Monster

by Patrick F. Johnson

  “You all have this odd dynamic that I don't quite understand. But that's beside the point. If you have any people, or royal Gotes, or whatever, up on the space station, you might want to tell them to leave.”

  “You mean the orbital casino?” Raymond asked.

  “Yeah, that.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That's my next target, Ray.”

  “You are out of your mind!”

  “Well, yeah, but clear it out just the same.”

  “If you somehow had some magical way to destroy it from inside that cell, you would be killing innocent patrons.”

  “Their innocence is up for debate, but don't worry, they will receive adequate warning. If they choose to stay, well, that's on them.”

  “Damn,” Raymond said in a lower tone.

  “What?” Frank asked.

  “We have company.”

  Before Frank could ask, he heard the familiar voice of Ottwan. “I need a word with Mr. Ford in private,” he said in a condescending tone toward Raymond. After a pause, which Frank only assumed to mean Raymond had left, Ottwan began in Lianese, “Mr. Ford. I want you to promise me that you won't hunt me down.”

  “I'll think about it,” Frank answered.

  “Must I point out that you still have your left hand intact?” Ottwan asked.

  “I know that you kept that to yourself. But here you are, playing both sides. How could you ever be trusted?”

  “Do you expect me to pledge my loyalty to you? I'm afraid I cannot do that.”

  “At least pick a side. Has that fat fucker even paid you anything?”

  Ottwan considered the question. “I've been here this whole time pandering to him like a fool, fearing his wrath. I don't need to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I'm an idiot.”

  “You were the imposter, weren't you?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “President Porter.”

  “Yes. That was me.”

  Frank laughed. “I must give credit where it is due. You're good.”

  “Thank you. I wish to officially pick a side, as you had pointed out.”

  “Okay, let's hear it,” Frank replied.

  “I choose the Li.”

  “Hmm, I notice you didn't say Li Empire.”

  “That idea died with Tirogof, and Mobof before him. Several planets are seeking their own sovereignty. I don't care about all of the politics. I just don't want to see Korick imposing his will upon my people.”

  “I believe you. Now I can promise you that I won't hunt you down. If I run into you on accident though, all bets are off.”

  “Oh my,” Ottwan said. “Please tell me you are joking.”

  Frank laughed out loud. “You should consider a different line of work. I have one question for you though.”

  “Different line of work, certainly. What is your question?”

  “Where are the controls for these collars located?”

  “I have seen several Gotes in possession of the control devices. But the main apparatus is up in Korick's main office. I suppose he wanted the power to send a jolt into one of you on a whim.”

  * * *

  “We are through.” Gildract's voice rumbled through into the control room.

  “Hold position,” Gladys answered in Lianese, as her voice wouldn't support the Mingrein language. “I am setting things in motion now. Please don't advance until we have time to take out the torpedo batteries.”

  “Understood. For Frank!”

  “For Frank,” she replied. She terminated the transmission and switched over to the remote that was next to Constanthos, in her boat. “Make ready. Get into position and wait. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Sister. I just uploaded my most recent memories, so you do not have to worry for me.”

  “I don't want you to know pain like I do. I can't not worry.”

  “I am seeing a Gote ship inbound,” Constanthos said. “I do not recognize the configuration.”

  Gladys looked at her instruments. “That may just be the royals. Our timing is good.”

  “Connectivity,” Constanthos mused. “I will have to research the concept more after all of this is done.”

  “That sounds nice,” Gladys said as she redirected her attention to the remote in Frank's cell.

  “I'm looking forward to getting to work on your pet project, Sister,” Constanthos added.

  “That is the farthest thing from my mind right now,” Gladys replied.

  “I know. I just want you to know how much I care. I am departing now.”

  “I will signal you and then take control of your boat, and park it in a safe place.” Gladys turned her attention toward the remote that was parked in Frank's boat, where Phildan and Robert were waiting. “Disembark and eject the package.”

  “Gladly,” Phildan replied. “We will plan our approach for optimum efficiency thereafter.”

  “I know you will. I will alert Frank.”

  30.

  “The flagship has arrived,” Ahn said in a grave tone.

  “Really?” Korick asked sounding surprisingly elated. “This truly is the biggest tournament ever!”

  “Do not be so obtuse. Princess Caja herself has come to shut this down.”

  “I disagree. She is here to finally give my enterprise the validation that it so deserves. At least she will after I work my magic.”

  “Have you done the proper research on her character?” Ahn asked.

  “I don't need to do research,” Korick replied. “She will bend to my will, just like everyone else.”

  “And what if she doesn't?” Ahn asked.

  “Then she will die, just like her mother.” Korick moved around his desk to sit down heavily in his chair. Smiling, Korick asked, “Is there a problem, Ahn?”

  “Are you implying that you had a hand in the queen's death?”

  “Hold that thought, we are being hailed, somehow. Isn't someone screening these transmissions?” Korick pressed a button. “What do you want?” he demanded.

  “This is Gladosanthos Mod Suercey. You have five cycles to release my husband or your orbital casino will be eliminated.”

  “And who is your husband?” Korick asked.

  “The Custodian of Earth, Frank Ford.”

  “Oh, you mean the Monster. I'll give him an extra jolt just for you.” Korick looked over to the view screen as he picked up the control device. But as he pressed the button, the screen exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction. Korick ducked under his desk as Ahn, who was caught standing in the midst of the flying shrapnel, attempted to shield himself. “What on...” Korick's cursory question was interrupted by another explosion, this time from the collar control panel. Korick lifted his head back up above his desk to look around. Ahn was still standing before him, bruised and bloody.

  “Are you implying that you had a hand in the queen's death?” he repeated.

  “You lost your campaign,” Korick said. “What does that matter now as we are here, under attack?”

  “You killed the love of my life?” Ahn asked angrily as he reached for his side-arm.

  But Korick was faster, pulling a pistol from under his desk. The round caught Ahn in his upper chest and spun him around. He landed face-down in the messy debris that now covered the floor of Korick's office. “Oh, shut up,” Korick joked as he stood up and headed for the door.

  * * *

  “I am always hidden,” Jard was saying, explaining a past job.

  “Fascinating,” Frank replied with full sincerity.

  “Frank!” The voice of Gladys came through her parked remote loudly. “The collars are disabled. The Princess has landed.”

  “Awesome!” Frank replied as he stood up and eyed the door.

  “What was that?” Jard asked, not recognizing her language.

  “It is time to go, my friend,” Frank replied. He stood up and kicked the door, on its hinge side.

  “What do you mean? They only just now moved
Breet down.” Jard kept talking as Frank kept kicking the door. “They paraded him around the arena. Were you not looking through the little slots that they put into these doors?”

  “Jard, the tournament is canceled.” Frank turned and delivered a fierce mule-kick that unseated the lowest hinge. “You need to start thinking about work.” With another kick, the lower hinge failed and the middle hinge bent.

  “I will have to do something about his collar,” Jard replied.

  “Oh, yeah,” Frank said. He reached up with both hands and pulled his own collar apart. He felt very free as he dropped it to the floor, and celebrated by kicking the door the rest of the way off of its hinges. He peered out the door to see two armed Gotes running toward him. “Just a minute, Jard. I have to get a key real quick.” He walked out into the corridor and turned left as if the Gotes weren't even there. They pulled their pistols and fired at him, but his shield deflected the bullets. One guard turned to run, but the other stood his ground, holstering his side-arm and preparing himself for a fight.

  “Where is your heart?” Frank asked in Gotian as he ducked a big punch. “Is it here?” he asked as he delivered a tremendous straight-punch to the Gote's chest. The Gote staggered back with a puzzled look on his face. He shook his head and spit up a little blood, but he kept his hands up, signaling that he wasn't done. Two steps into his advance, he paused, and fell flat on his face.

  “Are you dead, Frank?” Jard asked through the door of his cell.

  “Not yet. I'll be right back.”

  * * *

  Constanthos was following Korick through the corridors of the upper level. She was to gather as much information as possible before striking, but she didn't want to let him out of her sight. Her thoughts kept taking her back to the one she had followed into Korick's office. The one that had been known as Ahn. He was still breathing when she left and she found herself wondering what their conversation had meant. There wasn't much information about Gotes in the Archives, as Sessiks and Gotes weren't compatible as far as any kind of trade was concerned. Korick walked through a door into a crowded room. Constanthos was barely able to slip inside before it slid back into place.

  “We are under attack,” Korick announced. “I need to know exactly what our status is.”

  “Someone broke into the public address system up top,” a Gote answered, not looking up from his view screen. “They claimed that they were going to destroy the orbital casino.”

  “Did it have any effect?” Korick asked.

  “A little more than half of the patrons departed. Most of them have moved off to wait it out. I don't think we'll lose much business.”

  “Pan back,” Korick ordered. “I don't see anything unusual. Everyone passes through scanners to get in. Maybe one of those ships is rigged to blow.”

  “Shall we force an evacuation?” the Gote asked.

  “They're bluffing,” Korick replied. “Nothing short of a nuke would even phase that place.”

  Constanthos was standing back, holding a remote up over her head so that Gladys could have a good view. Noticing all of the computer banks around her, she quickly found an open terminal and placed the orb onto it. Now, while Gladys could view the control room of Vera, the orb would simultaneously break into the planet's computational systems.

  “What!” the Gote shouted, pointing to the screen with its fat finger.

  “Where did it go?” Korick asked in a desperate sounding tone. His entire orbital casino had vanished from the screen.

  “It's gone. Two ships that were nearby are also gone.”

  “Zoom in,” Korick ordered. As the view changed, a metallic sphere grew in the screen. “I didn't know that such a weapon existed.” His thoughts were interrupted by several loud explosions that rocked the building.

  “Our torpedo batteries have all been destroyed!” another Gote reported.

  Korick rushed over to where he was sitting at a console with several view screens. “Do you see a ship?” Korick asked.

  “Negative. Torpedoes came out of nowhere.”

  “They're cloaked. Get some gunners outside. Cover the air field. I don't want those royals getting anywhere near this place.” Korick turned to leave in a hurry. Constanthos left the orb in place and followed behind him.

  * * *

  Frank was wandering around the brightly lit corridors that wrapped around the lower levels of the coliseum like a web. He had envisioned them as possibly being some dark, scary place, but was pleasantly surprised to find them clean and well-lit. Doubling back, he came upon a wide corridor that led away from the dome. A short way down on the left, a door panel was open so he decided to go have a look. Peering around the corner, he found what looked like an older Gote sitting at a desk with a large array of view screens. He was sitting back with his feet kicked up on the desk, snoring.

  “The Monster has escaped!” Frank yelled, chuckling as the startled old Gote nearly fell out of his chair.

  Without looking toward the door, the Gote found the screen that showed the broken cell door. “Well, this isn't good,” he said as he reached for his gun. He stood up and turned toward the door.

  “That's not going to do you any good,” Frank said as their eyes finally met.

  “I suppose not,” the old Gote said. He was surprisingly calm. “Are you going to kill me?”

  “That depends,” Frank answered. “Have a seat.” The Gote sat heavily back into his chair. “What is your name?”

  “Argee.”

  “Hello, Argee. My name is Frank. What are your duties here?”

  “I watch the screens. I also coordinate the feeding and cell cleaning.”

  “That sounds like a thankless job. How many beings have you killed?”

  “Me, personally?”

  “Yes.”

  “None. This is just a job. I try to be as efficient as possible. Just because we deal with condemned criminals, I never saw the need to be overly brutal.”

  “Who sets the sentences? Who decides who is to fight?”

  “Korick, I suppose. I guess I haven't really given it much thought.”

  “So what are we looking at here?” Frank asked as he walked closer to get a better view of the screens. “What are they all in for?”

  “Well, I don't know why those Mingrein are always showing up. I don't know what they did or even where they came from. They're hard to feed, I can tell you that much. There are four Gotes this time. These guys were caught stealing slaves from the brothels. Something about liberation, or some such nonsense. I don't follow the news much. There is the assassin.” Frank looked at the screen and didn't see much. There was only an odd shadow in the corner. “I guess he tried to kill Korick, or something. And there is Breet, the champion. He could have gone home, but he keeps reentering.”

  “He is a fine looking bug,” Frank commented.

  “If you say so. He is scary, if you ask me.”

  “I need you to unlock his cell. And those Gotes' cells as well.”

  “I can't do that. Korick will kill me.”

  “Korick won't be killing anyone after today. This is your chance. I'll be pissed if I have to unlock every cell by myself.”

  “Okay. But you're unlocking the Mingrein. I don't feel like being eaten today.”

  “Alright, give me a key. Unlock the Gotes first, and direct them to safety. Do Breet's cell last, and then get clear. I'll unlock the assassin and the Mingrein will be last, after you are clear. Deal?”

  Argee handed a large key to Frank. “You know, you are pretty reasonable, for a monster.”

  “Thanks,” Frank replied. “You will need to find a new job. For that I apologize.”

  “No big loss there,” Argee said as he came around his desk. “You have inspired me to pay more attention to other races. I always heard humans were weak.”

  “So you never frequent the brothels?” Frank asked.

  “No. It wasn't meant for me to marry, so I just put those thoughts out of my head.”

  “
That is good to hear, Argee,” Frank said as he gave him a friendly slap on the soldier. “I'm glad I spared you.” They walked down the corridor toward the cells.

  “The Mingrein are down that way,” Argee said as he pointed down to the left. “The assassin is in the cell right before yours. The Mingrein are clear around the side.”

  “Thank you. Get those Gotes out of here. I might decide to level this whole building.”

  * * *

  Ottwan's drone had been on its way back up to Korick's office when the excitement started. He found himself looking out over the main gaming floor, where hundreds of Gote soldiers were scrambling around, trying to make sense of the chaos.

  “Fall in!” a superior called out. The soldiers did their best to form ranks around the various tables and machines that were scattered about. “There is a weapons closet on the west end of the complex, toward the pyramid. We are going to calmly march over there and arm ourselves and await orders.” The main room was vast but it only had one wide opening that led to the glass dome of the coliseum where the concourse led around to other smaller rooms and corridors leading to other parts of the complex. There were banks of elevators and one very ornate staircase that wound its way upward toward the offices and higher viewing platforms. Korick was descending the staircase, followed by a contingent of his private security forces, as the lead Gote soldier rounded the bend.

  “What is the situation, sir?” the officer asked.

  “We are under attack. There was communication with a hostile Sessik. It was the one who created the Monster. She somehow destroyed the orbital casino.”

  “How on Vera did she manage that?”

  “It was an unknown weapon. A cloaked ship took out our torpedo batteries. And there is a ship full of the Royal Guard in the air field.”

  “The Royal Guard?” the officer asked. “Are they here to help?”

  “No,” Korick answered. “We have reason to believe that Princess Caja is attempting to overthrow the government.”

  “You have broken no laws as they are written, sir,” the officer stated. “This attack on Gote space will not go unanswered.”