by Blake Vanier
Isis gathers an additional team of three soldiers. She sets off on a direct path to the burning point of frustration in her mind, a well-kept blue house.
Once at the house, she pauses a moment to survey the blooming flowers filling the windows on either side of the main door. How disgustingly domestic…
Isis approaches the porch. Before she reaches the top step, the door opens. A strong, older woman steps into the doorframe lightly. She stands half a head taller than Isis, her expression guarded.
“What can I do for you, Isis?” the woman asks.
“We are going to search this dwelling, Nidella.”
“You are welcome to come into my home. Your soldiers are not.”
“I must insist,” Isis says, face deadpan.
“Then I would like to talk to your father.”
“This is outside of General Belshiv’s jurisdiction. Step aside.”
“I don’t understand where you get all this anger.”
“I’m doing my job. Apprehend her,” Isis says to the soldiers with her.
The two closest soldiers respond instantly. Their combat suits give them an unnatural speed. Nidella reacts just as fast, evading their grasp. With an incredibly smooth motion, she grabs one of the soldiers, spins him around, and yanks his arm up behind his back.
In the middle of the action, Isis takes a stun baton from a soldier’s belt and closes the distance. Before Nidella notices, Isis jabs the stun baton around the soldier and into her side. Nidella’s body tenses. With a yelp, she releases the soldier, falling to one knee. Isis stuns her again and she collapses. The two soldiers quickly recover and grab Nidella’s arms, hauling her upright.
Isis glares at the soldiers holding Nidella. “Send her to Capping and Extracting in Demeeurj and have Dr. Grantov run her through every scan his twisted mind can come up with. I want to know everything.”
“Ma’am, we could cap her here and let you know immediately,” the soldier that had his arm yanked behind him says.
Isis snaps her eyes to the soldier. “I know it’s not fair, because you were probably born stupid and incapable, but I strongly suggest you stop thinking for yourself. If a cap would work on her, don’t you think I would have asked for that?” The soldier looks at the ground. “Now, take her to Demeeurj tower.”
The three-soldier team marches off with the stunned Nidella while Isis and the three soldiers from her levitraft enter the house.
Isis looks around the neat living area. A twinge of anger flares up with a thought of Nidella’s comments. “Tear this place apart and bring me anything that looks suspicious. Scan everything.”
The soldiers begin to sweep the house, scouring every corner. Isis walks to the kitchen, where she smells the lingering scent of breakfast. Her stomach turns over in hunger. A steaming kettle just on the verge of whistling catches her attention. Why not? She finds a silly looking mug and makes herself some tea. Isis pulls up information on her wrist computer while sipping her drink.
Name: Fae Underwood
Race: Erohsian
Dependents: Orphans 345567091, 345567921, 345570159, 345570159, and 345570160
Notes: Commonwealth volunteer.
Erohsian? That’s a joke.
She sweeps away the holographic projection in frustration and paces about the house, stepping around the scattered contents of shelves and drawers. She eventually drifts up the stairs toward the echoes of the destructive search.
One of the soldiers meets her at the top step, something small and silver hanging from his hand. “Ma’am, I think I found something from one of the children’s rooms.”
Isis frowns as the soldier hands her a silver chained necklace. The pendant is a dark rectangular piece of flat metal. Useless―Her heart nearly jumps out of her chest when her eyes catch sight of a series of etched symbols on the necklace. She drops the mug she was carrying, snatching the necklace with her hand. “Ancient?” she asks, running her finger over the symbols.
The soldier relaxes a little and nods his head. “That’s what I was thinking, Ma’am. I picked it up with the detector, so it may even be active.”
A genuine smile forms on her lips. “Okay. We’re done here.”
*****
Isis’s purposeful strides take her toward her levitraft. Just as she passes one of the uninhabited houses, a blur of something smashes into her. She jumps, tightening the grip on the necklace in her hand. The blur is a scrambling, young, Human boy. Her anger flares immediately. One of her soldiers grabs him roughly as soon as he jumps up. She glares down at the skinny child and he shrinks away. Pathetic Human…
“What are you doing out here, boy?” Isis asks coldly.
“Umm… errrr, aaaaa.” The boy looks around frantically for inspiration before his gaze finally rests at his feet.
“Hey!” Isis snaps. “What are you doing?”
The boy winces, looking up at her with his eyes, his head still downcast. “Breakfast?”
Isis shakes her head. Unbelievable. “Scan him just in case.”
The soldier with the Aether detector approaches him and points his handheld device at the boy. The child clamps his eyes shut, visibly shaking. The soldier pushes a button on the top of the device where a red bar flashes and beeps. He tries it a few more time with the same results. The boy slowly opens one eye then the other, puzzled. He looks down at his body, tentatively patting himself in several areas.
The soldier shakes his head, frowning. “No Aether, Ma’am. I’m not even getting a reading.”
Isis shakes her head in disgust. Wow, a true gem among the cattle… Isis returns her cold stare to the boy. “Alright Human, get out of my sight!” She jerks her head to the side and the soldier tosses the child into a pile of rubble.
*****
“It’s ancient, alright,” says the svelte Erohsian scientist. “And it’s in amazing condition.” He stands up from a lab bench, where the orphan’s necklace is lying under a light on a flexible arm.
“Can you tell me anything about it, Alec?” Isis asks. They walk side by side through the lab.
“Come on, Isis, what do I look like, a miracle worker?” Alec asks.
“Well, I thought you were smart. And I don’t say that often. Was I wrong?”
“Oh, please, you’re just egging me on now.”
“What? Are you not up for the challenge?”
“Trust me, Isis, I need no motivation to look into something like this,” Alec says, rolling the piece of metal in his fingers. “You just need to understand that this is an incredibly rare piece. The majority of ancient technology I’ve seen has been inert, so it’s going to take some time. But I can tell you this: compared to the other active pieces that have been discovered, this one is in superior condition. I have a feeling this piece is going to open up a new door for us.”
“Is there anything you need that will speed up the process?”
“Besides the equipment I’ve been asking you for?” Alec thinks for a second. “Well, considering the condition of this piece, it must have been kept in a vault or a semi-sealed area, so naturally, you could expect there to be more treasures of the sort, which could increase funding and accelerate the deciphering process. Where did this come from?”
How could a bunch of orphans get their hands on this? “I need time to figure that out. For now, see what you can do. I’ll be back later.”
“Yes, Ma’am!” Alec mock salutes, his blue eyes glinting.
Isis shakes her head, smiling. She turns on her heel, quickly walking out.
After rising from the depths of the military headquarters, she arrives back in her office. The orange light of the sunset plays against her walls. She sinks into her seat and calls Lt. Co. Phillips. “Phillips, what’s the status on the search around New Lur?”
“Colonel, we’ve been trying to reach you. We haven’t found the suspect, but we picked up his trail leaving the old industrial district. I’ve sent a full platoon to follow. We also traced a faint essence signature through th
e old industrial district and found five empty canisters in what appears to be a hideout filled with junk. The canisters have no Erohsian markings. They look to be similar to what the terrorists have used. We compared several hair samples we found with our database and they belong to the orphans registered to Fae Underwood.”
“Tell me you found those rats. Or at least that you set up surveillance on Underwood’s house…”
Phillips pauses. “Sorry, Ma’am, as soon as my platoons finished searching the town and the industrial district, I set up patrols of the eastern area. As you requested.”
Damnit! I shouldn’t have been so careless… If they have absorbed those essences or have knowledge where they got the ancient technology… I need to find them. “Alright, Phillips, get soldiers back there immediately and monitor Underwood’s house. Expand your patrol East of New Lur, toward the coast, and between New Lur and Sunta. There’s no way to know where these orphans could have gone. I want your men to bring in everyone they find, and I don’t care what rules they have to break… Do you understand, Phillips? I want those Humans!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
4
A Second Chance
Nero
Sunset is fast approaching when Nero finally makes it back to Fae’s house, stumbling up to the door. He turns the knob and pushes, but the door is locked. He rattles the door.
Can’t anything go right today? First, I mess it up with the mist, then I almost get vaporized by stupid Minis, and now I can’t even get home! His head falls against the door with a thud as he fights back another round of tears. The door suddenly opens and Nero falls through.
“Nero!” Before he can catch his balance, he is caught in the surprisingly powerful arms of Thea. After a long moment, Thea lets go of him. “We were worried about you. What happened?”
Dried dirt outlines the tearstains below Nero’s bloodshot eyes. He looks at everyone standing around the kitchen. A knot forms in his throat and a giant hole opens in his chest. The others are all home safely without him. His eyes dart desperately around the room for Fae, but she is nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Fae?” He slowly starts to take in his surroundings. Their nicely organized house looks as though it was hit by a Havityn. Cabinets are open, drawers are lying on the ground next to their contents, and virtually everything else in the house has been carelessly moved or broken. What happened here?
“We’re not sure where she is. We just got back,” Ryder says. “What happened to you?”
“You guys left me!” Nero exclaims. His voice settles, and he looks at the ground. “All by myself. And the Minis almost got me.”
“I told you!” Korbin says, pointing a finger at Ryder.
“Korbin, stop. They don’t use Human slaves,” Ryder responds. “How do you know they even took Fae. What if she’s just hiding?”
“Well, why’d they tear the place up then?” Iona asks.
Ryder turns to Iona. “They’re Erohsians. That’s what they do, ruin people’s lives. I know running away seems like a good idea, but they’ve already searched here. Why would they come back? Fae will be back. They can’t keep her for no reason.” A silence falls over the group.
“You think the Erohsians took Fae?” Nero asks, his panic hitting a new level.
Thea lets out a sob.
“Take it easy, Nero. We’re trying to figure that out. We don’t know anything,” Ryder says.
Iona drums her fingers on her thigh, thinking. “You have a good point Ryder. If you’re playing hide and seek, the best place to hide is somewhere they’ve already searched. Besides, it would look a lot worse for us if they caught us wandering around in the middle of the night.”
Ryder slaps his hands together. “Okay, so that’s the plan. We just hang tight until Fae gets back. So, Nero, how’d you escape?”
It takes Nero a moment to let go of the thought of Fae and remember what he just went through. “I was trying to get home after you all disappeared when this horrible woman with a gang of soldiers grabbed me. The woman told one of the soldiers to shoot me just in case.”
“Then what?” Thea asks, leaning forward.
“I’m not sure. The soldier pointed a gun at me, but I think it was out of juice, or whatever it uses, because he said ‘there’s no Aether.’ Then they just tossed me in a pile of rocks.”
“They were scanning you for Aether, not trying to kill you!” Iona blurts. “I think Aether is like a magical energy or something that lets you do special things. They must have been searching for something if they were scanning the whole town.”
Thea suddenly jumps off the ground in a fit of excitement. “Is that what was in the canisters?”
Everyone looks at her with surprise. “What?”
Thea throws up her hands as if it were obvious. “The canisters we found today! Was that Aether inside of them?”
A large smile sprouts on Korbin’s face. “I have magic?”
Ryder nods his head at Korbin. “That would explain a lot. Maybe someone from Catalyst stole the canisters and the Minis are searching for them.”
Korbin throws out his arms. “No, seriously guys. I have magic? This could be the most awesome thing ever!”
“We don’t know what you have, Korb, but I’m guessing it’s brain damage,” Iona says with a smirk. Korbin glares at her.
“But why’d they take Fae?” Nero asks.
“Oh no.” Iona puts her hands to her cheeks. “What if they tracked us to Fae and think we’re part of the resistance?”
Nero looks at the other children uneasily. “What does that mean?”
“If the Minis took Fae because they’re looking for us,” Ryder says, “then they could be back.”
Wide-eyed, Iona looks at Ryder. “Unless they’re already here…”
Thea jumps over to Ryder and latches herself to his arm. “What are we going to do? I don’t want to be used as a lab rat.” She finishes with a sob.
Ryder dismisses Iona in frustration. “Come on, Iona, that doesn’t help.” He looks back at Thea and tries to peel her away. “Look, if they were outside… we’d know.” He steps back. “They probably won’t be back until morning… So, let’s be long gone by then.” He looks around at everyone, his eyes calm. “We’ll be alright. They can’t get us if we run away.”
“What about Fae?” Nero asks.
Thea nods. “Yeah, what about her?”
“We’re just kids, what could we do to help if they took her?” Ryder asks. “We don’t even know if she’s still alive. Anyone caught with ties to the resistance can be punished by death or locked up for the rest of their lives. If we really want to help, we need to find someone to help and come back. It doesn’t do her any good if we get caught too.”
“You think they killed her?” Nero asks softly.
“I hope not… but they are Minis. What I do know is that if the Minis are looking for us, then we need to get as far away from here as we can.”
“What if we’re over reacting?” Iona asks.
“We’ll call back in a few days,” Ryder says. “Hopefully everything is fine, and we’ll just come back… The alternative just isn’t worth the risk.”
Iona nods. “Okay, so run away―where?”
“We could go to the ocean. I bet we would be safe from the Minis there.” Ryder looks around at the worried faces and catches Thea’s eye. “Thea, you always wanted to go on a boat, right?”
Thea nods her head. “Oh, yes please.”
Ryder smiles. “Well, then we’ll go to the ocean and find a boat. We could travel the world until things cool down.”
Now a smile spreads on Korbin’s face. “That sounds good to me.”
Ryder half-smiles. “Yeah. And when we’ve made some friends, we’ll come back and take Fae with us.”
The children nod while Nero’s head hangs.
Ryder holds up his hands. “Okay, we first need to pack. Only bring what is absolutely necessary. A few clothes, something to sleep on, that kinda thi
ng.”
Korbin and Thea hurry up the stairs. Iona lags behind. “So what’s the plan?” she asks.
“I figure we just need to get out of here as soon as possible. I’ll grab our map and compass, and we can make a better plan at old Tom’s house where the Minis won’t expect us,” Ryder says.
Iona looks at him. “That’s not much of a plan.”
Ryder puts a hand on her back. “We’ll come up with something good, trust me. Okay?”
Iona nods hesitantly then heads upstairs.
Ryder pats Nero on the back. “Come on, man. Let’s go pack.”
Nero nods his head weakly, slipping off his chair. I don’t want to travel the world… and I don’t want to go to old Tom’s in the middle of night. I sure hope Fae’s okay…
He slowly follows Ryder upstairs, stopping at the top when he sees his favorite mug shattered on the floor. Nero sighs, dropping to his knees to collect the pieces. It couldn’t get any worse…
When he finishes, Nero walks down the stairs, inspecting the broken fragments in his hands. Again, tears well up in the corners of his eyes. Just as he reaches the bottom step, a flash of light bounces off a window and refracts through his tears.
Minis? Nero ducks down from view, fear fiercely ripping away his despair. They’re here already?
No.
What? Nero looks around but sees no one. He shakes off his confusion, his fears strangely drifting away.
He sees another glint of light, violet, coming from outside. What’s that? He walks toward the back door, moving his head around to manage a better view. He peers through the window in the door, nothing to see. Helplessly curious, he slides the bolt and cracks the door open, carefully peeking out. Still nothing. He pokes his head out. A quick look around gives way to disappointment… Wait, why am I disappointed?
Just then, he notices a slight shimmer in the night air. If he squints and looks to the side, he can see a faint light. Before he realizes what he is doing, he steps out into the open, toward the light. His chest is tight. His palms are clammy. A couple of steps away, the shimmering air collects itself into a gaseous violet blob. Deep reds and yellows crackle with life from within.