CHAPTER THREE
Leon looked down at Farra as she slept and felt a mixture of emotions. She looked so fragile, as though one blow would break her. Knowing what she’d already been through proved how tough she really is and how much endurance she can muster when the need arises. He felt so proud of her; so proud and so sorry to involve her in all of this. Ever since he journeyed to the land of the dead during that terrible time so long ago, the spirits of the Lilean race resolved to right the wrongs that were done to them and their kind. Lileans have a warrior mentality and an endurance to see a thing through no matter what the odds. Honour and integrity demanded that justice be done. When the odds seemed overwhelming, the fury of the lost Lileans kept them focussed. Leon let his thoughts drift as he did so more often lately to that terrible day and night when his life ended. He fought bravely to defend his family; his beautiful wife so near to giving life to his son. The weapon that took him damaged his physical body so severely that there would be no going back to the land of the living.
He was forced to watch his young wife; her cries ringing out as the life inside her fought to be born. His own blood stained her garments as she lay in the ruins of their home struggling with the pains of the imminent birth. It was as if the new life inside her was aware of the danger as the pains took hold many days too early. For two days and nights she struggled with the ever increasing pains before she could contain her anguish no more and cried out in agony. Her cries alerted one of the invaders who stood nearby surveying what remained of the once magnificent Lilean Landscape. This one was different from the others; he seemed to dominate over them. They were afraid of him and obeyed him without question. As Leon blended with the energies in the land of the dead he gained the ability to see in a totally different way than ever before. This invader; the one the others looked to as their leader, who dominated them so easily was himself afraid. Leon could see the man’s fear clearly; his aura was saturated with it.
The cries of the young woman giving birth alerted him and he turned quickly and walked towards the sound. The woman, Leon’s beautiful young wife cried out once more before her cry was suddenly joined by that of the new life now freed from the safe confines of her perfect body. His lusty cries rang out into the night, strong and healthy. Leon looked at his son with such love the feelings overwhelmed him. The invader found them lying there; the exhausted woman covered in her husband’s blood, the gore from the birth soaking the ground beneath her and the newborn boy between her thighs still connected to her body by the pulsating cord. The screams of the child rang in the invader's ears and fear turned to loathing. He stooped down and picked up the child by the feet; roughly slicing through his life giving connection with his now dying mother and held him aloft.
“You will not be the one foretold to me Lilean child,” the invader screamed into the night sky. “You cannot kill me, you will not bring me down. You will not see me out. No prophecy of yours will end my days. You and your people will be forgotten before I am replaced.” The man was filled with the madness of hate and fear; Leon could see it and smell it pouring from him. He was terrified for his son but was incapable of doing anything to help the vulnerable newborn who still screamed into the night, held roughly aloft by this madman.
“Oh my fine strong son, how strong your spirit is. I am so proud of you but I cannot help you now in your hour of need. I love you so.” Leon watched in horror as the invader pressed one massive hand over the boy’s face, suffocating the life from him. He then flung him into a midden amongst the filth.
“You will not be the one, Lilean child, you will not be the one,” he snarled. The invader removed the cowl from his head and Leon saw the madness and hate in his eyes as he looked down at the lifeless body of his newborn son. He turned and walked away little realising who that child was to become and how both of their destinies were to be entwined. Leon knew he must act quickly before the child’s spirit had time to depart from the physical vessel. He rushed to the midden and in his anguish he cried out for help from those of his kinfolk who also dwelt in the land of the dead. The group of spirits gathered around the tiny body and as he looked on a young female stepped forward and whispered into the child’s ear. He couldn’t hear her words and he knew they were not for his ears anyway, so he did the only thing he could do, he prayed that they were in time. With hands extended the spirit group began to chant ancient words. Ethereal blue light surrounded the child’s still body as it lay there amongst the filth. All of a sudden a lusty cry rang out once more into the Lilean night and the spirit group vanished, all but the young female who remained by the child’s side. She looked at Leon and smiled.
“I am Syra and I will be with him always. I will guide him and help him discover his destiny. He will have a life of many trials and sacrifices and often will have no one on whom to depend or lean for support. But fear not, I will be with him, he will not be alone and he will grow into a fine man; a warrior who will right this great wrong. The fury of the Lilean race will be his rock and his stay. Now give him his name.”
“I name him Vincent Richard,” he told her proudly as tears poured down his cheeks. He was totally overwhelmed with emotion, so much that he didn’t know which to feel first. He was grief stricken at having to make his journey to the land of the dead with his wife as his son began his journey in the land of the living without their love and guidance. At the same time he was relieved that the ancient ones saved the boy. So many Lileans journeyed to the land of the dead that night, were they all to be extinguished? The whole race? Not while his son lived. Whilst Vincent lived, the Lilean race lived. He hung around as Vincent lay there in his filthy prison. When his hunger and despair became too great, Syra would appear and soothe him and he slept. His spirit was so strong and Leon was filled with pride at the boy who was the result of the love bond between himself and his wife. After three days and nights more Lilean survivors appeared and banded together. He was happy that Lilea would continue and he watched as Syra encouraged the tiny starving and exhausted boy to scream his lungs out once more. His cries were heard by a band of survivors, three of whom he recognised. Good people, they were neighbours and Leon knew his son would be cared for well. He watched as they lifted him from the midden that was his home for the past three days and brushed the filth and decay from his body. One of the survivors, a woman was still nursing her own young child so she took Vincent to her own breast and he suckled greedily. He was moved at the selflessness of the people he was so proud to call his own. As his son was nourished for the first time, a soft voice caught his attention.
He turned towards the sound and saw his wife calling to him. “Come now husband. Our son lives. He will grow into a man and right the great wrong. Come now, it is time for us to make our journey and allow our son to make his. When the time is right, you can return.” She held out her hand and Leon, taking a last look at the tiny boy he loved so much, finally journeyed to the land of the dead with his wife.
He shook the memories away as he gazed down at Farra as she slept soundly. It was time for her to take the next step on this important journey. It would involve many dangers and would test her trust of him to the limit. He didn’t doubt her, he couldn’t doubt her, too much depended upon it. He knew she would do what was necessary. Great care was taken by the ancestors when they decided who should be the chosen one for this task. It was not a choice that was ever taken lightly. When the ancestors decide a choosing is necessary many eons of time may pass before the subject is chosen. Being outside of the physical land of the living means that time has no jurisdiction over them and they can move forward and backward through time as necessary. There was never before a chosen one from the planet called Earth and some were against the decision. Earth people are still comparatively primitive and possess unpredictable emotions and the capacity for great deceit. They also possess the greatest capacity for love of any race the Lileans knew of. So the choice was made and the young
female became the chosen one at the moment her heart stuttered into life within her mother's womb. It would take over thirty Earth years before the time came to awaken her and during that time there was much to learn. How well she learned, Leon thought. He was pleased that she was the one, he liked her. He would be proud to have a daughter such as her. He bent down and reached for the little star on her chest, which glowed brightly at his touch.
“Farra. Farra wake up now. Wake up. It’s time.”
“What’s up?” Farra woke with a start and saw Leon standing by her bedside.
“The time has come. Get dressed, there is limited time,” he urged. She yawned, stretched herself and obeyed. An hour later she was showered, dressed and had joined the small group at the despatch port, having told them of the mission Leon had given her. King Lomas, Toma, Doctor Jam and a couple of Drycenian Troopers were discussing last minute tactics. The doctor was fitting her with a minute tracking device.
“This won’t hurt a bit. It goes under the skin on the inside of the wrist, just hold still.” He applied the applicator device and pulled the trigger. A small prick of pain made her jump. She looked at her wrist and found there was no trace of the tiny device. He went on to explain how it worked. “This is a temporary tracking device, a minute version of the one you saw Toma using to call the rescue vessel. It will give out a constant signal that only Drycenian technology can pick up so no need to worry about the enemy picking up the signal. The device will continue working for eight hours without solar energy to recharge it, so if you’re not out of the tunnels within those eight hours we’ll be down there to get you. Be aware though that if we have to do that your cover will be blown and the mission will fail. Stealth will not be our first concern.”
“Ok, don’t worry, we’ll be in and out before you know we’ve gone,” she lied.
The doctor asked once again. “Are you sure of what you have to do?”
“Yes.” she replied. “Leon will guide us through to the deepest layer of the tunnel complex, right down to the bottom. Once down there I’m to retrieve a package hidden in a crack in the tunnel wall. Get in, avoid the guards, keep away from the Uvees, get the package and get out. Piece of cake.”
“Remember that the Rangers will be aware of Toma’s disappearance and will be on high alert. Patrols will be doubled, if not more. You don’t have to do this, you could wait until the furore dies down a bit,” the doctor offered, knowing he was wasting his time.
“No way,” she replied. “Leon said that once they regroup themselves after Toma’s escape they will take pains to get rid of the package I’m going in there to find. They will know that something big is up and won’t want that package falling into the wrong hands. I have to get it now or it will be gone forever.”
The doctor smiled sadly. “Yes I know, I know. What is the package anyway, do you know?”
“Just a data chip and a notebook, according to Leon. It’s a small package roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes. It’ll fit in a pocket easily. It has to be retrieved now, it just cannot wait. It’s now or never, and never ain’t an option Doc.”
“Now remember,” he reminded her. “It’ll take a second or two for your night sight to kick in. Just relax your eyes to the dark and wait, okay? If you panic and rub your eyes you’ll get the bio mechanical signals mixed up and the system won’t know what to do and you’ll be in the dark for longer. Just blink a couple of times and widen your eyes, that’ll give the sensors the nudge to kick in.”
“Ok, will do,” she assured him. She liked Doctor Jam, he fussed over her like a father.
She took the King’s proffered hand. “Remember also that you will be able to see the Uvees clearly now too," he reminded her. “So no need to worry about them creeping up on you unannounced like the last time you were there.”
“We’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Leon will guide me every step of the way. So long as the Troopers do as I say without question, we’ll be okay.”
“They are at your command,” he assured her. Turning to the two volunteer Troopers he said, “she is in charge, do as she says.”
“Yes sir,” the two voices replied in unison and with a final nod they boarded the rescue vessel once again for the journey back into the depths of hell.
The three made their way silently to the same entrance door they used for their escape and found to Farra’s complete surprise that the very same rusty padlock still lay broken in the dust. The door was still standing open a couple of inches as she and Toma left it in their haste to escape and for a moment she wondered if this was a trap to lure them in. Leon put her mind at rest quickly and assured her it was safe to enter. Once inside the darkness enveloped them like a blanket and Farra forced herself to relax, widen her eyes and blink so that her night sight could kick in. Once it did she was amazed at the clarity of her vision. Although the colours weren’t normal, she could see perfectly well and had to remind herself that despite her being able to see, others couldn’t see her at all without aid.
Following Leon’s precise instructions, the three made their way along corridors and down through several more layers of tunnels until they reached the very deepest levels that were never used now. These deepest depths were abandoned to the creatures and it was small comfort to know that they wouldn’t have to worry too much about running into Rangers here. Time and again they pressed themselves against the tunnel walls and waited for a creature to pass by close enough for the Troopers to despatch them with a dart. The Dart Gun the Troopers used is an artistic weapon. Tiny darts; clear cells filled with a highly toxic compound found only on the Drycenian home world, are fired from a small gun powered by a black laser power unit. This means it is totally silent in use and it can be small in size, enabling it to be carried, stored and hidden with ease. This silent weapon ensures no noise to alert the other creatures to their presence. It takes seconds for the deadly poison to speed its way to the creature’s brain and stop it dead. It was the most effective silent killing device Farra ever saw used and she was in awe of its capabilities.
“Stop,” Leon urged her. With a signal to the Troopers, all three froze on the spot. “There are 2 Rangers coming,” he said. Farra signalled her companions to ready their darts. Voices ahead in the tunnel, one of which she thought she recognised as her Supervising Ranger Thomas Leary. She heard a snatch of conversation before the Troopers did their job.
“Where is it?” said Leary.
“A hundred yards or so down here in a crack in the wall. High up near the roof on the right hand side. It’s small so look carefully, we don’t wanna be around here too long. I wanna live to screw the captains wife again,” the strange voice laughed then a thud as they both hit the floor, the darts doing their job with unyielding accuracy.
“Look up to the left now,” Leon urged. She looked and after a bit of fumbling around with her hands, she felt a crack in the smooth tunnel wall. She delved her fingers inside, controlling the urge to withdraw her hands as images of creepy crawlies running down her arms invaded her mind uninvited. For a cold moment she felt nothing but damp stone but then something soft. She grabbed it and pulled. “Good girl, you have it, now let’s get out of here,” he said. They turned and began the long trek back. Farra should have known things were going too well. As they rounded yet another corner, they found their way blocked by a thick metal wall that wasn't there on their way down.
“What the fuck?” she said aloud.
Leon hushed her immediately. “The rangers are beginning to lock the place down. This wall is part of their automated system in the event of gas leaks. You’ll have to go another way around,” he told her. “It’s longer but you can still get out. Trust me child. We must be quick before all our escape routes are cut off. Come on now, go left here.”
“Of course, sorry,” she sent him her apology telepathically. They made their way around and along a long tunnel but before they had gone fifty
yards, Leon stopped them.
“Three Rangers are coming this way.” Farra gave the word to the Troopers who readied their darts. They heard voices up ahead and pressed themselves against the wall of the tunnel but there was no way they could avoid being seen and conflict seemed inevitable. She took a deep breath and waited. The voices got nearer. Suddenly one of them gave a grunt and the three heard a thud. Her night sight allowed her to notice one of the Troopers lowering his weapon. Unfortunately the second trooper missed his target, who was now on high alert and yelling his head off for back up as the third started backing up the way they came.
“Quick, shut him up” Farra hissed. The trooper didn’t miss a second time and both remaining Rangers were dealt with. They waited in silence for a few seconds to hear if anyone else was coming this way alerted by the shouts of the Ranger. No sounds of boot steps came to her ears but what she did hear chilled her. She knew that sound only too well now. “Oh no, oh shit, no,” she hissed.
“Get ready; you have no more than ten seconds,” Leon ordered. She passed on this information to the Troopers. The three of them formed a tight formation facing the direction of the sounds and waited. The ground began to vibrate.
“Here they come,” she said. “You know what to do.” As the creatures rounded the corner and came into view the Troopers both opened fire with laser bullets. These weapons use pulses of laser light rather than metal bullets. They annihilate everything they touch but make a hell of a noise. Not the automatic weapon of choice where stealth is required. This current situation however, demanded firepower that could be relied upon first hit. All three creatures were dead within ten seconds but both Farra and her companions knew that probably every Ranger in the complex would hear the commotion and be on their way down to investigate.
“Run,” Leon ordered firmly. “Straight ahead and down the first set of steps you come to, on the left about thirty yards along.”
“Come on,” yelled Farra as she took the lead and they ran. All the while Leon giving them instructions like a sergeant major, which she followed without question.
“Stop,” Leon ordered. “Hide behind those crates.” They hid and after a few minutes a group of seven Rangers appeared.
“I’m sure the sound came from this end of the tunnel boss.”
“Nah I reckon it’s the next level up.”
“Whatever, I need a piss anyhow.” Farra and the Troopers heard boot steps coming towards them.
“Get ready and be silent about it,” Leon told her. She readied herself. When the Ranger came around the block of crates, already unzipping his pants, she took him from behind and with a skilfully clean movement of her now far more powerful arms, twisted his neck so far around that he could play the owl in the pea green boat in his kid’s next school play. She took his guns from him and found a blade in his right boot, which she pocketed. The gun was a standard issue Kopek 7 with twenty round clips. She fished on his body for extra clips and found three. One of the Troopers got an idea. He indicated to his companion and together they stripped the body of the Ranger down to his underwear. Clothed in his uniform, one Trooper rejoined the group. Once he managed to manoeuvre himself behind two of the other Rangers, he gave the nod to the two he knew were watching from behind the crates. As he took care of these two with the two guns taken from the body of the Ranger, his companion trooper used both dart guns on another two. Farra flung the Rangers blade with practiced skill and watched as it sank effortlessly into the heart of another. All of this took place at the same moment, meaning that five of the Rangers all bought it together, leaving the last one wondering what the hell had hit them. The element of surprise was on Farra and the trooper’s side, and this last one was despatched with ease by the Troopers.
“Now run,” Leon urged. “Keep straight ahead and when the tunnel forks into three, take the centre hole.” They could hear footsteps and voices from all around. It was as though they were surrounded by Rangers. “Don’t worry,” Leon assured her. “The acoustics of the tunnel system makes it difficult to know which direction a sound is coming from. Your enhanced hearing just makes them all seem louder and more confusing. Just keep going and trust me.” They finally reached another heavy door with a padlock that showed no signs of rust, unlike the previous one. One of the Troopers pushed to the front and reached inside the pocket of his jacket. The small device was the size of a poker chip with a tiny button on one side and a magnetised surface on the other. Once attached to the padlock, the trooper touched the button, which blinked with a red light three times. A couple of seconds later, with a click, the padlock fell open and they were outside.
“I have to get one of those,” Farra exclaimed to the amusement of her companions. “Let’s get away from here.” They ran for two hours without slowing, before she indicated to her companions that it was safe to call the rescue craft to get them. The craft landed in silence a hundred yards away. Once the dust cleared, the three rose to make their way to it and away from Moxal 3 forever. They were halfway there when shots rang out in the dark. They had been discovered.
“Quickly, inside,” Leon ordered and Farra shouted to her companions.
“Hurry.” A bullet whizzed past her left ear so close she heard the whistle as it flew past and ricocheted off the hull of the rescue craft. Any closer and a part of her ear would be missing! “Shit, that was close,” she swore as she strapped herself into the seat alongside her two companions, both of whom nodded in agreement.
“Hold on tight, no time to see the scenery,” the pilot said. The engines roared and Farra, with her newly enhanced hearing, thought her head would explode.
“Oh shit,” she screamed and clapped both hands over her ears.
Back on the Drycenian Battle Cruiser, the doctor took a look at her ear.
“There you are that should do the trick,” he said as he gently removed the probe from her right ear. “One of the cells had come loose from its anchor point deep within your inner ear which meant it was unable to obey your brain signals telling it to shut the noise down to a more manageable level. I’ve injected some Bioknit directly into the surrounding muscle tissue. It’ll take dynamite to remove it now.”
“Thanks Doc,” she smiled. “I appreciate it, I really do.”
“Are you ok?” he asked her quietly.
“huh? yeah I’m fine. You’re the doctor, you tell me,” she smiled.
“I didn’t mean physically.” He gave her his most intense gaze and she got the point.
“Oh, yeah I’m okay I guess.” Despite being an expert in various combat and weapons techniques, she actually doesn’t like killing anyone unless it is totally unavoidable. “I don’t like killing if I don’t have to Doc but I had to, there was no choice down there.”
“I know, you carried out your task perfectly and if it helps at all, remember what your friend Leon told you. Many lives will be saved now.”
“Yeah, I’m holding onto that Doc, thanks.” She left him in the medical bay and thought she would stop at the obs room and watch the stars before turning in. She found Toma was already there.
“Hey Toma, are you okay?”
“Yes thanks, I’m fine. You were very brave today, you did a good job, well done.”
“Thank you,” she smiled. She looked out at the stars and sighed. “It’s amazing isn’t it?”
“What?” he asked.
“Look at all those stars. I wonder how many of them have planets with people on them and how many of those people are looking up at these same stars and asking the same question.”
“A lot,” he replied, “but no matter how many times you meet them nor how many planets you visit, it never stops being amazing.”
“I’m glad about that,” she sighed.
The door opened behind them and King Lomas, Doctor Jam and another officer who introduced him as Commander Byron Farra entered. The doctor carried a large tray on which were drinks and food. Lomas sp
oke first.
“It’s no good we can’t wait until the morning. We want to see what was in the package now. You said Leon said it was a book? Well I won’t sleep a wink until we look at it.” He was clasping his hands and almost shaking with excitement. Farra laughed at the sight.
“Ok then come on let’s get comfortable and what have you got there to drink?”
Down in the tunnel complex all hell had broken loose. Alarms sounded as Rangers thundered along companionways and down staircases. Voices bellowed commands which were hastily obeyed by frightened subordinates. In a small office on level one of the tunnel complex, McGreedle calmly packed his backpack with money from the company safe, took his gun from the desk drawer and headed out by way of the secret staircase only he and few others knew about. He was so angry his face was purple with rage. How dare this happen when everything was going so well? The Boss wasn’t going to be pleased at all, no siree not one little bit and who’d get to take the fall out? Him of course. The Moxal 3 end of the operation was his responsibility and now it was all fucked up good and proper. There was only one thing to do, quit this shit hole and get out and as far away as he could. He could use some of the fake ID’s he managed to grab as he packed and change his name and start afresh somewhere else. This place was done for, he could see that now. Nope, there was nothing for it but to cut and run while he still had his life. He reached the hangar where the company top brass kept their personal flight craft. He didn’t possess one of his own but he had the use of a shitty little under cutter with no legs that belonged to the company and it was this he headed for now. He knew it was always kept fuelled and ready so all he had to do was hop in and go. As he rounded the corner and entered the hangar bay a voice rang out over the tannoy.
“Going someplace McGreedle?” the voice asked.
“Oh shit,” he whispered to himself as he recognised that voice. “Oh shit, no.”
A single shot rang out. A single shot that no one took any notice of in the melee and chaos that was now the Moxal 3 Mining Corporation complex. The shot could be heard from as deep as level three but no one down there paid any attention. The Rangers and staff who got themselves down that far were too busy dying to notice a shot from high above somewhere. The noise and chaos reached the Uvees who were now taking full advantage of the situation to fill their empty bellies. Pickings were scarce down here usually but tonight they feasted.
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