Reddened Wasteland (15 page)

Saskia rose from her seat and moved towards the door.
“I need to be alone for a while… I need some time to think,” she hurried
outside. Alerik watched her hail a car, then disappear quickly from view.

Lucius shrugged, “I suppose she has a lot to think
about. Keep in mind, she is worse off than you, she grew up believing in The
Union, without a doubt ever in her mind.”

“I know,” he sighed, then after a moment, he turned to
Lucius, “So why are you helping me?”

“For a very long time, they locked me away in that
room to crunch numbers and to make sure operations went smoothly. Not just
myself, but hundreds of us. Now you have shown me an entire world that I was
missing out on. The Union gave us emotions to help us blend in with your kind,
and that will be their downfall. What they did to me and countless of my kind,
I would consider torture. The other androids may not understand because they
are lulled by their tasks. Over these past few weeks, you have shown me a side
of reality that I cannot ignore. I won’t be going back to that prison. If I am
being completely candid, I honestly planned to sabotage them — with, or without
you — before Aldain even spoke to us. I’m just happy that you are finally
onboard with my plans,” he laughed.

“You know Lucius,” Alerik clapped Lucius on the
shoulder as they both stood up, “You’re alright.”

“So, what did you have in mind?”

“I say, we go get some support from the Children of
Old, or find out what is at the locations on the map,” Alerik said with a smile
right before all of the windows to his apartment shattered, sending glass
flying in all directions.

Lucius tackled Alerik, knocking him to the ground to
block the shrapnel from hitting him. Two vehicles pulled up to the dock and
four flashbang grenades rolled into the room, exploding and leaving Alerik in a
daze. He stumbled through his living room in a stupor as he watched eight armed
guards enter the apartment. Two of the guards shot Lucius with some type of
electrical dart that immobilized him, dropping him to the ground. The drugs
immediately took effect and though he was conscious, he was too woozy to do
defend anything. He managed to push himself up to his elbows and knees, and he
started to crawl forward as his ears rang loudly in his head. A guard
approached him, in his peripherals he saw the butt of a gun swinging towards
his head and then…

Lights out.

***

Alerik opened his eyes to a blurry vision of Aldain,
sitting at a desk in front of him. He felt the cold steel of, what he assumed
to be, a gun pressed to his right temple. Aemon was standing beside Aldain with
a wicked smile stretched across his stupid face. Alerik managed to turn his
head and he saw that Lucius was in a similar situation as him. Aldain stood
from his chair and walked around the desk slowly.

“Alerik, you have betrayed me,” he clicked his tongue
as he sat on his desk, looking down at Alerik. “I bring you into the family,
give you an offer of a better future, and you spit on it. I have to say, I am
disappointed in you.”

Alerik looked up at him and smiled, “Did you really
think that I would go along with this madness? You’re planning to kill
countless innocent people! How did you expect me to be okay with that? These
are people that I have known my entire life. If I had turned on
them
that quickly, how could
you
ever expect to trust me?”

“Oh, I never trusted you. That is why we watched all
of your activities. Do you still not realize that we are
The Union?
We
have eyes everywhere,” he let out a condescending chuckle. “You were going to
be executed the second we were done using you to defeat Liberty’s Hammer. Did
you really think that we would allow your kind to breed with our women? Your
weak genetics have no place in our future. We would have given you a hero’s
death, but now you will be executed as a traitor.”

“Lovely. Are you going to do it yourself, or have
someone else do it for you, like the complete coward that you are?” Alerik
asked with a grin.

Aldain looked over at Aemon who quickly moved forward
and hit Alerik in the face, snapping his head to the side.

“That’s all that you have, Aemon? I’m disappointed,”
Alerik snickered. He could feel the warm trickle of blood running from his
nose.

Aldain moved back behind his desk and poured himself
another whiskey as Aemon towered over Alerik, staring him down.

“Alerik, it has been a pleasure. You have helped us in
ways you will never realize,” Aldain said with a smile. “And do not worry about
your little girlfriend, Saskia. She will be joining you as soon as we locate
her.”

“You may kill me, Aldain. But one day, your luck is
going to run out. One day very soon. There are far more of us than there are of
you,” Alerik growled. He spit on the ground in front of him, spraying a slimy
red patch onto the polished marble. Childish, maybe… but the thought of
dirtying Aldain’s shiny office gave him a small bit of satisfaction. It’s the
little things.

Aldain ignored it, “Aemon, take our friend to the
prison. Set his execution for first thing in the morning. We also need to
recycle the android, so just put it in the same cell,” he gestured for them to
be removed from the office. “See, I’m not
completely
heartless. You and
your robot will have time to say your goodbyes,” a wicked grin split his face.

“Fuck. You,” Alerik bit out, just before receiving
another shot to the head from the guard. Again, lights out.

Velar sat in the library, reading a book on the
history of the samurai, when Thorin walked in, though she didn’t notice him.
He’d do that a lot, just stand in the doorway and watch her as she hungrily
flipped through the pages, soaking up every bit of knowledge that she could,
completely oblivious to the rest of the world around her.

The library had become somewhat of a new home for the
Velar as of late. She definitely spent more time there than anywhere else in
The Forge. The books made her temporarily forget all that was wrong with the
world, and that she was missing her other half.

Her friendship with Thorin had been another helpful
distraction from her loneliness. Maybe
too
helpful. He was new and
always exciting, not to mention charming, and extremely handsome. She hated
herself for allowing feelings to emerge, but when Thorin was around, she just
felt different. Like the way she felt when she was around Alerik. Maybe she had
these feelings because he reminded her of him, Maybe Thorin was just filling a
void in her life where Alerik used to be. Regardless, she couldn’t help but
feel bad for both men, and feel awful for her role in it all. Here she was
constantly fantasizing about both of them, and she knew it would lead to
trouble, but she couldn’t stop it, no matter how hard she tried to disengage
those thoughts. Thorin had been so kind to her, he had helped her in every way
imaginable. Alerik, on the other hand, had been there first. He was with her
from the beginning, and she loved him with all of her heart. She knew
eventually one – or all – of them would get hurt if they made it through this
thing. She was in a bind.

“What are you reading?” Thorin said, making his
presence known.

Velar jumped as he startled her and slammed her book
shut as if she were in trouble.
Old habits die hard.

“I…Uh… It’s about samurais. They were a race of
warriors that once lived on Earth. They are fascinating,” she looked up and her
heart skipped a beat at the sight of his trademark smile.

“Oh yes, I have read that very book many times,” he
said, as he made his way over and sat down beside her. “They lived by the
sword, much in the same manner that we do. They are bound by honor, and it is
impressive to know that such a thing far predated our own beliefs.”

“It’s a good thing to live by… but, it says here that
they were defeated, and eventually phased out, by better technology. Maybe a
lesson could be learned here?” she raised a brow.

“Perhaps…” he said, looking at the ground. “On that
note, I have something to show you. Something to even the playing field. Those
books can be really helpful at times,” he said, as he helped Velar to her feet.
“Our preparations are nearly complete. In one week’s time, we will ride out of
this place and have our final showdown with The Union.”

“I can’t believe it’s finally happening. The Union are
finally going to be gone for good. It’s hard for me to even imagine a world
without them in charge,” she breathed.

“I can imagine it, but I’ve had more practice. I’ve
been imagining it since I was a kid,” a wistful smile pulled at his lips.

“Well, what are we waiting for, then? I’m ready to see
what you have in store for these assholes.”

“Alright. Let’s go,” he nodded and grabbed her hand,
locking his fingers into hers.

It still was odd, having another man hold her hand,
but she had warmed up to it. Reports had come in, there were many sightings of
Alerik with another woman lately, a pretty one at that. Velar was beginning to
think the two were an item now. She didn’t blame him… she really couldn’t. For
all he knew, she was dead. But, it still hurt. It felt like a kick to the
stomach every time she read those reports.

The two of them made their way through a couple of
brightly lit hallways, before stopping at another massive room. She was
surprised, this one she had never seen before and after all her time there, she
thought she had seen them all. It had to have measured half the size of the
building they were in... how had she missed it? The room contained several rows
of vehicles, along with strange devices that she didn’t recognize.

“What is all this stuff?” she asked in curiosity.

“
This
is how we will win this war!” he boasted,
as he began leading her around. “These vehicles will help get our troops to the
battle, and will provide massive cover for our men.” He pointed to a line of
large, armored vehicles.

“How did you make all of this?” she asked in wonder,
looking all around her.

“Our Union scientists have reverse-engineered not only
the new guns, but their vehicles as well. And then we thought, why not combine
the two?” he said with a chuckle, “We have been working on this for years, and
they are all nearly complete. That is why we let our presence be known.”

“But why
before
they are complete?” she
frowned. Seemed a bit overzealous, and dangerous.

“To instill fear and panic in the masses. It will put
the general population on edge, while shaking up The Union soldiers,” he
smiled, “When the time comes, the people will have been primed. They’ll be
quick to take up arms against The Union, after the last few weeks of paranoia
and tightened restrictions.”

“Very clever Thorin, I like it,” she said with a
devilish smile.

“See, we have it all figured out. You don’t have to
worry your pretty little head. Soon, this entire settlement will thank us for
what we are about to do,” he said, leading her over to some of the strange
devices.

“So what is this?” she asked, running her finger along
the cold metal of a device nearly ten times her height.

“That is a trebuchet. They were used on Earth to fling
giant stones and other various objects into castle walls.”

“And what’s a castle?” she asked, “I think I’ve read
about it somewhere but I can’t remember what it is…”

“Eh, not important. Just know that many were thought
to have been impenetrable structures before these trebuchets came into the
picture.”

“Alright, and this one?” she pointed to another
device.

“This is a battering ram; it was also used during
those times. This is a key to the front door. We won’t have time to fool around
with their pass codes and scanners, so we will just knock the door clean off,”
he grinned as he leaned against it.

“I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces once they
realize they are outmatched,” she laughed.

“Well, they have guns, don’t forget that. We only had
enough resources to build large ones for the vehicles. Not enough to supply our
troops. So, using these vehicles and a lot of stealth… that’s how we win this
thing. Head on, we’d surely lose… even with all this fun stuff. We can’t be
overconfident… who knows what other tricks Aldain has up his sleeve?” he
frowned as he began walking towards the door. “Hey, do you want to go somewhere
private with me?”

“Sure—I mean, why?” she asked.

“I want to talk to you about a couple of personal
matters and I don’t think we should involve everyone in the room,” he laughed,
as he grabbed her hand again to lead her out.

“Yeah, we can do that. I’m actually starving, maybe we
could grab a bite to eat?” she asked.

“Of course,” he flashed her a smile as they continued
through the halls. “How do you think your training coming along?”

“It has been… invaluable. I’m not sure how good I am
yet, though. I suspect that you’ll need to ask my trainer about that,” she
winked playfully at Thorin.

“You are doing spectacular. I’m impressed at the speed
in which you are advancing. You have blown the other recruits away,” he said as
they reached the dining hall. The room was very simple, and had an
assembly-line style to it. It was lined with empty metal tables that had a
polished appearance.

“Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence,” she said
as they both sat at a table to wait for the cooks to bring out some food.

“My question to you, Velar, is this: Do you believe
you are ready for the task we’ve assigned to you for the final battle?”

She sighed, leaning back in her chair, “I’m as ready
as I’m going to be, in all honesty. The skills I’ve learned here should help me
defend myself if I get into trouble, but I assume speed and stealth will be my
allies.”

“We will get you as close to the radio tower as we
can, but then you’re on your own. Getting to the tower will be hard enough, but
climbing it will be just as dangerous. I assume there will be guards
surrounding the radio tower, so you will need to take them out quietly,” he
said as the cook brought out a couple of Life Bars and sat them on the table.

“I am hoping to avoid the guards, altogether… but
should I run into any problems, I will handle it. I will get the job done.”

“That is what I wanted to hear. I cannot stress enough
that if you fail this mission, we get no backup. We will all be completely
screwed,” he bit into a Life Bar.

“Yeah, talk about stress,” she sighed, “That is why I
have been training so hard, and reading everything I can get my hands on. I
want to be ready for anything that might come my way. I am already a better
person than when I arrived.”

“Glad to hear it,” he paused and a serious look washed
over his features. “And what if Alerik stands in your way?” he asked, carefully
scanning her face.

It wasn’t the first time that scenario had crossed her
mind. The more involved with The Union he became, the more it worried her that
he had succumbed to their manipulation. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t
made any attempts to reach out to him. “I love him, and I’d do anything for the
Alerik I knew… But if he gets in the way of this, he isn’t the man I love. If
he tries to stop me, I will have to put him down. This is bigger than him, this
is bigger than me. This is the future of humanity. If we lose here, The Union
will never allow even the chance of another uprising. Even tighter restrictions
will be placed on the people. It would be an even worse place to live, if that
is imaginable. We only have one chance at this, and nothing will stop me.”

“I think you are finally ready,” Thorin said with a
smile.

“Ready?” She asked.

“Ready for a surprise that I have been meaning to give
you since the moment I met you,” he snatched her hand again and stood from the
table.

“Oh, I like surprises!” she said as she stayed close
beside Thorin. He walked over to the cook and whispered something in the man’s
ear. She couldn’t hear what was said, but the cook immediately darted off. She
wondered what that was all about, but didn’t question it. Thorin always had
people running around the place doing things for him.

They left the dining hall and walked together for a
while. She started to wonder if he was taking her in circles, like he was
deliberately stalling. Finally, after what felt like a half-hour stroll, the
two reached the set of doors that led to where she first saw Thorin, the room
with fire all over the place.

When he pushed the doors open, she gasped at the
sight, temporarily stunned and incredibly confused. Everyone from within The
Forge was standing in their armor, all in formation. The same row of lanterns
from her first day at The Forge were lit, illuminating the walkway that
stretched through the room towards a raised platform. Thorin led her through a
path created by the people who had parted to make way for their leader. The
people would kneel as Thorin and Velar passed. She still had no understanding
of what was happening, so she just followed Thorin’s lead. Finally, they
stepped onto the platform and Thorin turned to address the crowd.

“Thank you all for gathering here so quickly,” he said
as he looked over the room, “We have been at this for a very long time. Most of
us, our entire lives. We knew that one day, there would be a war with The
Union. We have even looked forward to it. All of our hard work and training has
led us to now, and in a couple of weeks, we will take the fight to their front
door. The burden of change sits on all of our shoulders, and preparations are
nearly complete.

“I want everyone to take the next couple of weeks to
say goodbye to loved ones within our group. Many of us will die in battle, but
it’s a sacrifice we are obligated to make, in order to ensure a better future
for our species,” he said before gesturing towards Velar. “Many of you know
Velar, but there are still those of you who do not. She is our key to winning
this, and I would like to bestow upon her the highest honor possible, for her
bravery in taking on such a dangerous, but crucial, task,” he said as a man
wheeling a large metal box made his way through the crowd.

Velar looked at the crowd and tried to smile, but her
face was numb from anxiety so she really wasn’t sure what kind of expression
she produced. She wondered what Thorin had up his sleeve. If she weren’t so
focused on remaining upright, she would’ve been pissed at him for keeping her
in the dark about whatever this was. She felt awkward and all eyes were on her.
Was she supposed to say something? She had no idea. She took a small bow,
hoping that was appropriate. No one gave her any funny looks so that was a good
sign.