My adrenaline rush was at an all time high. The security alarms in the sublevels were blaring. I stood holding my sword aimed at Kel. "I need you for the elevator. I didn't kill Galices, and you can choose to believe me or not, either way, you are going to help me." I felt bad demanding this from Kel, but given the circumstances, I needed to get off the Forge.
Kel didn't say a word. Just a horrified look in his eyes as he stared back at me. "Kel, we don't have time for this, move it now!" I said.
Marie pushed passed us, bumping me, as we quickly rushed to the elevator. Marie could be seen in the room with Galices, distraught Something felt off about her, but I could not tell what it was. We made it to the elevator and Kel did his retinal scan.
"Kel, I need you to take us to the housing sublevel." I said, easing back with the stern voice.
"Why. Why did you kill Galices? He saved our people. He was good. You are a swordsman!" Kel shouted.
"I know you are in shock. But listen carefully Kel, I didn't do it. I do not kill innocents." I said.
I had to think of a plan. I needed to get off the Forge and now, I will be hunted down by the guards and probably even some mercenaries looking for their big payout with a title of taking down a swordsman. My mind was racing and it was hard to think with the loud sirens blaring. Who had set the alarms off? Marie and Kel stood in the doorway, no where near her desk. Was this another set up? A way to take me down for good? Escaping the Forge is nearly impossible.
The elevator passed through all the sublevels, revealing everyone initiating protocol. Hopefully, I haven't been identified as the assailant quite yet and it would make things easier escaping. We reached the housing development and I looked at Kel. "If you don't believe me Kel, I understand. Leave the elevator before I return. I would understand completely." I nodded to him and began running towards alpha section housing. I found alpha three and ran down the street looking for forty-two. I found Fjorns house. I ran up and pushed the door open, breaking the locks he had put in probably in protocol, or maybe to just keep me away.
"What the hell!" Fjorn shouted.
"No time to explain, but we have to get the hell out of here." I said.
"Boy, I cannot be wanted! What did you do?" Fjorn asked.
"Galices was behind everything. He tried to kill me, he was working with Zeus. Now lets go!" I shouted back.
We heard a low ping from outside. I stepped out and looked to the sky which once held the illusion of daytime, now revealing an alert.
"This is an emergency. All sublevels will be secured and on high alert. All classified data is to be secured. In the event they are at risk, terminate data. We are looking for this Swordsman, he goes by the name Xander and he is highly dangerous. Do not approach and stay vigilant." The robotic voice spoke, revealing my picture.
I looked across the street and saw a dwarf look at me in disgust as he walked into his home.
"Fjorn, please. We have to go." I said, begging him to not stay here, I was afraid of him being targeted for the crime.
"I made up my mind boy. Now leave. Remember, I am not that important, so why the hell would anyone come after me." Fjorn said, voice was a little shaky but I could hear the definite tone of his words.
I nodded with a defeated face. I rushed back towards the elevator. Streets once littered with kids playing now empty. I made it back to the elevator but Kel was gone. I couldn't blame him, he felt betrayed. But there was someone standing at the terminal. It was Marie.
"I don't have time to explain to you why I am helping. But get in the elevator and lets go." She said.
I did as she said. I was a little hesitant, but given her calm demeanor, I had to trust her. We got in the elevator and she did her retinal scan. We proceeded down.
"Marie, I have to get topside and head for the hanger bay. Why are we going down?" I asked.
"You wouldn't last five minutes topside. The whole mercenaries guild has been offered a pretty high price for you. Plus, you think Galices didn't have other escapes built in? You really think he would operate at the heart of the planet and be stuck there?" She asked rhetorically.
We proceeded to descend farther and farther down. I hung close to the walls of the elevator. I witnessed guards swarming every single sublevel looking for me. We had arrived at advanced engineering.
"Follow me. Quickly." Marie said.
We followed the abandoned corridors until we had reached a door labeled 'Do NOT Enter' with Galices family crest upon it. She had walked to the keypad and entered a series of numbers. The door pushed open and there was another long corridor to follow. The door slammed shut behind us. We walked the length of the corridor until we had arrived at the door. This one, we simply pushed open. It revealed a starship. It was angled upwards. The planet had many exhaust chambers along the junkyard side of the planet. This was a faulty one, probably used as a last ditch effort for Galices to escape. As Marie climbed onboard, I heard someone on the other side of the ship whistle.
"Y'know, I never thought a gnome would be helping a wanted swordsman. Guess I can check that off my list." The mercenary stepped out of the shadows. "I always wondered who had put this thing here. Guess you had some master plan for sometime swordsman. Names Pope." The large cybernetic mercenary stated. He was one of the middle tier mercenaries. Always getting the job done, but way too messy.
"You don't understand what you are interfering with Pope. Let us leave and I will gift you coins." I said.
"Well, if you can't match the five billion coin bounty on your head, I would say you are wasting breath." He finished and drew his long barreled gun and aimed it at me.
I drew my sword and confidently walked towards him. "Start the ship Marie, I will handle this."
Pope smiled wide and revealed cybernetic implants along his gums. He shot his gun and I deflected the bullets to the side away from the ship. He began an onslaught of bullets, every single one being deflected. He began to look desperate. As I drew close he dropped his gun and pulled out two knives. I sheathed my sword and continued my slow pace towards him. He jabbed towards me with his right hand, I knocked it aside and delivered a blow to his midsection. His breath shot out and I heard him winced in pain. Even so, he rose quickly and started swinging the daggers viciously at me. I simply ducked and weaved every swipe at my neck. I punched him square in his face shattering most of the implants on his jaw. I was holding back because I didn't want to hurt him too badly. The ship was fired up and ready to go. Marie called over the system to me, "Lets go, the ship is ready."
"I am sorry Pope, but I must leave." I said. He then delivered one desperate attempt to tackle me to the ground. His arms wrapped around my waist. I picked him up by his waist and slammed him down head first into the ground. He was knocked out cold.
I hopped onto the starship and climbed my way into the cockpit. I strapped myself in. We heard some explosions behind us, presumably the doors to the corridor had been breached. We took off, flying through the tunnel, the stars grew larger in size as we rose into the sky. All ships in space were in a standstill. Nothing coming in or out of the Forge. We were hailed.
"This is Malek, commissioner of the tribunal of transport. Halt, or we will blast you." The message blared loud and clear.
Marie looked at me and said, "Hang on tight."
I gripped my straps harder and braced for what was to come. The Forges anti-space travel protocol has been initiated and large guns began to shoot towards us in space. Luckily the hanger bays were too crowded for us to be followed. Many shots whizzed by us, and some even exploded without a sound, only a force that shook the ship like interplanetary turbulence.
We then shot into interstellar space at light speed. We were out of the Forges reach, but not exactly where I wanted to be.
"Who the hell are you actually? I know you are no gnome. You do not possess the same mannerisms." I said, not breaking eye contact.
Marie stared for a long moment and sighed.
"Fine, but if the Mystic asks, you held a damn sword to my throat." Marie said.
She began shifting into some human form.
"I will stay like this to have a way easier time communicating." She said.
"You are a damn shapeshifter!" I shouted. I unclicked my straps and grabbed for my sword.
"We are not all what you think Xander. I am not here to deliver you to Zeus or imprisonment. I was sent by the Mystic to watch over you when you ventured to Jotunheim the first time. Luckily unnoticed. I was there on Zeus's planet. Hell, I even dropped drawing in Fjorns home, hoping he would remember and get us the hell out of there. The Mystic didn't feel right about a swordsman doing intergalactic missions. She wanted to know what the hell was going on." Marie said.
My mind reeled from the information she had given me.
"Why all of this. Why let Galices die or try to kill me?" I asked.
"We weren't even sure Galices had anything to do with it until Helsing got arrested. We got evidence of you in that room. You will be cleared." She said.
"Why not display that now instead of us running from the Forge?" I asked.
"Because, we need Zeus to think you are on your own. The only downside is, I was hoping Fjorn would be here. He will end up on Olympus in the arenas. So whatever the Mystic has planned, we need to act on it fast."
"Where are we headed now?"
"Kaj'Matar. The Mystic needs to fill you in on some missing pieces of this puzzle. It's time we took the fight to the horsemen. Unfortunately, for you, they are already in the Milky Way." Marie said, with a hint of fear in her voice.
I sat back in my seat. Already here? But where? She was right. It was time I faced these horsemen and get the upper hand. Kaj'Matar to see the Mystic.