“SHUT! UP!”
Kirk sat in silence. He could no longer hear his name being called.
“I could run a scan and see if I can identify who it is,” the F.R.B. said.
“Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?” Kirk sighed.
“You told me to shut up.”
Kirk’s shoulders slumped. “Just run the scan will you?”
A few minutes passed and Casio finally spoke again.
“It seems that junior security officer Rubik is on the other side of the door attempting to locate and free you. Would you like me to contact him, via F.R.B., and request assistance?”
“Well now, let me think,” Kirk replied, rubbing his chin. “I’m a prisoner on Prio, here to save the universe, working to a deadline which I don’t have any idea how close I am to missing. I’m probably facing certain death, which, given the alternative of spending the rest of my life in here with you practicing humor, is probably not a bad...Of course I want you to request assistance.!”
“You only had to say yes,” Casio sounded hurt. “I have feelings, y’know?”
“No you don’t.”
“I have emotion programing though.”
“No you don’t.”
“Well I have empathy protocols.”
“Are you going to send that message or do I need to use you to bang on the door?”
The door gave a loud click.
“I already did,” answered Casio sullenly.
Kirk leapt to his feet and stared into the dim light of the corridor beyond. A fierce looking Prion stepped forward and Kirk noticed that his right index finger was returning to normal shape from that of a large key. A sudden tremor ran through the tall scaly body and Kirk was once again looking at North Rubik.
“I’m sure the Securitat could use a man of your skills.” Kirk grinned. “If we survive this, and you want, I’ll recommend you.”
Rubik made several quick furtive glances down the corridor then waved him forward.
“Lu is in a cell down that corridor and around to the right,” Rubik whispered, pointing.
“How did you escape?”
“You and Lu were caught by Prion Shock Troops after the roof of the arrival lounge collapsed,” Rubik said. “They missed me. It was pretty easy to get in after you’d been caught. They didn’t know about me, or didn’t care. Since they were expecting you two and had you in custody, they relaxed their security. I walked in the front door.”
“Well let’s get her, get the Y’lem, and get out of here.”
They slipped out of the cell into the dimly lit corridor.
Since their capture a strange thing happened to Plaach. He wasn’t sure if it was the years of being second to an ill-tempered loose cannon, with little brains and even fewer morals. He even wondered if it was simply the change in his colleague’s stature, making him more comical than imposing now. Whatever the cause, the result was not only clear to Plaach, but growing in his mind. Not only did he not need Toast governing the path of his life, he didn’t want it.
He acknowledged that while coming to Prio was indeed Toast’s idea, promoted by a desire for revenge, Plaach still knew it was his own weakness that revealed the location of Toast’s intended victims.
Now, while Toast crouched in a corner of the cell, muttering to himself, cursing his luck, and swearing vengeance against all who crossed him, Plaach was working carefully on the door lock. Beyond getting the door open, and the first step to freedom taken, Plaach had really no other plan. But the realization that his partnership was over, whether Toast liked it or not, was growing steadily inside him.
Briefly, he considered the possibility of leaving Toast here. He was sure, given the distracted mood of his cellmate, he would have enough time to slip out and lock the door again before Toast could react.
However, he quickly discounted this as a plan. He knew he couldn’t just leave Toast to suffer at the hands of the Prions. Even though he was sure Toast would have no such concerns were the situation reversed. A second reason, also clear in his mind, was much more selfish. Toast might not be able to react in time to prevent his leaving alone, but he would surely create such a noise that guards would come. Any advantage Plaach had made for himself would be lost in seconds.
They were leaving together. Once out of the cell they were looking for way off the planet. No matter what Toast might want. If he had any different ideas, Plaach would simply carry his diminutive colleague. Once off Prio, Toast could do what he wanted. Plaach had a vague idea about what he wanted to try next. But that could wait until they were free of this place. And he was free of Toast.
CLICK.
The lock released.
Plaach had a quick look back at Toast, who was oblivious to the change in their fate. Go now! Leave him! His own voice was screaming in his head. Plaach took a deep breath. He was better than that. He was better than Toast.
“Toast,” he whispered. “Come on. We’re leaving.”
Kirk and Rubik jogged down the corridor in the direction they hoped to find Lu. They came to a corner and held back. Kirk was about to stick his head around the wall when Rubik pulled him back.
“Let me,” he said.
Carefully he reached up and plucked one of his yellow hairs from his head and slowly held it so it stood out around the corner. He nodded.
“The corridor dead-ends at a door. There are three guards stationed outside that door. All armed.”
Kirk looked at Rubik in awe. “How do you know that?”
Rubik carefully replaced the plucked hair back in his scalp and smiled. “What one of us sees, all of us
sees.”
“You said they were armed.” Kirk said. “But not with P.R.P.s?”
“They all carry bladed weapons.”
“What we need now is a stun grenade,” Kirk mused.
“Would this be of any use?” Rubik held out the lightning storm in the sphere, all that remained of Kirk’s P.R.P
“Perfect,” Kirk grinned.
He took the sphere and tested its weight in the palm of his hand. It was about the size of an orange, but the weight was much less. He guessed that he would have to throw it hard to get it to travel the right distance and break.
“Be ready to move as soon as it breaks.”
Rubik nodded.
Kirk took a deep breath and stepped into view.
The guards didn’t immediately notice him and seemed lost in conversation they were maintaining in hushed voices. Kirk drew his arm back and launched the sphere just as the guard closest looked in his direction.
The sphere sailed down the narrow corridor and hit the ground with a slight chink twenty feet in front on the guards.
“Shit,” said Kirk.
“What?” asked Rubik.
“Anyone ever tell you, you throw like a grill?” Casio said.
“It’s a girl,” growled Kirk.
“I know what I meant.”
The guards were now drawing fierce-looking swords and slowly heading towards him. The sphere sat between them but the storm that had raged so intently earlier seemed to have calmed down. The sphere was almost lost in the shadowy corridor.
“What?” Rubik asked again.
Kirk seemed transfixed by the slowly approaching guards who were all grinning at him.
“Do we have a plan B?’ Kirk asked.
“No,” Rubik replied, concern evident in his voice.
“I think we should maybe make up a plan B,” said Kirk, still staring at the approaching guards as the first one passed the sphere. “That includes either a lot of running, or immediate and unconditional surrender.”
Just then, the second guard brought a heavy, scaled foot down on the sphere. The sphere, already weakened by the throw, now sh
attered completely. The full force of what had been contained in it earlier was finally released. Arcs of electricity flew out and lanced the three guards as well as the walls, floor, and ceiling. None of the guards screamed, the power that surged through their bodies killed them immediately
As quickly as it began, it was over. Kirk looked down the smoke-filled corridor where three crispy corpses were now all that stood between him and the door.
“Let’s hope there’s no-one inside,” Kirk said over his shoulder to Rubik as he set off towards the far end of the corridor and the cell door.
As they carefully stepped over the charred remains, they each took a sword. The smoke was heavy in the air and an acrid taste filled their mouths. By the time they reached the cell, they were covered in greasy smoke smears and Kirk’s eyes were smarting.
“Want to try that hair trick again?” Kirk asked as they leaned into the door and listened for sounds beyond.
Again Rubik plucked a yellow hair from his head and carefully teased it between the door and its frame. A few moments later he smiled. “Looks like this was all the guards they had on duty.” he said.
“You ready?” asked Kirk, preparing to push open the heavy door.
Rubik nodded, yes.
The door wasn’t locked. Once they got inside it was clear why. Hanging from a large hook in the ceiling of the cell was a heavy chain. Fastened at the bottom of this was a bruised and bloody Lu. She appeared to be unconscious and her feet were over a foot from the ground.
“Lu!” Kirk ran forward while Rubik approached a small table propped up against the wall. On it sat her Kuiper Belt and still fastened to this was Sarge, looking as if he had not fared as well as Casio when the building fell on them in the swamp.
“Find out if Sarge is working and see if he can tell how Lu is doing,” said Kirk, hastily trying to free Lu.
“Why don’t you ask her yourself,” said Lu, slowly raising her head.
“Are you Okay?” Kirk asked as he suddenly managed to free her and they both collasped to the floor in an awkward heap.
“Well, until you dropped and fell on me, I was doing Okay,” Lu replied, extricating herself and carefully climbing to her feet, wincing at the pain.
“Sarge?” Rubik asked. “Can you do something for the pain?”
“I’m afraid not, sir,” the F.R.B.’s tone reminded Kirk of old war movies he’d seen as a kid. Where the wounded soldier tells his squad to go on without him. he’d just slow them down.
“I’ve suffered serious damage, both at the arrival lounge and since we were brought in here,” Sarge said.
“When they couldn’t get any information from me, they tried to access his memory protocols,” Lu said, picking up her belt along with Sarge and snapping them around her waist.
“I didn’t reveal anything though, ma’am,” informed her F.R.B. proudly.
“I know,” Lu replied softly, resting her hand gently on the damaged F.R.B. “We’ll get you back to Sevres Prime and get you repaired though. You’ll be as good as new.”
“I’m afraid that might not be possible, ma’am. I have run a self-diagnostic and am aware that I am damaged beyond repair.”
The words hung heavy in the cell and no-one spoke. Even though all were aware that the F.R.B.’s were basically machines, the close working relationship they immediately formed as well as the artificial personality programming made them much more than a translation device.
It was Sarge who broke the silence again. “I’m just an F.R.B. I’m expendable. We all are, if it means getting Special Agent Deighton through. There is still a mission to be completed here
Lu nodded solemnly.
Come on,” she said, her voice hard and cold. “We have a job to do.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Do you no where we’re going?” Kirk asked Lu as they edged slowly down a long corridor that was several floors above the cells.
“I’m guessing that my father has the Y’lem close to him now that he knows we’re here. He thinks that you’re here to kill him.”
Rubik and Kirk stopped dead in their tracks.
“Father?” Rubik asked, unsure if he’d heard correctly. “Your father is the Lord High Grand Provost of Prio?” Kirk was no less surprised.
Lu turned and looked equally surprised at their reaction. “What?”
“You failed to mention that the most feared and despised person in the universe also happened to be your Dad!” Kirk exclaimed.
“Does it matter?” Lu asked.
“Well it certainly makes me a little more nervous.”
Lu nodded solemnly.
Come on,” she said, her voice hard and cold.
“We have a job to do,” Rubik said.
“I’m guessing you’re a little bit of a disappointment to him,” Kirk said.
“”That’s putting it mildly,” Lu replied.
“But still,” Rubik said. “Your father! Won’t that make it difficult to deal with, if we have to go up against him directly?”
“Who do you think gave me these bruises?” Lu asked coldly.
Both Rubik and Kirk were lost for words and they set off again.
“So we’re heading for his private chambers then?” Kirk asked.
Lu nodded yes.
“Hang on,” said Kirk stopping again. “You said he thinks I’m here to kill him.”
“Yes.”
“Did you tell him that I would actually rather not meet him at all?”
“No.”
“Why not? I don’t want him looking for me!” exclaimed Kirk. “What if he decides to take me out before I can get to him?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Lu assured him. “First off, if he’s worried about you coming after him, he’s less worried about you going after the Y’lem. Which gives us a slight advantage. Second, he won’t come after you.”
“Why not?” asked Kirk suspiciously.
“He’s arrogant. He knows he can kill you.”
“And in some way that’s supposed to reassure me?”
“Actually, yes.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Look,” said Lu. “He’s very arrogant. Somehow he knows that you’re coming here, and he knows that you’re from a very barbaric world. Therefore you must be a very great warrior. He thinks you’re coming for him. To come to his very own palace means that you’re either very stupid, very clever, very dangerous, or very good at what you do. Possibly a little of each.”
“But I’m not here to kill him!” Kirk said.
“That doesn’t matter. He thinks you are, and he’s doing things that revolve around that misconception. We can use those to our advantage.”
“How?”
“Because above all things, to come here to kill him, you must be very brave. That’s something he will respect. But also something that he will wish to match.”
“And that helps us in what way?” Kirk asked, now beginning to wonder if Lu hadn’t been hit about the head a little too much when she was interrogated.
“The Y’lem is his prize. He’ll want to keep that close to him because he has no idea what chain of circumstances he’s set in motion here. He’s wrapped in his own plans and blind to any other implications. But in knowing that you’re coming for him, and not wishing to appear weak, he’ll dismiss most, if not all of his guards.”
“So that he can face you one on one.” Rubik was beginning to see where Lu was going. “He won’t want you to think that he’s scared and hiding behind his guards.”
“But that fact doesn’t alter the fact that he’ll probably break me in two as soon as he gets hold of me!” Kirk sounded slightly panicked.
“But you aren’t facing him alone, are you?” Lu said. “You have Rubik and me alongside you. Yo
u won’t have to fight him alone, and he will be outnumbered with no guards to call on. You see?”
Kirk considered this for awhile, the grudgingly nodded that he did see they weren’t in such a helpless position. “But he still wants to kill me!” he said.
“Shhhh!” Rubik hissed, pushing them back against the wall.
“What is it?” Lu whispered.
“I heard something,” Rubik answered, pointing back the way they had just come.
They all froze and watched the corridor. Eventually Kirk heard voices. They sounded vaguely familiar, but he was sure there was no-one he knew who would be wandering around the Lord High Grand Provost’s palace. He concentrated, but he couldn’t make out any words clearly.
Down at the far end of the corridor, two figures emerged and looked down towards them, but obviously could not make out their images pressed against the wall and shrouded in shadow. All three immediately recognized the taller of the pair, but while the smaller one seemed familiar, he was definitely the wrong size.
“It’s them!” exclaimed Rubik as the couple disappeared from view again.
“You know them?” Kirk asked, surprised.
“They’re the ones I was trying to track down. The ones my chief thought were your partners.” Rubik sounded excited now.
“Well, we’ve crossed paths with them a couple of t...” began Kirk. “Hey? Rubik? North? Where’re you going?”
Rubik didn’t answer. He was already halfway back down the corridor.
As Kirk watched in horror, Rubik disappeared around a corner.
“Come on,” Lu said, pulling his arm.
“But what about Rubik?”
“This wasn’t his mission anyway. He has to do what he has to do, and we have to do our job.”
Lu set off again at a cautious pace. After a quick look back in the direction Rubik disappeared, Kirk reluctantly turned and followed.
They had almost reached the wide hall at the end of the corridor when Sarge spoke. “I am picking up a reading in that hallway ahead.”
They pressed back against the wall.
“Were we picked up?’ Lu asked quickly.
“I can’t tell, but I assume so,” Sarge sounded embarrassed at his lapse.
Dale Mettam Page 26
