Sonia
The Reveal - 2015
THE CAST:
Salvia Kiy/Birjjikk, Premier Gor/Carffekk, Supreme Commander Hallot/Henkk
Supreme Commander Mavar Hallot stood in his office with Premier Gor, absently looking out of the window at the view of desperately dour grey buildings that made up Allacrom Central Command Centre.
‘She won’t like this,’ said Gor.
‘I know,’ Hallot replied. ‘But do you want to tell her?’
‘No, Commander,’ said Gor, a sneer on his face. ‘I’ve received enough of her wrath lately, with delays to the Game’s planned end date. This one is all yours.’
‘You’re so kind.’
Hallot briefed Gor on the events on a small planet in the Sol system and the fate of the fourth member of their Cadre. ‘Arrange a meeting with her, immediately,’ Gor advised him. ‘You’d better not mention that she hadn’t carried out her mission, and the fact that she was murdering wantonly, which ultimately led to her being exposed.’
‘Yes, too much information,’ Hallot agreed.
Salvia Kiy entered his office. She went straight to Hallot’s desk, sat down, and put her feet up. ‘What is this about?’ she asked, putting them both immediately on their guard with the casual mood she projected.
‘We have disturbing news from the planet you sent Cumbajj to,’ Gor said.
‘She’s on a wild killing spree again?’ Kiy asked.
‘That has occurred,’ Hallot replied, giving Gor a sideways glance, acknowledging his inability to lie to her. ‘But the fact is, she’s dead.’
Hallot knew she would take news like this in one of two ways: raging fury or thoughtful appraisal – seeing a bigger picture of the one presented. She took the second option. She heartily disliked Cumbajj, but this was a blemish on her Cadre and needed a serious evaluation. Her rage would manifest later.
‘Have we a polygram?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ replied Gor, touching a small viewing device on his desk.
The optical imager they all had surgically implanted at the base of their skulls recorded and transmitted sounds and images from the right ear and pupil. This, together with access to their proprioceptors, gave a sense of their perception of feelings, thoughts, and movement. An interface transmitted the information to an amplifier and on to a small satellite. The data was scrambled and sent to a receiver orbiting Preenasette, reconstructed and stored on the polygram hard drive. The imagers could be switched on or off, but in Cumbajj’s case, there were specific override features.
‘Remind me. How long is the travel time from Sol?’ asked Kiy.
‘Eighteen months,’ Hallot replied. ‘The recording starts at the activation of Cumbajj’s body shielding.’
The view they were watching panned from one door at the rear of a large room to double doors at the other end. Cumbajj’s gaze rested momentarily on each of four captives bound to chairs, with varying amounts of blood on the floor around them.
‘That one is Kean DeMancer, the Reticent Guard operative. The others are natives of the planet,’ Gor explained.
Two male Earthlings, closely followed by a female, broke in through the double doors and opened fire on Cumbajj. One had a handheld laser weapon and the other a primitive weapon firing metal projectiles. Cumbajj forced the latter to turn the gun on himself. Two more Earthmen entered from the opposite door, one with a much larger laser weapon. Before he could fire, it dropped out of his hands, clearly influenced by Cumbajj. She stalked to the adversary, her segment sword flicking to open fully. She drove it deep into his midriff.
There was a voice in Cumbajj’s head.
‘I can stop you, creature.’
‘This is the Royal hiding on this planet,’ Hallot said.
‘Ha! You are nothing. Your power is nothing. I will show you power, child.’
The three Zerot could feel the girl’s inability to sustain any prolonged attack and their Cadre member was getting the better of this weak adversary. A Kayman wolf-dog attacked Cumbajj, leaping high toward her. She waited patiently, her bloodstained sword ready to strike again.
‘Here, the Royal tries a simple time acceleration bubble, but ultimately achieves nothing, except preventing the death of the canine,’ Gor said. ‘But here, it gets interesting.’
Kiy felt the presence of a second mind immediately. Taking her feet off the desk, she sat up – giving the scene her undivided attention. ‘Who is that?’
The others didn’t answer, letting the graphic account continue.
She could feel Cumbajj lose control, and felt her panic against the combined strength. The laser cannon in another’s hand found its target, the control she exerted over her body shielding had failed. The last image before everything shut down was the Royal slumping to the floor.
‘Who was that?’ Kiy asked, somewhat desperately. ‘She had help!’
‘We do not know,’ Hallot said. ‘This technology doesn’t allow for any information that isn’t being experienced by Cumbajj.’
Kiy produced a scanner. It hovered at about waist height and emitted strange green light. Soon the epidermis of Salvia Kiy fell to the floor, revealing an ashen Birjjikk. The other two stared at her. She seemed to have aged fifty years.
‘Go,’ she said. ‘And don’t allow anyone in here. I need time to evaluate what has happened.’
They paused a moment too long.
‘I said GO!’