds."

  Thelm leaned in. "What are you doing?"

  Hallik smiled. "Making you governor."

  "I haven't prepared anything to say."

  "Just say thank you."

  "Thank you, Master Hallik."

  Hallik chuckled. "Don't thank me, thank them, after they vote."

  The tally on the main display showed thirty-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine to zero. Master Thelm of the House of Thelm was the new governor of Betuaon State. The crowd applauded as Hallik stepped away from the mic for the new governor to make his acceptance speech.

  Thelm stood looking out at the crowd for most of a minute until the applause had fallen off and the entire arena was silent. He leaned into the mic. "Thank you."

  A tepid applause turned into a standing applause and then a roaring crowd.

  Hallik stepped up to the mic. "Let the celebration continue with more games!"

  A group of twenty Humans were shoved into the arena at one end. At the other, a hundred hungry crocodiles were released all at once. A moving wall behind the sleggs pushed the group toward the hungry animals. Crowds bet on the numbered humans as they scrambled to find a way out of their predicament.

  Hallik walked back to a dejected Jamus as Thelm remained out at the podium to watch from his perch directly above the arena floor.

  He took hold of Jamus' shoulder as he passed. "A most honorable sacrifice. She had all Humans in mind when she made her decision."

  Jamus frowned as he nodded. "Doesn't make it any easier."

  A week had passed since Tamia Brown had given her life. Out of concern for the team, all except Jamus were recalled. His position with the governor was crucial, and provided the team with a wealth of knowledge about the other masters, both of Betuaon State and the Talion District. Governor Thelm was all smiles.

  The team gathered back at Beta Station. A short memorial service was held for their fallen teammate. Somehow, Hallik had managed to recover Tamia’s body. She was buried at the secret facility on Caloran, alongside the grave of Greta Bachran.

  Bersa stood before them. "We are working on new placements for each of you. Each has performed admirably with the knowledge you have returned making the risks you've taken worthwhile. We are all extremely saddened by the loss of Tamia, but that loss was of her own choice. It furthered the cause, giving us a strong hold on Betuaon State and on the governor himself. Master Hallik has now moved into the second position."

  Martin asked, "The new placements, will they be similar to what we've been doing?"

  "Inevitably some will, but as of this meeting, no. We will be dropping back to some of our original assignment types. You will be placed on factories and farms, positions where we can gain advantage over those businesses, make trade deals, buy businesses, or deprive those entities of the profits they need to thrive and stay alive."

  Grumbles went around the room.

  Bersa held up a hand. "I know it seems like a setback, but it's not. We're now moving up to the district level. The stakes are bigger. The masters are wealthier and more powerful, most being governors of states."

  Jim said, "Won't these assignments carry a higher risk? The shuttle jobs were relatively easy. With these we'll be returning to physical work."

  "Possibly, but not necessarily. As an example, some Humans are simply used as messengers for documents. The only real physicality is with walking from one point to another. And there will be one other type of assignment. Back on our own farms."

  "What would we be doing there?" Kerena asked.

  "We've come across what we believe to be a possible pattern of viral infections. Kerena, you, Martin, and Jim will be given farming assignments. And don't worry, your output will only have to meet minimum requirements. While on those farms, you will be there as a liaison should the Human craft return. Try to make contact if possible. Find out who they are."

  "So you can turn them in?"

  "On the contrary, so we can partner with them. If we can convince them that our way is the best path to freedom for all Humans, perhaps they can work with us, freeing up resources when we need them. Believe me, the time will come when we need a lot."

  "How so?"

  "The sector governors control the military. Should the military be used against us, we have no method of defending ourselves. Free Humans, trained and armed Humans, might be required. We'll be doing everything we can, taking every precaution to not fall into that scenario, but we have to be realistic that it is a possibility. We will want to have a plan in place should that come to pass."

  Bersa took a seat and turned back toward the main display. "Now, until Master Hallik's team has our assignments, we'll be monitoring the cameras each of you placed at your prior assignments, and we'll be watching Jamus as he continues to manipulate the governor."

  The image from Jamus' camera feed showed a naked governor Thelm receiving his bi-daily scrubdown.

  "Governor, have you ever thought of getting your hair colored?"

  "For what purpose?"

  "For the purpose of being different, unique, recognizable."

  "Recognizable? How so?"

  "Most of you Talions are a strict gray, with a handful of you instead having bright white fur. I know those are only the most senior of you, but are they not distinguished? Does not everyone recognize them?"

  "I suppose. What are you suggesting?"

  "Start a new trend. Open dying salons on every colony. Add some pop to every Talion out there... greens, reds, purples, blacks. You could even add stripes or patterns, even images. You could even do so for Brekans and their white fur."

  "Images? Such as?"

  "I can think of at least one that would be of benefit to you. What would you think of citizens walking around with dyed images of their governor on their chest or back?"

  "Of me? For what purpose?"

  "To show their appreciation and support. You'd be the envy of all the governors. If you were able to start a strong enough trend, imagine the franchise fees you could charge in each of the other states and districts, even sectors."

  "Hmm. Interesting, but I'm not so certain it will work. Talions strive to be like other Talions. We pride ourselves in not only looking the same, but behaving the same. Dying one's fur would be like making a statement that says that individual doesn't want to belong, or doesn't care."

  Bersa rubbed her chin. "I don't buy for a minute the Talions taking to that sort of behavior. As Thelm says, they strive to all be alike. What purpose would having the Talions go against their norms serve? Let alone Brekans."

  "Division," said Dester. "They are stronger and more easily directed by their government when they look alike and act alike. Get them looking different and behaving like individuals and they will soon be rebelling against their government and everyone they know, or at least some of them will be. Could be a nice distraction for us if the government has other issues it has to deal with."

  Daniel came rolling in. "He's right. I've been reading about this in the Human archives. It's called a divide and conquer strategy. Another way to do this would be to set up situations that pit one species against another. If the empire is in chaos, we have a better chance of going unnoticed."

  Daniel wheeled himself to the front of the class. "With you all out having all your fun, I've been studying up on the data in the archives Bersa stole, or appropriated, or whatever you want to
call it. All that Master Hallik has done to get us this far has been by his direction. It's time the rest of us began contributing ideas to this revolution, aside from what Jamus has done of course, and what Greta and Tamia sacrificed. Let's make the legends of Human dominance come true."

  Bersa smiled and nodded. "Excellent. My faith in the lot of you grows with each and every day. You are all fully committed. You don't fight each other, you don't balk or complain. In fact, I rarely hear a grumble from any of you. All of this tells me one thing, it's time we let the Human revolution begin, right here, right now. One day, when you win your freedom—you will all become legends."

  ~~~~~

  What's Next?

  * * *

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  FREEDOM

  (Vol. 2)

  Agenda

  Chapter 2.1

  * * *

  Among the Talions and Brekans, multicolored fur had become all the rage, so much so that similar trends had begun among three of the five species. Governor Thelm's wealth had grown significantly. After a short investigation into Aurin's trial of Wilcer turned up evidence that Aurin had tried her in an attempt to keep her from winning the governorship, all of Aurin's wealth had been forfeited to the House of Thelm. Aurin's son, the new Aurin, now worked the counter at a Thelm dye parlor. After the family disgrace, he was happy to have the work.

  Jamus continued shadowing Governor Thelm. His wisdom and comedy had the new governor continuously laughing, and positioned as a rising star. He was the invite of every gathering of relevance in the Talion District. It seemed everyone liked the new governor and his talking personal slave. Something that had previously been a great taboo was continuing to gain in popularity.

  Hallik joined the others as they were taking a break in the lounge. He brought another Human with him. "I have great news. My team has worked up new assignments for each of you. And you will be getting a new team member, Lisa Mulato. Most of you know her from DOA2456. She was among the group infected by the virus all at once a few months ago. She'll be staying here at Beta Station to assist Bersa. Daniel, please come in."

  Still the youngest member of the team, he wheeled himself in with a grin.

  "Daniel," said Hallik, "making use of the archives, has resurrected a Human technology for our use. It's a medical implant that will be placed under the skin behind each ear. It will be connected to your ear canal and allow us to communicate with you from here. Only audio of course, but you will now be getting commands—suggestions would be a better term—while in the field as we watch and listen on the monitors here on the station."

  Martin nodded. "That will be helpful. I often don't know if what I'm doing out there is constructive."

  Daniel said, "I've had a pair inserted myself. Look, you can't even see the scars. And what's cool is I can access my comm and listen without everyone else getting to listen to my conversation. If I talk, they'll hear me, but I can get instructions without anyone ever noticing. For you, it will be tied into your camera feeds, so you won't be in need of a comm for us to talk to you."

  "When can we have these?"

  "Today," said Hallik. "After I finish here, you will each be receiving yours. I mentioned assignments. As expected, Jamus will remain where he is. Mr. Gecka will be going to a mine on Breenlok. We suspect some form of illegal automation is going on there. Kerena will be on a shuttle, this time as a personal assistant to Masterette Yomalat. Dester and Jim will each be heading to a farm on Caloran. These two farms are the expected next targets of the mystery ship."

  Dester asked, "And what do we do if they show?"

  "You'll each be made the cook and village handyman. You'll remain there while the others are out in the field. If the ship shows, you will make contact. Let them know we are out here and what our plan is. We want to convince them to assist us. We have resources and information they can use. They will have the same for us. We should coordinate our efforts."

  "And if they say no?"

  "Then we keep trying."

  Dester smirked. "We should do something insane. Something like making all of Caloran aware but keep them working as is so we don't draw attention. That's what, an army of ten million Humans? We could arm them too. Build factories to make weapons... the empire wouldn't even notice."

  Hallik slowly shook his head. "The scale would be more than we could control. There are multitudes of overseers there. We have freighter captains and crews—the entire supply infrastructure of the planet—they are all non-Human. I can control a select few who owe me credits. I can't control the entire citizen population of a planet, even one as insignificant as Caloran."

  "You expect our Human friends to just sit and wait?"

  "Not at all. I expect them to make moves that help us along. As I've said before, there will come a time when we need multitudes of aware Humans. That time is not now, and it may be years away, but it will come. Having these people with quantities of the virus as allies will be crucial. And who knows, perhaps they will have other resources we can use as well.

  "Now, the assignments for you and Jim are to make contact with them. The goal will be to set up a meeting where I can discuss our mission with them directly. They won't want to trust a Brekan, but they may trust a group of aware Humans who are working with one to free all Humans."

  Further details of the assignments were explained before everyone walked down to the medical labs. The insertion procedure was fast, and other than the pinprick of a local anesthetic, there was no pain. When they had returned to the lounge, an image of a naked Governor Thelm filled the display as he was fitted with a red tunic over his bronze-colored fur.

  Jamus said, "Your presence is striking, Master. It is such a high honor to be near someone who is so popular with the people."

  "Yes. And I know I shouldn't feel this way, Jamus, but I feel I owe much of that popularity to your guidance. My dress, my speeches, even the color of my fur has come from your suggestions."

  "My efforts have only revealed the greatness that was already there, Governor."

  Thelm looked at himself in a mirror as his pants were fastened around his waist. "There's something I've been wanting to speak to you about, Jamus. Something important."

  "I am here and at your service, Governor."

  "These other two helpers. I can see it in their eyes and in their reactions to my commands. They are on the Shackle."

  Jamus stopped as he tugged on the tunic. "Master?"

  "You are aware, Jamus. I've known this for quite some time. You are not on Shackle."

  "Master, I don't—"

  Thelm smiled. "You can relax. Your secret is safe with me. So long as you keep doing what you're doing, I don't care if you're secretly eating Talion babies. It is you who have elevated me to this position. It is your suggestions on dress and speech that have me frequenting the district’s biggest events. It has been your suggested business moves that have me rolling in credits."

  "I don't know what to say, Master."

  Thelm turned. "I would tell you to drop the use of master as we both know I'm not your master, but I believe we need to keep up our appearances. Having an aware Human is highly illegal. And having one as a friend is like blasphemy."

  "I don't know what to say... Master."

  "If you value our lives, and if you value our friendship, just keep doing what you've been doing and saying. You've given my life meaning. You've made the House of Thelm mor
e popular than it has been in a thousand years. I feel as though I am living a dream, Jamus, a dream that I never want to end."

  "Governor, I think we have a long way to go with both your elevation and wealth. Nothing would make me happier than to see you elevated all the way to emperor."

  Thelm smirked. "Emperor. Now who is the dreamer, Jamus? Why would you even try to make such an effort?"

  "Because you are a just leader. You don't mistreat your slaves. And because all of this has been a thrill for me as well. But mostly because I now see you as a friend too. And there's nothing I won't do for a friend I believe in. Except for killing Humans—please don't ask me to participate in that in any way."

  Thelm smiled. "I will honor that request, Jamus."

  Thelm turned back to the mirror for a final look. "Stunning. Let's go, Jamus."

  "Where are we going today, Governor?"

  "To the top, Jamus. All the way to the top."

  A comm came in to Hallik as he stood in the lounge with the others. "Master, we have a problem. There are more than six hundred miners at a single mine on Gatemon who have come down with black-colon. The mine belongs to Montat, so it isn't under our control."

  The informer was thanked and the comm closed.

  "I have to get to Jamus," said Hallik. "This could be disastrous. Six hundred miners all becoming aware. We need to have Thelm on top of this and keeping it from public knowledge. For those of you with orders, I will have a shuttle here for you later. Bersa, get Lisa trained as much as you can. Mr. Pike, just keep doing what you're doing. These implants will be of tremendous value."

  Hallik waddled away. A minute later, the indicator showed his shuttle lifting out of the bay. On the display wall, Thelm was sitting in the lounge of his shuttle with Jamus seated in another chair.

  A comm came in from Hallik. "Governor, we have something urgent I need to speak with you about."