TITTLE: Wuthering Halls
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 1
I couldn’t believe what i saw: The Planetary Chief Socrates had secretly saved my life … So, he knew that I was innocent, or else he knew about Desmond’s plans …
-Chief Socrates … how is it possible? - I still didn’t believe i was free.
-Dante, remember that I must know EVERYTHING about MY Planet … -Again that strange feeling of possession was seen in the way of talking about Next Island. He sat on the grass next to me.
-Listen… Your wife and your friend the Toulano came to see me and told me everything they knew about your adventures with Simon and Desmond … The planetary TP and the betrayal of some members of the Stel faction … We had to intervene.
-But… why didn’t you intervene in person? You are the Planetary Chief of this area of the Entropy Quadrant.
Chief Socrates looked at me amused, as if he had to explain a lesson to a student.
-Let’s see Dante, this is … Politics … There are several factions in Next Island, and also a kingdom from another time, Ancient Greece … The balance is precarious between all the factions … I can’t intervene in one, because the others would throw themselves like wolves to take the place, and what is worse … that instability would lead to problems with the Central Government of Calypso … there they have their own problems with the robots, and if something happens on a planet in the Entropy Quadrant, they fire the Planetary Chief and put another in his place … and we don’t want that to happen, do we, Dante?
Power games … that’s what I was involved in now because of Desmond, Mark and the handling of some of the VIP Stel.
-So, Dante, we will have to do it in a discreet, hidden way … If the planetary TP is known because of this crisis, there will be chaos between the factions trying to take advantage of the possible advantage if they find the place … We cannot allow it.
-Yeah, Boss … and in this interval we have lost Simon … he was a great help despite our differences, but now he’s dead … -deep down I felt guilty for his death.
-Too bad we couldn’t resuscitate him, -Socrates said.
I was amazed … could it be resurrected despite being removed from the DNA data banks ?. I asked Chief Socrates, who explained to me that with a DNA sample the avatar could be reconstructed with memories up to the moment of death … The bad thing is Desmond was cremated in Ancient Greece once the investigation was finished; Furthermore, when he sold himself as a mercenary, he was very jealous of his privacy and security and, therefore, no one knew where he lived … Maybe in his house there was some DNA residue to be able to reconstruct it.
-I’m sorry Boss, but I don’t know where he lived either … Too bad I couldn’t bring him the Viceroy helmet that I gave him.
-Were you going to give him a helmet? -Socrates asked.
-Yes, he said that Viceroy helmets were his favorites, so I looked for one for him … When we came back from Teleporting I was able to get a contraband one … I showed it to him, he tried it on but it was too big for him, so he left it to me to read. I will change it for another … and with so much trouble with the animals, Desmond and everything else, it stayed in my private storage …
-He tried it on … -Socrates was thoughtful, smiled and immediately said - Dante, we have to go for that helmet, it could be that it had some DNA from him.
-But … let’s see … I can’t go back for my storage … I’m on the run, I’m an outlaw …
-Yeah, but Katalina if she can legally go after your belongings. -Socrates was in everything.
We notified Katalina … in a couple of hours she showed up … We hugged each other tightly while Socrates quietly retreated to the background … After that intimate moment we explained the whole situation to her, and what she had to do: Report to the Stel barracks where we resided and go to my private Storage, which was in the basement of the building. Each Stel has a private Storage that only he can open, unless there is some authorization for a close relative, and that’s what we were going to do… I wonder what is in Katalina’s Private Storage… I’ve never known.
The rest of the afternoon was spent by Socrates and I chatting amiably about the political situation in the Entropy Quadrant, until Katalina appeared in her Quad… She had a package in her hand: It was the famous Viceroy helmet… Socrates took it, went to his backpack and He pulled out the strange device that he had undoubtedly used to reconnect to the DNA Banks.
Katalina and I watched with interest … the strange device launched a bluish beam into the helmet, scanning it … Seconds later, images of the people whose DNA was in the helmet appeared on the screen: A known Arkadian smuggler, me himself, Katalina who had just brought it in her hands, another who would undoubtedly be the Crafter … and someone whose DNA was missing or had been erased … Possibly it was Simon …
We got going … we went to a nearby revive and entered the data of the unknown subject … the Revive stayed for a while processing … and a green light appeared on the terminal: The data had been 99.92% accepted … That is, some failure was possible …
We all looked at each other … Socrates manually activated the “Revive”, and immediately afterwards, a form appeared lying on the ground between great flashes … he was naked, and in his strong muscles you could make out the scar on his belly that I had made with my SI Knife some time ago, before we were friends … He moved … he turned his face with his eyes open, and we saw a spot in the shape of a lightning bolt on his skin, on the left side of his face … Without a doubt, the result of 0.08% of mistake. Simon jerked to his feet, staring into space as he screamed.
-Damn Desmond !!! I’ll take you with me to hell even if it’s the last thing I do !!!
He collapsed backwards giving a strong blow … without a doubt his mind was recreating the moment of his death … We had to give him time, but the important thing is that he was alive and we had a good mercenary in our ranks … Desmond and his dirty dealings had their days numbered …
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 2:
-I can’t believe it… I can’t believe it, damn it !!
The one who spoke thus was Simon … once he woke up and could focus his gaze, between the Chief Socrates and I we explained what happened, as well as his resurrection … incredulous, he looked at his image on the screen of one of our tablets … to discover the strange new scar on his face …
-Dante, every time I have to do something with you I end up with a new scar … You are unlucky chasing my butt all over Next Island…
The situation would have been very comical had it not been for the seriousness of the events … when he recovered a bit and his anger passed, Simon told us about the last seconds of his life.
-The roof fell on us, and without a doubt I lost consciousness … I was awakened by a huge, indescribable pain, from the inside out of my body … the pain of the disconnection of the DNA banks … I couldn’t move, that idiot Mark had me held with all his might … And I saw Desmond …
Simon stared at me …
-Dante, you were unconscious, and that bastard was holding your hand with the Chikara in hand … he was pointing at my neck, and his finger is on top of yours on the trigger of the gun … Damn … The very pig shot while cursing him with all my might … explosion on the neck, and all black … until a moment ago …
-Okay Simon, calm down … -Socrates put his hands on his shoulders in a friendly gesture. -It’s all over … you’re back to life, and now we must end this story before Desmond does something dangerous.
Behind us we heard the sound of the teleporting chips materializing … Moustapha appeared and our most recent acquisition, my friend JoseGaltor …
Between greetings and introductions, the six of us sat on the grass and proceeded to summarize the situation.
-The thing is as follows: - the one who spoke like that was Chief Socrates - Simon, Mark and three other VIPS, of which we already know one, know about the Planetary Teleporter, as well as the location … They also know that it is destroyed and useless, and they think they have left Simon and Dante out of the game with the fake murder …
-Then it’s easy: Use the planetary troops, stop them all five and it’s over… We restore Dante’s honor and forget all this nightmare… -Moustapha was a practical man.
-The Planetary Chief cannot choose a faction or there will be an imbalance of power … this must be done discreetly. -Katalina understood the ins and outs of power … without a doubt, its origins, of which I have not yet spoken, helped it.
-Exactly, we cannot destabilize the planet… therefore, we will have to… -The sound of the InterCOM interrupted Socrates - Wait a minute… Chief forward, Roger.
-Chief Socrates, here follow-up … the bird went to the TP directly to Shadow Hill.
-Let’s go there, copy that. -Socrates closed the communication, and addressed us - Gentlemen, it seems that the identified VIP is going to the Teleporting near the pyramid … Why?
It didn’t make sense that … the Planetary Teleporting was destroyed … there was nothing else there. Just scrap, destroyed robots, spare parts in stock…
An idea began to haunt my head …
-Simon… when we were there, we destroyed everything, didn’t we? -I asked for.
-Let’s see Dante, we put the termite charges in the TP and we burst it … -Simon answered looking at me strangely …
-As far as we know, we could not see more of that pyramid … the corridor, the entrance, the gigantic door through which we left, the teleporter type entrance through which we entered … was there only that? -I asked the question. JoseGaltor was the one who answered.
-And if there were more than one teleporter room inside? -That’s it … someone else saw my idea.
-It doesn’t make sense … Desmond would have used her to run away. - Simon cut the possibility … Now it was my turn.
-What Desmond said … “colleagues will come to hack the system” … and those spare parts that were in boxes …
Socrates put words to my suspicions …
-The fellow hackers are the other two unidentified VIPS … and with any spare parts … they will try to rebuild the Planetary Teleporter !!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 3
With a flash, we appeared in the TP closest to the coordinates we had of the pyramid … Being registered in the DNA banks I was able to enter the Storages network again and recover my weapons and my old Viceroy … With Simon it was something more complicated, because their belongings were already in the previous warehouses for the global auction, due to having “died”… But with the permits and authorizations of Chief Socrates, the bureaucracy fell at our feet.
Once prepared, Socrates spoke to us:
-Sirs … from now on I cannot accompany you … The “official” presence of the Chief of Next Island would be counterproductive in the political balance … Therefore, from now on you are alone …
We looked at each other: Moustapha, JoseGaltor, Simon, Katalina and myself … Armed, willing, but in case of a mistake, they would deny knowing our operation … I remembered a former elite corps of covert operations, true shadow heroes but, if something came out wrong, he denied any relationship, knowledge or support. Socrates continued:
-Okay, the orders are as follows: Re-enter the pyramid, destroy a possible second Teleporter or the previous one if it had been rebuilt, destroy the spare parts, everything … regarding Desmond, Mark and the three VIPS, they must be taken prisoner … They will later be taken to the Secret Services of the government of the Entropy Quadrant in Calypso … and they will cease to be our problem.
We nod in silence … we prepare the coordinates of the pyramid in our teleporter chips and …
With a flash, we appeared in the vicinity of the pyramid … there it is, a few hundred meters from us … black, silent … and with several Krakas parked nearby … We were not alone …
We approached carefully … the black mass grew as we got closer … There was no one watching, something logical because no one knew those coordinates except those who were there …
The pyramid had a Teleporter-type upper entrance, which was accessed with the chips that some of the guardian robots had … There was also a huge armored door at the front, almost invisible, whose opening mechanism we had broken to lock Desmond inside … but he had managed to open a hole during the months that he had remained there, and that allowed him to flee … there it was … it was not big, but it was enough to be able to pass inside …
We went inside and turned on the flashlights … the hallway was dark, although we saw remains of Desmond’s work: Abandoned tools, discharged batteries connected to long lines of cables … bloodstains from his suicides … Deep down, Desmond did not deserve the torture at hand. that Simon and I submitted to him.
JoseGaltor gestured to us pointing to a corridor … he remembered it from the other time, so we moved on … there were still traces of our passage: several guards destroyed … we followed the trail of destruction that Simon and I had created until we reached the door where we were going to stop at the Teleporter room …
We looked at each other: If Desmond and the others were there searching for the remains, we should come in by surprise, aim quickly and stop them … Two to the left, two to the right and I to the center … We count: three, two, one …
Now!!! I pushed open the door and we stormed in, shining our flashlights and pointing at possible targets …
-Stop !!! Stop there and drop your weapons !!! -we shouted as we pointed to the air … only the echo of the room answered us … We looked at each other without knowing what to do …
Nothing !!! … there were only remains of the original teleporter that Simon and I had destroyed … Traces of the explosive charges and the combustion of the termite charges … a pile of junk from drokas, drones and Calypso defenders, and the metal skeleton that had been General Kratos, but nothing more …
Where were Desmond, Mark and his henchmen ???
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 4
We went back down the corridor we came through, which we hadn’t fully explored now or when we were the first time … several doors opened to various rooms with machinery, boxes of spare parts and other things that we could not identify …
In some rooms we saw traces of the months that Desmond spent there, while other rooms seemed not to have been used at least by human hands …
At the end of the corridor another sliding door opened that led to a ramp that descended to a lower level … We tensed, we did not know what was there …
We put the flashlights on low intensity, so as not to denote our presence, and we slowly descended the ramp, without making noise …
The ramp was quite long, and every so often it turned and fell again, like a spiral staircase.
Suddenly, JoseGaltor, who was in the lead, raised his clenched fist: The universal signal to stop because there was something ahead … slowly we cocked the weapons, trying to keep the BLP strikers not making noise … we advanced a little more, and began to see lighting … A bluish light … and the noise of machines … and in the background, human voices …
A little further down was the last bend in the ramp … we crouched down and looked out very carefully, to see a scene that left us all petrified …
A huge room, cyclopean in size, in the center of which was a second Planetary Teleporter, but in this case of gigantic dimensions … what were you planning to transport? Eomons? Hussks?
In the background a row of monitors, terminals and other electronic devices in which the three VIPS were busy: The two who spoke with Simon and me when they paid us for our service and our silence when they discovered the Teleporter, and the third who was the one who disconnected me from the DNA banks in Ancient Greece …
Voices brought me out of my reverie: Desmond was calling Mark from the Teleporter panel, while he lowered a protective plasma welding mask … Mark was leading a small transport with materials …
We hid…
-Hell, Dante … these guys have built another teleporter … -Simon didn’t get out of his astonishment.
-Let’s see … if it’s technology from Calypso’s robots, most likely they can’t connect it without help … -JoseGaltor was right …
-And this … - Moustapha narrowed his eyes trying to see what was at the bottom of that huge hangar- What’s there at the bottom?
We looked out again… there was something huge in the shadows, but the very darkness of the background did not allow us to see what it was …
-I don’t know, but I think we should throw ourselves against them and try to stop them … -Katalina already wanted to go into combat …
-Mmmm … if I remember correctly, Desmond told me that there was a revival right here … if any of them or us dies, he will appear again in battle … That could be a draw … - I doubted the way to launch us attack…
-Maybe we should try to catch them by surprise -JoseGaltor grabbed a piece of metal from the ground and threw it hard through the gap in the ramp to the opposite side of the monitors …
The metallic “clang” was heard over the noise of the machinery … The three VIPs jumped up, with their short weapons in hand; Mark left the transport and materialized a Plasma rifle, and Desmond raised his welding mask while he stroked the grip of a Sparkbite … they all looked in the direction of the sound, which was just the opposite direction from where we were …
Everything was silent for a moment and, immediately afterwards, the five of us got up in unison with our weapons at the ready, pointing them …
-SET EVERYONE !!! NOBODY MOVE!!!
The five Stel turned to see five guys with a diverse and ferocious appearance, us, pointing them with large caliber weapons … We looked into each other’s eyes … It is curious how conscious one of small details is: a drop of sweat, a corner of the lips twisting, the flexing of the fingers on the triggers …
-Damn Dante !!! Is it that I’m never going to get rid of you ??? -Desmond was looking at me wanting to squash me like a Cyrenea fly.
-Desmond … how could you build this? And in such a short time?
-Little time? I had enough … I did not tell you everything that happened in those months that I was locked up here …
Desmond began to speak …