Alutia Rising

by Craig Gerttula

  The destination sign was only over his track, while the other tracks came to a sudden end two piece lengths, about 14 centimeters, short of the far side of the table. Trent's brain was working full tilt, forgetting the cold and pain caused by the previous penalty. His eyes went wide...he finally saw the solution, letting escape a grunt of joy.

  Each zigzagging track came within one piece length of the adjacent tracks in multiple locations. This would allow Trent to manipulate the tracks to allow all the platforms to converge on track five and proceed to the goal. He could barely contain his excitement as he realized he'd solved the puzzle, and quickly began his preparations.

  First he placed a piece across pathway one to pathway two, causing a click, the monotone words that followed filling Trent with jubilation...then relief.

  "Path integration complete, path one will now follow path two. Speed phase two entered." the monotone voice said as the platforms on tracks one and two picked up speed. He continued on, ignoring the speed increases caused whenever two tracks were integrated, bringing pathway ten into nine, while filling gaps in pathway two, four, five, and seven. Pathway two was quickly integrated into pathway three, while pathway nine was connected to pathway eight. Trent almost missed a gap in pathway six, but saved the platform with mere seconds to spare, trying to ignore the horrible screams of fear coming from the women and children. Integration of pathway three and four were successful, while he barely filled a gap on his own pathway in time, flinching at the sight of the giant hand coming within a meter of striking the platform.

  The platforms continued to accelerate, barely providing him 10 seconds to decide his next move. He brought pathway eight into seven, filling a gap in pathway seven, then quickly integrating pathway seven into six within a matter of seconds. He filled gaps in pathway five and four, then connected pathway four into five.

  The platforms with the women and children were moving much faster than Trent's, shown by the fact that his platform was only half-way to the end of the table, and the recently integrated platforms were almost three-fourths. Again, without thinking, Trent continued to place pieces in the gaps, saving the near plunge of the platforms on track six, while placing two more pieces on track five, one to save himself and the other platforms far ahead. Before he knew it, he was almost done, four gaps remained, two in front of him, one in front of the goal and one to integrate pathway six into five. He was about to shout for joy when he looked down into his hand and could see only three pieces remaining.

  The choice was clear and his decision was already made, but he still hesitated. He would do what he planned to do from the beginning, sacrificing himself to save the others. But now the thought felt more permanent, since he believed for the last hour that he would be able to save himself. It would be so simple for him to place the three pieces on track five, thereby saving himself and the four other platforms that now traversed its path.

  He placed a piece at the end of track five, guaranteeing the safety of at least four of the platforms containing the women and children, and placed another piece in front of his own platform, delaying the inevitable. While sinking into his thoughts, thinking about his past and lost future, he became careless. When he pulled his hand away after placing the piece in front of his own platform on pathway five, he accidently bumped it, knocking himself across the platform to the floor, his head smashing on its unforgiving surface.

  "Program violation three. You shall now be assessed penalty level three." The monotone voice laid down its judgment, barely audible to the now semi-conscious Trent. The spinning stars in front of his eyes kept him from standing, muddling his racing thoughts. Taking a deep breath he rolled himself into a sitting position and lightly felt his head. The sticky, warm fluid covering his hair told him what he already knew, that he hit his head...and hard. He started crawling back towards the table, dizziness overwhelming him as he gripped the last piece of the puzzle in his right hand with all his strength. The trip across the floor felt like it was taking forever, but it really only lasted about 10 seconds. He knew he was running out of time and had to place the last piece, saving the final five platforms.

  Reaching the table, he pulled himself to his feet, completely out of breath and unable to catch it, like the oxygen was being pumped out of the room. His vision still swam and now started to blur as he looked at the track, trying desperately to locate the gap for the last piece. Seeing it, he lunged forward, ignoring the alarms and the shaking caused by his body falling across the table. He threw the piece in a desperate attempt to save the platforms, save the women and children. A faded click was muffled by the rushing sound in his ears and he thought he heard the monotone voice say something about success.

  The last ounce of strength left him and he slid to the floor, landing on his side with his head facing forward. Through Trent's fading vision he watched the flames of the gully lash at his platform as it tumbled over the edge, into the unfilled gap. His last thoughts were of fear and relief...fear of his imminent death and relief that he was able to save them all. Live on and do great things, he thought, as the final darkness overtook him.

  *********

  Daniel stared, once again, in amazement at the image being displayed before him, not believing what this ex-hobo had just done. Standing in the small lobby outside the programmable matter training room, while waiting for completion of phase three of Trent's trial, Daniel was able to watch the entire struggle. He, like all other officer recruits, faced this same test during his acceptance into the TSB Officer Training School and had done well, saving himself and five of the platforms carrying the robotic civilians. But Trent had performed the ultimate self-sacrifice, giving up his own life to save the lives of all the civilians. Daniel couldn't accept or understand it...the idea of giving up your own life for a few no name strangers was an extremely foreign, and wrong, concept.

  The screen faded to black as the last transport carrying the robotic civilians vanished and disintegrated back into liquid programmable matter. Glancing up at Knight Captain Quinn, current leader of the Terra Space Battalion, Daniel hoped to glimpse how the large, grey bearded man, would react to the self-sacrifice...but his face was iron, hiding all emotions.

  Since phase three had just finished, it was now time to move onto the final testing and interview phase of Trent's trial. Responsibility for interviewing new recruits always fell to the current TSB Commander, Knight Captain Quinn, the current TSB Vice Commander, Commander Daiyu, as well as the NHA Liaison to the TSB, Sir Simwa.

  The two highest ranking officers, and what most TSB members referred to as, the spy, were an interesting bunch. Knight Captain Quinn stood close to 211 centimeters tall and was pure muscle. He could have easily been mistaken for a mountain. His age was unknown, at least to Daniel, but he'd been commander of the TSB long before he was born, always looking the same. He was an NHA noble, which is why he had the prefix Knight before his rank. There were many rumors about his past, and few facts, most speaking of Sir Quinn having been disgraced in some faraway court, banished to babysit the backwards world of Earth.

  Standing in complete contradiction to the large commander, was the TSB Vice Commander, Commander Daiyu. The small woman of Asian descent stood a mere 150 centimeters tall, with cropped black hair and a hawk like face. She looked no more than 30...but Daniel knew better then to rely on looks, since genetic modification and advanced medical science, could keep bodies looking young for hundreds of years.

  Standing apart from the pair of TSB officers was the NHA liaison, Sir Simwa, covering a yawn and looking beyond bored. He was of average height and looks, having no distinct features that Daniel could find, besides a few white locks in his wavy brown hair, more cosmetic then age related. From information Daniel had overheard, Sir Simwa was the second son of the local earl that would have been in possession of Earth had it not been made into a special protectorate by an NHA Emperor, 5000 years earlier, and later handed over to the local duke to oversee.

  The door finally opened
and the two officers and noble entered, with Daniel taking up the rear, being able to participate since he was the recruitment observer on duty. The room had once again changed, this time into a large, cavernous white interrogation room, with a restraint covered chair in the middle, sitting upon a circular dais, surrounded by four sets of tables and chairs, one on each side. In the center chair, the unconscious Trent was being restrained and treated by the robotic Samantha, yet to be disintegrated by the Program. Getting a close-up look at her for the first time, Daniel smiled and considered asking the Program to allow the robot to come back to his room before it was disintegrated. It may be fun to have some scans to hold over Trent's head for the future. He smirked at the thought, taking his seat behind Trent and across from the commander. Daniel quickly suppressed his dirty thoughts and prepared for the interrogation.

  Chapter 4

  Trent awoke in confusion, quickly covering his slowly opening eyes as a painfully bright light assailed them. It took a moment, but his eyes adjusted and he was once again forced to regain his bearings.

  Sitting directly in front of him, about three meters away, was a large man with a grey beard...possibly responsible for his destination in the afterlife, Trent mused dryly. His memory was fuzzy, but he was pretty sure he should be dead. The last thing he remembered was falling into the gully of flames after attempting to save all the women and children. But if that was the case, why did he still seem to be alive, his body whole and his mind confused. So instead of pondering the question blindly, he decided to ask the bearded man sitting in wait. But before he could speak, the large man began.

  "I know you have a lot of questions. They will all be answered in due time, but for now you must respond to each inquiry to the best of your ability and knowledge. Do you understand?" The large man stated in a voice with no emotion and iron command. Quickly pushing back the hundreds of questions that popped into his mind, and looking down at the restraints that held his arms to the chair, he decided to cooperate, just in case this was the afterlife.

  "Yes...I understand." His voice cracked painfully, as if it hadn't been used for a long time.

  "Final phase of recruitment trial has commenced, please be advised that all questions and answers shall be recorded." The monotone voice returned and Trent pushed down the sudden anger that roared through him. How had the voice followed him into death? It didn't make sense...except if he wasn't actually dead. The large man, apparently seeing that Trent had lost his composure at the sound of the voice, waited a few moments before he continued.

  "TSB Enlistment Candidate Trent Marcello. You have successfully completed the testing and initial placement phases of your recruitment trial and are now an official member of the Terra Space Battalion." The large man paused long enough for the information to sink in, but continued before Trent had a chance to respond.

  "Let me be the first to congratulate you on your accomplishment. I am Knight Captain Quinn, Commander of the TSB, and to my left..." Trent's chair quickly rotated to the right, following Knight Captain Quinn's gesture, to face a small woman with bird like eyes. "...is Commander Daiyu, Vice Commander of the TSB. To my right..." The chair quickly turned all the way around to face a man who was visibly bored, but with noticeable disdain in his eyes. "...Sir Simwa, NHA civilian representative to the TSB. Directly in front of me..." The chair turned again to reveal a young man, probably in his mid-twenties, with dirty blond hair falling casually over his perfectly chiseled face. It matched his slim, muscular build quite well...giving him a look of a model that Trent knew would cause the ladies to swoon. "...is TSB Lieutenant Daniel, your recruitment officer." The chair spun back to its original position as Trent tried his best to keep the measly contents of his stomach from making an appearance.

  "We will be asking you questions about the previous phases of your trial and your past on Earth. Your intelligence will be analyzed during the questioning by the Program responsible for recruitment based on your responses...so keep that in mind." Knight Captain Quinn said roughly, staring with eyes full of unquestionable command.

  "I will begin...In your battle with the krakllian you showed signs of bravery well beyond that of a normal man. Could you please explain your actions?" asked the Knight Captain. But before Trent had a chance to respond, another voice interrupted from his side.

  "Knight Captain Quinn...your use of the word bravery...bothers me in this case. This man..." There was noticeable disgust in the word man. "...was just fighting for survival like any other beast who is trapped in a corner." Sir Simwa's voice, full of emotion Trent would not have expected from his early disinterest, made his skin crawl.

  "Based on your words, Sir Simwa, I believe you have not actually witnessed phase one..." A distant look appeared on the Knight Captain's face, like his mind had suddenly left his body. "...like you are required. So to keep you from wasting our time with your uninformed comments, I will replay the record of the encounter." The Knight Captain was now staring at Sir Simwa with a gaze that could bore holes through walls, while his words were tinge with a carefully contained frustration that must have been born from past wrongs. Trent could see Sir Simwa's responding gaze from the corner of his eye, full of fire, anger, and what Trent thought might be hate.

  A three-dimensional holographic image suddenly appeared before Trent and a vaguely familiar sight of a small railroad supply station materialized. His amazement quickly vanished, having been through more than one astonishing event in the recent past, as he watched a person, with a skip in his step, appear from one end of the projection. Trent immediately realized it was him and his fuzzy memories started to regain substance.

  His upper arm began to throb as he watched the giant monstrosity suddenly appear from the bottom of the silo, then his drunken charge and subsequent reckless fight. He winced, when in the final moments, the creature, which Trent had now figured must be the krakllian that Knight Captain Quinn mentioned, swung a limb in desperation, catching him on his exposed arm. After the image of Trent recovered his feet and entered the building, the projection faded, appearing to be sucked into a small hole in the center of a large, semicircular device that protruded from the ceiling.

  "I have even more problems with this now that I have witnessed it. No sane man would rush a krakllian....but this man..." He waved his hand at Trent dismissively. "...rushed it multiple times. I think it is clear he must be insane and should be disposed of immediately." Sir Simwa spat out his words, ignoring the fact that he'd just admitted that he made his earlier comments without ever seeing the fight in question.

  "Sir Simwa...your ignorance is baffling. Insanity is closer to bravery then common sense, since any man with an abundance of common sense would never charge directly into laser arc fire!" This time Vice Commander Daiyu responded with an icy stare and steady words, which struck the fiery stare of Sir Simwa, causing Trent to break out in a cold sweat, being directly between the two combatants. Before Sir Simwa could respond, Knight Captain Quinn cut in.

  "Enlistment Candidate Trent..." His voice boomed in a way no one would interrupt. "...it is time for you to provide your account of the encounter you were just shown." His voice trailed off at the end, returning to a calm, commanding tone.

  "Ok...Knight Captain Quinn?" Trent paused and looked at the Knight Captain for approval of the use of the moniker. A slight nod was all he needed before he continued.

  "The entire encounter is a bit fuzzy. I was pretty drunk at the time and I banged my head pretty hard earlier when I fell on the platform..." Trent was about to continue when a familiar, annoying voice piped in.

  "Drunk! That explains everything ladies and gentlemen..." A smugness infiltrated Sir Simwa's words. "...the only reason he succeeded was through the use of a mind altering substance. He would have run and been destroyed like the rest of the trash-." Before any of the other members could interrupt, Trent decided to defend himself.

  "That may be true, sir, but if it's a case where you believe me to be a coward and only able to fight while
drunk, I have no problem repeating the encounter sober." A wide smirk spread across Sir Simwa's lips as he heard Trent's suggestion.

  "Now that, dear sirs, is a wonderful idea. I vote we put this ridiculous farce on hold and allow..." Sir Simwa was staring at Trent, seeming to have forgotten his name. "...this useless candidate to face the trials like they were meant to be, without any external assistance." Sir Simwa said as he began to rise to his feet.

  "I am starting to have enough of your interruptions, Sir Simwa. My guess would be you have never been drunk before?" Knight Captain Quinn responded before Trent could gather his words.

  "No upstanding citizen, especially a noble, would ever allow himself to be controlled by any substance!" The holier then now tone of Sir Simwa's words made Trent's ears ache. He looked to his side, noting he was not the only one.

  "Then let me tell you this, Sir Simwa. Being drunk is not the reason why the enlistment candidate survived the encounter. I will bow to you on the fact that he may not have charged at first if he was sober, but the battle that ensued was a testament to his own tenacity. If you would have watched...and read the reports before coming to this trial, then you would have known that Lieutenant Daniel had noticed the impairment and altered the testing parameters. Did you not find it odd that the krakllian returned and attacked while the Enlistment Candidate was showing no signs of retreat? That is well outside normal procedures and the fact that he is alive after being attacked by an unrestricted krakllian is evidence enough for the passing of the first trial." Trent noticed a hidden intent in the Knight Captains words, extenuating the phrase, normal procedures. He quickly wondered if they were in some way aimed at someone else, but quickly decided it wasn't important.