“What do you mean? A plan for my door? I thought that you were looking for other ways to increase my Wisdom.”
“We will certainly get to that. But there is an enigma inside your head, and we believe that to help you progress with maximum efficiency we must first uncover the answers to this mystery. As this door is unique to you, and you are indeed unique yourself, it is almost certain to hold the key to obtaining your full Potential. Wouldn’t that be fantastic?” Fiekela said excitedly.
I looked at him, probably conveying the doubt that I felt. “What are you intending to do?”
“We are going to inspect it, then try to enter, with our combined abilities. It is highly unlikely any harm should befall you with the attempt. Both Kirel and I are close to our upper Potential limits, so you can rest easy,” Fiekela said.
My mind screamed that what I was hearing was a bad idea, and I trusted that inner voice more than I trusted these two men. “I am sorry, but every sense that I have screams that this is a really bad idea. You should not make this attempt.”
“Don’t worry yourself, you are in safe hands. Would you care to come down from there and take a seat?”
I looked at Fiekela, dumbfounded. “I have acquiesced to everything you have asked of me so far. Perhaps it’s time to show the same faith back and listen to me. It is without a doubt a terrible idea for you to open that door,” I said, not moving from the platform.
“Vakuna, you are failing to take into account our differing levels of knowledge and indeed Wisdom. You must see how foolish it is to compare your mere Wisdom of 19 against Kirel’s and my own combined?” Fiekela exclaimed with a self-satisfied smirk.
“Unless there is something you are trying to hide?” Kirel finally spoke, a sneer stretched across his gaunt face.
“I think you should respect Vakuna’s choice,” Ialos finally spoke. The two men turned to face her, staring daggers.
“Ialos, we thank you for your service today, you may leave,” Fiekela said coldly.
“I will remain and say again that it is unwise to force this decision through.”
“Your own council has voted unanimously for this action. Do you wish to defy us, Ialos?”
“I only suggest you rethink in light of this new information,” Ialos stated confidently. Boy, was I glad to have her here with me.
“What new information? That this immature child, with so little understanding of anything, has decided he does not like the sound of our proposal? No, we will not be reconsidering. This is happening now,” Fiekela snapped. They did not speak again, but there appeared to be a heated mental debate going on, before Ialos angrily stormed off toward her office.
Fiekela looked back up at me. “Vakuna, come down right now! You are behaving like a spoilt youth. This is of the utmost importance.”
My response died on my lips as I felt Kirel enter my mind. Panicking, I fled to my Mindscape, and slammed my doors shut. To my dismay, Kirel had already opened the door to my Subconscious, and there was not a damn thing I could do about it. Fiekela entered my mind next, and they both entered the room. Realizing that holding the other doors locked was pointless, I let go. My defense would have to be at the golden door.
“Do not do this!” I yelled at them.
Fiekela replied, “Calm yourself, Vakuna. You will soon see that there is nothing to fear.”
“I have no reason to mislead you, Fiekela, I have a really bad feeling about this.”
“You have no conception of what is safe for Apochros to attempt. You did not even know you had this door situated in your own mind, and this is why we must guide you. Without us, you would most likely fester away at a middling level of strength for centuries. We will ensure you achieve your full power within ten years!” he said excitedly. “Then you will feel nothing but gratitude to us and our investment in you.”
“You seem so sure of yourselves and I don’t think I can stop you. But I hope you understand that you have broken all trust with me today. I may have suffered amnesia, but I won’t forget this, and I refuse to undergo anymore training here.”
“Don’t be so sure, Vakuna,” Kirel said, his voice filled with dark promise. “You will see things differently once you have reaped the benefits of our efforts here. Failing that, we have alternative methods available to us.”
I fell silent after that. His words struck a chord and made me insanely angry.
I could feel them growing faint as they moved further into my Subconscious. I was frantically searching my mind for something to stop them, when Ialos spoke into my mind with anger and disappointment in her words. “They took your memories. Your true name is Shaun. If you’re absolutely convinced they should not open that door, then hold them at bay with everything you have. Help is coming!”
“I knew there was something wrong with this whole thing. I will stop them at all costs, but I want my memories back after this.”
“I promise you will. Jezai is coming here, but he is willing to make his move against the council now. Things will change for you whatever happens here.”
“Good. Now have you got any suggestions on how to stop Fiekela and Kirel?”
“No, they are too strong. But you don’t need to stop them, only hold them off long enough for help to arrive. To do that, you could try condensing your bond to slow down the perception of time in your mind. Hopefully that will create enough time for you.”
“Okay,” I said, galvanized by her plan. “I’m going to do that, then try to hold that damn door shut.”
“Good luck!” she shouted.
The revelation that my mind had been intentionally wiped didn’t come as big a surprise. As soon as it was revealed, I knew it was true without a doubt. Now I just had to make sure these two didn’t get through that door and cause trouble for me. First, though, I grabbed for the bond that connected me to my physical body and began pushing rather than pulling at it as I’d done before. It resisted at first, but slowly began to thicken as I worked. It frustratingly came to a halt after a few seconds and I could go no further with it. It would have to do. My focus now fell to my real task. Stopping two insanely strong council elders doing whatever they wanted in my head.
Entering my Subconscious Room allowed me to feel them more clearly. This time I had a vague sense of the door too. I realised I’d sensed it last time, but hadn’t understood what the feeling was. I ventured further into the darkness, moving quickly until I could feel the presence of the door clearly. Coming to a stop, I hoped to defend it from here, rather than come within range of the two men. I took a deep breath. This was it, the moment of truth. Could I hold them off? I began pouring my strength toward the door, which felt unlike any door I'd defended before. But that strength was in conflict. Part of my mind was giving a clear instruction to force my strength into the door, while the other wanted to run and hide. They cancelled each other out and I had no effect on the door. It was a demoralizing blow to be so ineffective. But I couldn’t just give up. This was a huge intrusion that had been committed against me. HOW DARE THEY! A third voice boomed in my mind, just as strong as the other two. This one was of pure rage. It spread from me like a power all of its own, shooting toward the door. To my surprise it was accepted, swiftly followed by the part of me that wanted to connect with the door. What did worry me was that a part of me remained unconnected, and that part was extremely worried. I had no chance to consider it further before the two men began their attempt to open the door. They started with a gentle touch of power, but when they felt resistance, they quickly responded by increasing their intensity.
“Vakuna!” Fiekela yelled. “You are being foolish. Stop resisting this, you must know you cannot win.”
I tried to answer, but couldn’t because my mind was in three different places all at once.
Fiekela and Kirel increased their power ever higher, throwing their combined might into the door, knowing that they would eventually beat me. And indeed they should be able too, but for the fact that I wasn’t supplying the power
alone. Or was I? It depended on your outlook, I supposed. The door, and whatever lay beyond it, was also providing a lot of power to the defense. I could feel the maelstrom held behind it ever more clearly now and knew these fools couldn’t match us. Me?
Fiekela shouted again. “How are you doing this, Vakuna?”
I wouldn’t have replied even if I could have. I was empowered to hear I had them rattled.
“It does not matter,” he shouted again. “Kirel, give it everything. This foolish child must see!”
A huge, unexpected surge in power from the two men hit against the door. It shattered my hold on the door. As I fell back, a voice boomed, “YOU WERE WARNED!” My voice? Was it the door speaking? I barely knew what was going on anymore. Whatever the source, it spoke again, this time in a voice so deep that it was barely perceptible as sound. “He was not ready to come here. Now we will all pay!” It was felt more than heard, yet the meaning was as clear as could be. My whole Mindscape filled with a blinding light, speckled with infinite darkness. It was in that darkness that I was swallowed.
Chapter 12
Rufus the Doofus
We settled into Beler 4008 well enough, considering the circumstances. Astrid continued to keep her distance, and I continued to keep the prisoners imprisoned. I had tried to reason with Rufus, but he was so full of anger and resentment that I didn’t even bother entering the room. Instead, I spoke through the roughly cut rectangle in the door.
Acclo and Elyek managed the exploration teams responsible for mapping the station. Details began to take shape on a huge map, carefully etched with fire by one incredibly talented Torax. It spanned a twenty-foot area on the floor of the very first hall we had entered. The unlocked portion of the station includes three separate canteens, all surrounded by living quarters, and one empty docking bay.
Even after a week of searching we were no closer to uncovering anything to explain what was going on and why we had been dumped here. There were no ships or usable technology, other than the basic life support units that we had no control over. That in itself was daunting. All our captors needed to do was turn them off, and we would all be done for. Everyone seemed to be doing their best to ignore that possibility.
I had to be proud of the ingenuity and drive of our people. Nothing useful was left unclaimed, even sections of walls had been cut down to provide material for crating the things we needed. Between the mental manipulations of our humans and the welding, cutting, and carving skills of the Torax, we had managed to start a decent collection of tools. Everything from hammers, axes, and swords, to screwdrivers and crowbars. We were only lacking the convenience of communicators, which were a real miss for our exploration teams.
At the start of our second week, I was sitting with Calegg and Elyek in the canteen when finally we received a communication. No preamble to it, just a voice that began speaking over the station communications system. “Members of Uprising. This is Fiekela of the Apochros Council of Elders. I would like to begin this transmission with an apology. We would never wish to treat you in such a way, but due to unforeseen circumstances it was decided this was our best course of action. Rest assured you are in no danger, and our objective is to release you in the future, although exactly when that can occur, I cannot say. I must emphasize it is likely to be years, rather than days or weeks. We hope this knowledge helps your transition into this phase of your life. At this time we also have your captain with us on Accre. He is helping us with our own situation. I can promise you he is safe and well cared for.
“As for your own predicament, we have placed you on one of our outpost space stations, Beler 4008. It is one of our newer stations, so should be clean and comfortable during your stay. According to our reports, you have managed to access areas closed off to you. While you may believe there is a hope for escape in the locked areas of the station, I assure you that is not the case. We merely haven't turned on any of the systems for inhabitation, other than atmosphere, to prevent any mishaps. It was deemed that the area provided was more than sufficient to accommodate you for the duration of your time here.
“There is also damage to a number of the terminals and interfaces. Please be aware that the entire station is remotely operated. There is no way to bypass this control, hence why the Galactic Empire has never successfully captured a Beler Station for their own uses, and believe me they have tried. Even in our own Beler Control Center the access key can only be completed via a cerebral connection and a complex set of commands. With this in mind, you may wish to fill your time in some other way. Our systems are impenetrable.”
Elyek leaned over. “Nothing is impenetrable. We will get in somehow.”
I smiled at their confidence and believed them too.
The announcement continued to drone on. Fiekela didn’t have a performer's voice, that was for sure. Even though this was all information of utmost importance to us, I found myself not wanting to listen.
“What you have is food, water, and each other. As your ships were beacons to the Fystr, which would have led them straight into Apochros space, they have been disposed of in such a way as to convince the Fystr to believe you perished at our borders. We have retained possession of your flagship as it did not belong to the Fystr originally. We do hope to return it to you at some point, only time will tell when. Thank you all, for your patience and understanding.” The communication ended.
“What an absolute wanker!” I growled, thumping the table.
“At least they let us know Shaun’s alive, so that’s a massive relief.” Calegg provided a voice of reason and calm. “And it has given us some closure on what they have done and what they intend to do.”
“Yes. While it is an unpleasant position to be in, we now know where we stand. I still believe we will have some success with the station's controls,” Elyek added.
“Even with what he said, about it being remotely operated and needing a mental process to unlock them?” I asked.
“If it’s a computer, I assume there has to be a way for the other aliens in the Alliance to affect them some way,” suggested Elyek.
“Yeah, good thinking. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was bluffing, to stop us searching.”
“Most likely, Ember,” Elyek agreed. “I will continue to lead the push on the station's operating systems alongside Gus. Hopefully between the Veilitian technical abilities, and the human mental abilities we will come up with some workaround.”
“Thanks, Elyek. Now I just need to work out a way around the social issues that are gonna crop up with this. Everyone seems to be working together well so far, but the knowledge that we’re totally trapped for years may change attitudes. Astrid is still walking around with her face up her arse, which isn’t helping either. We need to try and bring everyone together again,” I said, rubbing at my temples.
“I hate to bring it up,” began Calegg, “but there’s also the small matter of what to do with the prisoners. Keeping Rufus in particular locked away is probably not the best move.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about them, though I have no idea what to do with them. What do you guys think?”
“Coming from a race of people enslaved on their own planet, I am firmly against it. Yet I can’t deny they’ll make a great deal of trouble for us,” Calegg said, expressing thoughts as troubled as my own.
“I must agree,” added Elyek, “I do not wish for anyone to be confined. They did not commit any serious offence, except to voice displeasure with you being the leader, despite their reasoning being unpleasant and unrealistic. Of course there is certainly just cause to keep the man who attacked you locked up.”
“Graeme? Yeah, that dick is going nowhere. Thanks for the talk, guys. I think I’ll go try and reason with them now,” I said, getting to my feet. “I’ll address everyone later about the communication from the Apochros, once all of the teams have returned.”
“Good luck!” Elyek replied, also making a move from the table.
Calegg just smiled and g
ave me a thumbs up, which made me think of Shaun again, who’d taught him the gesture.
I decided to go and see Acclo first. They could organize everyone for a meeting. I hadn’t made it five footsteps from the table before they appeared at my side.
“Hello, Ember. I assumed you would wish to see me after that unexpected communication. Would you like me to get the word out for a meeting once all of the teams have arrived?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the next-level control freak. “Exactly,” I said, patting them on the shoulder, “and thank you, Acclo.” With a quick smile they were off again.
Now for our prisoners! I groaned inwardly and made to leave the canteen when a little idea surfaced in my mind. The prisoners aside from Rufus were quite similar characters to Roger who Shaun had had a run-in with in the early days. Roger had also come over from the Seshat. He had mellowed slightly when he came to us, so perhaps he could be of use in talking to the detainees. Admittedly Rufus was my responsibility, but I could do with some help dealing with the others.
I made my decision quickly and went to find him. It wasn’t too hard; I just followed the noise. I couldn’t help but smirk at the scene before me. Roger was arm-wrestling. His opponent? None other than the ex-captain of the Flying Scotsman, William. They were both red-faced, but it seemed evenly matched. I watched the spectacle for a while, until William finally took the victory. “Damn, I can't believe you beat me again,” Roger complained.
“Tha’s cos yer a wee pansy,” joked William. “Come on back anytime if yer eva wanna ‘nother thrashing.”
“Hardly a thrashing! I held you for ages,” Roger complained, but there were clearly good relations here, which laid a good foundation for what I was about to ask. The spectators drifted away as I moved toward the two men.
“Hallo there, Cap’n. That were interestin’ news, right?” he asked.
“Yes, it really was, William.”
“Why’s Cap’n Shaun help’n them double-crossing shitheads oot, while we're stuck ‘ere?”
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