“There’s no way out for them,” Merlin replied. “The doors have been manually sealed.”
“Can you show me where?” Eve 221 asked.
“I can,” Merlin said with a smile. “You are truly as much a knight as any at the table, my Queen.”
*****
“One hour,” Orlac 552 repeated.
“I know,” Adam 359 replied. “Do you think he’ll keep his word?”
“Who, Merlin?” Orlac 552 asked.
“No,” Adam 359 said. “The guard Commander, Gral-Dern. If I hand myself over to them, do you think he’ll let the others live?”
“You can’t be serious,” Orlac 552 insisted.
“We have to consider it,” Adam 359 replied. “This is all my fault, I started this. I won’t let what happened on the mining asteroid happen again.”
“There has to be another way,” Orlac 552 said.
“Please?” Adam 359 said. “Tell me.”
Orlac 552 stalled, frantically thinking of a way for them to get out of the situation they were in. If they could only get out of the factory, perhaps they’d be in with a chance. They were well armed and had significant numbers, and he honestly believed that if they were out in the hive it would be enough to start a full scale slave rebellion.
“We get the doors open,” Orlac 552 said. “We fight our way out if we have to, let the whole hive see what we’re willing to sacrifice in the name of freedom.”
“Merlin said the only way those doors open is when the Mori decide to open them,” Adam 359 reminded him. “They’re going to come in here in such numbers, we won’t stand a chance.”
“We’ve got plasma rifles,” Orlac 552 replied. “They must be able to get through the doors, cut through the bulkheads.”
Adam 359 walked with Orlac 552 over to the nearest door. A small group of slaves followed them, waiting for instructions from their chosen leader. “Stand back,” Adam 359 instructed as he aimed the plasma rifle towards the door.
He fired a continuous stream of superheated plasma, watching as the surface of the door began to glow white hot, holding the trigger depressed until the energy cell depleted. Though the surface of the door remained hot for several minutes, the metal showed no signs of splitting or distortion, remaining as solid and secure as it had been when he started.
“We could empty every weapon at a single door and still not get through,” Adam 359 said.
“If only we had some of the mining equipment,” Orlac 552 thought aloud, trying to slip his worm-like fingers into the seal around the door.
“Yeah,” Adam 359 agreed mournfully. “Some of the drilling equipment might have done the job.”
“I’ll keep looking, see what I can find,” Orlac 552 said hopefully. “I’m not giving up yet.”
“Okay,” Adam 359 replied, though he knew deep down that it was hopeless. The only way anyone was going to survive was if Gral-Dern was a man of his word.
*****
Gar-Wan called for an emergency meeting of the Senate as he boarded the lift towards the upper levels. The Senate Chair tried to refuse, reminding Gar-Wan that he no longer held his seat, until Gar-Wan pointed out that he knew about the fighting on the factory level. After threatening to go public with what he knew, the Senate Chair reluctantly agreed to recall the session.
As Gar-Wan emerged from the lift, he was met by eight of the Imperial Guard, the elite forces responsible for protecting the Mori-Gran. They were all highly trained and wore the black uniforms similar to the usual guards, but they had three deep red lines running diagonally across the chest-plates.
Gar-Wan looked at them questioningly as they pointed their plasma rifles at him and forced him to the floor, binding his hands tightly behind his back.
“Get your hands off me!” Gar-Wan demanded. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“Gar-Wan,” the Imperial Commander announced. “You have been deemed an enemy of the Mori Empire and you are under arrest.”
“What are you talking about?” Gar-Wan said. “How dare you accuse me of such a thing!”
The Imperial Guard officers refused to say anything more. Instead, two of them picked him up under his shoulders and dragged him across the brightly lit corridor towards the Senate, ignoring his shouts and demands to be released.
The Senate Chamber was an enormous circular room, with rows of seating rising up fifty metres or more. Most of the seats were empty, but a few Senators still remained, surprise on their faces as they witnessed Gar-Wan being forced into the central podium. They were more surprised to see the Mori-Gran step from one of the alcoves on the same level and walk straight towards Gar-Wan.
The Mori-Gran was as tall as him, though slight about the shoulders and waist. Unlike the majority of Mori, who dressed in shades of red and black, she wore bright white robes which gathered upon the floor at her feet. Her facial ridges were sharp and well defined, highlighted with red lines that served to exaggerate their prominence.
“Ul-Dar,” the Mori-Gran said, her voice sweet and soothing as she spoke to the Imperial Commander. “Please remove the remaining Senators from the chamber, Gar-Wan and I have something to discuss in private.”
“At once, my Queen,” Ul-Dar replied. He instructed his officers to move through the levels and escort the remaining Senators to the lifts. The Senators had questions and demands of their own, though the Imperial Guard answered to no-one except the Mori-Gran and did as they were ordered without question.
Once the Senators had been removed, the Mori-Gran stood face to face with Gar-Wan, a devilish smile upon her face. She walked once around the podium, looking him up and down before speaking to him. As she walked past his back, she reached around his neck and unhooked the Senate Robes, letting them fall to his feet. Gar-Wan said nothing, his breath quickening as he felt the Queen’s hands brush against his neck.
“You no longer have to right to wear those garments,” the Mori-Gran said as she completed her circle. “You barely have the right to call yourself a member of the Mori Empire, let alone speak for her people in the Senate.”
“My Queen-” Gar-Wan began, until a stern look from the Mori-Gran silenced him.
“Did you really think I didn’t know about your plans?” she asked. “The secret meetings with members of the Senate? What is your obsession with those lesser species?”
Gar-Wan said nothing, hoping instead that his death would be quick.
“Were you somehow behind the troubles in the mine?” the Mori-Gran continued. “Ari-Dun didn’t think so, but I suspect you didn’t tell him everything, did you? After your outspoken plea to the Senate, I should have realised stripping you of your seat wouldn’t be enough.”
Gar-Wan was devastated to think that Ari-Dun had betrayed him. They had known each other for years, and he had honestly believed they shared the same ideas, even though their reasons may have differed. To think that everything they had discussed had been passed on to the Queen hurt him more deeply than he could ever have imagined.
“How did you instigate the riot in the factory level, Gar-Wan?” the Mori-Gran continued. “None of the slaves who work there are registered to you. We checked. What else have you done?”
Gar-Wan looked genuinely surprised.“The riot in the factory level is not of my doing,” he said quickly.
The Mori-Gran laughed. “And yet you knew about it moments after I did,” she said. “Ari-Dun came to me directly, instead of going through the usual channels. He has been most helpful.”
“I had nothing to do with it,” Gar-Wan insisted.
“Then how did you learn of it?” the Mori-Gran asked. “Perhaps this has all been a grave misunderstanding?”
Gar-Wan didn’t know how to answer, so instead he stayed silent, his eight eyes locked directly onto the Queen’s.
“Just as I thought,” the Mori-Gran remarked. “Whatever did you hope to achieve?”
Gar-Wan smiled at her. He was going to die, he had no doubt, but in that moment he realised that if she was goi
ng to execute him for what he believed, he was going to make her understand it. He stood tall as he said, “We are stagnating, both as a society and as a species. It’s been over twenty thousand years since the Mori-Gran-Ra unified our people, and in all that time there has been no change. Our dependence on slaves means we no longer innovate, no longer look for ways to do things differently, better, more efficiently. While nothing changes, there is no future for our people, our species..”
Gar-Wan wriggled and squirmed, working his tunic up over his waist. There, he exposed his left vestigial limb, the one he had kept as part of his belief when all others on the senate had had theirs removed. “This shows we still have a long way to go until we reach our full potential,” he said.
“We are the pinnacle of evolution in this galaxy,” the Mori-Gran retorted.
“And yet most of it is off limits to the Empire,” Gar-Wan said smugly. “Stories of the Skarl are still spoken throughout the hive.”
“Children’s stories!” the Mori-Gran said angrily. “The Skarl are a myth, nothing more. I speak for the Mori-Gran-Ra, and I alone know her thoughts and wishes. The Skarl do not exist!”
Gar-Wan said nothing. He had heard the stories of the Skarl and their vast empire since childhood, but only in the form of stories for entertainment. It was only once he took his seat on the Senate and saw where the Mori were to be found within the galaxy, and more importantly, where they were not, that he began to see the truth in the stories he had been told.
“Ul-Dar,” the Mori-Gran shouted, calling for the Commander of the Imperial Guard. “Escort Gar-Wan to a cell. He shall have a public trial before his very public execution.”
*****
Eve 221 walked purposefully through the corridor, her eyes low as Merlin spoke to her through the small implant behind her right ear, directing her through the hive ship and towards the factory level. She couldn’t travel there directly, she would be spotted and apprehended immediately. Her best chance, in Merlin’s opinion, was to access the level through the hive ship’s infrastructure, the passageways and tunnels hidden behind the corridors and artificial streets. She was running out of time though, and having Merlin counting down the minutes for her wasn’t helping.
“Sixteen minutes now until the deadline,” Merlin’s voice said in her ear.
“Enough with the countdown,” Eve 221 whispered. “Just tell me which way to go.”
“My apologies,” Merlin replied. “Turn right just up ahead, then behind the red cover. The small hatch is already unlocked for you.”
Eve 221 did as she was instructed, ignoring the questioning glances from other slaves as she knelt down and began to locate the hatch. It was just where Merlin had described, and she squeezed through it and into the dark tunnel beyond.
The sound as the hatch closed behind her made her jump. She had never really experienced confined spaces before, but already she was beginning to realise she didn’t like them. She could barely turn around, and there was no way she could stand. The darkness didn’t help either, the dim light way ahead of her doing nothing to illuminate the gloom.
“Are you alright, my Queen?” Merlin asked. “I can hear your breathing. There is sufficient oxygen in here, I promise you.”
“It’s not the oxygen,” Eve 221 replied. “Just get me out of here and down to the factory level.”
Merlin directed her along one maintenance shaft and through another until she found herself in a more open space with ladders running up and down. A mesh walkway connected the ladders, and she was glad for a moment that the space was dark as she had the overwhelming sensation that, between the ladders, the tunnel led all the way from the top to the bottom of the hive ship.
“Now, be careful here, my Queen,” Merlin said helpfully. “Continue to climb down until you reach the factory level.”
“How far do I need to go?” Eve 221 asked.
“It’s best not to think about it,” Merlin replied. “Don’t fret, I’ll be sure to tell you when you’ve travelled far enough.”
“Just tell me,” Eve 221 insisted.
“It really wouldn’t be for the best,” Merlin said.
“Tell me,” Eve 221 said again.
“One hundred and six levels,” Merlin said at last.
“I need to climb down one hundred and six levels?” Eve 221 exclaimed. “In, what?”
“Eleven minutes,” Merlin replied.
“There has to be another way?” Eve 221 said.
“Not without being seen,” Merlin said. “The lifts, of course, would be much quicker, but you would be spotted disembarking near the factory. The area is surrounded.”
“What if I could get, I don’t know, on top of a lift or something?” Eve 221 asked. “Would that work?”
“An interesting idea,” Merlin said. “Not one I had considered, I must admit. Yes, I suppose that would be possible, and you could still use the maintenance shafts to locate one of the sealed doors.”
“Just tell me the way,” Eve 221 said urgently.
Merlin instructed her to climb up two levels and then to get into an even narrower tunnel than the one she had exited. She had no choice but to slide along on her front, pulling herself along with her hands. The tunnel emerged onto another mesh walkway which again bordered a wide open passage.
“I’ve taken control of the lift,” Merlin said. “I will slow it as it passes you in three, two, one.”
The circular silver lift came from above, slowing slightly as it passed. Eve 221 leapt over the barrier without taking the time to consider the consequences, fearful that if she thought too hard about it she would never have gone through with it. The lift was moving much faster than she imagined, and she barely managed to grab hold of one of the metal supports before it began to pick up speed and plummet even faster.
After a short while, Merlin began to count down again in her ear, starting from ten. As he said one, the lift decelerated and she leapt from the top of the lift onto another mesh walkway, breathing hard as she imagined herself plummeting down through the shaft. She could barely believe that she made it, her knuckles white as she gripped the mesh between her fingers.
“Guinevere?” Merlin said.
“I’m still here,” Eve 221 said breathlessly.
“Yes, I know,” Merlin replied. “I just wanted to inform you that you have four minutes left until the deadline.”
Eve 221 pulled herself to her feet, her knees weak and her breathing harsh as she climbed into another narrow tunnel on Merlin’s instruction. That one was tall enough to allow her to crawl along on her hands and knees, and after two tight turns, she found herself at another hatch.
“Is this it?” Eve 221 asked.
“It is,” Merlin said, though his voice had taken on a sombre note. “Though I fear it is too late. The Mori security forces have gathered in large numbers outside the doors, and they are getting ready to breach.”
*****
Gral-Dern’s image reappeared exactly one hour after he had made his demands. Adam 359 and Orlac 552 were stood with several of the other slaves, their weapons aimed at the hostages.
“I see you have made your decision,” Gral-Dern announced.
“No, wait,” Adam 359 said hurriedly, throwing his weapon aside. “I incited the riot, it was all me. If you let the others live, I’ll come quietly.”
“Officers of the Mori Empire,” Gral-Dern continued. “You fought bravely and with honour. Your sacrifice will be remembered.”
“You’re not listening!” Adam 359 yelled. “I did it, I’m the one you want!”
There was a loud hiss throughout the factory level as the external doors were opened, venting the atmosphere into space. The slaves and hostages in the outer portions of the factory were sucked out into the void, while those closer to the centre were knocked from their feet, grasping for handholds.
Adam 359 felt his lungs burn as they fought against the dropping pressure, his vision tunnelling as everything around him grew dark and far away. He saw a
glimpse of something blue as Orlac 552 slid along the floor beside him. Adam 359 managed to reach out just in time, grasping Orlac 552’s arm and holding him tight as people and equipment flew past them, cast out into the emptiness of space.
The last thing he remembered before he blacked out was a siren, echoing throughout the factory level, as his fingers finally lost their grip on the thin metal beam.
*****
Merlin raced through the network, overriding various security subroutines as part of him continued to watch in horror as the factory level was vented into space. He saw the slaves and the guards sucked through the slowly opening doors, the air sucked from their lungs as they attempted to scream.
It seemed every door had a separate code for opening and closing, requiring Merlin to zip from one circuit to the next, overriding the authorisation code and tricking the system into believing the door had been opened in error. As the first door began to close, an emergency siren began to sound throughout the factory level, though those who might hear it were already losing consciousness.
Once the first door began to close, the others reacted more quickly to his interventions, the adaptive security system more likely to believe that the doors had been opened in error. By the time he had triggered the closing mechanism on eleven of the enormous doors, the remaining doors began to close all by themselves as the atmospheric fans began to work overtime, filling the factory level with air.
Merlin let himself take an imaginary breath as he switched the entirety of his focus onto the remaining cameras throughout the factory. The entire level was in disarray, unmoving bodies strewn everywhere, pieces of equipment and even thin panels from the walls littering the floor. If Arthur was still aboard the hive ship, Merlin couldn’t immediately see him, though he could have been any of the unmoving bodies buried beneath the debris.
Once the final door was closed and the atmosphere in the level returned to normal, the siren cut off. That was quickly followed by the security doors opening throughout the level as thousands of Mori guards stormed in, weapons ready. They made their way to the remaining hostages first, dragging them out of the factory. Once the surviving slaves began to suck air into their lungs and stumble to their feet, the guards took great pleasure in beating them to the ground, executing those who showed even the slightest resistance to the treatment they were receiving.
X-Calibur: The Return Page 12