An Untitled Novel

As soon as there was a lull in the conversations Basil asked the question that had been on the backburner since arriving. “Would there be any crafts, wormhole technology, or anything else that we could scavenge to get us back?” Grey shook her head, an apparently universal gesture. “Nothing that could create a wormhole would be here, I was told that every one of those systems was destroyed.” She paused for a moment, hesitating as if the information she had was almost not worth sharing, but continued to speak. “(Elthrice crafts) would have been destroyed during the (sterilization). We had not scavenged this planet yet, so it’s possible there’d be crafts abandoned here after the event. But it would be very unlikely, and even more unlikely that one would be left in working condition. This world did not have a starved or war torn death after the (sterilization).”

Basil tried not to dwell on the implications of Grey’s last statement. “We’re stuck here, you know I gotta check, and my compass is still giving me magnetic readings so I should be able to find my way back.” Grey sighed, seemingly knowing Basil was determined to embark on a fruitless endeavor. Basil, remembering the previous nod and now hearing a sigh, wondered if that was just her ‘savage’ ancestors speaking or if those were a lot more universal emotes. “(the admiral’s name) believed there was a food production facility in that direction” Grey said as she pointed in the direction of the red sun. “If there were to be anybody who set up some sort of camp post (sterilization) it would be a long walk in that direction.”

Grey began to provide more information to Basil while ACE set up a means of measuring location relative to the craft using compass readings and Basil’s phone’s gyroscope. Spiro, Cicero, and Casio decided to join Basil’s excursion, although Grey did not seem interested as she expressed it would be a fruitless endeavor and also wanted somebody present in case their captors returned. Taking stock of supplies, and grabbing a water bladder full of Elthrice water in the event Basil ran out of his, the four set off.

The journey began, as so many do, with seemingly endless conversations. Stories of their lives in their respective nations, thoughts of their current predicament, plans for what to do about it, and plans for after it was resolved abounded for a time between the four travelers. Basil gave a rundown on how to operate his rifle, and the three others spoke about their weapons and how they operated. Eventually, however, after a long stint of walking while seeing nothing but the occasional stone or metal debris poking out of the ground the group fell silent.

After just as much silence as there had been of talking, however, the group all turned behind them when they heard the distant rumble they now knew to be an Elthrice craft entering the atmosphere. All four quickly readied their weapons and stood by a large boulder, readying themselves to take shelter, but nothing happened for several minutes. Basil tried repeatedly to reach ACE, however, it seemed that he was well out of range of the crashed craft. There was of course a chance that at any minute ACE could contact Basil’s PDA without a craft acting as a relay. He was, at this very time, attempting to create an equation that would allow him to calculate the fourth variable that the crashed craft was using, but he had estimated that it would still be hours or days until he could figure it out - so they were likely on their own.

Just as the four began to lie to themselves to convince them that the noise could have been a meteor or something similar, two crafts appeared overhead - one smaller craft and the larger stingray-shaped one. For a long time both seemed to just hover menacingly, but eventually both landed nearby. A nerve-wracking wait later and the craft’s doors began to open. First was the smaller one, as several dozen of the Lizard King’s soldiers poured out - a relief to the four considering the warning about the other Elthrice factions.

The second opened and a large six-wheeled vehicle drove out, very clumsily as if it was being driven by someone who had no idea how to do so. The vehicle looked very worn, but it still seemed to be fully operational and Basil surmised it was the Elthrice equivalent of a tank. A voice boomed out from the vehicle which Basil recognized as the Lizard King’s son. “Basil, lay down your weapon and approach the machine.” Basil, trying to think quickly, tossed his rifle to the ground in the vague direction of his three traveling companions. He quickly turned and whispered to Cicero who had been standing closest. “Don’t pick this up unless I make a move, remember how it works and be ready.” Cicero looked like he was about to ask a question, but before he could Basil turned back and raised his hands before slowly walking towards the tank. Basil began to approach the tank, which was still turned sideways and barely out of the craft as if the driver had given up; all whilst receiving death glares from the soldiers he passed.

Approaching the side of the tank and standing still, Basil began to worry that this was an execution as one of the presumed guns began to move, but suddenly it stopped and the back door opened. He was quickly ushered in by one of the exiting soldiers who, unlike the ones in the formation on the ground, held neutral expressions. Basil walked in slowly, thinking over his plan, as his two escorts began flanking the Lizard King’s son in an otherwise cluttered room devoid of other people. Suddenly one of the soldiers turned back as if he forgot something before taking on an angry expression.

“I know of your trick.” Basil replied “What?” immediately worried his plan was about to fail. “Your hidden blade, hand it over” the soldier barked, now seeming to add annoyance to his face on top of the existing disdain. Basil reached under his shirt to retrieve the small tactical knife that still had blood on it, being very careful to not lift his shirt enough to reveal his concealed handgun. The guard seemed satisfied as Basil handed it over and the kid finally spoke. “My father is very angry with you, but I think if I take you before him and you plead your case he will spare you.” The kid spoke like he was trying to get a friend out of trouble while Basil replied with regret in his voice. “Kid, why’d you have to get tangled up in all this?”

Basil briefly tapped his hand on one of the panels on the wall as if he were giving it a short high five. A few seconds passed and the guards seemed slightly suspicious, but the guards’ attention was quickly turned to the panels in the front of the tank that had just turned off. As all three turned towards the seemingly malfunctioning panels Basil drew his pistol and took a step forward, putting his pistol point blank to the closer guard’s back only inches off of his skin. Basil’s hands shook and his subconscious fought the idea of killing this man who did not immediately pose a threat. As the guard started to turn back, however, Basil’s survival instinct won over and he fired. The guard dropped to the ground and the ears of the three still living inside the tank rang loudly. The kid looked on in horror, and the other guard began to raise what appeared to be some sort of rifle with a bayonet, but Basil fired an excessive barrage of gunfire at the second guard who crumpled to the ground in a growing pool of blood.

The screens turned on and ACE’s voice came over the console. “Are you being attacked?” As soon as Basil uttered “Yes” the guns on the side of the tank began to fire, switching between targets at a rate that would far exceed anything even a team of people could do. Through the once clear panels that seemed nearly opaque with age, Basil and the kid watched as dozens of men were disintegrated by some form of pneumatic weapon. Only seconds had passed, however, when the guns stopped firing and the two living and two dead in the tank were thrown around like ragdolls. The three by the boulder stood still, Cicero gripping the weapon but unable to move. The second the guns on the tank stopped firing the three watched in equal parts awe and horror at the vehicle’s movement. Despite its previous clumsiness, it moved with an almost unfathomable speed and fluidity as it ran over any of the surviving soldiers who were not hit by an onslaught of projectiles mere seconds ago.

Basil pulled himself to his feet and saw the kid on the ground in the fetal position. “Why?” he yelled at Basil, not moving, before becoming more hysterical and shouting “You killed them!?” Basil stood in silence, not sure how to respond. The kid began to break down into nearly silent sobs, but all Basil could think to say was “I’m sorry kid.” The kid spit bile with words directed at someone he seemed to consider a friend until now. “How can you be sorry? You chose to murder all of them.” Basil replied to the comment, his guilty subconscious not willing to let the comment go unanswered. “And what of the Redcaps that were killed during your attack, or when your people tried to kill me, or what your father would do to Spiro, Cicero, and Casio if we went with you?” Basil tried to make his words carry authority and confidence, but they only carried sadness and regret. The kid rose to his feet, but his mind appeared elsewhere as he was wordlessly led out of the tank by Basil.

“I’ll gut you like an animal for what your people have done!” Cicero shouted, rage in his voice, as soon as he saw the kid following Basil. “Don’t let him hurt me” the kid said quietly to Basil, suddenly seeming to become aware of his situation as Basil stepped in between the kid and Cicero. Cicero extended his right hand while holding Basil’s rifle in his left. “Give me your knife Casio” Cicero said in a low voice, prompting Basil to exclaim “What the fuck is wrong with you?” horrified at the idea Cicero appeared to be about to make good on his threat.

“You don’t understand the horrific crimes his ancestors have committed, and expect him to carry on” Cicero said, tone implying he was done with the conversation. “He’s just a kid Cicero” Basil said, but Cicero raised Basil’s rifle, pointing it vaguely at him. “Out of my way, there is nothing you can say to convince justice should not be carried out.” Basil glanced at Spiro who took a step back and looked behind Basil, but all five turned their head a second later as they heard the menacing approach of the tank behind them controlled by ACE. “He’s leverage” Spiro stated, seeing the bloody end the group could face if the confrontation went in the wrong direction. “Leverage?” Cicero asked indignently, and Basil had a knot in his stomach wondering if Spiro was okay with the kid being gutted until the confrontation threatened his ride home.

“You have him. His father would trade peace, and possibly even his own life, for his safe return. And if you kill him his father will probably lay waste to whatever remains of your capital.” Cicero sounded incredulous, beginning to say “Peace? After what-” but he stopped as he saw Casio shake his head, which seemed to stop Cicero in his tracks. Basil spoke again “I understand not forgiving their crimes, but keep in mind all who would suffer if we lose in the process of getting revenge.” Basil tried to end the conversation, remembering that Spiro had mentioned Cicero cared for more than just himself and the royal family. Some mix of emotions washed across Cicero’s face, who then threw Basil’s rifle toward his feet and turned to walk away.

Basil was glad to see the conversation was over, or at least postponed, and started to think about their next move. “ACE, go to the wreck and see if Grey wants to come with us. Casio, Spiro, grab as many weapons as you can from the dead soldiers. I’ll go grab us a craft.” Spiro seemed confused. “How many hands do you think we have? The weapons we do have are much better than anything here.” Basil shook his head. “Yeah, but I don’t know about the rest of the Redcaps in the capitol.” Spiro seemed to have a pleased look on his face for just a moment, and Basil wondered if that was because Spiro was glad Basil had expressed an intention to continue the fight as opposed to fleeing once they got back. Regardless, he and Casio went off to gather weapons and other supplies they could find among the dead.

Basil suddenly heard the sound of metal sliding in a scabbard. “I’m sorry too” the kid said, and Basil turned around while trying to draw his handgun. Before he could see what was going on, however, he was struck very hard in the head. He fell to the ground dazed and saw a large sword in a sheathed scabbard clang on the ground next to him as the kid ran away. Basil aimed his pistol at the back of the fleeing kid, but he lowered it and the knot in his stomach grew as he realized what he nearly did to a fleeing child. Especially to one who appeared to have intentionally risked his escape to sheath a sword and only incapacitate Basil.

“What happened?” Spiro asked, as Cicero and Casio made their way over. “He hit me” Basil said as he stood up trying to catch his bearings. Suddenly Basil caught a glimpse of the kid finishing a run up the ramp of the larger stingray-shaped craft, and though the four gave chase it lifted off before they could reach it. “My fucking tank!” Basil shouted, before adding “Why’d he have to take the big one.” The three stood there, Spiro seemingly glad Basil was okay and Cicero fuming that the kid had escaped.

Time passed and many mumblings of displeasure were shared, but eventually the tank arrived with Grey inside. Basil filled ACE and Grey in on the details of the events that transpired, wrapping it all up with a “But he had to take the big one and now we have to abandon the fucking tank.” Grey seemed confused. “Tank?” ACE filled Grey in on a summary of what a tank was, but Grey said “No” before continuing to explain what the vehicle was. “I’ve heard about these, they were meant to explore highly dense atmospheres for research.” Basil looked confused. “So what’s with the guns then?” Grey replied like it was obvious. “They were probably added after the collapse. It would have made an ideal device for war or crowd control once the machines meant to be used as weapons were destroyed.”

Basil took a moment to reflect on the implications of the words he just heard, even if the words were relayed in the same tone as one would explain how one design of craft is more aerodynamic. Cicero interrupted Basil’s thoughts, however, eager to leave. “We must go now, we can talk about your history later.” Spiro gestured to the smaller craft that was still there, but as they began to walk ACE spoke to Basil. “I will likely have the fourth variable ready when you arrive, and will get the jet in the air with some explosives on it shortly before you arrive in case we need them.” Basil nodded, saying “Well” while touching his hand to the console of the smaller craft. “Fingers crossed I will speak to you again in what will feel like a few seconds.”