Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (74 page)

“It’s not like that stopped you this time. I said I wanted to kill you, I did not say I would. I will let your fate rest in the hands of those you consider your inferiors.”

This seemed to affect the medic more than anything else I had said thus far.

“The Genogerians? Surely
,
you cannot mean this, they are savages barely able to function without our help.”

“That’s rich
,”
I laughed. “Is that what you tell yourself when you try to sleep at
night?”

The irony of the question was lost on him.

“I hope for your sake
these
‘
savages’ take pity on you.” As I spoke the words, the lights flickered and went off, dim red lights came on a few moments later.

“What
happened?” The medic asked.

“We beat the
Mutes
,” I told
him
,
“
and now you
r
c
ommander has shut off life support to every part of the ship
in
Genogerian hands.

“But that includes the holding cells
,” the medic said
as if he couldn’t believe he was being sacrificed along with the Genogerians.

“How much time do we have?” I asked him.

“Three
…
four hours at the most
,” he said
,
staring at the red light as if it was the answer to the universe.

Who the hell
knew,
maybe it was.

“This cannot be
,” the medic said,
looking around wildly.

“What’s so hard to believe? That your superiors value their existence more than yours? I can assure you that leaders always believe themselves superior to those below them. Just think how you feel about the Genogerians.”

“That’s different
,” the medic said
angrily.

“Not as much as you would lie to yourself to believe that
,” I said
.
A
gain I
thought
that was lost on him. “The question now is wh
at are you going to do about it?
”

“Do about it
?” he asked
.

“You’re as good as dead. They are not going to turn the air or heat back on until we are dead
or close to death so they c
an collect us up and make us pay.
”

What I knew for a small sign of approval flitted
across the
m
edic’s face.

“Don’t go getting yourself all excited, I will make sure each of you prisoners is dead long before we are.”

“I have a family
,” he said
.

“So do I
—
what’s your point? You and the othe
r pilots help or we’re all dead.
S
imple as that.”

The medic poured another bag of 'sand' on Urlack's wound, when it came back clear he
rooted around in his bag and pulled out what I would learn was an electronic needle and thread
.
H
e quickly stitched Urlack’s wound
,
leaving a small inch long opening for the wound to keep seeping out any toxins.

He stuffed the equipment back into his bag and then spoke. “I need to speak to some of the other pilots.”

“He’s alright?” I asked.

“He will be if the life support comes back on.”

“Makes sense. Let’s go.”

I could hear the thunderous cheering of Genogerians who had just defeated their enemy, they cared little for this newest tactic by their former captors, at least not yet
.
M
aybe when the euphoria of the victory wore off
but not now.

Tantor came running down the hallway before we had a chance to leave. “We have defeated the
Mutes
!
”
h
e
yelled loudly. “I would not have thought such a thing possible
,
Michael Talbot!”

“
It is good to see you
,
Tantor
,” I said
,
meaning it. The warrior had a half dozen minor bleeding wounds but noticed none of them.

“Urlack has fallen
?” he asked
with alarm
,
looking on
Urlack’s
prone body.

“He should be fine, as long as we can get the lights back on.”

“It is not the lights being off that is of a major concern
,”
Tantor said
,
as if he were talking to a child.

“Not sure if I will ever get over
the
differences of how we look at the world
,
Tantor. I understan
d about the life support system.
T
his Progerian is going to talk to his
fellow pilots to discuss the matter.”

Tantor finally looked over and recognized the medic
.
I saw an internal battle waging in him. For his entire life
,
he had been
taught that the Progerians were superior to him in every way and that he was supposed to, without question, defer to everything he was told to do.
And now he was celebrating a major victory over the power that had kept him down for so long.

“You are now equals
,” I told
them both
.
N
either believed my words.

“I must check on my wounded
,”
Tantor said
,
extracting himself from the
situation
.

I walked quickly with the medic to the holding cells.

“I will need to talk as a group with some of the senior pilots
.
W
ill this be possible?”
t
he medic turned to me asking.

“No
funny stuff?” I asked.

The medic was staring at me blankly.

“Why do I ask?” I said. I motioned for a few guards to come over. “Allow
him
to grab five of the senior Progerians
to have
some time together.

“Five
isn’t enough
,”
The medic
said.

“It will have to
be
,” I told
him. I wasn’t expecting any subterfuge
,
but I felt it safer to err on the side of caution. “I’m going to check on the troops
,” I told
the Genogerians
.
“P
lease send someone to get me when they are done with their meeting.”

With a slight bow
,
the nearest guard answered. “Yes
, sir
.”

Weird
,
how this
is
turning out
,
was all I could think as I headed down the long hallway.

Genogerians were all over the place
,
drunk with celebration
.
M
ore than one would stop what they were doing to give me a slight bow. At first
,
I kept thinking they were just bending down to get a better look a
nd see if I was something worth
eating. None seemed concerned at all with their lives now hanging precariously to the viciousness of space.

Tantor was now surrounded by at least a couple dozen Genogerians who were talking animatedly. He immediately got up and looked around
.
S
omeone must have told him I was approaching.

“Hello
,
Michael
,” he said
,
rushing to meet me. He clapped my shoulder and almost sent me sprawling. “Come
,
we have much to discuss
,” he said
as he issued me to the middle of the circle. “This is the
hu-
man that has delivered us into freedom!” Shouts, snarls and hisses ensued
.
I
t was actually their method of expressing pleasure, but to be surrounded by it you would have thought I was in New York
C
ity after the Yankees lost a series to the Red Sox.

“I know your species well enough
,
Michael
,
to understand the contortions of muscles on your face do not equate to a smile
,” Tantor said
.

“I
’m afraid
,
Tantor
,
that I have not quite given you the freedom you
and
your soldiers are envisioning.
”

Tantor laughed. “You do not understand us
,
Michael. We are all of us here, happy to die in the next few hours if it means we are no longer harnessed to the whims of the Progerians. Of course
,
we would rather live out our lives in a more natural way
,
but I will take
four hours
of freedom to
forty
years of slavery. And you have given that to us.” The cheer
ing started up again.

“Tantor
,
I gave you
nothing
.
Y
ou and your men took it. You fought for what you believed in. I just gave you the chance to start over, to have a place you could call your own.”

“For that we will always be in your debt
,” Tantor said
with an exaggerated bow, which was immediately followed by the rest of his men.

I could see over all the bowed heads, a Genogerian came running into the room looking frantically around
.
W
hen he caught sight of me he came at a full
tilt
.

“Commander
!” he shouted
. I had no idea who he was talking to.
All I could think was this wasn’t good.

“
Sir,
the pilot’s have finished talking
,” the guard said
and he was still looking at me.

Tantor had turned to look. “He speaks to you
,
Michael.”

“When the hell did I become the
c
ommander?”

“With Urlack down for now, the assignment falls to you
,” he said
.

“Oh
,
hell no
.
W
hy not you?” I asked Tantor.

“Perhaps in time
,
Michael
,
but I do not yet have the experience to lead.”

I wanted to tell him he was
wrong
.
H
e had already proved he was a leader. But with the whole life and death clock clicking loudly over our heads, I figured maybe today wasn’t the best time to discuss the matter.

“You’re coming with me
,
then
,” I told
him.

“I would be honored.”

Within a few minutes
,
I was at the door
of
the meeting room with the medic and I
supposed
five of the most senior pilots.

I had about as much desire to enter that room as I did having my balls crushed under a rubber mallet. They looked extremely hostile, but I was to learn they were far angrier their leaders had subjected them to the same fate as the Genogerians than the fact that myself and the Genogerians had put them in th
at
place to begin with. Don’t misunderstand me
,
they were pissed off that the Genogerians
dared
to rebel against their rule
,
but it wasn
’t completely without precedent.
A
nd being as they considered them inferior being
s
they would be wrought with inferiority. But their leaders! That was inexcusable.

“We have come to a decision
,
”
The medic told me, stone-faced
.

His tone and stance did not leave me with any promise of help from this unlikely alliance. Well
,
shit
,
everything that happened today was an unlikely alliance
,
I thought.