Chapter 15 - Secret mines, Death to humans.
He felt the cautious probing of the Pyritian, he glanced up from the circuit board and saw it staring at him. It's glassy eyes roved his work but he said nothing. He went back to arranging the wires and sighed as he finished dropping the last bit of dust.
He reached over and grabbed a focused torch and held it over the wiring. and watched the red wiring melt to the board. He set it down on the desk to dry and stood up. He stretched and looked around his small workstation. Not very trusting, or just not caring the Pyritians had him and Dominic firmly separated.
Yawning he turned and walked out of the room and headed down a short hallway. He turned and let the cool breeze guide him. the whole ship used off balanced air pressure to protect the machinery in the workstations. As well as providing a constant circulation of air.
Soon he came to a flight of stairs and as he ascended gazed out the parallel windows running beside the stairway. The ship hung permanently above the Secret mines, a vast destroyed portion of the world. It lay thousands of chunks away and its location was a jealously guarded secret, known only to the Pyritians and a few human captains.
He turned off the stairs and headed towards his room. He eased the door open and walked in. The lights flashed on and he grabbed his notebook off his distinct metallic desk. He turned on his heel and walked back past his bed and out the door. He shook his head to clear his thoughts as he again followed the airflow up the stairs.
He followed the breeze through a myriad of hallways and countless stairs till he arrived in an upper tower. He gazed down over the ships exoskeleton and gauged the time by the amount of the sun showing.
He estimated that had a couple of hours at least. Confident in his assessment he reclined and peered down at large machines cavorting over the destroyed earth. The ground remained a ruddy grey and black, and he tensed as he hunched over to write.
He quickly drew an outline of the mines and then traced in the machines boring and treading the strange materials.
He scratched out the paper as he ruined the bedrocks material. He shrugged and sat it down beside him. He picked up another piece of paper and emboldened the lines of a ship. He wrote out some different estimations on resources and capabilities.
After a couple of minutes he picked up a blank piece of paper and started drawing out the mines again. This time he started with the bedrock, then moved to the machines. Before finally adding clouds and the edges of a ship peaking into the picture.
He heard a step behind him and he tensed, he glanced back but didn't see anyone so he returned to his drawing.
"Nice Drawing." Dominic's voice came from beside him. He cursed as he jumped and the picture went flying. "Jumpy much?" Dominic said and grabbed the picture gently from the air. "What is this?" He asked as he notice the schematics below the picture.
"A ship."
"No kidding, this ship is extreme in detail." He looked down, hazel eyes glowing in appreciation. "You have a deft hand."
"I could draw you one."
"Yeah, what is this to be called?"
"The Eagles Talon."
"Then why not make me The Eagles Wing." He said with a grin.
-
He stood and surveyed the council before pointing at a dark screen, mounted behind him in full view of the council.
"This is who we were before." A series of images followed his words. A large gleaming city, with Cognit roaming through the streets and the sun shining.
"This is who we were after." A dark city ripped apart by explosions, bodies strewn across the streets and blood smeared on walls.
"This is us." A somber city whose towers reached only half the height of the earlier ones. Holes still blown in portions of buildings and Cognit warily walking through the streets.
"If you would get to your point, no need to remind everyone of this catastrophe." The spokesman for the council said with a hint of impatience.
"But there is." He said looking up at the council spokesman.
"Then get to it."
"This is who caused the catastrophe." He motioned up to the screen, which shifted to show a human standing in the middle of the screen. "Humans have caused every major disaster that has befell us."
He turned back to the Spokesman. "We can't let them get away with consistently destroying us. We pushed them from the ground and forced them into the air. Now let us crash their hopes and destroy them once and for all."
The spokesman looked at him. "If you had any backing behind you here I might Sympathize, but i am seeing nothing of merit." He continued. "The humans fouled up their navigation, we fouled up our circuitry. Nothing more to the subject."
"Then why did they come across then? There have been seven hundred and ninety-six passings by human ships. While true that this ship was new and hadn't crossed us before. Don't you think that the officers would know not to risk themselves in such a way unless they Knew that they would escape unscathed?"
The spokesman interrupted, "The ship did not get away unscathed. it crashed not a hundred meters from our walls after being clipped by an explosion. We dealt with out crisis and the humans sent a convoy along with a rescue and salvage team. They offered supplies and assisted with all but personnel."
The Spokesman shook his head. "Achilles, Your request for a per-emptory strike en masse on the humans is formally denied. In regards to your fervent argument I will send my regards to Headmaster Relx for your training. Have a good day."
-
He shook his head and walked down from the tower. He had finished the photo but it was missing a singular final touch. He walked down against the curtain of air and coughed as an awful stench wafted past him.
He looked up and winced as he passed through the fuel refinery. He looked up and saw on of the Pyritians munching on a roll made of bread and meat. His stomach rumbled and he realized that he had probably missed dinner. He turned at the stairs and headed towards the Mess hall.
Air again buffeting his face he walked through the hallways. The Pyritians might look strange, but they really knew how to cook. He walked through a set of double doors and perked up as he smelled a spicy brew coming from the direction of the kitchen.
He walked up to the tray line and was greeted with a bowl of spiced mushroom soup arranged with noodles and cut carrots. He thanked the server and sat at one of the tables. After a minute he began to eat, the delicious flavor making him reminiscent of the base and his friends.
He was still reminiscent when a Pyritian walked in and sat at his table.
"Andrew." It said. "You do well with your work, your wiring is superb. It parallels some of our best."
He looked up warily as he felt tendrils again tap at his brain. "My only thought is that you must have had some work before coming here. Dominic's skills are rudimentary compared to yours and he has been here for a year."
"Maybe its just a skill." He shrugged.
"You are spider-kissed. Smitten with the gift of telepathy, but at the same time that gift is scratched and torn."
"Leave me alone."
"We are just trying to help you,"
"Then leave me alone!" He said as he stood up from the table grabbed his notebook and stormed out of the mess hall. Once in the hallway he realized he had forgotten his picture.
-
He walked out of the courthouse feeling sour and moody. He walked through the streets and hissed threateningly at anyone who approached him. Lax from living with the Rulixe, he didn't even attempt to see into their minds. His stance dropped and he hunched over, lowering himself closer to the dirt.
He walked through the rigid yet organically bent streets and eventually found his way to his apartment building. He walked in through living mesh and a Cognit at the door greeted him.
"Good Day, Achilles. Did you do well with your presentation to the council?" He received a hiss in reply. "I take that as a no..."
Enraged he turned back towards him. "I am sorry for my behavior." He said as he reached for the little Cognits mind.
"Quiet all right sir." The Cognit replied as it shivered.
"Are you feeling okay?" He asked sweetly, and watched as the Cognit started to shake violently.
"Now that you ask sir." But the Cognit stopped and broke out into pure pain-driven screams as acid bubbled in his eyes and scorched a trail down his face.
"Looks like someone can't learn a lesson." He said in a sickly sweet tone before mounting the stairs and heading towards his apartment.
-
Frustrated, he cast a final glance around the mess hall and gave up on looking for the stupid picture. He hadn't finished it anyways. He turned and headed back towards his room.
He walked in and found the lights already on and his picture sitting on his desk framed and luminescent. He reached down and picked it up. Little particle effects had been drawn over the rock, completing the photo and perfecting it. A piece of paper was slid in the corner of it.
"Even the most wounded can forge past their injuries. They achieve perfection through channels blocked by overcoming it another way. You are in possession of an iron will capable of greater tasks than this."