Chapter 11
"Good music is very close to primitive language."
-Denis Diderot (1713-1784)
The Barrens
Redmond, Seattle
April 4, 2059
2:30 pm
Gideon stuck his head through the door to see Michelle McVey resting comfortably. The corporate suit had put up quite a fuss for the past few hours. Now she had curled herself onto the small mattress in her room and quickly fallen asleep. Michelle was probably exhausted after the past day. He knew that she had gotten hardly any rest last night. Michelle's slumber would have hit her even if Ramon had not given her those drugs.
The ork snorted once, easing the door to with groggy hands. He had just woke up. The need for sleep was starting to get to him. The team had rested most of the day before the extraction and were taking long breaks now, but it did not help Gideon that much. He always had been a heavy sleeper. That made it harder for Gid to get up an around after he woke up.
He passed down the hallway of their new home. It wasn't much, a sub-basement to an abandoned factory. The factory once produced furniture before the roof collapsed and Redmond degenerated into the urban zoo that it was now.
Lenny liked it because the entrance to the basement was well hidden. He had congratulated Nightsky on finding the place. Gideon did not like it because it was hard to defend. The crumbling ruins around the factory offered a lot of hiding places. Nightsky had explained that the factory was dual-owned by two gangs. One was Nightsky's, the Blackhearts. The other half was held by the Spiders. The Spiders were a group of people that Gideon thought were slightly deranged. They had a hatred of bug spirits and committed themselves to destroying every last one of them. That was plain crazy talk to Gid. Bugs weren't something that the average joe wanted to mess with. Nightsky had assured everyone that the Spiders would be no problem. He had explained how the Spiders and the Blackhearts had a mutual alliance with each other. The Spiders kept any bug spirits off the Blackhearts back while the Blackhearts were able to bring in money and hiding places that the Spiders needed. It was a mutual relationship that had worked well. Though, Nightsky himself had admitted that he had never seen a bug spirit around here before. When Lenny asked why the Blackhearts would still hold a alliance with the Spiders if no one had seen and bugs, Nightsky just shrugged. He explained how the Spiders had a rather ruthless reputation in these parts. It was enough to allow a few rumors to spread. Those rumors helped intimidate most of the small, local gangs in the surrounding territory. Lenny knew it had to be a delicate balance with the local gangs as it was all past in rumor and legend.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom door. Gideon's augmented ears could here the dwarf's horrible notes as he sang a song in the shower. It was enough to make a street cat retch. Gideon listened only for a moment, then continued walking. This basement did not have electricity or running water when they arrived. Riggs had managed to run a few underground lines to give power. It was enough to ignite the ancient floodlights and run a small electric stove. He and Nightsky had also managed to uncover waterlines and turn the pressure back on. That gave everyone running water.
As Gideon approached what could best be described as a lounge, he picked up his assault rifle that he had leaned against the wall. He undid the heavy locks on the door carefully. Gid didn't want to wake up Tart or Shard who were both sleeping. He closed the door as quietly as he could.
Outside the sun glared through holes in an overcast sky. It made Gideon's head hurt at first. He fumbled for a pair of sunglasses to shield his eyes.
Rain again? Gideon thought to himself as the clouds hovered overhead. He began picking his way through the remains of the factory. His destination was the second floor. Most of it which was gone, but the catwalk and a good portion outside the central corridor of the factory was still standing. On the second floor he made his way to one of the corner offices. There was still four walls standing in it.
Well, three and a half anyway. One of the walls was practically blown out and had a huge hole in it. The desk and file cabinets had long since been thrown out. All that was left inside was stripes of support beams and concrete blocks.
"And?" Gideon heard Lenny's voice ask.
"Five." Nightsky replied. His voice was hushed. "Five either gone or hurt so badly that they won't be doing much for a while."
Lenny was staring out the remaining window in the office while Nightsky was leaning against the corner. He was looking out the open hole in the wall. Both of them were armed. Lenny had his AK-98 sitting on a block by his leg. Nightsky had an HK227 on a strap. He had his hands across the barrel.
"Gideon." Lenny said as he noticed the ork's approach. "Get any sleep?" Nightsky looked up at Gid for a moment, but he didn't say anything. The conversation that the two had been having faded away.
"Enough." The ork grunted showing yellow canines. "Where's Smiley?"
"Watching over the Bison." Lenny replied. "Is Riggs up?"
"Yeah." Gideon walked next to the hole in the wall that Nightsky was looking out. "The little halfer is singing in the shower. I think he's going to wake Shard up in a sec. She won't be too happy when she does."
"I can understand that." Nightsky said, yawning.
Lenny pulled a cigarette out of a crumpled pack. "Night, why don't you go find Smiley and get some sleep. Riggs and Gideon will take over the watch for the rest of the day."
"Soon as short and stumpy gets out of the shower anyway." Gideon remarked.
"Yeah, sure." Nightsky straightened himself and dropped his weapon into the palm of his hand. "I'll get Smiles." With that he walked out.
Gideon watched as the adept left. After he heard the creaky steps on the stairs stop whining, he glanced at Lenny. "How are things shaping?"
Lenny took a drag on his cigarette. "Could be better."
"The meet's in the morning."
"I know."
"Got any thoughts about it?"
Lenny shrugged. "Something about Mrs. Johnson makes me suspicious. I don't know wether it's just me or if she's got one of them type of personalities that make people think she's up to something."
"Maybe it's the suit."
Lenny laughed a little at that. "I could see in topless and in a g-string. It would still make me think she had some other angle." He looked up at the ork. "You think I'm paranoid, Gid?"
Gideon didn't answer at first. When he did his voice was deep and rumbling. Like he didn't care either way. "Yeah, your paranoid. Only it's not the bad kind of paranoid."
"I didn't know that there was more than one kind."
Gideon nodded. "There's the bad kind that makes a chummer too drekking scared to do anything. They don't take risks and they don't get anyway. Kind of like getting in a rowboat and rowing as fast as you can, but you ain't getting anyway cause there's no water beneath you." Gid leaned the butt of his M-23 against his hip. "Then there's this good kind of paranoia. I think that's the kind you got. It makes you smart, not stupid. You think out what your going to do before you do it. What makes you paranoid is the fact that your constantly thinking about what the other fragger is doing. While you may be worrying about what that fragger is doing, your also thinking about how you can stop him from doing it."
Lenny smirked. "Gid, I thought you told me that orks aren't smart. Thought you said orks were only good at cracking heads and beating sense into people."
Gideon gave a broken toothed grin. "Hey, don't say that too loud. You'll give us orks a bad reputation."
2:40 pm
"Riggs would you please be quiet!" Shard pounded on the door to the bathroom until her fists started to turn blue. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
The infernal racket pouring from the bathroom had been constant for the past hour. Riggs was in there happily singing all of his cares away. His singing sounded like a cross between nails on a chalkboard and someone trying to shave a cat with a rusty razor. Riggs had eventually hit a high note that startled Shard. She lay awake for a few minutes before the noise drove her up.
"Open this door now!" Shard shouted.
Riggs did not act like he heard her. He kept his singing up. The naive defiance was enough to make Shard a little angry. While half of her was pounding away on the door the other half was quietly contemplating a way to kill the little dwarf and burn his body.
The echoing sound as Shard pounded the door and also woke Tart up. She leaned against the wall and watched the scene. It was easy to see that Shard was getting frustrated.
The door creaked open. Riggs stepped out with a towel in hand rubbing his wet hair. The toilet was running behind him.
"What's all the noise out here?" He said as he shook his nose. "I can barely hear myself think with all the pounding on the door. That and the screaming makes me think that someone got set of fire. Sounded like a bloody banshee for crying out loud."
Shard crossed her arms. Her face showed deep contempt.
"And what's wrong with you, Shard? You having a bad hair day?"
"Just don't say anything." Shard held her hand up. "I don't want to hear another word." She pushed past Riggs and shut the bathroom door.
Riggs had to move out of the way or else the door would bump him. He looked totally oblivious to the whole thing. "What did I do?" He said to no one in particular.
Tart gave a shy smile and turned away. This left Riggs standing in the middle of the hall holding a wet towel and dripping on the floor.
The main door in the lounge opened. Two figures walked down and locked the door behind them. The sound of scuffing boots against hard concrete marked the entrance of Smiley. Nightsky was walking shortly behind the deranged samurai. He was heading for the sleeping bags that Tart and Shard had been using. Right now that knotted mass on the floor looked like a small slice of heaven. Exhaustion was starting to set in.
"Riggs?" Smiley grinned. "What in the name of dirt are you doing dripping on the floor?"
Riggs put his hands on his chubby hips. "I'll have you know that the reason I'm dripping on the floor is cause I just got out of the shower. I had to cut it short because of all the noise that Shard was making. You'd figure that she'd be nicer and let me finish up."
"Your on watch, Riggs." Nightsky reminded.
"Hey, don't tell me what I got to do." The dwarf sprouted. "I take my responsibilities seriously."
"Then why are you still in here?"
"Cause Shard won't let me finish my shower!"
Smiley walked up the Riggs and sniffed the air around him. "Funny, you don't smell any different."
Riggs gave Smiley a harsh look. "Well frag you too. You smell like a squatter's dead fish."
"Squatters can't afford fish, half-wit." Smiley countered.
"Smiley, I've taken dumps more impressive than you."
"And I've known joygirls with a better sense of humor."
Riggs smiled and planted his stubby fingers against his chest. "Big difference between my sense of humor and a joygirl's. No body has to pay for mine, I give the world a good speaking to what I think."
"You'd run over a joygirl before you had a chance to hear her humor."
"And it would be my fault that the joygirl was standing on the sidewalk when I'm barreling through at two-hundred?" Riggs said. "Hell, she's got to feet, let her jump out of the way."
"Shut-up both of you!" Shard screamed as she creaked the bathroom door and stuck her head out. Her long, blonde hair was wet and fell in strands over her shoulders. What little makeup she wore was smeared around her eyes. "I've had enough insanity and stupidity between the two of you to last me a life time. Both of you have got the maturity of eight year-olds. Now please be quiet." She slammed the door shut.
Smiley and Riggs stood silently for a moment. They both exchanged glances with each other and the door that Shard had closed in their faces.
"You know, I always thought that Shard was pretty stupid too." Riggs started off.
"Yeah, I've known devil rats that were more civilized." Smiley smiled.
Plastic Jungles
Redmond Seattle
6:00 pm
The sun cast unusual shadows over Seattle this time of day. The clouds overhead and the low thunder provided for an almost tranquil scene before the storm. The light of the sun was only surpassed by the glow of fires. Five blazes burned fruitfully into the approaching night. Each of them represented an individual who had fallen under the iron heel of civilization. It was a sad loss, but one that could not be change. That was the thing about death. It was so easy to come by. When it came there was no changing what it left behind. Death was the great equalizer.
Jackal watched the smoke from the flames rise high until the sky. They burned like the old Indian fires from the past century. As a result, Jackal felt like he had taken a trip back into the time. It seemed that he was witnessing the burial of fallen warriors on their way to the spirit world. He stared at the flames for the longest. There wasn't a thought in his mind. The flames had enchanted him. The fire locked him into its dance and refused to let him go.
A hand crept up on Jackal's shoulder. It was Mira's. She was looking concerned, but she knew that the worst was over. Jackal forced a smile at her. It was hard to do, but he managed. At the same time he looked back to the fires. Inside he hoped that he would never have to do something like this again.
The Barrens
Redmond, Seattle
9:30 pm
The Astral Plane.
A place where the very forces of life come together to create a different world that exists next to reality. It is as real as the ground under foot. It was hard for Shard to believe that less than a hundred years ago the idea of magic and the Astral were dismissed as flights of fancy. Now there were University courses that taught the subject. It was a respected profession in most of the world. After all, not everyone could wield magic. True magicians were few and far between. Most people who were magically active were some kind of adept. Only one out of ten turned out to be a full-fledged magician or shaman. This made Shard feel lucky that she had been so gifted.
Now her body sat in the basement of an abandoned factory. It was damp and cold there. However, her soul swam gleefully among the ethereal energies of the Astral. She could see further than any meat eye could. Watcher spirits that she had conjured skipped around the factory grounds like busy little bees. Each performing their patrols with simple thoughts in their minds. A fire elemental hovered quietly behind Shard. It's fiery glow gave a sense of warmth to Shard. Like a fire simmering over her shoulder.
It felt like she could sense the entire factory. It's calm energies mingling with the violent streets. The night had fallen and cast a cooling effect over the rusted supports and crumbling walls. Water sprinkles fell from the sky to further sooth the building. It was like nature was trying to reclaim this forgotten part of the world. Unfortunately, nature wasn't have much success with it.
"You await something?" A voice called out to her.
Shard knew better than to believe that she had heard a voice. Sound didn't really travel on the astral plane. It was more like energies or will that relayed the same information that a voice could. She spun her astral form around to see where the words had come from.
No less than a glimmer away she saw an astral form. It took the shape of an old monk in robes. His arms and legs were crossed in a lotus position with his head held low. The monk looked perfectly harmless.
"Who are you?" Shard asked with a curious will. At the same time she gave a slight order to her spirits and made slight adjustments in the mana around her.
The Monk seemed to grin a little. "I am but an old man who has found a shiny star in the sky." His will was calm and warm. Like a father speaking to a daughter.
Shard could barely make out enough from his aura to see that the form she was seeing was an astrally projected mage. She still had no reason to believe that this Monk was dangerous or not. It didn't pay to take chances. That was one thing that Lenny hammered into her head. Shard was confused about the form that the mage had chosen. Indeed any magician may choose a number of appearances in astral space. This Monk had taken a form that appeared harmless and weak.
Shard tried to force a smile. She didn't want to come of his mean or angry. "What can I help you with here?"
"I was admiring, my child."
Shard tilted her head. "Admiring?"
"Yes," The Monk replied. "You possess a great talent." He waved a robed arm around the factory. "Your spirits posses more tranquility than most."
Shard's watcher spirits continued on their simple patrols. They appeared in a variety of forms, but never grotesque manifestations. They took the shapes of a fairy or a sprite. Sometimes they were just glimmers of find and air.
"Thank you." Shard didn't know how to respond. So she took the Monk's words as a compliment.
"You have much karma about you, child." The Monk continued. "You have a heart that is vibrant and clean. Very different from most. A kind soul lingers about you."
Shard smiled a little, but she as uneasy. The presence of the Monk distracted her more than she thought it would. "Is there something I can help you with here?"
"Oh, no, child." The Monk replied. "I do not seek anything from you."
Shard stayed quiet.
"I only come to offer you aid."
"Aid?" Shard repeated.
"Yes." The Monk started to lift higher into the air. "Please follow me."
Shard hesitated at first, but she followed. The little Monk lead her to a height above the factory. Everything could be seen from this vantage point. Shard looked around for a few moments. She did not see anything special. She even looked over the factory. The only things she saw were the glowing auras belonging to the rest of the team.
"What is up here?" Shard asked.
"Do you not see it?"
Shard looked around again. She did not see anything out of the ordinary.
"Let me help your sight." The Monk said as mana started to swirl around the little form. Shard was on guard at first, but realized that the spell the Monk was casting wasn't harmful. A bubble of mana expanded from the Monk and enclosed Shard within it. The bubble wasn't solid. Shard's astral form could pass through it with ease. "This is true sight, my child. It reveals what others would hide."
Shard looked around. It seemed that more detail was revealed in astral space. Like someone had brought everything into finer focus.
"Do you see it now?" The Monk asked.
Shard looked at the Monk for a second. His aura was as calm as ever. She examined the space around her again. At first she didn't notice anything. Then she saw the fine, greenish line of mana that lead down to a point near the factory.
"What is that?"
The Monk nodded at her.
Shard approached the greenish mana, moving carefully so as not to disturb anything. As she got closer she realized what it was.
"A sustaining focus?" She muttered.
"You have much talent, young one." The Monk said as the bubble around them fluxed a little. More astral static was swept away. Auras were visible now. Auras that had been masked by a spell coming from the focus.
Shard stared at them for a moment. Then she looked at the Monk with a sinking feeling.
"My child," He said. "These souls seek to harm you. They are not kind or full of the radiant light."
"How did you know?"
The Monk smiled. "I always knew, but I feared you did not." With that the Monk faded away.
Shard stood speechless for a few moments. Then she focused on the auras below. Those people meant trouble.
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