(August 25, 2007)
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Brody poked at the green goop that had been slid through his door. It shuddered slightly before sliding back into place. Any disgust he had was completely overshadowed by the yawning ache in Brody's stomach. He just wasn't sure if he'd call this substance food. Though, if they were going to kill him they'd probably have chosen a different method by now.
Steeling his nerves, Brody picked up the bowl and took a sip. If there had been a mirror in the room Brody would have been able to see his face turn a shade of green that rivaled the contents of the bowl. He swallowed as best he could while fighting a gag.
His stomach had a hard time figuring if it was glad to have something in it, or if it wanted to eject it. Several deep breaths later Brody was fairly confident he wasn't going to puke. Knowing what to expect almost made the thought of his next sip worse. 'Come on. You have to eat.' Unless he wanted to starve, which after an excruciating day and a half of nothing did not have any appeal, there was no other option.
Taking a deep breath Brody downed the contents of the bowl. Hand flying up to his mouth Brody tried to encourage the liquid to stay down. To his relief it did. Brody sipped slowly from the cup that had accompanied the bowl. He wanted to guzzle the water but there was no telling when the guards would give him more.
After pushing the bowl towards the door, Brody scooted toward the back of his cell. It was only a few minutes before a robot looked through the window. With a click the door swung open, squeaking on its hinges. Brody warily watched the robot grab the bowl. It left without acknowledging the boy's presence.
The brief moment the door was open fanned a hunger in Brody far deeper than his stomach had experienced the last couple days. Freedom. Something as simple as being able to leave a room when he wanted was a luxury he had never appreciated until now.
Sighing, Brody turned and ran a finger on the wall next to him. Two tick marks stood out white against the dull gray. 'Two. That's all it is. But it's two days too many.' Brody glared at the wall, letting it take the full brunt of his wrath. It couldn't retaliate, unlike Ripcon. Brody's eye was still swollen, but the pain in his ribs had faded enough that it no longer hurt to breathe normally. Relief there only allowed Brody to feel the pain in his wrists and ankles all the more. Even through his clothes the shackles dug into his skin. Brody bit back another sigh.
As much as he hated to admit it, he was bored. Adrenaline surged when anyone came near his door, but during the long hours in between there was nothing to do. The old blanket and slightly filled bucket offered no distraction, and the chains prevented him from walking easily let alone working his forms. He had only his thoughts to keep him company.
Leaning his head against the wall, Brody closed his eyes and let his mind drift back to Earth. 'Even if I can't do my forms I can still practice them.' Mentally executing his forms step by step Brody replayed each form he'd learned over and over. It wouldn't help his muscle memory, but if the shackles ever came off he'd be able to remember the forms to actually practice them. The clothes on his back and what he could remember was all he had left of home.
The heavy, increasingly familiar, click of his cell's lock snapped Brody's attention back up to space. He looked up to see the large cat woman, Odius if he remembered correctly, walk in. Cold spikes of fear crawled up his spine. Involuntarily, Brody pressed himself flatter against the wall. She stood staring at Brody for so long he had to fight the urge to squirm.
"Interesting." Odius finally commented. "We haven't had any dealings with your kind before. I can't say I've been impressed. Galvanax has been searching for the Nexus Star for decades and it only takes a handful of days being on Earth for it to come into our possession." Brody stared down at his wrists determined not to give her a response.
"Though as Galvanax mentioned, the fact it came to Earth in the first place was surprising, never mind that a human was able to hold and wield the Star. That begs the questions, what's so special about you, and what do you know about the Nexus?"
Nothing, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Legs entered his line of sight moments before a clawed hand jerked his chin upward so he was staring into her eyes.
"What do you know about the Prism?"
Brody set his jaw and glared up at her. He barely had time to blink before Odius backhanded him across the face. Brody's head jerked to the side as he let out a yelp of pain. Eyes watering, he reflexively brought his hands up to his cheek.
"What do you know?" Brody kept his hands cupped over his face and refused to meet her gaze. "Fine there's other ways to get information. Mark my words, I will get what I want. No matter how long it takes." Odius hissed before she turned and stalked out of the room.
Once she was gone some of the built-up water in his eyes found its way down Brody's cheeks. Carefully burying his face in his hands, Brody tried to shut out the world. However, the stinging on his face served as too strong a grounder.
It wasn't like Brody hadn't been hit before on Earth- karate practice came with some mishaps, as did wrestling with family members- but until the last couple days he hadn't known the pain of those intentionally trying to hurt someone else. Such actions fed the gnawing feeling of helplessness that still threatened to choke him.
These personalities were like nothing Brody had dealt with before, and each of his captors were a different type of cruel. Ripcon was mad at everything. His anger bubbled and simmered close to the surface before resulting in an eruption. Odius was something different, subtler. She was like a snake hiding in the grass. The danger unknown until too late. It was a small consolation that Brody hadn't seen Galvanax since their first encounter on the ship. He shuddered violently at the memory.
'It's not like I have a choice to avoid any of them.' Brody thought bitterly. 'They have the keys. I don't.' Slowly the sharp sting faded to a dull ache. Another tray was slid through the door. Brody found he was able to stomach the goop a little better than earlier. Shoving the empty bowl towards the door Brody went back to his corner, curling up in his thin blanket so ready for the day to be over. He started to drift off when a raised voice broke through the silence.
"I said I was hurrying!" A man's voice snapped. There was a grinding and clicking noise in reply. "Well excuse me for not going the speed you want when I've been awake for two straight days getting the ship's computer back up to speed!"
Footsteps echoed in the hallway coming closer. Brody sat up, watching the door. Two of the blue robots walked past his window. That was nothing new, but the figure being shoved along behind them was.
Brody couldn't see his face, but from what he could see the other being looked human. His hair was an odd blonde streaked with brown, but he bore no resemblance to the contorted, hulking brutes that had grabbed Brody. Having seen only the weird monsters and robots for a couple days, seeing another humanoid was jarring. 'Apparently I'm not the only prisoner.'
A door slammed nearby and the sound of the robots faded away. After a few seconds a deep sigh drifted Brody's way. He debated on calling out to the person, but before he could work up his nerve soft snores filled the air. Laying back down, Brody eventually drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Waking came sooner than Brody preferred. A sharp nudge to the ribs brought him to awareness. He opened his eyes to see a bowl inches from his face. Confused, he sat up and tried to rub the sleep from his eyes. The robot made a noise that sounded like gears being wound and pushed the bowl forward spilling some of its contents on Brody's shirt. He grimaced but kept his less than complimentary thoughts to himself. 'They might just take it away.'
Brody held it for a moment waiting for the robot to leave. Instead it stood there waiting before finally waving his hand in "go on" motion. Self-consciously Brody raised the bowl to his lips and drank.
When he was done he held the bowl out, but the robot didn't reach for it. Brody shrugged and set the bowl down, leaning back against the wall. The robot clicked something. Brody stared back blankly. If a machine could be exasperated this one certainly appeared to be. It made the noise again and grabbed Brody's arm pulling him upward. Apprehension built in Brody's gut. 'Looks like I finally see what they have in store for me.'
Brody stumbled, his legs weak from lack of use. The robot didn't let him find his footing before dragging him from the cell. Another robot appeared on Brody's other side, keeping him upright when his legs bucked. Brody bit his tongue to keep from crying out when the pace set made the chains dig into his ankles.
Halls passed and Brody was fairly sure they were going in a different direction than the control room. Several doorposts later the robots stopped in front of a large black door with a keypad next to it. One of Brody's guards blocked his view and punched in a sequence. There was a beep and the door swung open. Mouth dry, Brody slowly followed the robot inside.
A chaotic variety of shelves, metal, and mechanical equipment lay sprawled around the room. Along the far wall a counter lined the span of the room filled with equipment. A desk sat in the middle of the room, almost invisible beneath the amount of paper, wires, and metal bits on it. Though a somewhat different setup from what Brody was used to, the familiarity of a workshop atmosphere had an immediate effect on his nerves. Until the blonde/brown haired man popped out from behind a shelf, wires in hand.
The man's jaw dropped at the sight of Brody flanked by the robots. His gaze flicked across the shackles on Brody's wrists before landing on the bruises on Brody's face. The shock in his face quickly changed to anger. Brody shrank back against the robots. Not that their presence offered any comfort. 'What's he going to do to me?'
The man must have seen Brody's reaction because he immediately dropped the glare. Brody didn't even notice- he'd already curled his arms and neck inward to avoid the fists that were sure to come.
Shoving Brody forward, one of the robots made more clicking noises. After a brief pause the robots left, leaving Brody alone with the man. Brody stood frozen, his breath hitching as the man walked slowly towards him.
"It's okay." His voice was deep, but he spoke slowly and calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Brody's gaze remained fixed on the floor. He turned slightly to the side, unable to hide the tremors running through his body. So far no one on this ship hadn't wanted to hurt him, or at least didn't care if they did. 'Just because he's probably also a prisoner doesn't mean he's an ally.' It could just be an act to get Brody to lower his guard before he struck. The man stopped a few feet away from Brody, hands outstretched in a nonthreatening manner. Brody's eyes followed the man's hands up to his face.
"My name's Mick, well Michael, but you can call me Mick. I'm sorry if I scared you." He sighed and ran a hand through his already upright hair. "I didn't know Galvanax was in the market for another. . . Well, that is to say, I was mad that there's a beat-up kid in chains on Galvanax's ship. I'm not mad at you, I'm just mad you're here."
Mick wrinkled his nose and started muttering almost too soft for Brody to hear, "Well that was stupid. Way to make him feel comfortable. You really have a way with words." Mick rubbed a hand over his eyes.
That definitely didn't sound like the brash arrogance and unrestrained violence the other beings had used when speaking to Brody. He watched Mick's face closely. "Y-you're not going to hit me?"
Mick clenched his jaw and he took a couple deep breaths before answering. "No." It was a soft, profoundly sad word. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you. I don't want to be here anymore than you do." He gestured to Brody's wrists. "Let's see about getting those off. Apparently Galvanax wants me to teach you about the goings on in the ship, but I'm not going to do it with you like that. Seriously, it is almost impossible to sweep with handcuffs on, let alone thread wire through a fifteen-foot pipe before attaching it to the power generator in the right way to make sure it won't blow up."
Brody blanched and took a step backwards. "B-blow up?"
"Sorry, I probably didn't need to say that. You won't be doing any wiring right now, that was just an analogy."
"Okay?" Brody's head spun, but he wasn't about to turn down the offer of having his hands and feet free.
He slowly approached the desk as Mick picked up a thin metal rod.
Mick gestured towards an adjacent chair. "Why don't you sit down. This may take a minute." Brody complied and Mick knelt next to him. He gently lifted Brody's right hand and inserted the device into the key lock. "So, what's your name?"
"B-Brody."
"Brody huh, well, it's not under the best of circumstances, but it's nice to meet you."
"You too?" It came out more of a question than a statement, but Mick didn't take offense.
At that moment the shackle fell from Brody's wrist. He couldn't stop his gasp of relief. Mick gave a small smile in response. Just as quickly his left wrist was free. Tears leaked from Brody's eyes at the literal weight dropping from his shoulders. He stretched his arms for the first time in three days.
"I know the feeling." There was a bitter note in Mick's voice as he started to work on the fetters. Brody looked up at him. "Galvanax has a standard procedure with his new. . . acquisitions. He tries to get you feeling so low that it keeps you in line."
Brody clenched his fists. "Are- are there others here?"
"Not right now. Since I made the kudabots there hasn't been much need for extra bodies around. Well extra bodies who don't have the option to come and go as they please. The kudabots do most of the grunt work. I'm kept around for mechanical maintenance for the ship."
"Kudabots? You mean the robots? You made the robots!?" Brody leaned further away from Mick.
Mick grimaced and fell back a pace, giving Brody more space. "Yeah. Galvanax's idea. With some. . . encouragement from Ripcon." He spat out the last bit. Brody flinched at Mick's anger, and the mention of Ripcon. Mick sighed. "Again, sorry. I haven't really had anyone to talk to but myself for a while. The Kudabots aren't great conversationalists. Just passing orders on from higher up."
"That's okay." Brody dropped his head towards his lap when realizing what Mick said. "You can understand them?"
Mick made a so-so motion with his hand. "I get the jist. It's not language so much as assigning meaning to their gears shifting. Galvanax wanted a machine that would take orders without talking back, but sometimes it's necessary for them to report. So I created them with communication capabilities that Galvanax can ignore if he wants."
"But they boss you around?"
"One of Galvanax's stipulations, uh orders," Mick amended at Brody's scrunched eyebrows. "He controls them. Is it okay if I work on your ankles again?"
Brody blinked and realized that Mick had only gotten one ankle done before letting Brody before getting out of Brody's personal space. Hesitantly he nodded. Mick returned to working on the fetters.
"There!" Brody's feet came free. "Got them." Mick leaned back on his heels and tossed the chains into the far corner of the workroom. He leaned against the desk, once again letting Brody have space.
"T-thanks." Rotating his ankles and wrists Brody tried to lose any remaining feeling of the chains. His muscles were stiff and his clothes hadn't completely protected his skin from chafing, but all in all Brody felt much better. He turned to Mick, "So what now?"
"Crash course on Galvanax and the Warrior Dome."
"What's the Warrior Dome?"
"That's the name of the airship we're in. Well it's kind of an unofficial name since the ship has a warrior dome in it." Mick paused seeing the confused look on Brody's face. "Let me start over. Galvanax is from the Marunian Galaxy, which is about as far from your Milky Way Galaxy as you can get in the universe. They're a fierce and cruel group who love war and combat. Over the years though their violence has turned from killing to sport.
"They created Galaxy Warriors which is a televised gladiatorial style battle royale but with less casualties- most of the time. Galvanax made a name for himself in the game and was the reigning champ for years before his fame gave him the job of overseeing the game rather than being in it. This ship houses the arena where the fights take place. Unless expressly ordered, stay away from that area. Those fighters are not known to be kind." Mick subconsciously rubbed his forearm. Brody noticed a thin, silver scar running the length of Mick's arm, disappearing into the sleeve of his t-shirt.
"So Galvanax travels the galaxies looking for new warriors that he can manipulate to be under his control through Galaxy Warriors. He's obsessed with control and wants to stay the best fighter in the universe so he also goes after objects and weapons of power. That's the double use for this airship."
Brody angrily shook his head. "So that jerk is fine ruining lives because he wants to be super powerful?"
Abruptly he stood up and walked to the desk, staring blindly at the schematics scattered on it. Brody gripped the edges and tried to get his thoughts in order. Small clanking noises came from behind him, but Brody didn't turn around. He tried to ignore the pressure building up in his throat as he worked to get his next sentence out.
"My dad died trying to stop Galvanax." The noise behind him stopped. "This prism fell into our yard with a throwing star in it. I think Galvanax called it the N-Nexus?" A sharp clatter came from behind him. Brody jumped and turned to see a wrench on the floor with Mick staring at him wide eyed.
"The Nexus? The Ninja Nexus Star? Your dad had in his possession the Ninja Nexus Star?!" Mick sat heavily on the vacated chair. "That makes sense now why Galvanax would care about a fringe planet." He muttered to himself before looking back to Brody. "But you're here which means. . . Galvanax has the Star?"
Brody looked back to the table. "Yeah. He. . . he took it from my dad after they ganged up on me at home. Dad tried to destroy it rather than let Galvanax have its power. I don't know for sure what happened, but there was an explosion and- and after Dad wasn't there. The crystal had the pieces of the Star in it, and Galvanax took me with it here." Brody swallowed hard and rubbed at his raw wrists. "Though, the Prism hasn't let Galvanax in. My brother Aiden was there too, in the barn right next to us. I don't know what happened to him. . ." His throat clogged and he couldn't say anything else.
Weight pressed on his shoulder causing Brody to flinch.
"I'm sorry Brody." Mick's voice was hollow, filled with shared pain. Brody shrugged trying to regain some of the numbness holding his emotions together.
"H-how did you end up here?"
A deep sigh came from behind him and Brody turned to face Mick. "My story's almost as abrupt as yours." Mick sat back down, his eyes glazing over as he relived his own nightmares. "I'm from the Lion Galaxy."
"You're from a different galaxy?" Brody blurted. Any extraterrestrials he'd seen on the news or in history books hadn't looked human at all like Mick did. "But you speak English."
Mick gave a ghost of a smile. "No actually, I don't. I saw when you came in they'd outfitted you with a universal language translator." Brody brought a hand up to his ear. Mick nodded, "They're programmed to let you hear whatever's being said in your native language."
"At home- when they came- they were speaking English though."
"The device has a 'project' function so when the user speaks he or she can be understood. Handy when you interact with people from other galaxies. . . such as the Lion Galaxy, which is several thousands of light years from your Milky Way. It's much nearer to Galvanax's home and the ruling family of my planet isn't much better than Galvanax. Harshness and cruelty are their way, but they don't share Galvanax's love of bloodshed. They would often cut deals with him, exchanging labor, goods, and pleasures- those sorts of things.
"This had gone on for years, but my parents and I weren't greatly affected. We were part of the lower merchant class, not poor enough to be simple laborers, but not rich enough to have an in with the rulers. Not that my parents would want such a thing anyway. Our position allowed me to attend a better school than I might have otherwise, and I quickly found I had a knack for engineering and mechanics. By sixteen I was already enrolled in the most prestigious college my world had to offer and I actively contributed to the development of the capital's defenses, robotics and other needs." Mick paused for a moment, taking another deep breath.
"After a couple years I knew I had gained the attention of the emperor for my work, but I didn't care. I was doing what I loved and was helping to provide for my family while still in school. It was close to graduation when Galvanax paid the ruling family another visit. The advancements I had helped create caught Galvanax's eye and he wanted possession of the one making such things for his own purposes. The emperor, not wanting a quarrel with Galvanax, and seeing how he could profit, sold me to him." Mick laughed humorlessly.
"I didn't even know it. I was walking home after classes when some of the palace guards surrounded me and shoved me into a waiting car. They took me to Galvanax's ship and I haven't been off since. That was ten years ago. Like you I didn't get the chance to say goodbye. I don't know what my parents were told, if they were told anything at all. . ."
Brody shook his head. "Why? Why are people like that? Why are there those who don't care what they do to others?" He didn't think Mick would have the answers, but anger bubbled up in him at what they'd both endured.
Mick shrugged. "I don't know Brody, I don't know. There are those out there who destroy others for their own gain, but there are others who will rise up to face them. We just have to hope that one day someone, or someones, rise against Galvanax."
Brody turned to face Mick, a hard glint in his eye. "When that happens, I hope I'm there with them."