Origins (18 page)

Tomal grew tired of administering the beating with his right hand so he switched to the left.  “How dare you make us be submissive to these beings?”  CRACK.  “We’re their superiors in every possible way.” CRACK.

Tomal paused again to get a double grip on the whip.  Before continuing the savagery, he noticed three more guards came over to restrain Gallono.  The man was positively lost in rage, screaming every obscenity in his vocabulary and making up a few new ones. 

Tomal casually rolled his head back and forth.  Then he returned his attention to the very bloody Hastelloy who lay motionless on the ground in front of him.  “Your strict adherence to the council’s directive has brought us nothing but misery.”  CRACK, CRACK, CRACK.

Tomal tossed the whip aside, wiped the blood spatter off his cheek, and calmly strutted away from the scene.

Straining against the now seven guards required to pin him to the ground, Gallono growled toward Tomal.  “I will end you, you grubby little parasite!  You hear me, traitor, I will end you!”

Chapter 25:  Alpha Dog

Goron limped along
the outer hull of his once proud ship.  The hasty run down the side of the pyramid was a bit much for his aging frame to absorb, not to mention the long run back to the ship; what was left of it anyway. 

He still couldn’t fathom how a lowly Novi collector class ship managed to inflict so much damage to his
craft with just two fusion torpedos.  The shields should have absorbed the hits without difficulty, yet here they were.  The engineering section of his ship completely gone and he was stranded on this world with only one shot at getting home. 

Goron knew he needed to expect the unexpected from his Novi counterpart.  He had monitored the Novi communication channels during the battle and knew the collector ship led the fight
ing once the command ship was annihilated.  After that great moment, victory seemed a mere formality, but this Novi captain definitely knew what he was about.

This was a leader who transformed certain defeat into victory while fighting four to one odds and overcoming the psychological effect of using the constrainer ships to prevent a Novi retreat.  If that wasn’t enough, the Novi captain had the intestinal fortitude to fly his ship nose first into another vessel, blow it up, and fly off free and clear of the trap.

That sort of command ability was not natural.  It could only be the product of living hundreds of lifetimes and retaining the lessons learned from all of them.  This was one of many advantages the Novi enjoyed in the war thanks to their infernal Nexus device.

On this planet things were different, Goron knew the advantage was his.  He was free to make use of the local populace.  They looked upon him as a god and obeyed his every command.  The Novi, on the other hand, were forced to fight under the constraints of their precious noninterference directives.  Their rules of engagement would be their undoing.

Goron reached a small hatch on the roof of the bridge, grabbed hold of the ladder and climbed down into the half circle shaped room below.  He would have much preferred using the regular air lock entrance to the ship, but that was on deck four, which was crushed upon impact when they landed.

He stepped off the ladder to once again take in the tragic scene. His command chair on the upper level was covered in wires and hoses hanging down from the ceiling.  Goron never cleared it off because even after all these months, he still didn’t feel right sitting in that chair again.  The seat was for distinguished leaders, not men who lost space battles to unarmed collector ships. 

Two steps below on the main level he saw the empty chairs where the pilot and navigator orchestrated their spectacular landing.

“We should have left them sitting at their posts as monuments to duty and honor, but the stench would’ve been too much,” a voice said from behind Goron.

“Not to mention the bug infestation, but that would have been fitting,” Goron responded without emotion.  

He already filled out the forms for the two dead bridge officers to receive the Order of Valor for their service.  Not only did they execute an impossibly precise landing maneuver with a ship that was all but a dead stick, they also volunteered to stay at their posts during impact with the ground while Goron and Elohim barricaded themselves in the interior conference room.

“If only there’d been a way to reach the rest of the crew to warn them about the devastation the crash landing would cause,” Goron said with regret.  “Then we’d have hundreds of Alpha warriors here, and I could take the fight to those abominations of nature.  I’m tired of hiding behind the frail creatures on this planet.”

“Half our warriors were lost when the torpedo strike tore away the engineering section,” Elohim said.  “The loss of pressure triggered the emergency bulkheads to lock into place and transformed the interior of the ship into an endless maze of locked doors that the survivors were helpless to navigate.  I was just fortunate to get trapped in a section next to the air lock.  The only way I got in here was by making a space walk along the outer hull and coming in the hatch.”

Goron remembered how surprised the three bridge officers were when they heard a banging come from outside the hatch while still in space.  “There must have been a way to release the doors.”

“Of course there was, but it required power.  That power source unfortunately was severed from the rest of the ship thanks to those unnatural beings,” Elohim spat.  “This self pity is pointless, Leader, what’s done is done.  The important thing now is that our plan to get home is progressing well.”  

Goron turned towards his engineer and found him hard at work testing the gravity coils.  He didn’t like the way the engineer staked his claim to the pending victory by referring to it as ‘our plan.’  Goron stalked over behind Elohim to view the test results for himself. 

“I’ve confirmed your suspicion.  The frequency settings on the coils have been tampered with,” Elohim reported.  “That mob was just a cover for the Novi to set a sabotage plan into motion.”

“It certainly looks that way, but Pharaoh and his overseers haven’t mentioned anything about pale, pigmy men with oversized heads and eyes . . .” Goron stopped mid sentence as he was distracted by Elohim’s snickering.  “Oh grow up.”

“I’m sorry Leader, I just can’t believe that name stuck.  If only Pharaoh knew the title he’s so proud to call himself means tiny genitals in our language.”

In his mind, Goron chastised himself for letting his subordinate see a moment of insecurity in him.  How could he be the Lead male if Elohim didn’t see self-confidence emanating from his every action?  Elohim’s break in discipline was unacceptable.  The pup needed to be put in his place.

Goron leaned over the engineer’s shoulder and said softly, “When someone tells a joke for the first time and the other laughs, it means the joke was funny.  If the other doesn’t laugh at said joke when it’s told a second time, it means the joke is no longer funny or welcome.  Tell me Elohim, why would the joke be told a third time?  Am I dealing with a learning disability here?”

Goron pulled himself to an upright position and was gratified to see Elohim spin out of his chair and bring his body to its full height to square off against him.  The taunt solicited the desired response; Goron towered over the smaller man by a good six inches.  The lowly engineer took in the visible reminder of his place and held his Leader’s gaze for a second and then shrank back into his workstation.

Goron took command of the situation.  “Shall I order the workers to uncover the rooms so we can fix the frequency settings?”

“That’s what I recommend, Leader,” Elohim said with a meek voice.  “The change was extremely subtle.  They altered the backup transmitter frequency and buried the change deep in the subroutines.  The coils still function the way you need them to, but the Novi might be able to assume control with the alteration.”

“You’re probably right.  They’ll have a device of their own to receive that frequency giving them control of the gravity coils.  But wouldn’t they have to make one final alteration to the control module in the central chamber?  They’d have to instruct the device to receive the backup signal instead of the primary.”

“Yes, Leader, but I respectfully ask, why take the risk?  We can simply open the rooms again and change the frequency back.  That way the threat will be removed completely.”

“Having his sabotage plan stopped will only encourage the Novi commander to devise another course of action,” Goron instructed.  “I’d prefer he focus his efforts on an act of sabotage I’m already aware of and prepared to stop.”

“It’s an awful risk leader,” Elohim cautioned while being careful not to sound insubordinate.  “Your victory here is far too important to take such chances in my opinion.”

“You don’t need to remind me of the stakes,” Goron snapped.  “For the first time in ten thousand years the Novi are about to know what it feels like
to suffer combat losses on a large scale.  Those losses will be felt if, and only if, we succeed in capturing and destroying that Nexus device.  Otherwise those lives will be regenerated as usual.”

“Imagine the chaos around their empire when news gets out that millions of soldiers were actually lost in a battle,” Elohim beamed.

Goron allowed himself a moment to visualize the mayhem.  Finally there would be retribution for the suffering and hardship the Novi inflicted on the galaxy in their quest for domination.  The thought brought a smile to his face.  The grin soon faded as a concerning question entered his mind.

“How do you think the Novi snuck into the rooms?  We reached these people first.  I set us up as gods and the Novi as demons to be feared and attacked on sight.  They can’t simply blend in with the slaves; they’d look just as alien to these creatures as we do,” Goron asked of his subordinate.

“It appears these Novi aren’t playing by their own rules,” Elohim responded; his voice dripping with disappointment.  “My best guess is they used that blasphemous reincarnation machine of theirs to alter form so they now look like these creatures.”

“I can’t accept that,” Goron boomed in frustration.  “The Novi are many things, but they do have their rules and are very fond of obeying them.  The two tenets they hold most dear are to never commit suicide, and never alter their physical bodies.”

“All the evidence points to my conclusion, Leader,” Elohim continued.  “Our agent spotted a slave climbing out of the northeast chamber.  How would one of these clueless creatures know what the gravity coils were, let alone have the ability to alter it in a nearly undetectable way?  It was one of the Novi, I’m sure of it.  I say we have the suspect taken, assuming the agent can get close to him.”

“Yes.  Have the agent try to locate the suspect, but only watch him.  Don’t have him taken just yet.  He may lead us to others,” Goron ordered.  “A collector ship has a crew of five, plus we also need to consider the millions of lives in that Nexus device that may have been brought back to life.”

“Given that line of thinking, for all we know the whole work camp could be disguised Novi just waiting to take us down,” Elohim blurted out with concern.

“Don’t go barking up the panic trees just yet.  If they had massive numbers here we’d be dead already.  I chose this landing site with the exact purpose of preventing a head on attack from the Novi.  Their directive precludes them from interfering with this civilization’s culture, and releasing millions of Novi soldiers would definitely qualify as interfering.”

Elohim looked as if he had something to add, but Goron cut him off with a brisk raise of his hand.  “The Novi commander is a walking contradiction.  I need to figure him out to know how to proceed. 

“He’s adhering to their directive by trying to blend in and come at us subtly rather than charging in with guns blazing.  Then he turns around and violates the directive by having his crew kill themselves and alter form. 

“We also have his rash actions during the battle that completely violated their engagement protocols.  He sent ships on a suicide run out of Nexus range, and rammed another vessel with his collector ship.

“My best read is when he has time to think things through the Novi commander defaults to following their rules.  However in the heat of the moment, he’s more pragmatic and resorts to doing whatever it takes to get the job done.” 

Goron paused to consider what his conclusions about the Novi commander meant to the mission.  “I’d say he’s prone to rash action at times, even though they usually have favorable results.  It’s not much of a weakness, but it’s one I can work with I think.”

“If you say so, personally I prefer stupidity as a weakness in my adversaries,” Elohim added.

Goron relaxed his posture a bit as he became satisfied he had a good read of the situation.  “The Novi commander has had time to consider his actions.  He is protecting this culture from contamination according to his directives.  Therefore he’ll not release any others from the Nexus.  At most we are dealing with the standard five man crew of a collector class ship.”

Satisfied with his conclusion Goron strutted up the two steps, brushed off his Leader’s chair and took his seat.  For the first time since landing on the planet he felt worthy to sit in the command chair again.

Valnor’s eye caught
the sudden movement from the tent flap being thrown open.  To the great surprise of everyone in the room, Mosa stepped into the tent with her arms full of aloe leaves.

Valnor didn't know many words of the Sigma language, but he knew enough to get his point across. “
Woman leave.  Never to return
.”  He uttered. 

To emphasize the extreme displeasure of her presence in the tent, Gallono and Tonwen rose from their bed rolls in an aggressive motion to stand next to Valnor. 

“
Death soon
,” Gallono said forcefully.

Hastelloy was still too weak from the wounds sustained at the hands of Tomal to join the others in their show of force.  He simply lay face down on the ground and endured the pain emanating from the countless lacerations on his back.  The relief the aloe leaves would bring was tempting, but knowing whom he’d have to thank for them was beyond consideration.

Rather than backing down from the three men standing in her way, Mosa defiantly stepped forward into the tent.  She stared individually at each man blocking her path.  Then Mosa turned her gaze to Hastelloy lying on the ground.  The shockwave of the next moment hit the four men like a fusion bomb detonation.  In perfect Novan dialect she spoke, “Tomal knows nothing of my visit.  I’m here to care for Hastelloy on my own accord.”

The three crewmen stood their ground, dumbfounded.  Hastelloy, for his part, had to shake his head to make sure his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him.  Without wasting another instant, he pushed the pain aside and shifted himself back into command mode. 

“A statement like that deserves an audience I should think,” Hastelloy said through gritted teeth.  He would have liked to sit up and greet the suddenly very interesting guest, but movement at this stage of his recovery was simply not an option.  “Let her in.”

Mosa didn’t wait for the others to acknowledge their orders; she immediately sidestepped their obstructive wall and gracefully floated to where Hastelloy lay.  Her composure visibly collapsed when she finally saw the full ext
ent of Hastelloy’s injuries.  His entire back looked like raw meat with puss and blood oozing out dozens of lacerations.

“You’ll of course excuse me if I don’t get up.  Your master was very thorough in his work,” Hastelloy stated bitterly.  “Normally I wouldn’t be so abrupt, but would you mind explaining why we’re having this conversation in my language?  We’ve only known you a few months.”

Mosa stopped at Hastelloy’s left side and descended to her knees, laying the aloe leaves next to her.  Mosa surveyed his back and looked as if she didn’t even know where to begin.  Finally she tore the long thick aloe leaves down the middle and laid the strips, gel side down, across Hastelloy’s back.

“Tomal is not the only one who can learn languages easily,” she said softly.  “I asked him to teach me a few phrases so I could greet his friends.  That gave me a basic vocabulary, and the building blocks to begin understanding your dinner conversations.  I’ve been speaking with Tomal in this tongue as practice for some time now.  It is a lovely language.”

Hastelloy had to admit her story was not out of the realm of possibility.  After all, Tomal managed to learn the Sigma language in just as short a time frame.  There were other more likely scenarios though. 

Tomal may have taught her the language so she could inform him of any plans of retaliation.  Worse yet, the Alpha may have taught her the language for the very same purpose.  The story was extremely suspect, but the soothing and disinfecting effect of the aloe on his back was tipping the scales in her favor at the moment.  He decided to play along for now and take her down any path she liked so long as it got nowhere near the truth of their purpose.

Hastelloy turned his head to the side so he could just barely see past his shoulder and view Mosa at work.  “When we first met you, it took me all of five seconds to see through that submissive façade you put forward.  I’m impressed, and that doesn’t happen often.”

Gallono didn’t like where the conversation was going and took it upon himself to intervene.  He sat down at Hastelloy’s right side to come face to face with Mosa.  “Pardon me for asking an obvious question, but won’t Tomal be missing his pleasure toy?  This is just a little too convenient for my taste.”

Mosa showed no visible signs of offense from the allegation.  Without looking up from her nursing work, she said almost as an uninteresting afterthought, “Tomal has found something else to occupy his mind; a new object for his obsessions.”

“Yah, it doesn’t take me long to get bored with my toys either.  Out with the old, in with the new right?” Gallono taunted.  “It’s strange though.  You don’t seem very broken up about losing your provider’s favor.”

Gallono’s last statement must have struck an exposed nerve.  Mosa stopped everything she was doing and slowly raised her head to look Gallono straight on.  Her usual pleasant and disarming expression now replaced by a vicious scowl.  “Anything worth having in my life I already lost by the time I was given to Tomal.  There’s nothing to miss about being that man’s property.  Why would I miss being forced to yield to his every wish and desire to avoid punishment?”

Hastelloy picked up on her hint; she had
a history and she wanted to share it.  Mosa was trying to be coy about it, which made him certain it would be a jumble of lies.  Perhaps forcing Mosa to jump directly into the story may cause her to falter and reveal something unintended.   Hastelloy changed the course of the discussion abruptly.  “Tell me then, what valuables have you lost?  Who took them, and when?”

Mosa turned her gaze back to Hastelloy and allowed her omnipresent glow to return.  As she continued applying the aloe leaves she began her tale.  “Before my brother’s gods appeared, I was a princess among my people.  I labored all day like everyone else, but I was respected, even revered as a leader.  So was my sister.   Now we’re just trophies for Pharaoh to pass around to his closest advisors for a job well done.”

“Nofru and the Pharaoh are your siblings?” Hastelloy asked in mild surprise.

“Yes, and they pass us around like a community drinking vase.  They’ve gone too far.  It must end.”

“And that is why you’re here?” Hastelloy asked with disdain.  “You want help getting back at your brothers and Tomal?  Perhaps you want me to kill them in their sleep?” 

Hastelloy turned his head away from Mosa as though he could no longer stand the sight of her.  “I’m afraid my wounds aren’t severe enough for me to consider anything like that.  You need to be careful Mosa.  Your disloyalty to your leaders will carry no favor with me.  Nothing is more noble and honorable than sacrificing ones personal well being for the benefit of the greater good.”

“Good?” Mosa repeated.  “Enslaving thousands of people is not good.  Waging wars to acquire more slaves is not good.  There is no greater good to be gained here.  Not for me or my tribe.”

“Ah, but you’re wrong.  These slaves were starving and struggling to survive before coming here.  Now look at them.  They have food, clothing, and shelter for their families.  It’s all made available to them in exchange for some sweat, and yes even a little blood on occasion,” Hastelloy said as he glanced back at his wounds.  “All in all, what more could anybody ask for these days?”

“Open your eyes.  You only choose to see the pretty side of this work camp,” Mosa said while looking down at Hastelloy with pity.  “The next time you’re up and about, look beyond the immediate scenery and witness the ugly darkness lurking in the shadows.  This slavery is pure evil, and it can’t continue.”

  Hastelloy rolled his eyes and lay his head back down on his hands.  “I think it’s you who needs to take another look around.  You now have an abundance of food to sustain your people and any others who wish to join.  Your armies are numerous and powerful.  The people are working together as never before to accomplish a great task.  This is the beginning of a golden age for this society, and your tribe is driving it all forward.  You should be
proud to play your part, not trying to assassinate the architect of this movement.”

Mosa’s eyes grew focused on the back of Hastelloy’s head.  “It’s interesting you didn’t say our people just now.  You and your friends may be from some foreign land, but you’re still just like the rest of us.  The only ones I don’t count as our people are those two enormous jackals.”

“Those are your god’s,” Hastelloy mocked.   “Shouldn’t you feel honored to simply be in their presence?  Earlier today I saw a massive crowd risk harm from the army, let alone the gods themselves, just to get a glimpse.”

Frustration snuck into Mosa’s voice.  “Do gods run from their people like scared children?  Do gods get injured from running down the side of a monument they designed and forced others to build?  I saw the taller one limping away from the pyramid - they can be hurt. 

“Those two are no more gods than you or I.  What’s more, they despise us, especially the shorter one.  These creatures will use our people until they get what they want, and then God only knows what they’ll do with us next.”

“God knows?” Gallono puffed.  “Pun intended I presume.”

“Indeed, but perhaps I should ask you what they’ll do with us next.  It’s obvious you know these creatures.  Remember, I saw you climbing out of the chamber.  The crowds weren’t about seeing the gods.  They were about covering your actions.  You know what they’re up to don’t you?”

“I was wondering when you’d get to that,” Hastelloy said with a sigh.  “What can I say, I slipped and fell in.  I was just lucky Gallono was there to pull me out.  To my great disappointment though, I missed my chance to see the gods for myself.”

“You lie,” Mosa challenged.  “When he pulled you out of the chamber, you weren’t looking around to see the gods.  You were checking to see if anyone saw you.  It wasn’t a look of disappointment I saw on your face, it was a look of sheer panic.”

Hastelloy’s body felt as if every nerve ending was on fire, his concentration and patience was slipping.  He conceded internally that the course of the conversation was quickly falling away from his control.  Mosa’s story was not cracking, but his own cover was getting torn to shreds.  It was time to change the focus off of him and back onto her.

“Thank you for the leaf treatment, my back is feeling much better already,” Hastelloy stated.  “Even in this condition, I am no fool.  You came into this tent wanting something from me.  Are you going to spend all night dancing with your hand on my ass or are you going to finally make your move?”

Hastelloy rubbed his temples with his two index fingers, as if he was trying to turn back time and pull the last sentence back into his lungs.

“How eloquently put,” Mosa said, clearly disappointed at hearing the crude words.  “I do have something I want, but now is not the time to discuss it.  For now, all I ask is for you to take a closer look at this slave camp and see the truth that lies in the shadows.  I’ll come back in a week’s time so we can discuss my request.”

“Very well, until we meet again then.”  Hastelloy uttered, jumping on the chance to terminate the conversation.  He turned his head to face Gallono, “Please show our guest to the door.”

Hastelloy was unable to watch her depart the tent from his horizontal position.  He had to make do observing silhouettes move across the floor.  He watched Gallono’s elongated shadow reach up with its arm to guide Mosa to the exit.  Another figure threw open the flap and a blinding ray of light from the rising sun burst in through the opening.  He heard light footsteps grow faint, and suddenly the light turned to darkness again as the flap drew closed.

“Your thoughts, gentlemen?”  Hastelloy encouraged.

“I think she speaks very good Novan,” Gallono responded coolly.

She did indeed, and the fact that Hastelloy lost the verbal wrestling match with her in his own native language was definitely cause for concern.  Was he slipping, or was she that good?

Valnor must have seen the introspective concern from his commanding officer and tried to cheer him up.  “She can sure turn a phrase.  I wouldn’t let it get you down though, sir.  It’s amazing you’re even able to think straight, let alone form a coherent sentence with your wounds so fresh.”

“I’m on the ground fighting to stay conscious, ensign, how much more down can I get?”  Hastelloy snapped.  He didn’t need some snot nosed rookie fresh from the academy to pacify his ego.  “What do you three think of her story?”

“I don’t view her as a direct threat for now,” Gallono stated.  “She has the Pharaoh’s ear, she could have all of us killed or imprisoned anytime she wants.  Besides, she’s off our backs for a week.  You should be back in operable condition by then.”

“What bothers me is the fact that she wants something, and with the leverage she has over you it is going to be near impossible to tell her no.” Tonwen added.

“One obstacle at a time,” Hastelloy coughed.  “For now, I need to get some rest, and the three of you need to go move some stones into place.  We can’t do anything else until the pyramid is near completion and the control unit is installed in the main chamber.  Until then, we simply wait and try to keep a low profile.”

“What about Tomal,” Gallono asked with searing hatred hanging from every letter of the vile name.  “If I so much as hear he’s anywhere on the work site, I . . .”