The Uprising (The Mamluks Saga: Episode 2)

by Lake, Edward

  “Yes. The security system. You must now link your sija to the—”

  I lifted my arm, cutting him off. “I have no sija. The ozlon I carry has not stabilized.”

  The soldier gave me a confused look. “Forgive me, My Champion. May I ask how you defeated the former Champion? To my knowledge, no one has ever achieved the status of Champion without the strength of ozlon.”

  I smiled. “Not until now.”

  He returned a smile to me. “It will be an honor to serve at your side.”

  “Thank you, Soldier.” I anxiously stared at the screen. At that moment, I thought of something, and realized the opportunity at hand. “How far back do the security recordings go?”

  “I believe the recordings go back quite far.”

  I glanced at him. “Very good, Soldier. Now, for security purposes, I need you to leave as I look up some information.”

  “Certainly, My Champion.” The soldier dropped to one knee and bowed, then he rose and went on his way.

  I waited a while until he was long gone. Finally, I sat at the control board and pressed a button that brought up the automated system. A holographic image of Marsden came out of the control board and gradually spun around.

  “Identify yourself.”

  “This is Juozas. Champion of all Mamluks.”

  “Authentication complete.”

  I sat there for a moment, pondering. “Access security records of the planet Earth.” A few lights flashed, then a list of numbered files popped onto the screen. “Open file number one.” The file opened, showing a series of video recordings. “Play the first recording.”

  I sat back and watched. On the screen, I saw humans walking around in a crowded area. There were machines with wheels going by on the ground, and tall buildings all over. My curiosity increased dramatically, and I anxiously leaned forward. “Zoom in.”

  The view got closer. “More.” And closer. “More.” And closer. I watched carefully. Everyone was wearing different kinds of clothing, and there was so much going on I could hardly keep up. “Identify this location on Earth—at this present time—in human history.”

  The lights quickly flashed as the computer did its work. “Los Angeles, California. United States of America.”

  I sat there in a daze, mesmerized by what I was seeing. There was a young human gliding down a pathway on some kind of tool that was placed under his feet. I took a deep breath, eager to see more. “Next video.” The computer shifted to the next recording, showing some kind of event that was being held in a massive stadium.

  “Zoom in.” The view got closer. I narrowed my eyes as I studied the unusual contest. There were humans on a grassy field with helmets on their heads. “Freeze the recording.” I looked closer. Some of the helmets had a G on them, while others had a C. The humans with the G helmets were wearing green and yellow uniforms, while the ones with the C helmets were wearing white and blue uniforms.

  “Identify this location on Earth—at this present time—in human history.” The computer did its work. “Green Bay, Wisconsin. United States of America.”

  Moments later, as I looked on in complete awe, I heard someone coming. “Close the recordings.” The screen cleared. I quickly stood up and spun around.

  Mother walked into the room. “Hey, there you are. Ready to go home? I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  “Yes, My Ruler.” I moved ahead and stood beside her. Then, as I led Mother into the hall, I glanced at the control board, still in shock.

  United States of America?

  Chapter 17: Emily

  We returned to Earth and woke in the same location as before. There was a ship waiting for us. Juozas followed me as I approached the ramp. The soldiers guarding the area lowered themselves to the ground and bowed their heads.

  “Welcome home, Your Greatness.”

  I smiled at them as we headed inside. When we got back to our building, I handed Mr. Buttons to one of the patrolling soldiers and told her to bring him to Audrey.

  I went to the main entrance and found my besties waiting for me. First, Katie came forward and gave me a big hug.

  “Congratulations, My Ruler.”

  “Thanks, Katie.” I shifted to Bridget and hugged her while Juozas and Katie shared a warm embrace.

  Afterward, we all went inside. Juozas left us and headed to the security room. I led Katie and Bridget to my room and we took a seat on the sofa.

  “I’m glad you two stopped by. There is something I need to ask you.”

  They looked at me and waited.

  “Now that I’m the Ruler, I have to select five advocates to uphold my law, if and when I’m not present on a certain planet.”

  Their eyes got big, then Katie looked away. “I don’t know what to say.” She looked back at me. “I would be honored—but do you really think we could handle that?”

  I looked them over and flashed a loving smile. “I have the utmost faith in you both.”

  Bridget’s eyes watered. “I’m grateful, My Ruler. I won’t disappoint you.”

  We got close and did a group hug. After that, we huddled up and looked over the five planets on my sija. I let them review each one and decide where they wanted to go. Bridget chose Marsden, and Katie chose Rumza.

  Finally, we shared one last embrace before saying goodnight. I waved goodbye as they left, then turned and walked to the window. I stood there for a long while, scanning the outside with an ecstatic smile. Tomorrow would be my first day on the job—and I couldn’t wait to get started.

  Chapter 18: Juozas

  It was late at night, and I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to walk the halls. After heading out, I turned a few corners on my floor and ran into Audrey. She was on her hands and knees, hard at work, scrubbing the floor. Sadly, I exhaled and walked up to her.

  “How are you, Audrey?”

  She let out a deep sigh. “A little tired, but I’ll be OK.”

  I quickly checked the area for any patrolling soldiers. The coast was clear. I sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall. “Can I talk to you about something?”

  Audrey looked up, her eyes shifting from left to right. “Ah...sure.”

  I waved her over. She put the rag she was holding in a bucket of water and crawled to me. I waited a moment, making sure I had the right question to start.

  “How long have we been on Earth? Mamluks, I mean.”

  “It’s been a while. Since you were born, actually.” She narrowed her eyes. “If I may—why are you asking me this?”

  I let out a deep sigh. “I’m trying to understand what it was like on Earth before we arrived.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’m a hybrid of Mamluk and human. Their history is my history, and I have a desire to learn about it.”

  Audrey gave me a wavering look. “Do you know why the Mamluks came to Earth?”

  I nodded. “Yes. We came to conquer.”

  She shook her head. “That’s not all. There was a crucial motive to the conquest of Earth.”

  I fixed my eyes on her and stared. “Such as?”

  Audrey lowered her voice a little. “I was never told this directly, but I can put two and two together.” She exhaled. “The Mamluks came to Earth because they couldn’t mate anymore.”

  I looked away, blinking my eyes. “So, Mother wasn’t a human born into bondage. She was already here.”

  “Yeah, they took the pretty girls and mated with them. Luckily for Emily, she was picked by Adomas.”

  I shook my head and put my hand over my chin. “All my life, all this uncertainty.”

  “You never thought to ask?”

  I shrugged. “We were told that our mothers were born long after the invasion of Earth. Why would any of us question that?”

  She sighed. “When you’re a child you can be trained to believe anything.”

  I heard someone coming and stood up without hesitation. Audrey hurried back to cleaning. I walked ahead and saw a soldier come around the corner. I gave
her a nod.

  She gave me a nod before passing by. “My Champion.”

  I walked on, feeling deeply betrayed. Mother, you have some explaining to do.

  Chapter 19: Emily

  I was checking myself in the mirror on my dresser, playing ‘Voodoo Child’ in my head. For my first day, I went with an all-black, skintight outfit that showed my belly. To finish, I did one last check of my face and hair, then headed out.

  I walked into the hall, imagining I was moving in slow motion, feeling like a total badass. Voodoo Child. I love that song, and it’s perfect for this moment. There were soldiers lined up against the wall, holding their hands behind their backs. They all gave me a subtle nod as I passed.

  I walked onto the balcony at the end of the hall and put my hands on the railing. I stood there for a moment, looking around at our flourishing society. I smiled, then went to the stairs and jogged to the rooftop.

  On the rooftop, there was a fancy, brand new ship waiting for me, and I was about to learn how to fly it. I stood by as a group of soldiers unveiled the ship to me, pulling off a thick white covering. I swaggered to the beautiful aircraft as it sparkled in the sunlight, holding my hands behind my back. I looked it over, nodding with a grin. Then I punched in the code on my sija to open the ramp.

  I marched inside and went right to the cockpit. The soldiers followed me inside and sat in the seats that were built into the walls. As planned, one of the soldiers came over to me and began to give me instructions.

  “Are you ready, My Ruler?”

  I smiled. “Ready.”

  He smiled back. “It’s quite simple, actually. First, you press this button to active the control board.”

  I pressed the button and the ship made a buzzing sound. Seconds later, the lights on the control board came on.

  “You must now set your destination, Great Emily.” The soldier showed me how to pull up the holographic map of Earth and mark the ship’s destination. Lastly, he demonstrated the proper usage of the handle. “Once you’re in the air, use the handle as I instructed and the ship will do the rest.”

  “Excellent, Soldier. Prepare for acceleration.” The soldier, along with the others, followed the order as I readied the ship for takeoff. I leaned back and the metal straps locked me in my chair. I relaxed and closed my eyes for a second as I pressed the button for liftoff. Gradually, we went up higher and higher. I felt the ship spin around, and within seconds, we blasted away.

  By now, I had gotten use to the nauseating pain of flying at top speed. I breathed out slowly as we ripped through the sky—and it felt like only minutes before we were landing. I opened my eyes and released the metal straps. What a ride.

  I stood up, rolled my shoulders and marched outside with the soldiers close behind. We were at a production site in the southern part of North America. There was a sea of slaves working on an open terrain that stretched on for miles.

  To my knowledge, this was to be one of our bigger residential areas in this region—and unfortunately, development was behind schedule. I moved ahead, carefully scanning the progress.

  A soldier walked up to me and kneeled, then bowed and stood up. “Welcome, Great Emily.”

  I stopped beside him. “Good morning, Soldier.” We stayed there for a moment and looked over a few slaves. “How long before this site is ready for insertion?”

  “It is difficult to estimate. The slaves in this region have been slacking mightily. In fact, I have read reports of this problem occurring all over the world.”

  I immediately thought of the Valcon I had met on Marsden. “I think it’s time we introduced some discipline.” I marched ahead and stopped at a hole. There were twenty or so slaves working on this particular spot. As I watched them, I saw that they were moving at a steady pace. “Soldier, use physical abuse to get these slaves to work faster.”

  He marched up to them and slapped a slave to the floor. “Start working faster! No more slacking!” He went on, shoving another slave’s face into the soil and slapping the back of his head hard. The slaves hurried and got to it, working twice as fast as before.

  I waved the soldier back to me. “Very good.” He marched over and stood at attention. “Now, in the meantime, keep using these tactics, and write a report for your fellow soldiers. I will prepare the proper tools to assist this cause and deliver them to each region.”

  The soldier gave me a bow. “Thank you, My Ruler.”

  Afterwards, for the rest of the day, I went to a few more stops before heading home. When I got back, I went to the conference room on the first floor and called Linas, the Mamluk who designed the attire for our region.

  He emerged promptly and walked inside with a smile. “Hello, Great Emily.”

  I smiled back as I took a seat in the chair that was built into the floor, positioned behind a large table, also built into the floor. “Good evening, Linas. I have an assignment for you.”

  He came closer and waited.

  “I want you to make whips for the slaves.” I leaned forward and held my arm out. “Now, I’m assuming you don’t know what those are.”

  He nodded. “That is correct.”

  “That’s not a problem.” I pressed a button on my sija that brought up a holographic screen. This particular program was linked to the automated system. “Bring up files of human activity.” A list popped onto the screen. “Find recordings of humans disciplining the mule creature on planet Earth.” The list scrolled down for a moment. Then, a file popped out, showing a series of video recordings. “Play the first recording.”

  Linas bent down to get a closer look. The video showed a man on a farm whipping a mule. He smiled and nodded. “I see.”

  I beamed as we looked on. “The strap you see is made of leather. I will provide you with the necessary materials to construct this tool—and the slaves you will need to begin the work.”

  Chapter 20: Juozas

  I was in the security room going over the reports from the day. For the most part, everything seemed to be rather secure—no signs of trouble. Truthfully, though, I wasn’t giving my duties much regard. I turned away from the control board and rubbed my forehead. I had been distracted all day, still thinking about what Audrey had told me in the hallway the night before.

  A short while later, a soldier walked into the room, ready to relieve me for the night. “My Champion.”

  I stood up and walked ahead. “Hello, Soldier.” I tapped her arm before heading out. “Have a good night.” I had planned to meet up with London and Lauren-Lynn after my duties were complete for the day. I went downstairs and found them waiting for me at the front entrance.

  Together, they kneeled and bowed their heads as I approached. “My Champion,” they said as one.

  “Rise.”

  They stood up.

  I chuckled as I looked them over. “You know, it feels funny seeing you two do that.”

  Lauren-Lynn gave me a warm smile. “You’re the Champion now, Juozas.”

  “Yes, but I don’t want that to change our friendship. From now on, I don’t want either of you, or any other soldier to kneel or bow when greeting me.”

  London narrowed his eyes. “Forgive me, Juozas, but that seems unethical.”

  I gave him a stern look.

  He quietly huffed and stood firmly. “As you wish, My Champion. I will send a report to my fellow soldiers.”

  I nodded. “Very good.” I put my arm around Lauren-Lynn as we headed out. “Now, let’s put politics aside for a little while.”

  We went to The Saulius Lounge and found some seats on the rooftop. A servant brought us some drinks, and London took out his hefty pouch of qwze seeds. He passed them around and we dropped a few in our cups. I swirled my cup before taking a gulp, then I set the drink down and leaned back.

  London drank his whole cup and released an obnoxious shout. “Whoa, I can’t get enough.”

  I laughed. “You know, I really shouldn’t be doing this. I told Mother I would stop.”

  Laur
en-Lynn chuckled. “Relax, Old Friend. She’s got more important things to worry about.”

  “Has she made her decree yet?” London asked.

  “No. I imagine it will take a few days.” I paused for a moment and thought about what Audrey had told me. “Hey—have either of you thought about where we come from?”

  London laughed. “What do you mean? We’re Mamluks from Marsden.”

  Lauren-Lynn quickly corrected him. “Actually we were born on Earth.”

  London rolled his eyes. “I know that. But Mamluks are descendants of Marsden.”

  I was hesitant to go on, but I had to share my concerns with someone. “I’m not talking about that. I mean where we come from, as in our history.”

  There was a lingering, uncomfortable silence.

  Then London burst into a tense laugh. “I don’t understand, Juozas. What are you saying?”

  I stared at him. “Human history, My Friend. Have you ever thought about it?”

  “No. Why would I?” he said in an aggravated tone.

  “Because we are descendants of humans, too.”

  London looked away. “That’s an irrelevant truth.”

  “I agree,” Lauren-Lynn added.

  I shook my head. “How can you say that? I mean, just imagine all the things we could learn.”

  London laughed loudly. “Like what? How to be weak?”

  I exhaled in disturbance and sat back. “Well, I guess I’m alone in this matter.”

  London gave me a curious stare. “Why are you so compassionate toward humans, Juozas? And don’t give me this rubbish about being kind to them because that’s what’s in your heart. What’s the real reason?”

  I took a deep breath. “Because I’ve felt different my whole life, and I never understood why. It angers me that I don’t know the other side of my existence.”

  Lauren-Lynn rolled her eyes. “But why? As London said, humans are weak and insignificant.”

  I gradually looked to the sky, singing, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ in my head. “No. I think they’re much more than that.”