(March 1, 2009)
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"-dy? Brody!"
Brody blinked, his attention snapping to Mick. Mick looked expectantly at Brody and he sheepishly realized he had no idea what Mick had said.
"Sorry, what?"
"You have been staring at that page for five minutes without answering any of the questions. I was asking if you were stuck."
'Paper, what-?' Brody's gaze dropped to the worksheet on the table before him. 'Riiiiiiight.' A blank reading comprehension exercise stared back at him. "I, uh, was lost in thought."
Mick snorted. "So I noticed. However, we aren't supposed to enter Plebox's atmosphere for another hour. Plenty of time to finish before that happens."
Practically there would be little reason for Galvanax to bring Mick or Brody with him when he disembarked. Mick hoped that would be the case, especially here. He'd been to Plebox before. The planet boasted one of Galvanax's highest watching rates, as well as biggest popularity for the more. . . conquesting ideals that Galvanax also held. Mick's hand drifted to the watch on his wrist. The electronic leash had been a souvenir from the planet in Mick's earliest days on the Warrior Dome. All things considered it could have been a much worse visit, given that Plebox also housed one of the biggest intergalactic slave markets.
Unease bubbled in Mick's gut at that reminder. His skill set was still too valuable to the Warrior Dome. With Brody however. . . the boy still served as a living trophy of Galvanax's 'conquest' over Dane for the Nexus Prism, but the warlord's cruelly ran deep. There might be some semblance of understanding for how life functioned on the ship, but anything planet side was new territory. Something he didn't exactly know how to explain to a nine year old boy- even one that understood the universe's cruelty more than many others his age.
So instead he schooled his features and set about turning the event into a social studies lesson for Brody. Very, very generalized when Plebox's culture was discussed, but a lesson nonetheless. Brody soaked up the information. Despite the circumstances, galactic kidnapping and all, excitement curled within Brody at seeing an entirely different planet. Never would he have thought he'd be in a place where that would be a nonchalant discussion with another person- especially since said other person was also from a completely different planet.
Plebox had two major exports, lumber from their massive forests, and manual (slave) labor. They prided themselves in war games and many of their people appeared on Galaxy Warriors throughout the years. Notably Stalofur hailed from Plebox. Brody lost some of his excitement after hearing that. His time in the dungeon box was only a few months ago, and still very fresh in his mind.
"It'd probably be best to get that done soon. The kudabot's will probably be here soon with food."
To Mick's relief, Brody focused his attention back on the worksheet. Whether or not in the last few months word had gotten to Galvanax about Mick's continuing Brody's school without official permission, he didn't want to risk a ban on further education by making it obvious. Mick had no way of guessing what Galvanax's reaction would be, seeing as he'd taken Mick for his smarts, not Brody. If anything, it would be a further degradation of Brody's station to keep him ignorant- good for nothing more than slaving to Galvanax's will for the indefinite future. Mick sighed but vowed, again, in his heart this wouldn't be Brody's existence forever.
It was Mick's turn to startle when a paper appeared in his face.
"Now who's not paying attention?" Brody grinned mischievously.
Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Mick took the paper. Since his grasp of English wasn't much better than Brody's Karlec he ran it through the computer. The program Mick had developed didn't find any glaring errors so he called it quits for the day. Just in time as a shudder ran through the ship, followed quickly by a high pitched blast over the intercoms.
Brody looked around at the shaking shelves. "Should I be worried about that?"
"We're just entering the atmosphere. It'll settle in a minute."
Sure enough the shaking abated. Gravity pulled at Brody's limbs heavier than it had in a long time.
"You should probably sit. The landings are rather rough."
Settling himself in a chair, Brody's gaze flicked to Mick's computer. Not for the first time he wished the workshop had a porthole. Mick caught the look and snagged his computer. Several commands later he slid the screen back toward Brody. To Brody's delight it showed the live external camera feed.
Deep green hues, so similar to Earth, took Brody's breath away for a moment. There weren't giant bodies of water like Earth, but Brody hadn't realized how much he'd missed even the color of life.
Gray splotches appeared, growing larger by the second. Soon a wide cityscape took shape within the gray. Buildings peaked toward the sky, in shapes and formations that reminded Brody of futuristic cartoons he would watch at home. The thought of home stung and Brody quickly shelved that thought. Amid the city a giant open concrete field emerged. Several other spaceships, none as large as the Warrior Dome, rested at various intervals.
The ship slowed further until, with a lurch and a shudder, it landed. Mick let the exterior feed play for a few more moments, then turned off the computer. Brody bit back his protests. He'd long since learned it did no good. As Mick had explained (several times) it wouldn't do to be caught using the computer in any unsanctioned manner. Grudgingly Brody went to tidy the shelves in lieu of anything else to do.
"How many planets have you been to?"
"Hm?" Mick looked up at Brody's question. A glazed look disappeared from his eye and Brody got the feeling the question hadn't registered.
"How many planets have you been to?"
Mick looked up at the ceiling and Brody watched him number invisible planets. "Technically I've been on eight different planets, though only three, including home, I've actually been out and walked around on."
"What were they like?"
A grimace flashed across Mick's face before quickly changing to a strained smile. "Well Dankthor is mostly a water planet. Their cities are built on massive rafts as well as in air bubbles below the waves. . ."
Brody listened eagerly to Mick's descriptions. Mick promised to pull up images of the planets so he could see for himself, but that would have to wait until the Warrior Dome took to space again.
"Galvanax heightens security when the ship docks. Being so close to others puts the computer at greater risk of hacking. There's a lot of disgruntled contestants and producers that would like to take a crack at Galvanax's secrets." Mick smiled ruefully, "It's also more of a flight risk."
Brody didn't completely understand what Mick meant by that, but the look on Mick's face stopped him from asking more about it. Before he could think of another planet question the door to the workshop burst open. Brody flinched backward at the noise, then again at the angry Ripcon barreling through the doorway.
"Come on rat bait."
His hand encircled Brody's bicep and he dragged Brody from the room. Over his shoulder he could see Mick standing in the doorway, his path barred by two kudabots. Brody bit his tongue to keep from crying out for Mick. The older man wouldn't be able to reach him, and it would only anger Ripcon more.
Brody's heart hammered in his ears as Ripcon dragged him down the familiar route to the control room. The roar increased when, upon entering the room, Brody found the eyes of Galvanax, Odius, and several other creatures he'd never seen before staring at him. Light reflected in the back of the room signaling the Nexus Prism's presence as well.
"A Terran?" One of the creatures, a clay colored ape like beast, laughed in derision. Brody tried to hunch into himself. "That's who managed to be in possession of Nexus Star before you Galvanax?"
Galvanax's naginata flashed, coming to rest at the creatures' neck. The room, other than Odius and Ripcon, froze with bated breath.
"Not him, but his father. And I assure you the Earthling did not have it in his possession for long. Just as you won't be in possession of your head for much longer if you make comments like that again."
Brody flinched in Ripcon's grip, but the creator only laughed. "Point taken."
Satisfied Galvanax let the naginata drop. "I plan to have this season of Galaxy Warriors be bigger than any previous one. Showing my spoils and the prize will promote it."
Though the translator by his ear meant the words came into his brain supposedly in his own language, Brody didn't understand what Galvanax was saying. He knew the consequences of asking though, so kept his mouth shut. Abruptly Ripcon let go of Brody's arm and moved across the room. The boy stumbled to the side, body unable to catch his balance. Before Brody could wonder what Ripcon was doing, a familiar clanking announced Ripcon's approach.
Brody tried to clamp down on his frantic breaths as Ripcon approached him with a swathe of chain in his hands. Jerking Brody's wrists from his sides, Ripcon clamped shackles on Brody, then attached them to a length of chain. When he finished Ripcon yanked the chain, forcing Brody to stumble toward the dais. Brody's face flushed. He kept his gaze fixed firmly on the ground, trying in vain to tune out the mocking laughter surrounding him.
"He will serve as a reminder to what a true champion is capable of."
Brody's stomach flipped. He didn't know what all Galvanax meant by that, but he knew it wouldn't be good.
"Prepare the teleporter, we have a parade to attend."
The group began to drift away to a room beyond the control room. Ripcon pulled Brody along, heedless of the boy's much smaller stature. The cuffs bit into Brody's wrists and he choked down a whimper. Following the larger group, Ripcon pulled Brody to a room he hadn't been in since the first day on the Warrior Dome. Adrenaline surged through Brody's veins at being so close to so many creatures who didn't care for his well being, but a small curl of excitement mingled with the fear. This planet wasn't Earth, but he was about to be on solid ground for the first time in ages.
In a blink and a weird tingling sensation later (that Brody belatedly recognized from the day he'd been taken) Brody found himself on a concrete airfield. He briefly wondered if the Warrior Dome didn't have any normal doors, because if they'd already landed on the planet, why did they teleport out of the ship? ('But the hangar on the Warrior Dome for the contestants' ships had one, so maybe Galvanax was just flaunting his tech?') Brody glared down at the chains wrapped around his wrists. Galvanax did have a thing for trophies.
As the group moved away from the ship Brody risked a glance backwards. He wished Mick was with him. Though breathing in fresh air and being under a real sun wrapped around Brody like a hug, he had no desire to be shown off as one of Galvanax's spoils of war.
"The parade starts outside the airfield," Another Pleboxian's words filtered back to Brody's position as last in line, "and will wind its way into the capitol. The emperor has a feast waiting for you."
At the mention of food Brody's stomach grumbled. He flushed but no one besides Ripcon so much as looked at him.
Beside the wide entrance gate several open walled, rectangular vehicles waited. Kudabots loaded the Nexus Prism into the lead one, and Galvanax climbed in next to it. Ripcon pulled Brody towards the second car, taking a spot in the back corner. Brody awkwardly gripped the edge of the car to pull himself up, but Ripcon's leg shot out and shoved Brody back.
It startled Brody more than hurt. His gaze shot up to Ripcon who grinned maliciously. "What do you think you're doing?"
The motors started around him and fear shot through Brody. Were they trying to kill him? Lurching forward the caravan set off. The pace wasn't at normal car speed, but it was still fast enough that Brody had to trot to keep up without the chain yanking his arms from their sockets.
Outside the airfield the road teemed on both sides with the city's inhabitants. Cheers roared at the convoy's appearance, deafening Brody. On reflex he tried to reach up to cover his ears, but the painful jerk on his wrists reminded him he couldn't.
Some of the cheers turned to jeers. Movement flashed in the corner of Brody's eye but he didn't have time to move when something splattered hard against his chest. Brody let out a startled yelp. That seemed to be a signal of some kind because object after object came hurtling at Brody. Not all of them were squishy. Something, most likely a rock, clipped his forehead. Brody cried out again as blood trickled down his face.
Derisive laughter came from the truck Brody was leashed to. Biting the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood, Brody managed to keep from crying out again the rest of the so-called parade. As it was he wouldn't have the breath for it anyway by the time they reached the final destination. Brody didn't know how long he'd been forced to keep up and his legs and lungs quivered from the effort. Conditioning in his cell didn't allow room to practice endurance required for a march like this.
The engines rumbled to a stop and Brody let his legs collapse from under him. Pain spiked synchronously in Brody's knees and shoulders, his arms pulled taut above his head by the short chain. Uncomfortable but marginally better than being on his feet for any longer. Grumbling Ripcon climbed out of the car and yanked the chain hard enough to send Brody toppling all the way to the ground.
"Come on rat bait, no time for lying around."
Brody wanted to scream in Ripcon's face that it wasn't his fault he was on the ground like this. Instead Brody set his jaw and tried to get his feet underneath him again. His legs buckled the moment they bared his full weight. Fire shot through Brody's knees but he managed to catch his balance before faceplanting.
Scowling, and saying words that the translator didn't have an approximation for, Ripcon reached down and yanked Brody up by his bicep. In a convoluted way Brody was thankful Ripcon didn't let go of his arm since his, however unwelcome, support was the only thing keeping Brody from another tumble.
"Let's go rat bait."
Dragging Brody up to a massive white marble building, Brody couldn't help but gape as they passed through the ornate doors. Large chandeliers hung from the ceilings high above, gold and white trim curled elegantly around the room and the floor shone with some kind of black stone. Ripcon dragged Brody into an even larger room that had its own balcony weaving around the second level.
A raised platform took up half the far wall with a podium on it. Along the two long walls tables held all sorts of food and drink. Brody's stomach grumbled at the site. Ripcon heard it, if the smirk was anything to go by, but didn't get anything for Brody.
Instead he led Brody all the way to the podium and dragged him up the stairs. Brody's stomach flipped again as most of the eyes in the hall followed the pair. Ripcon didn't seem to notice, or at least didn't care, about the audience. He just pulled Brody to the right side and lashed the long end of the chain into a ring on the ground. Brody found himself on his knees before he quite realized what had happened.
"Behave rat bait. You wouldn't want to embarrass Galvanax in an event like this would you?" Ripcon's voice was full of warning.
Sucking in a shuddery breath, Brody didn't acknowledge Ripcon. Clawed fingers dug into Brody's chin and jerked his head up. "You hear what I said?"
"Yes." Brody ground out.
"Then answer me when I'm talking to you."
"Sure."
Ripcon's fingers dug deeper into Brody, "Try again."
"Yes Ripcon I won't embarrass Galvanax." Brody spat the words but it seemed to satisfy Ripcon for the moment.
He gave a condescending pat on Brody's cheek, just shy of what would be considered a slap, and made his way down to the others mingling in the room. Brody's chest shook with the effort to hold his breathing steady. He wanted to disappear. He wanted to scream at Ripcon, Galvanax, and everyone else who stared at him with amused interest. He wanted Mick. Brody's breath caught again when he realized he'd thought of Mick even before Dane or Aiden. That happened a lot now.
Brody didn't know what to do with that thought.
Thankfully the shrill whine of a microphone cut into Brody's thoughts. He looked up to see that sometime during his existential crisis the Nexus Prism had been brought to the far side of the podium and Galvanax stood next to some guy wearing a really tall top hat.
"Welcome honored guests. We are here to thank and honor Galvanax for everything he's done for our planet. . ." The man droned on and on about Galvanax's accolades. Brody quickly tuned him out.
Keeping his head ducked he looked around the room again using his peripheral vision. With the mayor- or governor or whatever he was- talking, most of the room's occupants weren't paying attention to Brody. That was more than okay with Brody. His shirt smelled terrible from undesirable stains, and his head throbbed. At least the cut had stopped bleeding. Hopefully inside a fancy room like this the big wigs wouldn't start throwing things at him again.
The speeches kept going as more creatures got up to sing Galvanax's praises. Brody's low back began to ache. He debated giving in and laying down, but figured Ripcon would likely use it as an excuse to say he disrespected Galvanax. Brody didn't relish the thought of any further 'correction' today. Time trailed on. Eventually though the adrenaline crash from the long hours and his forced march got the better of him. Brody didn't even remember dozing off but a swift kick to his side had him snapping upright.
Ripcon's face loomed over Brody, entirely too close for comfort. "Get moving."
Brody blinked owlishly, Ripcon's words processing slowly. A harsh tug on the chain, causing his wrist to throb in time with his side, cleared away the remaining fog. He scrambled to his feet and followed Ripcon down the podium.
The room had mostly cleared out, including Galvanax and Odius. What had to be the equivalent of wait staff filled the room, putting away dishes and leftover food. Brody's eyes dragged over the food being tossed into trash bins, but knew better than to ask for anything. In Ripcon's eyes he hadn't worked today so why bother feeding him? Never mind the fact Brody had essentially run several miles earlier.
Gritting his teeth Brody looked down and resolutely tried to ignore his hunger, thirst, and need to use the restroom. Hopefully, and wasn't that an ironic word, Ripcon's destination was to the Warrior Dome where Brody could at least deal with two of the three issues. Since the parade was over maybe they'd allow Brody inside the car this time to get back to make better time back to the airfield.
A vehicle, completely enclosed unlike the earlier ones, waited outside for them. To Brody's relief Ripcon pulled him along inside, and shoved him to an open spot on the floor. Not ideal but much better than it could have been. Leaning against the door, Brody stared out the window. The sun, or whatever this planet's equivalent, had set, but the city lights lit up the darkness. It pressed the ebbing and flowing ache for home that Brody always had. Despite the plant's inhabitants looking nothing like humans, this was the closest to Earth Brody had felt since being on the Warrior Dome.
The drive to the airfield went by in a blink- literally as Brody found himself dozing from the lull of the engine. He didn't struggle when Ripcon dragged him to the Warrior Dome's side. Once on board Ripcon made for the cell block. A pitiful gratefulness swam within Brody. He didn't know what would happen if he'd been told to work despite his impromptu nap earlier.
During the walk Ripcon didn't engage with Brody, even just to needle him. 'I wonder if he's tired too.' Brody wasn't going to complain though.
At the door to 'his' cell Ripcon unlocked the shackles and shoved Brody inside. The door closed with a thud. Away from Ripcon at last, Brody took care of a couple of his needs. His stomach still whined but Brody ignored it with practiced ease.
Collapsing on his pallet Brody realized he hadn't seen or heard Mick during his walk to the cell. If Mick had also been in his cell he'd have raised Brody by now on the watch or even verbally after Ripcon left. So likely he was still in the workshop. He beeped Mick on the watch.
A few seconds later Mick's voice came out over the speaker. "You made it back okay?" There were equal parts relief and worry in Mick's voice.
Brody didn't bother to ask how Mick knew he'd left the ship. "Yeah. Galvanax just wanted to show me off."
"What do you mean?" Mick's voice sounded more strained.
"Some trophy or something. They had a parade and I- uh-" Though Mick couldn't see Brody he flushed with embarrassment, "I had to walk behind Galvanax's car. Ripcon had me on a- on a leash."
Mick signed. "I'm sorry Brody. What happened after the parade? You were gone for a long time."
"Just a party or something. Ripcon tied me to the stage. I fell asleep at one point. We came back here after."
"And you're okay?"
Brody hummed. "Just tired." And hungry but Mick didn't need to know that. It wasn't exactly new news.
"Okay. Well I'll let you rest then. I'm in the workshop tonight."
"You sleep too." Brody ordered.
Mick huffed a surprised laugh. "I'll try. Call me though if you need me."
"Uh huh. Night Mick. Thanks."
Several halls away Mick also let out a sigh of relief Brody had made it back safely, whatever that word meant for them, to the Warrior Dome. He didn't like it but it was better than a hundred other scenarios that had run through Mick's mind during the day. Maybe, hopefully, one day it would no longer be Mick's greatest concern for his young charge.
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A/n- *Realizes it's been over a year* *Has no excuse besides [life]* Thanks for sticking with the story. Sporadic though updates may be, this will get written. Eventually.