by Jason Letts
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Bolt & Keize global solar network, Tris was the guest of honor.
They’d taken a short helicopter ride north to a barren stretch of the OrePlains that had one of their installations, a circular platform with a solar panel and satellite dish that revolved with the sun. Apart from Tris, Velo Wozniak, Arnold Keize, and Toria, they’d brought along a few members of the news media as well. When they put the big scissors in her hand and told her to cut the ribbon, it wasn’t hard to share their infectious enthusiasm.
“This momentous cycle marks the start of a new age in energy production in Cumeria,” Keize said to those assembled. “When this ribbon is cut, we’ll activate the link that will span all of Iyne bringing electricity to the places that need it most, including parts of our own country that have suffered from prolonged outages. I only wish my dear partner Jim Bolt could be here to see what he had such an instrumental hand in creating. May he rest in After. But we can’t get caught up in past regrets when there’s so much to be optimistic about. Let’s have our lovely assistant cut that ribbon!”
On cue, Tris sliced the red band in front of her, ushering in some polite applause. While Keize whisked himself away to the control panel, Velo leaned in.
“Marvelously done. It looks like you have a lot of experience with long, pointed tools,” Velo whispered, smirking.
“Most of them haven’t been so sharp,” Tris said, and the two of them shared a brief laugh. The only way to deal with Velo’s never-ending stream of innuendo was to go along with it, she’d decided.
The pair of them glanced back at Keize at the control panel just in time to see a spark jump from one of the circuits. Keize growled and smacked the panel, which came loose and started to tilt.
“Everything’s fine here. Just give me one moment,” Keize said over his shoulder. The journalists perked up and started taking more pictures and notes. Keize emitted aggravated noises before turning back to the group and marching straight past them for the helicopter. “Where’s the damn mechanic?”
A man with a short beard, who Tris hadn’t even realized had flown with them, emerged from the helicopter and joined Keize to work on the installation. After a few minutes of waiting, it became clear that any fix would take some time and that no one would be leaving the otherwise desolate area until they were done.
Although the reporters talked amongst themselves and Velo took a sip from a flask to relieve the boredom, Tris had nothing to do until she noticed Toria scamper a short distance away and hide behind a pile of rocks. Knowing she must’ve been playing one of her games, Tris came around to join her, kneeling down next to the young girl in her gray and black clothing.
“Toria, who’s on your side?” Tris asked, falling into a familiar routine. Toria peeked over the edge of the rocks.
“You and you,” she said, pointing.
“Velo and Arnold are on your side. What about me?” Tris asked, drawing Toria’s attention. Her blue eyes always had something in them that was so innocent and yet so confused.
“OK, and you,” she said. “But not them!”
“The journalists? Why not them? They only want to find out the truth,” Tris said, but something about that was funny to Toria, who broke out into laughter.
“I’ll hit them,” she said, going to a stone on the ground that turned out to be too heavy for her to lift. Tris pursed her lips. At least she was able to keep Toria away from knives most of the time.
“Hitting people isn’t a good idea either, Toria. You need to play nice.”
“Fine,” Toria grumbled, dropping her arms and moping away from the rock pile as if Tris had dashed every last ounce of joy inside her. Tris returned to Velo by the ribbon and the installation. His flask seemed to be down to the dregs.
“She’s a screwy little runt, isn’t she? What, I said runt!” Velo muttered to lowered eyes from Tris. Deep down she had to agree.
“Toria just needs some stability, and the truth,” Tris said, trying to be charitable.
Behind them, Keize and the mechanic had torn off the control panel and were using a wrench to adjust something elbow-deep into the machine.
“If only that obnoxious asshole had played by the rules he’d still be around and we’d have finished this months ago,” Keize said.
As much as it was a perilous to get too close to Keize when he was angry, a thought popped into her head that made her creep closer. When Keize noticed her approach, he quickly did his best to appear welcoming and composed.
“Can I ask you something? Does this device have the transfer battery in it?” Tris asked. Keize’s expression went from forcibly pleasant to suspicious.
“How do you know about that?” Keize asked. Just then the mechanic’s arm shifted and a whirring sound began. Some lights came on the dangling control panel. It looked like they had it working.
“Oh, I heard you say something about it one time,” she said, taking advantage of the distraction and already drifting away. While she knew well enough about the transfer battery from her debacle that landed her in Madora, it struck her as significant again when Tris recalled that it was from the Lus, who had also supplied some electronics to the Wozniaks for their new war machines. Adding in that they’d given Randall a hand with his campaign, it seemed curious that they were helping everyone so much.
Keize and the mechanic returned the control panel to its proper position. The solar panels were glowing dark blue as they absorbed energy from the sun.
“There you have it! The link is up and the energy that this installation is collecting right now is being sent through our network to the homes of our subscribers all over the globe!” Keize said. The wait had dulled the applause from the reporters.
“Yay, now let’s get out of here,” Velo said, hustling back to the helicopter. Tris didn’t mind the proposition of getting back to the Wozniak’s estate either, where she could get back to the sewing she’d been working on. Keize lifted Toria off the ground and followed them.
“As long as the money starts rolling in the lack of fanfare won’t matter,” he said as they climbed aboard.
“That’s the spirit,” Velo said, taking his seat. “Speaking of which, do we have anything else to drink around?”
The helicopter always reminded Tris of when she’d been abducted, but she’d gotten used to being with the Wozniaks, who hadn’t mistreated her for an instant. She still wanted to find a way to leave and get back to Sierra, but it didn’t seem as imminent as she’d once thought.
When Tris had left the helicopter and its sand-blasted wind behind, she followed the now familiar hallways on the way to her room and her knitting until someone caught her by the elbow. She jerked to see Velo Wozniak at her side, and he quickly shifted to putting his arm over her shoulder and steering her in another direction.
“Wasn’t that a hoot? There’s always something crazy going on around here, and we’ve got a bit more to do yet,” Velo said, leading her along the carpeted hallway roughly in the direction of the main hall. Tris noticed Keize was behind them as well, though he deposited Toria in the hands of Erina when they passed by her.
Velo opened a door Tris hadn’t ever seen before that had a staircase leading below the ground floor. She looked at him, hesitant, but his smile never faltered.
“It’s time to move ahead,” Keize said, and Tris took a step onto the stairs. There were lights below but no carpet on the floor. She couldn’t tell what was in the room.
“You haven’t been lacking anything, have you? Tell me you don’t have any doubts that we’d do whatever we could to help you,” Velo said out of concern.
“I’m sure you would,” Tris said, and together they continued down the stairs to a room of dark gray cement with a large window taking up almost the entire opposite wall.
Leaving Velo’s arm behind and maneuvering around a chair, Tris went to the window and peered through the glass at a huge tunnel leading to the bottom of one of the quarry pits. There were a dozen men an
d women working down here, not grubby miners but cloaked engineers who were bustling around what at first glance appeared to be a steel building. As her eyes became accustomed to what she was looking at, the long treads, raised cabin, and solar panels lining the top, she realized it was an armored vehicle larger than any she’d ever imagined before.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” Velo asked, joining her by the window and crossing his arms. “We call it the Leveler because it can crush anything in its path. Trees and buildings are nothing to it.”
“This is what you’ll use to take over Toine,” Tris said, her mouth agape. Whatever Randall had would be nothing compared to the monstrosity parked in front of her.
“That might be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen come out of a woman’s mouth,” Velo said. “And have you figured out why you’re here?”
“You think I have something that can help you and save you time,” she said, carefully regarding Velo’s thin moustache and bony features. He was a gaunt man who made up for it with confidence.
“Not exactly. I know that’s what I said, but things have changed. What I’m hoping you’ll do is save the lives of tens of thousands of Cumerians. Some time ago a lawyer named Ralph Fiori came here to peddle a story about a will of Lowell’s and a set of maps detailing a secret power grid that would give anyone control over the nation’s energy.
“Portia Illiam was in the room as well, and while Keize and I knew the yarn he wove was complete bullshit, she swallowed every last drop of it. From what we hear that led her to the Hockley estate, where she must’ve discovered the whole thing was a fraud and maybe lost a good chunk of her forces in the process. But now she’s gathered her army and started for Toine, which really presents the single greatest threat to our victory. This could either be a long, bloody struggle that ravages the town and costs the lives of untold Cumerians, or we can force them to lay down their arms before the fighting even starts,” Velo said.
“And what do you expect me to do?” Tris asked.
The words had barely gotten out of her mouth before Keize produced a long tube with a scroll behind them. As he unraveled the scroll, she saw it depicted a map of Cumeria with a great many lines and tiny scribbles.
“We expect you to convince Portia Illiam not just that the map is real but that you have it and are working with us. Once she knows that we have the power to shut them down for eternity, she’ll have no choice but to get down on her knees and pledge fealty to me. Once that happens, no one else in Cumeria will oppose me.”
“And what if I refuse to play along?” Tris watched Velo take on a conciliatory demeanor.
“I’m doing this on behalf of the people of the OrePlains, who I don’t want killed in senseless fighting. If they have to risk their lives, there’s no telling what’ll happen to anyone.”
Arnold rolled up the scroll and deposited it in the tube. His short-black hair and beady, deep-set eyes always gave him the look of a lone hunter.
“The game for Cumeria is all but over. Some people just haven’t realized it yet. You have to ask yourself if it’s worth sacrificing more lives, including those of innocent people in Toine like your son,” he said.
The point was all too clear. Her life was on the line if she didn’t go along with Velo’s plan, and then Randall would somehow reach a grim end as well.
“But Portia knows to be suspicious of me. It’ll never work!” Tris said, remembering all of the reasons she believed she’d never cooperate with the Wozniaks. She’d lost Lowell, and her children were scattered beyond her reach because of them.
Velo produced a subtle smirk.
“I think you’ll be surprised at what Portia believes when she sees the Leveler. Make the pitch, give her a chance, and we’ll take care of the rest.”
Tris had her doubts about being thrown into the middle of the ring between two of the most powerful premier families in the country and thousands upon thousands of their battle-ready supporters. It made her think of Moa, the pull of death upon her, and whether or not even her resilient nature could survive such a situation.
“What choice do I have?” Tris asked, sighing and taking another glance through the window. Velo patted her on the shoulder.
“We all have a choice. We can either do what we have to do or curl up on the floor and try to lick our balls and hope everyone’ll leave us alone. But I’ve already tried that and it doesn’t work.”
Tris took another look at Velo and cringed.
“When you put it like that I think I’ll do what I have to do,” she said, but she was already considering another option.
Whether or not she wanted to be in the middle of a heated tête-à-tête between Velo and Portia, Tris found herself stuck within a daunting war operation that seemed to spring out of the very seems of the Wozniak estate. By the time they returned to the ground floor and she got a chance to look outside, she saw that legions of people in the OrePlains had been called to put down their pick axes, leave their stations, and arrive on the mansion grounds.
People swarmed into the area from everywhere, many of them carrying packs full of food and other necessities. The Wozniaks had put out the call to war, and their people had responded.
“I thought you had actual soldiers. Is it necessary to bring all of these people?” Tris asked Erina, who was so close to giving birth that there was a high chance it would happen while the invasion was underway.
“We do, but our people would not miss an opportunity to lift their premier family to even loftier greatness,” Erina said, holding her midsection.
Tris leaned in and looked to the side to see that there was in fact a much more regimented set of uniformed troops coming to the fore. There were transports coming in from the distance preparing to take them to Toine. As Tris watched the people of the OrePlains mobilize and move, the sound of it all almost masked some muffled sniffling. Erina had begun to cry softly.
“What is it?” Tris asked. Erina appeared to be ashamed at being caught crying.
“Once everyone’s away, there’ll be no one to stop me this time,” she said, evoking a puzzled glance from Tris. The impulse to say something formed a ball in her throat, but it might’ve dispelled this sudden openness. Erina tilted her head down and glanced out of the corner of her eye at Tris. “Imagine your entire life being what it has been for the past few weeks. Everyone is always so nice, trying to make you forget you’re a prisoner. You’re forced to spawn evil children who are taught to be even more merciless until each day their mere existence feels like a pin in your eye. There’s only one way to escape.”
“Erina…” Tris said in a dissenting tone, but she didn’t know what more to say. She couldn’t be sure it was right to argue. Would she consider the same thing if she were stuck in a similar position? Erina turned to face Tris, looking at her from head to toe.
“My only regret will be if it puts the burden I have on you. No one would mistake you for a young woman, but he likes you enough to keep you and if you come back with him you’ll soon enough understand what your obligations are. That won’t stop him from going to other girls of child-bearing age, but once someone becomes the possession of a Wozniak they are never let go.”
Footsteps down the hall rattled Erina, who took on a sudden fright and brushed past Tris without so much as another word. Erina had barely vanished around the corner when Arnold Keize appeared, apparently looking for her. He had traded his suit at the unveiling for sleek, plated armor. The hilt of his sword was visible behind his shoulder. The man had transformed into a warrior.
“Ahh, there you are. I’m to escort you into position,” he said.
“But…”
“It wasn’t a question,” Keize said. His gloved hand took her arm and pulled her alongside him as he continued away from the window.
“At least you’re not forcing Toria to witness this brutality,” Tris said. Keize shook his head.
“She’s already there waiting for you. My little girl won’t be afraid of anything,” he said.
Tris grumbled inwardly until Keize brought her back down to the basement and through a door beside the large glass window. The Leveler waited before them with a hatch open that soldiers were using to enter. With Keize close by, Tris was forced to slip in amongst them and walk up the incline into the giant silver beast. They then turned away from the flow of people heading toward the vehicle’s belly and took a circular staircase higher and higher. Although the ship smelled oily, it had a much pleasanter scent up here.
When they reached the top, they came to a door that led to a carpeted cabin near the front with large fiberglass windows, couches, and a table with refreshments. Velo and Merritt were in swivel chairs near the front overlooking the engineers driving the vehicle below. Toria was on one of the couches using her knife to sharpen a stick into a stake.
“Are we finally ready to hit the ignition?” Velo asked. His legs were up against a railing.
“Destiny awaits,” Merritt said. Velo reached over and smacked him.
“Stop sounding so dramatic.”
Keize cleared his throat and nudged Tris toward Toria’s couch. Tris saw the tube with the fake maps set against the wall.
“The only thing we’re waiting for is your say so,” Keize said, taking a seat in the last of the chairs. Once his back was turned, Tris attempted to take the knife out of Toria’s hand, but when she pointed it at her, it didn’t seem worth the trouble.
“Let’s get moving then!” Velo shouted to the engineers on the floor below.
“Yessir!”
The sharp chirp of agreement gave way to a sudden rumbling in every corner of the vehicle. Tris looked straight ahead through the window to see that the Leveler faced a long dirt incline that would take them out of the quarry pit. The rumbles grew to shakes as the vehicle began to move on those massive treads. One of the glasses on the refreshment table fell and shattered on the ground.
“Didn’t anybody think to tie down the glasses?” Velo moaned. “Don’t think I won’t drink straight from the bottle if I have to!”
Things only got worse as the Leveler hit the incline and started upwards. Things stopped being level fast, and Tris narrowly avoided being impaled on Toria’s knife when the shift made her slide down the couch. Instead the blade only nicked her forearm, drawing a little bit of blood.