05-02-2016, 08:47 PM
“Gangs out in the dunes that think they’re tough shit.” The trooper leaned back into his seat, his body relaxing and his arms folding at the chest.
“Sounds like a nuisance.”
“You have no idea.”
Suddenly the solid metal door behind the guard swung open, and a woman in the same white, plasticy armor stepped inside, boots clunking against the steel floor.
“Boss, can I talk to you?” As he said this another man, bowing his head in order to make it through the doorway, walked around the other two and to Aadibah’s side of the table. He gripped the soldier’s arm firmly, eliciting a wince and a gasp. Aadibah was escorted out of the room with haste, practically being dragged along the hallway leading out as the voices of the two troopers grew fainter.
The engineer’s feet kept pace with that of her escort, bare and making a steady pit-pat sound as they tread along the concrete floor. As she was pulled along, the soles began to grow red, her brow and nose scrunched together as a lump formed in her throat. Every few feet she would step on a drainage pipe no longer flush with the ground, which elicited a mumbled curse.
All the while the pair kept to one side of the hallway, putting as much distance between them and the row of cells as possible. Iron bars were the only thing standing between them and the few individuals who had decided to cause a problem for the troopers. The prisoners were spread out, as separated as possible. Only three max in each cell, and only one cell with the maximum number. An old and withered man missing his leg, a young and wild looking boy, and a mountain of a man. All of their eyes snapped to Aadibah as soon as she passed, and the soldier held their gaze before moving out of sight.
One of the cells they passed had a man with cast on his arm, two two-by-fours tied around with duct tape. The guard stuck a key in the lock of the next cell over, which only had one other occupant who sat in the corner. A thin man, with a thin beard and thin clothes. The bare-footed prisoner felt something bury itself hard into her back and she was suddenly behind the bars, followed by the clanging of steel bearings as they slid black into place.
Aadibah’s head pitched to the side slightly, standing there still as the sound of armored steps faded away. When they were gone she looked around the small ten-by-ten space she had been given. Like all the other cells, it lacked any sort of bed or seat, only a drain pipe in the corner opposite the man that made the engineer’s nose wrinkle.
Aadibah plopped her back against the wall and slid down, cuffed hands resting in her lap as her legs crossed and her buttocks smacked the floor. Her eyes danced around the room, every corner and every little crack in the concrete. The only light came from a single fixture in the ceiling, a rectangular pane of what appeared to be incredibly thick and wire-framed glass. The woman furrowed her brow.
Her eyes soon fell again upon the man in the corner, head hanging low. His face made her eyes squint, her lips slightly parting.
***
“What’s the bad news Shawn.” The old man’s head turned to follow his fellow Stormtrooper.
“Well actually that’s up to you Gary.” The woman sat against the table, hands gripping the edge. “Depends on if you think we’ll need to deal with a Kingdom Astronomist in the dunes.”
Gary’s eyes widened and he leaned forward, “The Kingdom? Here? I’m not even gonna ask how, just why?”
“An astronomer doesn’t seem like someone who could make use of the random shit you’d find in the dunes.” The trooper picked at some dirt on his fore-arm plates. “But random shit is sometimes pretty useful shit.”
“So do we want the probably useful shit or do we just want to make sure the Kingdom can’t have it.”
“Or is it even worth our time.”
“Because if it’s useless than we’d be wasting energy on trying to prevent the Kingdom from having useless shit.”
“Are we gonna keep doing this back and forth or are you gonna give me some orders?” The woman’s head hung to the side, steady eyes meeting her commander’s.
The two sat in silence for a small time, before the metal door opened again. The man that had taken the prisoner to her cell stepped in, again mindful of the door frame.
“Shana, did you tell him?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you propose, Kurt?”
“I say send a scouting party out. Watch from a distance.” The second man walked around the table, pulling the other chair out at least a foot before seating himself. “We should know for sure if this is Kingdom activity.”
“Our outpost is sure. They were flying their colors and the astronomer’s bodyguards all had medieval weapons.” Shana turned to address her squadmate.
Gary grumbled under his breath, “Don’t know how those dumbasses expect to do anything with just swords and shields…”
“They have and they will be a problem if we don’t solve it quickly. We should have the outpost enga-“
Shana cut in, “Not happening. We abandon that position and come back to some raiders who have decorated it with skeletons and spikes and leather and bul-“
“And I’m not about to have them suddenly go out of communications. If this is some Kingdom trap, then I want to be the one to spring it.” Gary stood up, pacing to the wall before pacing back, arms behind his back.
“And with us in the middle of it, and aware, it’ll all go to hell pretty quickly. We should still let that post know our plans, in case things go south.” Kurt spoke up again.
Gary nodded, gesturing to Shana, “Go get Rose started on an encryption, I wanna it sent out by the end of the day. We’ll be heading out tomorrow. Get packed.”
With that, all three shuffled out of the room, the woman at the head, soon out-pacing the two men who began to discuss the details of the trip.
Gary’s eyes kept flicking back and forth as he watched the cells, walking past each one with a calm and collected pace, closer to them than Kurt. A few prisoners met his eyes, but most kept their heads down.
Soon enough he came to the cell with the Arabian woman, slouched against the wall with her head resting against the concrete. His vision focused on her clothing, her posture, and mostly her eyes. They looked straight up, at the light. She was just staring at it.
The trooper stopped mid-stride, Kurt immediately going quiet on his counter-point. The two looked into the cell, the woman’s gaze having immediately snapped to meet their own as soon as their steps had ceased.
Gary went up to the cell bars, keeping his hands behind his back, “You know you can’t get through that glass.”
“I know. Just like seeing how long I can stare at it.”
“Like the sun.”
“Closest thing I’ve got right now.”
Gary hesitated at that spot for a small moment, Kurt watching the whole scene. The prisoner and the guard kept eye contact throughout, eerily still.
Soon enough the trooper continued going down the hall, the second man following suit. At the end a heavy metal door was opened by a third guard and locked with a massive deadbolt about as thick as grown man’s arm.
“She thinks she can get through that glass. She’s up to something.” Gary confided to his second-in-command.
Kurt looked back at the door, then to his commander, “That’s about a foot thick, sir, and with wire meshing.”
“And I’ve seen primes put holes in tanks with their bare hands.”
“She doesn’t seem to be one of those types.”
“When do they ever, Kurt?”
***
“…and ehts been pre’y much like dat since forevah.” The thin man finished his exposition. “Whole bunch o’ fuckheads, all o’ ‘em, eff ya ask meh.”
The soldier somehow managed to slouch even further into wall, as if attempting to be absorbed into it. Her head laid back, eyes closed. Her hands came up together to rub them.
The thin man watched her. “The ‘elled ‘ou do tah piss ‘em off anyways?”
“Walked into town with an automatic rifle.” Aadibah replied, still rubbing her eyelids. After a moment they came back to her lap. The engineer stared into nothingness.
“Pfahh, figuh as much.” The thin man gave his final thoughts on the subject before going back to brooding in the corner.
The strategist kept her vision forward. Her eyes, her face grew harder as each minute passed.
“Sounds like a nuisance.”
“You have no idea.”
Suddenly the solid metal door behind the guard swung open, and a woman in the same white, plasticy armor stepped inside, boots clunking against the steel floor.
“Boss, can I talk to you?” As he said this another man, bowing his head in order to make it through the doorway, walked around the other two and to Aadibah’s side of the table. He gripped the soldier’s arm firmly, eliciting a wince and a gasp. Aadibah was escorted out of the room with haste, practically being dragged along the hallway leading out as the voices of the two troopers grew fainter.
The engineer’s feet kept pace with that of her escort, bare and making a steady pit-pat sound as they tread along the concrete floor. As she was pulled along, the soles began to grow red, her brow and nose scrunched together as a lump formed in her throat. Every few feet she would step on a drainage pipe no longer flush with the ground, which elicited a mumbled curse.
All the while the pair kept to one side of the hallway, putting as much distance between them and the row of cells as possible. Iron bars were the only thing standing between them and the few individuals who had decided to cause a problem for the troopers. The prisoners were spread out, as separated as possible. Only three max in each cell, and only one cell with the maximum number. An old and withered man missing his leg, a young and wild looking boy, and a mountain of a man. All of their eyes snapped to Aadibah as soon as she passed, and the soldier held their gaze before moving out of sight.
One of the cells they passed had a man with cast on his arm, two two-by-fours tied around with duct tape. The guard stuck a key in the lock of the next cell over, which only had one other occupant who sat in the corner. A thin man, with a thin beard and thin clothes. The bare-footed prisoner felt something bury itself hard into her back and she was suddenly behind the bars, followed by the clanging of steel bearings as they slid black into place.
Aadibah’s head pitched to the side slightly, standing there still as the sound of armored steps faded away. When they were gone she looked around the small ten-by-ten space she had been given. Like all the other cells, it lacked any sort of bed or seat, only a drain pipe in the corner opposite the man that made the engineer’s nose wrinkle.
Aadibah plopped her back against the wall and slid down, cuffed hands resting in her lap as her legs crossed and her buttocks smacked the floor. Her eyes danced around the room, every corner and every little crack in the concrete. The only light came from a single fixture in the ceiling, a rectangular pane of what appeared to be incredibly thick and wire-framed glass. The woman furrowed her brow.
Her eyes soon fell again upon the man in the corner, head hanging low. His face made her eyes squint, her lips slightly parting.
***
“What’s the bad news Shawn.” The old man’s head turned to follow his fellow Stormtrooper.
“Well actually that’s up to you Gary.” The woman sat against the table, hands gripping the edge. “Depends on if you think we’ll need to deal with a Kingdom Astronomist in the dunes.”
Gary’s eyes widened and he leaned forward, “The Kingdom? Here? I’m not even gonna ask how, just why?”
“An astronomer doesn’t seem like someone who could make use of the random shit you’d find in the dunes.” The trooper picked at some dirt on his fore-arm plates. “But random shit is sometimes pretty useful shit.”
“So do we want the probably useful shit or do we just want to make sure the Kingdom can’t have it.”
“Or is it even worth our time.”
“Because if it’s useless than we’d be wasting energy on trying to prevent the Kingdom from having useless shit.”
“Are we gonna keep doing this back and forth or are you gonna give me some orders?” The woman’s head hung to the side, steady eyes meeting her commander’s.
The two sat in silence for a small time, before the metal door opened again. The man that had taken the prisoner to her cell stepped in, again mindful of the door frame.
“Shana, did you tell him?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you propose, Kurt?”
“I say send a scouting party out. Watch from a distance.” The second man walked around the table, pulling the other chair out at least a foot before seating himself. “We should know for sure if this is Kingdom activity.”
“Our outpost is sure. They were flying their colors and the astronomer’s bodyguards all had medieval weapons.” Shana turned to address her squadmate.
Gary grumbled under his breath, “Don’t know how those dumbasses expect to do anything with just swords and shields…”
“They have and they will be a problem if we don’t solve it quickly. We should have the outpost enga-“
Shana cut in, “Not happening. We abandon that position and come back to some raiders who have decorated it with skeletons and spikes and leather and bul-“
“And I’m not about to have them suddenly go out of communications. If this is some Kingdom trap, then I want to be the one to spring it.” Gary stood up, pacing to the wall before pacing back, arms behind his back.
“And with us in the middle of it, and aware, it’ll all go to hell pretty quickly. We should still let that post know our plans, in case things go south.” Kurt spoke up again.
Gary nodded, gesturing to Shana, “Go get Rose started on an encryption, I wanna it sent out by the end of the day. We’ll be heading out tomorrow. Get packed.”
With that, all three shuffled out of the room, the woman at the head, soon out-pacing the two men who began to discuss the details of the trip.
Gary’s eyes kept flicking back and forth as he watched the cells, walking past each one with a calm and collected pace, closer to them than Kurt. A few prisoners met his eyes, but most kept their heads down.
Soon enough he came to the cell with the Arabian woman, slouched against the wall with her head resting against the concrete. His vision focused on her clothing, her posture, and mostly her eyes. They looked straight up, at the light. She was just staring at it.
The trooper stopped mid-stride, Kurt immediately going quiet on his counter-point. The two looked into the cell, the woman’s gaze having immediately snapped to meet their own as soon as their steps had ceased.
Gary went up to the cell bars, keeping his hands behind his back, “You know you can’t get through that glass.”
“I know. Just like seeing how long I can stare at it.”
“Like the sun.”
“Closest thing I’ve got right now.”
Gary hesitated at that spot for a small moment, Kurt watching the whole scene. The prisoner and the guard kept eye contact throughout, eerily still.
Soon enough the trooper continued going down the hall, the second man following suit. At the end a heavy metal door was opened by a third guard and locked with a massive deadbolt about as thick as grown man’s arm.
“She thinks she can get through that glass. She’s up to something.” Gary confided to his second-in-command.
Kurt looked back at the door, then to his commander, “That’s about a foot thick, sir, and with wire meshing.”
“And I’ve seen primes put holes in tanks with their bare hands.”
“She doesn’t seem to be one of those types.”
“When do they ever, Kurt?”
***
“…and ehts been pre’y much like dat since forevah.” The thin man finished his exposition. “Whole bunch o’ fuckheads, all o’ ‘em, eff ya ask meh.”
The soldier somehow managed to slouch even further into wall, as if attempting to be absorbed into it. Her head laid back, eyes closed. Her hands came up together to rub them.
The thin man watched her. “The ‘elled ‘ou do tah piss ‘em off anyways?”
“Walked into town with an automatic rifle.” Aadibah replied, still rubbing her eyelids. After a moment they came back to her lap. The engineer stared into nothingness.
“Pfahh, figuh as much.” The thin man gave his final thoughts on the subject before going back to brooding in the corner.
The strategist kept her vision forward. Her eyes, her face grew harder as each minute passed.
Such terror you are facing
Isn't it wonderful?
Isn't it wonderful?