by Mars Dorian
Straight into the commons.
A full house including Bloom and co.
She sat next to Arrow who sat next to RX.
He watched them chat to each other and should have thought—were they scheming against me?
But RX, despite being amped to the max, still belonged to the male gender and thought: could I get them into a ménage à trois?
Because when the brain fought against the penis, you had to throw in the towel. The brain was in for a beating.
RX raised his glass of crystalline water and clanked it to Arrow's. Enjoyed the sea creature food dissolving on his tongue and threw in a glance or two at Arrow and Bloom. When they resumed their dinner and broke the chatter, RX turned to his red-haired peer.
“What were you talking about?”
“Woman stuff.”
“Did it involve me?”
“You wish.”
He really did.
Arrow marveled at the food trays in front of her.
“The food’s pretty good, the people are nice and the weather is fun on steroids. I swear, when I get too old for the service, I’m going to retire in this colony.”
Same words RX thought not too long ago.
“You know, you don’t have to go back.”
“What?”
“You could just stay here with me and the others and start a new life.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Seriously, aren’t you tired of living in enclosed quarters and getting treated like a disposable product?”
She smiled.
“But I’m a premium product.”
“For now, but what happens when your ranking drops? Everyone’s expendable at Stryker, you know that.”
“It’s supposed to motivate us to strive higher.”
She sounded defensive.
RX disarmed his voice.
“But what kind of living is that? We’re humans, not machines. Always this push to the top, it’s exhausting. Don’t you think?”
She pondered the statement.
RX gulped down his third, no, fourth, or was it already his fifth glass? Couldn’t remember, and the math wasn’t getting any better. The liquid tasted differently.
“Why are you so nice to me?” RX said to Arrow.
“I’m not, I’m just being honest.”
Whatever that meant.
She looked at her glass, tipped it and took a sip.
“Life has been a nightmare in the last months. All these constant fights, the pressure to perform. And not a single break in-between. It’s…”
“Exhausting.”
“Yeah.”
Arrow looked at her empty glass.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love my APEX. I love tearing it through the space-time fabric and kicking enemy ass. I’m good at it, but I’m not a freaking machine. I need some downtime. And I’m not talking about the artificial cryo-sleep.”
“I thought you get privileges with your kind of ranking.”
“You don’t know anything about my position.”
Truth was, he didn’t.
Truth was, this was the deepest conversation he ever had with the female unit he used to loathe.
Arrow unplugged.
Once every while, Bloom sent him that evil stare, that ‘What Are You Doing?’ glance only she could muster.
The answer was simple to RX.
Well, saving the colony of course.
What if instead of stopping Arrow with force, he’d make her stay and allow her to become a citizen, just like him. No violence or military action necessary, just persuasion and peace, the Evergreen way.
Worth a thought.
Worth a try.
So RX tried his moves on her.
For peace, of course.
He had no idea what time it was, but the folks in the common headed home and left him and Arrow alone. He staggered around and felt the impact of ten glasses of pure crystalline water. Arrow helped him up.
“You’re not made for drinking.”
“It’s just water. I guess I’m really tired.”
They walked outside, close to each other. Arrow looked up at the nighttime sky and marveled at the firmament smiling back at her.
“It looks almost as majestic as in space.”
“Yeah.”
They climbed up a house and lay on the organic roof. Felt like artificial grass massaging their backs. Best trick ever, RX wondered why he never tried that before. Probably because he had no partner to enjoy it with.
Damn.
What was happening?
This moment reminded him of a kitschy teen space opera, but RX was too tired to care. Before he sank into his pseudo-deep pondering spree, Arrow’s gentle voice sounded from his right.
“Do you miss anything?” she said.
“You mean up there?”
“Yes.”
“Dunno. I love the piloting of course, but Stryker? Nah. I’m tired of being a bottom-beater. I tried so hard to score high, and still only reached the lieutenant level. You have no idea how pissed I was. I thought the ranking was rigged.”
“Rigged?”
“Yeah. I was doin’ so great and rarely leveled up. Unlike you.”
She just smiled, but the curiosity lingered with RX.
“Tell me, was the ranking system rigged?”
She paused for a while.
“If you think like a player, life becomes a game.”
RX nodded, but couldn’t find the point in her statement. Maybe there wasn’t one.
Whatever.
“Living down here and watching the stars is much more pleasant. Why go back and fight in the freezing void? We humans are designed to live on planets.”
Arrow giggled.
“Oh boy, you’ve become such a greenie.”
“Guilty as charged.”
They laughed a bit harder.
And scooped a bit closer.
Snuggling?
Nah, but dangerously close.
RX watched the stars flickering on the black canvas. They either moved or his vision blurred, probably the latter.
“You know, this is really weird.”
“What is?”
“You and me, lying on some colony’s roof and laughing at the stars.”
“The galaxy has gone gonzo,” Arrow said.
“True dat.”
And then she pinched his arm.
And then RX smiled and closed his eyes.
And then he passed out.
54
“You make one wrong sound and I wallpaper the ground with your brain.”
Arrow pointed her M7P blaster at RX’s forehead and nudged the trigger with her finger. What a nightmare, except this was the real deal.
RX’s hangover clouded his snap judgement. He opened his cranky eyes to see where he was. Inside some Evergreen house, down on the ground.
Unarmed.
And worse, unlinked from Aida.
Oh, Arrow. I see what you did there.
That bitch.
She opened her left palm that covered RX’s lips.
Strangely, feeling tricked by Arrow aggravated him more than her pointing a blaster at his face.
“You put something in my drink, didn't you? And your flirt a few hours ago was just a shtick?”
“Jackpot for the jackass. Do you think I’d fall for a slacker like you?”
That statement hurt more than she thought.
“But we had such a good time.”
“Speak for yourself, RX. While you passed out, I was taking a secret trip around Evergreen. Found the leveled facilities that were bombarded by your 'neighbors'."
“What do you want?”
“I want you to quit your bullshit and tell me how Norma controlled this community.”
“What?”
“Don’t ‘what’ me, RX, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”
RX moved up from the ground and received a scolding by the redhead.
“You make one suspicious step and I’ll
puree your head.”
“Then how are you going to discover the ‘secret’ of this community?”
She pressed her lips.
“Oh, I’ll find out, I’d just need more time.”
She commanded him around.
“Get up and move slowly.”
RX scratched his neck and wondered whether he was still dreaming. This situation was too absurd for reality. Was this the same fun & sweet Arrow from the last days? If the answer was ‘yes’, Arrow was a brilliant actor.
Starring in and directing her favorite movie, ‘Ridicule the RX’.
“Move it.”
“Right.”
Arrow pointed outside and gave him a kick in the ass. Made him move out the house and halted him on the street.
“Now where to go?”
“What do you mean?”
She hissed.
“Where’s the alien artifact that helped Norma control the colony? Show me your secret.”
“What makes you believe that?”
He also wondered how she knew about Norma. He had never told her.
“When my scanners picked you up, I found the renegade USC outpost and talked to commander Klaven. They were quite suspicious of you and told me everything. Especially the juicy parts about Norma’s discovery and how she used it to manipulate the colonists.”
“They’re Separatists, Arrow. In case you can’t recall, they’re at war with the US Corps fleet.”
“Oh, I know. But I also know that Norma found an alien artifact below the colony that enabled her to control the minds of the people. And I want to see it.”
She trained her blaster on him. Steady grip, perfect aim. She wasn’t going to miss. He had to buy more time, but BS wouldn’t keep her happy.
“There’s a secret tunnel entrance in the commons hall where we ate a few hours ago. It leads to the underground where you’ll see the ’secret’.”
A faint smile brushed Arrow’s face. Didn’t relax her stern eyes though.
Her green orbs still burst with energy.
“Take me there, now.”
He sighed but walked toward the direction of the common hall. Arrow distanced herself a few meters and kept the blaster leveled.
“Put your hands up where I can see them. And no swift movements.”
“Right.”
RX scanned the streets. Not a single citizen walked outside. Not that they would aid him with their lack of fighting skills. And without the link to Aida, he couldn’t remote-activate his APEX.
Arrow thought of everything.
Sharp and twisted as ever.
And RX wanted to get-on with her and even make Arrow stay.
Happily ever after.
Rex, Rex, Rex.
Where’s your mind?
Back in the moment.
“You were never sent to rescue me?”
She chuckled.
“Come on, RX. Not even a low-ranking imbecile like you would believe that.”
“Then you knew about this colony?”
“Our satellite coverage had discovered the Separatist colony from space. I was sent down to check it out and do recon. According to our sources, the Separatist revolution began on this very exoplanet."
Arrow continued spilling the highly-classified information.
"Picture that, slacker. The US Corps were a unified faction until that alien virus turned its flagship colony upside down. The survivors left the Corps and were branded as Separatists ever since. We still don't know how it happened, but that's what I'm here for."
“Has the US Corps fleet commissioned Stryker for this operation?"
"No, this is a private Stryker initiative. The US Corps don't even know we discovered their renegade brothers down here. And they certainly don’t know that Stryker has intel on that artifact you're going to show me."
RX walked around the corner. He hoped to see a single person, but none dared to step outside. This was a ghost town, even without the creature's mind control. Looked like the habits established by the alien plant still dictated the lives of Evergreen.
Damn pacifism.
It ruined everything.
RX returned to his Buy More Time shtick.
“Have you thought this all the way through? If the US Corps find out Stryker's doing private investigation on their forsaken colony, they won't be pleased."
"It’s none of your biz, slacker. Your part will soon be over.”
Arrow wasn’t only arrogant, she suffered from a severe case of delusions.
But she wasn’t dumb.
“Hold on, why are we entering this street? That’s not the track to the town center.”
Crap, she noticed.
“Don’t trick me.”
“It’s dark and I don’t have Aida’s guidance. Besides, my head hurts from all the drinking.”
“Quit your whining and move on. You pull another trick and I pull the trigger.”
RX realized he couldn’t fool her anymore, so he chose the quickest way to the hall and entered with Arrow behind him. He walked toward the center and didn’t know how to open the ground. Only Norma seemed to know, and she was probably worm food by now.
Arrow didn’t like his confusion.
Of course she didn’t.
“What is it?”
RX turned slowly around.
“I don’t—“
A squishy noise sounded. An organic hole appeared on the ground and slid sideways.
Arrow whistled.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about. You step down first.”
RX had no choice but to comply, although he wondered how the ground opened itself. Was it because he was thinking of it? That wasn't possible anymore.
“Move,” Arrow said.
They walked down the stairs and entered the tunnel with the organic walls. It felt just as creepy as the first time Norma led him through. Arrow seemed to enjoy it.
“So the US Corps colonists build their entire settlement on top of that alien artifact?"
“I’ll show you once we get there. It’s hard to explain.”
They walked into the perfect darkness. The air smelled as foul as ever.
With every new step, he pondered how to deal with the flamehead. She was vigilant and wouldn't hesitate to send a bullet through his forehead.
“We’re almost there,” RX said.
“Then move those dangling sausages under your torso. You’re too slow.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
RX walked faster. He remembered the position of the cave, but didn’t know what he was supposed to do once he arrived. Arrow would shoot the second he pulled another stunt or delivered what she wanted.
He just needed a moment for Arrow to be distracted.
A nano-second to put the fight into his favor.
More talking could help.
“What’s really going on in space? Why did Stryker increase their satellite presence?”
“Let’s just say you have no idea how much time has passed since you went missing. And no, we’re not just talking a month.”
RX pondered her statement.
Could it be?
A time difference because of the distance?
Arrow looked a tad older, and her APEX and uniform featured new designs he’d never seen before.
Gosh, how much time had passed in space while he was in Evergreen?
He realized the answer would scare him.
After another turn, he halted in front of an organic wall.
“We’re there.”
He remembered the path, but still didn’t know how to open it. Didn’t need to, as the wall made way for him and Arrow.
Abra-freaking-cadabra.
“How did you do that?”
“I guess it recognizes me.”
“It?”
“This structure recognizes you and adapts. It’s like our smartTech, but even more intricate.”
“Whatever. Go inside.”
“Roger.”
They walked
right into the middle of the cave where the rubble covered the alien plant, or whatever was left of it.
“This is the heart and brain of Evergreen.”
Arrow’s eyes widened.
“I don’t understand.”
“Norma wasn’t controlling the colony, this thing was. She was just the proxy leader.”
He pointed toward the dried plant roots that protruded from the ruins.
“Some kind of ancient alien that unleashed spores into the air to take control of the colonists.”
“I told you to stop bullshitting me."
“I’m not. This is the truth, Arrow. Many years ago, the US Corps built their colony without knowing that an alien life form hibernated below. For the first year, nobody noticed. Norma told me the alien was studying them in silence. When it learned enough, it created parasites and distributed them over the airways to take control of the colonists. The alien turned them into a slave army feeding it with offspring. They lived in co-dependency.”
Arrow kicked a few rocks away and flicked a glance at the roots.
“What happened?”
“I killed it.”
Flabbergasted face deluxe.
Arrow swallowed hard.
RX smiled.
It was empowering to see he could make her awe.
“That thing, whatever it was, turned women into childbearing meat bags and men into drone workers to create this organic prison called Evergreen. I liberated them all.”
“And now?”
“The Evergreens are free people again.”
“What about the mind-control?”
“Gone with the creature.”
Arrow’s bewilderment turned into aggression.
“What am I supposed to tell HQ?”
“Tell them whatever they were looking for, they won’t find it anymore.”
“Shut up.”
Arrow’s anger levels: rising.
But RX didn’t care. He knew he was out of excuses.
“You’re of no use to me anymore.”
“I kinda figured.”
“Any last words?”
A swift shadow past Arrow’s shoulder caught RX’s glimpse.
A humanoid figure moved through the cave’s organic wall.
Bloom back underground.
With a crowbar-shaped object clutched in her right hand.
RX suppressed his smile. First time he was happy seeing her again. But he needed to keep Arrow distracted, so he continued his BS ballade, now fueled with more creativity.
“Arrow, look at me.”
She already did.
“My AI analyzed the creature and scanned its form when it was still alive. I can’t tell you anything without her.”