by David Byrd
Oh crap, he thought sitting bolt upright. The last time he felt this way was back in camp with…Micah.
He was fully awake now and looking at his surroundings. He was in a stark white tiny room with a white shelf for sleeping and the necessary bio facilities. The door had no handle so what he was afraid of had happened…Micah had him in a cell of some kind. He tried in vain searching for Kai and Jep with his mind but he was blocked. It seemed as though he could sense nothing beyond the 4 walls as if they were preventing his abilities from reaching out. With nothing to lose he banged his fists on the door and yelled loudly but nothing happened. Another waiting game…Micah was always fond of mind games he thought grimly.
In the other cells, Kai and Jep were both waking to the same situation and coming to the same conclusions. Somehow Micah had drugged them and brought them to his city. The problem at hand now was how to escape.
Kai estimated that it had been at least two hours later and the door to his cell opened. He got up and headed to the door and there was a man holding what appeared to be a weapon motioning for him to come out. Micah reached out with his senses and was confused since the man was not emanating any feelings at all…As he walked out of the cell he realized the man was named Dane and was one of the two bodyguards Micah had back in camp. Keeping his thoughts shielded he proceeded out of the cell and in the direction Dane was pointing. He was directed into a room at the end of the hall and as he walked in he could see three chairs arranged in front of a central raised platform. On that platform sat Micah grinning broadly. Jep and Corin were both seated in front of him like an audience and a man stood behind each of his friends.
“Kai,” welcome…welcome come in and have a seat,” Micah said. “You are the last and I have to say you are sleeping much later these days.”
Kai was happy to see his friends and he sat down in the empty chair but not before being shocked by the men standing behind Jep and Corin. They were both Dane. So there were now three Dane’s guarding them.
“Ah you were always a quick one Kai,” Micah said. “I see you have noticed Dane times three. I assure you I’ll answer all your questions in time. You must be wondering how I was able to get you all here. You see you really don’t know that much about the sub-atomic particles suspended in the void. It was a simple matter to materialize a sleeping gas of my own concoction right inside that lovely little habitat you built. I’m guessing that was Hollis and Max who engineered that little house…It was very good for beginners.”
“You’re insane Micah…What do you want with us?” Corin yelled.
“Corin you were always a very bad pupil and I’d like nothing more than to crush you into paste where you sit,” Micah said clenching his teeth and spitting out the words. “But…I’ve come to a situation where I need…let’s say more…raw material. You’ve been wondering about my friends here who look so similar. With only a few followers when I was marooned in this area I had to come up with a plan to extend my workforce.”
“You are insane,” Kai said. You’ve what…cloned these people?”
“I’m getting angry Kai Zale.” Micah said. “I can see pleasant conversation is lost on all of you so we’ll get to it. I only hope this time the modifications I’ve made will negate all that pesky behavior you three exhibit. Take them to the holding area by the transformer.” He said fiercely to the three Dane’s.
Kai, Corin and Jep were moved out of the room at gunpoint and down a hallway. They left the building they were in and the sunlight temporarily blinded them. The sight was surreal before them. A city of similar buildings arranged in a geometric pattern. The angles, sidewalks everything was ordered and perfect almost as if the designer had an affinity for similar shapes. Also alarming was the fact that at least a dozen or so people walked by and many of them looked identical. No doubt clones of the same person just like Dane. The three men were all casting around using their abilities to find other firstborn but the only spark in the area they could sense was Micah. He appeared like a bright red flare in the mind obviously due to his incredible abilities. They were ushered into another much larger room with a peculiar series of devices in the back. With nothing more to do they checked the exits and then Kai examined the equipment.
“This one looks like one of the Plakorii stasis tubes but I’ve never seen one outside a complex before,” Kai said.
“Well this looks almost like a transport alcove,” Corin said. “It’s large enough for at least 10 people.”
“I have a really bad feeling about this,” Jep said.
“Really Jep…what makes you think that? Kai said. “You mean the fact that a madman captured us and we are looking at who knows what he has in store for us.”
“He’s not taking me without a fight,” Corin said. “We need a plan.”
Micah’s image appeared hanging in the air in 3D just like the Plakorii world display. He was dressed in a jeweled purple robe trimmed in blue. The whole image was probably crafted to look regal but in fact it was just plain silly.
“Yes…yes I know the robes are a bit much...but I have to keep up appearances. Now one by one you three will be placed into the tube on the left and a few minutes later 10 of you will come out of the alcove on the right.” Micah said with a smile that never reached his eyes. He was enjoying this display of power.
“So what…you’re cloning us like those men we saw earlier?” Kai asked.
“No…no…no…not cloned,” Micah said obviously enjoying the discussion. “You see I’ve perfected a process where bio material…you…are digitized and then re-created in multiples. The tech is similar to the transport alcoves. Unfortunately the multiples have no personality. Oh they take my orders and I use the Plakorii teacher so that they are self-sufficient but it’s like the old Earth saying…the lights are on but no one’s home.”
“So you have all these…multiples walking around with no soul, no intellect…just shells of the original. Where are the people who followed you here?” Kai asked.
“I’m afraid that is the one issue I have not compensated for yet. You see the process destroys the original. Now I really have other things to do and this part always makes me a bit nauseous so my Danes will take care of the rest.” Micah said as he disappeared from view. A few seconds later the door opened and the three Dane’s came in with a purpose.
Two of the men stopped and pointed their weapons at Corin and Kai. The third spoke in a monotone voice that simply said “You…Tube” pointing to Jep. Jep turned around slowly and started walking toward the tube. He glanced sideways at Kai and Corin and nodded slightly. At that moment he groaned loudly and bent over holding his stomach. The guard behind him stopped suddenly and seemed to be confused since the script was not being followed. The other two guards had their attention diverted to Jep which gave the three men their opening.
Seizing the moment, Corin and Kai turned, dropped to one knee while seizing the guard’s gun hand and used their weight to pull and throw the opponent to the ground disarming them. They scrambled for the guns while Jep was making quick work of his guard. Soon all three were lying prone on the ground and unconscious.
“I take it back Kai,” Corin said. “All those self-defense moves you taught us really came in handy.”
“You can thank Noel when we get back,” he said.
“Wait…we have to destroy this thing,” Jep said.
“Jep…we have to get out of here before Micah becomes aware and we don’t know what kind of alarm destroying those machines would cause.” Kai said.
Jep realized kai was right so they headed for the entrance but the door was solidly closed and refused to open.
“Jep…Help me drag one of those Dane’s over here,” Corin said.
The two men pulled one of the duplicates over by the door and it opened. They quickly bolted through before it could close again.
“Let’s head for the wall and see if there is an exit. They had to bring us in somehow.” Corin said. With no better plan the three men could easi
ly see the wall and headed in that direction. Several times they had to duck behind equipment or buildings to avoid being seen but they were really not sure it mattered. Without any direct input the duplicates running around were just following instructions and seemed to have no thinking or reasoning abilities.
About a half hour later they came to an odd looking control pedestal against the wall. Looking down and to the left of the pedestal they could see that the earth was disturbed and beaten down right up to the wall.
“This has to be it,” Kai said. “Some kind of control that will open this wall. Corin, you are the most knowledgeable in the Plakorii consoles…can you get this one working?”
“I’ll try…cover me,” he said.
Ding…ding…ding could be heard ringing out in the city.
“He knows…work fast” Kai said.
The wall hummed for a second and then a large 3 meter square change occurred in the wall. It looked different in that space. Jep was the closest to the wall and put his hand out to touch it and his hand went right through.
“Alright guys let’s get the hell out of here,” Kai said.
Just then small explosions from particle weapons peppered the area around them. In the distance they could see Micah and a number of guards running towards them firing.
Kai dropped to one knee firing continuously picking off the guards right and left but the shots just bounced off Micah. He apparently had perfected some kind of personal energy field.
A shot grazed Corin’ gun hand and he dropped the weapon by the console. Realizing there were only seconds remaining, Kai jumped up and grabbed Corin and Jep and hurled them through the barrier. He then took aim at the weapon by the console, fired a shot and leapt as hard as he could through the portal. The weapon exploded damaging the console which solidified the wall just as Kai’s feet cleared the exit.
Chapter 18
“Everyone alright?” Kai asked
“That was close,” Corin said. “I thought we were dead for sure.”
“We don’t know how long it will be until that portal is repaired…minutes or days but we better not be around.” Jep chimed in.
“Agreed,” Kai said. “By my link readings we are 2 kilometers from the hab they abducted us from. It must be the reason they waited until now since we were so close to the portal. I think we should double time it to the hab, restock the rover and get the hell away from here as fast as possible.”
The men made the distance to the hab in under an hour and while Jep and Corin stocked the rover for the return trip, Kai contacted Ancora and made a full report using the hab communication console that had been linked into the navigation beacons in the void.
Kai disconnected and was about to leave the hab when the vid came on full with Micah’s face leering out at him. His eyes with a cold dead look of hatred.
“Kai you will regret this day for the rest of your life,” Micah said. “I said before that you have no understanding of the void and I’m going to give you a very hard lesson.” The screen blanked and Corin yelled out suddenly from outside. Kai jumped away from the console, grabbed the particle gun and ran out the hatch. What he saw sent chills through him and he was suddenly really afraid for the first time in his life. Not for himself but for his friends. Jep was encased in a transparent bubble like PlazSteel.
“I don’t know what happened,” Corin said. “It just materialized around him.”
Through clenched teeth Kai told him about Micah’s warning.
Just then the space inside the bubble around Jep’s knees blurred as something was being materialized inside. Jep was pounding on the inside but they couldn’t hear him. From his knees to the bottom of the bubble water had materialized.
“Corin start shooting the sides of the bubble now!” Kai yelled as the full extent of the warning was clear to him. Along with Corin he poured shots into the other side but they just deflected off. He grabbed Noel’s pulse rifle and pulled the trigger and never let go hoping by some miracle he could burn a hole and drain the water. Seconds later, water materialized up to Jep’s neck. Neither man knew what to do…they were helpless.
Kai shouted into the sky for Micah to stop but there was no answer. Jep had stopped pounding on the inside knowing that his buddies could do nothing for him. He put both hands on the bubble wall and Kai and Corin each matched his hand on the outside. Jep looked at each man and nodded slightly. The final space in the bubble was claimed and not long after Jep died.
Kai and Corin dropped to the ground staring at Jep suspended in the bubble with tears in their eyes and awaiting their turn in whatever horror Micah had devised for them. A few minutes later the bubble disappeared and the water along with Jep’s body splashed out onto the ground.
“The bastard has left us alone,” Corin said after they sat there for several minutes.
“Let’s go Corin,” Kai said. “We can’t do any good here and now.”
“I know you’re right Kai but one day there will be justice for Jep and all the others Micah has hurt.” Corin said with a deadly quiet tone.
The two men wrapped Jep’s body in blankets from the hab and took off in the rover at the fastest pace it could manage. Kai managed a quick link communication and the men traveled non-stop for two days to reach the Plakorii complex at Ascension. When they cleared the void they both let out a mental sigh of relief that this time they made it. When they pulled up at the complex, Elia, Althea, Noel and Max were waiting for them. They exited the rover stiffly their clothes still covered in the dried mud they sat in. Their faces were streaked with dirt and they both had a hollow blank stare even seeing their loved ones. The two women rushed to their men and hugged them. Elia merged with Kai and she felt the pain he was feeling like it was a palpable physical experience. She knew Althea was feeling the same from Corin. Max and Noel both came over and briefly hugged each man. Noel looked directly into each man’s eyes with a knowing look and then turned away with Max to retrieve Jep’s body from the rover. Noel had lost men in combat before and even without the abilities the firstborn had, he knew exactly what the men were feeling. There was nothing he needed to say.
Chapter 19
A celebration was held in Serenity Park where Kai and Elia had been joined. It was a cheerful celebration of Jep’s life and most of the colony attended including many of the firstborn who had moved off to Ascension city. A few days later, Noel asked Kai to meet him at the canyon complex.
“There are my two favorite young people,” Hollis said as he hugged Kai and Elia when they entered the central console room. They exchanged small talk and then Noel came right to the point.
“I’ve asked you here today to witness a decision I’ve made,” Noel said. “With recent events…we can no longer just sit idly by and hope that Micah won’t try and destroy us. So fearing the worst, I asked Hollis to construct those special sensor arrays that you men placed around Micah’s stronghold. They were not just sensors. They are specially constructed energy shield orbs similar to the ones in orbit but much more powerful. They overlap and when activated will contain the entire area Micah has claimed.” Noel paused a moment for this to sink in.
“So you had these all along and could have used them before we were captured and Jep was killed?” Kai asked in a burst of anger.
“Kai…what happened was not your fault,” Noel said. “It was not anyone’s fault except for Micah. You have to come to terms with that.”
“I said I had come to a decision so here it is,” Noel said. “We are going to activate the energy shield over Micah and whatever gruesome pseudo beings he has created. We are then going to destroy the North Plakorii complex and the Ascension complex.”
“But Dad,” Elia said. “Why do we need to destroy them?”
“Two reasons,” he said. “First, the complexes are interconnected. Micah’s complex is the start of the chain and this complex is the end. We have to sever the connections in between so that he can never again access the other complexes. The second is more profo
und though. While the advanced knowledge has helped us, it has also hurt us and nearly wiped us out after we survived multiple outside attacks from Earth. Free, advanced knowledge is a good thing but Micah took all the good from that knowledge and used it as a weapon. Someone else may do the same. So while there may be research that continues, we are going to limit how much of that is shared until we as a species have grown up a bit. Hollis will of course continue as the caretaker of that knowledge.”
“I have Corin’s all clear signal. Both targeted complexes are ready to detonate the modified KT charges.” Hollis said. “Once we activate the shield it will be self-sufficient. It can’t be deactivated.”
“Activate the shield Hollis,” Noel said. A few seconds later Hollis confirmed that the system was active and locked. “The two complexes are counting down…5…4…3...2…1 detonate. I have confirmed detonation. The complex linkage is broken and this is now a standalone base.”
Chirp…chirp sounded on the console and Hollis activated a secondary display. A complex series of code sequences was flashing by at high speed.
“What is that?” Noel asked.
“I…I’m not sure yet…let me adjust…just a minute,” Hollis said. “As far as I can tell it’s a series of coded commands directly to the void blink reactors.”
“From Micah?” Noel said alarmed.
“No…it seems to be...Oh my heavens. It seems to have been triggered to activate with the explosives timer from the Ascension complex. I’ll have it in a second…there…it was a directive to materialize something inside the stronghold shield.” Hollis said.
“I’ll tell you exactly what it was Hollis,” Corin said solemnly from a new display in the center of the room. I did it…and I’m sorry for not telling you all sooner…especially you Kai but I couldn’t let that madman hurt anyone else that we love. I sent instructions for all of the empty space inside the shield to be replaced with…water.