Charlie sat on his trike, the gate to Justice Citadel visible ahead in the pre-dawn light of the sun that would be breaking the horizon within an hour. The tower itself looked like it was erupting out of the gate from his perspective. His blood was cold in a mix of fear for what he was about to attempt and rage for them holding Rose. When he walked away from the crash all those weeks ago, he assumed she would get her slap on the wrist and come find him. But it seemed, her mother had lost her mind. Punishing him was so important to her she would put her own daughter up for execution to draw him out.
The execution was but a few hours away. He was in position but it seemed his body would not move.
"Fear is like a dog, son." His father stood there next to the trike looking the same as he did when he left Charlie at the age of eight. He was in his dress uniform though, rather than his fatigues and combat gear like the day he actually left. "It can be a good tool on the battlefield, but you have to remain its master so that it works for you. You can't let it have control over you." The hallucination paced back and forth in front of the trike, "damn boy, I'm jealous. Got your own little squad, premo equipment, and you are about to squash the enemy, make your little piece of tail go all wet on her knees and take her like the man I've always wanted you to become." He gave a mock sob and wiped away a nonexistent tear, "my boy. All grown up."
"I'm not you." Charlie muttered. He was well aware this was all in his head but he'd had enough of this rhetoric. "I'll never be you. And I'm not doing this for the sake of victory or conquest. Certainly not of Rose. If she wants to give her heart to me of course I'd accept it. But I will not trick, or guilt or force her heart." He hung his head, eyes closed, frustrated at himself for another argument in his own head with a figure from his past. "And I don't need your approval. I never did. You lost the right to give it when you chose glory over your son. I built a life without you. And when I woke up here, I built another. You are not needed!” When Charlie looked up he was alone.
"Everyone is in position, Charlie." Corsair called out over the coms.
He looked to the gate, and his body no longer fought him. The fear remained, but it has lost its hold on him. He closed his eyes for a moment and could hear Todd's voice this time. "Focus on your goal." He had been trying to teach Charlie something about sports, but it never hit home until now. "Keep your goal in your sights and just handle each problem as it comes. Your goal is what matters." He thought of Rose, and hit the throttle.
The guardswoman ran up to her commander in a panic, "Ma'am, you said to watch for signs of the fugitive male." Carla had been in her office, trying to get her ceremonial armor polished. Her gate shift was to end just before the execution, and she was hoping to make it to the event. They had never actually HAD to execute someone, this was a once in a lifetime thing. The guard ended her statement and just stood there. Polly was a good soldier, she followed orders well but sometimes she was a little too literal. It made her slow to react and not great at taking initiative.
"And," Carol prompted, "did you happen to spot him?"
"He's right outside the gate ma'am." She finished.
Carol's armor clattered to the floor as she stood up and dashed out the door. She could have led with that. She rushed out to the trench where her assembled guard were standing there, looking at the male sitting there in his ground conveyance. The shield was extended and the gate was open to the citadel, allowing clean air to fill the docking trench. He sat there in his black armor and helmet in a crude mockery of their Golden Guard armor. He was a few yards out from one corner of the shield. The arm of his vehicle was extended and it along with his left arm was pointed at the ground rather than at them.
“What is he doing?” The captain asked.
“He has just been sitting there for the past five minutes.” One of the guards replied. “Do we close the gate and go get him?”
Suddenly as the captain joined them the male seemed to close his left fist, firing the spear into the ground.
As his vehicle roared to life and sped over to the opposite corner of the shield extension, Carol shifted into alert and finally began barking orders, “call the citadel! Get a transport and assault squad out here, immediately! Prepare the gate for rapid transition launch!”
Charlie shot another harpoon into the ground and spun the trike into position at the front of the trench. “Ten seconds to breach.” He said over the coms, and pushed the icon on his arm.
The heads of the harpoons whirred to life, and as with the Concórdia shield, the pale blue field overtop the trench began to stretch and split. Carbon dioxide choked air from the wastes began to pour into the trench, forcing lax guards who had been enjoying the air from the citadel grounds to hastily don their masks. As the guard scrambled, Charlie tossed two canisters into the dock, filling it with acrid green smoke.
“Close the gate!” The captain screamed.
“I can't find the panel!” Came the reply in the green cloud. “And the transport is nearly here!”
The Firebird tore across the landscape slowly outpacing the Thunderbird behind it. A couple yards from the trench entrance Corsair slammed the button in her console and the hydrogen scramjets Charlie had installed screamed to life pushing the craft through the gate like a bullet. The Firebird ripped past the transport that had slowed its approach when its pilot had seen the smoke. Corsair cut the boosters and banked hard to the left, rolling the craft over near completely to stop with her top to the tower, orbiting the central building. The transport of guards was still cautiously entering the blind trench when the Thunderbird rumbled through. Moni was inches from the other craft when she spotted it through the thinning smoke and pulled up at the last second. The bottom of the Thunderbird scraped across the top of troop transport, pushing them into the floor of the trench as her roof banged against the top of the gate and slipped out into the courtyards of the citadel.
“Sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't see them. I didn't mean to damage your ship…” she rattled on nervously, until a swipe of Discorda's hand under her chin silenced the girl.
Discorda held her three middle fingers flat, moving her thumb and pinky up and down in unison indicating, “fly.”
“Grand Magistrate, there has been a breach at the gate.” Called the operator from her security console.
Celeste stood behind her, having been waiting for Charlie to make his move. She was certain he would try to rescue her daughter, he couldn't resist. “Position two squads at every docking port and launch all craft to intercept those transports. I want that male back in custody, now!” she knew it was him, as she knew he would come, but she worried as she did not know what exactly his plan was.
Charlie revved the trike and tore down the trench. The smoke was just starting to clear as he pressed the control and the dynamos shut down, closing the shield behind him.
“Load number four” he said as the front tread struck the downed transport and crawled its way quickly up the craft. He aimed his gauntlet again down at the roof of the vehicle firing another spear into it. The cable whizzed as it coiled out on the winch.
As he dropped off the back of the transport he could hear the women inside screaming. He rolled across the trench and out of the gate. The cable went taught as he dropped off the edge. The trench sank down almost thirty feet from the beginning of the trench to the gate. Even so the floor of the crater was still almost a hundred feet from the gate. The weight of the trike dragged the troop transport over on its side with it, wedging the craft sideways in the gate. The winch unspooled and set the trike onto the green of the parade fields. The cable released from harpoon number four and rapidly respooled as Charlie gunned it once more and tore off across the grounds in the crater toward the tower.
The commander looked at the transport wedged into the gate in shock. This was nothing they ever expected or trained for. One of her subordinates began barking orders, “get the winches. We need to clear the gate!”
“No!” Carol shouted suddenly, “leave it there. They're trapped in the citadel with it there. We have them.”
“Um,” the subdued voice of Polly interrupted, “what about them?” She was pointing at the panicked looking crew inside the transport craft.
Carol rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh, “of course get them out. Just leave the craft.”
Charlie had built the Firebird for speed. Not counting the scramjets, he had added two extra fans at the back, allowing two to be used specifically for propulsion. The Thunderbird was built for power and lift capacity, and as it made its way across the fields low to the ground, Corsair kept all attention from the scrambling transports on her. She had four craft trying to tail her when she made a complete loop of the tower to pass them all again.
“Damn it!” Screamed Celeste over the coms. “It's doing circles. Units four and sixteen, just turn around and go the other way! Force them to veer! Box him in and capture him!”
Charlie rolled across the parade grounds, his tredded trike tossing clumps of grass behind him as he made a line for the tower. Between the early hours and the upcoming specticle the fields were empty, just as Charlie was counting on. The front treads hit one of the perimeter hedgerows and launched the vehicle into the air. As Charlie came down he realized just how wrong his assumption was. He was about to land on a phalanx of Golden Guard in ceremonial regalia, apparently practicing their matching for the ceremony. The roar of the engine caught their attention just before he nearly crushed four women under a two ton vehicle. They managed to dive out of the way as the ground erupted in flying dirt and grass. The trike bounced and shot off again before the guards could pull out their sonic side arms.
Two of the now six craft in pursuit of the Firebird slowed, banked and began orbiting the tower in the opposite direction. The pursuing craft and the counter craft attempted to catch them in a pincer maneuver.
“Alright Binx,” she commanded the herman in black swathing occupying her co-pilot seat, “launch tubes one through four. It's showtime.”
A holographic display sat on the console with a hundred lit up buttons. Binx tapped the first four and the pods on either side of the Firebird's aft fired off two reports each. As the modified transport banked and slid between the approaching assailants the air in the middle of all the craft let off four thunderous cracks and the sky was filled with colored sparks, flames and smoke. The pursuing pilots, unsure of what was happening, turned in random directions to avoid the bright lights and loud booms that suddenly filled the sky in front of them. Two craft bumped fans as they passed, snapping off control fins and causing the two vehicles to begin spinning out of control. One went straight up, one straight down, forcing her to have to pull up before she speared her transport into the ground. A third nearly scraped the side of the tower as she banked away frantically.
One of the security console operators screamed as thunderclaps from outside shook even the air in the building. The Grand Magistrate winced as her cry felt like it pierced her eardrums. Only to have to cover her ears again when the girl screamed again as the troop transport flashed by the window as it nearly hit the tower.
“What the hell is happening?” Celeste screamed.
Multiple coms lit up as confused pilots reported in, “multiple midair combustion events”
“There appears to be some sort of aft mounted weapon system on the invading craft.”
“Who the hell puts weapons on a vehicle?”
“Damn it!” Spat the Magistrate, “where the hell is analytics. What are we dealing with?”
Corsair banked the Firebird around the tower once again piercing the cluster of disoriented pilots, “five through ten.” She ordered.
Mortar shells popped out of the pods detonating in staccato reports sending the unsuspecting guards into unregulated flight paths.
The Thunderbird streaked over the last of the parade grounds before pitching up sharply thirty meters from the tower.
“Ten seconds to insertion.” Said Moni over the coms.
“Release the Valkyrie.” Replied Charlie.
Celeste was certain Charlie would try to get in whichever dock was least guarded, so she over guarded them all.
Charlie was certain Celeste wouldn't leave any entrance without heavy guard so he targeted the closest dock to the holding cells. All he required was the right line breaker.
The Thunderbird swung its aft end around and leveled out over top the prison dock. Discorda stepped out onto the ramp as it lowered, she wore a heavier version of her guard armor Charlie had forged, in mirror-like silver with a bulky backpack attached to it. The blank faceplate of her mask had been replaced by a chrome mouthplate and clear visor with bird wing shaped ear extensions.
Discorda stepped out of the transport and as she plummeted the pack unfolded into twin supercompression fans like those on the transport. Gyrocompensators kept her level as she swooped into the waiting docking area. A dozen Golden Guard awaited her, opening fire on her with sonic pistols. She started out high, drawing their fire up as she dove down sweeping across the floor and spinning a hundred and eighty degrees as she came in, letting the extended wings on the fan pack knock over the bulk of her opponents as she slid to a stop.
As her feet touched the ground she reached behind her, under the flight pack to pull out what looked like a thicker baton the guards utilized. When Discorda snapped it open it extended at both ends. She gunned the throttle of the pack, knocking four more guards off their feet with the backblast of the fans and spun the staff, catching a soldier in the side of her helmet. She reversed the spin and swept the staff under the legs on another. She rolled the weapon over the back of her neck and drove it down onto the mask of the downed trooper, who then lay still. A quick flick sent the staff like a spear straight into the mask of another, shattering the carbon fiber mask and sending the guard into unconsciousness.
Behind Discorda, the Thunderbird glided in for a landing, softly setting down as the rest of her strike force poured out. The heavier, rifle versions of the infrasound pistols Charlie had whipped up let off triple bursts of more powerful compressed sound that sent the guards spinning on impact, even though the armor they wore.
“Ma'am, I'm getting a report from the field.” The console operator told Celeste, “some guards on the parade field report the fugitive male making his way to the tower on his ground vehicle.”
“He is not in one of the transports,” Celeste muttered, before turning to stride out of the room. Before exiting she called back to the console operator, “I expect those transports to be brought down before I return.”
Charlie arrived at the base of the tower, “load number five.” He said into his mic. The armature on the back of the trike sprang to life. Charlie aimed up, putting the bottom of the highest balcony on the tower in his reticule. The harpoon fired and pierced through the concrete. Four prongs sprang out from the head and gripped the floor of the outcropping. The winch whirred and the trike climbed, rear first up the side of the tower. When he was parallel to the prison deck he stopped, breathed in and out rapidly a few times and leapt from the vehicle hanging nose down, to the deck.
The fire fight with the Golden Guard was ending and what guards were not unconscious were being secured.
‘You were supposed to wait outside the field,’ Discorda signed.
“Yea sorry,” replied Charlie, “that was never really the plan.”
‘How are you supposed to open the gate?’ she asked as she dropped her flight pack back in the Thunderbird.
“I have it ready to deploy.” He smiled, “trust me.”
Moni and three of Discorda's squad stayed to hold the dock, the rest plus Charlie got in the elevator and headed up to the detention level.
The elevator opened into a hallway Charlie recognized. The door to the holding cells he spent nearly a month in were ahead.
The doors were opened and infra-shots rang out into the hall. The four person rescue force took cover behind either side of the door as four more Goldies pinned them in the doorway. They had taken defensive positions behind the very table on which he was tortured every day by the Grand Magistrate.
Charlie looked over at Discorda, “we haven't the time for this.” He pulled a rifle looking device from behind his back, it was trailing a power cable on it that connected to a power pack on the small of his back. He leveled the bulky device around the corner of the doorway and pulled the trigger.
The infra-pistols worked on compressing low frequency sound into short pulses that impact a target with kinetic energy to stun or cause pain. Charlie decided to up the power and not bother to compress it into small pulses. The sound, like an old movie theater sound check, spread out in a wave in front of the rifle. The wave crossed the room sweeping all loose objects in its path. When it struck the table it broke its bolts off at the floor and the wall of solid sound sent the guards reeling back to the cells.
Discorda and her troops moved in quickly to secure them as Charlie made his way around the room unlocking the cells, releasing Rose's imprisoned squad.
Petal stepped out, seeing immediately how his eyes searched about as he opened the cells she said, “she's not here. Her mother came in a few minutes ago. She ordered them to take Rose to her quarters.” Her look was sorrowful but quickly changed to a strange kind of smile, “I knew you'd come.” She whispered, “I told Miss Rose you'd come.”
“How could I not?” Charlie replied, “I couldn't let you ladies pay the price for freeing me.”
As Charlie finished opening the cells, petal strode over to one of the guards lying on the floor with her hand bound behind her back. “I told you he'd come.” she said mockingly before driving a violent kick into the guard's ribs.
Discorda put a hand on Petal's shoulder, stopping her before she could deliver another kick and signed, ‘Rose?’
“She's not here.” Said Charlie. “She was moved to her mother's quarters.”
‘Then we go get her.’ Her hands said frantically.
“No.” Said Charlie, to her surprise. “We can't risk taking them any further up the tower. You have to get them to the hanger and on the Thunderbird. I'll get Rose. It's me your mother wants and I'll keep attention off you while you escape.”
‘No,’ she replied, ‘we can't risk you.’
“I'll be fine,” he said, placing a hand on her cheek and looking her in the eye, “you taught me well and I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.”
“They are just going in a circle. All craft simply stop and form a blockade.” The operator screamed in frustration.
The transports slowed and turned to face the opposite direction. When Corsair and Binx looped around once more they found the craft hovering like a wall in midair. The Herman pilot, instead of stopping, pulled up hard, skating the craft by inches.
“Set off eight more.” She told Binx.
Explosions ripped up the barricade as they climbed toward the shield above. One shell landed on the windscreen of a transport just as it detonated. The force shattered the screen, sending carbon plastic fragments in towards the occupants. The pilot screamed as she pulled out of the formation. Two more craft broke out of the grid just from fear, but the rest stood their ground, it seemed to Corsair that the novelty was wearing off. The fireworks wouldn't scare them much longer.
Corsair pulled the nose back and flipped the Firebird over completing her loop by passing through the gap left by the damaged craft.
“It's getting crowded out here,” she cried into the coms. “Tell me we are ready to go.”
Charlie exited the elevator on a sprawling mezzanine level. Walkways criss-crossed above him as he looked for another way higher to the Magistrate's quarters. A squad of six Golden Guard rounded a corner and leveled pistols at him.
“Crap,” he swore, pulling out his sonic blunderbuss. He fired the wall of sound at them. The guard were sent back off their feet and Charlie aimed his gauntlet up at one of the walkways. A pop of compressed air sent a line racing up to the underside of it, piercing the metal underneath with a sharp, barbed point. The line quickly reeled in pulling Charlie up until he dangled over the next level below.
“Ooo, how does Batman do this?” He groaned. He breathed sharply for a few seconds and began tapping the button under his arm with his free hand. He slid down a foot at a time until his feet touched the walkway below him. Another tap released the gapple and the line recoiled into the gauntlet in seconds. Charlie looked about, and asked, “A.R.I.A, how far to the Magistrate's quarters?”
The A.I chimed in his ear and the map of the tower hovered in the air. A section at the top was highlighted in green. Charlie sighed and ran down the walkway to where he hoped another elevator was.
The evac crew were trading shots with a group of eight guards that had come out the elevator to retake the docking platform. Charlie's rifle upgrades evened the playing field between their larger numbers but the guards got more shots off.
The exchange covered the sound of the elevator behind them opening. Discorda drove her saff into one guard, shocking her unconscious, the others followed suit with the batons they brought or liberated from the guards at the holding cells. Petal on the other hand, working through issues from being locked up all this time, seemed to think the best way to incapacitate her target was to try to repeatedly fire her sonic pistol into the unsuspecting woman.
“Petal!” cried Maitland, placing her hands gently in the girl's forearm and lifting the pistol, “I do believe she is down for the count, love.” At which point the traumatized girl began to weep and collapse into her friend's arms.
Moni had already ran to the console and was firing up the fans as the rescued and the rescuers were stumbling aboard.
Discorda was the last up the ramp, carrying the still bawling Petal in her arms. She paused to look back, worry for Charlie plainly displayed on her face as the ramp closed.
The elevator opened into a public area of the Magistrate's living quarters. Couches with coffee tables, a bar for drinks, even an information kiosk and shelves of real books lined the room. All this confirmed to Charlie it must be good to be the “queen”.
The door to her private chambers was not locked, he wasn't sure if this was suspicious or just a point of how little crime their world had. The door hissed open to reveal a spacious room with a balcony, in fact the head of harpoon five was poking out of the floor. His heart jumped when he spotted Rose. Wrists bound and hanging some kind of wall mount, her toes barely on the ground.
“Charlie?” She called to him as he made his way across to her as fast as he could. “Charlie, you weren't supposed to come.”
“Oh, he couldn't help it dear,” Celeste said from behind him. He cursed himself for being in such a hurry that he didn't bother to look around the room. “I knew you couldn't resist.”
Charlie didn't bother to look back as he wrapped his arms around Rose to lift her off the hook and to the floor, “couldn't resist trying to prevent you from murdering your own daughter. You have a strange world view Celeste.” When he turned to face her she had a sonic pistol pointed at him. “Do what you have to Celeste, but I am taking her out of here.”
“You will be going nowhere,” she replied through gritted teeth.
“Then stop me Celeste. If you are dead set on believing a false narrative then do what you have to.” Charlie turned to open Rose's binder. Celeste pulled the trigger twice. The sonic pulses slammed into Charlie's back, and he didn't even flinch.
“Charlie?” Rose cried, concerned.
Charlie's mask snapped open and he told her ‘I'm fine’ in Discorda's language. He sighed and turned to face her mother, “I built my armor to take your sonic pulses, even the under layer I used sound dampening materials on. Which by the way, is a weakness you need to look into on your guard armors.”
“Insolent male. You speak my name in disrespect of my title, and use it in a foolish attempt to convince me you are somehow superior to me. But I am on to you.” She drew a stun rod from behind her and snapped it out to its full length. She wasn't in armor, like Charlie but in her day to day vestments. This told him she didn't believe his skills to be a match for hers.
“Charlie.” Rose said again, worried for his life. Her mother, she knew, was one of the most skilled combatants in the world.
Charlie put up a hand to Rose and drew a rod of his own. Stepping away from the still bound Rose and readying his weapon, he approached the Grand Magistrate. She sped up suddenly a few paces from him as she drove the rod at him in a stabbing motion. Charlie swung the rod up and parried the Magistrate's forcing her to spin and come in with a side swing. This Charlie blocked using both hands and pushed her rod back, stepped back and returned to a ready position.
“Charlie?” Rose repeated, this time with a growing smile.
“Impressive.” Said Celeste.
“Thank you,” Charlie beamed at the Magistrate, “your daughter is a good teacher.”
“Yes,” she continued with a sneer. “Basic, sloppy and a bit slow, but with how long you had to train, impressive.”
She lunged in, moving with more speed than Charlie was ready for. She struck his weapon with speed and ferocity, knocking his rod to this side and that as he struggled to keep it in front. She knocked it away for the sixth time in less than a minute and quickly spun in the opposite direction on a path for his head. Charlie barely got his gauntleted left arm up to block the blow.
Charlie stumbled back and set himself again.
“Charlie stop, please.” Rose pleaded. “You cannot beat her.”
The Magistrate launched into another barrage of strikes, wearing out his defenses and bringing around an identical spinning blow from the last time. Charlie brought his arm up again but this time as she spun a slight cocking of her hip passed the rod below his arm catching Charlie below the jaw. His helmet flew from his head, bouncing across the floor as blood sprayed out of his mouth.
Charlie regained his footing and spit out a glob of blood. He immediately set into his ready stance again.
“Stop, please.” Tears were now falling from Rose's cheeks. “Please, Charlie. She'll kill you.”
The Thunderbird roared from the docking platform. Moni threw the throttle as far forward as she could. She rounded the tower with enemy transports whizzing by them. She faced the craft to the gate and immediately saw the transport still wedged in it, blocking the way out.
“Charlie, come in.” She called over the com as she turned back into an orbit of the tower in the center of the citadel. “Charlie, the gate is blocked, exit is a no-go. Charlie, please come in.”
“All units,” called the operator to her craft, “disengage the assault unit. The larger craft is escaping with the prisoners. Surround the transport and bring it down. This is the priority.”
The Firebird dropped another five charges as the pursuit vehicles all broke off.
“What the hell?” Corsair said, confused. She watched them peel away and make a bee line for the Thunderbird. “I think they are onto us.”
The transports from Justice closed on the Thunderbird, two above, two below and on on each side keeping pace with them and preventing Moni from making course changes unless they gave her distance to move in a direction they chose.
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“Corsair, we're stuck. We can't move.” Moni called across to the Firebird.
Corsair sped up behind the formation and pitched up sharply, soaring over the transport wall and skimming the top of the plasma shield. She immediately forced the craft into a dive, “Binx, let loose the next ten.”
As the Firebird dived, explosions poured out behind her. Corsair was forced to pull hard and shave the lawn of the parade ground to keep from crashing into the dirt.
The barrage of detonations shook a few of the transports off the Thunderbird. One shell ended up inside one of the fans of a transport to Moni's left. The firework blew the engine apart, the frightened pilot over compensated sending the craft flipping over, colliding with the Thunderbird. Carbon fiber steering fins tore into the hull of the ship. One of the front fans disintegrated, and both craft plummeted toward the ground below.
“Oh my stars,” gasped Corsair as she watched the transports go down. She keyed her com, “Charlie, Thunderbird is down. Repeat, Thunderbird is down. Advise. Please Charlie, what do we do?”
There was no reply. For three, tense breaths, the world was quiet. The herman pirate queen whipped the craft around and rocketed over the crash site deploying another barrage atop the Thunderbird before angling in for a landing.
Everyone was held in place by the inflated seats. There was coughing and groans, but by some miracle the Thunderbird was upright. Discorda undid her safety seat and looked over. Moni's seat hadn't inflated. The steering fin from the other transport had speared through the windscreen and impaled her through her abdomen and into the seat. Blood ran off the chair and onto the floor. The petite herman made wet clicking sounds as she attempted to breathe.
Discorda grabbed hold of the fan as Petal ran up to the front of the vehicle, “stop!” She cried, “don't pull it out.” She set a med kit down next to the chair and began examining Moni. “I'm so sorry, I was checking out the others. I didn't know she was so bad. The others are fine, bumps and scrapes, but she has internal injuries. Her lungs are filling up…”
Discorda put a finger on her lips to quiet her. ‘Can you help her?’ She signed.
“I'm sorry,” Petal choked out around her tears. “I'm just a medic. She needs surgery.”
Moni put a hand on Discorda's cheek, smearing blood across the large woman's face. She choked twice more and in Dis's language signed, “no….regret.” A gurgling sigh later and she stopped breathing altogether.
The Firebird set down behind the crashed Thunderbird and lowered the ramp. Binx hopped down next to the ramp and began firing in all directions as Corsair ran to her sister ship. She pounded on the ramp till it began to open. She immediately saw the solemn faces. She ran inside to find Discorda pulling the fin out of Moni.
“No!” She gasped, “no, no,no.” As she ran up and cradled the small herman. “No, not Moni, please. Not her.” She wept. She stood and faced Discorda, placing a hand behind her head and touching their foreheads together, “reinforcements are on the way. We have to go. Please… don't leave her here.”
The big woman nodded and bent to scoop up the small herman.
Corsair composed herself and moved quickly to the ramp, “arms up. We have to get to the Firebird. The Golden Guard will be on us any second.”
“Will we all fit?” Asked Victoria.
“We have to.” She replied. “Cover Discorda, and stay tight together.”
They dashed out to pulse blasts smacking off the hull. Binx was shooting over their heads at guards in front of the Thunderbird. She had to retreat to the ramp to avoid shots from the front of the Firebird.
Charlie stood back up for the fourth time, his eye beginning to swell and darken where Celest had caught him upside his head again. He staggered a bit and once got into his ready stance.
“You can't win.” Taunted Celeste. “Everything my daughter taught you, I taught her.”
She was correct, Charlie knew, she was twice his age and still faster than him. She was a warrior and he wasn't. He was an engineer, a thinker and a planner. She stepped up to engage once again and Charlie went through his katas, defending against her blows. Sprinkling in parries with his armored glove was the best he could do to add enough variety to keep her from immediately slipping past his defenses.
“Mother no!” Cried Rose, throwing herself between them, trying to save Charlie. The Magistrate simply grabbed the restraints on her wrists and flung her out of the way.
“Pathetic Charlie, really.” She tisked again, “With all I've heard of the warlike males of our race, I expected at least some show skill beyond what we teach children in the guard.”
“Sorry to disappoint,” he replied, grunting in his efforts to keep her attacks at bay. “But I did warn you I'm not the man you've been waiting for.”
“No,” she replied in a more serious tone now, “you're nothing.” She knocked his rod away leaving his guard wide open. She spun to strike one last blow, but as Charlie raised his gauntlet to protect his head Celeste swung low and Charlie felt his knee make a cracking sound as the blow dropped him to the floor. “Goodbye Charlie.” She spat with venom as the trigger on her baton was depressed. The tip sparked with current as she drove the end at Charlie's neck.
Charlie caught the rod in his armored hand and held onto it with all his might. Her baton had conductive strips running down the top half, completing the circuit with his hand.
“Fool, it makes no difference. You will still fry.” She laughed, with almost insane glee. But Charlie did not thrash or cry out.
“Actually it does.” He replied in a calm voice that left the Magistrate confused. “It most certainly makes a difference, because I also insulated my armor against your taser rods.”
As she came slowly to her senses, Celeste began to tug on her rod, attempting to pull it from his grip. He raised his weapon as he used her pulls to let her yank him to his feet. He pushed the switch on his but instead of electrifying, the upper half split in two long ways. Three circular blades with jagged teeth popped out of either side and with a sharp whine began to spin. Charlie drove his rod down on her weapon halfway between her grip and his. The blades threw tiny fragments of the carbon plastic into the air as it quickly sheared her baton in half.
Celeste fell to the floor as her half of the weapon was suddenly free. Charlie stepped up to her, placing the weapon close to her neck. The vicious whine of the blades piercing her ears, threatening to chew and shred her flesh as easily as it did the polymer weapon. The Grand Magistrate's breath trembled, she closed her eyes, picturing it dismembering her face as her daughter watched, horrified. This barbaric weapon of a kind that maims and kills that womankind had left behind over a century ago. That he brandishes without fear or remorse. This was the teeth of the monster she had heard about all her life.
It was a few breaths before she realized the high pitched sound had moved away.
Charlie was across the room, using the baton to sever the bonds around Rose's wrists. The now impotent straps fell uselessly to the floor as he snapped the baton back closed. “As I have said Celeste, I don't want to hurt anybody.” Charlie said, holstering the weapon. He snatched up his helmet and plopped it back on his head as he pulled the sonic blunderbus out from behind him. He turned to the Magistrate and whispered to Rose. “I was never going to hurt her. I promise. Stay behind me.” They both backed to the balcony. “We are leaving Celeste. Don't follow us, don't hunt for us. I did what I did because YOU pushed me to it. Keep pushing and I will stop holding back. You don't want a war. Not actual war, like my father did for a living. If you push me I can build guns and bombs. Things that snuff out lives and topple cities. This is not something I want to do, but I can easily. So just let us be.”
Celeste struggled to her feet now, the cold rush of fear quickly draining from her. “No! I can not let you run free. To spread your seed, your pestilence across our world. To let you regain a foothold and finish decimating our world.”
Charlie sighed, tired from fighting, tired from honestly more physical activity than he had done in his life, and tired of prejudice. “There was… no… war! I sent the proof to Contessa. It was a virus. A virus men and women tried to find a cure for. Tried and failed. But Contessa thinks she can fix it. She can fix the world. Let us fix the world, please.”
The Magistrate began to walk toward the two as they stepped onto the balcony. Charlie pointed the gun at her, her face twisting in anger as she halted.
“There are handles on the back of my armor, grab them,” he whispered to Rose. “Do you trust me?”
“Y…yes?” She muttered, as she nodded.
They stepped past the point of number five poking out of the concrete and steel. Rose grasped the handles and held tightly. She didn't know what Charlie planned, but she trusted him. “As I said, WE are leaving. Let us be. Don't bother us, and we will never bother you.” Charlie pointed his left fist at the doorway and fired his cable out into the top of the arch.
“Never.” She replied through gritted teeth. “I will kill you, and lay waste to all that you love. You will not have a moment's rest.”
“And I told you.” He returned in a tone like a growl. In a tone Charlie had never used in his life. “I am not your macho, militaristic, he man you have been waiting for to spar with your whole life. But if that is what I will need to become to protect what love, then…” he paused as his finger tensed on the trigger, “by the power of Greyskull, bitch!”
Charlie pointed the blunderbuss toward the floor and fired. The wave struck the ground at an angle, simultaneously rolling forward, knocking Celeste from her feet and hurling her back into her quarters; and recoiling back at Charlie, lifting him and Rose into the air and over the banister. Rose screamed as they tumbled over the rail.
The winch in Charlie's gauntlet whirred as it unspooled, its small brake barely slowing the combined weight of Rose and himself.
When it reached its maximum length the two were met with a jerk that clattered their teeth together and left their arms burning from the jolt. Miraculously, Rose managed to hold on. They had stopped just above the prison landing platform, which was thankfully empty in their pursuit of the escapees.
Rose was panting in his ear, “it seems we stopped a little short.”
Charlie swung back and forth on his line a little until they reached his trike, hanging nose down from the side of the tower. He convinced her to climb over and sit on the seat bracing her arms on the handlebars.
The com on Charlie's helmet crackled to life, “Charlie, where are you.” Boomed the angry voice of Corsair.
“I lost my helmet for a bit, sorry…” he bagan. As he settled in behind Rose on the seat.
Corsair quickly interrupted, “Charlie we lost the Thunderbird. It went down. We loaded everyone on the Firebird, but Charlie…” she began and her voice faltered.
“What? If you have everyone, head for the rim, get everyone out!” He cried.
“Charlie…” she continued with a trembling voice. “Not everyone made it…”
Charlie first impulse was to ask who, Discorda was first in his mind. But he knew there was no time, “I have Rose, get everyone out now.”
“Charlie, the gate is still blocked.” Said Binx. That eliminated her.
“Head for the rim. Anywhere on the rim. I'm making a hole.” Charlie replied as he touched an icon on the trike's panel. The cable attaching them to harpoon number five suddenly released, screaming in protest as the cable tried to recoil faster than it fell under gravity.
Celeste had gotten to her feet, bruised and sore from her lack of armor under the impact of the infrasonic wave. She made her way, shakily to the balcony supporting herself on her hands with the furniture. Just as she reached the steps the cable disconnected and the head of harpoon number five began to scream as its internal dynamo started up.
“Charlieeeee….!” Rose screamed for the umpteenth time as the vehicle accelerated toward the ground.
Two fans unfolded from the front of the trike and started spinning at full speed. As the ground sped toward them he gunned the accelerator and tilted up the front treads. The treads contacted the ground and pulled the vehicle forward as the fans cushioned the impact. The rear end however complained noisily as it bounced several times before settling and pushing the trike onward. Soon they were speeding across the parade grounds once again.
Rose laid her head back on Charlie's shoulder as he drove, “why bother rescuing me if you were just going to SCARE me to death?”
“I asked if you trusted me.” He replied with a chuckle. “Sorry, I guess I UNDERestimated the weight.”
“Just how much do you think I weigh?” Rose asked with a shrill tone that made Charlie wince.
Ahead in the sky, the Firebird rocketed toward the crater rim and the shield, still glowing blue around its perimeter.
“Here,” Charlie said as he reached into a side compartment and produced a breathing mask.
“Charlie, the shield is up, and the crater is a hundred meters to the surface.” She remarked as she donned the mask.
Across the coms, Corsair echoed her statement, “Charlie that shield is still very much intact.”
“Just one more second.” He replied.
The device before Celeste pitched up and up. Above her the plasma field stretched and deformed, like an amorphous hand of a child reaching desperately for its mother.
“Crap.” Said the Grand Magistrate flatly before attempting to run from the balcony.
The plasma touched the tip of the harpoon and every watt of energy concentrated down onto the point of the spear. The electrical stream jumped through the device, hopped over to the main support columns in the tower. It back fed through every grounded system in the building before the safety systems on the fusion generator shut the whole citadel down.
“All units maintain pursuit of…” the operator fell back on her behind as sparks showered out of her console and the entire building went dark.
Scant meters from colliding with the plasma field the blue glow of the shield disappeared and the Firebird sped out across the wastes. Charlie was pushing the trike as fast as he could. Above them several transports were falling in behind the Firebird.
“Charlie,” Rose said, “the wall.”
“Load number one.” Charlie said as he aimed his left arm up. The harpoon arm sprung to life and at the close of his fist fired off the weapon. The spear struck the underside of a passing craft, as the pilot tried to compensate for the sudden pull toward the ground, Charlie activated the winch. The trike was pulled up as the ship struggled to gain altitude. The front treads dug into the edge of the cliff, showering dirt everywhere.
Charlie released the cable as the vehicle burst out of the dirt cloud to bounce once again across the ground. The transport spun out as the weight of the trike suddenly disappeared and it landed on its top, skidding across the barren soil.
The sun broke on the horizon, illuminating the wasteland as Charlie looked at the darkened Citadel of Justice behind him, hoping Celeste took his warning to heart.
“Firebird, get everyone back to Hope. As fast as you can, do not worry about us.” Charlie commanded.
“Discorda said, we are not leaving you.” Replied Corsair, filling Charlie with some relief that it was not her they lost. Yet still the pit of his stomach felt as if it was sinking.
“You get them home and get that shield up.” Was Charlie's response. “You have multiple transports following you. I will take care of Rose, you take care of them.”
“Will do Charlie,” replied Corsair, “be careful.
The Grand Magistrate entered the control room, frustrated from having to navigate the citadel using a personal light source.
“I want all the craft we can muster in pursuit of them now!” she shouted, “and can we please get the power back up?”
“Apologies Ma'am, all communications are down without power. But I sent a message to Automata for a replacement on my personal device.” Replied the operator.
“Then send people by foot to the barracks and hangers. They cannot get away.” She reprimanded.
“Yes ma'am.” Squeaked the operator before scampering away.
Celeste looked about at the crew in the ops room milling about with personal lights, when she noticed not all were just lights. Many lights were from the screens of personal devices. They were watching a broadcast of some kind. As she approached a tech from behind she could hear the familiar voice of her Contessa.
Charlie was draining the battery on the trike as fast as the hydrogen engine could replace it. He couldn't outrun the flying transports, but neither did he want to give them the chance to land in front of him and cut them off. Nor could he deny that five thousand horses rumbling beneath him at full throttle was exhilarating.
He jumped a small ravine, landing again with a few bounces. Thankfully he designed the suspension to take those kinds of landings. He could hear Rose almost giggling as they bounced. It seemed not only was she getting used to the bounce, but starting to enjoy it.
“This vehicle is amazing, Charlie.” She said, finally, over the coms. “What do you call it?”
“I haven't fully decided.” He replied as he whipped the trike into a slide, his sudden change of course forcing the air vehicle to overshoot them and Rose to squeal with laughter. “I've been calling it my Thundercycle.”
She propped her head back on his shoulder again for a few moments before responding, “it's not very elegant, but I think the name suits it.” She turned her head, looking behind them and sat back up, “they're back.” Indicating the pursuing transport had returned. Charlie turned, circling a large rock formation and returned to his original heading.
Three transports had escaped the citadel with them, of which two of them continued their chase of the Firebird, but one had noticed the Thundercycle and dropped back to tail them.
The transport sped ahead of them, veering to the left side and hovered. The rear ramp lowered and four soldiers leaned out. When they began taking pot shots at the trike, Charlie was forced to change course again to keep himself in his armor between them and Rose in her thin prisoner jumpsuit. After they passed, the transport resumed pursuit and quickly caught up to them.
“Can we bring them down with another harpoon?” She asked. “You know… carefully.”
“I'm out.” He replied. “The rack only holds five.”
Rose let out an annoyed sigh then pulled her legs up from either side of the cycle seat. She spun on her rump and dropped her legs back on opposite sides. She and Charlie now faced each other. Her mask was the clear type she gave him when she found him months ago. It was tense and hurried in the Magistrate's quarters, he really didn't get a chance to really see her. But even in the middle of this chase he had time to look into her eyes now. It was like he had forgotten how beautiful she really was. Like his memory was fuzzy of her and now he saw her crystal clear again.
She wrapped her arms around him and he had to literally struggle against the urge to let go of the handlebars and hold her tightly. He could feel her, soft, warm and inviting against him.
“What…are you…” he tried to utter with breath that was trying to escape him, until he felt her slide the blunderbuss out from its rack in his back.
She laid her head on his shoulder, tipping the weapon up at the craft. She pulled the trigger and the sharp tone of the sound wave escaped the weapon. It slammed into the bottom of the vehicle, forcing its nose violently up. The airship bobbed and weaved for a few seconds before stabilizing and continuing to follow. She fired again, impacting the back this time. The ship pitched and spun once again as the pilot was being forced out of her seat losing contact with the control space. Rose waited until it closed the distance between them again and fired. The wave collided this time with the left front fan. The carbon polymer shattered under the onslaught, sending fragments of the props flying from the ring. The transport dipped to one corner and drove itself into the ground sliding to a stop as Charlie and Rose sped away.
“Woo!” Rose cried, leaning back and raising the gun in the air. “I like this thing! Can you make me one Charlie?”
Charlie let up on the throttle, allowing the engine to rest a little as they continued. “I don't know.” He teased, “you seem kind of dangerous with it.”
This brought Rose to another fit of giggles.
The Firebird cruised into the courtyard, well ahead of the pursuing craft. They passed under an arch they had rigged up in the opening of the retaining hills.
“Activate the shield!” Shouted Corsair over the coms. “Get it up now!”
Dudge was in the power room, the fusion generator had been purring along all night and she slammed down on the activator.
The shield system once again whined, rose in pitch steadily, and once again chugged, clunked and failed to engage.
“Oh, crap,” exclaimed the bearded herman as she watched the plasma field again begin to form and fizzle out. She looked out through the arch at the two craft from Justice bearing down on them. “Get that shield up!”
Discorda had been carrying the body of Moni out of the Firebird, she laid her down on an equipment transport one of the seamstresses had laid a white cloth on whe. She heard Corsair shout. She looked out the archway to the transports that would soon breach the courtyard. The large warrior broke into a run, cresting the hillside next to the archway. She pulled out her spear and extended it as she ran out onto the top of the arch and leapt.
Dudge checked the power gauges, ran up to the switching board and without powering down the shield, she engaged the battery banks as well to the shield generator. Sparks flew from the switch as the herman was thrown back. But the power hummed loudly as the magnetic field began to fill with charged plasma.
Discorda landed on the windscreen of the transport, driving her spear through and into the control console. The pilot barely moved her hand out of the way before the shaft pierced the hand sensor. Without control the craft sailed under the arch just as the plasma field crackled to life catching the center of the vehicle. The already damaged systems fried, shutting down all engines and the ship pitched wildly down in front, tossing Discorda off the nose at the ground below. The tail struck the arch, pulling it out with the screech of bending metal. The transport landed on its nose and toppled onto its roof with the archway landing on top of it.
Corsair quickly made her way to the downed Discords. She knelt beside her and cradled the warrior's head, she wasn't breathing.
“No, no, no. Not you too,” the pirate-clad herman muttered.
Suddenly, with a huge gasp Discord opened her eyes. ‘Ouch.” She signed.
“Oh, thank the stars.” Corsair sighed, kissing her forehead. “What did you expect from jumping on a moving transport?”
‘Something epic?’ Her hands asked.
They looked over to the downed craft and wrecked arch. “Well, yea. That WAS epic.” She replied.
The strike team were already surrounding the vehicle as its rattled crew were trying to climb out from the wreckage. The other ship circled the shield, which was stable and holding for now. But with the arch destroyed the shield could only be completely up or down now and Charlie and Rose had still not arrived.
The Thundercycle approached Hope Citadel and Charlie could see the downed arch and the wrecked transport inside. To make matters worse the shield was not up. Rose and Charlie rolled apprehensively past the wreckage and across the bridge. The whole of Hope seemed to be gathered in the courtyard before the main entrance. Charlie disembarked and removed his helmet, setting it aside as he walked up to the cart holding the still form of Moni.
“Oh god no,” he whispered, touching her cold cheek. “She was so bright, so passionate. What have I done?” He said as tears slowly leaked down his cheeks.
“It's not your fault, mate.” Corsair added, attempting to comfort Charlie.
“How is it not my fault?” He replied. “It was my plan. It was my mission. I should never have involved any of you at all.”
‘It was an accident.’ Signed Discorda. ‘Your plan was fine. Your plan worked.’ She added pointing out Rose, who was slowly making her way through the crowd. ‘One of the transports collided with us. It is not your fault.’ Discorda gave Rose a hug as she arrived. ‘And saved Rose and all her squad.’
“But no one was supposed to get hurt.” Charlie said quietly. “Not really hurt. Banged up maybe. Stunned and zapped. But nothing lasting. So no, it is my fault. It didn't go as planned. I should have done better, planned better.” Charlie looked about, “what happened here?”
“One of the transports hit the arch.” Answered the bearded herman. “We got the shield up and the other kept circling until this happened.” She used a remote to activate a screen above the doors. On it was Contessa, giving a speech on Charlie's findings, the existence of the virus and the non-existence of the war. “It's been looping for the past few hours.” She looked at Rose and Dis. “Looks like your other mom agreed with Charlie. She let the whole world know the truth. She has been calling for a vote from the other citadels. She's getting your other mum ousted as Grand Magistrate and bringing her up on charges. The other transport picked up the ones from the crash and left without incident.”
Charlie let out a short, humorless laugh. All it said to him was if he had released the presentation, Moni might not have had to die. “I'm sorry,” he said to Rose, “I would give you a tour, but I need to think and we need to care for Moni.” He began to walk to the doors, the crowd parting for him easily with heads down. He turned back to them, “Corsair will take you and Dis back to Enlightenment with your Squad. You need to help your mom deal with this, and you need to convince her we are not a threat. The hermans and I just want to be left in peace. You have to let her know that. I'm glad you're okay Rose. I have a lot to be sorry for but saving you isn't one of them.” Charlie disappeared through the doors.
Rose tried to run after him but Dis held her back, shaking her head. ‘He needs to think, and so do you.’
“What?” She asked, “what do you mean? Think about what?”
‘What you really want. Where you belong. And what to do with your life.’ she indicated. ‘We all do.’
“Come ladies,” Interrupted Corsair, with a mock flamboyance dipped in sorrow, “the Firebird awaits.”
As the Firebird soared along the wastes, inside was about as loud as a tomb. Rose sat with a look of confusion. Her reunion with Charlie did not go at all as she expected.
“I don't understand,” said Petal, her sudden comment startled Rose, who was deep in her own head. “He came for you, but then he sent you away. Does that mean he loves you or he doesn't.”
Discorda scowled at her, putting her finger over her lips, but Rose replied, “I guess it means he owed me for freeing him. It means that emotions had nothing to do with his decision, Petal.”
“Oh,” she said, sounding distraught, as though it was her romance they were discussing.
Dis caught Rose's eye and signed, ‘he does love you, I am sure of it.’ She closed her eyes and pondered the correct way to phase what she wanted to convey. ‘He doesn't feel worthy of you. He is afraid he has nothing to offer.’
“That's crazy,” she said, a small chortle and smile escaping with the statement. “Charlie is so wonderful, how could I not love him?”
‘He has been ignored so long in his life he can't see his own worth. And now he feels his actions cost someone their life. He needs to recover before you will convince him otherwise.’ The warrior bit her bottom lip as she worried about him. Also hoping he will be alright until she returns.
“I don't understand, he loves me, but he thinks he isn't good enough for me?”
“It's just like you said, ma'am.” Petal piped up, “you did not think he could love you because of what happened to him. But he does. And he doesn't think you could ever love him because he doesn't think he is worthy. But he is. We see it, the hermen see it. But you have to make him see it.” The girl hopped up and down in her seat clapping her hands together.
“She is right, princess.” The voice of Corsair drifted back from the cockpit. “He alway talks like he is only appreciated for what he can do for people. But there is not a person in Hope that does not love him, not a person in this transport that does not. But you are his heart. You are ever in his thoughts. You are in his soul.” The pirate queen of the waste pushed the throttle as far as it would go, and the Firebird lurched forward on hydrogen jets. “I will drop you all off. Take care of what you must, and I will try to pull him out of his melancholy as best I can. But you must figure out what you two are, and then please return. Only you can save his soul.” The herman looked over her shoulder at Discorda, “and you, my warrior princess, I will miss you in every breath I breathe. Please, consider returning. My heart will not beat again till then.”
Rose looked over at her sister's smiling face, and for the first time since they were children, she saw tears.
Charlie had not left his quarters for two days. He gave instruction to some of the hermen when they had questions, drew detailed pictures when they didn't understand, but finally Dudge got him into the power room the diagnose the shield startup problem. Charlie designed a capacitor to store power when the shield was turned off and give the generator a kick when they hit the switch. Charlie was cordial, he was never mean but the Charlie that laughed and loved to teach was gone. When a task that required his attention was complete he disappeared into his workshop. The tone in the citadel was as close to that of the mood of the hermen's old mall housing. No one was suffering physically, but they suffered in spirit.
The rescue was six days ago, on the third day they buried Moni, but Charlie could not bring himself to attend the ceremony. Mavis and Belle were making a statue of her. They were going to place it in the garden room. It was her favorite space and her sunlamp idea worked perfectly.
The tone sounded at his door. Come in Charlie said, at a level unheard on the other side, but A.R.I.A opened the door.
Corsair stepped in and immediately made a sour face. “When was the last time you showered or bathed, Charlie?”
Charlie responded with a shrug. He had collected up all of the tricked out weapons, they laid in pieces across his project table.
“You know, those might have been handy if we had to, say,” she started, paused waiting for a reaction, and continued when none came, “defend the citadel sometime…”
Now he reacted with a glare that might have made you think she had suggested putting arsenic in a baby's bath water.
“You know those weapons didn't kill anyone during the fight. Just like you didn't kill anyone, Charlie.” She moved a little closer, but slowly, as his smell was almost too much for her to approach. “No one blames you, no one thinks anything but brilliant thoughts of you. Everyone here, in these walls, loves you Charlie.” She stepped up and against the complaints of her nose, wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “I love you, Charlie. And I want my friend back.”
Her beard wasn't scratchy as Charlie expected. She obviously cared for it to keep it soft as the brown locks on her head. “I know me saying that is not enough to convince you so…” she continued, and with one of her grand gestures back towards the door Charlie saw a line stretching down the hallway. As usual Dudge was right behind her cohort, giving Charlie a big hug. Then six little girls ran in and squeezed Charlie as one. Mavis and Belle, the seamstresses, the herman construction crew, one by one they hugged him. Some were silent, others whispered in his ear things like, “I miss your smile.”
“The tower is empty without you.”
“Come back to us, Charlie.”
But mostly. “We love you Charlie.” And with each hug, Charlie felt it. Moni's loss still hurt, it always would he guessed, but he was still appreciated, he was still wanted and he could believe they didn't blame him. He may blame himself for a while yet, but they, it seemed, forgave him.
The hologram of Contessa stood at the end of Charlie's conference table, “the research is promising. If all of the next tests go as we hope, we may be at a cure for the virus, then our fertilizations will be viable. Both artificial and natural, in case you ever want to father some of your own.”
“Thank you for your concern Grand Magistrate, but I'd need to find a lady who was willing first.” replied Charlie with half a smile. “I'm glad my ‘samples’ are proving useful.”
“Comparing your DNA to ours thankfully let us know what all the virus had damaged. Thanks to your help we are well on our way to restabilizing the human race. And consequently, I understand quite a substantial number of women are volunteering to be the first to give birth to sons in a century. So, you may not find it hard to find that lady you speak of. In fact, she may be closer than you think.”
“I keep that in mind, Magistrate.” Charlie replied with a mildly confused smile, “if you need anything else, designs….” he gave an embarrassed pause, “more samples, you know how to reach me.” She nodded as the holo winked out. She was still wearing a big smile that confused Charlie.
He gathered up his things and left the meeting room, he stepped into his sleeping quarters to drop a few of them off and then made his way to his private workshop. The remaining items in his hands clattered to the workshop floor as his heart skipped a beat.
Sitting in a beam of sunlight from the window that overlooked the wasteland beyond the retaining hill atop his work table sat a beautiful platinum blonde in a yellow sundress. She had either healed up from the bruising during capture, or covered it with makeup. He had seen how breathtaking she could be fully ‘done up’ for the party during the jailbreak. She was usually pragmatic, paying minimal attention to her appearance, but he could tell she had made a point to look nice today.
“R..Rose.” he stammered.
“Hello Charlie.” She said in a warm tone with an equally warm smile.
“I um,” he replied, “ if… if your mom needs more samples, it… it will take me a bit to get….them.” she had hopped down and gracefully strode over to him.
“I am not here on behalf of my mother. I came with Dis. Who is back. So you know. And surprisingly, Petal.” She added with a cock of her head and a squint. “Apparently she was adamant about moving here. I hope you have room.”
“I'm sure, we have plenty of room. Corsair and the others can find space for her to stay in.” He said through a now suddenly dry throat. She continued to slowly move closer to him. Hands clasped together in front of her. “So…ahem, so what do I owe the pleasure…”
“Well it was so hectic after you saved me, we didn't even get a chance to talk.” She reached up and gently touched the scar that passed over his left eye. The one her mother had given him when she tortured him. Charlie felt a wave of heat sweep over him from his feet up.
“Um, well yes, I suppose I owe you a tour.”
She made a disagreeing face, “well… maybe later. For now,” she softly bit her bottom lip, “Charlie, would you dance with me?”
“Well I'm not a great dancer, I warn you, but,” he began, then looked to the ceiling, “A.R.I.A, access my playlist. Fourth folder, sixth song.”
Slow music played from the ceiling, as he took her hand in hers and slipped the other behind her back. And they swayed to the music. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. And he felt her warmth through the soft fabric of the dress.
“I'm sorry, this is the extent of my knowledge of dance.” He said with a slight laugh, trying to not let on how terrified he was. He knew this song and dance so to speak. Girls always used it, or more to the point, used him to get what they wanted.
“This is wonderful, Charlie. No one has ever danced with me before.”
She still spoke to him, there was no ulterior motive coming it seemed.
“You mean, you and Butterfly never danced.” Her hand tightened in his at the mention of the other girl. He forgot how strong she was.
“She and I have gone our separate ways, it seems.” She whispered, with a notable sadness in her voice.
“I'm sorry, I know you cared for her.” He said Earnestly.
She lifted her head and looked him in the eye. “Turns out she only cared for what I could do for her. What opportunities I could get for her.” She sniffed and took her hand from his shoulder to wipe her eye. “But now she has my mother to care for. She'll be helping write the memoirs of the former Grand Magistrate during her confinement.” She returned her hand to his shoulder as they continued to sway, and gazed once more in his eyes. “But you Charlie, never cared for what I could do for you. You didn't even want me to risk my life, even to save yours. You don't berate me for compassion. You admire that I just want to hide away and read. You don't want anything for me except whatever I want for myself. So I have to ask,” she stared into his soul for several breaths, “don't you love me Charlie?”
His stomach was in knots. This was usually when women got irate or offended or even disgusted when he told them. But he could’t deny it. “Of course I do.” He replied, before quickly adding, “but you don't have to feel you need to love me back. For the first time in my life I am just happy being me. I found a life I belong in. I don't want you to feel you owe something to me for coming back for you. I'm ok with it if you don't love me back.” His heart felt like one of his harpoons just pierced him through. But at the same time he felt like the weight of this citadel was just lifted off him.
Tears were filling Rose's eyes, “oh my stars, Charlie! How could I not love you?” She had to pause to wipe her tears again before continuing. I love you with all my heart. I love you to the depth of my soul. Charlie, I love you to the moon and back. Why would you think I couldn't love you? You have to be the most wonderful person I have ever known.”
“Rose, I don't know what to say. I didn't think I was worthy of someone like you.”
“You are.” She exclaimed through a tearful smile. “Everything that has happened, your sleeping all those years, was to bring you to me who would love you for everything you are. I want to stay with you, here. I want to be yours and you to be mine, forever Charlie. You are the other part of me. Please say you want me too.”
“Yes.” He said, picking her up in his arms. “To the moon and back.”
She took his head in her hands, touched their lips together and kissed him, warmly and softly and with all the love her heart could pour out. He was her Charlie, and he was everything she wanted.