By David C. Daoust
Colin and Craiden both had given up on the cell door. They had no choice but to sit and wait. Considering the men with the guns had left them in their wake, they were probably the safest people on the ship at the moment.
Colin slumped back on one of the side benches. He had a good view of the hall where the armed men had disappeared. The end of the hall he could see was clear, though from the opposite end, suddenly he heard the lift, followed by the sound of a sliding door, and then the march of footsteps of multiple people.
Colin witnessed the reaction of the two soldiers who, from their vantage, had a clear view of the other end of the hallway. They both stood quickly at attention, their faces flushed with embarrassment.
The cell door suddenly clanked open.
The man in the long red robe entered the cell with a flourish. The heavy red hood hid his features, though as he came closer, Colin made out the unusual metal mask that covered his face. Colin was familiar with the tradition of the Red Faction’s political officers . These robes were seen throughout the Red Faction’s holdings, they wanted to represent the people as one; One body, one voice.
“Commissar,” The soldiers said in unison with a salute.
The figure only stood silently for a moment as he inspected those locked up in the cell. Craiden and Colin sat silently, despite the fact they were both being held against their will and probably had cause to protest, the two men had pretty clear reasons to keep their mouths shut. Even if they didn’t know the extent of what they were being held for, the smart thing to do, in their situation, was not make waves, or incriminate themselves before they had a clear idea of what was what.
“This is the one you were ordered to collect?” the low raspy voice asked from under the hood, gesturing to Colin.
“Yes, Commissar,” one soldier answered.
“Well done,” the figure answered shortly, the two soldiers relaxed visibly, and then the raspy voice asked sharply, “Your arms?”
“Taken, Commissar,” the other soldier answered, referring to the weapons they had been stripped of before being locked in the cell, the two soldiers nervous once again.
The silence filled the small room.
“I can’t say I understand the Commandant’s insistence that we play along with this ‘Dr. Sun’,” the Commissar spoke aloud, “But it would seem we are at her whim, as my council alone is not enough…”
There was a long pause.
“You,” the Commissar spoke directly to Colin, “will accompany me to the good doctor… so that we may finally get under way.”
The commissar turned and marched from the cell. Colin did not have much choice but to play along. Once again, Colin found himself being moved from one place to another, silently going along, waiting for things to clear themselves up. The two soldiers escorted Colin to the door, though they were suddenly stopped as Colin exited.
“The rest of you… shall stay here!” The Commissar said pointedly to the two men, as one of the small group of soldiers, which had remained in the hall, suddenly stepped forward to shut the cell door. “I’m sure you’ll all be quite safe.”
Craiden and the two unarmed soldiers were once again locked within.
Colin followed closely behind the Commissar, the group of soldiers spaced evenly around them, as they made their way back to the lift. Colin was suddenly aware that he was no longer safe within the cell, and could very well be about to run in to the armed men that were loose on this ship. The small gun up his sleeve was of little comfort when considering the heavy automatic rifles the armored men had flaunted before disappearing into the ship.
The lift ascended quickly from the bowels of the ship where the brig was located. The solid shaft walls suddenly fell away, replaced by the windowed shaft that allowed a view as they passed through the large, open, hangar bay. A hangar bay, so large, it spanned many floors through the ship.
Colin got a clear view of both sides of the conflict as they passed through. Those men with their blue armbands could be seen pressing forward as soldiers on the other end fell back, taking cover behind the fighters and transport ships that filled the bay, retreating into the opposite doors that led to higher sections of the ship.
Higher sections Colin was now entering.
The bullets suddenly ricocheted off the glass as the enemy soldiers took a shot at their passing group.
The Commissar was totally unphased by the assault, Colin jumped back at the sight, the soldiers crowded closer, blocking the Commissar with their bodies. An action unnecessary though, as the glass proved to be bullet proof.
As quickly as the walls had fallen away, they were suddenly replaced as the ascent continued. Colin sighed as he glanced up at the ceiling. He caught the commissar’s gaze, or thought he did, black and lifeless under the hood, he found no eyes staring back at him, even at this distance. Colin only cleared his throat and looked away.
Suddenly the lift came to a halt, though instead of the doors opening as he’d expected, they were suddenly whisked horizontally through the ship. Colin realized this brought them much further from the armed men, which was good in his mind.
Once again the lift halted and they were moving vertically again. Just as Colin thought the trip may never end, the door opened directly into a high ceiling room, with clean white walls, and a small group of medics huddled around a terminal, studying a monitor.
As the group entered, the medics suddenly snapped to attention and saluted, as they noticed the Commissar’s presence leading the small group of soldiers from the back of the room. As they did so, they revealed the small blond that stood pale faced in front of the monitor.
“Commissar!” the woman, Colin recognized as Dakota, suddenly blurted out as they approached, “What is happening out there?”
“Please, call me Ivan,” the Commissar suddenly spoke in a slightly more friendly voice than he had moments before.
“Colin?” Dakota asked as she caught sight of him. “What are you doing here?”
“He is here by your request, Doctor,” the red hooded figure assured her, “as you can see he is now safely out of harm’s way.”
It did not take long for Colin to realize that Dakota was ‘Dr. Sun’, the very person Mari was trying to reach, the very person that had sent the soldiers to collect him. Colin spotted Mari still unconscious on the table, and then did a double take as he spotted the tiny form of Margo, up and walking around.
Colin could tell by the way the small bot did not immediately begin yammering at him, that something was not right. And considering he had last seen the stunt-bot as an empty statuesque husk before they were marched to the brig… he was unclear of the facts.
“He is the last on the list of those that could be affected by your Ion Device.” The Commissar informed simply, as the bullet fire outside sounded closer and closer “It would seem the time has come to end this…”
