AMP Colossus (3 page)

I leaned against a counter and spoke. "Your father—was he an air lock operator like you?"

Feldew answered, "Yes. As was his father and my great-grandfather. Lock 12-16 has been our responsibility for four generations. This is the first time the lock has closed during our time monitoring it. There was a small compression leak on panel 32C. I fear that I will be held responsible for its flawed operation."

I continued, "What can you tell me about Embry Central? How far is it, and how do you normally get there from here?"

Feldew replied, "It is the hub of the Embry Mine. There are fourteen tunnels that extend out into the planet from it. It is an older, dying city. Only mines 12 and 14 remain in operation. Before my lifetime ends, it may be closed completely. My son, Moka, may never get to monitor 12-16."

I replied, "Tell me about Embry Central. How many Grell live there? And how many cities are on Ponik? Are they all mines?"

Feldew tilted his head as he replied, "Embry Central was once a thriving city. Three million Grell worked the mines at their peak during my grandfather’s time at this lock. There are now only 220,000 who are left to support the mines, and more than half of them work in the mines themselves. Mine 11 was the last to close. The workers who remained from 11 were taken away by the Colossuns.

"I have heard there are other cities, with Grand Ponik being the largest. The ore from each of the mining cities is taken there. The Colossuns tell us of great cities being constructed on Ponik’s surface, but I do not know of anyone who has been there. My cousin speaks of it regularly, but my cousin is a bad liar."

I spoke. "So, Embry Central is largely abandoned?"

Feldew replied, "Yes, only the sector surrounding the refinery and the tunnel leading to Grand Ponik remain open. The rest has been closed off to us. Last month, three young males were executed for violating the closure order. It seems there are always those willing to risk their lives by breaking the law."

Duane then entered the room carrying a roll of cloth that had the appearance of black felt with a string tying each end closed. Feldew turned an off shade of blue at the sight of it.

Duane spoke. "Found this tucked in behind a cabinet back there, Mr. Grange. From the look of our friend there, I would say this is probably something he is not supposed to have."

I turned to Feldew. "What’s wrapped up in there, Hoffis? What have you been hiding?"

Feldew Hoffis then broke down and confessed, "It is our family Broal, passed down to my great-grandfather from his great-grandfather, down the family line to me. I know it is a violation of the weapons ordinances, but it has been in our family for centuries, since before the Colossuns came. My son does not know of this; please, just take me, he is only eleven. He is not involved."

Duane opened the cloth to reveal the polished, fine steel blade of the Broal. It was a long sword with a two-handed grip. The double-edged piece of masterful work had many small curves with serrated edges followed by broad sections of highly sharpened steel. The broadsides were covered with ornate scrollwork.

I spoke. "This is your family blade?"

Feldew replied, "I am told it is more than eighteen centuries old. It was crafted by the King’s swordsman for my ancestor as a show of thanks for his courage in battle. I had no intention of using it as a weapon. It is merely a family heirloom."

After several hours of questions for Feldew, I began to wonder if we might soon have visitors.

I spoke. "What time does your shift come to an end?"

Feldew replied, "I am only in the first week of four."

I began to pace the room. "You mean you are here, in this room, for four weeks straight? How often do the trains run?"

Feldew replied, "Every six weeks. Do you not have access to the schedules?"

I turned towards Feldew with the best angry glare I could muster.

Feldew continued, "I am no longer in fear, Sir. With that Broal in your possession, I am already dead. If you are searching for others here, you will not find them. And I have one more thing to add... my spirit will celebrate when the resistance finds you and removes your intestines with a family blade similar to the one that your partner now holds. I shall be watching from a better place."

A now-smug Feldew sat back in his chair with his short, slender arms crossed. For a moment I wanted to chuckle, as it reminded me of Frig. Even though I knew it was what he had been born with, I had always found Frig’s short arms to be comical in appearance.

I spoke. "So, there is a resistance against the Colossus?"

Feldew replied, "You have seen the broadcasts. The Commissioners do not attempt to hide it. I am not among those who have chosen to fight, but I will now freely admit that I support them. The Colossuns and all of the pestilence that follows them around will one day pay for the centuries of rape and pillage of our planet. All Grell who have passed before me will sit in jubilation in our ancestral dimension as your kind passes into the abyss of death."

Feldew spit upon my left pant leg. I didn’t take it as a sign of respect. I placed my blaster back into its holster.

I gestured to Duane to return Feldew's family heirloom to him as I spoke. "What would you say to someone who would be on your side in this fight? This ore you called Gunta—what if there was another species that was interested in trading with you for it and providing you with protection from the Colossus?"

Feldew looked at his Broal before he answered. The razor-sharp serrated edges glistened in the bright light of the office.

Feldew spoke. "I have nothing more to say to you or the Masters you serve. Do your deed and send me on to be with my ancestors."

I replied, "There won't be any deed done here today, Feldew. My friend here and I, we came from that piece of machinery that was on the maintenance train."

Feldew looked up as I paused before continuing, "That's right. We are not part of the Colossus. We are trespassers who came to this planet to mine the ore. Stand, take your family sword in your hands, and hold it back in a striking position."

Feldew slowly stood.

I continued, "Now, I will close my eyes, and you may strike me down if you wish. But first, think of the possibilities of having a powerful ally join your cause."

I closed my eyes, knowing full well that the hybrid suit I was wearing would stop Feldew's blade. A hard blow would be halted by the suit’s reactive skin. A much larger threat was a slow slice, an easy feat that could end my life.

Feldew spoke as he lowered his blade. "How do I know that you are telling the truth? You have been nothing but deceitful with your questions since you arrived. That suit you are wearing—it is probably constructed to shield you from the blow of my blade. And your friend, he remains behind me and at the ready to strike me down."

I shrugged and nodded my head in agreement. "Well, I guess I need to do more to convince you. Your atmosphere is not dissimilar to ours. I will remove my helmet so that you may strike my bare skin."

I flipped the latches and depressed the release. There was a slight rush of air due to a minor difference in pressure. As I took a breath, I could smell the acrid odor that came from a tunnel being deep underground. I knelt down on one knee with my helmet now tucked under my right arm.

I spoke. "Duane, holster your weapon and stand over here behind me. Place your hands up and behind your head. Allow Mr. Hoffis to raise his weapon as if to strike me."

Duane replied, "Do you really think that is a good idea, Mr. Grange? He could easily cut you in half before you could react."

I replied, "That is what I am counting on, Duane. Mr. Hoffis, if you wish to send me to the abyss, then please do so."

Feldew Hoffis began to raise his Broal. I watched the floor with hesitation as small spots of light, reflecting off the serrated edges, moved across the floor in my direction as the sword was raised into the bright office light.

Feldew spoke. "I do not understand your willingness to die. What are you truly seeking of me... Mr. Grange?"

I looked up at Feldew with a pursed smile. "What I am seeking is your trust, Feldew. There is nothing short of placing my life in your hands that would convince you that I speak the truth. Ask yourself, would the Masters risk their lives for even a moment?"

Feldew held the blade high for several more seconds before lowering it back to his side. "No Colossun, or the minions of other species who serve them, would have done such. With your action, and with the way you came to be in this office by clinging to my door as the train passed, you have convinced me of your origin, Mr. Grange. I am not yet sure of your true intentions, but I am sure that you are not with the Masters."

I slowly stood and replied, "Speaking of the Masters, are you expecting anyone to drop by here anytime soon? Another maintenance train, perhaps?"

Feldew sat back in his chair and rubbed his fingers along the ornately carved surface of his prized Broal. "There will be no maintenance train, Mr. Grange. That crew would not have left the site without finishing the work completely. The Colossuns get extremely angry when ore is not delivered on time. It has been a long time since the Tunnel 8 cave-in stopped a delivery."

Feldew continued, "The ground was unstable, even for these immense tunnel structures. It was abandoned with more than a hundred thousand miners and their Masters left behind. The Colossuns do not value the lives of others or themselves."

I looked around the room and pulled a box over to sit on. "Well, Feldew, it looks like you have some new allies. I would love to know everything you can tell me about this planet, your people, and the Colossus."

Duane attempted to intervene. "Ah, Sir, don't you think we should focus on getting back to the surface so we can not only call for help, but warn the Grid about the Colossus?"

I turned to look at Duane. "That was my first thought, Duane. And then I began to think about the pulsers those soldiers were carrying. We have come across that technology as a weapon before. It proved ineffective against the material that made up the Grid and against the shielding we had on our ships. We ran roughshod over those species when they attacked after we jumped into their sector. My guess is the Colossun technology is similar."

I continued, "Besides, I'm not worried about the Colossuns finding the Grid. She has her signal inhibitors on. So, unless the Colossuns physically stumble upon her, I think the Grid is safe."

I slowly turned back towards Feldew as I spoke. "Do you have anything within this office that is powered from whatever power source you use, that you can make do without?"

Feldew replied, "I have a small lamp in the back room. It offers a light similar to that of our sun. I like to occasionally bask in its warmth with the thought of one day returning to the surface of Ponik. I have never seen our sun in its true glory. I have only heard tales of its greatness."

I replied, "OK, sounds a bit like your life doesn't depend on it. Duane, bring me the light and plug it into that socket."

When the light was turned on, I took it by the base and set it on the floor. I pulled my blaster and dialed it down to its lowest setting.

Duane held up his hand and spoke. "Uh, Sir."

I replied, "I got this, Duane."

Duane persisted, "Sir, I wouldn't do that."

As I looked at Duane, I aimed the blaster and pulled the trigger.

Pzzt!

The light went dark, along with the office and Feldew's control console. Duane turned on the bright lights on his helmet.

Duane spoke. "I was going to suggest we not do that, Sir. That cord is connected directly to the power that runs this office. There was a fairly high chance that you would knock out the power."

I sarcastically replied, "Well, why didn’t you speak up?" My attempt at humor fell flat with Duane. He shook his head…

Feldew rose and walked into the back room. A pop could be heard as Feldew flipped a breaker switch, and the lights and console power returned. Feldew sat back down in his chair and turned towards his console.

The radio popped as the first call came over it. "Feldew? What happened? Your location went off the board!"

Before Feldew could answer, his supervisor angrily spoke. "Hoffis! What is going on there?"

Feldew keyed the mic and replied, "It is my fault, Sir. I was stretching in front of my sun light and bumped the breaker. I apologize, Sir. It will never happen again."

The supervisor replied, "Hoffis! You are going to pay for this when the Masters find out! You have placed all of our lives in jeopardy!"

I tapped Feldew on the shoulder and gestured for him to release the mic. "Does anyone else monitor the board besides your friend and your boss?"

Feldew thought and then replied, "No, there is me, Saffi is at the mine air lock, and Jova mans the air lock at Embry Central. There is no one else."

I patted him on the shoulder and replied, "Well, seems like it is in Jova's best interest to not mention this incident. If only you three know, then why tell anyone else?"

I gestured at the mic as I continued, "Just convince him that it is in his best interest to remain silent."

Feldew turned back to the mic and gently squeezed the key switch. "Jova. It seems to me that only you, Saffi, and I know about this. If we just remain silent, never speak of it, the Masters will never know and there will be no reprisals. We all just continue on with our lives."

The radio was silent for a moment as Jova thought. "That is a violation of the law, Feldew. We cannot further violate the law!"

Feldew began to key the mic when Saffi's voice came over the speaker. "Jova, is the law really broken if it is never reported? Feldew is right. Never speak of this again, and we all go on with our lives as they were before. Do you want Moka and your little Powis to grow up without fathers? The Masters would not be pleased that this happened on your watch!"

Jova again thought before he replied, "Feldew... we will be silent. But you will take that sun light out of there and focus on your job! I cannot have you putting us all at risk because of your sun fantasy!"