by Brett Bam
“The Pope huh? How nice for him. Skipper, he says we’re in trouble again.”
Jeremiah Comfort stepped forward and offered his hand to Kulen, brushing Jack Mac away as if he didn’t exist.
“My son, would you like a blessing?” Comfort couldn’t bring himself to look into the boy’s eyes. Kulen looked straight into his face and, as Dalys had before him, saw the falsity in the man. Nevertheless, he copied the gesture he had been offered and he put his own hand out as if to be kissed. Jeremiah Comfort found himself staring at the silver glove on Kulens hand. He touched it gingerly and turned the hand to lie palm up. He stared into his own reflection there, something about it enraptured him. Instead of kissing Kulens hand he lowered his face into the palm and closed his eyes. He cradled the hand against his face, oblivious of the startled onlookers. Comfort opened his mouth and before the harrowed view of the crowd, he let the small finger on Kulens silver hand slip into his mouth.
Dalys watched as the Pope bit the finger.
Kulen’s eyes opened wide and he flinched away. As soon as the contact with the hand was gone the predator disappeared, and the holy man returned. He started to make the signs of a blessing as if nothing had happened. Just then, disturbance caused every person on the steps of the church to turn and watch a police convoy roll into Byzantium Square.
Arad swept into the square at the head of a dozen GASD units. He slowed his sled and it settled to the ground with a thud and a slide. The four agents on board jumped clear and spread out quickly, guns out, but pointed down. This was all show, an effective attempt to intimidate any hostiles into inactivity. The implied violence was only a heartbeat away. The area was the nexus of several main transport conduits linking the Church of the Consumption to the asteroid. A few dozen people were gathered around the grandiose entrance and the sudden spectacle of twelve GASD transport sleds frightened them all. Arad activated an icon in his virtual vision and amplified his voice through the sled’s sound set.
“Please remain calm. This is the Gamaridian Asteroid Security Directorate. Please remain where you are and everything will return to normal shortly. You are in no danger unless you do not comply.”
He scanned the crowd with his data glasses set on record, and fed the images through a pattern recognition suite. It took the program three seconds to spot Dalys, Moabi, Oscar and Jack Mac standing at the foot of the church’s stairs. They had obviously just exited the building. All three were tagged as crew of the Ribbontail. They were standing in a loose group, practically surrounding the Pope himself.
He squirted the data to his forward team and five armoured men approached the stairs. They deferred at the last, spreading around to circle the group rather than confront them directly. The large black man was huge and looked tremendously fierce. Arad was not sure a single shot would stop him. His men had surrounded the trio, blocking off any effective escape. The woman was tall and lightly skinned with dark hair. She was dressed in mourning white and dark data glasses covered her eyes. He walked over to them knowing that in his shiny black riot armour, dark visor, holstered handgun, bulging utility vest and assault rifle, he was very intimidating. There was a slight heightening of tensions as three armed men stepped out of the Church, the Pope’s personal guard arriving to reinforce the GASD. Suddenly there were guns everywhere. Dalys signalled Oscar, Moabi and Jack Mac with a flick of her fingers to cooperate.
These are police.
“I must beg your forgiveness Your Grace. There is a potential threat to your safety. Please accompany your men into the safety of the church.”
He was hurried away into the building. Dalys and her crew were suddenly the centre of attention as Arad turned to face them.
“Your identity please Ma’am.”
She smiled at him, “Yes, certainly.” She lifted one hand from her belt, the other nestled near the field’s activation switch. She pinched an icon in her data glasses display, and snapped her fingers to squirt the packet to Arad. He recorded the image she sent and dropped the folder into his database. The file opened in his HUD. He barely glanced at it as he had examined it on the way over.
“And yours please, sirs.”
Moabi likewise clicked his fingers and his details were recorded, followed quickly by Jack Mac and Oscar. Kulen was ignored, as a minor he would have no digital identity or record of citizenship. There were a quiet few seconds while Arad’s team compared their records. They found no inconsistencies or outstanding warrants. These people were members of the Community of Man and the two Martians were listed as refugees from the Korporatsie. Saturn had given them safe conduct under the supervision of a highly decorated naval officer. Their papers were all in order.
“Thank you. Captain Xristian, I have some questions for you which need to be answered with the utmost urgency. You will answer these questions now.”
“I’m sorry, who are you? I’d like to see a badge at least.”
Arad ignored her, and the bluntness spoke volumes. She had very few rights before this man. He was very probably authorised to use lethal force to protect this asteroid, making him an extremely dangerous individual.
“Someone exited your ship, squirted military level disruption protocols into my monitoring system, and left four people comatose on the ground. None of them have any memories left. Complete amnesia. Whatever this was is inside the asteroid right now. What is it, and what is it doing?”
As he finished speaking he looked at the boy, who seemed to fix his attention. There was a strange kind of gravity to him. Suddenly, every sensor on his virtual interface dropped off the net. His eyes widened in surprise and then realisation hit. Arad raised his rifle to his shoulder and sighted at the boy. He braced his feet and his finger tightened on the trigger. “FREEZE! Do not move! Secure that man!”
Men started to shout at them to get down on their knees and lace their fingers behind their heads. Dalys spread her hands to show she was unarmed, Moabi instinctively took a step toward Dalys, his hands loose at his sides. Oscar did as he was told. Jack Mac was fuming so they picked on him first. His arms were twisted and an agent made an attempt to sweep his legs. Jack Mac instinctively resisted. he turned and freed his hands with a sharp pull. This focused more attention on him, and three more men moved in to subdue him. Kulen was pulled away from the action, staring hard at what was happening. More agents pointed guns at them and started to shout about getting down. Kulen struggled in the grip of a single man and managed to twist his right arm free. He tried a clumsy slap at the agent holding his left arm. There was no power in the blow, but the loud bang and the shower of sparks that erupted from the agent’s visor when Kulen’s silver coated right hand made contact with his circuitry-filled helmet was very dramatic. Everyone in the square froze in shock as the stricken agent screamed horribly and dropped to the ground, thrashing. He was fumbling desperately at the hot thing on his face, trying to unclasp it, get it off! Kulen looked as startled by this reaction as everyone else. Dalys signalled Moabi to get down and he did. She remained standing over him, motioning to the agents around her to calm down.
Arad again aimed his gun at the boy, who was now loose.
“You, freeze!”
Three agents rushed to their fallen comrade’s aid, pulling him clear, while the rest backed away from Kulen as if he carried a bomb. All weapons were on him now.
. Arad stalked forward into the expanding clear space around Kulen, shoving the barrel of his weapon in the boy’s face.
“Get on the ground, now!”
Arad saw his virtual interface blink back into life, and a general comms channel open without authorisation. A line of text appeared in his HUD.
No. Let my friend go.
The boy stood plainly before him with no visible interface technology, except for a silver glove, and he had overridden Arad’s personal security codes in an instant. This was his terrorist without a doubt. A young boy who looked to be about the same age as his son.
“Take it off! Take the glove off!”
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The boy flushed and held the hand up, Arad flinched involuntarily. He could see a warped image of himself staring out of the splayed fingertips. The metal glove swirled like smoke under glass and Arad felt a breeze against his face, through the visor.
“Shit.”
He pulled the trigger.
I see the intention in his mind a moment before he pulls the trigger. He is terrified of me and so he attacks. I feel a kick in the chest and it shocks me. This man is hurting me intentionally!
Wait, I tell him. He looks startled that I am still standing and he checks his weapon, calmly turns a dial, points it at me again and pulls the trigger. The next blast causes a great deal of pain and panic. I feel the extra energy fuel the fear coursing through me, and it gives me a strength I never knew I had. With spittle flying from my screaming mouth I reach for him, but not fast enough. The man fires into my chest again and again, and it knocks me senseless for a moment. I stumble and fall forward at his feet, sprawling on the ground, scraping skin from my cheek. I can hear Dalys shouting something. Where is she? All my breath is gone from my lungs and I feel darkness close in. This man will kill me.
Like a sweet release, the wind rises up in me, and when my body has failed it does not. The strength of the wind lifts me to my knees and I face the man from the ground. Me, wet, hurt, bleeding and vulnerable; him, standing, feet braced, his slick armour gleaming, his wicked hand weapon with its yawning barrel, threatening. He is strong and resolute and he holds death pointed meanly at me. I think of the time my father knelt before the armed and armoured figure that killed him. I see Dalys over the man’s shoulder, the look on her face is the same as when she saw this happen to my father. I learn his name as I strike his mind, Eglon Arad, with a wife and child. He falls bonelessly to the floor, the wind tearing at his consciousness, scattering it. He does not move again.
Kedesh Jericho was standing next to his commander when the man fell. The attack protocols the squad followed were drilled into instinct, and Jericho stepped forward before his superior hit the ground. He was second in the firing order. If his barrage failed to solve the problem the entire squad would open up on the boy.
He walked forward slowly with his weapon braced against his shoulder. He fired a salvo of rubber projectiles at the boy, hitting him in the chest, shoulder and arm. He stopped because his target went down. Jericho had never seen a man take seven rounds before, and this was only a boy. The small figure shook his head and raised himself up on his arms. Jericho fired again. His guilt mounted with each pull of the trigger, but so did his alarm. This boy was dangerous.
Dalys watched Kulen go down under fire and snapped her defence field on as she started to move. The five GASD agents guarding her were easy to avoid, she was past them in a flurry of legs, leaving two of them on the ground and the other three chasing hard after her. She leaped across the ground separating her from Kulen. An agent turned to intercept her and she dropped to the ground, sliding smoothly in under his weapon. She dropped him by taking out his knee and then tumbled back onto her feet and dived past Jericho. She deactivated her shield and grabbed Kulen, rolling him over, clasping the boy to her chest, crouching protectively over him. She snapped her field back on, covering them both. The field crackled and sparkled as it set itself in straight lines and went opaque. It flushed grey and silver as Jericho stalked closer. He recognised the field and knew he could not penetrate it. It was a royal navy shield, which made the woman wearing it a ranking naval officer, someone to be respected, not arrested. The field stayed on and the moment dragged out. Jericho lifted his head and shouted “Hold your fire!”
It would take a lot more than the firepower they had present to crack the field open. They were in a stalemate. He looked around and saw the large black man, the little fat Martian and the engineer on their knees and under control, 15 metres away. He turned and walked over, opening a comms channel and issuing orders for Byzantium Square to be evacuated and quarantined. He detached a team to evacuate their wounded, and four men carried Agent Arad and the others away. He turned and looked again at the pair encapsulated in the field, a little flummoxed at what to do next
Inside the safety of the shield, Dalys held a hurt and confused boy in her arms. The outside world could wait. She knew it would be minutes before they could get a disruptor magnet and open her field.
“Are you okay Kulen?”
“They hurt me Dalys. Why would they do that?”
She softened her arms to embrace him rather than restrain him.
“Because you scared them, they think they are defending themselves.” She put her hand to his face and touched him tenderly. “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”
“But Dalys, you are protecting me. I am safe in here with you.”
Dalys used the break in hostility to make a call to the ship. Her comm set wasn’t working. Had they jammed it somehow? She shook her head in frustration. Suddenly the glasses came back online and a text came through. It simply said, that was me, sorry. When she looked at Kulen he managed to look ashamed of himself. There were six messages for her. Calls from the ship she had somehow missed! She opened the message and heard Curtis speaking frantically.
“Captain! I’ve been locked on the ship. Kulen’s left. He sealed me in the med bay.”
Kulen had left the ship and four people had been hurt? His presence on this rock had caused violent uproar, and it was her fault for bringing him here. She cursed softly. Then she received a call which blared at her as an official and urgent message. She answered the call and saw Jericho who calmly said, “Shut the field down and surrender or the repercussions will be severe. You have five seconds to comply.”
“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?”
The voice boomed large and loud across the Square without the added benefit of a speaker. It cut through the chaos and forced everyone to turn toward the source.
The People’s Pope stood at the head of the stairs of the church, his flustered bodyguard reluctantly letting him pass.
“You fired on an unarmed boy! This behaviour is inexcusable! These good people mean me no harm. They came to the service to grieve and have received my blessing. Cease your hostilities at once agent!”. Jericho looked from the Pope to the grey, shielded mass of his perceived enemy and hesitated.
Dalys held Kulen tightly in the darkness. The boy was stiff and hard, his muscles rigid in shock and pain. He was crying softly. There was a soft tapping on the outer shell of her field, and then a gasp as the tapper received a gentle electric shock for his troubles.
“Captain Xristian?”
She heard Comfort speaking to her and realised he must be standing right by them.
“I want you to drop your shield now please. I give my word that neither of you will be harmed. Your young friend has caused quite a stir, he must be taken into custody and questioned. You, however, have done nothing but protect your charge. You will be free to go.”
“I will not leave him to the mercy of the GASD.”
“I am afraid mercy is not in question here. He will go into the custody of the police force here on the asteroid until he is deemed safe to our community. It is your only option Dalys. If you refuse to cooperate you will also be placed under arrest. Don’t make this worse than it already is.”
Dalys thought for a moment and then softened her field enough to move. She turned Kulen to his knees facing her and she embraced him.
“These men are going to take you away Kulen. I don’t want them to but I can’t stop them. They are the authority in this place. They want to make sure this place is safe and protected. They are afraid of you, and the things you’ve done. Just go with them quietly and I will make sure I can find you, I’ll come to you very soon.’
Kulen looked up into her eyes and she wiped away his tears.
“I don’t want to go with them Dalys, they’ll hurt me again.”
“They will not, unless you give them reason to. Just go with them and do as they say, I promise you’ll be okay.”<
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She smoothed his ruffled hair away from his eyes. They were as black as midnight, dark and solid, stark against the whites. It was chilling, but as she looked they began to flush and swirl and she started to see hints of blue deep inside.
“Be calm Kulen, everything will be alright.”
Dalys stood and stepped back from Kulen, clearing him from the field. Kedesh Jericho stepped forward and gingerly helped him stand. He handcuffed him and turned him over to the agents behind him.
“What about us?” asked Dalys, gesturing to Jack Mac, Oscar and Moabi from safe inside her field.
“It is as His Holiness commands. You are free to go.” He stepped closer to her and added quietly. “My advice is that you return to your ship and lock the hatch behind you. If I catch you running around this rock again, I’ll take you in myself. I want you gone from this place soonest!” He turned to face Comfort who smiled and bowed slightly.
“Thank you, Your Grace, blessings upon you.” He walked away and Comfort turned his attention to Dalys.
“Well captain? Will you stand there behind your shield all day?”
“Why are you letting us go?”
A flash of the carnivore flickered in his eyes, “Because this is neither the time nor place, girl.” The way he said girl made her shiver.
Then, he too, turned and walked away and Dalys softened, and then dropped her field.
Kedesh Jericho sat at his desk considering the data capturing job he had ahead of him. He had to download his perceptive recordings and field notes in the debrief form, stating the events as accurately as possible, he had to file permit requests and transfer forms, he had to complete commendations for the duty team and still notify and debrief with his superiors. Arad was going to be pissed when he saw the overtime bill for the T.A.G. team. He sighed and leaned back in the chair just as his glasses chimed an incoming call. He answered it.
“Agent Jericho, please hold for the People’s Pope,” came the stern voice on the line. His monitor flickered and he was suddenly looking at a room filled with suited men at a large table. The people in the room were the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of the Exterior, the Security Chief of the GASD, the Health Minister and a representative from the Workforce Union. Each man had a staff of advisers and secretaries accompanying him. They were in the large boardroom Comfort used for meetings of this nature. Kedesh was a little awed at the audience.