VI
Unlike Those Who Hide The Truth I Tell It Like It Is
There was not one Irken on the planet who liked being woken up. Especially by the planet-wide waking system each Irken had. It was so... annoying during times when all you wanted to do was lie blissfully asleep next to the one you loved. Even if that one was kicking you in the shins for making said alarm so late.
"What on Irk possessed you to set that thing for 700!? By the mother of IRK! Do you know how much overtime your little fiasco yesterday is going to give me!? And I'm already late!"
"Swaaar... I'm exhausted..." A boot flew from its customary spot across the room to come in contact with Regert Shrig's head. He groaned, sitting up. It seemed like only an hour since he'd lain down in the comfort of his bed with Swar curled up beside him, gently "attending" to his minor wounds. Despite her ministrations, they still ached. Hopefully, Lidge would take pity on her fellow fighters and give them a light workload that day. Not to mention there was a meeting of the Uprisers that night. "You going to the Uprising meeting, Swar?" he asked casually, stretching. Like Swar, his robotic legs were splayed all over the place, some implanted in the bed itself. The female's were already retracted into her pod, while his took some time to draw themselves into their customary spots.
"No way on Irk I am," the scholar responded tartly from across the room. "I'm going to have enough trouble picking up THESE pieces without me helping you shred more of society to clean up." She glared at him. "Give me my shirt, you dirty rat. NOW."
Regert picked it carefully off of one of the hovering lamps beside his bed. How it had gotten there... was a mystery. "You want it? Come get it," he said cockily. "I know how your boss hates it when you scholars walk in with only your undersuit on."
Light blue eyes rolled. The black, skintight garment, which Student females and all Soldiers wore, was already on her, having been tossed in a more accessible part of the room than her shirt. "Give it here, give it now. I need that! The Tallest are going to have Tolia's arse unless she can calm them down! And you know Kas was hatched paranoid. I need to be there for her!" Delicate green fingers snatched the shirt away, aiding in the process of pulling it over her head. The scholar's backpod reattached as soon as the shirt was on. Next went the gloves. "Get out of bed love," Swar ordered. "You need to go to work."
He groaned. "I hurt, Swar..."
"No more massages! No more... last night! Go, get a shower, eat some food, go to work and beg Lidge to let you off easy."
"Fine..." he sighed, finally rolling out of bed. It was only then that it occurred to him that his pants had vanished. Regert looked up in time to see Swar throw them into the bathroom. He winced. She was a vengeful thing...
"Get!" With that she was out the door, her light blue satchel thrown over her shoulder.
It was hard to get up. Everything ached, forcing Regert to almost roll out from under the comforting blankets. The contact with the freezing floor woke him better than most anything had. "I hate mornings..." he mumbled into the floor, making his battered body rise. The thought of Lidge going easy on her fellow warriors was the only thing that kept him moving. Regert imagined the others who had survived felt the same way he did today. "This is the worst morning after ever..."
The shower almost put him back to sleep. It soothed his aches better than even Swar had. A clean shirt was found, as well as his gloves and boots. His pants were fine for that day, seeing as all the other pairs were being cleaned. Swar must have known that. A few minutes after the shower, Regert was in his voot, getting his green arse to West Jihi as fast as the speed limit allowed. He hoped he wouldn't get skinned for being late.
As it turned out, he shouldn't have worried. Min was pulling in the same time he was, a sleepy-eyed Pira hanging on him. The two paused outside West Jihi's roof elevator. "Sir," acknowledged Min with an antennae twitch. "How're you holding up?" The gray-eye shifted Pira in his arms, allowing the child's little head to rest on his shoulder comfortably.
"Stiff. Sore. Want to blow my alarm up. Same as usual. You?" Idle fingers tapped the call button again.
A gusty sigh. "Hoping Lidge won't kill me," he answered. "You know how mad she gets when we turn up late."
"Aw, I think she'll go easier on us... considering yesterday."
"You think They've heard yet...?"
"Swar was panicking, so... yes. They probably have." The elevator came then, and they both stepped on. Pira woke, whimpering faintly to protest her teacher's movement. Her soft sound made Regert smile. Ten years could lessen pain enough sometimes, make it fade into the background so you could forget it after a time. "May I?" he asked softly, his voice almost hidden by the whirr of machinery.
Min gave him a sidelong gaze, cradling the tiny Pira close to his gray-clad chest, as if someone were going to harm her. After a moment of giving his old boss a withering, gray stare, he nodded. "Be gentle... she really needs her sleep. I figure she can have one day off... even if I don't," murmured the Kaalae.
With utmost care, Regert reached out to stroke Pira's curled antennae. His movements were jerky from disuse, but the gentle touch of a student's antennae by a teacher was something no Irken would ever forget how to do. Pira purred softly. A tight smile graced the red-eye's face. "You take care of her, Min... all right?" he ordered. "You never know how much you miss the nightmares and the questions until..." Regert trailed off, unable to finish. He remained silent for the rest of the ride down, simply tracing the curl of Pira's thin antennae.
Their exit was greeted by Lidge herself, who looked more worn than either of them. Her antennae drooped lifelessly, the dark circles beneath her dull, magenta eyes matching the color of the limp appendages. The female mechanic uniform was wrinkled unkemptly. She looked terrible. "We're going to close today..." Lidge said slowly, her voice cracking with weariness. "Gonna close at lunchbreak... we all need sleep..."
"What about those who weren't involved?" Min asked skeptically, his eyes casting around the workfloor. There were few eyes that weren't dulled by lack of sleep. Jeweled tones were blurred with gray. A pair of dark green gems were missing, their owner probably still away with her lover. He sighed. "Well... we could use it..."
Regert nodded. "What we got today?"
"Pretty simple..." the new boss answered, passing out datapads. "Servicing, mostly... minor accident repairs..."
"Good," murmured Min, shifting Pira in order to take his assignment. Another whimper of protest from his charge. "Easy stuff..." Turquoise eyes fluttered open. "Hey, Pintsize..."
The child's oversized eyes blinked, a black-gloved hand rubbing over them sleepily. She seemed dazed at her surroundings. "Where'm I, Teacher Kall-ae?" Pira mumbled softly. "I wanna seep..."
"Shhh... I know... Just go back to sleep and I'll do the work today... okay?"
"'Kay..."
Lidge stood beside Regert, watching Min head off to his workstation, Pira cradled in his arms protectively. The sight hurt them both. One, because she feared her teacher would never open his eyes again and greet her with a sarcastic remark. The other with a deep longing to hold his small student again. They both sighed.
"It'll be all right, Lidge."
"I hope. That's all we can do now..."
"Hope?"
"Yes..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This wasn't happening! How had things gotten so bad without him even realizing it? He'd thought he'd known the extent of the problem... but apparently he'd been wrong. So wrong. Five Irkens killed... by their own kind! Irkens didn't fight Irkens! They just didn't! He shuddered. It was so... wrong! To slaughter your own race... He felt sick.
Red had turned pale. Turned pale and shook for a minute. That in itself was frightening. That Soldier feared nothing, not even his own death. But this... this horrible ordeal actually made him tremble. Uprising. The Students, no, his Class, was rebelling against the way things had been for centuries, against him, against the Soldiers. It had taken them at least half an hour to get over the initial shock, and then the entire night to figure out what to do.
And they still had little idea what they were supposed to do. So many Students... the entire Class could not be tried for treason. There would be too many innocents. At least, he hoped there were still innocents. There had to be some who weren't against everything. Some... anyone. Nausea set in at these thoughts, and he sank into the nearest chair, wanting to actually cry. Only the deep desire to correct this problem kept him from breaking down in sobs. It was so farfetched. So horrific for Irkens to kill each other. How had things gotten this bad? And without him knowing?
Someone entered. He didn't look up. He was too deep in his horror. Too filled with the atrocity of this awful mess. In fact, he didn't even know someone had entered until he felt a light hand on the crook of his elbow, where the arm bent to rest against the arm of the chair more comfortably. He jumped.
"Easy, easy Kas... It's only me..."
His eyes widened. That voice... by the Mother of Irk he knew that voice better than he knew his own. He needed that voice right now more than he needed anything else.
"Swar...?" he choked, disbelieving his own hearing.
"Shhhh... yes, I'm here..."
Not even bothering to question her sudden appearance, Purple pulled his old teacher close, trembling despite her comforting presence. It was so very welcome. Swar gently rubbed the back of his neck, humming to soothe them both. No one else would dare come in and disturb them. "You have no idea... how happy I am to see you again, Swar..." he muttered, mostly to her delicate antennae. "And you know... sweet mother, you shouldn't be here."
"Hush, Kas," Swar said, her tone equally soft to his stress-strained senses. "Tolia said you needed me. She's keeping Red busy now... it's okay. I'm here to help..."
Her closeness made it feel just like old times. Despite the fact he was the one cradling her in his arms. Mother of Irk, had Swar always been this small...? He felt so awkwardly tall. Fleetingly, he wondered if Swar knew all about what he'd been forced to do to his best friend. Did she know the truth, or had lies-like the ones he now knew he'd been fed all his life-clouded her mind? Time went by. Neither one was sure how much time went by before Swar let him go and slid back down to the floor. She took one of his too-long fingers in her hand, her own lengthy digits creaking from overwork. Violet eyes took this in with concern. "You look so tired, Swar..." Purple said softly. "Is... this fight getting to you as well...?"
Swar met his gaze, sadly, then looked away. "I fear you've underestimated the scale of this, Kasden," was all she said, and this murmured into a hand she hadn't held in far too many years.
"How bad is it...?" His question was asked to the windows. There was a tense silence, broken by stifled sobs from Swar. That brought his gaze hurriedly back to his old teacher. Tears were streaming down her face. Bemused, he handed her a small sponge from a dispenser to mop them up with, tightening his hold on her suddenly small hand. "Swar... Please. Mother of Irk, I need information I can't get any other way..."
She broke down, clutching the sponge to her face, sobbing hysterically. Stunned, the Tallest got out of the chair and knelt beside her. Swar jerked her head up. Wide, startled eyes regarded him before diving into his arms a second time. "It's horrible, Kas..." she choked between sobs. "Terrible... Soldiers are beating us in the streets, so we go and try to kill them all. We're no better than they are. No better at all."
He lifted her chin with a gentle finger. "How bad is it...?" Purple asked again, trying to be more soothing. Never once did it cross his mind that her outburst could be because of an involvement with this horrid mess. Swar could never be involved in such a thing. She was too caring, too gentle. There was no chance she knew anything more than had been aired on the daily reports. "You can tell me. I just need to know so I can help..."
"You'll help us?" she almost yelped. There was so much hope shining in those light blue eyes. "You'll help us?"
"Yes..." he relented after a moment or two. No student could resist the urge to help the Irken who had assisted them so much. He sighed. There was both his Class and the entire populous to think of now. Not to mention this new plan for galactic conquest... but Red could deal with Impending Doom for now. If he could just do anything to try and stop this slaughter, he would. No more death... Unconsciously, the Tallest tightened his hold on her. "What do I have to do to help? Tell me what's going on and I'll do whatever I can..."
"You can't arrest any of them..." Swar hissed, tightening her arms around him. She sounded so sure of that statement that her old student was stunned. "Not a single one. They are good, Irkens, who love their Tallest, but they are misguided by hate for the other Class. They don't know what they're doing... by the Mother of Irk, they have no idea. I swear to you." Finally, she looked up at him. "They can't see what they're doing..."
There was a heartsickness in Swar's eyes, eyes Purple had always thought were beautiful when they welcomed him home from play with his best friend. He hated their new dullness, their damp fear and pain. "Swar... they haven't even made their demands clear... I can't do anything until they tell us..." he murmured, fingering her antennae comfortingly. It felt so strange... the roles were reversed now. He felt like the teacher, with Swar Aman as his student, rather than the way things had been. "I need you to tell me..."
Apparently, Swar felt the way he did about their new positions, for she hugged him close and buried her tearstained face in the Tallest's chest. "They want it to stop. The beating, the unfairness, the discrimination. They can't take Soldiers being seen as superior to them only because they are nearly emotionless and blow things up. They can't take it anymore..." She was sobbing again. "I can't take it anymore!"
"You...?" Purple pushed her back suddenly, stunned. It couldn't be... He had to have misinterpreted her. The light blue eyes gazed mutely back at him, neither denying nor concurring with his thoughts. "Swar..." he murmured. "are you involved in this slarking mess?" His hands set heavily on his old teacher's shoulders, amplifying the importance of the question.
She reacted as if he'd smacked her. "Kas!" The fear and pain were replaced with a stunned horror. "How could you think that?!" she cried. " 'Thou shalt not kill'! Kas, that was the first thing I ever taught you! Why would I go back on my beliefs?" Her arms were outstretched, pleading with him desperately. "I have no reason..."
"I'm sorry..." was all he could say. The Tallest made no move to comfort her again.
"Yes, I know you are..." His teacher would not meet his gaze. "Can you help us? Your Class, I mean..."
"I'll do my best, Swar. And I'll let Red know so.. his Class can get their act together. I'll do as much as I can."
She turned to leave, her antennae drooping. "That Red has damaged you, Kasden," Swar said, not even gracing him with a glance. "He's made you suspicious of your Class. He's broken your trust in us. That is what Soldiers do to those who feel..."
"I thought you said you weren't Classist, Swar..." he said to his folded legs.
Swar Aman didn't respond. She left, boots clicking regretfully against his floors. Purple looked after her retreating back for a long moment. He knew he'd hurt her. That hadn't been his intent... not at all. Why did he always hurt those he cared for so deeply? Was he just destined for to cause others pain...? Purple sighed, rising. All he could do now was go and talk to Red...
And hope he wouldn't say something stupid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a moonless night, that night. The absence of natural light made things all the more easy for the many Uprisers to enter their place of meeting without detection. A meeting of Irkens this large almost always attracted attention, but tonight the patrols' vigilance wasn't up to par, the Soldiers too shaken by the open attack on their fellow Class members. Well over one thousand Uprisers were packed into the meeting hall-one of the few on Irk. Most meeting halls were [no 'were'] had been moved to the planet Conventia by now. Each Irken that went into the building was carefully checked for concealed weapons and DNA scans were run on all to make sure there were no Soldiers among those entering. Monitors were placed everywhere to make sure there were no spies, and that no one was listening in. The secrecy was absolute.
The meeting building was identical to all the others of Irken make. A huge half-dome filled with circular tiers that rose as high as they could, almost to the top of the ceiling. At the very top, sturdy bars were erected. Any Irken could hang comfortably from them with their robotic legs in order to gaze down on the proceedings. The circular speaker's platform was on a tall, skinny pillar. The platform was a converted hoverdisk of sorts that had been built to enormous proportions in order to accommodate multiple speakers or demonstrations. Directly above and below it were hovering screens built into rotating circles, so that no matter where one sat, one was always sure to see the speaker.
One male and one female stood alone on the platform tonight. The female stood confidently, arms coolly folded as she waited for the appointed time to begin. Her antennae twitched at the dull roar of minute conversation among the hundreds of her fellow Irkens. She was every bit the leader they craved. The one who would lead their Uprising into victory against the drones of the other Class. Beside her, the male looked less confident. He held his hands behind his back, fidgeting slightly, his one working antenna drooping a little with apprehension while the other flopped in his face. "Looking for her?" the female asked. The voice amplifiers weren't on yet, so their conversation remained private.
Her question seemed to jar him out of his nervousness. "What? Who?" he asked.
"Swar," the female responded lightly. "I know you asked her to come to this. There's no way you wouldn't. Not after what you most likely did last night..."
"Lidge... how do you know what I did last night?"
That question earned him an eye roll. "You males... every morning after you do that dance with your lover, you keep this weird blush. Don't tell me Min didn't notice it in the elevator. I'm sure HE knows about such things by now."
Regert didn't have time to respond. A clock chimed and the meeting began. The entire crowd fell silent as Lidge stepped forward, her hands now behind her back as the V-amps kicked on. "Uprisers!" she said, saluting the assembled smoothly. The masses responded with a roar of approval and a return salute. "Welcome! I know you have traveled far-some of you anyway-to come here tonight, and I thank you for it." More cheering ensued. Lidge nodded at all the recognition. "By now, the 1st and 2nd units have fought their battles. The 2nd only small skirmishes, and the 1st took initial blood in this uprising. Both types of fighting are what we need! Any victory, no matter how small, will aid our cause."
The cheering was deafening. Lidge was loved, and she knew it. She hurt though. Kaml was not here to see her triumphant debut. He was who she had written her speech in front of, he who had encouraged her the whole time. He who she had hurt so badly in her war...
"I have some news to report to you, though you probably already know it. It will be terrible to hear, but I urge you to think of what might have been lost! Hundreds! Possibly thousands to Soldier hands had we not acted," she paused here, letting that sink in to the Irkens watching her. "Unfortunately... in the combined fights of the two units who have fought, the death toll numbers ten. Five from each Class." Mournful sounds from parts of the hall reached the female's attention, and she flattened her antennae in sympathy. "Twelve have been seriously wounded on our side, though, those who have been wounded are well into recovery. They should be fine in anywhere from a month to a few weeks. You shall see them again soon, I assure you!" More cheering ensued. "I thank you for your support. I thank you dearly. It means much to me, as my teacher was one of those wounded twelve."
A murmuring filled the hall. This was news they had not heard yet! And new news was intriguing news. Lidge was ready for this though.
"I realize such news is what interests you, yet I am afraid we must press on. My strategist, Hiaki, has new battle tactics I must reveal to you. I know a great deal of you mistrust Hiaki for Class reasons, and I agree with your apprehension. But, I can tell you he was sent to us by Rael himself. My co-leader has them and is ready to read them to you. Your seats are equipped with recorders that will keep a note of them for your later study."
The murmur this time was excited. They all knew how just Rael was to either Class, and how he actually seemed a Student in a Soldier body at times.
Regert stepped up, taking out a datapad in Hiaki's neat hand. A hush claimed the hall as the Irkens waited for the hefty male to speak. He went over the new plans in his deep voice; plans that were mostly surprise attacks followed by hasty retreat patterns in case they were needed. Most Students took their own notes on datapads. Teachers who had brought their students with them were too involved with their notes to keep their eyes on their youngsters. The younger Irkens squirmed in their seats, making faces at one another in an effort to keep from being bored.
"Teacher Kaalae?"
"Hmm?" Hard gray eyes were studying Lidge, black-gloved hands still. No datapad was in Min's hands. He didn't even seem to be really concentrating on the spoken words.
"Yeah, Pintsize?"
Pira gazed up at him. "Can I go get candies?"
"By yourself?"
"Nuh uh." She pointed to a small group of students, the tallest of them being barely thirteen. "They're comin too."
Min eyed them, watching them squirm under his gaze. The tallest matched him with eyes the same color as Min's skin. "Where're you going exactly?"
"'Cross the road," she answered, hugging him. "There's paths so hovers won't hit us."
Her teacher considered this. "I want all of you to stay in a group, you hear me? Stay away from patrols. If I find out anyone strayed..." Min let the threat hang as the group nodded nervously to him. He hugged Pira briefly. "Be careful, Pira. I love you, you know?"
"'Course!" She hugged him back, then scampered off to see her friends.
Min was left alone for the remainder of Regert's seminar. His mind was on other things. It had always been hard for the Kaalae to focus on things like this for long periods of time. His work was another story. An entire week could pass or half the planet could blow up and Min wouldn't notice, as long as his work was not disturbed. He settled back in his seat and tried to fall asleep.
Up on the platform, Lidge watched Regert explain the more complex battle tactics, pausing often to explain the Soldier terms Hiaki had used while writing the plans. It was nice to see the old boss taking charge of things again. She missed it. Regert had never minded the endless paperwork involved with being a Boss. He even seemed to enjoy it at times. Lidge Tikem loathed paperwork. She, like her teacher and Min, was much more at home on the workfloor than in her office. Most mechanics were. Just... Lidge had never been very good at fixing things. Even though she hated it... Lidge was much better at paperwork than she was at repairing a voot cruiser that was in fifty pieces. She'd always felt as if she'd let everyone she loved down that way.
The meeting went on for a few more hours. Questions were asked and answered, plans were made, more volunteers were recruited... everything went as planned. Lidge was about to call the meeting to a close when a sudden commotion in one of the sections she faced did it for her. Several Students were shouting at each other and making for the exits. Even from this distance, Lidge could see the distinct gray and black colors of her closest friend running next to a mottled dark blue, black and milky green. Regert saw too, and took over the remainder of the meeting. Quickly, Lidge skittered down the pillar to the floor with the aid of her robotic legs. She landed among a milling group of standers that hadn't arrived in time to get a seat in the stands. They parted for her, but she hardly noticed them.
What was wrong with Min? Why hadn't Pira been with him? Lidge dashed through the corridors on her robotic legs, stepping over the Irkens in her path. She had to find Min and make sure something had not happened to Kaml or anyone else that she hadn't been notified of. The street-level exit came and was used by the magenta-eyed female. She looked frantically for any familiar color on the street.
It wasn't hard to find them.
Across the street, easily seen between the blurs of Irkens driving hover vehicles, was a cluster of Students standing their ground before a few drunken Soldiers. Lidge winced and kicked her robotics into action again, heading for one of the bridged pathways leading to the other side.
Min held Pira close to him, comforting her as best he could. Mother of Irk... how had he allowed this to happen to her? He never should have let her go! This was his fault. Cerol, the one who had come to tell him of the incident knelt beside him, his blaster at the ready and his blind eye to Min. "Where was she shot?" he asked, his voice smooth and cool despite the inebriated Soldiers currently arguing with the teachers of the other candy-seeking students.
"Her hip..." Min murmured, tightening his arms around Pira while pressing his palm to her wound. It bled badly through his fingers. "Deep..."
Cerol nodded. How he had been at the scene first was a question Min would never ask, and thus never understand. "We'll have to drive these brainless brutes off before we can do anything, Min," he said in that same placid tone. "They should not be hard to deal with... they are intoxicated." An eyelid quirked amusedly. "Highly so."
"What was your first clue...?" Min growled. He could feel Pira shaking with the hurt in his arms. Her tears were dampening his uniform. She was so scared and in such pain. His student... All because of Lidge's stupid war. His eyes hardened. "She's hurt bad, Cer."
Another nod, this one slower and more considering. His antennae flicked. "Lidge is coming, Min." The gloved hands tightened on the blaster as the Soldiers stepped forward. One of the teachers drew her blaster, the safety clicking onto the stun setting all Students used. The others followed her lead, Lidge drawing behind Min and Cerol.
"What happened here?" Lidge asked, watching the first teacher order the Soldiers off while the others backed her.
"The Soldiers are drunk and attacked this group of students while they were making a run to the sweet shop," Cerol responded. "Little Pira here was shot in her hip..." His eyes narrowed at the response the Soldiers were giving the other teachers. "We need to get her out of here... but they are not cooperating..." He stood up and approached the Soldiers. "I will have to intervene..."
Cerol Haye was not tall. He was average to say the most, about 3'51/2". Scrawny too, with little muscle build anywhere that was visible. Combine the physical disposition with his soft voice, mild manners, and unusual way with words made for an Irken that was far more comfortable fading into the background than he was picking fights with Soldiers. The only things he possessed that had any imposition at all were his eyes. Cerol had never grown into them, and thus they were huge in his face, larger than most Irkens' were. Whenever he turned his blind eye to you, one was never sure what he was looking at, though, most got the eerie impression of their very spirits being glared into by that eye. His good eye glowed even in direct sunlight. He had altered his uniform to match his unusual eyes as well. Half a milky green with black glove, waistband and boot, the other half dark blue with milky green glove, waistband and boot.
For those reasons alone, the eyes and the uniform, the Soldiers stepped back a pace. The usually placid mechanic gave them a lopsided smile, continuing casually forward. "Sta' baa!" one of the Soldiers slurred. He listed to one side, running into one of his more sober fellows.
"You injured a child, sirs," Cerol informed them. He tipped his head sideways so his blind eye was focused more on them than on anything else. "Injured one child and frightened the rest." Another innocent head tilt. The Soldiers glanced at each other uneasily. "Mind explaining to me the circumstances in which you did this?"
It took their ahki-addled minds a moment to comprehend Cerol's question. "She bumped me," their leader said, glaring drunkenly past Cerol. "An' din't say s'rry!"
"Yeah!" another agreed.
The good eye narrowed a small fraction. "She is in too much pain to apologize now..." he replied calmly, tone somehow implying their fault further. "But I believe, that if you do not return to your barracks immediately, both your CO and these Students behind me will have harsh words and painful blasts to administer on you." Cerol turned back to the group, walking calmly and proudly, ignoring the Soldiers' dumbfounded noises...
...then ducked to the side before Min could cry out, "Cerol! Watch it!" Min's voice and the click of blaster safeties behind and in front of him.
Cerol bounced off the building next to him with his robotic legs to launch his slight body onto the leader's. Both Irkens fell to the pavement, one with gloved fingers digging into his neck. Cerol knelt on top of the lead Soldier, tightening his grip on the green throat. Manic rage gleamed in the dark blue eye. "Get off this street. Get off it as fast as your inferior legs can carry you. Otherwise I swear to the Mother of Irk, I will snap your skinny neck in two pieces..." Cerol snarled, his placidity gone. "I doubt you want to try your luck a second time..." With that, he released the unfortunate and backed off him, his own blaster emerging. "Go!"
The Soldiers fled the scene quickly, never even glancing back. Cerol knelt back to the empty pavement, catching his breath and attempting to do the same to his escaped sanity. Behind him, Min collected Pira, running with Lidge to the nearest voot runner. He stayed where he was, trembling, not noticing the bewildered stares of passing Irkens around him. This kept happening. These... flashes of things he knew were going to happen, these sudden spurts of emotions he knew were not his own. Always, it took him a while to remind himself that the emotion he'd felt wasn't his, and push it away to return to normal.
It was a long time before he was able to get to his feet and dart off in search of the two he'd aided.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her little hand was limp in his. He rubbed his fingers over the back of it often, reminding himself that he had not gone back in time, that everything would eventually be all right. That it was not like Wikki's death. Pira was only sleeping, exhausted from the repair work done on her hip and the pain of the wound. Machines kept her pulse safely steady and monitored. Others dripped fluids into her that would aid in her return to good health. She had been taken to the Upriser's medical center at Lidge's insistence that blaster wounds would only arouse suspicion at any other. The med workers here, with their limited technology, hadn't been able to repair the damage completely, thus condemning his little student to walking with a limp the rest of her life.
Min hated this place. It was a constant reminder to him of all of those whom Lidge's idiotic war had injured. Kaml... Pira... so many injuries. In two days, no less! To Pira's left, lay Kaml, now awake, and watching Min, propped up against the headboard of his bed. According to the med workers, he was progressing wonderfully, and would heal in a matter of weeks. The orange eyes were pained from the sight before him, tired from the hurt of his own healing. He was pale, looked terrible, but was alive. That was all Min asked for right now. "You sure you're gonna be all right...?" Kaml asked, his voice rough and weak. "She's gonna be fine... you know that..."
He nodded. "It hurts so much..." he murmured, stroking Pira's cheek with a gentle finger. Her antennae flicked a little in her sleep. "I tried so hard Kam. So hard to keep her safe and not... not let her lose me. Always be there for her. Never let her get hurt... in anyway... To be better than..."
"Than Dai was to you..."
Gray eyes looked up to orange ones sharply. "How did you know?"
Kaml sighed shakily, his eyes closing with a sudden weariness. "I can just tell... you know?" he croaked. "You were so upset... ten years ago... I just knew... that you would never want to... to be like someone who hurt you... like that..."
"I am like him though, Kam..." Min mumbled in regret, tightening his hold on his student's hand. "I let her get hurt. I let her almost die!" A tear was impatiently brushed away. "Well... no more. Blast it, I'm sick of this... and it hasn't even been happening a week! I'm sick of this!"
"Sick of what...?" Kaml blinked, trying to wake from his sleepy daze long enough to continue the conversation.
"This war! I'm sick of Lidge's idiotic ideals! I'm sick of everyone I love being hurt! I hate fighting... I hate it..." He stroked Pira's antennae, trying to bring some comfort to them both. "Soon as I see Lidge next, I'm telling her Kam... I'm telling her that I don't want any part in this any more."
Unlike Those Who Hide The Truth I Tell It Like It Is
There was not one Irken on the planet who liked being woken up. Especially by the planet-wide waking system each Irken had. It was so... annoying during times when all you wanted to do was lie blissfully asleep next to the one you loved. Even if that one was kicking you in the shins for making said alarm so late.
"What on Irk possessed you to set that thing for 700!? By the mother of IRK! Do you know how much overtime your little fiasco yesterday is going to give me!? And I'm already late!"
"Swaaar... I'm exhausted..." A boot flew from its customary spot across the room to come in contact with Regert Shrig's head. He groaned, sitting up. It seemed like only an hour since he'd lain down in the comfort of his bed with Swar curled up beside him, gently "attending" to his minor wounds. Despite her ministrations, they still ached. Hopefully, Lidge would take pity on her fellow fighters and give them a light workload that day. Not to mention there was a meeting of the Uprisers that night. "You going to the Uprising meeting, Swar?" he asked casually, stretching. Like Swar, his robotic legs were splayed all over the place, some implanted in the bed itself. The female's were already retracted into her pod, while his took some time to draw themselves into their customary spots.
"No way on Irk I am," the scholar responded tartly from across the room. "I'm going to have enough trouble picking up THESE pieces without me helping you shred more of society to clean up." She glared at him. "Give me my shirt, you dirty rat. NOW."
Regert picked it carefully off of one of the hovering lamps beside his bed. How it had gotten there... was a mystery. "You want it? Come get it," he said cockily. "I know how your boss hates it when you scholars walk in with only your undersuit on."
Light blue eyes rolled. The black, skintight garment, which Student females and all Soldiers wore, was already on her, having been tossed in a more accessible part of the room than her shirt. "Give it here, give it now. I need that! The Tallest are going to have Tolia's arse unless she can calm them down! And you know Kas was hatched paranoid. I need to be there for her!" Delicate green fingers snatched the shirt away, aiding in the process of pulling it over her head. The scholar's backpod reattached as soon as the shirt was on. Next went the gloves. "Get out of bed love," Swar ordered. "You need to go to work."
He groaned. "I hurt, Swar..."
"No more massages! No more... last night! Go, get a shower, eat some food, go to work and beg Lidge to let you off easy."
"Fine..." he sighed, finally rolling out of bed. It was only then that it occurred to him that his pants had vanished. Regert looked up in time to see Swar throw them into the bathroom. He winced. She was a vengeful thing...
"Get!" With that she was out the door, her light blue satchel thrown over her shoulder.
It was hard to get up. Everything ached, forcing Regert to almost roll out from under the comforting blankets. The contact with the freezing floor woke him better than most anything had. "I hate mornings..." he mumbled into the floor, making his battered body rise. The thought of Lidge going easy on her fellow warriors was the only thing that kept him moving. Regert imagined the others who had survived felt the same way he did today. "This is the worst morning after ever..."
The shower almost put him back to sleep. It soothed his aches better than even Swar had. A clean shirt was found, as well as his gloves and boots. His pants were fine for that day, seeing as all the other pairs were being cleaned. Swar must have known that. A few minutes after the shower, Regert was in his voot, getting his green arse to West Jihi as fast as the speed limit allowed. He hoped he wouldn't get skinned for being late.
As it turned out, he shouldn't have worried. Min was pulling in the same time he was, a sleepy-eyed Pira hanging on him. The two paused outside West Jihi's roof elevator. "Sir," acknowledged Min with an antennae twitch. "How're you holding up?" The gray-eye shifted Pira in his arms, allowing the child's little head to rest on his shoulder comfortably.
"Stiff. Sore. Want to blow my alarm up. Same as usual. You?" Idle fingers tapped the call button again.
A gusty sigh. "Hoping Lidge won't kill me," he answered. "You know how mad she gets when we turn up late."
"Aw, I think she'll go easier on us... considering yesterday."
"You think They've heard yet...?"
"Swar was panicking, so... yes. They probably have." The elevator came then, and they both stepped on. Pira woke, whimpering faintly to protest her teacher's movement. Her soft sound made Regert smile. Ten years could lessen pain enough sometimes, make it fade into the background so you could forget it after a time. "May I?" he asked softly, his voice almost hidden by the whirr of machinery.
Min gave him a sidelong gaze, cradling the tiny Pira close to his gray-clad chest, as if someone were going to harm her. After a moment of giving his old boss a withering, gray stare, he nodded. "Be gentle... she really needs her sleep. I figure she can have one day off... even if I don't," murmured the Kaalae.
With utmost care, Regert reached out to stroke Pira's curled antennae. His movements were jerky from disuse, but the gentle touch of a student's antennae by a teacher was something no Irken would ever forget how to do. Pira purred softly. A tight smile graced the red-eye's face. "You take care of her, Min... all right?" he ordered. "You never know how much you miss the nightmares and the questions until..." Regert trailed off, unable to finish. He remained silent for the rest of the ride down, simply tracing the curl of Pira's thin antennae.
Their exit was greeted by Lidge herself, who looked more worn than either of them. Her antennae drooped lifelessly, the dark circles beneath her dull, magenta eyes matching the color of the limp appendages. The female mechanic uniform was wrinkled unkemptly. She looked terrible. "We're going to close today..." Lidge said slowly, her voice cracking with weariness. "Gonna close at lunchbreak... we all need sleep..."
"What about those who weren't involved?" Min asked skeptically, his eyes casting around the workfloor. There were few eyes that weren't dulled by lack of sleep. Jeweled tones were blurred with gray. A pair of dark green gems were missing, their owner probably still away with her lover. He sighed. "Well... we could use it..."
Regert nodded. "What we got today?"
"Pretty simple..." the new boss answered, passing out datapads. "Servicing, mostly... minor accident repairs..."
"Good," murmured Min, shifting Pira in order to take his assignment. Another whimper of protest from his charge. "Easy stuff..." Turquoise eyes fluttered open. "Hey, Pintsize..."
The child's oversized eyes blinked, a black-gloved hand rubbing over them sleepily. She seemed dazed at her surroundings. "Where'm I, Teacher Kall-ae?" Pira mumbled softly. "I wanna seep..."
"Shhh... I know... Just go back to sleep and I'll do the work today... okay?"
"'Kay..."
Lidge stood beside Regert, watching Min head off to his workstation, Pira cradled in his arms protectively. The sight hurt them both. One, because she feared her teacher would never open his eyes again and greet her with a sarcastic remark. The other with a deep longing to hold his small student again. They both sighed.
"It'll be all right, Lidge."
"I hope. That's all we can do now..."
"Hope?"
"Yes..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This wasn't happening! How had things gotten so bad without him even realizing it? He'd thought he'd known the extent of the problem... but apparently he'd been wrong. So wrong. Five Irkens killed... by their own kind! Irkens didn't fight Irkens! They just didn't! He shuddered. It was so... wrong! To slaughter your own race... He felt sick.
Red had turned pale. Turned pale and shook for a minute. That in itself was frightening. That Soldier feared nothing, not even his own death. But this... this horrible ordeal actually made him tremble. Uprising. The Students, no, his Class, was rebelling against the way things had been for centuries, against him, against the Soldiers. It had taken them at least half an hour to get over the initial shock, and then the entire night to figure out what to do.
And they still had little idea what they were supposed to do. So many Students... the entire Class could not be tried for treason. There would be too many innocents. At least, he hoped there were still innocents. There had to be some who weren't against everything. Some... anyone. Nausea set in at these thoughts, and he sank into the nearest chair, wanting to actually cry. Only the deep desire to correct this problem kept him from breaking down in sobs. It was so farfetched. So horrific for Irkens to kill each other. How had things gotten this bad? And without him knowing?
Someone entered. He didn't look up. He was too deep in his horror. Too filled with the atrocity of this awful mess. In fact, he didn't even know someone had entered until he felt a light hand on the crook of his elbow, where the arm bent to rest against the arm of the chair more comfortably. He jumped.
"Easy, easy Kas... It's only me..."
His eyes widened. That voice... by the Mother of Irk he knew that voice better than he knew his own. He needed that voice right now more than he needed anything else.
"Swar...?" he choked, disbelieving his own hearing.
"Shhhh... yes, I'm here..."
Not even bothering to question her sudden appearance, Purple pulled his old teacher close, trembling despite her comforting presence. It was so very welcome. Swar gently rubbed the back of his neck, humming to soothe them both. No one else would dare come in and disturb them. "You have no idea... how happy I am to see you again, Swar..." he muttered, mostly to her delicate antennae. "And you know... sweet mother, you shouldn't be here."
"Hush, Kas," Swar said, her tone equally soft to his stress-strained senses. "Tolia said you needed me. She's keeping Red busy now... it's okay. I'm here to help..."
Her closeness made it feel just like old times. Despite the fact he was the one cradling her in his arms. Mother of Irk, had Swar always been this small...? He felt so awkwardly tall. Fleetingly, he wondered if Swar knew all about what he'd been forced to do to his best friend. Did she know the truth, or had lies-like the ones he now knew he'd been fed all his life-clouded her mind? Time went by. Neither one was sure how much time went by before Swar let him go and slid back down to the floor. She took one of his too-long fingers in her hand, her own lengthy digits creaking from overwork. Violet eyes took this in with concern. "You look so tired, Swar..." Purple said softly. "Is... this fight getting to you as well...?"
Swar met his gaze, sadly, then looked away. "I fear you've underestimated the scale of this, Kasden," was all she said, and this murmured into a hand she hadn't held in far too many years.
"How bad is it...?" His question was asked to the windows. There was a tense silence, broken by stifled sobs from Swar. That brought his gaze hurriedly back to his old teacher. Tears were streaming down her face. Bemused, he handed her a small sponge from a dispenser to mop them up with, tightening his hold on her suddenly small hand. "Swar... Please. Mother of Irk, I need information I can't get any other way..."
She broke down, clutching the sponge to her face, sobbing hysterically. Stunned, the Tallest got out of the chair and knelt beside her. Swar jerked her head up. Wide, startled eyes regarded him before diving into his arms a second time. "It's horrible, Kas..." she choked between sobs. "Terrible... Soldiers are beating us in the streets, so we go and try to kill them all. We're no better than they are. No better at all."
He lifted her chin with a gentle finger. "How bad is it...?" Purple asked again, trying to be more soothing. Never once did it cross his mind that her outburst could be because of an involvement with this horrid mess. Swar could never be involved in such a thing. She was too caring, too gentle. There was no chance she knew anything more than had been aired on the daily reports. "You can tell me. I just need to know so I can help..."
"You'll help us?" she almost yelped. There was so much hope shining in those light blue eyes. "You'll help us?"
"Yes..." he relented after a moment or two. No student could resist the urge to help the Irken who had assisted them so much. He sighed. There was both his Class and the entire populous to think of now. Not to mention this new plan for galactic conquest... but Red could deal with Impending Doom for now. If he could just do anything to try and stop this slaughter, he would. No more death... Unconsciously, the Tallest tightened his hold on her. "What do I have to do to help? Tell me what's going on and I'll do whatever I can..."
"You can't arrest any of them..." Swar hissed, tightening her arms around him. She sounded so sure of that statement that her old student was stunned. "Not a single one. They are good, Irkens, who love their Tallest, but they are misguided by hate for the other Class. They don't know what they're doing... by the Mother of Irk, they have no idea. I swear to you." Finally, she looked up at him. "They can't see what they're doing..."
There was a heartsickness in Swar's eyes, eyes Purple had always thought were beautiful when they welcomed him home from play with his best friend. He hated their new dullness, their damp fear and pain. "Swar... they haven't even made their demands clear... I can't do anything until they tell us..." he murmured, fingering her antennae comfortingly. It felt so strange... the roles were reversed now. He felt like the teacher, with Swar Aman as his student, rather than the way things had been. "I need you to tell me..."
Apparently, Swar felt the way he did about their new positions, for she hugged him close and buried her tearstained face in the Tallest's chest. "They want it to stop. The beating, the unfairness, the discrimination. They can't take Soldiers being seen as superior to them only because they are nearly emotionless and blow things up. They can't take it anymore..." She was sobbing again. "I can't take it anymore!"
"You...?" Purple pushed her back suddenly, stunned. It couldn't be... He had to have misinterpreted her. The light blue eyes gazed mutely back at him, neither denying nor concurring with his thoughts. "Swar..." he murmured. "are you involved in this slarking mess?" His hands set heavily on his old teacher's shoulders, amplifying the importance of the question.
She reacted as if he'd smacked her. "Kas!" The fear and pain were replaced with a stunned horror. "How could you think that?!" she cried. " 'Thou shalt not kill'! Kas, that was the first thing I ever taught you! Why would I go back on my beliefs?" Her arms were outstretched, pleading with him desperately. "I have no reason..."
"I'm sorry..." was all he could say. The Tallest made no move to comfort her again.
"Yes, I know you are..." His teacher would not meet his gaze. "Can you help us? Your Class, I mean..."
"I'll do my best, Swar. And I'll let Red know so.. his Class can get their act together. I'll do as much as I can."
She turned to leave, her antennae drooping. "That Red has damaged you, Kasden," Swar said, not even gracing him with a glance. "He's made you suspicious of your Class. He's broken your trust in us. That is what Soldiers do to those who feel..."
"I thought you said you weren't Classist, Swar..." he said to his folded legs.
Swar Aman didn't respond. She left, boots clicking regretfully against his floors. Purple looked after her retreating back for a long moment. He knew he'd hurt her. That hadn't been his intent... not at all. Why did he always hurt those he cared for so deeply? Was he just destined for to cause others pain...? Purple sighed, rising. All he could do now was go and talk to Red...
And hope he wouldn't say something stupid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a moonless night, that night. The absence of natural light made things all the more easy for the many Uprisers to enter their place of meeting without detection. A meeting of Irkens this large almost always attracted attention, but tonight the patrols' vigilance wasn't up to par, the Soldiers too shaken by the open attack on their fellow Class members. Well over one thousand Uprisers were packed into the meeting hall-one of the few on Irk. Most meeting halls were [no 'were'] had been moved to the planet Conventia by now. Each Irken that went into the building was carefully checked for concealed weapons and DNA scans were run on all to make sure there were no Soldiers among those entering. Monitors were placed everywhere to make sure there were no spies, and that no one was listening in. The secrecy was absolute.
The meeting building was identical to all the others of Irken make. A huge half-dome filled with circular tiers that rose as high as they could, almost to the top of the ceiling. At the very top, sturdy bars were erected. Any Irken could hang comfortably from them with their robotic legs in order to gaze down on the proceedings. The circular speaker's platform was on a tall, skinny pillar. The platform was a converted hoverdisk of sorts that had been built to enormous proportions in order to accommodate multiple speakers or demonstrations. Directly above and below it were hovering screens built into rotating circles, so that no matter where one sat, one was always sure to see the speaker.
One male and one female stood alone on the platform tonight. The female stood confidently, arms coolly folded as she waited for the appointed time to begin. Her antennae twitched at the dull roar of minute conversation among the hundreds of her fellow Irkens. She was every bit the leader they craved. The one who would lead their Uprising into victory against the drones of the other Class. Beside her, the male looked less confident. He held his hands behind his back, fidgeting slightly, his one working antenna drooping a little with apprehension while the other flopped in his face. "Looking for her?" the female asked. The voice amplifiers weren't on yet, so their conversation remained private.
Her question seemed to jar him out of his nervousness. "What? Who?" he asked.
"Swar," the female responded lightly. "I know you asked her to come to this. There's no way you wouldn't. Not after what you most likely did last night..."
"Lidge... how do you know what I did last night?"
That question earned him an eye roll. "You males... every morning after you do that dance with your lover, you keep this weird blush. Don't tell me Min didn't notice it in the elevator. I'm sure HE knows about such things by now."
Regert didn't have time to respond. A clock chimed and the meeting began. The entire crowd fell silent as Lidge stepped forward, her hands now behind her back as the V-amps kicked on. "Uprisers!" she said, saluting the assembled smoothly. The masses responded with a roar of approval and a return salute. "Welcome! I know you have traveled far-some of you anyway-to come here tonight, and I thank you for it." More cheering ensued. Lidge nodded at all the recognition. "By now, the 1st and 2nd units have fought their battles. The 2nd only small skirmishes, and the 1st took initial blood in this uprising. Both types of fighting are what we need! Any victory, no matter how small, will aid our cause."
The cheering was deafening. Lidge was loved, and she knew it. She hurt though. Kaml was not here to see her triumphant debut. He was who she had written her speech in front of, he who had encouraged her the whole time. He who she had hurt so badly in her war...
"I have some news to report to you, though you probably already know it. It will be terrible to hear, but I urge you to think of what might have been lost! Hundreds! Possibly thousands to Soldier hands had we not acted," she paused here, letting that sink in to the Irkens watching her. "Unfortunately... in the combined fights of the two units who have fought, the death toll numbers ten. Five from each Class." Mournful sounds from parts of the hall reached the female's attention, and she flattened her antennae in sympathy. "Twelve have been seriously wounded on our side, though, those who have been wounded are well into recovery. They should be fine in anywhere from a month to a few weeks. You shall see them again soon, I assure you!" More cheering ensued. "I thank you for your support. I thank you dearly. It means much to me, as my teacher was one of those wounded twelve."
A murmuring filled the hall. This was news they had not heard yet! And new news was intriguing news. Lidge was ready for this though.
"I realize such news is what interests you, yet I am afraid we must press on. My strategist, Hiaki, has new battle tactics I must reveal to you. I know a great deal of you mistrust Hiaki for Class reasons, and I agree with your apprehension. But, I can tell you he was sent to us by Rael himself. My co-leader has them and is ready to read them to you. Your seats are equipped with recorders that will keep a note of them for your later study."
The murmur this time was excited. They all knew how just Rael was to either Class, and how he actually seemed a Student in a Soldier body at times.
Regert stepped up, taking out a datapad in Hiaki's neat hand. A hush claimed the hall as the Irkens waited for the hefty male to speak. He went over the new plans in his deep voice; plans that were mostly surprise attacks followed by hasty retreat patterns in case they were needed. Most Students took their own notes on datapads. Teachers who had brought their students with them were too involved with their notes to keep their eyes on their youngsters. The younger Irkens squirmed in their seats, making faces at one another in an effort to keep from being bored.
"Teacher Kaalae?"
"Hmm?" Hard gray eyes were studying Lidge, black-gloved hands still. No datapad was in Min's hands. He didn't even seem to be really concentrating on the spoken words.
"Yeah, Pintsize?"
Pira gazed up at him. "Can I go get candies?"
"By yourself?"
"Nuh uh." She pointed to a small group of students, the tallest of them being barely thirteen. "They're comin too."
Min eyed them, watching them squirm under his gaze. The tallest matched him with eyes the same color as Min's skin. "Where're you going exactly?"
"'Cross the road," she answered, hugging him. "There's paths so hovers won't hit us."
Her teacher considered this. "I want all of you to stay in a group, you hear me? Stay away from patrols. If I find out anyone strayed..." Min let the threat hang as the group nodded nervously to him. He hugged Pira briefly. "Be careful, Pira. I love you, you know?"
"'Course!" She hugged him back, then scampered off to see her friends.
Min was left alone for the remainder of Regert's seminar. His mind was on other things. It had always been hard for the Kaalae to focus on things like this for long periods of time. His work was another story. An entire week could pass or half the planet could blow up and Min wouldn't notice, as long as his work was not disturbed. He settled back in his seat and tried to fall asleep.
Up on the platform, Lidge watched Regert explain the more complex battle tactics, pausing often to explain the Soldier terms Hiaki had used while writing the plans. It was nice to see the old boss taking charge of things again. She missed it. Regert had never minded the endless paperwork involved with being a Boss. He even seemed to enjoy it at times. Lidge Tikem loathed paperwork. She, like her teacher and Min, was much more at home on the workfloor than in her office. Most mechanics were. Just... Lidge had never been very good at fixing things. Even though she hated it... Lidge was much better at paperwork than she was at repairing a voot cruiser that was in fifty pieces. She'd always felt as if she'd let everyone she loved down that way.
The meeting went on for a few more hours. Questions were asked and answered, plans were made, more volunteers were recruited... everything went as planned. Lidge was about to call the meeting to a close when a sudden commotion in one of the sections she faced did it for her. Several Students were shouting at each other and making for the exits. Even from this distance, Lidge could see the distinct gray and black colors of her closest friend running next to a mottled dark blue, black and milky green. Regert saw too, and took over the remainder of the meeting. Quickly, Lidge skittered down the pillar to the floor with the aid of her robotic legs. She landed among a milling group of standers that hadn't arrived in time to get a seat in the stands. They parted for her, but she hardly noticed them.
What was wrong with Min? Why hadn't Pira been with him? Lidge dashed through the corridors on her robotic legs, stepping over the Irkens in her path. She had to find Min and make sure something had not happened to Kaml or anyone else that she hadn't been notified of. The street-level exit came and was used by the magenta-eyed female. She looked frantically for any familiar color on the street.
It wasn't hard to find them.
Across the street, easily seen between the blurs of Irkens driving hover vehicles, was a cluster of Students standing their ground before a few drunken Soldiers. Lidge winced and kicked her robotics into action again, heading for one of the bridged pathways leading to the other side.
Min held Pira close to him, comforting her as best he could. Mother of Irk... how had he allowed this to happen to her? He never should have let her go! This was his fault. Cerol, the one who had come to tell him of the incident knelt beside him, his blaster at the ready and his blind eye to Min. "Where was she shot?" he asked, his voice smooth and cool despite the inebriated Soldiers currently arguing with the teachers of the other candy-seeking students.
"Her hip..." Min murmured, tightening his arms around Pira while pressing his palm to her wound. It bled badly through his fingers. "Deep..."
Cerol nodded. How he had been at the scene first was a question Min would never ask, and thus never understand. "We'll have to drive these brainless brutes off before we can do anything, Min," he said in that same placid tone. "They should not be hard to deal with... they are intoxicated." An eyelid quirked amusedly. "Highly so."
"What was your first clue...?" Min growled. He could feel Pira shaking with the hurt in his arms. Her tears were dampening his uniform. She was so scared and in such pain. His student... All because of Lidge's stupid war. His eyes hardened. "She's hurt bad, Cer."
Another nod, this one slower and more considering. His antennae flicked. "Lidge is coming, Min." The gloved hands tightened on the blaster as the Soldiers stepped forward. One of the teachers drew her blaster, the safety clicking onto the stun setting all Students used. The others followed her lead, Lidge drawing behind Min and Cerol.
"What happened here?" Lidge asked, watching the first teacher order the Soldiers off while the others backed her.
"The Soldiers are drunk and attacked this group of students while they were making a run to the sweet shop," Cerol responded. "Little Pira here was shot in her hip..." His eyes narrowed at the response the Soldiers were giving the other teachers. "We need to get her out of here... but they are not cooperating..." He stood up and approached the Soldiers. "I will have to intervene..."
Cerol Haye was not tall. He was average to say the most, about 3'51/2". Scrawny too, with little muscle build anywhere that was visible. Combine the physical disposition with his soft voice, mild manners, and unusual way with words made for an Irken that was far more comfortable fading into the background than he was picking fights with Soldiers. The only things he possessed that had any imposition at all were his eyes. Cerol had never grown into them, and thus they were huge in his face, larger than most Irkens' were. Whenever he turned his blind eye to you, one was never sure what he was looking at, though, most got the eerie impression of their very spirits being glared into by that eye. His good eye glowed even in direct sunlight. He had altered his uniform to match his unusual eyes as well. Half a milky green with black glove, waistband and boot, the other half dark blue with milky green glove, waistband and boot.
For those reasons alone, the eyes and the uniform, the Soldiers stepped back a pace. The usually placid mechanic gave them a lopsided smile, continuing casually forward. "Sta' baa!" one of the Soldiers slurred. He listed to one side, running into one of his more sober fellows.
"You injured a child, sirs," Cerol informed them. He tipped his head sideways so his blind eye was focused more on them than on anything else. "Injured one child and frightened the rest." Another innocent head tilt. The Soldiers glanced at each other uneasily. "Mind explaining to me the circumstances in which you did this?"
It took their ahki-addled minds a moment to comprehend Cerol's question. "She bumped me," their leader said, glaring drunkenly past Cerol. "An' din't say s'rry!"
"Yeah!" another agreed.
The good eye narrowed a small fraction. "She is in too much pain to apologize now..." he replied calmly, tone somehow implying their fault further. "But I believe, that if you do not return to your barracks immediately, both your CO and these Students behind me will have harsh words and painful blasts to administer on you." Cerol turned back to the group, walking calmly and proudly, ignoring the Soldiers' dumbfounded noises...
...then ducked to the side before Min could cry out, "Cerol! Watch it!" Min's voice and the click of blaster safeties behind and in front of him.
Cerol bounced off the building next to him with his robotic legs to launch his slight body onto the leader's. Both Irkens fell to the pavement, one with gloved fingers digging into his neck. Cerol knelt on top of the lead Soldier, tightening his grip on the green throat. Manic rage gleamed in the dark blue eye. "Get off this street. Get off it as fast as your inferior legs can carry you. Otherwise I swear to the Mother of Irk, I will snap your skinny neck in two pieces..." Cerol snarled, his placidity gone. "I doubt you want to try your luck a second time..." With that, he released the unfortunate and backed off him, his own blaster emerging. "Go!"
The Soldiers fled the scene quickly, never even glancing back. Cerol knelt back to the empty pavement, catching his breath and attempting to do the same to his escaped sanity. Behind him, Min collected Pira, running with Lidge to the nearest voot runner. He stayed where he was, trembling, not noticing the bewildered stares of passing Irkens around him. This kept happening. These... flashes of things he knew were going to happen, these sudden spurts of emotions he knew were not his own. Always, it took him a while to remind himself that the emotion he'd felt wasn't his, and push it away to return to normal.
It was a long time before he was able to get to his feet and dart off in search of the two he'd aided.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her little hand was limp in his. He rubbed his fingers over the back of it often, reminding himself that he had not gone back in time, that everything would eventually be all right. That it was not like Wikki's death. Pira was only sleeping, exhausted from the repair work done on her hip and the pain of the wound. Machines kept her pulse safely steady and monitored. Others dripped fluids into her that would aid in her return to good health. She had been taken to the Upriser's medical center at Lidge's insistence that blaster wounds would only arouse suspicion at any other. The med workers here, with their limited technology, hadn't been able to repair the damage completely, thus condemning his little student to walking with a limp the rest of her life.
Min hated this place. It was a constant reminder to him of all of those whom Lidge's idiotic war had injured. Kaml... Pira... so many injuries. In two days, no less! To Pira's left, lay Kaml, now awake, and watching Min, propped up against the headboard of his bed. According to the med workers, he was progressing wonderfully, and would heal in a matter of weeks. The orange eyes were pained from the sight before him, tired from the hurt of his own healing. He was pale, looked terrible, but was alive. That was all Min asked for right now. "You sure you're gonna be all right...?" Kaml asked, his voice rough and weak. "She's gonna be fine... you know that..."
He nodded. "It hurts so much..." he murmured, stroking Pira's cheek with a gentle finger. Her antennae flicked a little in her sleep. "I tried so hard Kam. So hard to keep her safe and not... not let her lose me. Always be there for her. Never let her get hurt... in anyway... To be better than..."
"Than Dai was to you..."
Gray eyes looked up to orange ones sharply. "How did you know?"
Kaml sighed shakily, his eyes closing with a sudden weariness. "I can just tell... you know?" he croaked. "You were so upset... ten years ago... I just knew... that you would never want to... to be like someone who hurt you... like that..."
"I am like him though, Kam..." Min mumbled in regret, tightening his hold on his student's hand. "I let her get hurt. I let her almost die!" A tear was impatiently brushed away. "Well... no more. Blast it, I'm sick of this... and it hasn't even been happening a week! I'm sick of this!"
"Sick of what...?" Kaml blinked, trying to wake from his sleepy daze long enough to continue the conversation.
"This war! I'm sick of Lidge's idiotic ideals! I'm sick of everyone I love being hurt! I hate fighting... I hate it..." He stroked Pira's antennae, trying to bring some comfort to them both. "Soon as I see Lidge next, I'm telling her Kam... I'm telling her that I don't want any part in this any more."
