Condition Evolution 4

by Kevin Sinclair

  “Fingers crossed, it’s the rest of the crew. Still, we need to move with care,” I said to those behind me in a hushed whisper.

  “Sure,” Astrid whispered, while I just received nods of acceptance from the others.

  Rufus looked as bitter as he did during the meeting on the Uprising.

  We formed up six abreast to move forwards, slowly approaching the voices. To my huge relief, there was no mistaking our Torax crewmates. Calparr, Calegg and Koparr were talking in the center of the group, keeping order and calm. I saw their faces lighten at my arrival.

  “Thank the stars you're here, Ember. Where is Shaun?” Calegg said, his face full of relief at seeing me.

  I felt like a charlatan, for my presence to give such hope when I felt so lost. There was only one person who made me feel that kind of relief, and that was the dumbass now in question. Shaun. “He’s not with us, Calegg,” I said, sadly, “I think he may not be here.”

  “What do you mean?” Calparr asked, worriedly. “Why would he not be here?”

  “When everyone’s together and settled, we’ll need a conversation. But right now, I’m just so relieved that you’re all alive, and that for once we’re not being attacked. That’s a fucking novelty in itself.”

  “Yes, it brings some comfort,” Calparr said with the slightest crack of a grin on his stoic face.

  “Now we’ve found you guys, I’m hopeful that the Veiletians are around here somewhere too. We need to keep looking, then we can put our heads together on what the hell is going on,” I insisted and we set off searching again. As the corridor opened up into another of the massive domed halls, I thought it was empty, until I heard Elyek’s voice shout with what sounded like joy. Suddenly, over twenty Veilitians appeared from the other side of the hall, walking quickly over to us.

  I embraced Elyek as they came close. They had become like the sibling I’d never had, despite our rocky start. “I can’t tell you how good it is to see you all. You are the last to be accounted for. Apart from Shaun.”

  “Oh,” they replied, clearly worried, “that is not good.”

  “Have you uncovered anything to indicate where we are?” I asked, as the two hundred crew members mixed together again, standing around whispering to one another and listening to everything that was said.

  “We did manage to access a terminal situated along one of the corridors. While we were unable to log in, it showed a designation, Beler 4008.”

  “Hmm, that's actually what William suggested, and makes sense considering the size of the place.” I could see a raised area to the front of the hall. “Okay, we best update everyone. Ogun, Elyek, Calegg, come with me,” I ordered, leading them to the platform. Rufus began to follow, and Astrid looked uncertain.

  “Stay with the crew,” I snapped at him.

  “We should be up there with you. We’re of a higher rank than those two!” he said, pointing at Elyek and Calegg.

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Rufus? What rank is that?” I muttered to him quietly through pursed lips, trying my best attempt at being discreet.

  “We are captains!” he protested loudly, clearly wanting to make a scene.

  “Captains of what, Rufus? We’re stuck in fucking prison. And I don’t remember calling a captains' meeting, now behave yourself.”

  “I am the captain of the Seshat, and realistically I outrank you!” He pointed in my face and I had an overwhelming urge to try to bite his finger off. I showed real character and refrained.

  “Rufus,” I explained, way more calmly than I felt. “No one has a ship at the moment, yet we’re still members of Uprising. In Uprising you outrank exactly no one. Every Torax and Veiletian here was a part of the team before you. Now shut the fuck up and stop causing trouble.”

  “If you can’t pay me the proper respect, then the crew of the Seshat are no longer part of Uprising, as of now!” he snapped.

  I took in the shocked looks from a lot of the crew from the Seshat.

  I didn’t intend to look over to Ogun for support, but I did it instinctively. I shouldn’t have bothered though. Ogun just stood silently, observing. I’d become so used to Shaun dealing with this kind of shit that I now found myself wondering what he would do. Probably just punch the bastard. Probably not my best option, though. While I genuinely believed I could kick Rufus’s ass at a canter, it wasn’t the example I wanted to set when I was trying to guide everyone to safety. Instead, I pinned my hopes on Calparr. He had been stationed on the Seshat for a while.

  “Calparr, watch this turd burger while we talk and make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble, while the rest of us work together to figure out exactly what's going on here.”

  Calparr moved forward towards him with intent.

  “Stop, Calparr!” Rufus demanded. “You are part of Seshat's crew now. You need to follow my orders, not hers,” Rufus said, still waving his incredibly lucky digit at me with disdain.

  “Be silent, Rufus, or I will remove you from the room,” Calparr replied coldly.

  “What!” he squawked. “How dare you!” He moved towards Calparr, like he was about to attack, but then he suddenly locked up. Only his eyes moved in a panicked, darting motion.

  Astrid stepped forward. “You’ll remain in this state so you may hear what we discuss. Now is not the time for you to bring up your grievances.”

  Four members of his crew moved around him in support. They looked like they were ready for a fight in his defense.

  “Don’t be so fucking stupid, you four. Stand down, or you're all gonna end up like that,” I said.

  “Mick, Gus, William, keep an eye on them, please.”

  “Sure thing, Em,” Mick answered.

  I received an “Och aye pet” from William. Gus managed an affirmative facial expression.

  “And thank you, Astrid, for your swift action,” I said gratefully.

  She gave me a curt nod. It was hard to tell whether it was respectful, but it certainly wasn’t friendly, more resentful. I brushed off the thought for now and made my way up to the platform, seething from that drama. As if we all didn’t have enough to deal with. Still, later, later. I had bigger fish to fry.

  “Okay, everyone!” I shouted from the platform, “Sorry about that. Tensions are clearly running a tad high and not everyone is thinking straight. Firstly, I want to tell you what we know so far.” I looked over the crowd of expectant faces, hopeful for answers I didn’t have. “The Apochros were concerned that we had or potentially could have led the Fystr to their location. They were considering destroying our ships outside their borders and keeping us in the Apochros system, or Dark Sector as we have been calling it. Alternatively, they could let us go under a vow of secrecy regarding their location as long as we left their borders.

  “That was until they discovered that Shaun is a little different from all the other humans, and in some sense Fystr. He has a Potential score of 99 percent.” I saw the eyes of some humans become very wide, especially Astrid, and even the otherwise paralyzed Rufus. “We’re not entirely sure what this might mean, but there’s a suggestion that if he was to reach his maximum potential, he would be extremely powerful, and a very worrying prospect for Fystr and Apochros alike.

  “We did not know just how much value would be put on his Potential, but unfortunately, it appears it has caused the Apochros to come up with another option. Just over an hour after leaving Jezai with the truth about Shaun, we all suddenly blacked out, and here we all are, imprisoned without our captain.”

  Jaws dropped, but no one spoke, so I forged on. “Aside from that, all we currently know is that we’re on a space station, much the same as Beler 3103. So far it looks empty, but we should keep our guard up at all times until we’re sure.

  “I just want to say again, I am sorry that this has happened. But you can all rest assured, we’ll do whatever it takes to get everyone out of here and get Shaun back.”

  I could sense resolve growing in their eyes and could see heads nodding firmly. It
would have to be enough.

  “I would like to add,” Ogun interjected in the silence that followed, “that I do not believe the captain is dead. Although I must admit to having mixed feelings at the news of his Potential. When we left Shaun and Ember on Xonico, I had little choice, but a part of me felt a relief not to have the responsibility of Shaun and what he could mean. He is potentially a catalyst for unprecedented change in the galaxy.

  “I can't help but feel the Apochros intend to manipulate him to serve their cause. Should they be discovered by the Fystr, having him onside will be a huge boon for them.”

  “He wouldn’t abandon us for them though, would he?” a human crewmate shouted from the crowd.

  “Absolutely not!” Calegg answered immediately. “They’ve no chance of keeping him contained or convincing him of anything. It would be like trying to bottle a Chulugg fart.”

  The Torax all began to laugh and cheer. It raised the mood, even though no one else had a damn clue what a Chulugg was. I was incredibly grateful for Calegg at that moment.

  “So that’s what we suspect is happening, but if anyone else has anything to add or other ideas, please feel free to share them. Otherwise we need to find food and water, and somewhere to hunker down.” I was about to let everyone get organized when I remembered Rufus still needed to be dealt with. I groaned.

  “Members of Uprising, before we get started, Rufus has given us a problem to deal with first. Those of you who served on the Seshat, you have been given a choice to make. It’s not a choice I’d wish for anyone in our situation, yet the cage has been rattled. We don’t want or need people who aren’t interested in working as part of Uprising. So if any of you would rather follow Rufus in whatever he thinks is gonna happen next, then please by all means stand with him.” I was genuinely surprised when six more people moved over to join the four already surrounding the paralysed dickhead.

  I saw Ogun shake his head sadly as I began speaking again. “While I admire loyalty, I’m pretty disappointed that you’ve shown so little loyalty to Uprising. What are we supposed to do with you all then?”

  “I am loyal to Uprising,” a woman among them spoke. “But I’m more loyal to Rufus. He’s our captain and has proven himself by keeping us safe and leading us away from the dangers on Earth long before Uprising was even a thing. I believe he has done nothing but try to support Uprising. I don’t think Captain Shaun would have done this.” The others with her nodded their heads in agreement.

  Bastards! I thought. Using what Shaun would do against me as if the stupid motherfuckers even knew him. I curtly made my reply. “If any of you actually knew Shaun, you would know that I’d be presently talking him down from ripping Rufus’s arms off. The question you should ask yourself is whether Rufus would’ve even started this shitshow if it had been Shaun here. I think we all know the answer to that question.”

  “The captain wouldn’t have shown him this level of disrespect, by not allowing him up on the podium with you all.”

  “For crying out loud, what is wrong with you people? What you see up here are the original members of Uprising who are also my two closest friends and advisers. And then there's Ogun, who has more knowledge relating to our predicament than anyone else, and he is five thousand years old. So, I would argue another incredibly good advisor. We also have a representative of each race that make up our little family here. So you need to get your heads out of your asses. I didn’t draw any lines, nor comparisons of importance, I just wanted to tell everyone what we knew so far.”

  “Oh, I see. You actually make a fair point. Is it okay if I just go back and stand with everyone else?” she asked matter-of-factly.

  “Sure is. I didn’t put you there.” I fought against the smirk I could feel fighting to get on my face, and I was rewarded by the other five also retreating back into the crowd. Leaving the four who surrounded Rufus in the first instance.

  “Okay, let's try again. What am I supposed to do with you?”

  “We will not allow this to happen. If not Rufus, then you must put Astrid in charge,” one of them said with a vicious gleam in his eyes. “Even Ogun makes more sense than following you.”

  I was taken aback by his vehemence, though it was a little empowering to see pretty much everyone cast angry looks at the speaker.

  “Why wouldn’t you follow me?”

  “You’re just the girlfriend. It's hardly a reason for you to be in charge,” the man said with a twisted grin.

  It was my turn to be dumbfounded. Mick was standing near to the speaker and replied to him before I could respond. “You’re miles off, dude. Ember and Shaun are a team. Now you need to shut your goddamn mouth before I shut it for you.”

  The other guy puffed up, looking ready for a fight with Mick.

  “Stop it! This won’t deteriorate into fighting. Thank you for your support, Mick, but let’s keep it calm if we can.”

  Calegg spoke next. “I can confirm without any doubt, Ember embodies Uprising every bit as much as Shaun. I joined them both, not long after you lot left them to die on that planet.”

  “I too have been extremely shocked by how little you seem to understand the foundations of Uprising,” Elyek said, a rare hint of anger to their words. “You let ignorance navigate your actions. That is unwise.”

  “Look,” he said angrily, “I don’t need no bloody aliens telling me how things are. You're all just along for the ride. We humans are the ones who hold the real power here.”

  For fuck’s sake, I thought, but asked him calmly, “What’s your name?”

  “It’s Graeme,” he answered and then made a point of spitting on the floor defiantly.

  “Well, Graeme, with an attitude like that, I can promise you, you’re fucking done with Uprising,” I replied angrily while I jumping down from the podium. “Who agrees with him?”

  The other four musclebound pricks nodded grimly, the contempt for me written plainly on their faces.

  I walked right up to them, and they all towered over me. “You do know, if Shaun was here, I'd have to talk him out of killing you, don’t you? Luckily, that's not how we do things,” I added, “but you are no longer welcome among us, if this is your attitude.”

  From the podium Ogun spoke. “I agree with your sentiment, Ember, and I am moved to see you leading without temper. Would you like me to arrange for them all to sleep for a time until you’ve decided what to do with them more permanently?”

  The four men paled at that ominous warning from Ogun, looking to each other, and then to Rufus, still paralyzed.

  “As much as I hate the idea of doing this to them, they’ve left us no choice,” I said loudly so everyone could hear. “Our success rests, more than ever, on how we all pull together, and these racist fuck nuggets are only intent on causing disruption.”

  The one called Graeme suddenly lunged at me. A big meaty fist coming for my face. It was easy enough to avoid, but he committed the most basic of mistakes. He’d overextended, which left him wide open to my counter. With every bit of speed and strength that I possessed, I punched the meathead, dead center on his dinner detector. He tried in vain to block the blow but had no chance. His nose exploded in a cloud of blood as he staggered backwards, looking like a drunk trying desperately to keep his feet. Too bad.

  I followed with a jump over ten feet into the air, assisting the height with levitation, before coming down at speed to land a kick into his chest. He went down this time, groaning, curled up in a ball. Standing over him, I spat my next words, “I am not weak, and I am not just the girlfriend. I am one of the leaders of the Uprising. And if you can’t fucking listen to me, then you’re done,” I said, feeling remarkably calm after my demolition of him. I turned to Ogun. “Can you now, please, put them to sleep? We will deal with them later.”

  “Of course, Ember.” He smiled at me and moved to sort the assholes out. Meanwhile, I spoke to everyone else.

  “Understand that this isn’t what I wanted to go down. We’re supposed to be a family. N
ow can we all stick the fuck together and sort this shit out, please?” I said, hands out in a conciliatory gesture.

  A sound of a single person clapping started, and I followed the sound to see William with a wide grin in his big red beard. “You’ll do fer me, lassie!” he shouted. The clap was taken up quickly by Mick and Gus, then others, spreading through the crown of bodies until it seemed everyone was applauding me. Throughout this whole endeavor since waking here, this was the most uncomfortable aspect of the whole thing. Fucking weirdos, clapping at me, piling on the pressure and responsibility.

  Chapter 8

  Tools of the Trade

  After the drama of the past few hours, my head was in bits and I was more than happy to let Elyek, Calegg, Ogun, and in particular Acclo, arrange and plan whatever needed to be done. Between them any ideas were quickly assessed, butchered like a carcass, and divided into manageable parts.

  Soon nearly everyone had left the hall to search the station for FSUs and anything else of use they could find. And we had few crew members who I trusted to watch over the unconscious prisoners. Our alpha team, with Ogun filling in for Shaun, decided to take on the large double doors behind the podium in the hall. Gus, Elyek and Ogun had been fiddling with the panel at the side of the doors for a while, and we gave them time to work, but ultimately, they couldn’t get it to open.

  “Damn, Ember,” Gus said, looking forlorn, “it's like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It doesn’t look like it should work, and without any tools we’ve got no chance.”

  “I agree with Gus. The design makes no sense to me, either,” Elyek added.

  “Shit, we will have to keep a look out for tools too then,” I said, disheartened.

  “Given time, we could probably fashion some,” Gus grumbled.

  “We’ll see what the other teams dig up first, but it doesn’t look like we’re getting through this door today, does it?” I replied.