The Plan: Part 1

by J. A. James

  He paused. “And the more I pursued my case, I realized the more someone was intent on sabotaging my progress with it. Something was very wrong…”

  The Werlock who died. Gretchen’s sabotaged potion. Ithes’ confession about the First Guard.

  He looked at Matthias. “Seekers like me are dying here on Gaia. Ithes told me. The Institute has kept it a tightly guarded secret. Now more than ever… it wouldn’t be right for me to just give up now. My mission goes beyond just my case and my parents. There are lives that have gone unanswered for. I’m not going to stop until I find the answers.”

  There was a silence after he spoke.

  "Alright,” Matthias uttered. “Understand that if you can help me get what I want... I'll help you get what you came down here for.” With those words, Matthias left the room, slamming the door behind him.

  Moments later, two men came in and picked him up. Griesen groaned at the pain radiating through his body as another bag was thrown over his head and they dragged him through the corridor.

  A few minutes later, his body was unceremoniously dumped onto a stretcher. He heard voices murmuring above him, but they quickly grew faint as he realized he had begun feeling woozy, slipping into a fast, unconscious sleep.

  CHAPTER 19

  Wake up. Wake up...

  A voice, muted, nudged him. Griesen blinked several times before being able to peel his eyelids open.

  Another blindingly white room, and a face looked down at him. A woman's.

  "Matthias will see you shortly," she said. "I'm glad you woke up. Sometimes we aren't sure whether it will work any more."

  "Whether you're sure ... what will work?" he asked hoarsely.

  Her eyes darted from his face to somewhere on his left; she didn’t say anything more. A smile fleetingly passed her lips. "Glad you're awake," she whispered, patting his hand briefly before leaving his side.

  And not a moment later, he heard the door swish open, and footsteps. He remained still, shackled to the cot. Matthias appeared, flanked by two men.

  "Good. Finally. Resurrection," Matthias said declaratively, his eyes once again boring into Griesen's. The red rings around the green eyes were dulled today.

  "I've been waiting for this."

  He gestured towards the other two men. "Sit him up."

  Griesen felt the cot slide forward slightly, as the upper half began vertically lifting. One of the men undid one of the belts which held his torso down.

  "You had some internal bleeding. We were lucky to catch it when we did," Matthias said as the two men continued to undo several straps which released the tourniquet-like pressure that held Griesen captive in the cot.

  And it was true. Griesen felt none of the pain that had been inflicted on him from earlier. “So we’re ready to trade,” he said.

  Matthias laughed. "You’re very to the point. Much like your kind. Always watching the time.”

  He paused for a moment. "I put you into our healing machine. I developed it. And given its capabilities, it can heal most matters of the human body, within minutes."

  He nodded towards the woman who had woken him up, who passed by through the hallway.

  "However, your body - not being entirely human - it took us a bit longer. And in that time, I was able to collect some very interesting data about you."

  Griesen was silent, focusing on his words.

  Matthias’ hands tapped the edge of Griesen's cot, which was lined with a metal barricade. "You are quite a young one, aren't you?"

  He only guessed at the technology Matthias had access to. Acruvae blood ran deeper shades of blue for every century they lived. By contrast to some of the extremely wise Acruvae, his blood had nearly reached a light navy blue; but could only be seen as a half-life in contrast to some of his other mentors and allies.

  "Compared to some, I would suppose," Griesen allowed.

  "Now... given everything that’s happened, do you still feel you can help shape your Human’s destiny? Bridge it, if you were able?”

  "Of course,” Griesen said. He felt it was his absolute purpose, regardless of all the roadblocks that had been put in his way.

  Matthias raised his eyebrows at his statement.

  "I came down to Gaia, as I said, looking to save my case," Griesen continued. "Perhaps you think I am still utterly naive. But I think being a Seeker always required a certain amount of optimism.”

  He shrugged. “Obviously… things have turned out very differently than I anticipated. I ended up finding you. You and your people. I just know that I need to get out there and keep her safe... and try and stop whoever it is from eliminating her. But I am certain that if you found me, then Ithes and his men will eventually find me too."

  "Ithes," Matthias hissed at the name. "He’s still spinning his wheels up there."

  "You knew him,” Griesen asked. But it was more of a statement. Of course he had.

  Matthias didn’t answer his question.

  “You were the one who created the adjustment,” he said, his eyes watching Griesen slowly.

  Griesen frowned. He was referring to the crack in the Chrysalis. “You mean – the fissure. To all the Lifelines.” He looked down. “It wasn’t intentional.”

  Matthias laughed then, taking Griesen by surprise. “Intentional or not - you are indeed the renegade I’ve been looking for.”

  The words caught Griesen by surprise, and he looked up to see Matthias lean in.

  "Well it may take them a bit longer than usual to find you. I had the machine denature some of your more traceable chemicals in your bloodstream. Your body will regenerate the balance within a matter of days, but for the duration of time, you are as untraceable as we are. Us...normal kinfolk," Matthias smiled then, baring a mouth of sharp, glittering white teeth.

  Griesen looked at him, the words sinking in.

  "How long?" he asked. "How long before I'm traceable?"

  Matthias looked at him again, his lips curling upwards in a smile that did not reach his lips. His eyes remained cold, but amused. "Concerned a little, are you?" he smiled. "Roughly seventy-two hours."

  Seventy-two hours.

  "I was told that this fissure would take awhile to fix. Do you know? Is this true?” Griesen asked.

  “Oh – it certainly has breached protocol. You’ll have long enough for what’s next. I'll help you protect your case. But first… you're going to help me with something.”

  "I want the Joshua Stone back.”

  Matthias gazed at him with an unfathomable expression. "If you prefer being connected to them, you will receive it back in due time."

  "That stone puts us all at risk. While you have become untraceable, any form of attempted communication with your kind will endanger all of us. So I have placed it in a secure location. Your access to it will depend on the extent of your cooperation... as well as the feedback from my security intelligence."

  "Fine." He would find a way to gain the upper hand. But now was not the right time.

  Three days. That was all he needed - with this man and his tribe. Griesen gritted his teeth, but he knew he didn't have any other choices. Fine. He'd do it ... whatever it took for him to find more answers.

  "Come with me now." Matthias began striding out the door. "We have a busy day ahead of us."

  CHAPTER 20

  It was the woman he’d seen previously who led him to his new quarters. The room was small and sparse, but outfitted with the comforts of a desk, two small cots divided by a makeshift wooden apparition and a fireplace.

  "You have a roommate, you'll meet in a short time, I'm sure," she said to him. "His name is Hedlund. He has been here for many, many years now."

  Griesen looked at the woman, whose ash grey hair was pulled up into a braided bun stacked neatly on top of her head. Her face was lined and kind; she seemed much kinder than any of the men he had met since arriving here.

  "I don't know your name?" he asked.

  "Ah," she said. "Mathilda. Just call me Mattie, if you'd like."
She whisked away a strand of hair from her face.

  He nodded. "Mattie? Can I ask a question?" She seemed like the only one out of the lot of them who wouldn’t take every chance she could to abuse him solely for the fact of being an intruder.

  She nodded quickly, as she walked around the small room, adjusting the cot's sheets. Like a mother, he thought. Strange that she was here.

  "What are you doing here, with these men?" he asked.

  She looked at him, seemingly startled at the question. She stood still for a moment before answering. "I am with them. There is nothing more to say."

  She brushed past him as he asked another question.

  “Were you also Acruvae, like Matthias?”

  He couldn’t read her face as she turned away from him, opening a cupboard.

  "You'll change into these clothes before meeting with Matthias again," she said abruptly. "He is expecting you in a few minutes. So. Don't be late."

  His questions had to wait. He sat down on the edge of the cot, and nodded quietly. "Alright," he said.

  “To answer your question.. yes. I used to be. A long time ago.”

  “Why did you -”

  She interrupted him. “In case you were hungry. I had some food warmed up for you.” She lifted a metal cover over a tray beside the bed, revealing a sandwich and a bowl of soup.

  Griesen smiled at her, grateful for her kindness in the middle of the violence he had endured. “Thank you. So much.”

  She smiled quickly at him before leaving the room with a quiet click of the door, and for the first time in awhile, Griesen felt an immense relief at the silence surrounding him as he picked up the sandwich quickly. He wasn’t just hungry - he was famished.

  So Mattie had been an Acruvae… yet now, she was clearly human. Had she been a partner to one of them previously, and was now a widow? Why would all these people choose this life? He didn’t understand it.

  He quickly changed, and opened the door to find a guard waiting outside. He was escorted down a winding corridor which seemed to take them further down below ground.

  They stopped in front of a set of wide steel doors that opened, revealing an aircraft hangar which spanned outwards roughly two football fields. The enormity of the space was startling, given the initial impression of the warehouse above ground.

  He stood there looking at the rows of aircraft - some of them were armed, and some not. Another row housed aircraft bombers, and he spotted a few men working on some of the engines. The scene in front of him was illuminated by fluorescent lighting, which was flickering on and off.

  "Finally.” A voice, from far away.

  He looked towards the sound of it, and saw Matthias coming towards him from the far right. He was followed by two men who shouldered automatic rifles.

  "As you can see…We've salvaged a large number of shuttles and aircraft over the past few centuries but we have been missing a few key pieces of information that will get them fully operational."

  Griesen glanced more carefully at the shuttlecraft. Indeed... they were all shuttles with the Acruvae insignia towards the back wing. He was shocked at the sizeable collection they had amassed.

  "And what is it that you plan to do with all your aircraft, once they are enabled?"

  Matthias laughed. "Your job is to help me. What I do with the aircraft is none of your business."

  Suddenly, he heard the cock of a gun - the soldier standing behind him had raised his weapon. He didn't have to guess where it was pointed.

  Matthias stepped closer. "I've been waiting for a long, long time for someone like you to come around," he whispered. "You will work with me. Do not forget that I can also be generous enough to give you what you need. Otherwise - " he gestured to the guard behind him. “While you are still Acruvae in your mind, please remember - you are not immune to the indignities of a human assault rifle." His tone was short, abrupt.

  Griesen stiffened at his words. He knew enough that the man did not hesitate to kill anyone who stood in his way. Even himself - who seemed to have enough value to be kept alive for the next three days. Only three days, a small voice in him told him. He could make this work. He swallowed as he nodded. "Alright."

  He was led into a small shuttle where he sat in the pilot’s seat. Matthias was on his right, and two armed men were behind him.

  "This is one of the oldest pieces that we salvaged," Matthias said. "But a critical one.”

  "This shuttle can tail the hyperspeed path of anybody they're following in with less energy than any other spacecraft," Griesen murmured. "The model was only discontinued because the we adjusted the shuttle for a greater weapons capacity. Eventually it came to compromise some of its speed."

  Matthias looked at him, not bothering to feign pleasure at his response. "You are very familiar with your Acruvae technology."

  Griesen shrugged. "It became part of the mandatory curricula when I started." And then realization hit him. "I also remember rumors of some shuttles which disappeared down here in Gaia. There were whispers of them being stolen. I suppose that was your doing.”

  His tone turned accusing, but Matthias didn’t take the bait, shrugging. "As you know, sometimes rumors have grounds. Other times, they do not.”

  Griesen suddenly stiffened, wondering again where he stood between these people and the Acruvae. He couldn’t see himself ever fully aligned with Matthias. He was still helping the enemy.

  "There is an energetic shield that provides us cover from your people," Matthias said. "As you know, the technology of these shuttles continued to upgrade beyond my capacity to translate the energy from many, many years ago. This is what I need you to do.”

  Griesen knew exactly what it was that he needed. And the project was enormous. "You don't know the enormity of what you're asking me for."

  "But I do," Matthias said. "I am well aware that you can translate the upgrades for me. You have just demonstrated to me your knowledge with the technology. And you will demonstrate your working knowledge of it for me now." It was a statement underlined with a heavy-handed tone of consequence, if he chose not to.

  Griesen looked at him. "But you have also, as you said... denatured some of my powers. So how do you expect me to handle this?" he argued.

  "You’re a bright kid. You made it this far, didn’t you?" Matthias glanced at the soldiers situated at the back of the ship. "These two are with you now until you complete the translation for this shuttle. The guards are timed to switch shifts every four hours. You will continue to commit to the translation until it is complete, and report to me then."

  He gestured to the guards, and showed himself out of the shuttle.

  Griesen watched him leave, aghast at his lack of resources. Well then, he thought to himself grimly. Here's to a rocky start.

  The energetic blueprint for Acruvae technology was rewritten every human century. It was necessary for both technological and energy efficiency from the Acruvae standpoint, and required an in-depth knowledge of the revised symbology and coding syntax, which took years of training to effortlessly understand. More importantly was having a thorough working knowledge of combining all the possible four-dimensional scenarios that arose from the new codes.