Belinea

by Andrew Mack

  The Control panel suddenly lit up. From below, Donovan, said, “What about now?”

  Cortes sat back up, looking at the entire control board. Lights kept flashing, but quickly the board was coming back to life. Octavious, already standing, looked over at it now. Cortes yelled, “It’s back on.”

  Donovan crawled out from under the board and stood on the other side of Cortes. He hit a couple of buttons, and a map showed up on the screen. Pointing at the screen, he said, “Alright, here we are.”

  The two older miners, Lucas and Virgil, heard the commotion and came walking over. The digital map allowed them to decipher what they had been verbally discussing. Pointing at the map, Lucas said, “Octavious, we went down tunnel eleven, so our only out is through here, the Forterra Shaft, without going back the way we came.”

  Octavious then said, “Can you enlarge the map?”

  Donovan did, and it began showing maps of all the tunnels and shafts in the area. Octavious noticed something. “What is this over here? That’s back to Lowell Province, no?”

  Virgil said, “We used to call it the Cataco Cut. It goes back and down, deeper into the mountain towards Lowell. The entrance used to be here (pointing), but they had an accident over ten years ago, collapsing the entire area. So there is no way into it now.”

  Lucas said, “ Except for the CCP.”

  Virgil responded, “That is a myth.”

  Lucas countered with, “No, it is not.”

  Octavious interjected and asked, “What is the CCP?”

  Virgil said, “CCP was the code for Cataco Cut Pass. A few miners were rumored-”

  Lucas cut him off and said, “It wasn’t a rumor, I went down it a few tines. We used that code so the Guild wouldn’t find out.”

  Octavious asked, “Find out what?”

  Virgil continued. “They were acting without permission from the Mining Guild, and subsequently selling Vait to non sanctioned buyers. Smuggler’s mainly. Trying to earn a little extra money.”

  Lucas followed up. “And we did, for a few times. But the smugglers ended up paying us less and less, threatening us every time. That was no accident. Some of the older miners destroyed that entrance so the Guild would never find the evidence.”

  Octavious shook his head. “Alright, so where exactly is the CCP?”

  Lucas replied while pointing at the map. “It’s right here. It’s sealed shut from this side, but it’s a four-kilometer pass that connects to this abandoned shaft over here, which then connects to Sector Nine shaft at Lowell, probably the seven tunnel.”

  Octavious then replied, “That is where most of you worked, correct?”

  All the miners in the area nodded. Lucas said, “Sector Nine, yes sir.”

  Octavious, looking at the older miners and pointing to the map, said, “And if you were to find a way to open this Cataco Cut here, it will connect to the CCP? Do any of the older miners know about this CCP?”

  Virgil replied, “Who are you calling old?”

  Octavious grinned. Virgil continued. “Sure. It’s been years, but some of them know where it was sealed shut.”

  Octavious looked at Donovan, who was still standing next to Cortes. “Can you quietly get a rescue message out to them?”

  Donovan just looked at him. “Octavious, the mine entrance was destroyed on our side. Even if we dug through that, it is sealed from the other side. The message to them would have to get through, risk not getting caught and know where it is. I did not.”

  Octavious gave him a stern look, remembering what happened. “There is a lot you do not know.”

  The two just stared at each other. Octavious spoke. “The miners that work in that area, sector nine, tunnel seven. Just send this message, CCP-SOS. Alright? They either understand it or, just like the Majavkee, they will not.”

  Donovan, begrudgingly, began typing onto the control board. Octavious turned to the two older miners and said, “Take the rest of miners with you to that Cataco Cut entrance, figure out a way to get through.”

  Virgil and Lucas nodded and walked off. They started yelling at some of the other miners to “Roundup, get ready.”

  Cortes and Donovan turned to Octavious and said, “We got a message coming in Octavious. It’s from the Majavkee.”

  Ocatvious said, “Open channel message?”

  Cortes nodded in affirmative. Donovan said, “They have Kaya. They demand our immediate surrender, or they will kill her.”

  Octavious looked at the board. “She is alive? How do we know?”

  Cortes pulled up the picture. She said, “She looks like they beat her.”

  Octavious was tearful and joyful. He took a huge sigh as if the weight of the planet was off his shoulders. Kaya was alive, barely. His sudden joy was overcome with anger. “They only want me. I can trade my life for her.”

  Cortes grabbed Octavious’s arm. “No. There is no trusting them. They will just kill you both. Besides, it is not what Kaya would want.”

  Ocatvious looked down at Cortes and said, “But it is what I want.”

  Cortes replied, “And she would want you to fight. She would never forgive you.”

  The two stared at each other for a few seconds. Octavious gently shook his head and said, “It’s not her decision.”

  There was another pause. Cortes finally said, “Let’s get out of here first. Then we go get her.”

  Octavious said, “We may not have the time.”

  Cortes added, “Argo will keep her alive until he gets you. She is the bait, and you are the prize.”

  The two continued to stare at each other as they watched a group of miners start walking down the cave towards the Cataco Cut.

  Belinea 6.7

  Avola

  Argo was walking down a hallway. Lieutenant Walva was next to him with a tablet in his hand. Captain Leahy of the SS was directly behind them. Walva, in his new British Butler voice, said, “I have a message for you. It came through on your SS-T account.”

  Argo held out his hand, and Walva handed him the tablet. Argo was reading while he was walking. He was lip-syncing until he finally let out an “Excellent, another target eliminated. Walla, forward that message to my Father, same channel, and security code.”

  Walva, giving up on the name change, just took the tablet back and said, “Yes, my Lord.”

  They walked down another hallway to a locked door. Argo put his hand on the palm reader to the right, and the door open. Kaya was sitting in a chair, head down, with her wrists cuffed to the arm-rests. The room was dark, with no windows and only one small overhead light. Captain Leahy walked in behind Argo. An Avolian Doctor was looking at Kaya and stood up when Argo got closer. Argo asked, “How is she?”

  The Doctor tilted her head. She replied, “She needs surgery, Lord Argo. The leg wound has left a substantial gash, and she has lost a lot of blood. Her left eye has major external injuries, while her skull sustained an internal fracture behind the eye socket. I won’t know until I perform a complete scan.”

  Argo asked, “So she is in pain?”

  The Doctor nodded. “Yes. Or her body is in shock, and she is numb.”

  Argo asked, “Will she live?”

  The Doctor nodded again. “With surgery, yes. Without it, she could die.”

  Argo took a breath. After a few seconds, he said, “Well, shit. That changes things.”

  He took a few steps towards Kaya. He grabbed her by the chin and turned her head up. “Looks like you have been in pain long enough. The Doctor here says we need to fix your leg and head, give you a little blood, or else I lose my prized hostage.”

  Argo turned to the Doctor and said, “Bare minimum Doc, leg, head, blood. Do not touch the lacerations or the eye.”

  The Doctor replied, “She might lose it.”

  Argo answered, “She has another one.”

 
Turning back to Kaya and keeping her chin up with her hand, Argo said, “Right, Princess?”

  Leahy even smiled at that one. The Doctor looked revolted. As she did, Kaya managed to mutter out of her mouth, “Argo….you are still here?”

  Argo tilted his head and said, “Excuse me?”

  Kaya took a breath and, with Argo still grabbing her chin and smiling the best she could, said slowly, “I thought you were looking for your little cock that your sister stole?”

  Argo half-smiled. He squatted down to get eye level with Kaya. Still holding her chin, he said, “Spunky to the end.”

  Kaya painfully said, “It’s not her fault her’s is bigger.”

  With the half-smile still on his face, Argo kept her chin up so she could hear every word. Softly, he said, “If your brother is still alive, he is going to trade his life for yours. I then will cut his head off and feed him to the rats. But, I do not think he is. Which means after the doc fixes you, I am going to let every one of my SS officers come in here and rape you. Either way, bitch, know that you are going to suffer for the rest of your miserable fucking life.”

  Argo grabbed his ring and made the silver into a dagger. He pierced it right through the back of Kaya’s hand. Blood came out, and Kaya grimaced in pain. Gritting her teeth closed, she let out, “Fuck You!!!”

  Argo took the dagger out, stood up, and put the ring back on his hip. As he was walking out, he said to the Doctor, “You can fix that too, but not the eye.”

  Belinea 6.8

  Chairman Hassara’s Office

  Capital City, Belinea

  Tempest was still fuming. The Chairman poured himself a drink. Her arms were crossed as she looked out the window. She said, “I cannot believe that fucking bitch. The audacity to go after me like that!”

  The Chairman then sat down behind his desk. After a sip of his drink, he looked at Tempest and said, “You fell right into her trap Tempest.”

  Tempest turned around and said, “You knew what she was going to say?”

  The Chairman smiled and replied. “No, I did not. But you must prepare for every possible scenario. Charm and disarm.”

  Tempest took a deep breath. Walking over to the bar table, she began pouring herself a drink and said, “I don’t need a lecture, father.”

  The Chairman tilted his head and said, “I am not giving you one. Just reminding you, we all have a role to play.”

  Tempest took a sip of her drink and then let out, “I had everyone in that room until that cunt opened her mouth. I want to scratch her fucking eyes out.”

  The Chairman leaned back in his chair. “Relax. You will do no such thing. She did not hurt you or even embarrass you. She surprised you. Any retaliation will look foolish and petty.”

  Tempest stared at her father. “And what if she convinces the others to vote no?”

  The Chairman merely shook his head gently side to side, and said, “She will not.”

  Tempest replied, “How do you know?”

  The Chairman took another sip of his drink. “Because this is politics. Walk softly and carry a big stick, my child. And never forget, I have the biggest stick.”

  Tempest walked over to the front of her father’s desk and sat down. She said, “I told you I was in no mood for a lecture.”

  The Chairman continued, “They can bark all they want, but no one is going to defy me in that room publicly. Your brother gave you more than enough material to paint the picture you want. Feed that to the press and the public will demand justice. Everyone will want to blame someone for the innocent lives lost. Combined with the political agenda of the rest of the Ambassadors and no one will care about the cost. It is justice, which has no price. Her own people will turn on her for even suggesting anything otherwise.”

  Tempest just quietly said, “Fuck her.”

  The Chairman sat up. He continued, “Tempest, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. There will be a time to deal with her properly, be patient.”

  Tempest leaned back and said, “If that were Argo or Malovex in there, she would have never said that. And if she did, they would have cut her head off.”

  The Chairman gave a small chuckle. “Probably. But that’s why I sent you instead of them. They only know how to lead through fear. Your presentation was magnificent. But you have to know every angle, know what every Ambassador wants, and what they fear. That’s why, one day, it will be you in this chair and not them.”

  Tempest took another sip of her drink. “Do they know that?”

  The Chairman smiled again. “Do you think they care?”

  Tempest was genuinely curious. “I have no idea?”

  The Chairman took another sip of his drink, letting the liquor roll around the large ice cube in his glass. He then took a breath and said, “ Malovex has little patience for diplomacy, and Argo has none. That is why I sent him to Avola. Do you think I sent him there to negotiate?”

  Tempest had an even more curious look on her face. She shook her head in confusion. “The Vait is too important. We had to strengthen our position and secure the trade channels. That is why you sent him.”

  The Chairman continued. “Yes, the Vait flow is essential to our overall plan. But I sent him because the Majavkee are weak. They fear us, and Argo exemplifies that. The Valmay are not scared of us, and thus would be much harder to deal with.”

  Tempest said, “But you offered the Valmay Group a deal?”

  The Chairman got up and walked over to the bar table again to pour himself another drink. “ A deal we would have never honored even on the slim chance they took it. Argo was sent there to gain public support and eliminate the Valmay. And so far, he has done just that.”

  Tempest made a small joke. “Maybe you should think about putting him in your chair.”

  The Chairman replied while he sat back down. “You are missing the point, Tempest. He is not a politician. He is a warrior and a killer. Him and Malovex both. They do not want all the regulations, cordial formalities, and bureaucracy of sitting in this chair. They want to be the fear that this chair puts into the people.”

  Tempest just took another sip of her drink. “Argo gets all the easy jobs.”

  The Chairman chuckled and said, “And all the ones most people can not stomach. By the way, did you read the message I forwarded to you?”

  Tempest answered, “Yes.”

  A robot voice came over on the intercom. It said, “Urgent message Chairman Hassara in your C-Bar T-box.”

  The Chairman hit the spot on the tablet on his desk. He then said, “Well, his ears must have been burning.”

  Tempest asked, “Argo, again?”

  The Chairman shook his head no. He replied, “Malovex. It seems our Ambassador Bird might be alive after all.”

  Tempest sat up and said, “What?”

  The Chairman half-smiled and said, “It seems he may not have been on the Ambassador Transport ship like we thought. Which means someone out there is being clever as to not let us know where he is. Perhaps one of these messages is not true.”

  Tempest asked, “I thought Argo had a very reliable spy?”

  The Chairman answered, “According to him. Malovex disagrees.”

  Tempest asked, “Should we tell Ambassador Yi about Bird?”

  The Chairman leaned back. “Maybe it is time we found out what Yi does and doesn’t know.”

  Belinea 6.9

  Capital City, Belinea

  In a very high-end wine shop, Ambassador Yi walked through the aisles looking at the bottles. Two DAG officers were casually following him. As he turned to go down another aisle, he walked straight into Ambassador Garvalin. Yi said to her, “Ambassador, I did not know you procured your wine here?”

  Ambassador Garvalin looked at him and said, “Yes, so unusual running into you.”

  Ambassador Yi looked at his guards and
said, “Leave us.”

  Garvalin looked at her guards, and they did the same. Once alone on the aisle, Garvalin said to Yi, “Did we have to go through all the cloak and dagger just to have a conversation?”

  Yi looked at her and said, “The rebuttal with Tempest? I do not think you are getting invited to the Defense Minister’s birthday party. Expect the SS to watch your every move.”

  Garvalin smiled and said, “I am only doing what we discussed.”

  Yi smiled back before answering. “It is working. You rattled her cage. It will keep her preoccupied long enough to not worry about Bird until he gets here.”

  Garvalin said, “So the rumors of your fellow Earth Ambassador being dead are not true? He is still alive?”

  Yi nodded and replied, “According to my sources. They are unsure of his whereabouts, and the bullseye is still on his back. But as of now, alive.”

  Garvalin took another look around to make sure no one was listening. “What happens if someone finds the bullseye, and he doesn’t make it here to the Council meeting?”

  Yi looked at her and said, “We win either way. The only difference would be me giving the speech instead of him. His assassination, while not planned on our end, nevertheless gives me the proper ammunition to give the same speech he would have.”

  Garvalin asked, “Alright, what is the next step?”

  Yi gave a couple of glances to make sure no one was listening either. “Publically, you must say nothing. Once the Chairman finally gets the press involved, issue a statement, we are diligently working on a solution. Play coy. Say the Chairman and the Defense Minister are more than welcome to join us during these negotiations.”

  Garvalin then asked, “When they come down there, demanding things again, and my constituents demand justice, then what?”

  Yi answered, “By that time, we should have Bird back alive.”

  Garvalin asked, “And if we do not?”

  Yi smiled, took a deep breath, and just said, “Then I will give the speech a little earlier than I wanted to.”