Chapter 11
In a white wool dress uniform with a golden sash across his chest with his rank emblem and medal pinned to it, Rav stood alone beside the oak casket that was draped with an Elysian flag. Below the stained glass windows and dark wooden archways of the largest church on Elysia, Rav was so detached from everything that he had not heard a single word of the funeral service. He was lost in his thoughts while the lines of pilots and gunners stood at attention on either side of the aisles in their blue and red flightsuits.
Rav barely noticed when four soldiers in polished exosuits picked up Masamba's casket and carried it out of the sanctuary. He quietly followed until they were outside in the gardens. Thousands more soldiers had gathered to pay their final respects to the commander of flight that so many had grown to love. They held Elysian white and gold banners in the wind. Masamba may have been a robot, but he was beloved as if he was the same as everyone else.
Twenty-one soldiers with rifles lined up to fire their final salute.
Emotionless and utterly drained, Rav turned his back to the procession and walked away with Masamba's gold plated laser pistol on his belt. He did not want it, but Cunningham had insisted. Rav motioned to his gunner who had been outside with another group of spectators. They needed to leave before Rav could no longer maintain his stoicism.
Together, Rav and Cain made their way across the fields to where their newly repaired Galaxy Glider was resting. As Rav silently climbed up the side and slid down into the cockpit, the twenty-one gun salute rang out over the wheat fields. As soon as Cain had dropped into his gunner chair and closed the hatch, Rav started the engines and quickly started out over the cleared field and took off into the sky.
Cain whispered to him from the other side of the cold cockpit. "Rav, I'm sorry."
"Stop saying that. That's all you've said today."
"I was trying to comfort you."
"I don't need to be comforted, Cain. I need to get working on this next mission."
"What new mission?"
"The one I received this morning. We are going to the dark side of Dualictum. There's an abandoned warehouse in a lava field that is rumored to have some Azimandian equipment on one of the upper floors. We are to investigate the warehouse and recover whatever we find."
"Who gave you that mission?"
"I don't know exactly. Does it matter? It showed up on my dossier, so we're doing it."
"We should . . . we should wait."
"Why?" Rav asked.
"I'm not ready for this."
"Get over it, gunner. We have a mission, so we do it. Yes, we lost a great man, but we have to carry on and not let his death be in vain. He served his country faithfully to the end, and we will too."
"Rav, I have to tell you something."
"Not now, Cain. Let's just be quiet until we reach Dualictum. It won't take long using warp. Then you can tell me whatever you need to tell me. I need some time to think."
* * *
Four half-empty wine bottles, eighteen cigarette butts, and an empty pill bottle were strewn across the floor of the prince's bedchambers. Visht frowned as he pushed the door open and stepped over a pile of ripped blankets and discarded clothing. "Prince Benjamin? Ben, where are you?"
When there was no answer, the warbringer skipped across the mess to the bathroom. He knocked on the door. "Ben? If you don't answer me, I'm coming in."
Still no answer.
Visht turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. He jumped into action. "Ben, no!"
Ben was clothed and face-down in the full bathtub with the water still running. Tiny bubbles popped on the surface, but he was perfectly still.
Visht raced to the bathtub and pulled his prince's head out of the water. "Ben!" He dumped him onto the intricate gold and burgundy tiles then began chest compressions. When he placed his mouth over Ben's and breathed into his lungs, the curly-haired human rolled over and started coughing.
Ben spit out water then drew a raspy breath. He gasped on his hands and knees as he shivered and dripped water across the tiles.
"What happened?" Visht took a bathrobe from the bathroom closet and draped it over the prince. "Did you fall? Did you trip and land in the bathtub where you couldn't get up? Did you fall asleep?"
Ben sat up and rubbed his reddened eyes. "No. Leave me alone. Just go."
"Not after you've almost died. Tell me what happened. Did you have too much to drink and hit your head then slip into the water?"
"I tried to kill myself, Visht."
"Oh. I see." Visht pushed Ben's soaked brown curls out of his face. "Why would you do that? Why? Actually, let me get you some clean clothes first. Then we will talk about this."
"I thought you would be gone longer."
"My station is here with you. I only left to order you some food. I've been here all night through your drinking, smoking, and pain killer abuse. You don't remember a thing, do you?" Visht helped Ben to his feet then stripped off the wet clothes. He wrapped him in a towel and led him by his hands into the bedroom. "Lie down."
"I-"
"Lie down, Ben. Bundle up. I won't let you die. Not on my watch."
Ben curled up in the fetal position on the plasma, still coughing up water. "You don't understand."
"But I can try to understand. I can try to help you. I heard what Vance said to you, all the mean and horrible things."
"I've been in a relationship like this before." Ben caught the soft pajama pants and tank top that Visht tossed to him. "I thought I was loved by the man who held my contract, but that love changed into abuse. Once Vance saved me from that hell, I swore to myself that I would kill myself before I let anyone else treat me like garbage. I would rather be dead than a slave."
"And you truly feel that Vance will enslave you?"
"You don't know Vance like I do. He is power-hungry now and he won't stop until he gets what he wants. Vance will become the next warlord and I will be locked away to be used by him whenever he needs me."
"You're not saying you think Vance will force himself on you."
"I am saying that and more. He wants me to be a perfect little hothouse flower that he can play with and control. I don't want to be controlled for the rest of my life. I have been there and I'm not going back."
"I have an option for you that doesn't involve you becoming anyone's slave or suicide. But I have to ask you a series of important questions first. Number one. Do you love Vance?"
"I . . . I did."
"Do you love him now? Not who he used to be and not the man you wish he was. I want an honest answer. You did quite a bit of soul searching last night. Do you love the man Vance has come to be lately?"
That was a much easier answer than he thought it would be. "No."
"Number two. Can you step up and be a leader? Can you be confident in yourself?"
"I believe I can, if it is a cause I feel strongly about."
"Number three. If it came down to saving humanity, would you do whatever it took to accomplish that goal, even if it meant turning on Vance?"
Ben coughed then leaned back against the wall. He twirled his wedding band around his finger for a few moments before whispering a response. "I would. I want to end this fighting."
"Good. Then we will meet with more of our agents soon while you disarm more of the bombs. You are going to be our leader. They already adore you. They watched the wedding."
"Leader? Leader of what?"
"Of the Red Sand Rebels and the Azimandian Underground. If what Vance said earlier is true, then he is now our primary target and he must be eliminated before he can seize power. The way he was talking? That was dangerous rhetoric. I hate to even think this, but an Azimandia where Vance is the warlord will be ten times worse than what it is under Tirlmayn. Look at how he is treating you. You're his husband, the man he claims to love. How will he treat the citizens under him? You know what I'm saying is true. Will you lead us?"
"I don't know. Turning against my husband?"
"I need some time to weigh my options. I will let you know by tonight."
* * *
"Why is Rav's Galaxy Glider pinging as being on Dualictum?" Leah Morgan tied her red hair into a bun on the top of her head as she studied the computer screen in the computer room of Sandra's tiny ship. "I thought he was supposed to be at Masamba's funeral all day today. Sawyer, you should come have a look at this. I don't like the way this looks."
"It's probably just a glitch. Are you sure it's the right one?" The man with the green mohawk and pink tongue ring slid over in his chair to study the screen by her side. "Hmm. That does seem a bit odd. I'll resend the signal and see if it still registers at being on that planet."
"Why would he be on Dualictum? There's nothing out there."
"Who knows? Like I said, it's more than likely just a bug in the system. Calm down."
She covered her fluttering heart with her manicured hand. "It's hard to calm down when the man I love is potentially in danger."
"Leah, Rav is in danger every moment of every day. He's a pilot in the Elysian Flight Force. There aren't many jobs that rank higher than his in the life or death on a daily basis list. Besides, does he even know how you feel about him?"
"I'm not even sure he knows I'm still alive."
"You could give him a call if you're that worried. I'm sure he would love to hear from you if he feels the same way you think he does. I can track down that signal shortly and patch you in. He should have a communicator that the Flight Force gave him."
Leah removed her thin reading glasses and sat back down beside Sawyer. She slid her slender fingers through the handle of her ceramic mug to sip her black coffee. "I don't know. I want to see him in person first, you know? It's just not as romantic to be reunited over a call."
"I think you've watched too many chick flicks. But whatever. I'm not going to judge. So you will tell him, though? You'll tell Rav how you feel? He can be hard-headed and dense at times, so your signals might have gone right over his head."
"After the war. I don't want to be a distraction and take him away from his work. He is an excellent pilot and a valuable asset to the Elysian military. I'm sure he has enough to worry about already without adding romance in the mix. I am a professional woman. I can put personal relationships behind business ones."
"Are you sure you want to be involved with a man who killed his previous wife and has a robot son?" Sawyer asked, busily searching through programs on the screen.
Leah smiled just thinking about him. "Rav has had a colorful past, yes, but I believe him when he says that he killed his wife in self defense and that it was an accident. Rav is a gentle soul. I can see that caring nature in his eyes whenever he talks about Nemo. He loves that boy more than anything in the universe. And why would I not want to be a part of that? Even if things ever did get that serious between me and Rav, I would not hesitate to show love to Nemo as well."
"But could you be a mother to a robot child?"
"Nemo is a child. That's it. I don't care what his body is made of or if he has computerized parts in his brain. If a being can think and feel emotions, then it is just as much alive as any of us are. Hell, he may even be more alive than most humans. I've read the reports from Euro and Lucas from when they were working with Nemo. The things that boy could pick up on, the way he would study people and know exactly what they were thinking . . . that intuition is not robotic, is it?"
"I would have to say no, it's not."
"And his art? The way he can pour so much emotion into it?" Leah asked. "Show me a robot that can create beautiful art like him. And we've all seen his impassioned acting in those propaganda films and commercials. Those are real emotions, real tears, real fear. So, to answer your question, yes. Nemo needs a mother, and I would be honored if I ever had the chance to be called his."
Sawyer typed into the keyboard then turned the screen to face Leah. "I've resent the tracking signal three times now and each one has pinged on Dualictum. According to the mission dossiers at Flight Force Headquarters, all pilots were given the day off. No new missions were to be assigned in honor of Masamba's funeral. However, there was this one that was added ten hours ago to a Quasar Luminous."
"That's Rav's call sign. What does this mean? Sawyer, why is Rav on a mission that isn't in the Flight Force database?"
The tan-skinned man raised an eyebrow as his tongue ring clicked against the backs of his teeth. "We just caught ourselves an Azimandian agent."
"An Azimandian agent doing what? Luring Rav out to the middle of nowhere? Why?"
"Why do you think? You said it yourself. Rav is an asset to the Elysian Flight Force and an excellent pilot. With Masamba dead, who do you suppose was going to be promoted to take his place?"
"You're not saying this agent is planning to kill him out there."
"That's exactly what I'm saying."
"No! What are we going to do?"
Sawyer thrust a communicator into her hands. "I need you to call the number on the screen over and over. Don't stop until you get an answer. I will do my best to get in touch with General of Flight Cunningham and work my way up the ranks until I get an answer. If this agent is who I think he may be, then we don't have much time. While you're calling that number, I need you to go check on Slayven in the medbay. Get Kalimis up and alert Sandra that we need to change course to Dualictum."
"We're going out there?"
"You do want to save your lover, right? Then we're going to confront this Azimandian agent before he can carry out whatever devious plans he has. Don't panic, Leah." Sawyer grabbed her arms, crushing her white blouse against her freckled arms. "We won't let Rav die."
* * *
Rav landed the Galaxy Glider on the ropes of slick black stone that formed from the cooled areas of lava. Fountains of bright orange fire and melted iron burst into the ash-filled air on the eternally dark side of Dualictum. The heat from the lava beds was met with flurries of snow and sparse pellets of ice from high up in the storm clouds in the night sky. He slid down the side of the plane and pulled up a local map on his communicator that he had loaded earlier. "The warehouse is right here."
Cain was abnormally silent as he motioned towards the half-sunk four-story building where lava had filled most of the first level.
"I'll take point, then. We'll head up the side of that fire escape and slip inside on the second floor. If you see anything out of the ordinary, let me know immediately. Do you have my old laser pistol?"
"Yes, sir."
Rav led the way across the jagged obsidian, the piles of grey ash, and spots of snow. They climbed up the ice-slicked rugs of the ladders until they stepped through the dented door and onto the metal catwalk that wrapped around the four walls, overlooking the bubbling sea of lava just feet below them. Two more levels of metal walkways, ventilation tubes, and guard stations reached up to the ceiling, all of it lit by the molten ocean in the middle.
"Why would there be anything still in a place like this? Just because this warehouse survived the bombs, it doesn't mean anything of importance did as well." Rav walked over to the railing to peer down at the heatwaves dancing below the catwalk. He whistled. "Damn. Watch your step, Cain. This place is dangerous."
"Yes, yes it is."
Rav froze when the click of a pistol being cocked echoed in the empty warehouse. He turned around to see the barrel of a .44 magnum revolver aimed at his face. "Cain . . . what are you doing?"
"Turn back around. I can't see your eyes when I do this. Don't look at me."
"You set this all up, didn't you? You are the one who hacked into the system to bring us out here. You have been planning this all along. Don't do this. I don't know who sent you here to kill me, but I will pay you double what they're giving you. You can take the Galaxy Glider and leave. You can have everything. I will tell Cunningham that you died bravely in battle and the plane crashed. No one will look f
or you. Just don't do this."
"Turn around." Tears slid down Cain's cheeks. "I can't do it with you looking at me. Rav, please."
"Don't kill me. I have a six-year-old son who needs me. I'm all he has left. Don't make him an orphan just so you can have a paycheck. If you won't listen and take the chance to leave without repercussions, then I will be forced to fight back." Rav drew the golden laser pistol from the belt of his dress uniform and pointed it at his gunner. The laser pistol buzzed to life as the cartridge heated in preparation to fire. "You have ten seconds to be out that door and headed towards the plane, or I will kill you. I trusted you, but I have no room in my heart to show mercy to a traitor. Get running, Cain."
"No." Cain closed his eyes as he pulled the trigger.
Chapter 12
Click.
A puff of white smoke rose from the chamber of the black .44 magnum revolver, but no bullet left the barrel. Cain stared at it in horror as he stepped backwards, the tide clearly turned against him.
Rav's eyes narrowed. "Where did you get that gun? That's my revolver. You didn't check the ammo in it before you bought it from whoever sold it to you, did you? I replaced all the bullets with blanks to be used in a virtual combat simulator. Who sold you that revolver?"
Cain opened his mouth to speak, but he threw the revolver at Rav and took off towards the steps leading up to the third level. He took a lead pipe from the floor and swung from above.
Barely stopping to aim, Rav unleashed a volley of green laser beams at Cain. The beams collided with metal, some melting holes in the railing and others ricocheting back into the warehouse. He ran to the stairs, ducking to avoid the gunner's swings with the makeshift weapon. "I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to. Surrender, Cain."
"Never! You don't understand."
Rav chased him onto the next level and into a guard station. Singed papers and destroyed computes fell in a crash across the skeleton-filled office. He squeezed the trigger again, aiming at Cain's legs. It was true. He did not want to kill him. More than that, he wanted answers. "Cain! Who are you working for?"
The Genesis Sequence Books 6-10 Page 24