by DJ Morand
“Anyone else onboard Captain?” the officer asked.
“My co-pilots. Zee and Elaina Sky.” He lied about Echo’s name, hoping to keep her from being detained as well.
“Please come down from the command deck Zee and Ms. Sky. I don’t want any trouble. I have backup on the way.” Abel turned at this and the officer raised his weapon, ““Hands against the wall!” he yelled.
“What is the meaning of this officer?” Abel asked, surprisingly calm.
“You are under arrest Abel Cain, for crimes against humanity and for treason against New Exodus.” The officer spoke seriously.
“Treason? You can’t be serious.” Abel began, “I’’ve never even been to Quintar VII, how could I have committed treason against it?” Zee and Echo descended from the command deck just as more officers filtered onboard the Kodiak. Guns raised they pointed them at the approaching Zee and Echo. A chorus of get down on the ground erupted from the quintet of officers. Echo and Zee responded immediately.
“Names and rank you two,” one of the quintet barked.
“Zee, co-pilot.” The Quintarran answered.
“Ec-- Elaina Sky, co-pilot.” Echo lied. Abel cringed at how horrible of a liar she was.
She fooled you didn’t she? The thought came to him unbidden.
Shut up, he internally yelled at the voice in his head.
“You haven’t answered my question,” Abel started, ““what treason?”
“Crimes against the whole of humanity. Siding with the EXO threat and pirate actions against ships within the Quintar Prime system.” The officer stated.
“Flak that! On whose authority!?” he bellowed. The officer struck him in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle. He collapsed in a heap, falling into unconsciousness.
* * *
Quintar VII - New Exodus: NELED Military Prison
2972 ESD - Tuesday, November 11th 01:40 hours
Abel awoke in a cell. It wasn’t a particularly nice cell and it had those same dark blue walls the entire buildings were made of. As he tried to stand he found that he had been chained to the wall. He felt around his neck and received a quick shock from the collar there. They had not even left him enough chain to get to his feet without feeling an uncomfortable tug on his throat and a subsequent shock. He supposed if he tried to stand long enough the collar would either shock him again or he would fall unconscious again from a lack of air.
“Well isn’t this just fine.” He said aloud to no one in particular. There was no response from the dark around him. A single light filtered through a window too far above him to reach, but it barely lit the dank cell.
So this is what I’ve come to, after all this time I am finally going to pay for all the things I’ve done, he thought. It was something of a sobering thought for him.
He wasn’t some grandiose human being, but he still felt he had done what was necessary for the good of humanity, despite what hurts it might have caused. He knew at the time he was likely violating all kinds of laws in the Sol system, but they were not in the Sol system. He knew someone would eventually come to collect him and parade him through their streets, or maybe he would be left down here in this prisoner’s hell. Maybe that was the point - maybe they would leave him here until he decided he would rather choke to death or starve.
“Not helping yourself much are you Abel?” he asked himself, still brooding internally about his capture. He should have listened to his gut. Listening to people always got him in more trouble than listening to his gut did. Abel adjusted himself against the wall and hoped he didn’’t disturb the collar again; he did. The shock this time was slightly stronger than the last and it left a bit of a sting. “So that’s how this works.” He said thinking he had figured out the collar and chain.
He wondered if he caused enough movement in the collar if he could generate enough of a shock to kill him, or at least shock him into a stupor.
Maybe they’d care then; maybe, he thought.
He realized he wasn’t thinking very clearly and reached up to feel the knot that had formed on the back of his head. Abel winced as he touched it and winced again when his shoulder shifted the collar again. The shock this time was stronger, almost enough to make him yelp in pain.
Instead he hissed as the shock singed against the skin on his neck. He couldn’t keep this up, if the charge in this device was going to continue increasing every time he moved, he wasn’t going to last long. He sat on the cold floor and crossed his legs trying to concentrate on anything but the cell and the collar.
Unbidden, thoughts of Echo Shade came to him. He pictured her soft skin, the feel of her lips, and her intoxicating scent. It stirred in him the feelings he had been suppressing as long as she had been with him on the Kodiak. He had refused to admit he was deeply attracted to her, except now.
Now, this was the only thought he had to use against his imprisonment a vain hope that he might have a chance with this beauty; regardless of the fact she was easily fourteen years his junior. Struggling to remain calm he embraced the feelings, thoughts, and emotions associated with Echo Shade. Ranging from lust to rage, to admiration and curiosity, he couldn’t keep track of what he actually felt about her.
An image of the half-Quintarran woman came to his mind. She was laying on the floor of his cargo bay again, her pale blue skin appearing bluer and her chest did not rise or fall. He pictured himself breathing air into her lungs as his mouth touched hers. He could smell her scent and he reached out for her … The collar shocked him again, this time he did yelp in pain. Apparently, he was terrible at meditating; because he had fallen asleep and his head lolled forward, tugging on the chain and the collar.
“HEY!” he yelled, hearing the echo of his own voice. “You can’t leave me here! Either do whatever the FLAK you are going to do with me! Or kill me Damnit! You flakking glitches!” he cursed again, raising his voice as echoes came back at him.
The door to the cell clanked and slid open. A soldier entered the room his bulk blocked any light from the doorway and cast a shadow over Abel Cain. Abel squinted even at the smallest hint of light and tried to make out the features of the man standing in the doorway.
For the most part he was human, although he had a considerable amount of upgraded wet-ware, mechanical wiring and electronics embedded in his skin and face. The term returned to memory when he saw the man. Wet-ware for all intents and purposes basically meant technology interfaced with biology. Abel even noticed that a drive stuck out from the side of his head and wires connected into the side of his face, just above the left eye. The eye itself was certainly robotic in nature, giving off a sickly green glow.
“Abel Cain. I am the Judge.” He said in a brusk baritone voice. “You have been accused of crimes against humanity, extortion, banditry, and murder. How do you plea?””
“What!? No formal setting? No office to question me in? What kind of Judge are you man?” the collar immediately burst into electrical current driving Abel back to his bottom. He hadn’t realized he tried to stand. He cried out as the shock burned the flesh around his neck.
“I would advise staying still. What is your plea?” The Judge asked again. He seemed not to really care what Abel’s answer was, his voice was deep, but ultimately monotone.
“Not guilty. The only thing I’ve ever done is attack EXOs. I never killed any humans.” He was pretty sure he had never killed humans, at least not intentionally. Sure he had had a fight or two with Captains who didn’t want to give up a portion of their Anti-matter fuel. Most of the ships he struck had reserves anyhow.
I suppose you could consider that banditry - he conceded silently.
“Maybe I borrowed fuel supplies from those venturing into Dark Space. I don’t know anything about these crimes against humanity, extortion, or even murder. So yeah, not guilty.” He drew the last out making sure this judge understood.
“You will be tried and sentenced tomorrow.” The Judge said and without another word he stepped out of the cell and
shut the door behind him. Once again Abel Cain found himself in the dark alone.
* * *
Quintar VII - Infinity: Flight Deck
2972 ESD - Tuesday, November 11th 04:00 hours
Mercury Frinz disliked EXOs; almost as much as he disliked the idea of becoming one. Their blue skin and overuse of wet-ware and nanites simply disgusted him. He did not have a particular dislike for Quintarrans, but since most EXOs were originally Quintarrans, he was not feeling particularly friendly on this latest trip. His master, the EXO Prime, had decided that Mercury needed to redeem himself of the folly that occurred on Eden. Explicitly stating he had not been instructed to kill Abel Cain.
Mercury disrupted the economy of the Border Towns and he had caused the elimination of a faction. The gangs held the power in the Border Towns to ensure that the black market thrived and so that there would still be visitors to Eden. It was a hell-hole and no one but the criminal element would touch the planet now. Recent events caused the leadership of the gangs in the Border Towns to be disrupted, which in turn, caused a political shift.
That shift left The Silence on the outskirts of the gang powers and allowed the Eden Planetary Alliance, to gain a foothold in the Border Towns. Despite their name, the EPA represented the second most ruthless and powerful gang on Eden. The EXO Prime was displeased by this as he relied on the steady import/export business within the Border Towns and the EPA was more about killing and extorting than genuine trade.
Mercury, of course, did not feel this was his fault. The fault could be laid at Abel Cain’s feet. He also felt that the loss of Breaker Jones was no great issue. Mercury argued that Breaker would prove to be a valuable asset as an EXO and that he had done the Prime a favor.
He had brought Breaker up from the slums and put him in charge. Since he had done it with one, he could do the same with another ambitious orphan. The EXO Prime seemed to think that beyond Mercury’s ability and instead insisted on his presence while they tracked down Abel Cain. This had Mercury in light spirits until he reached the Infinity.
Mercury Frinz huffed as he made his way down to the crew decks of the massive carrier ship. At the very least the EXOs managed to keep a good bit of food onboard. Even they needed to eat food that was passable, and it was certainly more than he would receive on Eden. His baser desires continued to go unmet. He continued to have fanciful dreams of Echo Shade and this only exasperated him more.
He dared not touch an EXO. His fear of becoming one of them was too great. He also wouldn’t dream of touching any of the EXO slaves, they would be EXOs soon enough, if not exed completely. So Mercury Frinz spent a great deal of time brooding and grumbling while the slower carrier approached Quintar VII.
Mercury was sure this is where Abel Cain and the Kodiak would have to land, even if he had not placed a tracker on the ship. He had intercepted the supplies meant for the URSA gunship and he had stolen the anti-matter. He had placed the tracking device in the rations box. The EXO Prime decided to pursue the Kodiak himself and then insisted Mercury make the trip.
The Prime had given him his own fighter to take down to the planet along with a contingent of EXO fighters, mostly Vulture BAA-Cs and Hawkeye LGS-ACs. His own ship was a modified RAVEN F Mark XII. The EXOs, like Abel, had adapted all of their ships with an array of quantum plating. The level of defense granted to their ships had increased exponentially. The Prime mentioned that a recent interaction with the Kodiak in Dark Space gave them the idea of how to formulate the plating.
Mercury really didn’t care about how or why they’d adapted it, only that it would keep the atmospheric vessels on Quintar VII from tearing through his hull. The Kodiak was another matter. He suspected that was the reason for their trip to Quintar VII, the EXO Prime wanted the URSA GS-I and Abel Cain for himself.
The smaller, capable gunship was more maneuverable than the Infinity and it was already, by all accounts, a low maintenance-high yield gunship. With the Kodiak under their control the EXOs could make more strategic strikes without being noticed. As far as what he wanted with Abel, Mercury could only speculate.
The EXO Prime came to speak with Mercury privately and told him that he wanted Mercury to steal the URSA GS-I, he wasn’t surprised. He had been surprised when the Prime asked him to capture Abel Cain alive. So now, stuck on this carrier drifting slowly towards a hostile enemy, Mercury Frinz prepared himself for a fight. He was sure Abel Cain would not give up the Kodiak without one and Mercury was ready to give him one. Despite his sour mood the patriarch of Eden grinned.
* * *
Quintar VII - Raven Squadron: New Exodus Air Space
2972 ESD - Tuesday, November 11th 06:00 hours
As the star over the seventh planet in the Quintar Prime system came into view, even Mercury had to admit its beauty. The light of this system, Quintar Prime, was just rising over the surface of the planet and the purple clouds had a fuchsia tone to them. The lush green valleys and contrasting mountains gave the sense of paradise.
This should have been Eden – he thought bitterly.
As he skimmed through the clouds at the head of the EXO formation, he marveled at how easily they had entered the atmosphere - it just wasn’t like entering the thick and foreboding atmosphere of Eden. Something about that angered Mercury and he decided that he was going to do more than just capture Abel Cain while on this planet. He was going to destroy some of its beauty.
Mercury piloted his modified RAVEN F Mark XII and decided it needed a new name; its former name was so feminine, at least in his opinion.
Who named a ship Darter anyway? He thought.
The sleek design of the RAVEN fighter was still prominent, but where it once held long range communications modules, the EXO Prime had installed an array of pulse lasers, tachyon disrupters, and something new. The new weaponry was something Mercury Frinz had requested specifically. It was similar to a shield emitter in that it create an energy field around his vessel. However, it was more nefarious than it appeared. Direct laser fire on the shield charged it instead of depleting it.
He was quite happy with the ruse it would prove to be and by the time his enemies realized their mistake, he would be able to take them down. In light of its particular configuration he decided to call it a Raven Hidden Advanced Weapons Killer, or Raven HAW-K. He changed the designation to fit with the nature of the craft and named the ship – Nevermore.
Mercury couldn’t say much about his life that was positive, but he was at least well versed in Earth literature. He enjoyed the darker tales from authors like Poe and Lovecraft. The tone of The Raven, in particular, fit his dour mood. He steered Nevermore and led the EXO pilots towards New Exodus.
The EXO Prime had informed him of the splinter faction from the EFNF, the same one that had left with Mercury so long ago. The EXO Prime also warned that New Exodus wasn’t all that it seemed. Mercury did not understand that last bit, but he reveled in the idea of disrupting or even destroying a civilization on such a beautiful planet. As he came into view of the city his blood boiled. He saw that the New Exodus people were using the Quintarran structures left here centuries ago. He held no particular hatred for Quintarrans, but to see how easy the lives on Quintar VII were compared to Eden enraged him.
EXECUTION
Quintar VII - New Exodus: NELED Military Prison
2972 ESD - Tuesday, November 11th 06:30 hours
The Judge returned in the morning as promised, along with two other guards with similar wet-ware implants. Abel didn’t understand why a man would want to create such a sight externally on his body. If he had the choice between being normal or using external wet-ware he would take the former every time. He had substantial upgrades and wet-ware himself, but it was all through his nanite implant; no one ever cut him open and jammed things in. The Judge motioned to his two compatriots and never said a word to Abel. The two men grabbed him roughly and the collar gave a slight shock, after the previous night he was getting used to it. Although the shocks were still wholly unpleas
ant.
“So where are we going now, Judge?” Abel croaked through a hoarse and sore throat. The multiple shocks had considerably parched his already thirsty gullet.
However, Abel managed to throw in enough of the sass he had wanted to. The Judge didn’t seem to notice. The two guards hauled him out of the cell and down a rough hallway. The walls were slick with condensation as is often the case in underground tunnels. As they traversed the prison grounds Abel could hear the moans of other prisoners and the screams of others still. The cells were all as dank and dark as his own and occasionally he could hear the crackle of the collars - like his. Each time he heard the electrical surge he cringed, painfully aware that he still bore a similar collar around his own neck.
The guards had tried to increase his pace and he struggled with them. The collar did its work. The jostling of the struggle acted the same as if he had tried to move the collar. He felt the shock even more keenly because of its increased strength. Sleeping the night before was virtually impossible, each time he moved the collar shifted and the shock increased in intensity.
Finally, Abel was shocked into unconsciousness again. His nanites appeared to be continuously working to repair his damaged flesh, but his neck was still sore and bloody. He considered the nanites for a moment and wondered why his other wet-ware was not functioning. Abel assumed there was some sort of dampening field around the prison, one that cut off his connection to the Kodiak and signals, but not his internal nanites.
He was practically being dragged by the guards now, lifted slightly off the ground as he leaned heavily on their support. The lack of sleep and near constant shocks from the collar left him weary and beaten. He still wore his own clothing, the comfortable cargo jeans and fitted black shirt, but they had taken his trench coat and weapons. They ascended a flight of stairs and as they led him he began to get hints of light coming through windows missing from the lower level.
