by Vishal Ved
17.
The Secret Message
When Cenoy regained consciousness, Xena was at her side. Mesek, too, was in the room. Xena supported Cenoy into a sitting position on the slab. Cenoy’s dress was bloody violet and she couldn’t feel her left leg. Severe pain radiated from her chest. Cenoy looked at Mesek trying to keep the pain out of her expression.
‘You’re very strong Cenoy,’ said Mesek. He glanced at the blood on the floor, his pride in her evident on his face. ‘You endured the test though you took the reinforcement while you were just a kid, that’s incredible. I believe we can start your training.’
Cenoy tried to stand but her legs gave way right away. Mesek and Xena rushed to her.
‘Are you alright, dear.’ Mesek put his hand on Cenoy’s forehead.
‘Yes, Yes I’m perfectly fine,’ said Cenoy, though her eyes were shut tight in pain.
‘Give her some medication, and take care of her,’ she heard Mesek saying to Xena.
Cenoy was then carried over to the medication pod where Xena enclosed her body in a glass shield, leaving only her head outside. Within the shield, machines started treating her, performing surgery, setting her cracked ribs and healing them and so forth.
Meanwhile, Ariet was pacing his chamber, trying to think of an escape plan, but all he could come up with was to plead before Mesek or Hak. Suddenly, the sato saw a piece of writing paper lying at the entrance. He picked it up. It was blank. He turned it over. Blank again. He continued his pacing, the paper held absently in his hand.
Then, he heard a sibilant sound as though somebody had whispered something. He nearly jumped out of his skin and whirled around to take in the whole room. There was no one there. He hurried out of his chamber and peered into the pitch dark but he couldn’t see anyone. Then, he heard it again, this hissing sound. He rushed back into his chamber which seemed safer in comparison to the dark corridor. Ariet put his head against the wall to check if the noise was coming from the next chamber, but could hear nothing. He was just beginning to think he had imagined the sound, when he heard it again. And it seemed to be following him, because it was equally loud wherever he stood, inside the chamber or out.
He scoured the room again and suddenly his attention fell on the paper which he was still holding. As he ran his fingers on its surface, he realised it wasn’t usual writing paper, it was a little different. Ariet brought the slip close to his eyes and saw fine ridges over it in curvy patterns which seemed to be designed for some purpose. When Ariet rubbed his fingers over them he heard the hissing. Startled, he almost dropped the paper. He had never seen anything like it before.
He ran his fingers over the ridges again, more carefully this time, and felt like he heard what sounded like words. He sat in his sleeping pod and this time tried rubbing his nails over it. The hissing became a clear voice which said, ‘That was a bluff. I’ll call soon. Consider this as my last message on slip.’
‘Where did you find that!’
Ariet started, and looked up to see Hak standing at the door, staring at the slip in his hand, looking both pale and angry. Before Ariet could answer he strode straight to him.
‘Gimme that,’ he said, snatching the slip from Ariet and then crushing it into his hands. ‘Do not even talk about this slip with anyone. It’s highly confidential.’
‘Yeah, I’ll never do that,’ said Ariet, frightened at this sinister side of Hak.
‘Let’s go, it’s time for your reinforcement,’ said Hak, turning away from him.
The sato got up from his sleeping pod, all nervous and sweating. It was certainly not the right time to plead his case to Hak. What could he do?
Hak, standing outside in the dark, was talking to somebody. As the sato reached the door he heard him saying, ‘Send the location of gate haeres, we’re all good to go.’
Ariet thought Mesek had also come to see him caged into those merciless vessels, but to his great surprise there was no one with Hak outside. With whom Hak was talking then?
‘Is haeres here?’ he asked, puzzled.
‘Here? What’ll he be doing around here at this time,’ replied Hak paling, but then he seemed to realize the reason for Ariet’s question, and said, ‘There’s a device fitted into my neck, it’s known as zeng.’
‘Wait__ what, where?’ Ariet could see nothing on his neck.
‘You can’t see it because it’s inside. I can use it to communicate with haeres anytime I want.’
Ariet had never heard of such technology before. He wished he could get one of those and talk to Cenoy all day.
While the sato was lost in such thoughts Hak had already stepped into the pool and was walking in the water down the dark canal. Ariet jumped into the pool too and wetted his new suit completely. He tried not to make noise at first, but then he looked up at the terrifying stalactites, which he had almost forgotten about, and started splashing through the water at speed to catch up with Hak.
Hak stopped and looked back at Ariet as though he wanted to ask the sato to maintain some decorum, but Ariet didn’t care; all he wanted was to get under some shelter where death wouldn’t be hanging on his head. As soon as he reached Hak he saw the yellow glimmer of the setek in Hak’s hand and he diverted his path towards the vessels in the wall. He began searching for the quiet vessel and, much to his surprise, found it almost immediately.
‘It’s this one,’ said the sato breathlessly.
‘Go ahead and open it,’ said Hak, slowly moving towards him.
Ariet pushed the vessel and it fell to the other side in the tunnel. The sato looked through the circular passage and found that the tunnel was completely dark. He was afraid to go through to the other side, but the danger hanging from above seemed scarier. He climbed into the passage and crawled to the other side.
Hak entered into the passage behind the sato, but he was in for a rude shock... Ariet was nowhere to be seen. He heard the sato’s footsteps receding rapidly down the dark tunnel. Hak left the dropped vessel unfixed and ran behind him in the dark.
‘Ariet, stop,’ yelled Hak, chasing the sato, but he heard no more footsteps ahead of him. It was as if Ariet had vanished in the dark. Hak started bounding and in mere nine jumps he reached the spot where the sato was standing with Mesek. What was haeres doing in the tunnel, Hak wondered. Maybe he was returning from the surface, he guessed, and said, ‘I’m sorry haeres, but I didn’t expect him to run away like that.’
‘First of all, I’ll say that his reedy legs help him run fast,’ said Mesek, chuckling. He seemed to be in a good mood. ‘You don’t need to worry about Ariet, I’ll train him my way,’ he said to Hak, with a smile.
‘As you say, haeres,’ said Hak glaring at the sato; his dark green eyes glowering in anger.
‘Let’s go back,’ said Mesek and they all returned to Marcamaayu. Ariet stayed with Mesek, while Hak went straight to the setek soldiers who were training in pairs on the floating drums.
Ariet felt greatly relieved at his good fortune. Mesek was going to keep him with Cenoy and train them together. He followed Mesek with barely hidden elation to his chamber.
‘Ariet!’ Mesek said.
‘Yes, haeres,’ replied the sato, attentively.
‘I’ve a very important role for you which can be a bit challenging but is crucial to win this battle against MOX. I have been checking your records for a while and I realized that you’re one of the few genius fugits in Hydus.’
‘What is it, haeres? I’ll do anything for you,’ said Ariet in a bold voice, filled with enthusiasm. The fact that Mesek had faith in him was deeply gratifying.
‘You will go to Calamus as a spy,’ said Mesek.
The sato’s jaw dropped. He stared at Mesek, feeling like the rug had been pulled from under him. If Mesek was not safe even in Marcamaayu how could an untrained sato be expected to survive inside the enemy’s fort?
18.
A World Full Of Surprises
Ariet hid his panic and asked, ‘How far is Calamus, haeres?�
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‘Its entrance is just a few blocks away on the surface,’ replied Mesek, ‘but dear, before you go, you’ll need to learn some things about MOX—their strengths and weaknesses, the whole point of mission.’
Ariet allowed himself a glimmer of hope. It would take a lot of time to learn all that, and at least until then he could be with Cenoy, and who knew, perhaps Cenoy would get him out of this situation.
‘Xena, please come here. You need to teach Ariet some lessons about MOX,’ Mesek said.
Ariet looked around, but there was no sign of Xena. Then he remembered about the zeng device. Mesek had one fitted in his neck too, through which he could talk to anyone he wanted.
Xena came from the other room and said, ‘Haeres, Ariet will be ready in next three days.’
The sato’s face fell. He had hoped for a few weeks at least.
‘Can you make it two days dear, we don’t have much time,’ asked Mesek, politely.
‘Sure haeres, as you say,’ replied Xena with a nod.
‘You can go with her, sato,’ said Mesek turning away from them.
Ariet had no option but to follow Xena through a series of open chambers. Then, suddenly, he saw Cenoy lying in one of the chambers and ran straight to her.
‘What happened to her?’ he demanded, worriedly. Cenoy was in the medication pod, calm, but there was still dry blood on her body and gaban like she had been in a battle.
‘Nothing much, she just fell down after a small knee injury during her bone density test,’ replied Xena, ‘She’ll be fine soon, don’t worry.’
‘Did she pass the test?’ asked the sato, finding that his eyes had gone moist.
‘Yeah she did, she just needs some time to recover.’
Feeling sad for the kiro, Ariet followed Xena to a dark chamber next door, which lit up when they stepped inside. The walls were filled with pictures and maps, things which the sato had never before seen in his life.
Xena began with a short introduction. ‘MOX is the ruling organisation on Tomarkus that has forgotten its values in past few years. Prisoners are nothing to them but animals whom they can kill anytime they want. Haeres Mesek was the only one who tried to stop them. It was how it all started. Haeres formed a secret army to free all prisoners, and that was the foundation of Marcamaayu.’
Ariet’s heart filled with respect for Mesek when he heard this. He now understood the fervour that coursed through the thousands of Marcamaayu soldiers he’d seen.
‘Haeres Mesek has been fighting for a long time, and till now seven MOX council members out of twenty-three have surrendered before him. The rest live in fear of Marcamaayu and stay within the protection of the fort named Calamus where they’re much stronger than our armies. They’ve got more than four hundred seteks and you must have seen power of the setek by now.’
‘Yes, I’ve seen it very well,’ said Ariet, listening attentively.
‘No matter, how big Marcamaayu’s force is, we can never defeat MOX in Calamus unless we find its weak spot. That’s what you’ll do,’ said Xena, looking into Ariet’s eyes.
‘But I’ve never even been in a fight before. How can I survive in the enemy’s fort?’ asked Ariet, baffled.
‘Who said you’ve to use weapons in Calamus? Don’t even think about it, else…’ Xena stopped abruptly, and Ariet had no wish to know what she had been about to say. There was a moment of silence, then Xena continued, ‘All fugits outside the fort of Calamus are our allies. They’re not participating in the war directly, but they’ve given us their personal seteks and that’s more than we could have expected from them.’
Ariet stayed in the chamber for two days straight where Xena taught him a lot of other things. He learned that seteks needed regular recharging and there might be a separate chamber in Calamus for their charging, or even multiple systems hidden in secret places. Xena told Ariet he would have to steal seteks whenever possible and destroy them quietly. When Xena was away it was the sato’s responsibility to study the pictures and maps posted on the wall and understand MOX as best as he could.
On the third day he received his zeng. The zeng was like a tiny rubber ball with three needle-like antennas emerging from its surface. Ariet had to swallow the zeng with water. Halfway down his throat, it got stuck.
‘I can’t breathe,’ said Ariet, coughing in panic.
‘Of course, you can, it’s just a matter of time and you’ll get used to it,’ replied Xena, smiling at the sato.
Ariet put his hand against his forehead slits and realized air was still going in and coming out; the stuck zeng had reduced its flow, but not blocked it off completely.
‘Whenever you need to call haeres just repeatedly focus on his name and the zeng will connect you to him.’ Explained Xena.
The time had come for Ariet to go to Calamus. Cenoy had not regained consciousness in the past two days, and it appeared he would have to leave without saying goodbye. But just before leaving, the sato went to Cenoy, still lying in the medication pod, and touched her face, and she opened her eyes instantly like she had just been sleeping all this time.
Ariet’s eyes sparkled with joy and relief when the kiro reached out to him with a weak hand. ‘I’m leaving for some work Cenoy, but I’ll be back soon.’ he promised, clutching her hand with both of his. Cenoy looked like she wanted to say something, but before she could open her mouth Ariet heard Mesek’s clear voice in his head through the zeng. ‘I have to go now Cenoy, take care,’ he said looking into the kiro’s eyes, then hurried to the chamber where Mesek and Xena were waiting for him.
Xena had something colorful in her hand. ‘It’s your new outfit Ariet, go and change it in the next chamber,’ she said, handing the new dress to the sato.
‘But why do I need a new outfit?’ asked Ariet.
‘So that you can look like any other individual out there and the patrolling soldiers of MOX can’t identify you,’ explained Xena.
The sato went to the next chamber and returned in his new outfit—a long, emerald overcoat over a black gaban.
‘You look amazing in that,’ commented Xena, and Ariet blushed almost forgetting what kind of a mission he had dressed up for.
Mesek grabbed him by the shoulders and Ariet looked him in the eye with confidence. ‘I’ll do anything for you, haeres,’ he promised, but this time there was determination in his voice.
Ariet followed Xena from Marcamaayu to the surface through the tunnel and, as she bid him farewell, she handed him a map, using which he had to navigate his way to the dwelling of one of Mesek’s allies. Xena closed the door behind him as soon as he stepped out of the small dwelling. Now the sato was all alone, stranded between sky-high buildings and domes of different colours with intricate designs etched on them. The sato noticed large trees planted at the top of these buildings, generating enough dueso for this region of the planet to survive comfortably. It was one of the prettiest places he had ever seen; just being able to live aboveground seemed like a blessing.
Following the map, the sato marched forward and as soon as he took a left turn in the next lane, he started seeing other fugits as well, all dressed in different styles and colorful clothes, their clothes all unique and beautiful. They seemed to be roaming at leisure. Didn’t they have any work to do?
The sato followed the designated path until, all of a sudden, he saw a fleet of patrol vehicles approaching. Other pedestrians in the street quickly moved aside, but Ariet stood frozen, and the flying vehicles stopped right in front of him, their riders glaring at him.
19.
What Is A Family?
Ariet cursed his stupidity. They would no doubt arrest him now, or maybe even kill him on the spot. And his mission hadn’t even started. He flinched as a soldier dressed in a cobalt blue suit (just like the ones worn by the guards in Hydus) stepped out of his vehicle furiously.
‘What you’re so proud of, loser?’ yelled the guard as Ariet trembled in fear. ‘Knowing what he did to our families, you’re standing right in front of
us with pride.’
Ariet had no idea what a family was, but he understood that the guard was talking about Mesek because he was their only enemy. Fortunately, the soldier didn’t hurt the sato and climbed back into his patrolling vehicle which was like a white bird without wings. As the patrol fleet zoomed away Ariet heaved a sigh of relief, but the words of guard were still ringing in his head.
When the sato looked around he found out that the crowd was staring at him as though he had committed a crime, so he walked off, keeping his head down till he reached the small yellow dome which was marked on his map as his first destination in the map.
The oval door of the dome was slightly open. Ariet went up to it, but took a quick step back when he heard someone rushing up from within. Ariet was startled when a sato, wearing a green Hydus gaban, opened the door but didn’t look at him and ran back inside. Who was he and why was he in such a hurry, wondered Ariet, feeling a sudden sense of deja-vu, like he had returned to Hydus where everybody was in a rush and nobody had time to interact with anybody else.
‘Ariet, please come inside.’
Ariet heard a heavy voice from within, and he entered the dome, a nice and beautiful dwelling with colorful walls. A fat male wearing a fancy purple dress sat in a pod, his eyes fixed on Ariet.
‘Come here and take a seat,’ he said.
Confused, Ariet did as he was told and took a seat in the pod next to him.
‘So how was your journey, Ariet?’ asked the fat sato, with a smile.
‘It was fine, except for the flying fleet. They even barked at me,’ replied Ariet, sighing.
The fat sato grunted. ‘They’re our enemies, and they act like that all the time, because no fugit outside Calamus supports them.’
