The Lightbreakers of Orpheus [16]

A serialised Sci-fi novelette. Flash fiction chapters.

Previously [1]. [15]

[16]

The red sand swirled high above the dead land of Orpheus. The desert was only one of Orpheus’s faces; there were green gardens, blooming with sweet flowers, and magnificent trees rising above them. There were cliffs, covered in sparkling-red mists, making them deadly for airships to navigate. The red sands hid a secret; the reason why the planet had been war-torn for far too long. Precious metals, and minerals slumbered deep beneath the deserts, and whoever ruled over them, was bound to be wealthy, and powerful beyond comprehension.

Two men made their way through the sandstorm. One young, holding his back steady against the storm, one old bowing down to the power of the wind, and sand. Their footsteps marked the smooth surface the wind had cleared from all traces of humans, only the swirling sand stirred the calm face of the desert. The men approached an airship, standing still behind a wall of sharp cliffs.

“I don’t think I should go in there, Doc,” Mark said, as Doc Benton placed his palm onto the scanner near the Vulture’s entrance.

“I’ve known Captain Derek long enough. If there’s one thing he holds in high esteem, it’s courage to face one’s fears, and honesty. He will appreciate you coming in person. Besides, you’ve made it through the storm to get here, so…” Doc Benton shrugged, pulling his facemask off. The storm had calmed but another one glared in the distance; red clouds rolling up from the horizon.

The scanner beeped, and blinked green. The door swooshed open.

“Come on, son. I am sure it will be…”

“I’ll stay here,” Mark said firmly.

“Suit yourself. I bet that storm will change your mind soon enough. But…” Doc smirked at Mark’s stern features, “in your case, maybe not.”

***

“What the hell is he doing here?!” Derek yelled at Doc as soon as the elderly physician entered the bridge; Derek pointed at Mark in the screen of the ship’s surveillance monitor.

“I think he has every right to be where his fate is being decided.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Mark has agreed to do the operation, and afterward, the diversion…”

Derek interrupted him with a wave of grim laughter.

“You’re mad. You’re using his naiveness to manipulate him.”

“Oh, so you admit, he’s naïve?” Doc smiled victoriously. “Then maybe you’ll admit it wasn’t entirely Mark’s fault….”

“What exactly do you want me to do?” Derek yelled.

“Calm down. Use your brilliant mechanic’s skills, and fix Mark’s old biomechanical brain implants. I’ll install them back,” Doc explained.

“And then what?”

“I have a plan. Derek, there are forces on this planet, who hate both parties, and who need only a tiny nudge to attack both the Rebels, and the Government. Mark is that tiny nudge. The piece of domino, that’ll make them fall. Look at the guy! He came through that storm like it was nothing.”

Derek stared at the monitor frowning. He had heard rumors…

Mark stood still like a soldier he truly was. The new storm rained down on Mark’s frame with waves of sand, but he stayed unmoved. Until he looked up, and motioned at the surveillance camera. The storm wasn’t the only danger approaching.