Relias: Uprising (13 page)

 Refortification. Luke couldn’t believe it. After everything he said and even with the current situation in mind, Alighieri saw fit to drop their defenses and risk everything for a short-term victory. His jaw clenched and hands shaking, Luke tucked the letter away as the truck lurched into motion.

 The vehicle bounced down the cobblestone streets through a part of the city that Luke was unfamiliar with. The back of the car was windowless, though by sensing Furo Luke could of course see exactly where they were going. They were approaching another military controlled facility, this one nearly triple the security as the prison. The walls were ten meters high with a sniper tower every hundred feet stocked with four Dark soldiers. There weren’t any simple guards at this facility; just warriors. It was the Dark headquarters that he’d visited over a month prior. After passing through the four gates the car entered the main compound, parting through the throngs of vehicles and freight loads that passed through it while aiming for the front of the main hangar.

 The transport ground to a halt where half a dozen guards were there to receive them. The metal doors were pulled open and the light that flooded in was spectacular. The massive chains clattered across the metal floor of the car and onto the cement as Luke jumped out the back. The soldiers grabbed him roughly by the arms and forced him into the complex. Nobody spoke to him. They just maintained gruff faces and kept their guns pointed at him at all times.

 He was pushed down the main hall and nearly two dozen soldiers escorted him. On the catwalks above the main hallway more soldiers stood at the ready just in case Luke tried anything. It was amazing the measures that the Darks were taking to ensure a smooth transfer. And if it weren’t for Hendrick then Luke would have no idea what they were doing. Dark military tribunals weren’t typically held inside these kinds of facilities. What was more surprising still was that the Darks felt as though Luke would try and make a run for it, hurting whoever it was who tried to stop him. Then again, he did do a good number on those Dark soldiers at Tess’s apartment. It was still astounding to Luke that he reacted the way that he had. That kind of extreme anger was new to him. It wasn’t an anger provoked by severe hatred or contempt, but rather one brought about by rejection, by helplessness. Luke was an angry person. Being shoved down countless hallways by gun barrels Luke made a mental note to fix that.

 The convoy came to a set of large important looking doors. The steel was rustic and worn, having been taken from some downed, deteriorating battle cruiser and rigged to serve as a barricade to a high security room. Again, there was another set of soldiers guarding the doors. As they saw Luke one knocked on the door. There was a heavy metal grind as they were unlocked, followed by the squeaking grind of the doors opening on their rusting hinges. There was no time lost as the Darks took Luke into the room beyond the doors which closed immediately behind them. Luke was taken to the center of the room where his shackles were fastened to the floor. The two dozen soldiers that had escorted him fanned out and spaced themselves evenly along the perimeter of the room. Being his first time in the room Luke took a moment to look around.

 It was a large circular room. Broken chains hung from the ceiling and bullet holes and rough gouges made patterns on the brown concrete walls. On the lower parts of the walls at chest level were rusted sheets of steel which had been bolted and welded into place, covering what were most likely windows to observation rooms. On the floor there was a pattern of circles. Luke stood at the very center of the circles which spread outward like a giant target. As Luke’s eyes followed the circles outward his attention came to a long table behind which sat twelve men, all old, all weathered, and all well-fed and healthy. Sitting towards the center of the lineup was Alighieri, the only younger looking one, peering at Luke with eyes with expression that Luke couldn’t quite interpret.

 The old man sitting to Alighieri’s left started the proceedings, asking Luke many of the same prodding and annoying questions that that physician had asked Luke so long before. Then he came to the point where he expressed his disappointment with Luke’s behavior, calling Luke selfish, overly aggressive, and traitorous. The accusations weren’t anything new.

 In only a few words Luke made it clear that the accusations were merely the misinterpretations of bias individuals.  The man leading the proceedings responded by making it clear to Luke that these weren’t  ‘accusations’, they were ‘charges’. Luke smiled and a silence immediately followed. The Leader leaned across the table, removed his spectacles and glared at Luke.

 “You really feel no remorse for the things you have done?” He said in an old, ragged voice.

 “I feel remorse for things I do wrong.” Luke replied.

 “And you consider the senseless killing of over a hundred Durants, real, pure-blooded Durants, to be in the right? Are you so far out of touch with that which is righteous that you feel no regret for those actions?”

 Another silence. Luke’s chains began to shake as he struggled to contain himself. The Leader went on.

 “This isn’t just a trial concerning your actions taken during your time here in Praemon. This is a trial concerning the actions you took during that latter parts of the First Crusade against the Commune, particularly those concerning torture, needless brutality and the murder of one hundred and twelve Durants at Olsgrad Canyon. And you are, without a doubt, guilty on all-”

 “Were you at Olsgrad canyon you withering piece of shit or were you sitting at some dinner party discussing how this war should be run?” Luke yelled. “Do you know what would have happened!”

 “There are no reasons to justify the actions that you took!” The old man replied, his demeanor more aggressive following Luke’s insult. He raised a shaking hand and shoved it in Luke’s direction. “You are a traitor on all counts! Your actions have meant nothing to this resistance and to the efforts to restore Relias to-“

 “You know
nothing
of Relias!” Luke roared, stepping forward and pulling tight against his chains. The soldiers all got ready to intervene. “As for my efforts being ‘meaningless’ consider the fact that I was the one who put this entire operation together in the first place!” Luke met the Leader’s eyes and his gaze was searing. The Leader tried to appear unmoving but Luke could see his real feelings in his eyes. Luke looked over to Alighieri who was closing his eyes and resting his face in one palm. Luke gave a deprecating laugh. “And of course you’re doing nothing to stop this Sam. Can’t change overnight, I guess. Or over half a decade for that matter.”

 Alighieri’s eyes snapped open and he looked at Luke, taken back. Luke frowned at him as the Leader, red faced and breathing heavy, signaled to the guards to retrieve Luke.

 “Luke Semprys, you are guilty of assault, sedition, aiding the enemy and murder. You will hereby confine yourself to exile, the punishment of defying this sentence being death. You will not come within ten miles of Praemon. You may not have any contact with anybody living in Praemon including your precious Ditrinity. We regret that you we ever rescued you from prison as dying alone in darkness is a happy consideration compared to what you deserve. Remove him.”

 The chains were undone and the soldiers grabbed Luke by the arms with force that made it clear that they were expecting a fight. Luke didn’t give them one though. He gave the twelve leaders of the Dark resistance one last look of contempt before turning towards the door. His last glimpse was of Alighieri who had turned away and was walking towards a smaller door on the opposite side of the room. Luke’s back was the last thing to be seen before the door shut with a resounding clank.

 Luke rocked back and forth with the movement of  the armored car as it took him to the edge of the city. Soldiers still surrounded him though none were as alert and uptight as they had been before. It was strange though, especially considering the fact that Luke had been calm on the way there and now he was furious. He had done fine until they had brought up Olsgrad canyon. It was at that consideration that Luke thought about the Darks, how their hating him drove him more and more towards hating them. It was a self-sustaining circle of loathing.

 The brakes on the car squeaked as it came to an abrupt stop. The soldiers in the back of the car got to their feet and prepared to move Luke out of the car. There was a scraping against the back door as several latches were undone and the door opened. One of the Darks tried to force him out. Luke looked at him and the man let go. He hopped out of the car on his own accord and looked around.

 There were throngs of people circled around the car staring at the rear waiting for somebody to emerge. And when Luke impacted on the ground the people saw him. There was an immediate uproar of disapproval and hatred that sprung up from all around the crowd. Luke paid them no mind and hobbled in chains around the car in the center of the squad of soldiers that led him through the gathering to the outer gate.

 The outer wall of the city rose up in front of him with the screaming mob standing between him and the back gate. They threw anything that they could find, the majority of objects consisting of rocks, bottles and garbage that laid around the street. People snatched and clawed at Luke as he passed, raking him with their fingernails, spitting on him and doing whatever they could to hurt or injure him in one way or the other. Luke looked out across them and saw their faces; these weren’t people who were the products of severe disillusion. Their faces contorted into looks of honest hatred, of unfettered loathing. Their eyes were wide and wild with reviled disgust. Through a gap in the crowd Luke saw two young children clinging to their mother’s hand, pointing and screaming at Luke with hate that equaled their mother’s. These people honestly believed that Luke was a murderer. There was a slight pain in Luke’s lower gut; how could he be the only one who was right and how could all of these people be wrong? Maybe they weren’t the ones who were disillusioned.

Halfway through the crowd a brick struck Luke across the eyebrow, drawing blood and causing it to flow down his cheek. Luke didn’t so much as cringe at the blow, keeping the same pace he had before. There was laughter from those who could see it and more people began to scramble for other objects they could throw.

Luke was at the gate now. The guards formed up and the gate began to open. Before it opened far, two men approached Luke. They were dressed in armor that was far more elaborate than the armor of the typical Dark soldier. Both hooded, they stood silently in front of Luke. Luke shook his head in amusement.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Luke said.

The figure on the right threw his hood off and glared at Luke. It was Ranjak. “Gettin’ thrown out of the city and still smug. Suck the big one, Semprys.”

Luke shrugged and turned to the man he knew to be Thompson. “You don’t look any more intimidating than junior here.”

Thompson took his hood off and appeared to be as angry as Ranjak, though his anger being more controlled and withheld.

“You told us back in Alighieri’s office not to mess with somebody who obviously had the upper hand. Funny how things change, huh Luke?” Thompson said.

“You’ve really thought about that a lot, haven’t you?” Luke said. “And we’re not on a first name basis. You call me ‘Semprys’ like everybody else.”

The crowd was starting to get quiet. Seeing their heroes arguing with Luke gave them the possibility of seeing Luke get beat to a pulp by the men who they considered to be the most powerful Durants who ever lived. They all wanted a fight, and Ranjak and Thompson wanted the same. Ranjak played coy and mocked dusting off Luke’s shoulder.

“Big bad Semprys, all chained up.” He jeered. “Too bad you have these on or we’d really go at it.”

Luke smiled to himself, suppressing a laugh as he thought about how Hendrick would respond. “Maybe another time.”

The words emboldened Ranjak. He got up into Luke’s face and smiled. “Why not now?”

Luke raised his eyebrows and was void of emotion. “I’m scared.”

Ranjak’s smile faded; the sarcasm made him realize his pride was misplaced. He stepped back, looked around and thought, licking his teeth as he did a poor job of containing his anger. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’d be scared too if my daughter was gonna get knocked up. I’m telling you Semprys that I’m just a few bad jokes away from nailin’ daddy’s little girl.”

This time, Luke’s face did show emotion. His lip began to twitch and his body language changed. His stance was no longer straight and squared; his shoulders began to shrug and his legs bent slightly, his appearance starting to have the sense of a wild animal. Ranjak gave a toothy smile and chuckled. “Ah, look how he gets angry when I talk bad about his girly.” He said in a childish voice. The people around Ranjak began to laugh, their laughter fueling Ranjak and infuriating Luke. “It’s just so adorable.”

“Not so adorable when I rip your spine from your back.”

The crowd was amused at Luke’s attempt at a comeback and they laughed some more. Ranjak didn’t laugh though. He was the one looking into Luke’s eyes only feet from him and he could see Luke’s thoughts. Luke wasn’t just talking big.

Luke didn’t flinch. The crowd’s laughter began to subside as they saw Ranjak succumbing to Luke’s intimidation. Ranjak saw this and started to fume. He looked at Luke, looked him up and down, and swung at him. His fist stopped just before striking Luke’s cheekbone.

Luke didn’t flinch.

Ranjak fell back and casually stood there, looking around at the crowd with his jaw set and teeth gritted while letting his hand fall discreetly to the metal club on his side. Luke stood there for a minute more, staring Ranjak down while Thompson stood back and watched. After a moment of inactivity, the soldiers that were moving Luke began to push Luke through the open gate assuming that the exchange was over. Luke and Ranjak’s glares connected until Luke had to turn his body to look. Luke gave Ranjak a discreet smirk and turned away. Ranjak snapped and his knuckles went white around the handle to his club. He raised it up in his hand and swung it down with all his strength aiming for Luke’s exposed temple.