It will take quite a while before we recognize a brighter light in the distance. The light on the ceiling seems to fail from here. There are lamps everywhere, illuminating the walls and ceiling brightly.
From here, you can also see the damage Otscharsan has caused. There are dents on the walls, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. Some areas are even torn open. Further along the sluice, the cracks stop, but here the walls are blackened.
When we finally arrive at the end, we stand before the remnants of a massive gate, behind which a wall has been hastily erected.
Gasard said that Otscharsan had to save his life by shooting at the gate, but not only I look at the debris in astonishment. The men stand before it, exchanging bewildered looks. Apparently, they cannot understand how someone could do such a thing.
In front of the gate is a glider, beside which are various materials (sheets, cables, and other spare parts).
"I told you they have transportation here!" Musator shouts loudly.
"We do indeed," comes a growl from the right side. The wall is so blackened that the open door, from which Gasard now emerges, is hardly noticeable. "But I won't let him near anything that flies or moves in any other way so easily again."
"What did this guy actually do here?" Musator inquires, his eyes wandering over the damage.
"He tried to set a speed record that surely no one will break as quickly," the redhead's angry gaze shifts to Otscharsan.
Meanwhile, Otscharsan has sat down on the ground. Complaining about his feet and the long way he has had to walk three times already, he looks at Gasard. "But I tried to stop," Otscharsan protests. "What can I do if those things don't stop quickly enough?"
Gasard's hands clench into fists. He appears tense, as if he can barely restrain himself from suddenly hitting the blonde. "Otscharsan!" His voice sounds soft and warning. "If you don't want me to chase you around the sluice for a few laps, you better not say anything more!"
Otscharsan stands up. A smile spreads across his face as he approaches Gasard. He pats the redhead on the back and says, "Oh, come on, you'll have fixed that little bit soon enough!"
The blonde is already starting to leave when Gasard stops him. "Where do you think you're going now?" the redhead inquires. His anger has still not left his voice.
Otscharsan stops. "Well, it's not exactly my job to stand around here," he says. "So I thought I'd go back to my room for a while and rest from all this running around."
"Forget about that, my dear!" A grin spreads across Gasard's face. Otscharsan, on the other hand, looks at the other questioningly. "When I order you to do something, you must obey!" he reminds the blonde. "This time, I don't intend to repair everything you've broken so obediently, and I won't let you get away with it either." Otscharsan looks confused. "You, my friend, will be the errand boy around here for a while." Gasard turns to the men and grins at them invitingly. "I'm sure you'll like that. If you help me this time, you'll not only get delicious food but also get to boss him around."
The men seem to like the idea visibly. Otscharsan, however, has not yet come to terms with it.
"What does Torsos think about you keeping one of his best men from his work?" he demands to know. A confident smile forms on his face.
Gasard sighs. He seems to have calmed down again. "You'd better not contact him," Gasard advises him. "With your actions, you've put his Politaris out of commission, and he's not happy about it. You know as well as I do how often he needs his ship."
"Then build another sluice," suggests Otscharsan, who has now resigned himself to his fate. He trudges slowly back to the group.
Musator gestures towards me. "Is the girl just here to keep us company?" he inquires.
Gasard nods. "I thought if you don't like the work, she can keep me company."
"A commander as an errand boy, then hopefully plenty of food," Musator lists. "Why should we say no to work this time?"
"I have plenty of food anyway," Gasard says. He wants to fetch everything himself, but then he remembers Otscharsan.
The blonde sets off grumbling and returns with a large basket of fruit.
"And what about me?" Musator asks.
"Oh, you find that terrible stuff in the canteen quite tasty," Gasard laughs.
His comrades pat the chubby man on the shoulder. "You can have our rations," they all say unanimously.
"So, is that a yes?" Gasard exclaims excitedly. The men nod. "Okay, then see if you can repair anything." Gasard turns to the blonde. "Otscharsan, you bring the gentlemen what they need." A sigh comes from the commander as he sits down on the ground and sulkingly takes one of the fruits.
"I wish you wouldn't run into Torsos; he's even angrier than I am," Gasard remarks. He sits down next to the blonde.
I also sit down next to the basket and take one of the fruits. A really pleasant start to the day.
"But I'm not like that, and I'll make you an offer," Gasard continues. Otscharsan listens curiously. "If you obediently play the errand boy, then you can tell Torsos you volunteered to help me because you feel so sorry for what you did. That would surely cheer him up a bit. I'd even confirm it."
"Sounds nice," Otscharsan says with a full mouth. "Is there a catch?"
"No," comes the reply. "Just that you do everything you're ordered to without complaining."
"And what do you get out of it?" Otscharsan looks at Gasard suspiciously, who has now started to grin.
"It's enough for me to see you being pushed around." Gasard gestures to the ten men, who look very eager. "I think they'd be happy to take care of that."
"Okay, okay, what wouldn't one do to remain the friend of our universally hated Emperor," he grumbles, not quietly enough for Gasard not to hear it.
"Don't let him hear that!" Gasard says to the blonde with a wink.
"It's just the truth!" Otscharsan protests.
Gasard turns to me. "Janine, dear."
I look at him curiously. What does he want from me?, I wonder.
His hand strokes through my hair, a nice smile on his lips. "You wouldn't mind fetching me something from the canteen, would you?"
"I can do that!" Otscharsan chimes in.
"No, you stay here! I wouldn't know when you'd come back," Gasard insists.
"Sure!" I say.
Gasard leads me to the glider and gives me a black armband there, just like Mak wears.
"With this, you can operate the glider and also have access to a few areas," he explains to me. Gasard takes my left arm and rolls up the sleeve. The black armband he puts on me is only thin and very elastic. "The bracelet you're wearing is a bit more complicated. Here, it's enough if you touch the band." He runs his fingers over the black band, and a control panel is projected into the air.
I try to remember what he's doing.
Gasard touches a button, and a map appears, showing the surroundings. There's a point on it. He doesn't need to explain that it's our location.
"You just need to ask Akara about the food. But where is she right now?" Gasard adjusts something on the map, showing a few rooms. "Downstairs in the station, in the prison area, is also the kitchen; you could try there." A red line appears on the map, leading to one of the rooms. "Just stop by there." He presses another button, and the map, along with the control panel, disappears.
I look at the armband, then at him. Even though it's a bit uncomfortable for me, I didn't remember everything. But Gasard explains to me again how to call up the map.
Next up is the glider. Gasard sets everything up so that I just have to press a specific button. He's entered the route into the glider.
After Gasard gets out, I do what he showed me. The glider starts moving and is faster in the hangar than I thought.
It's really much longer on foot.