Yzabel / August 21, 2005

[Part 3 out of 4. Read Part 1 and Part 2.]“Welcome to your new quarters, Lieutenant Vell’An. You and your men are now consigned here.”The sliding transparent door slammed shut between the two Rims, locking itself in the same split second. The tall officier turned in a quick movement, for Vall’Eran to meet him with a confident smile.”What the…” said Vell’An in a cold voice. “Open the door. This is an order!— Sorry, Lieutenant. Before you ask, if you decide to attempt anything, I’ll have to release this. You know, of course, that your bodies aren’t protected with nano-bots.”He flashed the small sealed vial marked with the red etiquette, in a move that he hoped looked threatening enough, and saw the surprise and anger in the officer’s grey eyes. Of course, the man had seen the laboratories, as well as the carefully aligned and shielded containers for the virus he was supposed to bring back to Ewell, once its development would be finished.”This is an act of treason. The Ministry will be informed!— We should reach Shigari Archipelago in about six hours”, Vall’Eran said. A certain feeling of satisfaction rose in him upon seeing the surprise on the Lieutenant’s face. “If I were you, I’d make sure to take a seat. It’s the first time we’re moving this flyland. There could be… accidents.— You’re completely mad! It’s not meant to—— Nano-tech can be put to many uses, you know. Not only to harm and destroy.”His voice sharp and harsh, Vall’Eran turned on his heels, leaving the officier behind him pound the glass with his fist and order him to stop over and over again. He had never played such a game before, and kept on hoping that their little bluff would hold long enough. Vell’An wasn’t a man that could be so easily manipulated. His subordinates, on the other hand… He had noticed the despair in their eyes, the wish to see this war end, the fear of complete destruction, now that they knew that Varsa was ready to use its anti-matter artillery any time. Ewell was probably condemned. If there ever was an end to this, he’d face the trial court with his chin held high; in the meantime, saving his people was a priority.”All ready to go here. What about our snoopers?” echoed Ar’Allan’s voice in the receptor unit of his sub-vocal communicator at the very moment he entered the observation room of the building.”Where they’re meant to be. Let’s go, then, and hope that you were right.— Roger that. Hang on to whatever you can.”A deep, muffled sound echoed in the bowels of the huge flyland getting in motion; even though the acceleration would probably never be enough to be felt—they were already fortunate enough to simply make it move—he knew that the huge mass of cristal, metal and hardened glass was now gaining speed, its long stabilizing tail still to brush the surface of the sea until they would be high enough in the sky.”Looks like it’s holding good so far!” Ar’Allan, again. “We probably have five or six hours ahead, before they notice our move.— Just enough to reach Shigari. Is this far enough?— Depends on the area effect. The Ministry’s taking a hell of a bet here. Do you think they’ll really do… like they said?— It’s Varsa we’re talking about, Allan.”The engineer fell silent, taking a few steps toward the large bay-window. There was only darkness around them, darkness, water and faraway stars, and the odd, regular noises of the now moving flyland. He didn’t feel at ease, knowing that the early morning would perhaps see the destruction of his homeland, if Varsa was to carry their ultimatum. Frightened, isolated, doing his best not to show his colleagues how little trust he had in this project: Vall’Eran kept on wishing that this was all a nightmare. Ten levels under his feet, in the narrow room where he had locked the soldiers, Vell’An was probably still trying to figure out how to get out of such a situation. He refused to think to what would happen if he were to find one; there had never been any virus ready to be released in the isolation room.Around six, the few remaining communications channels with the main land suddenly went static.

©Yzabel 2005