by J. N. Chaney
I maneuvered around the machines, willing myself to see something, anything in the mist and smoke that billowed forth. I didn’t realize I wasn’t blinking until my eyes started to water and burn.
I stayed low, pressing myself to the machines that I came across one by one. The room was so large, and there were so many of them, I was beginning to think the terrorist might have slid past me. But then I saw him.
A machine to my left coughed a cloud of steam at him, revealing his silhouette for a moment. I couldn’t tell if he had his back toward me, and I had the jump on him or if he was staring at me. What I could tell by his silhouette was that it was either a man or a large woman.
They bolted forward, making the smoke swirl as they crossed the space between us. I lost the silhouette of my enemy in front of me in the second it took for him or her to pounce. I calculated the time it would have taken for the saboteur to cross the distance. As far as I knew he or she didn’t know I could see them in the smoke.
I sprang upward trying to guess when the Disciple was going to collide with me. We hit each another with enough force to rattle my teeth. We fell backward on the ground, rolling together. I wasn’t about to let the Disciple out of my grasp this time. If I held on to them, they couldn’t use their cloak to its fullest potential.
I received an elbow to my face as I surrendered the top position to my enemy. My hands were busy around my assailant’s arms and torso, searching for the device that provided the cloaking shield around them. It didn’t seem as if they were wearing any type of blanket or coat.
I was ninety percent sure I was grappling with a man at this point. A blow landed across my jaw and another on my temple. I was rewarded from the licks I was taking, as my right hand caught his left wrist. What felt like a thick watch touched my fingertips.
I ripped it off with both hands, receiving another elbow to my face for my trouble. I ignored the pain, concentrating all my effort into tearing off the device. Finally, the strap broke in my hands.
The Disciple I had seen that morning came into view. The same black-clad figure, fully equipped with a hood and crimson mask, reaching from the bridge of his nose down to his neck.
His eyes were the only thing I could fully see. Somehow, I felt like I knew him—like I had seen those eyes before. Figuring this part out would have to wait. Suddenly, his hands were around my neck.
I grabbed on to them, trying to pry them loose. He was sitting on my chest, constricting my breathing. I clawed at his fingers around my throat as my vision blurred and the oxygen to my brain slowed.
“Whoever you are, you will not act as a voice to our oppressors,” the man said in a thick Russian accent. “You who stand with the defilers will all suffer the same fate of ash and blood.”
I doubted even if my head weren’t swimming, I would have been able to make sense of the biblical-like words coming from his mouth. This guy was two sandwiches short of a picnic.
“Let him go, or I’m going to paint your brains all over this room,” Stacy said, appearing in the mist behind him. She held her blaster to the base of his skull. “Slowly, let him go.”
The Disciple’s eyes were massive, as if he were thinking of holding onto my throat and sacrificing himself right there and then. Something made him think better of it. He released his grip on me and slowly raised his arms on either side of his body.
“Took--” I coughed before finishing my thought. “Took you long enough.”
My throat felt bruised. My lungs were on fire, and the spots in front of my eyes were just barely clearing up.
“I want you to stand up and lace your finger behind your head,” Stacy told her prisoner. She took a step back to create distance from herself and her target. “Do you believe me when I say if you try anything, I will not hesitate to pump your body so full of blaster rounds, no one will be able to identify your body?”
“I do,” the Disciple said, following her directions. He stood on his feet, alleviating the pressure on my chest. He interlaced his long fingers behind his head. “But you should also know there will be consequences for you. If not in this life, you shall pay for your crimes in the next.”
“Well, I guess I’ll take my chances with that,” Stacy responded.
I slid out from under him, rising to my feet. In my right hand, I still held the device he had used to cloak himself.
“You’re a real piece of work,” I said, staring into his crazed eyes. “The only thing you have to look forward to is a cell here on this ship and another one once we land. I’ll request you get the one with no windows, just the hole in the ground. You know, for trying to spread rabies to the animals and poison our water.”
“The blood of the innocent is the only thing that can renew the truth of our history,” he said, grinning. “You will see this in time. You’re marked for something much greater than you think. I can see it.”
As that moment, a pair of suits entered my peripheral vision. As soon as I turned to see who was coming around the corner of the machine to my right, I knew it was a mistake. My eyes came off the Disciple for a split second.
The pair of suits were just doing their job, coming to help. Sent by Iris, I was sure they really had no idea what was going on.
The Disciple took advantage of the momentary distraction. He pivoted, snapping out with a left kick behind him.
Stacy’s blaster went off as she was knocked backward. The Disciple’s foot connected with her gut. Her blaster skidded on the floor, lost somewhere in the chaos that followed.
Chapter 16
This Disciple freak of nature went through some hard-core training before coming onto The Orion. As soon as he kicked Stacy, he bolted for the exit.
I had planned on reaching out and grabbing him, but at the same time the shot rang out from Stacy’s blaster, a burning pain jolted through my left shoulder. I looked down, and it took me a moment to realize the rogue round had grazed me.
I was more pissed off than anything else as I directed my attention back at the escaping Disciple. The Disciple pounded one of the suits in the face with a vicious right hook, sending him to the ground. The other wasn’t so lucky as the black-clad Disciple twisted his neck around with a sick pop.
Each act took no more than a second. In two heartbeats, he was off again running for the elevator. The bodies of the two suits lie slumped on the ground under my feet as I took off, leaping over them.
No, not again! I screamed in my head. Not this time!
Somewhere behind me, I heard Stacy’s footsteps and knew she was close behind. Right now, I was singularly focused on taking down the Disciple in front of me.
We made two lefts, retracing our steps back to the elevator. The Disciple made it to the closed doors, pressing the button repeatedly for it to come. Unlucky for him, he didn’t have the holo card Stacy did to expedite its arrival.
He turned as he heard me coming, assuming a defensive stance with his knees bent and his hands near his face.
Finally, a fight I would be used to. I slowed my progress, rolling my shoulders. We began to circle one another. Our fighting styles were different but just as effective.
I turned to my training and we went at it. Now that I could see my opponent, the fight wouldn’t go so well for him. I think he was surprised as I dodged his first two attacks and laid into his face, making it my personal punching bag. I broke his nose with my next left.
“You will burn with the rest of the non-believers,” he said with a sneer. “You will—”
I’m not sure what he was going to say next. Stacy arrived on the scene and barreled into him with her right shoulder. She slammed him against the still closed elevator doors, taking the air out of him and forcing him to his knees.
Without mercy, she hammered him across the face with a closed right fist. As a testament to how tough this guy was, he struck out with his own right fist to the side of Stacy’s left hip.
She yelled with what sounded more like a growl and limped backward. The Disciple sprang t
o his feet. I was on him again. I slammed my fist into his stomach. He doubled over, exposing his head. Stacy took the opportunity to grab the back of his skull with both of her hands, driving it down into her right knee.
A loud, satisfying crack echoed through the hall. The world went black for our Disciple friend. I spat a wad of blood on the ground, remembering how hurt and beat up I really was. I looked over to Stacy, and she didn’t look much better. Her hair was a wild mess with blood coming from her nose. Her left eye was beginning to swell, and she favored her left hip.
“You sure you don’t want to become a Civil Authority Officer?” She asked with a grin. “You’d make a good suit. Fair warning, you’d probably have to shave and cut your hair. On the upside, the benefits are great, and the pay is decent.”
The elevator doors opened, and a squad of heavily armed suits exited, equipped with riot shields, stun batons, and blaster rifles.
“Easy, easy.” Stacy showed her open hands in a sign of surrender. “We got him. I’m Special Agent Stacy Wilson. I’m just going to reach into my pocket to show you my credentials.”
“Where were you guys ten minutes before?” I asked, shaking my head. “Hell, I would have settled for five minutes.”
They ignored my question, still training their weapons on me. Their eyes widened as they saw the Disciple at our feet.
They lowered their weapons, reassured at the message on Stacy’s holo card that she was who she said she was. They secured the unconscious Disciple by both his wrists and ankles. He was propped up in a sitting position against the wall.
One thing still bothered me. I knew I’d heard that Russian accent before. I leaned down, grabbing the crimson mask that covered most of his face and pulled. It was the same guy that had tried to choke me out and pulled me off the Warlord the day before, back in the shuttle.
Sure, it could have been a coincidence that he had been right next to me when that all went down, but I didn’t believe in coincidence. Were the Warlords working with the Disciples, or was I just acting like a crazed conspiracy nut?
These questions and more crossed my mind as I looked down on him. Stacy spoke to the suit in charge. She was informing them of the two men he had wounded earlier.
The elevator doors opened again, and Elon and Arun stepped out. It was strange not to see the easy smile on Elon’s face. Much like his sister, he was stoic.
“You two did well,” Arun said, looking to Stacy and me. “Though, I believe another trip to Doctor Allbright will be in order.”
I dug into my pocket where I had jammed the cloaking device.
“Here,” I said, handing it to Arun. “This is what he was using to sneak around.”
“Thank you,” Arun said, accepting the piece of tech. “You saved us from another catastrophe. Although, some of the damage will be difficult to resolve.”
“The water supply?” Stacy asked.
“The reserve is intact and free of the virus,” Elon said. “We’re going to have to break the news to the ship soon. Questions will arise as to why water is being rationed and now only for drinking. This isn’t the beginning to our journey that I had envisioned.”
“The relationship between Eternal and Transient hasn’t exactly been the best,” Arun added. “Those on board are grateful for the opportunity to start over, but I’m not sure if their loyalty will crack under the pressure of this new information.”
“Are you going to tell them everything?” I asked. “I mean about the Disciple?”
“I know Elon wants to disclose everything.” Arun looked over at her brother, who was slowly nodding his head in agreement. “I’m not convinced. We need to tell them what’s going on without starting a panic. If they think there are other Disciples on board, this could turn into a scenario where fear and distrust tear this colony apart before we even reach Kronos Five.”
I didn’t envy the situation Arun and Elon were finding themselves in. On the one hand, I understood the necessity of keeping secrets. On the other, maybe just coming clean with this whole thing would result in people understanding and keeping their cool.
“Hey, is this yours?” Stacy asked, leaning down to pick up my medallion. It dangled from the broken chain. “It must have been torn off you in the fight.”
I massaged my neck, realizing that the chain was gone. A surge of panic washed over me as I realized I had almost lost it altogether.
“Yeah, thanks,” I said, accepting the medallion from Stacy while trying not to appear too eager to get my hands on it once more.
I ran a thumb over the emblem on the front.
“What is that?” Arun asked, turning to look at my medallion. “I think I’ve seen that symbol before.”
“Really?” I asked, willing to show her the medallion in my palm without offering it to her. It felt silly, like a kid with a toy he didn’t want to share, but this was all I had left of the life I left behind.
“What does the symbol mean?” Elon asked.
“Hell if I know,” I said. “It was a gift.”
We all looked down on the bronze medallion in my hand.
“Where have you seen it before?” I asked Arun. “I’ve researched it myself, and it's never come up anywhere. At least nowhere that I’ve been able to find.”
“I—I can’t remember right now, but it’ll come to me,” Arun said, scrunching her brows in deep thought.
The Disciple at our feet moaned something unintelligible.
“We should get him secured before he wakes up,” Elon said.
“Yes,” Arun agreed. “Before I address the rest of The Orion, I want to speak with him. If another Disciple is lurking in the shadows, I want to know about it.”
“I’ll get him up and taken to the brig,” Stacy said, motioning for a suit to help her get the Disciple on his feet.
“Well, this has all been fun,” I said, gripping my medallion tightly in my hand. “I think I’m going to go get some painkillers and sleep for the next week.”
“Are you shot?” Elon asked, concerned as he noticed the burn in my shoulder for the first time. “Did the Disciple have a blaster on him?”
“Nope, Stacy shot me,” I said with a frown, turning in her direction. “You tased me, and then you shot me. That’s two I owe you.”
“No way, that doesn’t count at all,” Stacy said, coming over and placing her hands on my shoulder. She looked through the tear in my shirt. “You’re barely grazed. That doesn’t count as being shot.”
“All of a sudden, you’re the leading mind on what does and doesn’t count as being hit by a blaster round?” I asked.
Stacy grinned then turned back to gather the unconscious Disciple from the ground.
“My brother and I have had a discussion, and we’d like you to work with us,” Arun said. She took a step closer to me, lowering her voice. “The skill set you possess will come in handy. We need people we can rely on, both on the ship and when we start our colony.”
“You mean you want me to be your muscle?” I asked. “Not interested. This was a one-time deal. I owed our Disciple friend here one for jumping me in the cargo hold.”
“Threats like this one aren’t going to stop,” Elon said, joining his sister. “If it’s not the Disciple, it’ll be someone else.”
“I’m no suit,” I said, shaking my head.
“Just come with us and hear what the Disciple has to say,” Elon urged. “Perhaps when you see what we’re up against, you’ll reconsider.”
I thought about it for a moment. I wondered if they’d let me interrogate the Disciple. My ribs and face reminded me that I could get a few more licks on him before this was all over.
“What the hell?” I asked. “I’m already in this. Let’s see how far the rabbit hole really goes.”
Chapter 17
A quick visit to Doctor Allbright later, and I was with the Eternals and Stacy in the brig. The brig level of The Orion wasn’t like the rest. Dark steel walls and unfinished pipes stuck out from the ceilings. There were
more security checkpoints and pass-codes than I cared to remember, even if I was paying attention.
I didn’t plan on being back here, either as a prisoner or a guest.
I was shown into a room with a one-way see-through wall. It reminded me of every interrogation scene out of a movie or book I had ever read. The room on the opposite side of us had a chair with the Disciple strapped to it, both by his wrists and his ankles. A single bright light shone down on him.
He was slumped forward still unconscious, or at least allowing us to believe he was. His mask was pulled down and his hood pulled back, revealing a bald head crisscrossed with scars.
I stood in the room with Arun, Elon, and Stacy.
“I’m giving the appropriate ‘head’s up’ Mr. Slade requested before I enter the room,” Iris’ voice reached our ears.
Elon and Arun looked confused while Stacy smirked.
“Thanks for the head’s up, Iris,” I said as the Cognitive walked into the room from the solid wall behind us.
“Are you and Mrs. Wilson all right? Do you require further medical attention?” Iris asked with an expression I guessed she considered concern, but it looked more like intrigue to me. “You appear as though you’ve been struck by some kind of large vehicle.”
I glanced over at Stacy. We both looked like we’d been through hell. Stacy’s nose had been reset. She limped a little and held an ice pack to the side of her face.
She was one tough chick. I never heard her complain or cry out in pain. It made me have a deeper level of respect for the woman.
Moving in any direction hurt for me. There was a cut on the inside of my mouth as well as multiple bruises on my eye and cheek. My ribs ached, and my shoulder still burned despite the pain meds I received from Doctor Allbright.
“Yes, we’re okay, Iris,” Stacy said. “Thank you.”
Iris nodded.
“What can you tell us about our guest?” Arun asked the Cognitive. “I’m assuming any identity he used to board The Orion is false?”