Humble Beginnings (Tri System's Edge Series Book 1)

by Ron Schrader

  “Guards!” Davis yelled.

  Moments later the two guards were standing next to him and Colban. “Disposal, sir?” one of them asked.

  “No,” Davis replied. “I just need you to carry this slave out to the platform for me. I’ll dispose of him up top.”

  “Why not just throw this one over the rail and save yourself the trouble, sir?” asked the other guard as if trying to impress his Captain with the idea.

  “Because I asked you to carry the body to the platform,” Davis said with authority. “Is that going to be a problem, Sergeant?”

  “No, sir!” spouted the soldier.

  The two quickly bent down and picked up the body of the slave lying on the floor, one grabbing his arms, the other his legs. They worked quickly to carry the body as instructed, leaving him on the platform near the lift and then hurried back to their post just inside the cellblock entrance.

  “Stay still. This isn’t over just yet,” Davis whispered as he began dragging Colban onto the lift the general had been so kind to send back down. Once on board, Davis manned the controls of the lift, taking the two up to the platform just outside the control center above. As the lift went up, Davis glanced through his filter mask at Colban, thinking it was fortunate that the slaves didn’t require such a device to breathe the planet’s air up top, wishing he didn’t need one either.

  As the lift reached the upper platform and came to a stop, Davis hurried to help the old slave up to his feet. “We’ll need to do this quick & careful.” he said as they moved to the airlock.

  “Why are you doing this—helping me?” Colban asked gratefully.

  “No.” Davis spoke softly. “Why are we doing that?” He pointed down at the floor toward the mine, and continued. “Why are we using your people as slaves and just disposing of you whenever it suits us?”

  The natives of Esaria were farmers mostly and had neither the technology nor training to defend themselves against the general’s military operation. They had been easy prey, with virtually no way to fight back.

  “Won’t you get in trouble for helping me?” Colban asked with concern as they walked up to the airlock.

  “Yes, I will,” Davis replied, “but that’s why I’m leaving with you. I’m resigning, and I need your help.”

  “Yes,” Colban responded with some excitement in his voice. He looked up at Davis with wide eyes and continued. “My son Tuck—he will help! He wanted to fight in the beginning, but no one believed it would get this bad. Our village is on the west mountain, hidden in the trees.”

  “I’ll take you there,” Davis said with a glimmer of hope as he spoke.

  “Thank you,” said Colban sincerely. “You will be blessed for this. We will help you.”

  “Yeah, if I don’t get us both killed first,” Davis replied with a smile as the two entered the airlock, which activated automatically.

  The venting process kicked in, followed by the rotation of the room, closing the entrance from where they had come. As the airlock reached the end of its rotation and opened to face the inside of the mining structure, Davis and Colban were both quite surprised to find themselves now standing before General Quinn and at least a half dozen armed guards with rifles aimed and ready to fire.

  “I see you’ve chosen to disobey my order.” The words were both calm and cold as the general spoke. “It’s unfortunate, really, to have to lose a good man like yourself over something so petty.”

  Davis wanted to explain himself but knew it wouldn’t matter. Instead he just stood still, trying to think of a way out of this new dilemma.

  “Please, Davis, your gun and knife. Hand them over.”

  Davis slowly complied, knowing he had no choice in the matter. He pulled the gun from his holster and threw it at the general’s feet.

  “Very clever, trying to sneak the slave out like that.” The general bellowed with laughter. “Now your knife,” he demanded, his tone now quite serious.

  “Come take it yourself,” Davis said in a low voice as he stared the general down, clenching his fists and preparing to go out fighting.

  In an instant, the general’s right hand appeared with a long dagger as he charged toward Davis, but before he could react to the oncoming attack, Colban jumped in between the two men, taking the full force of the general’s dagger in his chest. Davis instinctively swung his right fist toward the general’s face, connecting with just enough force to send the general flying backward, out of the airlock and into the arms of two guards who dropped their weapons to catch him. With all of the guards focused on the general for a brief moment, Davis activated the airlock, which began its rotation process, sending him and Colban back outside again.

  Scrambling to put his filter mask on, Davis froze as one of the guards raised his weapon to fire.

  “Are you an imbecile?” yelled the general, pushing the guard’s rifle toward the ground. “If that airlock is breached this entire structure will be compromised!” All they could do was wait until the cycle completed, then reinitialize the airlock. “He’s got nowhere to go but down!” barked the general. And those were the last words Davis heard as the airlock slowly finished its rotation.

  Once the airlock finally stopped, Davis had to act quickly. As soon as he could squeak through the opening of the airlock, he jumped out onto the platform and ran a short distance to a pile of old drilling equipment. With his adrenaline pumping wildly, he grabbed a large steel beam about his height and sprinted back to the airlock that had already completed the cycle and was beginning to reinitiate. He worked fast, wedging the beam between the wall and opening of the airlock, preventing the cycle from going any further. The gears began to grind and creak until the system finally stopped, smoke spouting from behind the wall where the gears had been damaged.

  Davis rushed back to where Colban lay, hoping the wound wasn’t as bad as it looked but found that the old man was already dead. He bowed his head briefly in honor of the man, the slave he’d brought to this place who’d just saved his life. Then, with very little time to spare, he jumped to his feet in hopes of finding a way out of the mine.

  Stepping out onto the platform, Davis paused to look back at the airlock, imagining the frustration the general must be going through as he ordered his men to complete an impossible task. He couldn’t help but smile, taking pleasure in the thought of finally returning a small amount of the grief General Quinn had given him during their short few years together. But reality came back to him quickly, reminding him of the pressing need to find a way out of the mineshaft, and fast! He ran full speed to where the platform met the walkway, his eyes on the safety cables attached to the rail.

  With no time to spare, he disconnected two cables from the railing and latched them both to his belt, one on each side. Hoping his belt would be a sufficient replacement for the harness he didn’t have time to put on, Davis backed up on the platform to get a running start. He paused just long enough to realize what he was about to do, then off he ran, straight for an open section of the platform where there was no railing to impede his way. Reaching the edge, he jumped with all he could muster into the open abyss of the mineshaft, holding tightly to the cables attached to each side of his belt.

  After free falling for several meters, the safety mechanism of the cable pulleys above kicked in and began to pull him up like a fisherman reeling in a big catch, and in less than a minute, he had reached the underside of the control center. The safety cable mechanism then began to calibrate the drop point where it would safely lower him back to the platform, but Davis wasn’t going back.

  He managed to grab hold of a maintenance ladder that was attached to the underside of the structure as the safety mechanism rotated and changed its position. Hanging by one hand, he struggled to unlatch the cables from his belt before being pulled away from where he hung.

  Barely freeing himself in time, he then swung his free hand up to the next ladder bar and began to swing from bar to bar until he reached the outer edge of the structure, where a lad
der proceeded to the top of the control center.

  With his wiry strength, Davis managed to pull himself up from the hanging position he’d been in and onto the side of the building, where he began his climb to the top. He fully expected to commandeer an AGV and find a way off Esaria, but he knew there was likely to be soldiers on alert, aware of what he’d done by now.

  Reaching the top, he poked his head up and began to survey the area, but until he was flying safely away, he wasn’t about to let his guard down.

  Chapter 9

  Kalla awoke to the familiar sound of sizzling meat, the strong salty aroma filling the room where she lay. Inhaling the strong smell, she soon realized how hungry she was, having gone days now without eating. But as she looked around the cave, she found herself alone.

  She sat up and stretched her arms out, pushing the sleep from her body, preparing to find the source of the delicious smell. She stood and walked through the hallway that led to the adjacent room where she noticed for the first time a stove on the far side of the room where Jarek stood working.

  “Not sure if you’ve noticed yet, but it’s been a couple days since you’ve eaten.”

  “Yeah,” she replied. “I hadn’t thought about it until the smell reminded me. I was on my ship the last time I ate. How is that possible?” she asked in confusion as she watched Jarek stirring the meat on the stove.

  “One more thing I can’t explain,” he replied without losing focus on his task. “You’ll still need to eat, just not as often. And meat, whether it’s cooked or not, really charges the batteries.”

  Kalla immediately reached up to feel the two teeth in her mouth, slightly more prominent than the rest.

  “We . . . you eat raw meat?” she said with some hesitancy, not sure if she really wanted an answer to the question.

  “It’s not my preference,” Jarek answered, “but in a bind, it’s doable. Doesn’t actually taste that bad, really, but I still prefer to cook it when I can.”

  “So where’d you get the meat?” she asked, impressed as she watched.

  “Just some leftovers from a recent hunt,” he said as he flipped a large steak over. “There’s a bit more in the cooler.”

  She was surprised to see that although he lived in a cave, he still made use of technology. The stove and cooler sat next to each other, with a bulky boxlike object between them. “What’s that?” she asked pointing to the object.

  “Solar battery,” he replied. “Scavenged everything from down in the city when everyone left.”

  Kalla nodded. “How does a solar battery work in here?” she asked.

  Jarek pointed to a cable that disappeared into the wall leading outside the cave. “The solar sensors are mounted on the cliff face. Works good up here with no fog to worry about.” Jarek turned and held a scrap of metal in front of Kalla with a big slab of steak, cooked very rare from the looks of it. “Here you go.”

  Kalla glared at the undercooked meat with uncertainty, but the smell was still very enticing.

  “Trust me, the rarer the meat, the better it is for you. Cook it too long and seems to kill the nutrients.” He smiled as he held the makeshift plate in front of her, waiting for her to take it from him.

  “I guess I’ll take your word for now,” she responded as she reached out to accept the meal he’d prepared. Kalla examined the meat more closely to find that it was quite large and quite rare. “What about a knife and fork?” she asked politely.

  Jarek picked up another piece right from the hot pan with one hand and took a big bite.

  “You won’t need it,” he said as he quickly chewed the chunk of meat in his mouth and swallowed.

  “What nice manners you have,” Kalla replied under her breath as she looked back down at her meal.

  From the corner of her eye she could see Jarek was smiling, and from the look on his face, he was quite enjoying himself. “Here goes, I guess . . .” She reached down and grabbed the piece of meat in front of her, cringing slightly as she took her first bite. While she’d expected it to taste horrible, she was pleasantly surprised to find that the meat was more flavorful than any she’d ever had before in her life.

  Jarek smiled as he watched her eat. “Not bad, is it?” he asked.

  Kalla practically ignored his comment as she focused on devouring the entire meal in a matter of minutes, licking her fingers clean. Surprised and a little embarrassed by her appetite, she looked in Jarek’s direction, not making eye contact.

  “I’m so sorry for that,” was all she could think to say after having just criticized his manners, then displaying such poor manners herself.

  “Don’t be,” Jarek replied. “It’s not something you can completely control all the time.”

  Kalla watched as Jarek’s smile began to fade, sensing a feeling of regret for having done this to her. “I know,” she said in return, finally looking him in the eyes to acknowledge her gratitude for all he’d done. “Still getting used to all this, I guess.”

  Jarek nodded as he pulled another steak from the stove.

  “Hey, at least I have you to help me with this,” she said, reassuring him that she was all right with this, happy he’d saved her life. Deep down, she was grateful to Jarek for both saving her and giving her this new life, but that didn’t eliminate the fact that she still had some adjusting to do.

  Clearing the awkward feeling from the air, Jarek finally spoke up again. “So you ready to pay our, uh, my neighbors a visit? See if maybe they can fix that engine part for you?”

  Kalla smiled and nodded. She then stood and turned toward the doorway, walked through it, and disappeared into the hallway. “I’ll meet you up there,” she called back to him.

  ~

  Kalla climbed outside the opening of the cave to begin her ascent to the top, leaving Jarek to catch up. By the time he began to follow, she was already halfway to the top. A short time later, Kalla pulled herself up over the edge and stood, looking off into the distance. She suddenly realized she’d forgotten the engine stabilizer, her entire reason for this visit.

  “Dar-vlen-tu!” she blurted out in frustration as she turned back to the edge of the cliff to find Jarek already standing there.

  “You forgot this,” he said as he tugged at the satchel strap over his shoulder. “Ready?” he asked.

  “Thanks.” She nodded with a big smile on her face. “I’ll race you!” She turned toward the village and began running at full speed.

  “Wait up!” Jarek yelled.

  But she continued to outpace him as she ran, putting more and more distance between them until she finally stopped just short of the wall of trees.

  A few minutes later, Jarek finally caught up, slowing his run to a walk just a few feet from where she stood. “You’re pretty fast,” Jarek acknowledged.

  “Maybe you’re just getting slow in your old age?” Kalla said playfully. “The stabilizer wasn’t that heavy was it?” she joked.

  “No, forgot I even had it.” He smiled, then said “you’re actually just faster than I am.” His smile faded slightly. “I’m a bit surprised to be honest,” he continued, now more serious, “but this is all new for both of us. Anyway, enough about who’s faster, let’s just get this done.”

  “Whatever you say, old man,” she teased.

  Jarek led the way as the two walked toward the wall of trees, all the while wondering how the people here would react to their visit. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen anyone here,” he said with a hint of anger in his tone. “They tried to kill me last time . . .” He stopped himself before saying anymore.

  “This time will be different,” Kalla offered, hoping she was right.

  ~

  Exiting the small forest, the two found themselves standing in an opening at the edge of a series of tightly grouped, primitive-looking buildings. Two soldiers faced the tree line about twenty meters from where Jarek and Kalla now stood, watching them with uncertainty, but Jarek didn’t wait for an invitation as he continued his pace tow
ard them.

  “Stop!” one of the two soldiers shouted. Both carried threatening looking rifles. They readied and aimed in their direction.

  Jarek and Kalla paid no attention to the warning or the weapons, continuing to walk briskly toward the two soldiers.

  “I need to see Tarin,” Jarek said with authority as he and Kalla stopped in front of the tense guards, who now appeared too young to be soldiers.

  “Tarin?” questioned the younger looking of the two, turning to his partner for help.

  “He’s dead,” replied the other soldier. “And how do you know Tarin?” he questioned, doing his best to maintain control of the situation and disguise the shakiness of his voice.

  Jarek began to laugh, though the look in his eyes made it clear he was mildly annoyed.

  “Yeah, who’s Tarin?” Kalla asked.

  “Probably the guy who ordered my execution all those years ago,” Jarek replied, looking back at Kalla. “He used to be the one in charge.”

  Kalla nodded. “Who’s in charge now?” she asked the soldier.

  “First, who are you, and what’s your business here?” the soldier replied.

  “Look, kid,” Jarek interrupted. “Tarin and I go way back. That’s all you need to know. I need to speak to the lucky guy who took his place, so please just lead the way.”

  Jarek was about to take a step forward when both soldiers stood firm, raising their rifles in unison. Jarek let out a faint growl, giving them a partial view of his teeth.

  The younger soldier, now visibly frightened, took a step back and fired a single shot that only grazed the right side of Jarek’s neck.

  “Boys! Boys!” Kalla yelled as she jumped between them, her hand pressed against the weight of Jarek’s chest, preventing him from lunging forward. “There’s really no need for this.” She spoke calmly, looking into the eyes of the more frightened soldier. Motioning with her hand, she continued. “Just lower the weapon and take us to the person in charge.” The soldier complied without hesitation.