The Circuit, Book 1

by Rhett C. Bruno

  “Nothing.” Talon had to force a grin since his stomach was cramping. Moving quickly wasn’t as easy as it used to be. “I just wanted to see how fast you were.” He grabbed her hand and began to guide her through the fissure. After a dozen feet, it was so cramped that they had to shuffle through sideways.

  “Try to be as quiet as possible,” Talon whispered. He peered around both corners of the exit. “The Lakura Clan still doesn’t know about this entrance.” He squeezed through and quickly snuck behind a pile of metal crates. The upper level of the Buckle’s hangars was usually reserved for storage, so there was little chance of them being caught once already inside.

  “Lakura?” Elisha questioned softly as she knelt down as close to her father as she could.

  “The lowest of the clans, in my opinion. Think they speak for all of us as they terrorize innocent Tribunal colonies and citizens.” He didn’t tell her that he also suspected that they might be involved in the attacks on the Tribunal Freighters. That was why he’d decided to take her to that specific hangar. “Follow me.”

  Together they skulked around the curved walkway until there was a low enough break in the crates where Elisha would be able to get a good view.

  “Here.” Talon stopped and knelt with his hands resting over a low container. She mimicked him exactly, only there was a glimmer in her eyes as a ship below became visible.

  Talon had seen the inside of the vertical hangars a thousand times. He didn’t imagine anyone could find it anything more than ordinary, but Elisha had a knack for seeing the beauty in all things. A small transport vessel was rising slowly through the shaft, making the grated floor beneath them begin to tremble.

  As it soared past them, its humming ion engines left behind a dappled trail of bluish light. Talon glanced over at Elisha to see her doe-eyed and staring as if it were the most amazing thing in the world. The sound of it began to reverberate down the hollowed rock-tower, playing it like a tremendous string instrument. He looked back up and watched it pass through a hatch, which when it sealed shut released a second, plated hatch above. For a brief moment they could see the stars through the distant opening. It may not have been long, but Ceres rarely offered glimpses of what lay beyond its rocky surface.

  “Amazing, right?” Talon said. He wrapped his arm around her as the plated shaft shut and both the ship and space disappeared behind a wall of steel.

  “Have you ever been on one?” Elisha asked. She extended over the container and tried to see the floor of the hangar where men and slow-moving androids were loading up another ship.

  “Dozens. I can’t even remember them all.” Talon leaned forward as well, only he tilted his head in order to try and hear better. He couldn’t quite make out what the Lakura workers were saying, and there was nothing he could see in the hangar which would incriminate them in the attacks. Seemed too simple, he thought to himself as he rested his chin on his fist in frustration.

  “I wish I had one of my own.”

  “So did I. So does everyone born in this rock.” Talon chuckled and squeezed her tight against his chest. “I think you will one day. A much nicer one than these pieces of Lakura junk too. But where would you take it? That’s the question.”

  She wrinkled her brow and then her face lit up. “I really want to see a planet!”

  “A planet? What could be better than Ceres?” Talon mused as he leaned back on his elbows and stared straight up the tall chute.

  “Maybe Saturn. I’ve heard traders talk about the rings. Have you ever seen them?”

  “Only once, but to tell you the truth, I never got the chance to really look at them,” Talon admitted.

  “Or Earth!” Elisha exclaimed so loud that Talon had to put his hand over her mouth in hopes that the workers below would hear.

  “Why in the name of the Ancients would you want to see that wasteland?”

  “I don’t know. Everybody says it’s a scary place, but I bet it’s not.” The room began to tremble again as the second ship’s engines powered on. Elisha extended her neck as far across the container as she could. Talon pulled her back a bit. Now that the men below were done preparing the vessel, he didn’t want to risk them seeing her.

  “I wouldn’t know. My father went there during the Reclaimer Wars and never came back.” Talon exhaled and rested his head against hers. “That’s all I know of the place besides what travelers tell me.” He could hardly remember the day when his father left for battle. All he remembered was that he never back came. That was the thought which gripped his heart every night and squeezed…that he might wind up doing the same thing to her.

  “I bet it’s beautiful.” Elisha said before she was rendered silent by the second ship ascended right in front of them, blowing her hair back.

  Talon couldn’t help but grin. “One look at you and it would sprout green and lush all over again,” he said.

  He could tell she was too occupied with the ship to hear him, but he didn’t mind. He ran his fingers over her shoulder and watched with her as the view of space momentarily opened again. Beautiful.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR—SAGE VOLUS

  Faith amongst the Faithless

  A week had passed since Sage was recruited by Talon, and over that time she didn’t stray much from Julius’ metal shack. In fact, he was the only person she had even spoken to at all. Despite her protests, he insisted that he would sleep on the floor so that she could have his hammock. She reluctantly agreed, but avoided any other further, unnecessary conversations. He was Ceresian after all.

  She spent her days praying whenever she could and trying to rest her body. All the aches and pains from the explosion on Mars had pretty much vanished, and even her head felt fine for most of every day.

  When she was finally alone that morning, she rolled out of the hammock and got on both knees. It was dark, only a sliver of light slipping through the cracks of the shack’s rusty door, which barely clung to its hinges. There was no chance that anybody could see her.

  “I am blessed with ground beneath me,” Sage whispered delicately. She extended her arms out and let the tips of her fingers touch the floor. There was a soft scratching noise as her artificial hand grazed slowly across the surface.

  “Our Homeworld has been blighted by darkness, but we are the light,” she continued. “Those beside me, those beneath me, and above me. Ours is a collective unconscious, bound to each other and to the soul of the Earth. We are, all of us, shards of that Spirit, never alone as the dark void closes in. This day is yet another test of my conviction, but though the Earth may be wreathed in flame and shadow, she remains within me. May those who have left to join this essence guide my daily endeavors. Redemption is near. May my faith—”

  Just as she began mouthing the final stanza of the prayer the shack’s door swung open. She rolled to the side, banging into the hammock, which began to swing as if she’d fallen off.

  Julius burst into the room, but as soon as he did he threw his hand over his eyes. “Shit! I didn’t mean.” He took a big step back and closed the door halfway so that he could speak to her behind it.

  Only then did Sage look down and realize that she was in nothing but her undergarments. She grabbed the ratty tunic lying in a pile on the floor and threw it over her head.

  “Did I make you fall, Agatha?” he asked sounding every bit as embarrassed as Sage was. “I ain’t used to havin’ anyone here.”

  “No!” she yelled. She quickly remembered that the fact that she was undressed was the only thing that kept Julius from seeing what she was really up to. “Well, yes. But, it’s…it’s okay.”

  “I swear I didn’t see nothin’!”

  She hoped to the Ancients that he hadn’t. “I believe you,” she said. “I needed to wake up anyway.”

  “Well if you’re up, grab a pill from the cabinet and come outside. You can meet some of the boys we’ll be goin’ to battle with. We’ll have a few drinks, play some cards.” He peeked around the edge of the door, his usually dark cheeks g
lowing an even darker shade of red.

  “I don’t know,” she replied. She didn’t know how to play the Ceresian card games, and figured that based on Agatha’s history she would have at least encountered them in the Conduit Stations she’d supposedly lived on. It wouldn’t be hard for them to figure out she was lying about who she was when she had no idea what she was doing.

  “It’s a miner’s game, I know,” he lamented. “But we’ll teach you. C’mon, you’ve been in here alone for too long. We gotta keep our minds fresh.”

  She thought about it for a moment. If he immediately assumed that she wasn’t familiar with the game then it must not have been one Conduit Merchants would know. It was worth the risk. A bunch of Ceresians drinking were sure to tell her something valuable about the Tribune. “Sure. I’ll be right there,” she hollered.

  Julius shut the door and Sage used the hammock to pull herself to her feet. That was way too close, she warned herself as she shook her head. She tidied up her tunic and pulled it down so it covered her thighs. She considered putting on her armor, but decided against it. Then she opened Julius’ cabinet and grabbed a pill out of a small dish.

  She looked around to see if there was anything to wash it down with. Just like her home in the depths of New Terrene, there were no personal sources of water. Only the most privileged people living in the skyscrapers above the Labyrinth of the Night had such luxuries. She imagined it was the same on Ceres Prime, with drinkable water being such a valuable commodity throughout the Circuit and all. In fact even Julius’ shack reminded her of her home. Of course her unit was better put together and far less rusty, but Julius had as little of his own as she did.

  She spotted a quarter-full glass of murky water placed at the back of the counter. It was probably Julius’ from earlier, but it would have to do. She was parched. Placing the pill on the center of her tongue, she took a swig, swishing it around in her mouth before swallowing. The water had a metallic taste, but it was tolerable.

  As the pill tumbled down her throat she began to miss the Feed on New Terrene. She couldn’t believe it was something that she could miss, but she was always fond of the routine. So much of her life was unpredictable. It was the only thing she could always count on every day, other than her faith. As much as the taste of Crud could make her cringe, there was at least more to it than surviving on some pill. There was texture—A flavor to ground her.

  Once she was ready Sage headed outside of the shack. Housing block 543 wasn’t anything remarkable, but again it bore a slight resemblance to the Labyrinth of the Night. Instead of being built up along two vertical sides of a gorge like it was there, the meager shantytown was carved into the angled surface of the gaping cavern. It extended up and down the rocky hill in either direction until the slopes were too great to manage. Crude metal pathways worked alongside natural bridges between clefts and small valleys so that people could negotiate the uneven landscape. There was very little order, but there was something undeniable picturesque about it. She never knew where a shack was going to pop up, or where a pathway would carve through the crags to surprise her.

  “There she is! Told you boys that she would come,” Julius said. He wore a toothy grin as he waved Sage over. He and two others were sitting around a fire-pit with green-colored drinks set on the ground by their feet. Above them was a rock bridge stretching from one taller outcrop to another. Housing units were built up on either side, with thin ropes draping between them strung with dozens of articles of damp clothing.

  As Sage approached she could see them whispering to each other and trying not to be caught staring at her. Just by the smirks on their faces she could tell what they were talking about. She was used to the way men looked at her, no matter how much she detested it.

  One of the two men got to his feet. He wasn’t very tall, and his long, crooked nose drew attention away from his thin jawline. “Wow, Talon wasn’t lyin,’” he admired. Julius nudged him in the leg. “Uh, name’s Vellish. Nice to finally meet the Tigress of Ceres Prime.”

  Sage ignored his initial comment. She stuck out her artificial hand and waited for him to shake it, hoping that she was acting properly. Vellish’s eyes lit up.

  “By the Ancients, that’s a hell of a fuckin’ arm. Who made that thing, I ain’t never seen anythin’ like it.” Vellish grasped her hand and took it upon himself to let his other hand grope inquisitively along the synthetic limb.

  She pulled it away. “Nobody!” She snapped, scaring him back into his seat. “I mean…Sorry. I don’t like to think about it.”

  Vellish picked his drink up off the ground and took a long sip to try and hide his reddened face. “I didn’t mean anythin’ by it. Just amazin’ is all.”

  “You’ll hafta excuse our friend Vellish here,” the other man she hadn’t met said. “He ain’t always the most charmin’ of fellows.” He stood up and extended his left hand so that Sage would be able to put her human arm forward instead. “Name’s Ulson.”

  “Agatha Lavos,” she said. She grasped his hand, shook, and feigned a smile. “And if you must know my uncle made this for me. Spent his whole life trying to give me an arm after I lost it when I was young. I would tell you how he made it, but he died shortly after he finished.” The false story rolled off her lips as surely as she had repeated it in her own head. “He was a great man.”

  Julius signaled toward an empty chair already set up for her and said: “Wish I could’ve met him. I could use one of those arms. Or two.” He chuckled to himself before lifting his glass up to his lips.

  Sage shot him an angry look. She didn’t necessarily mean to, but as much as the arm was a gift, the true story of its conception was a horrid tale. She’d spent years blocking out the memories, until they were merely a dull ache tugging at the fringes of her consciousness. Unfortunately, the events which took place on New Terrene had them popping back into her head.

  “So you’re a merchant girl, right?” Vellish finally broke the awkward silence which followed Julius’ ostensibly innocent joke.

  “Not always,” Sage said. She pulled her seat closer to the fire. It wasn’t often she got to feel the heat of a real flame. With so much of the Circuit drowned in the cold, it felt good to sweat.

  “Agatha’s parents were smugglers out of the Vergent Cell. Died back in the Reclaimer Wars.” Julius informed the others. She was surprised he had remembered anything from their scant conversations.

  “Whose didn’t in this rock?” Vellish held up his glass and nodded his head. The others mimicking him before they all simultaneously took a sip. “You’re in good company then. Ain’t nobody on Ceres who wouldn’t love a chance to get a piece of those Tribune fucks.”

  Sage grit her teeth and offered an amenable nod. There is one person, she thought to herself as she began to stare into the fire, mesmerized by its unpredictable arms as they grasped at her heels with soft hisses.

  “Alright, are we gonna chitchat all day or are we gonna play? Talon ran me dry on Kalliope, I gotta make some back while he’s gone!” Ulson chimed in, rubbing his hands together vigorously.

  “He’s right!” Julius responded. He went to pick up the deck from beside his foot, but then glanced at Sage and paused. “But first where are our manners? Agatha’s got nothin’ to drink.”

  Sage’s eyes shot up from the fire when she heard him. On New Terrene Synthrol, or even real alcohol, was outlawed amongst the general populace. She’d brought countless smugglers to justice trying to run it through the Mars Conduit Station into the city, but she ‘d never tried it before.

  “That’s okay,” Sage declined as graciously as she could manage. “My uncle never let me touch the stuff. Preferred I keep my wits about me.”

  “Nonsense!” Julius yelled. He nearly fell off his chair in astonishment. “You’re telling me you’ve never tried it? Not even once?”

  “What’s so surprising? It’s a man’s drink, you know!” Vellish snickered before Sage’s unamused glare made him reconsider. “Well, at least
…most ladies I know don’t very well like the taste.”

  Julius and Ulson couldn’t help but smirk as Vellish once again tried to mask his embarrassment by taking an exaggerated sip of his drink.

  “One day my wife and I will teach you manners, Vel,” Ulson said. He patted Vellish on the back, causing him to begin choking and his cheeks to get even redder.

  “Fuck you both.” Vellish coughed and sunk his face into his palms.

  Julius and Ulson shared a laugh before he turned his attention back to Sage. “Here, try mine, he said. He held out his drink.

  Sage looked at him with a furrowed brow. On one hand It seemed like something Ceresians partook in with people that the trusted. That could surely benefit her cause. On the other it was against the law of the Tribune.

  “Just a sip,” Julius said. “I promise you’ll be fine.”

  There was something about the look in his eyes. She could tell that he wasn’t lying to her; that for whatever reason he genuinely wanted to include her. And even though he was Ceresian, she felt she could trust him.

  “I’ll do it,” she declared proudly. She was an Executor of the Tribune. She could do whatever needed to be done for the good of the Tribune, even if its laws stood in her way. “Just a sip.”

  Sage snatched the glass out of Julius’ hand. As soon as she did the others leaned forward and began to watch her eagerly. Even Vellish stirred from his chastened state. She brought it to her nose, recoiling initially from the smell. It was pungent, singing the hairs in her nostrils and making her eyes water.

  “Trick is to be quick about it,” Julius advised her.

  She breathed out of her nose so she couldn’t smell it, opened her mouth and tossed a sizeable amount of the green liquid in. It sat in her mouth for a second, probably less, before the intolerably bitter taste forced her to spit it out. The fire roared and began to sizzle as the spray rained down over it, forcing Vellish to scamper off his chair in order to avoid being burned.