Gebler Special Forces
Chapter 2
Etrenank: Fallen City
Here's the second chapter! Really, it's more exciting than the first one. Battles aren't my forte, but I think I did a decent enough job here.
In the darkness he shot awake, his body caked in sweat. He had seen it all again, as he had since he had sworn off Drive -- the black images that he had held with him for over three years.
He wiped his eyes free of the tears that streamed down his face, his body shaking all over. For once, couldn't he just sleep through the night?
Vance rose, turning on his bedside light and sitting quietly on the end of his bed.
"I can't take much more of this....why can't they just leave me alone?" he mumbled.
He saw his rationed portion of Drive sitting over on his dresser, hidden behind his numerous personal grooming items. He hadn't taken any in three days, and was rather proud of himself. Even such a short span of time was a victory for him. He would have thrown it out and never looked at it again if only he wasn't given a new supply every week. Throwing it away would also be futile, since he suspected Solaris went through people's garbage.
For a moment he was tempted by the yellow liquid staring back at him, promising to take the horrible images away. The blurring exhaustion caused by not sleeping was weakening his will. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he took it again.
He stood, going over to the commode and reaching for it.
"No..." he told himself aloud. "Never again....never again..."
He wiped his eyes again. "This whole thing sucks. Solaris sucks, Gebler sucks...Drive really sucks. God, isn't there anything I can do?"
He shook his head. "No. Just don't take Drive, and keep your mind clean, and you'll find a way out of this. You've gotta have faith in yourself, Vance."
He brought out his thinking book and opened it to the next blank page, since he had given up on sleep completely. It was pointless, he knew it. Besides, it was so close to sunrise, there was no reason to even try.
Nightmares, he wrote. Haunting me with memories of a time I'd rather forget. I can't get them out of my sleep, despite all my attempts to push them out of my conscious mind. The only thing that takes them away is Drive. But that stuff makes me feel so awful, and turns me into such a horrible person that I just can't take it anymore. I curse the people who failed in re-programming me and my mind that won't let it work. It would be easier to be a soldier if I couldn't remember my freedom, my family...all the things we're told to throw aside in Solaris. Or that Solaris rips away from you.
I hate it here. I just want to leave, but I don't want to lose anyone else. Who would it be if I was to go? Who would they blame it on and execute? Victor, Knute, Finn, Renk...those guys are my only friends. Nobody is so valuable to Solaris that they're safe from recycling or re-programming. Except for me. They insist on keeping me alive to this misery. I wish I had been put to death, too.
In many ways I envy our old officer, Lt. Elhaym. She left this place, and now she is free. I am forever trapped here, like a caged animal who paces back and forth, never able to accept its fate. I simply can't believe this is all there is. Work hard, get promoted. I don't want to accept that's all there is to it -- this empty existence I'm forced to live for a place I don't love and a cause I can't believe in.
I want God to take me away from all this. I want him to send a guardian angel to take me from here. If that can only be through death, then so be it. I just want it soon.
Please, God, answer me.
He leaned back in his chair, his blue eyes looking up to the sky.
"God, please...." he whispered.
Then a squeal filled his ears. It was a red alert code.
"All gear pilots to your gears....all gear pilots to your gears... Etrenank is under attack. I repeat, Etrenank is under attack...all civilians proceed to your closest shelter...I repeat..."
Vance wondered for a moment if it was some strange sign, but he didn't have time to question it. If he didn't come to battle he would endanger his friends, and he wouldn't let that happen. He dressed quickly and stuffed the book and emergency rations in his pack, then rushed off to the Special Forces dock.
* * * * * *
Renk shot awake at the first sound of the alarm. He didn't want to admit to himself that he had expected this for days. Before he could comprehend his actions, he was rushing into his uniform.
I knew the Emperor was just paying us lip service. I could feel it coming. I don't know how, but sometimes you just get this sense...
"Ayra...you'd better hurry," he said. "The shelter's not far from here. You remember where it is?"
The quaver in his wife's voice went straight to his heart. "Y - yes... It's happened, hasn't it? The Lambs have come to save their friends..."
"I don't know for sure...but it's a safe assumption."
"Renk...I'm scared...."
"I know, I know...I am, too. But...there's nothing you can do about it right now. Get Danie ready and hurry off. There's no time to waste."
He took his ration of Drive from the cabinet and stuck it in his pocket. He decided to wait and take it after his wife and daughter were no longer there to see it change him.
"I wanna take Mr. Bear. Is it okay if I take Mr. Bear?" Danie said as she clung on to a ratty teddy bear.
"I don't see why not, just hold on to him tightly," Ayra said, hustling her to the hall to put on her shoes.
"You'll protect us, daddy, right?" Danie asked.
"Yeah. I will. You can count on that."
Ayra kissed him quickly. "Come back safely..." she said.
"I'll be careful."
He kissed Danie on the forehead.
"Mind your mom, okay?"
"Yeah."
"And don't be scared. Be strong for me and for your mom, okay?"
"I'm not scared. Mr. Bear isn't scared, either."
"Well, that's good. You both better hurry off."
He watched sadly as they left.
Ayra, I know you always hate it when I go into battle. I can't blame you. You never know if you're going to come back or not. You can never know when your time's gonna come. I know it would do you a lot of good for me to leave the military and do something safe, but...I don't know how to do anything but work a gear. Or that's all I've been able to remember knowing, anyway. It's a job, and if I work hard we can get promoted, and maybe some day I won't have to do any real fighting any more.
He wasn't satisfied until they were both out the door. He hated the Drive ritual, but it was all a part of being in Gebler. The serum ran into his arm with a burning sensation that spread throughout his entire body. He could never really remember any negative effects it had on him -- only what Ayra had told him. But it enhanced his ability to use his gear, which was the whole point. And if the situation proved to be dangerous, he knew there was no other way. He had a couple promises to keep.
* * * * * *
Vance arrived at the gear dock last. Seraphita and the other guys were already waiting for him.
"Hey, Vance! You're late!"
"Sorry, guys. I'm here now."
"No more time to waste, guys, this is WAY serious. There's this big, red gear tearing up the capital. I have Element duties to back up the Commander because he's going to engage the gear directly, so I'm leaving Renk in charge of you guys. Just do what you can to slow that gear down. You okay with that?"
"Sounds good. Move out, guys!" Renk called out.
Victor, Vance and Knute all headed for their gears. Finn and Sera remained back on the deck, merely staring at each other.
"You be careful," Finn spoke.
"You too," she spoke.
One of Finn's gigantic arms went around her waist, and he pulled her closer to him.
"Oh, Finn..."
He leaned in and kissed her. As the guys watched, it seemed like forever. If they hadn't been in their gears, they would have cast each other somewhat shocked glances at the sudden seriousness of Finn and Sera's relationship. They hadn't known the two had spent almost all of the last three days together.
"Goodbye, Lieutenant...." he whispered.
"You'd better go..." she said.
"Yeah. See you later."
Finn finally broke free from her and ran to his gear.
"Well, that was pretty damn fast..." Knute called out as Broyer powered up his gear.
"Yeah, well, Sera's a great woman. She's just...so great..."
"Alright, Finn, 'nuf gushing. We've got work to do. Move out!" Renk said. "Whatever you do...stay together. I want to get this over with quickly and get home."
"There's just one gear? How hard could that be?" Knute spoke up.
"Must be some gear to have all these troops after it," Victor spoke.
"Impossible. It's just one gear. How...?"
They flew outside Etrenank, into the skies where it hovered. There were plenty of explosions going on, but not even one was the destruction of the red gear. Rather, it was the red gear's reign of destruction.
Vance looked around. He would have cursed his lack of Drive, had he not sworn off it so strongly. A bit of enhancement from the Drive couldn't hurt here on the battlefield.
"I don't see him," Vance said, checking every scanner he had.
Renk also looked around. "Look! There he is! By the side panels."
The five of them headed towards the battle.
A golden gear flew onto the battlefield, followed by an envoy of four more, keeping a safe distance.
"Is that Commander Ramsus' gear? The Vendetta?" Victor asked.
"That is one amazing gear..." Knute added.
"Stop admiring the scenery," Renk called out. "Remember, our goal is the red gear..."
They closed in on it, with which it stopped it's assault of the side panels. It turned and faced the troops with a cocky stance.
"Oh? Well, now...this is amusing..." came the almost deadpan voice of the red gear's pilot.
"Everyone, back off! This is between me and him!" came the voice of Commander Ramsus over their com equipment.
"But....Commander....?" came another voice.
"Elements! You, too!"
"See reason! He's much too strong!" came the same voice.
"STAY OUT OF THIS, DOMINIA! He's mine!"
Gebler's elite troops backed off, leaving their commander-in-chief to his wishes.
"Huh...." came the enemy gear pilot's voice again. "I don't have time to deal with the likes of all of you..."
A golden glow surrounded the gear as it appeared to be gathering some kind of energy.
Renk sensed there was something really wrong with the situation, so he responded.
"Pull back! He's gonna go ballistic!"
Renk flew off and his troops followed.
They heard the explosion as several other regular gear troops were blown into bits behind them.
"Whoa....that was close..." Knute said.
"My tail is fried..." Victor called out.
"Seriously? Can you still fight?" Renk asked.
"I think so. If I can't, I'll pull back."
"Fair. Just don't overestimate your abilities, Helm."
"Right."
"Commands?" Finn asked.
"He's really strong...but we have to follow Commander Ramsus' orders. We'll stay back here and see how the Commander does. If he runs into trouble, be ready to step in. Protect the capital at all costs."
Commander-in-chief Ramsus' gear engaged the red gear, wobbling slightly from the force of the previous explosion.
"Commander, step back...your gear is damaged!" came the same female voice.
"No! I can -- still fight...."
"Ha ha ha ha ha...." came a low-tone chuckle from the red gear. "This one's got nerve...but I like it. Didn't I already rip your arms off once? Want me to do it again?"
"You.....because of you....."
Ramsus' gear attacked the enemy, sending a white-hot beam of energy towards it. There was a blinding flash of light, and it appeared like the crimson machine had been knocked back. But as the normal sunlight returned, the enemy still stood in his place with the same cocky stance.
"Is that all you have? You're going to have to do better than that..."
Ramsus tossed another ray at it, but nothing seemed to penetrate the gear's seemingly impenetrable armor.
"Why.....won't you fall..? Dammit!" Ramsus shouted.
The Special Forces watched and listened from a careful distance off.
"Whoa....that's some gear...it's invincible!" Knute said. "I've seen beams like the Commander's rip battleships apart!"
"If Ramsus' gear can't dent it, there's not much we're gonna be able to do," Vance said.
"We've gotta try. That's our duty," Renk reminded.
Vance thought, Huh! Duty...I'd feel a sense of duty if I felt any loyalty to this country. The only thing which keeps me fighting here is fear.
Renk continued, "Besides, I have a promise to keep. Fight your hardest, okay?"
The enemy gear put its metal hand on its waist. "Hmph. This is just wasting my time. Take this!"
He blasted the main firing line. There was a man's scream, then a woman's.
Vance saw that Ramsus' gear was immobilized, and another of the gears surrounding him was spinning out of control.
"Commander!" came the female voice from earlier.
"Sera!" came another one.
"Sera?" Finn spoke. "Oh, no! Sera!"
There were no more words from Broyer. He and Aegisknight were off to help the gear that was spinning out of control, which was clearly Sera's.
"I can't stabilize....!" came her chippery voice, sounding distressed, but strangely controlled. "Oh, no! I'm on fire! AIEEE!"
"Sera, hold on!" Finn called out.
Another flying gear from Gebler's Air Force swooped down and took Sera's Grandgrowl in its talons before Broyer could reach her. It circled once, and then flew away from the battlefield.
"Sera...." he whispered over the intercom.
Vance thought, Dammit! This is stupid! Why do we all have to fight like this? This is suicide!
But isn't that what you wanted?
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it, but it wouldn't clear.
I can't purposely do it. I'll risk my chance to see my family again, and I can't do that...I have to have a chance to apologize...
"He's after the stabilizer!" Renk called out. "Stop him!"
Vance hesitated a second. If the red gear kept attacking Solaris, then it would be no more. He would be free.
Here he was, like a bird with the cage door open, wondering if he should take the chance and fly to freedom.
But then he saw Finn in the distance, hovering in the air, devastated, also unable to react. Helm, Stratski and Renk were flying off to engage the red gear. His friends, his only friends, needed him. So he couldn't yet flee.
He flew up to Broyer.
"You okay, Finn?"
"Sera..." he whispered.
"I'm sure she's okay. That gear was one of ours. She's probably being taken to get medical attention right now."
"Yeah....I guess you're right...."
"We've got a job to do, right?"
"Yeah....I suppose Sera would be disappointed in me if I gave up now. Alright. Let me at 'im!"
They heard Helm's voice over their com.
"Our orders were to try and slow him down. No more, no less. If it looks like it's not gonna be able to be stopped, then...." Victor added.
"Then what?" Broyer asked.
"Then we might have to forget it. We shouldn't get ourselves killed by this thing."
"What are you saying? That we give up? Vic, that's not like you..." Knute said.
"Well..."
"Your Drive wearin' off, Helm? Get a grip on yourself and just stay with us!" Renk called out.
There was a loud explosion. The red gear made a sudden motion for one of the side panels. It flew clear through it in a blaze of golden fire, then headed for the next one.
"NO!" Renk exclaimed.
A chain of small explosions rocked the side panel, breaking it into several pieces that slowly began to plummet to the ground. The red gear flew on to attack another portion of the city.
"Whoa! He's still in one piece after THAT!?" Knute exclaimed.
"Ter ena hveck coren..." came Victor's voice over the com.
"Huh?" Broyer questioned. "I don't get it..."
"I -- wait...." Knute spoke. "Say it again, Vic..."
"Ter ena hveck coren....Evin sor ronunda ja."
"Really?" Knute responded.
"Neh..."
"Hey, um...guys?" Vance spoke, mystified.
"Nortuna?"
"Neh..."
"Okay, let's do it."
"I don't know what the hell you guys are saying!"
"Never mind, Renk. It's between me and Vic, right?"
"This battle is over, Renk. He's much too strong!" Victor added.
"You guys might not care either way what happens, but I've got Ayra and Danie to think about...I'm going!"
"No! Renk, it's suicide!" Vance exclaimed.
"If that's what it takes!"
Vance paused and thought about it. Renk had almost been like a father to him. If he were to go down...
"Then....I'm going with you...."
"Me, too!" Finn said.
"Are we with him, or not?" Knute asked. "I mean, these guys are our pals, too, right?"
"I'm only at forty percent of my regular power..."
"Come on....only as backup?"
Victor sighed. "I'm with him....despite my reservations."
The gear had destroyed seven of the eight panels, over 80 percent of the Solaris capital. It began to sag weakly in the sky, only being held up by the centre stabilizer, which was clearly the red gear's next target.
"He's heading for the main stabilizer. He's really fast, so try to corner him..." Renk spoke up.
"Roger that."
They flew in formation and tried to block off the assault. But the gear merely ignored their presence and flew right through Knute's Swordknight, ripping its legs off, and then Victor's Wandknight, taking an arm.
"Stratski! Helm!" Renk exclaimed. "Are you both alright?"
"Augh..!" Knute called out. "My mobility's shot and I'm starting to drop, but I'm okay...Need a piggy-back, guys..."
Victor flew down to grab him with his remaining arm.
"I'm not hurt, either, but my gear's really suffering now. I'm going to drop out, guys.....If what I think's gonna happen happens, then you'll need to start retreating now, too!" Victor said. "We'll meet at the surface rendezvous..."
"You two go...you can't be much good here. You'll only get killed," Renk said. "I'll take this gear on myself! Why don't you come and get a piece of me, huh?!"
"Renk, did you just see what happened? He's just too strong!" Vance said. "We should retreat..."
"Yeah, I know...tell me about it..." Finn said.
"I don't care! We have to protect Solaris! We can't let him destroy it! I'll take more Drive, and that'll even the score!"
"No!" Vance spoke up. "Don't take any more of that stuff, okay? Remember what you told me! It'll waste your mind!"
"I've gotta take that chance! Ayra....Danie....We have no more time to argue about it!"
Another loud explosion ripped through the air. The gear had spiralled around the main stabilizer, which had detonated the controls, throwing fire into the only remaining part of the capital, the main square. Etrenank tilted and quickly plummeted towards the earth.
Renk stood silently, saying nothing more.
"It's over.....It's over...." Broyer whispered over the com.
"We've gotta get out of here....the shockwave alone could blow us to bits!" Vance said.
Finn and Vance turned to flee, but realized Renk wasn't following them.
"Hey, Renk! Come on!"
"Ayra....Danie....no....no this can't be!" he exclaimed.
"They're already dead....everyone's dead...." There was a deep sadness in Finn's voice. Vance could sense his friend's thoughts were also on their Lieutenant Seraphita. He didn't think the gear that had saved her was headed back to Solaris, but...
Renk's voice came over the intercom, flaming with anger. "I'm going to KILL that son-of-a-bitch! He killed them! He killed them both! I won't forgive him!" He charged for the red gear, but was held back by Vance and Finn's rough grip on his gear's arms.
"Let me go! That's an order! Let me GO!"
"Renk, don't be stupid! There's nothing you can do now!" Finn spoke.
"Let me at him! Let me go!"
"Renk..." Vance said, his voice softer than usual. "It's over...let's go...."
"It's...it's not over...."
"Yeah, it is..."
"Let me die....just let me die...."
"Can't do that," Finn said. "You're like a dad to us. What would we all do without you?"
"Finn's right....let's just go to the rendezvous point...."
Renk fell silent. His gear went limp as the engines died. The last thing the two could hear over the com was the sound of his sobs.
* * * * * *
Vance had set his gear to auto-pilot, and was writing in his thinking book about the new revelation. He just couldn't hold in his excitement.
I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction as I watched Solaris plummet to earth, taking with it all the evil which had spawned from it. Even though I know how much pain it's bringing to Renk, I can't help rejoicing that I'm finally free. I'm beginning to dream of what life is holding before me. I can't know for sure -- I know the things I want to do, but how much of that is really in my grasp? Now I can find out for sure.
He looked over at Renk's gear, limp in Clawknight and Aegisknight's grip. That was the only bad thing about this situation. Renk was like a father to them. To see him in pain was terrible.
Pain heals, or it's supposed to. Renk will be okay. We're here for him. None of us will abandon him, I know that. We all think the same way about him. No matter what happens, we'll stick together. We're the Gebler Special Forces. We'll face what's ahead together or not at all.
* * * * * *
They all met at the rendezvous on the southern tip of the Aveh desert. Victor and Knute were both waiting for them, but they were the only ones. No other gears had made it.
"Hey, there!" Broyer called out, jumping from his cockpit. "Well, we all made it...we're all alive, it seems."
"Alive, but I don't think well..." Vance spoke, pointing to Renk's gear.
"Solaris....it's gone, isn't it?" Victor asked.
Vance nodded.
"Then Ayra and Danie...?"
Finn shook his head.
"Oh my God..." Knute said.
"He didn't say anything the whole way here. We had to wrench him away from the battle. I think he just wants to die..." Vance said.
"Yeah, I noticed he was kinda quiet," Finn added.
Vance allowed himself to be lifted to Renk's cockpit. He braced himself to see the worst, and it was almost that bad. Renk's face was red from the tears. He held a photograph in his hand, the same picture of his family he had looked at often when stationed far from Etrenank. He always carried it on him, everywhere he went.
"Renk?"
He looked at Vance, saying nothing.
"We're here. Everyone's okay. We're waiting for the mobile battleship to arrive."
"Leave me here..."
"Renk..."
"Leave me..."
"You have to come down."
"NO! I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" he shouted rabidly. Vance had never heard Renk raise his voice like that, even under the influence of Drive.
"Okay, if that's really what you want..." Vance spoke with a sigh. He walked away, but left the cockpit open so Renk could hear their conversation.
"Well, no more time to talk. Let's go..." Knute said.
"Huh? What? Where are we going?" Vance asked.
"You ever dreamed of seeing the world, kid?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, we're planning on going home. Seeing the world is hard to do in Etrenank."
"Home?" Finn questioned. "But Solaris..."
"We don't mean Solaris. In mine and Vic's case, Nortune. I don't know where the rest of you are all from, but that where we're headed."
"I -- I'm from Bledavik," Vance spoke. "I was born in Bledavik."
"Wellll...not bad, kid. You remember?" Knute asked.
"More than you guys think."
"Not bad at all. Got any family there?"
"No," Vance spoke darkly. "No family. I've got no reason to go back there."
"Oh. Does that mean you're with us, then?"
"Didn't say I wasn't. Nortune's good."
"All right! What about you, Finn? Are we abandoning Solaris, or what?" Knute said.
"The mobile battleship should already be heading this way to pick us up..." Finn said. "We can't just leave!"
"We can...and Knute and I are going to. We don't care what you tell 'em. We're out of here. Who's giving me a lift? How's Clawknight holding up? Ready for passengers?"
Vance nodded. "Probably one."
"Excited, kid?"
"This is the chance I've been waiting for."
Finn's reservations were obvious. "I'm not gonna to lie for you guys. I'm gonna have to tell them you abandoned Solaris..." he said.
"If you tell them that, they'll kill you for not trying to stop us."
"I AM trying to stop ya! I just don't wanna rough you guys up or anythin'!"
"Come on, Finn. Don't be like that. I know you're missing the Lieutenant and all, but don't let that destroy your chance to discover who you are."
"What are you guys talking about?!"
"God, you are dense, Finn," Knute said.
"Hey, Knute...that's not fair. He's still programmed. No point in arguing with him. Let's just let him and Renk go back to Solaris and forget it."
"No....wait...." Renk said, coming down from the cockpit.
"Huh?" Vance questioned.
"I don't want -- to go back to Solaris."
"Really? Seriously?" Victor asked.
Renk nodded lightly. "There's nothing left for me there. I -- I want to find out who I was before Solaris took me."
Finn shook his head. "H - Hey, wait a minute here...Renk, what's gotten into you? You guys want to live here and become Lambs? Huh? What are you thinking!? We can't live with those guys!"
"Never mind, Finn. Just come on. You won't regret it. I promise," Knute said. "I'll bet you're from Aveh. Somewhere here in the desert. Bledavik or Dazil...you're kinda dark like most people from Aveh."
"Yeah, I'd guess that, too," Victor added.
Finn sighed. "If you guys weren't my friends..."
"You're coming?"
"I'm not going back to Solaris alone."
"Ah hah! Well, then, follow us," Knute said, crawling up into Clawknight's cockpit with Vance. Victor and Renk went into Wandknight.
"Want me to pilot, Renk?" Victor asked. "Our gears were identical, so I'm familiar with the controls."
Renk nodded silently.
Finn stood alone next to Aegisknight, watching after his friends. Vance saw him there, and wondered what was going on in his mind. Finn had been the one most loyal to Solaris. If he were to ever find out where he came from...how would he react?
The ones with no childhood memories are the ones who were born on the surface. Finn doesn't have any recollection of his past before Solaris, so he has to be from somewhere. This might be cruel if he were second or third generation Worker Bee but...he'll thank us one day. I hope.
"Even if the Lieutenant's there, I probably wouldn't get to see her anymore since the Special Forces kinda just went kaput... THANKS TO YOU JERKS!"
The other four ignored him as they settled in.
"Um....guys..." he said as if just remembering something important.
"What?" Knute asked.
"Small problem."
"What?"
"We can't take the gears to Nortune."
"Huh? Why not!?" Knute exclaimed.
It dawned on Vance. Finn had worked in a gear factory before coming to Gebler so of course he would know, as well. "Oh, yeah."
"Hey, kid. Tell me. Why not?"
"My dad was a gear technician and he told me that all standard issue Gebler gears have tracking devices built in them."
"Yeah, that's what I'm tryin' to say," Finn spoke. "That's what I was in charge of installing on gears when I worked in that factory for a bit before they sent me to the repair division."
"Hmm..." Victor spoke. "A small snag, then. Do you know how to dissasemble them?"
"Not without rippin' out the entire engine, and I kinda don't think I've got the time or tools to do it."
"He's got a point, Vic," Knute spoke.
"Yes, I know. Hmm..."
"If we leave the gears here, they're going to know we left. They'll look for us."
"But...if we make it look like we crashed...they'll think we're dead."
"Ah, I get it. But how do you suppose we can make it look like we crashed?"
"Well...my Wandknight and Swordknight are trashed already, so that's pretty simple. But if they investigate, and our bodies aren't in them..."
"Say, we could drop them in the sea. They won't bother to look for bodies at the bottom of the sea. Come on, we're not that important to them."
"But how can we dump the last gear? They can always track that one, can't they?" Finn spoke.
"Hmmm...yeah, you're right...guess we'd better think of something else, then."
"We'd better do it fast. We don't have much time," Victor urged.
Vance thought, 'Hmmm... I wonder if the tracking device is run by the gear's motherboard, or if it's independent of everything...'
"Say, Finn..." he asked aloud.
"Yeah?"
"I know it was a long time ago, but try to think back to when you worked at the gear factory..."
"Yeah?"
"When you were hooking up the tracking devices....was there a thin red wire that was attached to the bottom left corner of it?"
Finn's face scrunched up in thought. "That was years ago, Vance! I dunno!"
"Work in those places is repetitious. You probably could have done it in your sleep. Just go through the motions in your head and tell me if you remember that."
Finn appeared to be doing so. He motioned with his arms as if doing it again.
"Bottom left?" he asked again.
"Yes."
"Yeah, there was. Step fifteen."
"Where did that go?"
"I dunno. To another board...?"
"Great! I think this can be done. But it's gonna take me a few minutes, so we'd better dump these gears and fast."
"Yeah, but...how are we gonna dump all the gears?" Finn said. "There's always gonna be one left for them to track, you know?"
"Not if this works out. Just trust me, okay? We'll use Clawknight to dump them all. Then I'll hide it and take care of the tracking device."
"You seem to have it all covered."
"Of course," Vance spoke with pride. "I'm a genius."
"Oh, great. He's being like that again," Knute mumbled.
"Yeah, but not even close to as often as he used to. He must have stopped taking Drive," Victor whispered.
Vance had heard them both speak, but chose not to respond. They all knew he was a different person off Drive, too. He hated it when they called him 'kid', but somehow he tolerated it because it made him feel like a little brother to them. He had to admit he liked that feeling.
"Speaking of Drive," Victor spoke up, holding up his ration. "What the heck are we going to do with this stuff?"
"Pfffap! We don't need that stuff anymore. Dump it with the gears," Knute said.
To see them do that made Vance feel both comfortable and uncomfortable. Comfortable that there would be no temptation, but uncomfortable that he might have no choice but to face his dreams.
Stupid, Vance, he scolded himself. Solaris is gone. The nightmare is gone. You don't need Drive anymore. You can finally be you again. It's good they're dumping their Drive. I like them all better without it, too.
Vance looked around zealously as he fired up Clawknight, feeling many years younger than he was. If only the desert scenery was a little more interesting.
Remember.... Every bit of scenery you get to see now is a gift, so enjoy it. By the way, he thought, looking to the sky. Thanks.
* * * * * *
Vance had used his gear to dump the other four in the ocean, then hid Clawknight in the mountains behind them.
"How much time do you say we have?" Vance spoke out.
"Not much. I think I hear a rumbling in the distance. They're on their way," Knute said.
"Then I'll do this quick."
He rushed up to Clawknight's head, pulled out a small toolkit from his pack, unscrewed a panel, and began to work feverishly on the gear's components. The others watched in amazement as Vance did so, since it appeared like he knew what he was doing. They had apparently never seen this side of Vance.
The youngest of the Special Forces eventually pulled a green board from the gear, and ripped off all the wires going to it. He lifted it up proudly, as if he'd won a wonderful prize. Then he dove back inside for more. He eventually came up with a few more pieces, which he stuffed into his pack along with the green board.
"Yeah, now I'm happy. It's been so long since I've been allowed to fool around with this kind of stuff. The tracking device in Clawknight should be dismantled, if my hunch is right. Regardless, we should get out of here, anyway."
"Are we taking Clawknight?"
"I should hope not. I just ripped out the motherboard. It's right at the front, so it's easy to get to, not like the tracking device, which is probably in the back, like Finn said."
"You ripped out the motherboard? So Clawknight's not going to work anymore? You couldn't just cut off the connection to the tracking device?"
"Well, yeah, I could've but then how could I fool around with the motherboard on the road if I don't take it all the way out of the machine?"
"FOOL AROUND!? This isn't a GAME, Vance! This is SERIOUS!" Knute exclaimed. "Now how are we going to get to Nortune!?"
"Calm down, Knute. It's okay. I check it on my GPS, and the closest town is only sixty kilometres to the northwest."
"We could walk it. It would probably take us the rest of the day and maybe a bit longer if we camp. Then we could rent a sand buggy to take us to the edge of the desert. There has to a be a place to rent sandbuggies. This is the middle of the desert, after all," Victor said in an attempt to calm his friend. "We could be there by tommorow morning if we camp overnight in the desert."
"Yeah, well...I'd rather NOT have to walk, but..." Knute said.
"The exercise could do us good, right?" Victor said.
"Ugh! I guess so...."
Victor looked at his watch. "It's almost two o'clock. The hottest part of the day is coming. We're not going to want to travel in this. We'd be roasted by three o'clock."
"Then we'll wait here hidden in the shade and then head out later in the day."
"I just hope Vance is right and that tracking device got broken," Finn said. "How could we explain ourselves now?"
"Don't worry about it, Finn. I know what I'm doing," Vance said, already beginning to tinker with the green board.
"You look like one of those hacks."
"Hacks?" Knute questioned.
"You know...those people who goof around with computers 'n stuff."
"A hacker?" Vance spoke. "You've got it. That's what I did before I was in Gebler."
"Really?" Victor spoke.
"Yeah. I was a computer ace. Built my first computer when I was eleven using scraps my dad brought home from the factory. I know the innards of gears and computers like my own hand."
"That's strange," Victor spoke.
"What is?"
"That kind of talent Solaris wouldn't waste in Gebler. What happened?"
Vance looked at his friend, brushing him off with his glance. "Never mind. None of your business." His words had never been so cold off Drive.
Victor clearly backed off. "Okay, sorry I asked, then."
"Hey...I've been thinkin'..." Broyer spoke aloud.
"What is it?" Knute asked.
"If there's a tracking device in all Gebler gears, wouldn't that mean they could've found Lieutenant Elhaym?"
"Hers wasn't your average gear, and she was a commisioned officer in a super-elite class," Victor said. "Maybe not."
"That's a good point. I'll accept that."
"Or maybe they didn't want to find her," Knute said. "Don't ask me why..."
Victor adjusted his glasses again. "Regardless, we're here now, and the battleship is almost here. We should be quiet until it passes..."
End of Chapter 2
Well, there it is. Chapter 2. Please read and review if you like it. Or even if you hate it. I really, really like to know what you honestly think, as long as you're tactful about it (AKA- no flames, please).
Xenogears, the world and its situations are (c)2000 by Square, not me. This is a fanfic, after all.