Chapter 5
Naele was a woman driven by revenge. First those of her own race would suffer for the pain, humiliation and degradation they had cursed her to. All she had ever done was try to save her people against the will of the stupid narrow minded council. They would all suffer greatly, but not as much as the humans. They were the most barbaric of creatures. The humans had inflicted things on her that no living creature should be forced to endure, let alone a Lorene woman.
For a hundred and ten odd years she had been poked, prodded, sampled, experimented on and even opened up surgically a number of times. As if that hadn’t been enough torture, they even tried using her in a failed breeding program. Any modesty or pride she ever had was long gone, as well as much of her sanity. Only seeking vengeance kept her in touch with the real world at all. It was all she could latch on to. She wouldn’t let go until those responsible for her living hell had been bought to justice.
She remembered bitterly the betrayal of those few that had claimed to support her ideals in the final moments of her former life. As a group they had rebelled against the council, threatening that if they did not put the Lorene people first, and harvest the resources they desperately needed from the planet below, they would cause harm to the city. The Lorene were far more advanced than the primitive savages on the planet Earth. Why should their people suffer so that the human world wouldn’t be harmed? The council had stuck to the out-dated policies of their people, and trusted they would find a harvestable planet in time if they just rationed even tighter. She was only young then at twenty seven years old. Still so full of life, energy, beauty and potential.
One by one her supporters had cowered, and pleaded for the council’s mercy and forgiveness. In the end it was just her alone, and she was condemned as a darkened. This was a very harsh penalty, an ancient tradition, but she had to be made an example of. In times of dwindling resources and fear, the council had to assert it’s strength to maintain the public’s faith.
Naele was treated with a drug that would darken her hair and cause her pale skin to have a sickly grey look to it permanently. This alone was a horrible punishment for a Lorene as they took great pride in their hair which represented the light they followed. They took even more pride in their dignity and modesty. Next she was stripped naked except for brief undergarments and dragged kicking and screaming through the public streets to the landing platforms. She fought back at the guards, but they beat her into submission as they unceremoniously forced her into a basic pod that had been coloured black for the occasion. It lifted off under remote control and carried her to the planet she had been so willing to sacrifice in order to provide resources for the city.
A few hours later the pod landed in dense woodland of the northern hemisphere and went into standby mode. When the hatch opened she immediately grabbed a rock from the ground and smashed the communication module with it. It couldn’t be recalled now. Naele had covered it with branches as best she could, glad that the dark colour at least made it harder to see. For the first year she had managed to survive, but it was a struggle. She travelled from town to town staying on the outskirts. She stole what she needed to survive. She hated humans and knew they couldn’t be trusted. When she was eventually caught after being surprised and shot raiding the kitchen of a cottage, she was taken to a laboratory where the pain and humiliation began. Over the next eleven decades she was moved often, and never had any idea where she was or what they were doing to her. She was just an animal to them. She had no rights, no dignity and no freedom. They tested her pain thresholds and reaction to different chemicals. They frequently interrogated and tortured her, but she didn’t know the language back then. The worst were the early decades when equipment was more primitive. The butchers had opened up her up like a fish to see her insides. Her torso, arms, legs and base of her throat were heavily scarred from multiple procedures. Her torso was the worst. They were rough stitching her back up. She was just a specimen to explore, nothing more.
Toward the middle of last year she was moved again. The director of this new institute was not so cruel, and although he continued to study and examine her with his team, he at least spoke to her and showed her a little sympathy. He at least tried to maintain her health and avoid causing pain where possible.The director claimed he regretted what he had to do, but it was his job. He felt he could benefit his own race by studying her. He at least seemed to acknowledge her as a person, which was a weakness she could play on.
She co-operated with his tests, and even started to offer little snippets of information, slowly gaining his trust. Eventually he began to relax the security just a little, not that his authority alone would allow much leniency. She offered him even more information. She never told him any precise information about the Lorene, nor did she ever mention that she was outcast. She had been a biological engineer in her city, and offered to help with his work in the upper labs. Two armed guard were behind her at all times, and she was never permitted outside. Her first offerings were anti-viruses to cure common human ailments. These were accepted graciously and she was permitted to continue with more. The director watched her with a touch less scrutiny now. The viruses available here were easy for her to manipulate. Soon after she engineered an air born virus with including the vaccine. It would relax all the muscles of the human body. She had presented it under the guise of being a tool for peace, to subdue violent crowds, hostage takers or rioters, thus preventing harm to the civilians or the authorities. She had managed to smuggle some vials of these out of the lab. This virus was after all her means of escape.
On the way back to her cell one afternoon she paused to look out a window for a moment. She studied the grassy area below and the security fence beyond. Naele ran the calculation in her head. She was sure that if she could make it to the tree line beyond the fence, they would never catch her. One of her guards lifted his assault rifle to her head and barked at her to move on. She paid close attention to how he held the weapon, finger gently on the trigger about to squeeze it. Naele remembered how he had positioned his body and held the weapon. She hadn’t seen one of these newer style weapons up close before, and was sure they were different to the ones at the time off her capture.
She grinned slyly as they rounded the next corner. Pretending to stumble she fell against the wall, crushing a tiny vial she had hidden between her fingers. “Sorry, I tripped.” she said. The guards both lifted their rifles to her and motioned her forward. It was only seconds before she heard the clatter as one of them hit the floor. Turning she saw the other guard kneeling beside his comrade struggling to stay awake. He was reaching weakly for the communicator on his shoulder. With Lorene speed and agility she grabbed his hand and snatched the large knife from his belt. The blade sliced across his throat with ease. Naele grabbed both rifles and slung one over her shoulder. She tore the protective vest off the first man that had fallen and quickly searched them both for ammunition or anything useful. Alarms sounded as she looked down the corridor. She had forgotten the cameras.
Running back to the window she smashed it with the rifle butt and jumped. She landed and rolled safely after the two story fall. Naele ran toward the fence and leaped into the air as a shot whistled past her head. She clambered over the fence and fell roughly to the ground. As bullets pinged around her she ran for the cover of the trees. She felt something hot graze the side of her head but kept running. She knew her pursuers would be well trained and in top physical condition for humans, but she was a Lorene. Naele doubted that even the best of them could keep up for too long. Besides that they were just running because it was their job, but she was running for her life.
Naele paused only briefly at a small river to drink and inspect her wound. Thankful the bullet had only just grazed the skin so she continued running. The next morning she was exhausted and ready to collapse. She had run all night barely stopping for breath. She knew she couldn’t let her muscles cool down, so she had kept moving only slowing occasionally but never stoppi
ng. She finally emerged onto farmland scattered with a few houses. She snuck into the closest house and found a plump middle aged woman sitting watching TV. Holding a gun to the woman’s head Naele ordered fresh bandages. The terrified woman ran to the kitchen and retrieved her first aid kit. Still shaking the woman offered to help clean and bandage the wound. Naele nodded her approval. Once it was done, she ordered the woman to stand in the middle of the kitchen while she loaded a carry bag with recognisable food and bottled drinks. “Where am I? “ she asked. As the woman explained Naele was relieved that at least she was still in the same country as her pod, but had doubts it was still there or even had any power. Naele asked “Do you have transport?“ The woman fished around in her pocket and pulled out some keys saying “It’s a little car, but you can take it. The tank’s full.” Naele shook her head and asked the woman if she knew the mountain near where the pod was hidden. “It’s about three hours drive.” she replied. Again it looked like things were finally going her way. That wasn’t far at all.
Naele spoke saying “Take me there and I will leave. You will not be harmed.” The woman nodded and lead the way to the little hatchback car in the driveway. Naele put the spare rifle and the carry bag in the back seat. It was difficult for her to stay awake and keep focused, but she managed to stay alert enough as she nursed the rifle below the dash and out of sight. It was still aimed at the shaking woman driving the vehicle. The woman was nervous and trying to make conversation, but Naele couldn’t be bothered wasting her energy talking to a primitive. The trip was long and tedious, but at least they weren’t intercepted or run into road blocks. With what little attention she could spare she studied how the woman operated the vehicle. It didn’t seem too complicated.
Eventually they turned off the main road and onto a dirt track that lead into the forest. They followed the track for twenty minutes until the woman slowed to an almost stop. “This is as close as the road takes us.” the woman stammered pulling off the track just above the river. ”Just follow the river upstream and you’ll hit that mountain. Can I go now? You said I wouldn’t be harmed.” the woman pleaded. Looking around Naele agreed that the mountain upstream did look like the place she remembered over a century ago. “Thank you.” Naele smiled, before shooting the woman in the chest. She dragged the body into the trees just in the unlikely event somebody drove by. Returning to the car Naele grabbed the supplies from the back seat. As an afterthought she took the car keys, just in case the pod was gone and she had to turn back. She thought that by now she knew the basics of driving at least.
When she had followed the river until it hit a low waterfall she remembered, Naele turned east. It wasn’t far now. To her relief the pod was still there buried in rotten timbers, dirt and decades of fallen leaf mulch. She almost missed it herself. Clearing the debris from the top she slid back the hatch and climbed in. It still had a little power left after all this time to her surprise, but the controls would still be disconnected. The pod had landed by remote control from the city so the controls were disabled in case the passenger could somehow try to override them. This pod had minimal equipment installed, but the sensor was at least still functional. Naele finally drifted of to sleep thinking how to repair the craft. Mechanics were not a skill she had spent much time on but she was driven to find away. She planned to use the pod in her revenge against the humans, or at least travel to a place with less humans.
The next morning she managed to pry open the maintenance hatch and discovered a large section of the main control conduit had been cut away. She thought about pulling conduit from some other piece of equipment but there was nothing she could afford to disable and still fly the pod. Then she remembered the car. Surely it used some kind of conduits to operate. The next morning she returned to the car. Searching it inside and out, she found wires and cables that might twist together enough, but most likely burn out in time. Finally she managed to pop the hood. Inside the engine bay was just the conduit she thought she could adapt attached to the primitive power cell. She pulled it out after much effort and headed back to start repairs on the pod.
When night fell she tested her handiwork. Naele cheered as the pod lifted into the air. She had never been a good pilot, but had used a pod once or twice before just to see what it was like. She took it up and up until it passed the stratosphere. A crisp clear ding sound drew her attention to the sensor display. To her disbelief it was indicating a friendly craft. It had to be a Lorene vessel in the area near the planet. It was much larger than a pod. It must be a scout she decided. They were probably scouting the planet and may have been there for weeks. The other craft was still thousands of miles away though. As she watched it changed course heading straight to her. It’s speed was accelerating rapidly. If they got close she feared they might shoot once they identified her as a darkened. Naele was a sitting duck. She had to hide quickly. Immediately she plummeted straight down.
She saw a small lake south of where she had taken off from and steered the craft directly into it. She made sure to hit the bottom as hard as she dared so as to stir up a cloud of mud. She hoped that their sensors wouldn’t give a clear reading now. She breathed a sigh of relief. If the bottom was any harder it would have caused the pod to rupture. She watched the sensor display anxiously. Soon the other craft was slowing and descending not far from her. It hovered just above her for a long period before moving sideways. As the scout craft landed at the water’s edge. The sensor showed two figures emerge. It was difficult to get a clear reading with all the mud around her. She grabbed a rifle from behind the seat and put it over her shoulder. Then she crammed as many spare bullets as she could into the vest pockets and grabbed the large knife. This risks were high but this was going to be it. The one and only chance she may ever get. Naele took a deep breath and opened the hatch.
She swam under water towards the shore. The two Lorene men in white suits and light scout armour were talking excitedly and pointing at the spot where one had seen the bubbles erupt. Some of the items from the carry bag had floated up as well. They didn’t notice Naele sliding from the water on her belly covered in aquatic weeds. She only exposed her head, shoulders and arms keeping her torso submerged. If they had of looked sideways just a little she would have been spotted. She carefully aimed the rifle at the head of one of them hoping the weapon was waterproof. As the shot echoed between the surrounding mountains, the Lorene fell to his knees and flopped face forward. The other man spun towards her drawing a weapon from his belt, but he was already in her sights. His knees buckled as the second shot resounded, and he fell to the ground slowly holding both hands to his bleeding throat. Naele grinned with satisfaction and patted the rifle. Apart from the terrible noise she was beginning to like this weapon. It was much more lethal than a blaster punch.
She carefully approached the scout ship’s open hatch. These were normally a four man craft almost the size of an average human school bus. She squatted down and peered around the corner. Thankfully it was empty. It had cost her the pod, but she felt this was quite an upgrade. Returning to the dead Lorene men she stripped them of armour and weapons in case she ever needed it. She took their blasters but elected to keep using her earth weapon. A blaster was nowhere near as deadly. They were more for delivering a blast that would disable or slow a target, not instantly kill in a single shot. She also cut off their white hair in case she needed a disguise.After rolling the bodies into the water she stashed the gear on board and returned to the pilot seat to try and figure out all the additional controls. She cursed herself for never doing a basic piloting course. Eventually she found the ships log. The last entry said that they had detected a Lorene pod of unknown identification. It appeared in distress and crashed. As there was minimal chance of human encounter, they would risk investigating. At the bottom it read to please advise of any missing or damaged pods in the area. Naele thought it had all worked out pretty well. Then she noticed the identification of this ship. It wasn’t from her city. She had wondere
d why her people were still around the planet. She assumed that some other city must have also come along scouting and scanning to decide if it should be harvested. It didn’t matter though. Lorene were Lorene, and they were all the same. They would all pay.
Searching through older log records she found the data the scouts had been sending back. They had reported the planet unviable. Resources on the earth were strained and humans controlled the entire surface. She knew what this would mean. Another city would bypass the planet without harvesting. She wouldn’t accept that. Not again. The ecosystem on this world would collapse after a large harvest, and the humans would soon die out. She was very pleased with that idea.
She searched the compartments where the crew stored their gear. The first two were empty of anything interesting. The third and fourth had sets of light scout armour that looked a little more feminine, and a hooded exploration cloak for cooler climates. She smiled as she lifted the armour out. They had dragged her through the streets almost naked, kicking and screaming. They had humiliated her being exposed so publicly. Her once highly valued modesty was damaged forever starting from that point. When she returned to extract her revenge she would have no modesty to protect any more. They took that away from her. She wanted them to see the scars where the humans had butchered her. She wanted it to make them as sick as it had made her. She wanted them to understand the horror that had been inflicted on her because of them. They were going to understand what they made her suffer before they all died.
Placing the armour on the floor she searched for tools. First she attached the hair cut from the men to the inside of a helmet. She cut out the mid section, arms and legs. Now it only covered her chest, shoulders and groin. The majority of her scars were visible now. This should show them what their precious humans were like. Those whom they were willing to place above the needs of their own kind. She knew they wouldn’t really care. She was just a darkened after all, but surely even the council would have to acknowledge her as a living being. As such she should not have been forced into degradation this way. Naele would not repair the scars. She would wear them for all to see. Proof of what they had condemned her to suffer and endure. She doubted they would feel any shame or guilt, but it pleased her to imagine that hey might.
Naele didn’t really have a fully laid out plan yet. All she knew was that there was a Lorene city in the Sol system. That meant Lorene to kill and a harvester to turn on earth. She was quite pleased with how things had gone so far, and eager to kill some more. She just hoped that Lorene still felt safe and secure in space and had little need for strong security measures.
She launched the craft into the air and set the autopilot to reverse it’s course. Surely it would bring her into range of the city eventually. She relaxed then fantasising how the humans would look trying to flee from the path of the huge harvester and it’s internal fleet scrapping away large areas of their planet. She guessed it had only been a few hours when the sensor display dinged. She had just come into range of the city.
This city looked almost identical to her own previous home. It seemed to be well populated and a healthy hive of activity. As she approached the huge docking platforms below the city the communicator spoke. “LTS-9 please report directly to your commander on arrival an escort will be awaiting.” “Will do.” Naele replied in what she hoped sounded like a male voice. This is all way to easy she thought. She flew past the line of scout ships where she knew she was supposed to stop and bought the ship to a rough landing in the civilian area. A security ship was closing in fast but she didn’t care. She was out the hatch and gone before it landed.
Wearing the helmet with the hair attached she decided she didn’t need the face plate so tossed it aside. She had the cloak covering her modified armour and the rifle. When she looked back over her shoulder she saw a team of guards were surrounding her craft, but she didn’t need it any more. She kept out of sight until she found a cargo elevator to take her up to the city. As the doors opened she was surprised to see a small Lorene girl pushing a loaded cargo trolley. What surprised her the most was that the girl had pale blue and lavender translucent wings. The girl smiled and said “Hello.” Naele replied in kind as the girl pushed her load out of the elevator. Fashions must have changed a lot she thought as she embarked the now empty elevator.
When Naele finally managed to sneak into the central council building she headed straight to the main meeting chamber. The guards at the door barred her entry. One informed her “All the council are in a meeting right now. An urgent matter. They can not be disturbed.” Naele queried “All of them?“ “I believe so, yes.” The guard replied suspiciously. “Good.” Naele said grinning wickedly. She laughed as she broke the vial in her hand. Both guards dropped to the ground. The affect of the virus was different on Lorene. They would drop almost instantly at close range and it would take hours for conciousness to return. Even then they would not have the strength to stand until they got some vaccine.
Naele laughed triumphantly as she entered the meeting chamber. The twenty or so council members went silent. She pulled the rifle out and dropped her cloak and helmet. One man stood calling out “Filthy darkened one, kill her.” Naele shot him between the eyes. “Look at me !” she demanded raising her arms and turning slowly so they could all see the hideous damage to her flesh. Most of the women and a few of the men turned their faces in disgust. Some of them were coughing and looking drowsy already. She started her speech. “Yes people, look at this filthy darkened. Look what you condemn a beautiful young innocent woman to. A woman of your own race. For what? For trying to protect her city instead if the primitive savages? Well this is what your precious humans think of us. Take a good look.” She ran a finger along a deep scar from the base of her neck down to where it dissappeared into her groin armour below her belly button. “Would you like to see the rest?“ she teased revelling in their discomfort.
Another councillor stood up to protest but was shot in the chest just as he opened his mouth. ”It is rude to interrupt when a lady is talking.” Naele lectured them. An old lady stood up and bowed respectfully, which turned her stomach to do in front of a darkened. She said with feigned politeness “Pardon, but we have not condemned a darkened in many centuries, so may I presume you are from another city?” Naele levelled the rifle at her but decided to save the bullet. She had their attention now. Naele replied “Yes I am. Over a century ago I was sent down there to Earth to be butchered, humiliated, tortured. Can you even imagine having the most horrifying things happen to you day after day after day for eleven decades. Can you imagine opening your eyes to find your flesh peeled back while they poke around inside you? No you can not, because what I suffered is beyond imagining. It is beyond words. I do not care what city this is. I would guess my city starved and died just so these barbarians can live. You Lorene all claim to follow the same old way of the light, so you can all pay.”
Naele noticed that nearly half of them were close to passing out now. She decided she better hurry. She continued saying “I am here now for my justice, but I can be merciful. I have doomed you all before I even entered this room. The entire city is dying. Every man, woman and child are mine. It is my city now. As you can see many of you have fallen victim already.” She waved an arm around the room indicating the unconscious councillors. She tried to sound merciful as she proclaimed “Those who will call me queen shall live. I can not make it any simpler than that. I promise you will not be harmed.” Naele chuckled inside as she remembered the last person she had said that to. Scanning the room it seemed most of them were shaking there heads and murmuring. Stubborn old fools, she thought. These were no different from her own city. She only wanted the weak willed for her plan anyway, not the stubborn ones or strong minded. “If I may.” one man called out who looked a little younger than the others. He stood but was shaking like a leaf as he continued saying “I have to think of my child and my wife. I will bow to your will that they may live.” “Approach.” Naele ordered. As the man
gingerly approached, another man and a woman followed him. ”For our children.” the woman said. Naele wondered why she hadn’t thought of using the family angle in her speech. Another woman eventually followed.
As the four kneeled in front of her she ordered them to smell from the vial she held out to them. Naele warned them “To betray me, is to condemn your families. You have no idea what I keep in my arsenal.” She hoped to bluff them and hoped they suspected she had other hidden weapons or supporters. She said to them “Now look at these others. They have condemned their families. They are willing to see the city die. Do you see the stupidity of their misguided policies and beliefs? Do you see that they failed to protect the city? They would doom you all to my vengeance.“ The four nodded in agreement. Naele grinned and ordered “Now bring me your spouses and children only. Understand that if they defy me, they join the others to be recycled.”
The city was quiet as the four councillors left to find their loved ones. A few people were still moaning where they fell, but most were unconscious. Every second generation biod had shut down completely. As the four councillors left the council building, they realised they had done the right thing. It was the only option available to them. They were all too ashamed to talk to each. They dispersed to find their families.
Naele looked around the now still chamber. She had won easily. This was just the start of her revenge spree. She closed her eyes and stretched out her arms soaking it all in. Four people weren’t enough to operate the city and harvest Earth, but it was a start. She suddenly remembered that something called biods existed. She had rarely seen one in her city, but thought maybe they may be useful. She knew they could do basic tasks, but were high maintenance. Most of their brains were removed in the ones she had seen but perhaps they were upgraded by now. As the first councillor returned straining with his sleeping wife over his shoulder and baby under his arm, Naele waved her vial under the their noses. “They will stir soon.” She told him “Sit with them to explain and calm them. Now, while we wait, tell me, do you still use those biod things?“
When all four of the council members had returned and their families were restored, she called all four to her to address them. “You four were the only ones wise enough to accept my darkened mercy. You have saved your families and saved your city. You are now my queen’s council. As we rouse small groups they will be given a choice. They will join with us, or they will be recycled. Understand this city has died We will create a new city, a darkened city. Only those who can break away from the stifling, stagnant, narrow minded ways of old to evolve will survive. You will lead at my side. First we will start with the top engineers. I want to know what I have missed over the last century. Especially ensure to bring me this chief Ellan Elore.”
When Ellan awoke she found herself bound to a seat in the middle of the council meeting chamber. She noticed half a dozen other people she recognised as other chief engineers from different fields bound similarly. Naele noticed her stir and approached. At first Ellan was shocked by the woman’s lack of modesty, then sickened by the hideous scars covering her body. Her outfit lacked any dignity. Worst of all she was what Ellan assumed a darkened to look like. The woman stood before her browsing a data tablet. Naele leaned forward smiling. “Ellan Elore, genius chief engineer, revolutionary thinker.....what’s this?“ Naele pretended to look at the tablet for a moment as if surprised. “Involvement in the physical assault of a councillor, verbal assault of another, failure to follow council mandates, responsibility in the assault of a guard, rebellious nature.“ Naele leaned in close to Ellan’s face and said “I think you and I are going to get along fine.” Ellan turned away refusing to respond. Naele returned to the tablet. She held it out in front of Ellan. There was a picture of Fay at her activation, wingless but with control arms outstretched. Naele smirked saying ”Small cute girl, has bluish purplish wings now right? Looks like a fairy? Probably had the unactivated ones with her.“ Ellan was suddenly horrified. What had this darkened done with Fay and the others. Naele continued “They are safe.….for now.” she lied. Naele’s grin was evil as she said “Yes Ellan Elore, creator of life. You and I will be very good friends.”