1 "Tempus Fugit" [Part Four]
The worst kind of pain imaginable
Is no longer through physical torture.
It is through the mind.
1.1.1 Obsidian Rain
C.Y. 10137
For hours now Ashes of Lightning had sat in his laboratory, with the link to Harper still open, waiting for something to happen. He couldn't sense that Harper was dead, yet nor could he sense that he was alive.
He had tried to boost the signal of the link, in case that it had cut off and he had no way of knowing, but nothing worked. He had been growing ever more tense since the plan failed. He knew that the somebody had traced the link back to him. He supposed that somebody would be there to arrest him soon. But he had expected it to be much sooner than this.
In the last hours, Lightning had heard even worse news. He had managed to find out who had traced the signal. He had found at that it was the Hegemon's Sentinel, the dark regime of corruption and terror that had arisen since the fall of Syn-Avan-Dar. Since that fateful day the Hegemon's Sentinel and the Hegemon's Guard had been locked in a civil war. If it was the Sentinel who had tracked him down, he had no chance.
Suddenly, he heard something in his mind. He blinked and he saw through Harper's eyes. That was all he needed. He knew that Harper was alive. Swiftly, Lightning cut the link.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Harper's eyes opened gradually. He had been aware that he was alive for sometime, but he was so dazed and confused. His mind was in such turmoil that he had no clue what to do. When he finally did open his eyes, he was faced with a small, dark chamber. The room was a strange shape. It was rounded to a small edge where there was a door.
He felt out for the link with Ashes of Lightning. He briefly felt it, but then he was cut off. He felt it no longer.
Harper then became aware of where he was. He was chained to the wall, in much the same way that he had chained Ashes of Lightning to the wall so long ago. He was hanging forward, in a rather uncomfortable position, but there was nothing that he could do about it.
He looked up as he heard the massive entrance doors slide open. A short, old looking female Than walked in. She was an Amber Than, a worker, as shown by her dark yellow, brown colourings.
"My lord," she said, not to Harper but to someone else, "the human." She gestured towards Harper, then bowed down and left the room.
Another Than entered. He was tall and obviously held a position of great authority. His own colouring was dark red, indicated that he was a Ruby Than. Harper didn't know much about the Than caste systems, all he knew was the colourings.
The Ruby Than was followed by two Emerald Than, who took up guarding positions at the door. The Ruby Than proceeded to a small desk which Harper had not noticed. The desk protruded from the wall to Harper's left. Standing behind the desk, the Ruby Than could look directly at Harper in that evil way.
"Your name is Seamus Harper," was the first thing the Than said.
"What's it to you?" Harper asked.
"You were among those that destroyed Syn-Avan-Dar," the Ruby Than continued. "I was there you know. I was a general for the Guard."
"Well I can tell you that I'm bursting with joy," Harper told him sarcastically. "But please don't let me stop you. If I do burst, at least I'll be free from more Syn-Avan-Dar stories."
"My name is Obsidian Rain," the Ruby Than announced, "do you remember it?"
"How can I Mister Bug," Harper retorted, "I haven't met you yet."
A sudden pain shot through Harper's body. It was a pain like no other that he had felt before in his life. He couldn't stop the scream from escaping his mouth and the tears from streaming openly down his face. His blood stained face.
"In my time line you have," Obsidian Rain said. "I was aboard the Andromeda when the Nova bombs were fired. And then, when the Andromeda escaped, your captain detained me, and tortured me for what seemed like a lifetime."
"That's not true."
Another pain, even worse than the one that came before it shot through Harper. He screamed for eternity. He couldn't see anything for the tears. He felt his skin cripple. He felt it split and pour with blood. When he finally stopped screaming he fought for breath.
"For almost two years I was tortured aboard the Andromeda. It was your captain that made me what I am today." Harper said nothing. He let Obsidian Rain continue. "I think I'll start from the beginning with my story. I was working for the Guard on Syn-Avan-Dar. It was a glorious day. The Overdiamond had come to Syn-Avan-Dar, to announce the inclusion of the Than Hegemony in the renewed Commonwealth. It was the happiest day of everybody's lives. Including your crews, as I recall. The Overdiamond had come to Syn-Avan-Dar because it was the most peaceful, most beautiful planet of the time. He wanted to show Captain Hunt a fine example of Than architecture. And he did. Then, three days after she first arrived on Syn- Avan-Dar, your ship fired two Nova bombs at the planet, everything was incinerated. Two years later, I was found drifting in space, on a Slipfighter, after brutal months of torture from your Captain."
Obsidian Rain stepped away from the console as soon as he had finished. He began to walk slowly towards Harper, an evil look in his eye. "You have transponders all the way down your spine," he informed Harper, "and when I press this device," he showed Harper a small dial he held in his hand, "I can make you feel as much pain as I feel necessary."
"None of it is necessary," Harper cried. "The Andromeda is gone, Syn-Avan- Dar has not been destroyed."
"Then why are we still here," Obsidian Rain announced. "If the destruction of the Andromeda has stopped Syn-Avan-Dar from being destroyed, then why are we still here talking about it?" He let that one rest a while. Harper had no explanation. This made his mind race frantically. "Besides, there is always a reason to have you here. Two in fact. First of all, this is MY revenge for what happened at Syn-Avan-Dar. Different time line or the same. It makes no difference. What happened, happened. Secondly, you had a link with an Emerald Than under the Hegemon's Guard. My enemies. I want to find out everything you know. All of the secrets. A great strategic advantage in this war."
Harper nodded his head down, with not enough energy to lift it up again. He had no choice however, as Obsidian Rain grabbed a matted lump of his hair and pulled his head up, so that it was level with his own.
"You are hunted," Obsidian Rain spat the words at Harper, "hunted across a world at war. A war that you began."
Harper spat at the Ruby Than and recoiled his head. He screamed in pain, as the torturer turned the dial. It seemed as though he was screaming forever. But soon it all paled into insignificance.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Harper's eyes shot open again. The Amber Than who had introduced Obsidian Rain earlier, was staring him in the face. She was concerned. Harper looked around the room, to see that nobody else was present.
"Mister Harper," the Amber Than said, "my name is Starlight Empathy."
"Hey," Harper greeted her, "you here to torture me as well. There's a queue about a mile long you know."
"No, I'm not here to torture you, I'm here to help you."
That was a new one. Harper was almost overwhelmed with joy. He tried not to show it. "How long have I been here?"
"It's been a month since the Guard / Sentinel fleet destroyed the Andromeda. It was the first thing they've done together for a long time." She was smiling at him. "You've been here for about a week. You've been tortured everyday."
Harper could hardly remember any of it. He remembered Ashes of Lightning. But he assumed that Lightning was dead now. "How are you going to help?"
"There's a ship, a shuttle waiting in a secured location," Starlight Empathy told him. "I've managed to rig it so that it looks like just an ordinary ship. If Rain tries to trace it, the signal will lock on to another shuttle."
"Thankyou so much," Harper cried at her, as he was untied. He stood on his own two feet for the first time in a week. He fell to his knees. He screamed in pain as scars that had healed over his knees where ripped open. He noticed that all of his clothes were now crimson with stains of blood.
"Ssshh," Starlight urged, "they will hear you."
She helped Harper to his feet and walked him out of the room. Immediately after they exited from the doors they turned left and went up some steps. Every now and then Harper tripped on a step and cried out in pain. He cried openly now, the pain being too much for him to handle.
"Come on, quickly," Starlight urged.
Before long, they could see sunlight, and Harper could see a Than shuttle waiting. The doors were already open.
"Go on," Starlight Empathy said to him, "I have to leave you here."
"No," Harper said, "please you have to come with me. I need help."
It was that hesitation that caused Starlight Empathy's downfall. Obsidian Rain had noticed that Harper was gone and now the Sentinel guards where on the landing pad. Weapons blazed from the steps below. They only had a few more left to climb.
A blue bolt of lightning hit straight through Starlight's chest and she fell down the stairs. "Nooo, " Harper cried in despair as he fell to the stairs.
He no longer thought of the pain. He just thought of his friends. He remembered Dylan's face, the face of a renewed Commonwealth. He remembered Beka's face, that tough hard face that had given him support at so many times. He remembered Tyr's face, sincere and strong. He remembered Rommie and he remembered Rev Bem.
"My pain belongs to the devine!" He shouted.
But most of all he remembered Trance. He remembered her beautiful face. Her innocent face. Innocence. As he thought of Trance, Harper had a sudden burst of energy. He got to his feet to see Obsidian Rain standing behind him. He had a gun. With more will to fight inside him than he had ever felt before, Harper swung round and smashed Obsidian across the face with his arm. He fell.
Harper shot to the shuttle and jumped into the chamber. The doors shut behind him. As Than weapons began to fire, he sat down in the chair. He grabbed the steering rods and guided himself away. He was free. At last. He heard the faint buzz of Than weapons die down. And he pressed some buttons.
"Course Set: Arami Eltor." Came up onto the screen in Vedran. He was free. At last.
TO BE CONTINUED…
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7
The worst kind of pain imaginable
Is no longer through physical torture.
It is through the mind.
1.1.1 Obsidian Rain
C.Y. 10137
For hours now Ashes of Lightning had sat in his laboratory, with the link to Harper still open, waiting for something to happen. He couldn't sense that Harper was dead, yet nor could he sense that he was alive.
He had tried to boost the signal of the link, in case that it had cut off and he had no way of knowing, but nothing worked. He had been growing ever more tense since the plan failed. He knew that the somebody had traced the link back to him. He supposed that somebody would be there to arrest him soon. But he had expected it to be much sooner than this.
In the last hours, Lightning had heard even worse news. He had managed to find out who had traced the signal. He had found at that it was the Hegemon's Sentinel, the dark regime of corruption and terror that had arisen since the fall of Syn-Avan-Dar. Since that fateful day the Hegemon's Sentinel and the Hegemon's Guard had been locked in a civil war. If it was the Sentinel who had tracked him down, he had no chance.
Suddenly, he heard something in his mind. He blinked and he saw through Harper's eyes. That was all he needed. He knew that Harper was alive. Swiftly, Lightning cut the link.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Harper's eyes opened gradually. He had been aware that he was alive for sometime, but he was so dazed and confused. His mind was in such turmoil that he had no clue what to do. When he finally did open his eyes, he was faced with a small, dark chamber. The room was a strange shape. It was rounded to a small edge where there was a door.
He felt out for the link with Ashes of Lightning. He briefly felt it, but then he was cut off. He felt it no longer.
Harper then became aware of where he was. He was chained to the wall, in much the same way that he had chained Ashes of Lightning to the wall so long ago. He was hanging forward, in a rather uncomfortable position, but there was nothing that he could do about it.
He looked up as he heard the massive entrance doors slide open. A short, old looking female Than walked in. She was an Amber Than, a worker, as shown by her dark yellow, brown colourings.
"My lord," she said, not to Harper but to someone else, "the human." She gestured towards Harper, then bowed down and left the room.
Another Than entered. He was tall and obviously held a position of great authority. His own colouring was dark red, indicated that he was a Ruby Than. Harper didn't know much about the Than caste systems, all he knew was the colourings.
The Ruby Than was followed by two Emerald Than, who took up guarding positions at the door. The Ruby Than proceeded to a small desk which Harper had not noticed. The desk protruded from the wall to Harper's left. Standing behind the desk, the Ruby Than could look directly at Harper in that evil way.
"Your name is Seamus Harper," was the first thing the Than said.
"What's it to you?" Harper asked.
"You were among those that destroyed Syn-Avan-Dar," the Ruby Than continued. "I was there you know. I was a general for the Guard."
"Well I can tell you that I'm bursting with joy," Harper told him sarcastically. "But please don't let me stop you. If I do burst, at least I'll be free from more Syn-Avan-Dar stories."
"My name is Obsidian Rain," the Ruby Than announced, "do you remember it?"
"How can I Mister Bug," Harper retorted, "I haven't met you yet."
A sudden pain shot through Harper's body. It was a pain like no other that he had felt before in his life. He couldn't stop the scream from escaping his mouth and the tears from streaming openly down his face. His blood stained face.
"In my time line you have," Obsidian Rain said. "I was aboard the Andromeda when the Nova bombs were fired. And then, when the Andromeda escaped, your captain detained me, and tortured me for what seemed like a lifetime."
"That's not true."
Another pain, even worse than the one that came before it shot through Harper. He screamed for eternity. He couldn't see anything for the tears. He felt his skin cripple. He felt it split and pour with blood. When he finally stopped screaming he fought for breath.
"For almost two years I was tortured aboard the Andromeda. It was your captain that made me what I am today." Harper said nothing. He let Obsidian Rain continue. "I think I'll start from the beginning with my story. I was working for the Guard on Syn-Avan-Dar. It was a glorious day. The Overdiamond had come to Syn-Avan-Dar, to announce the inclusion of the Than Hegemony in the renewed Commonwealth. It was the happiest day of everybody's lives. Including your crews, as I recall. The Overdiamond had come to Syn-Avan-Dar because it was the most peaceful, most beautiful planet of the time. He wanted to show Captain Hunt a fine example of Than architecture. And he did. Then, three days after she first arrived on Syn- Avan-Dar, your ship fired two Nova bombs at the planet, everything was incinerated. Two years later, I was found drifting in space, on a Slipfighter, after brutal months of torture from your Captain."
Obsidian Rain stepped away from the console as soon as he had finished. He began to walk slowly towards Harper, an evil look in his eye. "You have transponders all the way down your spine," he informed Harper, "and when I press this device," he showed Harper a small dial he held in his hand, "I can make you feel as much pain as I feel necessary."
"None of it is necessary," Harper cried. "The Andromeda is gone, Syn-Avan- Dar has not been destroyed."
"Then why are we still here," Obsidian Rain announced. "If the destruction of the Andromeda has stopped Syn-Avan-Dar from being destroyed, then why are we still here talking about it?" He let that one rest a while. Harper had no explanation. This made his mind race frantically. "Besides, there is always a reason to have you here. Two in fact. First of all, this is MY revenge for what happened at Syn-Avan-Dar. Different time line or the same. It makes no difference. What happened, happened. Secondly, you had a link with an Emerald Than under the Hegemon's Guard. My enemies. I want to find out everything you know. All of the secrets. A great strategic advantage in this war."
Harper nodded his head down, with not enough energy to lift it up again. He had no choice however, as Obsidian Rain grabbed a matted lump of his hair and pulled his head up, so that it was level with his own.
"You are hunted," Obsidian Rain spat the words at Harper, "hunted across a world at war. A war that you began."
Harper spat at the Ruby Than and recoiled his head. He screamed in pain, as the torturer turned the dial. It seemed as though he was screaming forever. But soon it all paled into insignificance.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Harper's eyes shot open again. The Amber Than who had introduced Obsidian Rain earlier, was staring him in the face. She was concerned. Harper looked around the room, to see that nobody else was present.
"Mister Harper," the Amber Than said, "my name is Starlight Empathy."
"Hey," Harper greeted her, "you here to torture me as well. There's a queue about a mile long you know."
"No, I'm not here to torture you, I'm here to help you."
That was a new one. Harper was almost overwhelmed with joy. He tried not to show it. "How long have I been here?"
"It's been a month since the Guard / Sentinel fleet destroyed the Andromeda. It was the first thing they've done together for a long time." She was smiling at him. "You've been here for about a week. You've been tortured everyday."
Harper could hardly remember any of it. He remembered Ashes of Lightning. But he assumed that Lightning was dead now. "How are you going to help?"
"There's a ship, a shuttle waiting in a secured location," Starlight Empathy told him. "I've managed to rig it so that it looks like just an ordinary ship. If Rain tries to trace it, the signal will lock on to another shuttle."
"Thankyou so much," Harper cried at her, as he was untied. He stood on his own two feet for the first time in a week. He fell to his knees. He screamed in pain as scars that had healed over his knees where ripped open. He noticed that all of his clothes were now crimson with stains of blood.
"Ssshh," Starlight urged, "they will hear you."
She helped Harper to his feet and walked him out of the room. Immediately after they exited from the doors they turned left and went up some steps. Every now and then Harper tripped on a step and cried out in pain. He cried openly now, the pain being too much for him to handle.
"Come on, quickly," Starlight urged.
Before long, they could see sunlight, and Harper could see a Than shuttle waiting. The doors were already open.
"Go on," Starlight Empathy said to him, "I have to leave you here."
"No," Harper said, "please you have to come with me. I need help."
It was that hesitation that caused Starlight Empathy's downfall. Obsidian Rain had noticed that Harper was gone and now the Sentinel guards where on the landing pad. Weapons blazed from the steps below. They only had a few more left to climb.
A blue bolt of lightning hit straight through Starlight's chest and she fell down the stairs. "Nooo, " Harper cried in despair as he fell to the stairs.
He no longer thought of the pain. He just thought of his friends. He remembered Dylan's face, the face of a renewed Commonwealth. He remembered Beka's face, that tough hard face that had given him support at so many times. He remembered Tyr's face, sincere and strong. He remembered Rommie and he remembered Rev Bem.
"My pain belongs to the devine!" He shouted.
But most of all he remembered Trance. He remembered her beautiful face. Her innocent face. Innocence. As he thought of Trance, Harper had a sudden burst of energy. He got to his feet to see Obsidian Rain standing behind him. He had a gun. With more will to fight inside him than he had ever felt before, Harper swung round and smashed Obsidian across the face with his arm. He fell.
Harper shot to the shuttle and jumped into the chamber. The doors shut behind him. As Than weapons began to fire, he sat down in the chair. He grabbed the steering rods and guided himself away. He was free. At last. He heard the faint buzz of Than weapons die down. And he pressed some buttons.
"Course Set: Arami Eltor." Came up onto the screen in Vedran. He was free. At last.
TO BE CONTINUED…
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
1.6
1.7