by Justin Sloan
At least, that was the garbage they shoveled, and the masses ate it up. Alicia knew it stank now and had suspected it for some time; however, the chip she held with proof of the corporations’ plans to make a move against Earth proved it.
“You know your stuff well enough to pull this off?” Antwon asked as they made their way across the platform.
“I do,” Alicia replied, and Marick nodded. She was to be a Priestess of Titanian, like Yerbuna, who she was already starting to miss. They hadn’t had time to really become friends, but she had enjoyed her help rescuing Marick and thought a friendship would’ve been nice, especially after her only other girlfriend, Norwal, had turned out to be a traitor.
Due to the availability of clothes that would fit over his exoskeleton, Marick would be a Christian priest. It happened to work out that he knew most about that religion because it was still widely practiced by many in the Marine Corps, and his memories about his time in the Marine Corps had been the least affected by Project Destiny’s experiments on his mind.
As miners moved on to other crews and some to guild houses, a group of prisoners was led by guards to be checked into the prison system. They were likely men and women who had acted up on Space Station Horus and thus been sentenced to hard time.
Blending into the crowd, Antwon led his two new friends to the center of the station, where he gestured down the middle between the rotating plates and external defensive systems to where shuttles waited to escort the prisoners ‘below.’ It wasn’t technically below, but given the artificial gravity and where they were standing, it was to them.
“Since this was to be a prison station, the founders of New Hope thought of the perfect name—Ramiel, the Angel of Hope,” Antwon explained. “Not only was Ramiel to guide souls to heaven, but he was a fallen angel. Thus, hope for our own fallen angels,” he said and gestured down the honeycomb of metal stretching far ahead, which Alicia now realized was a myriad of prison cells.
She knew the rest—why this place had formed, how it had evolved. A modern version of old Australia, New Hope had tried to create a station for prisoners where they could send them all to one place and let them figure it out. For years it had been the new Wild West, but more than one mass murdering spree had occurred, and worse. Some of it had been captured for audiences worldwide to watch in horror, and politicians had quickly insisted that a corporation privatize the prison system. Now they had this space station that lay before them, and New Hope had risen above any semblance of the obscurity it might have suffered before.
Marick and Alicia knelt to better see down into the tube of cells. The positioning of the cells meant zero gravity for the prisoners. The longer they were there, the more problems their bodies had—not just their bones and physical problems but hallucinations, too. If they harbored any hope of survival, they volunteered for the most dangerous of mining operations, which were reserved for only those prisoners. Of course, then they had to decide whether to die in their cells, suffering the effects of zero gravity, or likely die much sooner on a dangerous mining operation.
“One thing I gotta know,” Antwon said. “Most people want to break out of a prison station, not in. What’s your deal?”
Marick and Alicia shared a look of concern, but he nodded, so she said, “Is there somewhere more private where we can discuss this?”
Antwon gestured and started making for the prisoner pods.
“Tell me you’re not taking us down there,” Alicia said.
“What I’ll tell you is the truth, nothing less,” Antwon replied, “which means I can’t do as you ask. Here’s the thing: we need to get you off of here via the elevator. And since we need clearance to get you on the elevator, we have to impress some very important people.”
“And you’re not that person?” Marick asked.
“People,” Antwon repeated. “I’m Veles’s man here, and there are others that ally strongly with him. But he’s not the only one around here to ensure something gets done. Namely, we’re taking you to see Gulch. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?”
Gulch was one of the men who were responsible for making this place what it was because he’d led a mass killing raid against another group of prisoners long ago and was known for his cruelty.
“I’d always thought they’d had him executed,” Alicia said.
“Because that’s the story he put out there,” Antwon replied. “In reality, he’s still very much alive and runs most of the local piracy.”
“And seeing him will get us on that elevator?” Alicia asked.
“Not likely,” Marick said, chiming in. “He’s going to want something from us. A price for his assistance.”
They reached a pod and the guards moved aside for Antwon, giving him a nod and ignoring the two religious figures. When they were on their own side of the pod with enough room that they didn’t need to worry about eavesdroppers, Antwon leaned in and said, “Exactly. And considering the fact that the next elevator leaves in twelve hours—and you want to be on it or wait another week—you’d better be damn fast about doing whatever the hell it is he asks of you.”
Alicia didn’t like the sound of that but nodded for now. She glanced over to see a troubled look in Marick’s eyes and actually found herself worrying about him. Even though he’d proven he was a grade-A badass back on Space Station Horus during their escape, the way he’d seemed to be filling with anger on the transport ship wasn’t natural. She’d been around him long enough to know he wasn’t on any drugs, but it was that same look, that same change in demeanor that had overtaken him that she’d seen numerous times with Scorpio during the year she’d worked with him on Horus.
Scorpio… in a way he’d been like a younger brother to her, someone she was always watching out for. For a while there, saving him had almost risen to the same level of importance as finding information on her missing husband. Now he was back there on Horus without her to watch over him, and she worried—mostly about his use of drugs. The reason he’d gotten clean had been her, though he’d relapsed numerous times. He’d claimed he needed it—this pill the black-market gangs sold, mostly through Veles and the Heel, claiming it had been ripped off from whatever New Origins was using to upgrade their PD soldiers. The pill was short-lasting, giving bursts of energy and clarity with senses on high alert—the perfect drug for someone like Scorpio, who had been in the hacking game with Squad Thirty-Two before she’d won him over to her team. Perfect, that is, if one didn’t consider the side effects. And now he was there without her. When she got the chance, she’d have to find a way of communicating with Yerbuna and ask the woman to take charge in that regard.
Thinking about it, Alicia wondered if they were connected—this drug and the upgrades. If Marick wasn’t on the drug but was starting to act up, it made sense. He hadn’t lost control yet, though, so she made a note to keep an extra careful watch for those signs. Since she had been upgraded, too, she’d also have to watch out in regards to her own emotions, considering the fact that she felt them raging within her regardless. Having been reunited with a husband she hadn’t been sure was alive until quite recently, her own emotional state would be a poor one for testing.
The pod took off, following the walls of the station as it made its way into the pits of the prison hell, and Alicia’s stomach lurched with each rotation, filling her with more worry. Whatever this Gulch guy was going to ask them to do, she knew it wouldn’t be good.
“I’m not doing this!” one of the prisoners shouted from the rear of the pod, suddenly jumping up and flinging herself at the glass. The pod kept on, but again the woman threw herself against the glass, trying to break free. Before she could jump a third time, two guards had her pinned to the floor. A third guard glared at the rest of the prisoners, avoiding eye contact with Antwon and his companions, and then thrust out his hand.
Two small pellets shot out and hit the woman in the neck, sending her into an electrified convulsion before leaving her unconscious.
Alicia pulled at the
sleeve of her orange robe, realizing that this was the same tech as the wrist piece she’d taken from the dome. She figured the scientists there had developed it, but rumor had it that New Hope had tried to make up for their lack of super soldiers by doubling down on R&D, especially in weapons tech. Considering they were a prison station, it made sense that they would also have focused on equipment for dealing with situations like this.
“Not long now,” Antwon said, turning and holding onto one of the ceiling bars as the pod continued, humming as if nothing had happened.
One of the prisoners was sobbing softly while others huddled against the far wall, and Alicia found herself wondering about those coming to Ramiel from Horus. How many had been just like her, or in the guilds like Intrepid’s brother? How many actually deserved to be there? Based on her recent interactions with New Origins and the PD soldiers, not many, she figured.
Someday, she’d find a way to fix all of this. Somehow.
3
Marick: Space Station Ramiel – Prison Catacombs
Marick couldn’t help but eye each of the prisoners, weighing their threat level. Part of this behavior likely had to with his training, both in the Marines and as part of Project Destiny. More than that, though, was the fact that being united with a wife he barely remembered was making him feel incredibly protective. If anyone made a move to hurt her, he would damn sure unleash hell on them.
Before that could became a situation, he was glad to find that the pod had come to one of its stops and Antwon was motioning them forward. They pushed past the others and entered one of several grand entryways that branched off from the main tube of this station.
“Just remember, Gulch doesn’t like to be insulted, and turning down a request from him is high on the list of insults.”
“Oh, I thought you meant his appearance,” Alicia said with a chuckle. “Like he’s funny-looking and—”
“Yes,” Antwon said and gave her a warning look, not breaking stride.
The walls rose up high on each side of the prison, and a strange dizzying feeling accompanied each step. Prisoners were in their cells, some long-limbed from the effects of low gravity, and at least one appeared to be dead.
“What we’re in now is the gravitational rotation,” Antwon explained. “They rotate the prisoners to ensure their bodies don’t get too messed up from a lack of gravity.”
“All but Gulch?” Marick asked.
“Him and a few of his higher-ups, yes. But he did his time, as you’ll see.”
They reached the end where it broke off in a T, and they went to the left. This was a smaller passage, ending in a door that was guarded by two large men—not guards in the prison sense but guards who appeared to be prisoners.
“Antwon,” one of them said, nodding. “This them?”
Antwon simply nodded and continued walking, going in as one of them slid the door open with a hand scanner. Alicia and Marick went in, too, receiving respectful nods from the guards.
The door led them to a room that in no way looked like a prison cell. Maybe it had once been a guard house or the warden’s office but had since been changed into what felt more like a movie version of an old mobster’s house.
Gulch sat opposite them behind a large desk, and Marick’s immediate inclination to laugh was quickly quelled by one look from the man. Elongated and sickly from too much time up there, Gulch was every bit the opposite of an old movie mobster. Whoever had decorated his room hadn’t really committed to Italian- or Japanese-style mafia, so there was a mixture of each, complete with shoji-screen walls and wide mafioso desk.
Gulch would likely break anyone in half who so much as laid a hand on him, which explained the extra set of four guards in the room.
“May I introduce you to Alicia and Marick Carter?” Antwon said with a very Japanese bow to the man.
Eyeing them with great interest, Gulch leaned forward and smiled, revealing purple teeth—a side effect of the enhancement pills, Marick had heard.
“It’s a pleasure,” Marick said, bowing as Antwon had. “Thank you for seeing us.”
“You’re most welcome in our station,” Gulch said, smiling wider now. “May I see it?”
Marick looked from Antwon to Alicia, then back to Gulch, confused.
Gulch waved his hand in Marick’s direction and said, “Remove the robe.”
“Sir, I’m not about to show you my—”
“It, in this case, is the teleportation device,” Antwon quickly interjected, realizing the misunderstanding.
Boy, Marick felt silly. He quickly removed the robe, which caught on the exoskeleton but then came off. He wore a harness with the teleportation device attached, as he thought it too valuable to leave anywhere.
“You won’t be able to use it,” Marick stated, “if that’s what you had in mind.”
“Not me,” Gulch replied. “I’ve heard the stories, even lost one of my own men to the experiments. No, I won’t be using it, but you will.”
“Ah, to obtain something,” Marick said, catching on, “for you.”
Gulch nodded, eyeing Alicia. “Here’s my thought. I like you, I trust you, mostly. But what I’m going to ask you to do isn’t exactly ethical, and I’m not sure I trust your ability to ignore your morals. Especially now that you’ve decided what those morals are.”
Marick had a good idea where this was going, and he didn’t like it.
“To ensure my investment pays off, I’m going to hold on to Al—Alicia, was it?” he asked and waited for her nod. “I’ll hold Alicia here with me as a guest, nothing more.”
The thumping of blood returned to Marick’s consciousness, overwhelming him with enhanced senses and the urge to kill.
“You lay a hand on her, I’ll teleport right through your body and bring your heart out with me.” Marick took a step closer, ignoring the movement of the guards to intercept. He was about to take them all down, and maybe he could have, but in the back of his mind he knew that doing so would mean no transportation on that space elevator, so he was glad when Alicia spoke up.
“No, Marick,” she said, holding out her hand. “It’s okay. Let these guys try anything and they’ll see what happens.”
“Only one thing, boss,” Antwon said, approaching and then leaning in to whisper something in his ear.
“Is that so?” Gulch’s brow lowered with each word. Then he nodded and waved Antwon away before turning back to Alicia and Marick with a plastered-on smile. “It would seem this job might require the skills of both of you. I wasn’t aware they made true power couples these days,” he said and laughed at his corny joke, then waved them closer. “Here’s the deal. These disguises aren’t just for you to hide here as much as they will help with the next phase of my attempt to liberate this place.”
“You mean you want us to help liberate Space Station Ramiel?” Alicia asked.
“No, nothing like that,” Gulch said and his authentic smile returned. “Only get me what I need to make it happen.”
Alicia shared a quick glance with Marick, and he could tell she wasn’t so keen on the request. Then again, what they were trying to accomplish was bigger than that. They needed to at least try and could always set things right later.
“We accept,” Marick stated.
“Oh, goody,” Gulch said, leaning back and eyeing him with disdain and curiosity. “How cute that you thought you had a choice.”
“If we don’t have a choice, then why are we here?” Alicia asked.
“To ensure you know the stakes. You don’t succeed, you join the rest of the prisoners here, or maybe you get sent back to Space Station Horus. I imagine Nightshade would be quite pleased to see you.”
“And if we do?”
“You’ll have earned yourself a lifelong friend in me, and my friendship comes with big benefits. Not the, er, friends-with-benefits kind,” he added briskly, “but the kind that involves getting you on that space elevator.”
The guards chuckled at that and Gulch looked proud of hi
mself, as if he’d made the joke on purpose.
With a wave of his hand the guards stopped laughing, standing stoically again, and Gulch took a chip out of his desk—round, just like a poker chip in many ways. Flipping it to Alicia, he smiled and watched as she caught it, scanned it over one of her wrist computers, and then nodded.
“Coordinates, map…” She flicked along a screen that had popped up from her wrist. “Anything else on here I should know about?”
He grinned. “You tell us. Our people only just cracked the outer shell. There’s enough at least to show you where to go and what to get. Then we return here.” With those last words he nodded to Antwon.
“Ah, yes,” Antwon said and turned to Marick. “Our understanding is that you can set your return spot but can’t just teleport anywhere?”
“That, and I only have a limited energy supply,” Marick replied, nodding, though he didn’t actually know how much each jump took out of him.
“We’ll just have to hope you have enough for this jump, at least,” Antwon said and then gestured to the corner of the room. “Set your return point right there.”
Marick frowned but nodded. He activated the device via the headpiece, then scanned the area and selected the location. “Done.”
“Very well,” Gulch said and considered him a moment. “And the rumors that non-mods aren’t able to operate the device?”
“True, I’m afraid,” Marick replied, though he’d not seen it in person. All he knew was that Veles, who had given him this device, had tried it on other non-modified people, or non-mods, and the results had always been quite negative. The fact that this man was asking showed he had heard the rumors, too, but was likely looking for a way not to need Marick and Alicia for the operation. With that being the case, Marick couldn’t help but wonder if Gulch would bother keeping them alive when it was all over. When they had a moment alone, he would have to discuss that with Alicia and figure out a plan for that potential outcome.
