212 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
212 lines
10 KiB
Plaintext
|
|
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO oOOOO OOOO. OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
|
|
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" .OOOOOO OOOOOo OOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
|
|
OOOO oOOOOOOO OOOOOOO. OOOO oOOOO
|
|
OOOO .OOOO OOOO OOOOOOOOo OOOO OOOO"
|
|
OOOO oOOOO OOOO OOOO "OOOO. OOOO OOOOo .OOOO'
|
|
OOOO .OOOO" OOOO OOOO OOOOoOOOO "OOOO. oOOOO
|
|
OOOO oOOOOOOO..OOOO OOOO "OOOOOOO OOOOoOOOO"
|
|
OOOO .OOOO"""OOOOOOOO OOOO OOOOOO "OOOOOOO'
|
|
OOOO oOOOO ""OOOO OOOO "OOOO OOOOOO
|
|
|
|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|
|
| |
|
|
| There Ain't No Justice |
|
|
| |
|
|
| #44 |
|
|
| |
|
|
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|
|
- Final Mission -
|
|
by Kel'anth
|
|
|
|
On the street corner, a holovision blared the latest official news.
|
|
"The filthy traitor who attacked the hospital yesterday has been arrested.
|
|
The Emperor in his wisdom shall deal with this scum personally. All hail
|
|
the emperor!" The passers-by all stopped in their tracks and saluted with
|
|
their left hands on their hearts, a common ritual. The picture switched to
|
|
the blue- and-white starfield of the United Stellar Empire's flag.
|
|
|
|
Elsewhere, Cal Danning was sitting alone in his cell, his head down.
|
|
His black hair was knotted and messy from its recent neglect, and a day's
|
|
growth of beard covered his chin. His brown eyes seemed to be looking
|
|
inward. The holovision in the room was permanently locked on the official
|
|
news. Lies as usual. He had never attacked a hospital at all. It had been a
|
|
police station.
|
|
|
|
He heard a shrill beep as the lock on the door opened. Five inches of
|
|
titanium steel slid back to reveal armed and armored guards. They were at
|
|
least ten inches taller than his 5'6 stature and were built like
|
|
linebackers. They made him look like a flimsy twig. The black composite
|
|
body armor made them look still more formidable. The larger one said, "Come
|
|
with us."
|
|
|
|
The large one walked out the door, and Cal docilely followed. The
|
|
smaller one brought up the rear. They proceeded through long corridors,
|
|
until they entered a huge open room. They bound him securely to a pole,
|
|
with his hands behind his back and every inch restrained by heavy cords
|
|
that bit into his skin. Then they stood at attention on either side of him.
|
|
|
|
At last, the moment came that he had been hoping against hope for,
|
|
knowing all too well the reliability of the news reports. His Highness,
|
|
Emperor Joran II, son of the architect of the Empire, entered the room with
|
|
his full retinue of bodyguards, attendants, and ministers of state.
|
|
|
|
***
|
|
|
|
Cal was born on Ratrira, the capital of the Empire. He was raised in a
|
|
politically orthodox home. He had heard of the Cabal, but had been told
|
|
they were evildoers who raped and slaughtered women and children and warned
|
|
to turn in any Cabalists he might spot.
|
|
|
|
He grew up in Foofootra, a city near the capital city of Yatrirtra. He
|
|
attended all the Sons of Empire meetings and generally lived a good,
|
|
patriotic life, at least outwardly. But he found that something was
|
|
missing. When he lay alone in bed at night, he would think, and he would
|
|
think of doing unimaginable things...letting his facial hair grow, or
|
|
walking the streets in darkness, alone.
|
|
|
|
He was in his teens when he met Bil. As he got to know Bil he noticed
|
|
the boy had strange habits. He said strange things. As it turned out, Bil
|
|
was part of the Cabal. Cal considered turning them in, but he knew that his
|
|
hunger, his emptiness, would go on forever unfilled. He wanted something
|
|
different and unimaginable, and...here it was! He soon joined the Cabal
|
|
himself.
|
|
|
|
Cal was trained as an assassin/terrorist. He went around bombing
|
|
government buildings and shooting policemen and officials. He was greatly
|
|
skilled at his "job". He had gone on hundreds of assignments without
|
|
getting caught. Until now, that is.
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
The emperor wasn't nearly as imposing in person as on holovision. He
|
|
wondered how many rooms full of image distorters it took to make this
|
|
short, stout man look tall and regal. His blond hair was nearly hidden
|
|
beneath the Imperial Crown. His bloodshot blue eyes regarded Cal with
|
|
distaste. He would have been a laughable figure if this wasn't so deadly
|
|
serious. As it was, his personal bodyguards looked more than imposing
|
|
enough to make up for him.
|
|
|
|
The Emperor mumbled to himself, "This could be entertaining." Then,
|
|
aloud, he commanded Cal, "You will tell us who has sent you. If the answer
|
|
is useful to us, we may decide to let you live for a time."
|
|
|
|
Cal would never have betrayed the Cabal, even without the hypnotic
|
|
blocks against torture and truth drugs that had been implanted in his mind
|
|
by a Cabal psychosurgeon. He defiantly called back to the Emperor, "Never!
|
|
I would die first!"
|
|
|
|
Emperor Joran smiled, a cold and feral grimace with no hint of humor
|
|
in it. "You leave us no choice, then, Mr. Danning. Guards! Bring in the
|
|
torturer!"
|
|
|
|
As the guards left to retrieve that great expert in pain, Cal
|
|
restrained himself from smiling the same smile.
|
|
|
|
***
|
|
|
|
It was after midnight when Han escorted him into Jef's office, deep in
|
|
the mazelike sub-basements of Jaycees. The room was small, austere, and
|
|
dim. File folders sat in neat stacks on the Sector Chief's desk. Cal
|
|
reported and stood quietly. Cabalists never saluted.
|
|
|
|
Jef spoke in his usual businesslike manner. "Cal, you have been chosen
|
|
for a very important mission. I can't order you to do this one. It's not
|
|
just risky. It's nearly certain death."
|
|
|
|
"Whatever it is, if it helps to destroy the Empire and bring freedom
|
|
to the worlds, I'll do it."
|
|
|
|
"Very well, then. Your mission is to kill the Emperor. Be warned that
|
|
to do so will almost certainly require your death."
|
|
|
|
"I am prepared to die. But how this possibly be done? You know the
|
|
security that surrounds the Emperor's palace."
|
|
|
|
"True. But he is known to be overconfident, thinking he is perfectly
|
|
safe in there. It has been rumored that he sometimes oversees the torture
|
|
of his prisoners personally. This can put a Cabal agent within easy
|
|
striking distance."
|
|
|
|
"But what can he do once there? He would be bound so tight he could
|
|
hardly breathe, much less fight. And any weapon would be taken from him."
|
|
|
|
"Well that is where our new development comes in. It is an atomic
|
|
bomb, made of Californium. It will be implanted in your breastbone, and
|
|
coated with lead. It will pass their scanners. The fools only use X-rays.
|
|
The only problem is that it's unreliable. The size of the explosion is hard
|
|
to predict."
|
|
|
|
"I'll change it. And how will I detonate the bomb?"
|
|
|
|
"There is a keyword you must whisper. It doesn't matter if you are
|
|
gagged. The detonator will still recognize the word."
|
|
|
|
"I'll do it. How do I start?"
|
|
|
|
"Hit the Emperor where it hurts. Destroy a secret police headquarters.
|
|
Utterly. No need for discretion, you're meant to get caught."
|
|
|
|
***
|
|
|
|
The torturer was here. He was setting up the thumb screws. The Emperor
|
|
said, "One last chance for you to reconsider. If you tell us now the names
|
|
of your co-conspirators, we shall let you die quickly. Come, now. It is
|
|
time for you to come clean."
|
|
|
|
"No, Your Lowness, it is time for YOU to DIE!!!"
|
|
|
|
Cal's scream was followed by a whispered word, then all was heat and
|
|
light. The Cabal's scientists had not let him down.
|
|
|
|
***
|
|
|
|
The passers-by on the street corner stopped and hid their eyes from
|
|
the blinding flash of light, then stared at the mushroom-shaped cloud
|
|
rising from the center of the city.
|
|
|
|
The holovision shrilled a loud alarm. "This is an emergency bulletin.
|
|
Activities of the evil underground group known as the Cabal are increasing
|
|
rapidly. All citizens are advised to stay off of the streets. If we all
|
|
work together and maintain our solidarity, His Majesty's forces will soon
|
|
have this situation--AAaaagh!" The news anchor slumped over on his desk,
|
|
his head a bloody wreck. Someone shoved his body roughly from his chair and
|
|
sat down in his place.
|
|
|
|
The new face proclaimed, "This is Freedom Network. We have taken over
|
|
this broadcasting station for the people of Ratrira. The Emperor is dead;
|
|
his palace is a radioactive crater. It is hereby declared that Ratrira is
|
|
FREE!"
|
|
|
|
The passers-by watched, dumbstruck. They hardly knew what to do.
|
|
|
|
***
|
|
|
|
Fifty years later, in Foofootra's Central Park, an old woman and her
|
|
four- year-old granddaughter were admiring the beautiful metallite statue
|
|
in the central square. The girl's eyes lit up with wonder.
|
|
|
|
"Grandma, who is that?"
|
|
|
|
"That's Cal Danning, our greatest hero. He came from right around
|
|
here, you know. Way back when I was your mother's age, he saved us from the
|
|
Emperor. He gave his life to bring freedom to this land. And that's why
|
|
we're all free people here now. I heard the Constitution we have now is
|
|
based on one from someplace called the United States of America. Only ours
|
|
is much better. The United States turned into a tyranny somehow, I heard.
|
|
Well, they said they fixed the problem up. You mother would know that
|
|
better than I would. She was almost born free, she grew up with the
|
|
Constitution."
|
|
|
|
The grandmother was still talking as they walked away down a dirt path
|
|
set into the grass of the park. The girl stared back over her shoulder, her
|
|
eyes still wide.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[>> Phoenix Modernz Inc. :908/830-TANJ <<]
|
|
[>> Modern Textfiles Inc. The Matrix BBS:908/905-6691 <<]
|
|
[>> The Lawless Society Inc. CyberChat BBS:908/506-7637 <<]
|
|
[>> -also- <<]
|
|
[>> Terrapin Biscuit Circuit:908/506-6651 <<]
|
|
[>> First Universal Church Kalisti: 602/753-3784 <<]
|
|
|