by Dave Walsh
“What are you doing out this way, Cymage?” One of the younger ones walked out toward her, pulseaxe in hand. He still had a smooth face, unlike the rest, who had beards proudly on display. Trella simply kept walking toward them. “Hey,” he said. “Didn’t you hear me?” He raised his pulseaxe.
“I’d recommend you don’t do that,” she said.
“Did you hear that?” the boy laughed, turning back to the group of Krigans. “This lost little Cymage is ordering me around.”
“It was merely a suggestion,” she said. “I’m simply looking for someone.”
“You won’t find anyone welcoming of you here,” an older one who was sitting down by the door said.
“Yeah,” the young one was getting excited. “The Quorthon isn’t for Cymages.”
“I’m here to see Alva,” she said.
“Of course you are,” the older one said. “She’s not here anymore, though.”
“She’s gone, man,” the baby faced one laughed. “She betrayed us. She’s just like one of you, now.”
“Oh,” Trella paused, unable to move or to figure out her next move. “Do you know where she went?”
“Probably back to her Cymage masters,” he spat.
She simply turned around, ignoring the shouts from the Krigans while her head swam with the new information. There was only one place she could have gone and that would be to see Trallex. That was where she had to go—she had to find Trallex. If the Krigans had shunned her and found out about her augmentations, he was the only one she could turn to. This posed a major problem for Trella, but she resigned herself to it. This was not just for her, but for everyone.
025. Lost Time
Jace
Things in the stronghold were awkward after the departure of O’Neil and Trella, to say the least. Katrijn went quiet and Loren became engrossed in his work trying to save the whole damned world. For Jace, it was all about killing time. He was the pilot after all, not a political or war strategist. He was just there for moral support and one-liners, even though there wasn’t much to support or quip about anymore. It was just a lot of silence. His plan to depart slowly drifted off and became more of a dream than a reality. Leaving them while in such low spirits might just break them, even if he wanted out of there as quickly as he could.
He lay in his bunk, arms folded behind his head staring up at the cave ceiling. The stronghold was carved into a cave system and was accented by blast lines where they had to expand out a room. The room Jace had claimed as his own was one of those rooms that was part natural and part man made. After they had arrived in Krigar, all he had seen of the city—or even the planet for that matter—was the hangar, a few streets and now the inside of this cave. His thoughts were scattered, some of the time focusing on his deceased wife, the rest on how fucked they all were. Maybe he could convince Loren and Katrijn to leave with him, to just get the hell out and not look back. Not likely, but it still might be worth a shot.
It had been a few days since Trella had left them and while he had no hope for O’Neil coming back any time soon, there was at least some hope for her. But as the days dragged on without any sighting of her, it became clear that she wasn’t coming back and while no one was talking about it, it was very troubling. Had she turned on them? Was she hurt? Was she captive? Nothing was clear and everything was silent. That silence was deafening. Cutting and running felt like the best option now, and although neither Katrijn nor Loren would verbalize it, he could see the defeat in their eyes and movements.
Jace picked himself up, struggling to get out of the old bed in a sea of cots. It wasn’t anywhere near as posh as his quarters inside the Pequod, which wasn’t saying much, but at least he got a bed and didn’t have to sleep in one of those rough canvas cots. He scanned around for his boots and quickly pulled them on, still unable to break his habit of kicking them off as soon as he knew he didn’t need to be around anyone, even if inside of a cave it was a bit less inviting than on the carpet in the Pequod’s cockpit. The boots slid right on, and he quickly laced them up before picking himself up, standing up straight and walking out toward the common room where he found Katrijn sitting on a bench sharpening her knives and Loren scanning through a projection of data.
“So,” Jace said, breaking the silence. “What’s going on with you guys?”
“Oh, you know,” Loren said, not looking up from his readout. “Saving the world, that kind of thing.”
“I guess so,” Jace said, noting that Katrijn wasn’t talking. “Anything on Trella yet?”
“Look, Jace,” Loren finally looked away, locking eyes with him. “I’ll tell you if I find anything, but for right now, it’s nothing. Chances are she’s off with Alva right now and they are having a happy reunion.”
“Or she’s sitting in a cell in the palace being interrogated,” Katrijn said, focused on her knives.
“Naw,” Loren said. “I mean, maybe, but I’ve been monitoring the local chatter and I haven’t picked up anything yet.”
“And there hasn’t been anything from O’Neil at all?” Jace questioned.
“Other than us having to go it alone? Nope,” Loren replied.
“Then what the hell are we doing here, guys?” Jace was starting to feel frustrated with the whole situation. “We’ve gotta do something. I mean, we can’t just sit around here all day, can we?”
“Who says we are?” Katrijn said. “Loren and I have been combing through data, training and trying to come up with a plan of attack here…”
“Okay, but I’m just worthless, then?”
“No, of course not,” Loren said in a hushed voice. “I mean…”
“What am I even doing here? I’m a pilot and I haven’t heard either of you mention the need for some sort of heroic gesture involving me driving the Pequod into the palace or anything.”
“We’ll keep that one on the back burner, alright?” Katrijn said sarcastically.
“I’m not saying that, I just…”
“You don’t have to be here, alright?” She was clearly agitated. “Is that what you want to hear? Jace, we have a lot of things to do right now and stroking your ego isn’t one of them. You made it clear before that you planned to zip off toward Gimle and look for work, so this whole heroic gesture of sticking around isn’t doing anything for any of us.”
“I get it, I get it,” he said, feeling defeated. “I know where I’m not wanted.”
“Jace, gods dammit,” she shouted. “I don’t have time to babysit you right now. If we didn’t want you here you’d know it, just…do something, I don’t know.”
“Fine,” he said, feeling his emotions bubble up. “I’m going for a walk.”
“Where?” Loren asked, eyebrow raised.
“Outside.” Jace headed for the heavy blast door that led up the stairs into the abandoned warehouse.
“I wouldn’t advise that,” Loren said. “Everyone who has gone out that door hasn’t come back.”
“I guess so,” Jace said, pulling on the handle and feeling the light flow through the doorway. “I just need some air.”
The sound of the door slamming shut behind him was ominous, knowing that every time that door had clanged shut it was the last time they had seen whomever went out it. Their driver, O’Neil and then Trella were all gone and hadn’t bothered coming back, each for their own reasons. Now he was on the other side of that door and the feeling in his gut was telling him not to look back. There was guilt at leaving Loren and Katrijn in a lurch like this, but they weren’t exactly including him and had made it clear that this wasn’t his war to fight. He could very easily hop into the Pequod, fire up the engines, set a flight plan and not look back. The thought made his spine tingle.
The feeling of the warm Andliosian sun beating down through the old broken windows of the warehouse filled him with a new sense of life after spending so long down in that dank stronghold. He had a video feed of just about anywhere he wanted while down there, but seeing it and feeling it in person was just a
n entirely different experience. Krigar was his home, after all, even after all those cycles off on the fringes trying to run away.
He wasn’t overly familiar with this part of town, but had watched enough of the video feeds to know where he was and where he was going. Krigar was his home for most of his life, before Ro was taken and before he had the Pequod. There had been a good deal of people who cared about Jace before he just up and left and chances were good that they were still around, but the truth was that he couldn’t face them now just like he couldn’t face them then. There were things he needed to do, though—for himself and for closure’s sake.
There was a knot in his stomach that was only growing tighter and tighter while he stepped out from the old warehouse and into the fresh air. Jace sunk his hands into his pockets and walked through the old lot and out onto the street, taking a deep breath as he walked and walked off toward the old apartment he had shared with Ro. The building was still there, the monitors had told him that much, even the room was probably the same considering he had paid it off after he got that huge cash settlement, he just never thought he’d see it again. It was either go there or to the bay holding the Pequod and at least for now this didn’t feel like he was walking away from Katrijn and Loren just yet.
Katrijn
“Are we just going to let him go like that?” she asked, gripping her knife and sharpening stone tightly in her hands, feeling responsible. “He’s going to come back, isn’t he?”
“I don’t know,” Loren gave her a smile that felt less than sincere. “I just know he needs to do what he needs to do.”
“I get that,” she said. “But we are just going to let him walk out like that? Freyja,” she cursed. “First Uncle, then Trella and now Jace? Soon it’s just going to be me all alone down here and then what?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I’ve got pretty strict orders from the Old Man to watch after you. So unless you decide to take off from here, I’m here as well.”
“While that is comforting,” she let out an exasperated sigh, “I shouldn’t have been so harsh on him. I should have begged him to stay, even…”
“He was getting a bit stir crazy,” Loren said. “He’ll be back, I mean, at least he should be back.”
“I’m not sure about that,” she said. “He was talking about hopping in his ship and taking off there for a while.”
“That’s up to him, Kat,” Loren said. “If that’s what he thinks is best for him then that’s what’s best for him, you know?”
“Now we’re down to two, though,” she said.
“It’s not like we were ever going to raise an army or anything,” he said.
“I guess that’s true,” she said.
“Anyway, try not to let it bother you, alright?”
She simply nodded at him and picked up the sharpening stone and her knife, the stone cold on her palm. The stronghold felt immense and lonely considering it was built for hundreds, even thousands of Krigan warriors to help defend the city of Krigar yet they were but two people sitting inside its great hall all alone, their every little movement lost in the endless echoes. Everything felt like an elaborate joke to her, a bastardization of the intent of such a stronghold to be filled with two people with big hopes and dreams. Then again, maybe it was a perfect allegory for their situation, she couldn’t tell. Her hopes and dreams alone could have filled that hall with dreams to spare.
One thing Katrijn knew was that she was here on Andlios to assume a position of power, to fulfill her destiny and her duty to her family and people by taking the throne from Cronus. Her father’s dying wish was for her to correct the wrongs and to help build a better future for the Andlios Republic, one that her father and uncle felt people simply weren’t ready for yet. In a way, he had passed on the most difficult task to her and she had ran. She had always convinced herself that it wasn’t her fault, that she had to run from Cronus or else she wouldn’t survive. Now that she was back in Krigar, she wasn’t so sure anymore, instead it felt like she had abandoned all of these people.
Even worse was the idea that Katrijn was supposed to instill confidence in these people. Why would they trust yet another Freeman after Cronus had been in charge for so long and done so much wrong? She couldn’t even help her friends out, as evidenced by the fact that it was simply Loren and herself tucked away in hiding just outside the city limits. Her uncle was gone, Trella was gone and now Jace had stormed off because she simply figured he’d be fine waiting for when she was ready.
That was what had initially driven her away from Andlios: not feeling ready to take the responsibility and stand up to Cronus. Things were about to change, she realized that, and it might come at a great cost, but she was going to make things right. At least she hoped she would. Her father’s anxiety had always struck her as odd, even though she had never really seen him suffer from it and he had always appeared strong and in control to her. Suddenly she was understanding what he went through, how the responsibility stacked up until it reached a critical mass while the eyes of the Republic were on him for answers.
The very idea of being a leader, even if it was just to push everyone in the right direction, felt overwhelming to her. Katrijn felt her mind wandering, the thought of failure looming heavily over her head like a sword of Damocles just hanging on by a thread, ready to bite her if she failed. Failure seemed imminent. Even Jace, a guy who had done everything he could for Katrijn and the rest, had been failed by her and was instead off in the streets, probably stewing over if he should just fire up the Pequod and burn away from the core and everything he was trying to leave behind on Andlios in the first place. In retrospect, it was kind of her fault he had to go through all of this. He deserved better.
“I have to go after him,” she broke the silence.
“Yeah, sure you do,” Loren laughed, still immersed in his screen. “While you are at it you should just be freely walking around the streets where everyone thinks you are dead. Pick me up a coffee while you are at it.”
“They think I’m dead, Loren,” she said. “They don’t know what I look like, do they?”
“Well, no…” he started. “Look, there are composites and—”
“Loren, I’m supposed to be a leader, am I not?”
“Of course, but look—”
“Then how can I be a leader if I can’t even keep my friends nearby without them storming off? What if he never comes back? Then what?”
“This is a small thing, Katrijn,” Loren began explaining. “If you are to lead, even if it is temporary and just to steer everything into the right direction, it’s going to take time and patience. It is about thinking about the bigger picture, this is small…I mean, I’m not saying that Jace isn’t important, but in the grand scheme of things, I just don’t know that this is important. He’ll come back if he wants to.”
“I’m sorry, Loren,” she said, placing the sharpening stone down next to her and hilting her knife. “But I need to do this.”
“Alright, alright,” he said. “I’ll get ready.”
“No,” she said. “I need to do this alone.”
“That’s not a good idea,” he warned. “Plus, I promised your uncle I’d keep an eye on you.”
“Then you can help me,” she said. “You have access to all these cameras and security systems. Help me track him down and make sure I’m not caught. The first place I should check is the Pequod, I think. I’m not sure where else he’d go.”
“I still have access to the grid,” he said. “I can pull it up and tell you where he’s headed, but we can both just keep an eye on him from down here, anyway. We can contact him if we want. There are ways that don’t involve you risking this whole operation and getting all emotional about it.”
“I’m going,” she said. “That’s the final word on this, Loren.”
“You aren’t going anywhere, Kat,” he said.
“Fine.”
Loren was by the books, if anything. There was no way he’d let her ou
t of his sight, especially not up on the surface. Sure, her uncle was spotted almost immediately upon landing in Krigar, but she was different. To the best of everyone’s knowledge, she was dead anyway, but thanks to Alva, people weren’t exactly averse to seeing dead princesses these days. She had changed her appearance, though, she had done everything in her power to be different. Nobody would be looking for her on the planet, would they?
She returned to sharpening her knives, but was simply biding her time for Loren to go to sleep. He considered her a rational human being, especially after all this time being trapped together underground. His respect had been earned by her commitment to the plan and her ability to wait as opposed to rushing out into things. While she suspected he’d catch onto her, she still knew that losing Jace was too big of a hit, that the risk was just going to be one she’d need to take. She had to find him, to bring him back. If not for him, then for her.
026. The Ruler’s Folly
O’Neil
The new quarters O’Neil was tossed into was normal enough, much more posh than his previous accommodations but still a prison nonetheless. There wasn’t much he could do inside the quarters and they were still denying him access to any sort of communication equipment, which hammered home the point that he was a prisoner and not simply being held for his own safety. He knew better than to assume they were holding him for any reason other than to try to break him down and disrupt whatever he was doing. Cronus might’ve been cruel, but he was not a fool and knew if O’Neil had returned without warning then something was wrong.
O’Neil couldn’t help but feel defeated while he sat looking out the window overlooking what had previously been his garden. They had strategically placed him in a room that was in the wing adjacent to his old wing that overlooked the garden. It was no longer his garden, instead it had been torn up and replanted to look like the rest of the palace’s gardens. They were handled with care by the gardeners and contained some of their world’s most beautiful assortments of flowers and shrubbery. Even a few old Earth species had made it into these gardens, carefully curated and raised in special greenhouses after the Omega Destiny arrived. The gesture of placing him in a room overlooking the old garden was clearly an insult, meant to sting O’Neil. Cronus most likely felt it was clever to stuff O’Neil into this room, to show him that he had truly no power left in the Republic.