Chapter 3: Grey Snow.
Two more days went by...
The music played softly. The rhythm was only audible through the headphones, calm, slow and soothing. From the perspective of the listener, the flakes were falling down in a swirly manner, appearing as if from an immaculate nothingness. The sky seemed to be missing, replaced with an infinite white, an endless mass mimicking the plains below. Heaven and earth were one. These small pieces of cold frozen water were falling by the hundreds. As they were spiraling down, a grey smoke rose up against them, thin and weak. Then it disappeared, as the whiteness of the flakes dominated the scene again. Moments later the puff of grey smoke returned momentarily, before dying out and the memory of its existence erased by the purity of the sky. A show which seemed to go on endlessly…
Thran was lying on his back, knees slightly raised, hands folded on his stomach. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to captivate the moment, drinking it in and firmly embedding it in the corner of his mind for as long as he could. He took the cigarette which was hanging loosely on the edge of his lips, tapped it slightly to get rid of the ashes with an ease betraying practice, and then put it back in its place gently. When he opened his eyes again, he saw three figures hovering above him. Watching the falling flakes for such a long time had caused his vision to go blurry, causing him to blink in an attempt to focus. He narrowed his slanting eyes to the point that they almost looked like two black, oblique slits.
With a little bit of concentration, Thran was finally able to make out the individual faces. D'Jok, Rocket, and Micro-Ice stood around him, gazing at him with a gaze betraying a shared feeling of surprise, disappointment, and perhaps, a hint of disgust.
- " Oh ... hello…guys ..." Thran whispered, his forced smile betraying his discomfort about being caught.
D'Jok sighed, obviously annoyed.
- " First you don't show your face around the academy and now you're smoking again ? You're crossing the line buddy ..." He shouted, not even trying to hide his obvious disapproval.
- "What?" Thran yelled back, his hearing impaired by the continuous stream of music from his headphones.
Micro-Ice crouched at his side and playfully yanked the headphones from Thran's ears, only to put them on his own head instead. He seemed to be rather content with Thran's choice of music.
- "When did you resume smoking? " D'Jok asked as he helped the young defender get up from ground.
- "Oh..this..." he replied, tapping his cigarette. "…..since my brother is lying to me about his health."
- "If uncle Aarch learns about this you're toast…" Rocked spoke up. "On top of that, you're not showing up at mandatory trainings anymore... "
- "No need to worry about me… but eh... you guys won't tell on me, right ?"
- "Nah, the last thing we need is a third player missing. " D'Jok replied.
- "What are you talking about ? " Thran asked, now sounding worried.
He quickly glanced over to the three girls who had just passed the double glass door.
- " That's why we're here, to give you the heads-up on the situation."
- " And what situation might that be ? " The young defender said, now more and more intrigued.
- "Well, about Mark's parents ..." The young captain said. "He asked Uncle's permission to join them on the Mebaï moon, and of course he granted it. Now he's waiting for the Embassy to clear him for the voyage. "
- "Ok... is that it?"
- "Oh, and Mei will leave the team for a while too."
The frown on Thran's forehead deepened. These last couple of days he almost felt like he didn't really live in the same world as his teammates anymore…
- "Simbaï gave her a warning after the results from her post-cup health examination came in." D'Jok replied. "Since her natural energy level is quite low she wants to take a break. Aarch gave her two months off to reflect on her projects and get some rest. "
- "Projects ?"
- "I don't really know what she means with that ... and she doesn't want to talk about it. Not even with me..."
Thran exhaled, blowing grey smoke through his nostrils which slowly swirled up into the air and thinned to nothing.
- "Girls..." Micro-Ice sighed, playing with the headphone's cord absent-mindedly.
- "What about you ? Got any news from Ahito ?" D'Jok inquired.
-"Still nothing..." Thran said while making an attempt at getting his headphones back. "Simbaï said she would contact me as soon as something came up."
Meanwhile, the three girls approached the small group.
- "Well ..." Mei sighed. "Looks like I'm not going anywhere after all….."
- "It's not sure yet, we should wait for Mark to come back…." Rocket said.
- " We shouldn't wait too long to make a decision, the next match is coming soon." D'Jok replied.
- "It's true. The Wambas didn't waste any time in challenging us for a rematch." Tia chimed in.
- "Good ! This time I'll stand my ground !" Yuki added firmly.
- "Oh riiight ! To think I almost forgot about your 'amazing' display of goalkeeping talent against those three-toed non-talents" D'Jok teased.
The young goalkeeper, cheeks flushed in embarrassment, immediately protesting D'Jok's statement – not in the least because he mocked her commitment to the match.
- "It was one hell of a match, we almost had to say goodbye to the Cup this time!" Micro-Ice countered, standing up for Yuki.
- " Thanks heaven Ahito was there to pull us together..."
Before he even finished his sentence, Rocket already knew he had said too much and fell silent for a moment.
"...I'm sorry Thran, I didn't mean to…to….."
- "It's okay Rocket, don't sweat it ..." Thran said, throwing his cigarette bud away into a heap of fresh snow. "Allright!" He spoke up, attempting to look casual. "Aren't we going to see Mark ?"
oOo
A few minutes later the group entered the common room where Mark was waiting for them to inform them on Aarch's decision
- "So ?" D'Jok asked flat-out.
- " I'm leaving. It took some time and effort, but I got permission to come aboard a rescue ship for Mebaï. I have one hour to pack my bags. I ... I'm really sorry. I know I let you guys down..."
- "Don't worry about it Mark. We would all do the same in your place. " Rocket replied reassuringly, his statement followed by approving looks and nods from his teammates.
After exchanging hugs and shaking hands, Mark said;
- "Well, all that's left to do now is pack my stuff. I'll come back as fast as I can. You can't possibly humiliate the Wamba's without me there to mock them!"
He slowly walked towards the exit, but just before leaving he stopped and said something over the back of his shoulders.
"Oh by the way Mei, I don't know what he meant with it, but Aarch told me "it" was still ok and that you shouldn't worry."
She smiled at this, though a feeling a bit awkward.
- "So… does that mean that if Ahito doesn't return anytime soon ..." Micro-ice started.
- "….we'll have to find a new member ? " Yuki finished his sentence.
- "I believe we have no choice. Let's go see what Aarch thinks about it…" D'Jok said.
- "Happy now? " Micro-Ice said jokingly, staring at Mei.
The latter one was looking both relieved and embarrassed.
- " If you ask whether I'm happy for finally getting a break from your tantrums, then the answer is yes…" She replied semi-serious, folding her arms as she looked away.
- " I know EXACTLY how you feel…." Yuki sighed.
The little striker pouted and sat behind the sofa sulking, which wasn't very convincing with the laughter of the other players filling the room.
oOo
The hour passed quickly, perhaps too quickly. Mark was driven to the nearest space platform. In a matter of seconds he disappeared into space. With a faint but distinctive sense of loss, the remaining Snowkids returned to the Stadium. As they took the elevator to get up to the common room, Aarch announced through the microphones his intent to have a meeting for a very important briefing.
- " I told you, I knew it! It just FEELS like a new member is going to join us ! " Micro-Ice exclaimed.
The briefing room was made up of pale red walls, the windows on the sloping ceiling letting the light through which lit up the grey metal tables and bluish benches, which faced the big hologram screen illuminated in the same hue. This area somehow reminded its frequent visitors of Aarch's office. The latter one was facing the team, waiting to see what he had to say.
- "As you know ..." He began in a solemn tone of voice. "With the departure of Mark, and with Mei following soon, we will be one player short for the upcoming match…. Clamp ?"
The inventor activated an holographic animated pattern and added;
- "At the moment we still expect Yuki to replace Ahito during the upcoming matches. However, Mei will leave an empty defender post which can't be replaced by Mark, you all know why by now…. "
- "What bring us to the following point : we have to search a new member to reinforce the team the upcoming weeks." The coach said. " Which reminds me... from tomorrow onwards, all trainings will be compulsory again. " He added, giving Thran a dark look.
- "Ah ! You see ! I knew it ! " Micro-Ice yelled.
- "You have something to share with the group Micro-Ice ? " Aarch said.
- "Uh ... no. No Coach. " He replied, scratching his head awkwardly.
- "I'm open to any suggestions, so please….. " Added the coach.
The team exchanged a few puzzled looks before, almost unanimously, focusing their attention on Thran.
- "What ? " He asked, snapping out of his thoughts the moment he realized he was the focus of everyone's attention all of a sudden. " Oh no ! I have plenty of cousins, but Yuki's the only one who knows how to play ! I won't drag my entire family into this ! "He exclaimed.
After a few minutes of suggestions on which the team didn't seem to agree, Aarch decided to take a dive into his old files on Akillian's potential players.
Thran, staring into the distance, eventually noticed Dame Simbaï that send him a discreet sign near the round door of the entrance. Aarch nodded quickly, and continued his explanation for the upcoming training.
Dame Simbaï stopped near the corner of the hallway leading to the central lift.
- " You have some news Dame Simbaï ? Is something the matter with Ahito? " Thran asked, worried.
- "Your brother woke up this morning. " Simbaï said. " He just moved from the intensive care to the recuperation center, but he's already anxious to see you. " She added with a smile.
Thran's face lit up for a moment before resuming in a more serious tone.
- "Is he all right ? "
- "He is stable…." Dame Simbaï said reassuringly, but, after a short silence, she added:
"I'm so sorry about all of this Thran….. I just don't understand how I could have missed this during the health examinations..."
The corridor's lights were barely lit, the only light was coming from a blue bar running alongside the wall up to the elevator. Sometimes they could hear the voice of Aarch through the door at the end of the hall, interrupting the silence that had fallen between the medic and the defender.
- "It happens... ….and I want you to know I still trust you and your judgment, so don't worry. " Thran said. " So…when can I see him ? " He asked in a more joyful tone of voice.
- "Within two days, I let him rest for a moment, but it's not easy, he can't settle down when he's about to see you again."
Thran smiled warmly at this, his eyes narrowing as the smile crept across his face.
"You know ..." Simbaï started hesitantly. "It is possible that, until we precisely determine the reason of his suffering, he will probably…you know…"
- " be suspended..." Thran sighed.
- " More or less….Let's just say that, at the very least, he can't train at his usual level. I didn't tell him yet though…I just…I don't know whether it would be better to... " Simbaï said, hesitantly.
- "I'll break the news to him, don't you worry about that " Thran said reassuringly.
As Dame Simbaï headed to the elevator, the spherical door of the briefing room suddenly opened, chasing away the blue darkness of the hallway with its light. As the others team-members poured into the hallway, Thran turned toward them with a smile.
A genuine one.
Shiloe.
A heap of stones, rock and gigantic meteors lost in an asteroid field. A place thought to be unreachable and deserted. Sometimes mentioned in children's bedtime stories, media gossip, and sometimes, the topic of late-hour conversations in back-alley bars…the kind of conversations not spoken out aloud.
However, there are a few people who know the roads into the archipelago. These are the people who sail without worry, maneuvering thoughtlessly around the rocks and slipping through the gaps in between asteroids created by natural impacts.
Many of these people are merchants, hustlers, anarchists, idealists, artists. All of them are directly or indirectly against the oppression of Technoïde meet. All of them meet here. Former criminals, fugitives... they were numbering in the hundreds, perhaps even thousands.
The insides of this giant anthill were overflowing with the most incredible treasure. Technology still unknown to the general public, prototypes, plans and drawings stolen from the Technoïde, ancient relics, rare mechanical parts and computer software, all of which could never be attained on the legal market place.
More than a paradise for treasure hunters, it was a place of rest and refuge for those in need. Anyone who swore an oath to never disclose any information about the lost archipelago would have a job and a roof over his head. Though their business was shady at the very least, Shiloe's pirates rarely had bad intentions...
The convoy was supposed to arrive in the evening. The shed was quite silent, thought below the landing platform, the market still swarming with people despite the late hour. Schedules or biological time clocks were hardly respected here. Pirates always had to be prepared for any kind of threat, evidenced by their capacity of adaptation to any situation.
The large flying containers finally arrived, landing on the platform with a dim thud. Beneth almost lose his favorite hat again to the gust of wind their arrival caused. He readjusted his dark glasses and motioned the pilot to get out of the cockpit. A multitude of small robots quickly swarmed into the barely opened containers, while the pilot watching the scene with a discontent frown.
- " The trust you guys put in fella's like me who served years at Shiloe is really heartwarming " The pilot muttered sarcastically.
He was a man of medium size with a thick coat, who made no real attempt to get out of his cabin.
- "Come on Linus, this is just a formality... You KNOW we always want to be sure there aren't any sensors or transmitters placed outside your containers, inside your containers, as well as inside goods, out-…"
- "Yea fine, fine ... I know your reasons, just making sure you won't be caught by Technoïde..." Linus said, dusting off his black-stained overall absent-mindedly
- "Well, let's see if everything's ok ..."
Beneth wiped out a holographic tablet from his pocket, and compared the ship's data with results brought by one of the little robot who just finished his work.
"Looks good to me… Aaarrtiiiee! " He yelled.
Linus coughed audibly, holding out his hand expectantly.
"Oh right, I almost forgot ! " Beneth exclaimed.
He picked up a briefcase which was standing next to him on the ground, and handed it over to the grumpy pilot.
"This is for you, mate."
Linus opened the briefcase and discovered, perfectly piled-up, thick packs of freshly cut money. After unloading and storing the cargo, Linus left. Beneth sat on one of the boxes lying on the ground. He took out a small can that he drank just after putting it on his cheeks to refresh his face.
- " Ben… Psssst, Ben ! "
Beneth looked around for a moment to see where that familiar voice came from.
- "Beneth ! I'm down here! "
It turned out to see Artie, who was in a small metal tunnel just below the surface, his face just visible through the bars of the ventilation shaft, the shadow of said bars partially overshadowing his face.
- "Artie ! Damnit I've been waiting for you for an hour! " Beneth yelled angrily.
- "Sorry, but you know what will happen to me if they find out I left my post! I did the best I could to get here unnoticed. " He replied in an overly anxious tone, looking left and right to see if he wasn't being spied upon. " So ? Do ya have news from the outside world? " He asked with a cheerful smile.
- "Not really... For now the galaxy is still preoccupied with Mebaï. I hope it won't compromise our plans. " Beneth sighed, passing his drink through the grid. "At any rate, I still think it's rather odd that such a distant, insignificant moon got attacked. "
- "You think someone wants to frame us? Artie asked, still halfway in the underground darkness
- "The best thing to do right now is to wait and see what happens next..." Beneth said.
His holo-watch began to beep. Corso appeared in a holographic image.
- "Meeting at HQ in ten minutes. Things look important, no dallying. »
The image disappeared. After a short moment of silence, Artie replied;
- " My boss will surely kill me this time. "
oOo
A metal footbridge was going down to the center of a large circular room. In the middle of it stood a round table where maps, holograms, diagrams and plans stolen from the Technoïde were displayed, continually reviewed and corrected by the pirates who passed them around. The screens on the walls lit the room in a dark, red light, giving the room a real threatening vibe.
In the center of the room, Corso and Sonny Blackbones were absorbed in the report from a pirate spy.
- "This doesn't look good Sonny. Why would Technoïde need so much Tridirium all of a sudden ?" Corso asked, worried.
Sonny seemed lost in his own thoughts. What use would this metal be for Technoïde ?
- "I don't know. We have to find out what they're up to. And I've just figured out a way to do it. "
- "I don't like that tone of voice Sonny." Beneth launched as soon as he came in, just followed by Artie.
- "This is all a bad sign for us…..." whispered Artie.
Sonny turned around, speaking in a louder voice.
- "We've just learned that Technoïde has doubled its Tridirium consumption for no apparent reason."
The rest of the pirates ceased theirs activities at once and came closer to listen to their leader.
"And as you all know, Mebaï's moon was hit by an attack of unknown origin, two days ago, and it destroyed the mining installations of all its firms."
A hologram displayed in the center of the room showed the latest footages about Mebaï.
- "As you can easily suspect, our plans will be completely changed. " Corso replied.
- "And this will allow us to ferret out what Technoïde uses all this Tridirium for." Sonny added, under the attentive looks of the pirates. "I will send a team to Jadena, one of the mining planets near Akillian. This is where Technoïde mines the majority of its Tridirium, most of which is mined by Unadiens."
A hologram displayed the small pale-green planet.
"We will take advantage of all the media attention focused to Mebaï and the surrounding planets' safety, to discretely infiltrate Jadena and find out what's happening there."
- "Using the attack on Mebaï as a diversion? Well thought of Sonny. " Corso replied.
- "I have a question. " Beneth spoke up. "Everyone knows that the pirates are the number one enemy of Technoïde, and this direct assault on its firm has not been claimed by anyone else. Don't you think that someone's trying to frame us?
- "My thoughts exactly…" Sonny said. " I will personally analyze the information filtered from Senate data streams. We must find out who launched this attack…"
After the two separate missions were finalized and handed out, the room emptied slowly. Sonny, leaning heavily on the round table in front of Jadena's hologram, seemed lost in thoughts. The only thing illuminating his face was the dim light of the image in front of him.
- "You think this is one of their nasty tricks? " Corso requested.
- "With Technoïde you just never know... " Sonny said. "Especially not when dealing with Maddox. I have a feeling he knows more about the origin of this attack than he is letting on..."
oOo
The fortress gradually emptied as night approached. Of course, there was no real night on the Genesis. As was the case with Mebaï, days and nights were artificially regulated in a programmed sequence.
Only droids, like housekeeping staff, and some high-ranking people, like Maddox and Harris, were still on duty, the latter being in his office. He felt way more nervous that he seemed to be from the outside.
Why ? Why did Maddox want to get his claws on the Awa 'tokai's tribe all of a sudden? This would affect his plans no doubt. He had to do something about this unexpected situation, and quickly too. He thoughtfully tapped his desk with his fingers, lost in thought, when a droid's hologram appeared on the display.
- "The Director wants to see you Sir. "
Harris sighed. Maddox's intervention during the Senate's meeting had caused a real panic in the hearts of the government officials. It was obvious he had not done this unintentionally. It was up to Harris to find out what he was up to.
When Harris arrived at the huge door of Maddox' office, he took a deep breath trying suppress the anxiety in the pit of his stomach. The door opened. The director was there, facing the bay window which reflected a mixture of dark sky and green lights, coming from fortress itself.
- "You wanted to see me Sir ? "
- "Don't be so nervous Harris, I've not called you for an update on the lab experiments .."
The vice director approached the Director's black desk, not entirely assured by Maddox's attempt at easing his discomfort.
- "So ... how can I help you ?" He asked.
- " Put all our networks of informers on those damn degenerated lizards' trail. Find me that tribe that outrageously rebelled against us several months ago! "
Harris's face paled as Maddox's temper unbalanced him far more than would usually be the case.
- " Is something wrong, Harris? " Said the director asked, his tone demanding.
- "No, no sir ... I was just wondering ... why aren't we considering Sonny's pirates to be the culprit? We have no evidence about the Awa 'tokai as the responsible party... "
Maddox bionic red eye flashed red, signaling his annoyance.
- "Because the last time I openly blamed the Pirates, Obia's ambassadors themselves provided evidence to the contrary, and everyone believed them ! I won't tolerate any further humiliation ! Just fabricate some evidence ! I want to show the world that a crime against Technoïde doesn't stay unpunished for long. "
- "Well in that case, why not let the government do the work for us? We already have many other things to do... "
- "Because they won't find anything Harris ... trust me ... You can leave. And remember. The Awa 'tokai are the culprits. Find me the evidence to prove it and find those lizards while you're at it! "
- "Very well Sir. " Said Harris, rather unconvincingly.
He left the office. When he returned to his desk, he slumped in his seat, thinking about the best possible solution. The Awa 'tokai were a part of his plan. He could not give them to Maddox.
A Chime rang. The usual droid appeared.
- " An incoming call sir. Contact name: Unknown . "
- "Enable communication."Said Harris.
A face masked with a black veil appeared, only a strand of tousled, grey hair was visible. The man was also wearing shades, shaped like a little metallic binocular.
- "I thought about yer suggestion, Harris. "
The voice was similar to that of the man who helped Harris with hacking Maddox' computer a few days ago.
The latter one smiled.
- "Well ... my dear friend. I think it's safe to say you made up your mind at exactly the right time..."