Antiquity's Gate: Sanctuary

by RF Hurteau

  Terrance appeared to ponder this for a while before answering. “I don’t think we have to be enemies,” he said at last. “I don’t see why we couldn’t be friends.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Well, knowing this place is still functioning, that’s a huge bonus. This is the perfect first line of defense if the Elves come through.”

  “You’re wrong,” interjected Meagan O’Dell. “When the Elves ran this place, they had no need for defenses. All of our precautions are in their fledgling stages.”

  Terrance seemed to consider this. “Why didn’t you just bury it?” he asked.

  “We tried that,” Edwin admitted. “But it proved impossible. We tried covering it with ice, but the ice touching the Gate itself kept melting away. Anything in front of it simply slid through. So we’ve focused on our other options, instead.”

  “Ah, but you’ve been working on your own. I’m betting you have limited resources, is that right?”

  Nelson nodded, unable to contain himself any longer. “Not that it’s any of your business,” he said, “but yeah. A lot of our materials are repurposed and recycled. So what? We’re doing okay for ourselves.”

  “You’re doing okay, for now. But I’m willing to bet you’d be doing a lot better if you had the resources and the manpower. How many people you got up here?” He looked around at them.

  “Eight thousand, give or take,” Edwin said, somewhat suspicious.

  “And how many of them are Engineers? Scientists?”

  Nelson could see the worried faces that the Council members exchanged. “Not enough,” Edwin admitted at last.

  “Culei has some of the finest engineers on this planet,” Terrance bragged. “I should know; I’m one of them! And we’re familiar with your domes, too. We have the original plans.”

  This was a shocking revelation. Nelson felt his eyes go wide. “You what?” he said, amazed.

  “It’s true,” Terrance insisted. “Our own capital was based off of the technology used here.”

  Edwin sat back down, and Nelson leaned in toward him and Sylvia. “Do you believe this guy?” Nelson asked in a low whisper.

  “He seems genuine,” answered Sylvia. “But that doesn’t mean we should trust him.”

  “Still, we’re hurting bad here. Making friends on the outside might not be a bad idea,” suggested Edwin. He straightened up.

  “Are you qualified to speak for your nation?” Edwin demanded, but Terrance shook his head.

  “That’s the Ambassador’s job. Unless…Dante, are you qualified to speak for our nation?”

  Dante, looking somewhat horrified, shook his head rapidly. Terrance sighed. “What did I tell ya? Useless.”

  Edwin nodded. “All right.” He looked to Denton. “Has your team finished repairing the turret controls?”

  Denton’s face contorted more than usual, which was saying something. Nelson had always thought that the man looked like he was constantly in pain. As if the act of having to think actually hurt him. “Not yet. It should be soon, though.”

  “I just hope it’s soon enough. If this Bohai comes back with Elves, I want to be ready.”

  “I don’t think that’s likely,” Terrance said. “But they will probably come through for the drill at some point. That was kind of the whole point of the trip.”

  Nelson came out of his seat, eyes shifting from Terrance to Edwin. “We can’t let them take that thing through the Gate,” he said, and he saw the same grim determination that he felt reflected in Edwin’s face.

  “No. How soon are you expecting them to collect it?” he asked Terrance, his voice finally taking on a tone of urgency.

  “I’m not sure,” Terrance said.

  “Damn,” Edwin muttered, and Nelson could practically see his mind racing through their options. “All right. Denton, I want you to assemble a team and keep them at the entrance to the tunnel, twenty-four hours a day. If they come back before out turrets are up, we don’t want to be caught completely unawares. Nelson,” At this, Nelson straightened up, preparing himself for whatever important task Edwin had for him. “I want you to take one of the guards outside and show Terrance down to Core Operations. Show him what we’re working with, and see if he can be of any assistance speeding up the repairs.”

  Nelson gaped. “You want me to…what?”

  “You heard me, Nelson. Take Terrance—”

  He couldn’t believe his ears. “He could sabotage everything! This might have been their plan all along!”

  Edwin raised an eyebrow. “If it was, it wasn’t a very good one. He can’t do much more harm than that lunatic with the cane already did. Just bring him down, have our guys keep an eye on him, and let him take a look. That is,” he said, addressing Terrance now, “if you’re willing?”

  Terrance shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Nothing pressing on my schedule at the moment.” Suddenly, his eyes lit up. “I work better with a little something to warm my belly,” he said, hopeful.

  “Get our guns back in working order, and I’ll put you up in the tavern. Compliments of the Council.” Edwin pointed toward the door. “Go on, Nelson.”

  Nelson tugged at his collar with a look of consternation before marching out of the room. “Come on!” he barked at Terrance. “Let’s go.”

  As they left, he heard Edwin continuing to dole out assignments. “The rest of you, please follow the guards, who will show you to your quarters. You will remain there unless summoned…” his voice drifted off behind them.

  “So…” Terrance said after a few minutes of tense silence. “You’ve got a tavern, eh?”

  Nelson scowled. “Yes. We have a market, too. A couple markets.”

  “A couple! You don’t say.”

  Nelson chose to let the sarcastic tone roll of his back. “We’re not savages, you know. We’ve done a lot of good here, considering what we’re working with.”

  “I don’t doubt it. I’d love to hear all about this place. A hundred and twenty-five years of isolation from the outside world. I can’t begin to imagine what that must have been like.”

  “Well, you’ll have to try because I don’t have time for storytelling right now,” Nelson snapped moodily. “We’ve got a job to do, and you’d better not try anything. I’ll know if you do!”

  “So, you’re an engineer, too, then?”

  Nelson sniffed haughtily. “Before we overthrew the Elves, I worked in Core Operations,” he said, avoiding answering the question directly.

  “That sounds impressive.”

  “Thank you,” he said curtly.

  “What’d you do?”

  “I was responsible for monitoring and reporting on all vital systems for the city.”

  “Ah,” said Terrance, with a knowing nod. “A pencil pusher.”

  “Excuse me,” said Nelson. “I’ll have you know that I did a lot more than keep logs, thank you very much.”

  “Apologies,” said Terrance. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  Nelson considered this for a while before deciding to be the bigger man. “I’m sure you didn’t,” he said. “Here we are.”

  He led Terrance into Core Operations. It was relatively quiet, and to Nelson’s dismay, he saw that most of its occupants were sitting quietly at their stations, writing in their logbooks. He felt his cheeks redden slightly, and he directed Terrance’s attention toward the weapon controls, where a half dozen people were scuttling around, looking, to his relief, much more active than the rest of the room. Terrance shoved his way up to the console, eyeing it critically, and Nelson found himself growing defensive before the other man had said a single word. “We do what we can with what we’ve got,” he said, quickly.

  Terrance nodded thoughtfully. “This is all new, eh? I can tell. Doesn’t match the equipment around it.”

  “We built it specifically to control the gun turrets. We made those, too,” Nelson added proudly.

  “But they aren’t working right now?”

  “A wild man with a can
e busted up the whole console!” Nelson said, his voice growing desperate.

  “Well, maybe you shouldn’t allow canes in here,” Terrance said, bending down to get a closer look at the controls. “He sure did a number on it. I think your biggest issue are the touch controls. A good old-fashioned panel with some sturdy buttons and knobs would be much less susceptible to attack. But that’d require reworking the whole system. Hmm.”

  Nelson watched nervously as Terrance quietly observed the machine and those tinkering with it. At last the other man abruptly stood, turning back to Nelson.

  “Yeah, I can help,” he said, and Nelson’s body flooded with relief. “I’m going to need a list of everything you have to work with. Materials and any comparable parts.”

  Nelson was nodding eagerly. “We already have that. You there!” he commanded, pointing at a young man who was elbow deep in the wiring beneath the panel, trying vainly to identify which strands had been damaged by the glass shrapnel from the display. “Where’s our master list?”

  “Killian has it, sir,” the young man said absently. “Down in Pods.”

  “What?” Nelson said, upset. “What’s Killian need it for? He has nothing to do with this project.”

  “I know, sir, but someone just brought it down a little while ago. Apparently some of the rarer items had already been commandeered for their research, or something. Someone went to compare the lists and get our stuff back.”

  “Never mind,” said Nelson, exasperated. “I’ll get it myself.”

  “I’ll wait here,” Terrance suggested, but Nelson shook his head.

  “No, you most certainly will not. I’m keeping my eye on you. You’re coming with me to Pods.”

  Terrance sighed. “Well, no use standing around here, then. Let’s get it over with.”

  They made the trek down to Pods in silence, except for Terrance’s single exclamation of, “Oh! This is the way we came in.” Killian was in Ben’s office, surrounded by boxes and looking more than a little flustered.

  “Killian,” Nelson said, somewhat harsher than necessary. “Where is the master list?”

  “What? Oh.” Killian looked around, his eyes coming to rest on a stack of papers in the corner. “There it is. I was about to look at it, though…”

  “Never mind. Priorities, man! We need some of these parts for the weapon controls. And I don’t know which ones, yet, either,” he snapped, before Killian could ask, “so just do us all a favor and don’t touch any of it.”

  Killian looked heartbroken. “But we need some of these things! We’re trying to network the pods. Ben’s had a brilliant idea, and we were just about to start testing.”

  “Pods?” Terrance interjected. “Is that what all those funny machines are out there? Sure are a lot of them.”

  Killian looked at Terrance as if noticing him for the first time. “Yeah, there are a lot,” he said distractedly. “And…you are…?”

  Terrance stuck a hand out, which Killian took automatically. “The name’s Terrance. I’m—”

  “He’s from another department,” Nelson said quickly. He had just realized that they hadn’t discussed who should know about the Culeians, or when.

  “Come off it,” Killian said, realization dawning in his eyes. “I saw you come through! Yeah, with Security, there were four of you, weren’t there?” Suddenly, his face drained of color and his eyes went wide as the full realization of what that meant hit him. “Criminey. You’re from outside, aren’t you?”

  “Took you long enough,” Terrance said jovially. “We’ve been in your fair city for nearly a day, now.”

  “I guess I just…I don’t know. Thought maybe they were doing a project outside or something. But you were dressed really funny, I just didn’t think…criminey.” He whistled, and Nelson cringed.

  “Are you telling me that idiot Denton didn’t even have the brains to bring you in discreetly?” Nelson demanded, turning on Terrance.

  “If I’d known it was a big secret, I’d have told him myself,” he shrugged.

  “How many people saw you?” Nelson asked, desperation creeping back up from the pit of his stomach.

  “I dunno. Loads, I guess.”

  Nelson clapped a hand to his forehead. “Unbelievable.” He tapped his comm. “Edwin?” he said.

  “Edwin here,” came the reply. “What’s up, Nelson? Good news?”

  “Do you realize that dolt, Denton, paraded the drill crew through half of Sigil, right in front of the workers?”

  There were a few moments of silence. Then, half-heartedly, Edwin said, “Maybe no one noticed?”

  “Of course, they noticed! Forget about keeping the outside world under wraps, now, Edwin. I’m sure the rumors are flying across half the city by now.” He pointed at Killian, who looked startled. “Are rumors flying?” he demanded.

  “Huh? No. I mean, I don’t know. I didn’t even think twice about it until you came in. But I’ve been really distracted with this networking business. No one said anything to me.”

  Nelson, heart racing, stormed out of the office, grabbing the first employee he saw, an older man in a Maintenance uniform, who looked slightly taken aback. “You, have you heard any strange rumors today?”

  “You mean about the outsiders?” the man inquired. Nelson groaned, tapping his comm again. “Yeah,” he said resignedly. “They know.”

  “We’re going to have to get out ahead of this thing, Nelson. Do whatever you need to do.”

  “Me?” Nelson complained, “Sylvia’s the one with a background in public relations, not me.”

  “Fine. Find Sylvia. Tell her to organize a public meeting in the square for as soon as humanly possible. Give her whatever support she needs. Got it?”

  “Fine.”

  “You sure?”

  “I said, fine!”

  “Good.”

  Nelson switched his comm, waving off Terrance, who had come out of the office to find him. “Not now, Terrance. Go play with Killian. Sylvia? It’s Nelson. Listen, we have a problem.”

  * * *

  It took the rest of the evening and the entirety of the next day for Nelson and Sylvia to finish spreading the word about the public meeting. In the meantime, everywhere Nelson went, he was assailed by people wanting to know if the rumors were true. It seemed like each interaction became a little wilder. People began by asking if there were really outside survivors, and then he was asked if they were under attack. The last person who’d approached him had told him that he’d packed all of his worldly belongings in a sack and was headed to the Tube station for the evacuation.

  “There is no evacuation,” Nelson said, as calmly as he could manage. “Please, please just come to the meeting. Everything will be explained there.”

  Meanwhile, Nelson had gotten the go-ahead from Edwin to place Killian in charge of overseeing Terrance. The two of them had hit it off right away, and whenever Nelson showed up for a progress report, they were always laughing about something or other. They went back and forth between Pods and Core Operations, trailed by an ever-present Security guard, who they had somehow managed to convince to carry supplies for them back and forth between the departments. Nelson approached them now and looked over the weapon control panel with an appraising eye. “How are things progressing?” he asked. Terrance was laughing again.

  “Good, good. Oh man, Killian just told me the funniest joke. Of course, he had to explain it to me, because I don’t know too much about Elves and Halfsies, but it was still funny, which is saying something…anyway, it goes like this. An Elf, a Human, and a Halfsie walk into a bar—”

  “Seriously?” Nelson snapped, cutting him off. “You’re seriously telling jokes right now? And about Halfsies, no less? Kind of an inappropriate subject, don’t you think?”

  Killian looked shame-faced as Nelson turned back to Terrance, scowling. “I’m getting ready for the meeting. Please tell me you have something I can use to inspire the people.”

  “Oh. Well, sure. You can say whatever you
want. As long as it’s not that you have working gun turrets.” Terrance pointed at the control panel which, if possible, looked worse than before. Nelson went pale.

  “What have you done to it?” he asked in a low voice.

  “Well, like I said when you first showed it to me, your big mistake was trying to make it so high tech. So, we’re simplifying it. But that meant a lot of extra work. But hey, check this out!” He reached over and grabbed a long toggle, which was connected to a wire that disappeared inside the console. He wiggled it back and forth, demonstrating its smooth range of motion. “Nice, simple, analog direction control. Don’t worry. It won’t be much longer. Maybe a few more days.”

  Nelson left Core Operations feeling disheartened and more than a little nervous. Most of the population of New Sanctuary was gathering outside the Sigil building at this very moment, and he didn’t have any idea what he was going to tell them. He felt like a completely different person than he had been a few short months ago. Old Nelson would have relished this opportunity. He lived for this stuff. New Nelson just felt old and tired. Sylvia was pacing near the front entrance, her hands squeezed tightly together.

  “Where’s Edwin?” Nelson asked as he approached.

  “He’s already out there. I think he’s worried about the chaos last time we had a gathering like this. Edwin is making sure there are appropriate Security measures in place to quell any problems that might arise.”

  Nelson scoffed. “A lot of good that did last time. But whatever. Come on. Let’s get this over with.”

  Nelson and Sylvia stepped outside, and Nelson led her up to the podium that had been erected on the steps. The crowd, which moments before had buzzed with anticipation, fell silent at their approach.

  “People of New Sanctuary,” said Sylvia, speaking clearly and firmly into the microphone. Nelson was impressed. From where he stood, he could see her hands quivering, knuckles white from clasping them together so hard. “Thank you for making time in your day to join us for this City Meeting. I’m sorry that it had to be under circumstances such as these.”

  Nelson cringed at the same moment that several voices shouted out from the crowd. He should have asked to hear her speech first—he would have told her that that was probably a bad choice of words.