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OmalleyDakota — Chapter Thirty-Nine - We're coming
Published: 2023-09-07 01:55:22 +0000 UTC; Views: 619; Favourites: 7; Downloads: 0
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One of the first things they teach you in spacefarers' training is to never surrender. No matter how desperate things are, maintain hope, believe in tomorrow.Today I was running out of hope.
We were still trapped in that cage. They had floodlights continually on us. The room was bitterly cold. There was constant noise from some kind of mysterious construction work going on outside the chamber.
They had provided me with some kind of medication, but it did nothing for my pain. We only had two blankets and the meager rations they provided us. Kimber was trying to keep my spirits up. She had seen something on the march to bring us to this place. She believed it was a Guild observation team attempting to assure us.
It was a large gold paint graffiti-like symbol on the wall of a building. There it was, a large Valentine’s heart, on one half of it the captain's bars of a Guild Marine, on the other side the captain’s bar of Guild intelligence. She also later saw the same gold paint on another wall along the route. This time it was just the words, ‘fides aeterna’, Latin for ‘faith eternal’, one motto of the Guild Marines.
Right then, in that cold dungeon, my hope was running out. I just wanted the pain to end.
There was no way to know how much time had passed. It could have been two days; it could have been two weeks. They brought us food twice, water more often. They wanted us alive.
Then they came into the room again, this time a large group of men. Until this point, only one or two guards would check on us. Now they sent a dozen grim looking faces.
The only thing Kimber and I were wearing were those blankets. The men surrounded our cage. I could barely get up off the floor. Then they threw buckets of cold water at us. The blankets fell off us; they stabbed their electric prods into both of us. They hit Kimber with at least three. We both collapsed to the floor, naked, in pain, stunned to almost a catatonic state.
The men rushed into the cage, manhandled both of us into some kind of crude dress. Then they filed out again. They simply watched us then.
We both gradually regained our senses. My pain reminded me of where I was at. Kimber then gently touched my shoulder, waved to me to look at her back. The dress had the words ‘Guild Whores’ stenciled on them.
This was when an unfamiliar figure entered the room, a short toad of a man, papers in hand. He walked up to our cage as though he had taken these same steps a thousand times before. He never once looked directly at us.
“The High Ecclesiastical Council of the Ministry of His Divine Will found captains Kimber Snowfield and Omalley Dakota guilty of crimes against God. They have declared you Heretics. The Holy Flame shall cleanse you at noon today.”
He then walked out of the room again. Not once did he look at either of us.
Then Master Snow arrived.
He had on the same strange black visor, but now he was wearing this elaborate gold-trimmed cowl. He walked up to our cage, wringing his hands gleefully.
“Ladies, your grand day has come! I have been looking forward to this! We will broadcast your dying moments for all to see! I have worked zealously to make sure your arrogant Guild cannot interrupt our festivities!”
“Take them to the execution site.”
With that, he turned and left.
They then brought in an ancient-looking forklift. With that, they lifted the entire cage, us in it. They took us out of the building, into the light of day.
I had noticed the sounds of construction had stopped. The forklift carried us, escorted by an assemblage of Ministry soldiers. It was like some sort of evil parade. They took us through the courtyard of their fortress. I could see people gathering even then. We went past the gate to what was obviously a prepared seating area. Many ornately draped bleachers, like the kind you’d have for a soccer game.
In front of us, a heavy metal scaffold, black, surrounded by what was to be our funeral pyre. Carefully stacked lumber, even at a distance, I could smell what must be some sort of accelerant. They brought our cage to an industrial crane. It soon brought us to the top of the scaffold. We had a perfect view of the circus they had arranged around us.
They were setting up a small tower, obviously intending to provide somebody with a safe place to watch us burn.
Then Master Snow appeared again. He walked happily to this tower; they had several of their men carefully lift him onto it. Then they raised it. So he was on eye level with Kimber and me.
He was smiling.
Even in my pain, I could now see the surrounding grounds. They had gathered troops, even what looked like a couple of missile launchers, aimed to the sky, as though expecting the Guild to do something.
I now saw another platform near the bleachers, several men with holovid cameras, carefully adjusting their focus on us.
Kimber was looking out of our cage, as though looking for something. I could only hold on to the bars, attempt to keep myself standing. I now saw the blue skies. I had seen nothing but concrete gray and black iron bars while they had us in their dungeon. I had initially winced at the brightness of the sunlight. My eyes adjusted. It seemed strange to me that my death was coming on such a beautiful day. I was a spacefarer, not used to this sort of warming sunlight.
There were even birds in the sky. Hundreds of them. Flying around the entire area. They were small, agile, and seemed so completely out of place for what was about to happen. I could now see our executioners gathering in the distance. I had come to terms with death a very long time ago in my life. From the day I took my oath to the Guild, I knew this day might come. I had just hoped it would be something quick, relatively painless. Even getting blown out of an airlock, you’re only conscious for about fifteen to twenty seconds. During the Merchants War, we all knew that a missile strike could be almost instantaneous. Death in less than the blink of an eye.
This was different. I could see Master Snow standing on his tower, watching us. I think he wanted to see our pain, to bask in what he was going to do to us.
I took my eyes off him. Kimber came to stand beside me. She had an odd, sad smile. She put an arm around my shoulder and hugged me gently.
Today we were going to die.
The birds seemed oblivious to what was about to happen; there seemed to be even more of them now.
One of them landed on the bars of the cage, directly in front of Kimber and I.
A woman’s voice came from it.
“We’re coming.”
