The Key

BAXIAN – CHAPTER 24: The Key

The storm was infuriating. He felt it through his protective gear. His mask was enough to protect his eyes which were unable to see anything.

He was carrying an old backpack which was hold by a metallic belt which ran over his breast.

Then he saw a light. He recognized it. He prepared himself.

The buzzing sound of a Dragonfly resounded in his ears as the aircraft started descending over him.

He moved and waited.

The emblem of Agaklythos appeared in front of him.

He activated a small object which started blinking and emitting a blue light. He hid it in his pockets, leaving the top slightly outside it.

Soldiers went down and took him on the iron monster.

After he went inside a strange and unsettling quietness slithered in.

As the Dragonfly was ascending, he couldn't see outside.

His legs were quivering.

Outside the blowing wind was hampering the ascending speed, until it stopped.

He heard the buzzing of the engines stop and another one start.

He didn't know where they were.

A gate opened outside.

He was looking for a chink, a crevice which would've let him know where he was.

Then they stopped.

The door opened and light came in.

All the soldiers came down and then he stepped down. He was in a white minimalistic hangar where all the Dragonflies were parked.

He was looking around, amazed. He never saw something as huge as that.

"Welcome on the Morrigan, Lud" said the Commander Timur to him, showing him his open hands.

In front of Gluskap there were two maps, one of the few which Pyramus brought to Zerzura. On one there was represented the city and its underground system. On the other there was a map of the tunnel which ran under Drekavac, through the Graveyard of the Shaxes.

Two of the Elders and a couple of his lieutenants were looking at it and moving some placeholders which represented the Hummingbirds, the Shaxes and the Whiskers.

There was silence.

He moved close to the table and positioned two 'Birds placeholders, one on a tunnel and the other, not far from it, beside the city's walls.

"Are you sure about that?" asked him one of the lieutenants

"Consider what we know about them. The city is unbreachable from one side, and they know about our secret passages. Not only that, but we also must consider that they have the air superiority. Therefore, I think that we should attack them from the front first and then use the one in the Graveyard as backups"

"Iff yous wants toy acts thiss ways, whats abbout us?" asked one of the Elders

"They don't know about you, as far as I know. You're just a legend for them. You also have a small window of action; we can't send you under the sun"

"What if they attack us first?"

"Then it means that we will play it on the battlefield with what is left of our armoured vehicles and men"

"We need to find a way to take them from below and in front. We need to divide them"

"We still have a bunch of explosives left" added the other officer

"Whatt abouts they tunnels wey showeds yous?"

"I don't think that it's safe to go there. It could be a trap"

"What if it is not?" asked Gluskap

"Sir, we don't have enough men. Once we are inside the city, we are going to face an entire army of Whiskers"

"Whenn do yous intends toy starrt they attacks?"

Gluskap looked at the map again.

The Shaxes, for him, were what would have determined the difference between winning and losing the war.

He knew their weaknesses. An advantage always presents disadvantages.

"The timing isn't my only concern. To be honest I prefer to get back the city without losing too many Hummingbirds and Shaxes"

"Whats yours deccision then?"

Gluskap moved his eyes on the tunnels which were running through the city and the desert.

The solution was clearer now.

The lightbulb was flickering. Kurban was still at the door. In the last hours no one came back to get him out.

He was stuck there. Alone.

His legs felt heavy. His head numb. He leaned it back. Then he tried to breathe in and out, blowing out everything. He needed to focus.

He stood up and moved back to the board and the desk.

He felt that there was more from it. Whatever was left to discover could've explained the Chief behavior.

He started shifting the place of the papers on the desk. One of them had the drawing of a key which looked like a parallelepiped with a pyramidal base. He observed it then put it in his pockets. As he was doing that, a book felt on the floor.

He picked it up and observed it.

It had a blue leather cover with a grey string coming out of it. Kurban opened it where was positioned the bookmark.

I feel watched. I feel heard. A ruthless watching eye. Every word is scrutinized and dissected. Here, in this prison of loneliness, I feel free. Here they can't stain my mission.

Lud words felt like he was panicking. He understood the subject, but he didn't comprehend how could Agaklythos control them. They weren't even there, on the planet.

Today I encountered an interference. A signal. I don't know if the Empire wants or needs to send a message, but it was on a frequency different from the one which we usually use to share information. I've recorded it. Timur will have to tell me the truth this time.

The name was unknown to him. He went to the radio station and looked for the record. He didn't know what it looked like.

Then, while he was looking behind the equipment, a small tape showed itself. It was a black parallelepiped with two holes and a filament inside it.

He got back to the front and looked for a place to put it in. There wasn't much which resembled its shape. He started touching randomly on the equipment to see if anything opened.

He was starting to think that it was useless when a squared pocket unlocked. He put it in and waited. Nothing happened. There were some buttons on the object. He decided to press the one which contained an arrow pointing to the right.

The tape was rolled back and then started.

A white sound, just that.

Time passed.

After ten minutes nothing interesting appeared in the recording.

Then he heard it. The white sounds were now muffled, and scratches were being emitted by the radio.

Even though it wasn't easy to catch at first, he recognized that sound. It was ringing in his ears.

He stopped the tape abruptly.

His heart was punching on his chest.

He rushed back to the journal. He was looking for more.

A strange object felt from the sky. It was found by one of the survivors.

Kurban looked at the piece of tech which was hanged to the wall. It looked like a mushroom with a black plain pileus with minuscule black cylindrical scales. It was made of different type of metal and had a lot of wires coming out of it.

We tried to match it with the Dragonflies equipment, but we didn't find a match. My theory is that it came from a bigger aircraft in the sky, one which is too far to pinpoint its position.

He turned the pages and then found a piece of information which could've explained his situation.

I'm alone now. I don't think that I can trust anyone. Not my inner circle, not the survivors, not Timur or even Cressida. I just know that once I'm gone, this power void will be filled by someone who doesn't know enough. My son and my daughter are too young to succeed me. But I will tell them, one day.

He had to get out. That journal was the key to let the people of Rocabarra reclaim what they have lost and ally with the city.

He turned more pages and then read another thought of him.

A few days and I will be gone. The people will consider me dead, and all my work will stay here, untouched.

Someone needs to face the Empire. To unveil their nefarious schemes.

This choice is eating me from the inside. Freedom requires sacrifices or it would be just a construct.

But the second hardest choice will be to put aside my hate and reunite with the people of Scarbray. We need to be together against a common enemy.

Kurban stopped reading for a moment and looked by the side. It was all there.

I just don't know if the people of Scarbray will accept us back with open arms or they will shoot at us, blinded by the lies, and misguided by corruption.

Tithon was with Malsumis, Fanon and Gehenna in front of a board. On it there were being projected maps and images of the city which were highlighted by flashing circles.

The images were sliding on the screen when Fanon eyes were attracted by an image of the outer rim.

"Stop here" asked him to Malsumis

"What do you see Fanon?" asked Tithon

"We've been looking to tunnels and dumps so far. We didn't even consider the fact that the walls aren't a certainty"

"Why?"

"Are the walls thick enough to support the power of explosives and battering-rams?" asked him to Gehenna

She didn't answer.

"Gehenna…remember your purpose" said Tithon to her

She looked at him then at Fanon.

"So…"

"Yes. They were built in a way which is hard to bring them down from one side"

"Does it mean that we're safe there?"

"No one has ever tried to conquer the city from the front"

"Is that the truth?" asked Fanon

"Yes…yes," said her

"Put few of your men there, commander. Just in case"

"How many, our number isn't as big as it was before?"

Tithon thought about it for a while.

"Then put the oldest and the youngest member of our army there"

"But Sir, we will be exposing ourselves"

Tithon gave him an annoyed look.

"I mean…I'm going to train them myself in order to prepare them from everything"

The Supreme Leader nodded satisfied.

Lilith and Endymion appeared behind them, veiled as always. Tithon noticed them and his face frowned.

The other people in the room started leaving the room.

Gehenna went by Lilith and started touching her, while the veiled girl didn't flinch.

"You too Gehenna" ordered Tithon to her, as she left her daughter's hand and left.

When the room was clear, Tithon showed them the couch with his hands.

"Thank you, Supreme Leader" told them both

"What should I do with you?" asked him

"What do you mean, sir?" asked a confused Endymion

Their dark and white veils were waving frantically

"What should I do with you?" said Tithon again, closer

"We…we don't understand"

He went outside, by the bulwark. Not far from him there was the landing spot for the Dragonflies.

"Come here"

They did as he said.

"You see, everything here as a purpose. The worker produce capital, the supervisor watches over him, the Manager takes decisions, the vendor sells stuff, the Whisker protect them, I move the city forward. And then there're you two"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"You know, I have this recurrent dream. I'm here, on the parapet. You both are behind me. One of you tells me not to jump. The other just looks at me. A Dragonfly is in front of me. In it there's…Mabdil who is ordering me to come down and surrender myself"

"You know that nightmare has been ruining my sleep since I was born. You both used to know about it before Gehenna rebooted both of you. And you, Endymion, I'm sorry about getting rid of you but I had to"

"What do you…"

"Shut up when I'm speaking" said Tithon with a heated voice

"The dream always ended with me suiciding myself. Since I've been here, I've feared the day when it would've become reality"

"Then I've realized something. It doesn't matter what I do, the nightmare is there because of you two. The dream exists just as a reminder of what went wrong with you both. I know that to get rid of the problem, I need to remove the source"

He moved toward them and took both by their arms.

They tried to free themselves of his clutch, but he was too strong for them both.

"I need to purge myself now. I need to kill the venom which resides inside me"

"No…please"

"Please, we'll do everything you want"

He brought to the parapet and left them hanging to the edge.

"Please"

"Please"

"It doesn't matter what I do…you've always been part of it" told him while detaching his hands from their arms.

They precipitated down the Aokigahara tower, screaming.

Then their bodies smashed on the ground, leaving two large polls of blood and innards.

His butler rushed near him.

"What happened, sir?"

He looked down and Tithon saw his face in horror and awe.

He went back in and sat at the table.

He poured a bit of crystalline water in a glass and drunk it. He swallowed it, satisfied and euphoric.

The Chief of Rocabarra came back into the room and found a few of his men there waiting.

They looked over his shoulder.

"Where is he?" asked one of them

"He won't bother us anymore"

"But sir, I thought that we were going to give him a chance" said another, disappointed

"He wants us to go back to a city which didn't even try to reach and help us, unlike Agaklythos, which has been there the whole time"

"But sir, he is…"

"He is not Lud…he will never be the founder of Rocabarra"

"That's true" exclaimed another one

"What if he's coming back? What if he'll try to get back from where he came?"

"We'll deal with him as an enemy"

"But…he didn't do anything wrong to us. Shouldn't we let him explain?"

The Chief sighed.

"He…already did"

Then one of the citizens rushed in.

She was panting.

"Sir…Chief…the descendant…Lud…"

"What?"

She was in tears

"Sir, she is…is dead"

"Bring me to her" ordered him

They went to her home. Quickly. Treading as fast as possible.

Outside it an outcry was starting to take shape, as many people were feeling sad and dissatisfied.

As he arrived, he found she on the bed, lifeless.

He dashed toward her side.

Her saw an octagonal box on the bedside table

There was her caretaker close to her, crying and sighing.

"What happened?"

"She…didn't wake up. She didn't wake up. I've tried but she didn't move"

"Everyone…out" ordered the chief abruptly

Once everyone had left the room. He collapsed with his knee on the floor, keeping her hands in his.

"You…at least you're with Lud now" told him to her and kissed her forehead.

After hugging her, he stood up and took the box on the table.

"I'll keep what your father left you. I'll honor him"

When he took it, he noticed that there was a small triangle shaped slot on top of it.

"You don't look impressed" said Timur disappointed

"To be honest I've expected something bigger" joked Lud

"Is he clear?" asked Timur to one of the soldiers who nodded

"Would you mind walking with me Lud?"

"After you"

Timur moved and Lud went after him. They went through a sliding gate and went into an elevator. With them there were still other soldiers with their weapons armed.

"Did you enjoy your flight?"

"Even though there is a sandstorm raging right now, the ascension has been…decent"

"What about Rocabarra, is it growing as intended?"

"We're still waiting for the material to build the last housing spots"

"Piece of cake. We will send them to you as soon as you will leave the Morrigan"

The elevator stopped and they got off.

Lud noticed that the space was lit by blue and red LEDs. His eyelids flickered a little.

Another door was unlocked, and they found themselves in a long corridor.

A loud noise was coming from the end of it.

"Where are we?"

"Are you in a hurry? Just enjoy it" said Timur while putting his hands on Lud's shoulders, who shrugged them away like a disgusting insect

They started treading forward.

Then on both sides started appearing water tanks lit by green lights.

The first ones were empty.

Then they started to appear.

The abominations.

Lud's pupils enlarged and the hair on his neck were bristling.

Shaxes and clones were floating in the water.

Some of them looked like Timur.

"Are they…are they…"

"Alive? Are you kidding? These are just our first attempts. Sure, those aren't as good as Gehenna's but wait to see our latest products"

"Gehenna?"

"You know her. You should see her actually; she has changed a lot"

"You…you're stealing from her…and they are not products. They are people"

While talking the two arrived over the production where clones and Shaxes were being manufactured like clockwork.

Lud opened his mouth.

"Before you say anything, follow me, I want to show you the labs" and pushed him, out of the corridor, into a gigantic room, filled with scientists, all lookalikes.

There was one sector, which was rerstricted, which was called Vardoger.

Lud was speechless.

"Didn't have you anything to say?" asked Timur delighted

"I…this is why you're helping Slaaf thrive…to acquire a new technology and…"

"Part of it is true…part of it"

"What do you mean?"

"That exploitation isn't the main motive but…"

"I need to go back…I need to tell everyone…you're going to destroy us when you will find us useless"

"No, not you. Only Gehenna, or Cressida, is the one who is still useful. Cause of her that you and your weak planet are still enjoying life. Just that. When she is gone…well…" and tilted his head

"I have to go back" said Lud while turning his back to him but he was stopped by the soldiers, who reacted quickly.

"I want to show you one last thing Lud, follow me"

"No" shouted him, distracting all the scientists who were working there

Timur went forward as he was jostled by the soldiers

They walked to another elevator and went back to the hangar.

He went beside the gates and gave an order to a bunch of soldiers.

As he did it, the gate became less opaque and revealed what was behind it.

Lud went near him.

"Look at it. Slaaf…a simple planet among the stars…and you're willing to die for it"

"It's my home…"

Timur tilted his head and a few of his men came by and took Lud.

They were bringing him back to the Dragonfly when, while getting on it, he stopped there and looked at the powerless man in front of him.

He shook his left hand toward Lud and stood there, while the engines were starting.

The founder of Rocabarra saw him disappear behind the Dragon's door, as it was ready to get him back to his town.