Chapter 6
In the year that followed Edmo's invention of the working helmet, Dramkick had 103 million of them made. At first a person's participation in the "Share your journey" experiment (as it was christened by Dramkick) was at the individual's choosing. Soon, when Dramkick saw how few people chose to participate, he gave them no choice and suddenly made it law. At this point if someone refused, their journey came to an abrupt end with their heads put on display on pikes in front of the Caskpe Revolving Library. Very few took that option, but some did, as they were unwilling to give up their secrets.
Dramkick had all government buildings converted into intake centers. One by one people waited in line until it was their turn. Then their brains were connected to an interface and tuned to the correct frequency. After that their every thought was downloaded into the computer and uploaded into a helmet. The helmet was then marked, packaged, and promptly shipped to Dramkick's country home of Beauda. Dramkick sat there eagerly awaiting all the millions of helmets in the hopes of finding a genius mind. Those were the helmets Dramkick was really after. He got an incredible rush from feeling their brilliance and found their minds lifted his to unbelievable heights.
After Dramkick had sifted through all the: poets, artists, doctors, and scientists he threw his gaze elsewhere (His very own Benbres, and least of all Vield, his treasured friend.) This caused the Benbres to auspiciously disappear from their home worlds without a trace. They knew that if Dramkick had any idea what they really thought of him (or how they had deceived him) they'd be dead for sure. They decided instead to make a run for it and catch Dramkick off guard. This infuriated him beyond belief.
"How did this transpire, Gigg, how?!" Dramkick shouted as he stared out the window of his bedroom in Beauda.
The bedroom is draped in Royal blue carpet on all 6 walls and floors. There are 9 paintings whose frames were sewn into the carpet thousands of years ago. The paintings are of Doga-a brilliant prophet who invented his own religion known as The Bloodless Wound. His religion centered primarily on the idea that there are stages to be gotten too in this life. And to get to the more evolved stages it took effort (and some stages are gotten to prior to this one (life) to enrich and find the soul happy was his theory). The technique he used to get to the next reality was for a person to ask themselves 5 questions that they couldn't, or didn't want to answer-known as the Alive 5. The first question was the same for everyone, "Why do I believe in God?" If you couldn't believe in God, or refused, then there was no need to ask the other 4 questions because you wouldn't be passing to the next reality anyway. These people were known as the Shadowless Mo and Doga believed they were put in the world to inspire the other people's 5 questions. The next 4 questions were meant to be different for every person and center around an individual's hypocrisy with themselves. The period of time to ask the Alive 5 could be moments, or decades depending on a person's bravery. Once a person had asked their Alive 5-and reckoned their fears-the rest of their lives was meant to be lived with endless passion for their dreams and the people that loved them and who they loved. Doga wrote in the Soa letters, "Of all the people that have shared their lives, very few will share the next. A life span of mortal success is not a molecule of eternity. Give yourself a chance at forever, it's worth the wait." In life, as in the painting, Doga was shown with his dark green skin and long crimson hair. His head was an enormous, unusually large, and sat atop a thin muscular neck. His forehead is large and bulbous with 3 square lumps protruding from the sides and the center. While circular wrinkles wrap around his face like Halloween paint. His eyes are gold in color and one eye is larger than the other and star shaped-they always appear perfectly calm. He has a long thin chin-like a crescent moon-and it has a tuft of crimson hair at the tip of his triangle shaped chin. And there is a dark blue glass ball attached to the hair that has red one word messages that pop up inside every few seconds like, "Yes, certain, we believe." His eyebrows are black and in the shape of a plus sign. He has a long and thick perfectly straight nose that has no lump in it-and has a computer outlet at the top between his eyebrows. He is 6'3" tall and had ballooned up to 299 pounds before he was feared dead-4 years ago-in an apparent shuttle crash.
"They will be tracked down, Quadromolan, it is an eventuality I assure you," Gigg said hopefully as he sat down a tray of sugary delights and a flask of red Toffy coffee.
Toffy coffee is made from genetically altered coffee beans. They have a piercing flavor and give you a tremendous jolt upon drinking it. The beans give you a day's nutrients and the perfect amount of fiber.
"Hmm this could not have been deduced," Dramkick espoused as he played in invisible piano. "The Benbres are all wise men and if they don't want to be found they assuredly will not. Having said that…some of them will be found and they will pay the tally for the rest! This is not a promise, but a certainty, Gigg!" Dramkick said sternly as he grabbed a strawberry cookie and started chewing quickly like a chicken.
"You are absolutely right, Quadromolan, their cowardly act will be reconciled," Gigg answered as he looked directly Dramkick.
"It's Vield that scorns me so," Dramkick whispered as if the words were a song. "I fear our friendship has perished and I am sickened by it, but…Vield knew the cost of progress and he will pay his own debt," Dramkick said sternly as he poured a cup of Toffy and took a sip. Then Dramkick said coldly, "Poeragard, he knew my love and now he will know my wrath."
"What would you like me to do?" Gigg asked as he put on a pair of silver rimmed sunglasses with gold lenses.
"That idiot son of his, Brahm, feed him to the Ponquirt herd, his wife as well," Dramkick said snidely as he sipped his Toffy like there wasn't any left.
"Done!" Gigg said quickly as he called in the order on the radio channel in his cheek.
"Hee hee I have a thought."
"Yes, Quadromolan," Gigg said curiously.
"Why should I wait for them to be found by scouts when I can personally seek them out with my army?" Dramkick asked as his fingers twitched like an old piano player. "Yes, a trip is in order, a nice get away from it all. And a chance to look up some old friends. I want every soldier, vessel, and able body ready in 10 hours!" Dramkick ordered with his eyes glaring at Gigg. "Those worthless Benbres will be abolished one…by…one hee hee ha," Dramkick said snidely and then he drank the rest of his Toffy.
The entire fleet of Maox battleships, Owel destroyers, and Sleaa fighter ships are quickly assembled and filled with the necessary supplies. Every soldier at every rank is called upon to help in the search for the elusive Benbres. With a small number left behind to guard each world (and of course, the Rala fountains). Dramkick sent 1,000 Vor Me there alone.
"With this ridiculous crusade of Dramkick's to catch the Benbres. It has afforded us an opportunity to take what is rightfully ours. The Vor Me are powerful, but we outnumber them 10 to 1," Coats explained as his thoughts were of Praem and Praem alone. Coats continued, "With one Swift blow we could get enough Praem to last us 100 years. Our time is now and our cause needs to breathe in the open air to be realized. Pleu and I know the layout of the cave the Rala fountains are in," Coats tucked his shirt in. "And we have weighed the risks of attacking the Vor Me. We believe we can destroy them and take what is OURS!!" Coats said boldly as he stood there on a wooden crate in front of 10,000 Gopas. They were in a long empty carpeted warehouse with thousands of old carpets lying everywhere and piled on top of each other.
The warehouse is 150 feet high and a half mile long and wide. Its walls are painted white and have posters of Dramkick with the words, "A fool has come," written on them in red paint. There is a pair of large stained glass windows at either end that depict the childhood of Doga in red, blue, and yellow glass. There are thousands of couches and chairs littered about the floor. The ceiling has 3 large square lights that burn brightly-each of which hanging down from the ceiling a considerable distance. There are also half a dozen Hovacycles-which are anti-gravity motorcycles.
The Hovacycles are similar to crotch rockets, but have a long body that has a gold jet accelerator at the end. The handle bars are gray and you extend your arms into them to steer them with brain waves. The seats are black, tan leather, and move in correspondence with your movements-this is to keep perfectly balanced at all times. On the front is a large circular nose cannon that has an automatic sight for moving targets. On the side of each is the word Dazel in white-this is the inventor Dr. Itchwe Vams daughter's name. They are all red or dark green in color-except for the control panel which is dark blue.
"Yes we could attempt this, but in all fairness some of us will lose our lives," Downer Frien responded in a voice only a mother could love. He burped loudly and then continued, "That's not to say anything for the slim chance of getting the Praem out in any significant quantity," Downer explained as he stood up and sucked on a Praem tube.
Downer Frien is 5 foot 7 and a lazy 170 pounds. His hair is dark brown and he has thick eyebrows. He has a large gently sloping nose and piercing brown eyes. His teeth are large and when he smiles he looks like a dog growling. He has a green and purple star tattoo in the center of his for head that is the size of a silver dollar. He has large trophy like ears that have a silver sword earring in each. His body is very flabby and his shoulders permanently thrown back. His hands are well proportioned and his feet are long and wide. He is wearing a blue velvet shirt and a pair of black leather pants (that he bought when he was thin.) He also has on bright orange boots with a skull burnt into leather.
"Look, Downer, Pleu and I have been there and the distance from the Rala fountains to the street is almost nothing. If we set up a supply chain we can get thousands of gallons out of there with only a minimal risk," Coats replied sharply as his breathing became heavy with annoyance. "The key is distraction, our plan is this... We send a couple hundred of us through the swimming pool entrance to engage the Vor Me. While that's happening we take out the guards at the other entrance. Then we make a mad dash to line our pockets with a lifetime's worth of Praem," Coats's was feeling the moment and he loved it. "In life there are risks, but here I see no risk. I'd rather die trying for freedom, then breathe 100 years as Dramkick's slave!" Coats, ordinarily quite good at controlling his temper, felt it suddenly fraying. Against his every inkling Coats offered Downer his wrist. Downer looked at it for second, then grabbed onto it and smiled. "Then it's Praem and a 1000 Twosqu weeks for us all!" Coats shouted as he lifted his and Downer's hands above their heads and smiled. This caused the crowd of Gopas to cheer.
"I'm surprised Dramkick has us wasting our time guarding a pool. I was trained to fight not babysit a couple of pool chairs and some towels," Rench Sepo said angrily as he looked vacantly around Dramkick's pool inside Danviers cavern.
Rench Sepo is 5'8" tall and182 pounds of donuts for breakfast donuts for lunch. He has long blonde hair and a thick red mustache with a triangular shaped chin beard. His eyes of black honor his boyish good looks. He is wearing standard issue Vor Me attire.
"Calm down, we'll see plenty of action before too long," Itchi Hurchil spoke with an undeniable calm. "You know what the Admiral says, if you've got a murderous and savage heart Dramkick will see your talent. Then you'll find your way to battle right quick," Itchi said confidently as he pulled out a silver flask and then asked slyly, "How bout a sip for dinner of the pure Praem?"
Itchi Hurchil is 5'10" tall and 140 pounds of fast lean muscle. He has dark brown hair that is tied into a ponytail with the hair at the ends woven into a square. He has hazel eyes and thick bushy eyebrows that have knots sewn into them. His teeth, large and goofy are slightly rotting because of too many soda and Praem mixed drinks. His hands are bony and almost always curled into a fist. He is wearing a standard Vor Me uniform except for a gold watch with 10 clock faces of varying sizes on it.
"Well…I don't know, that stuff's so strong it can make protecting this fine pool an incredibly difficult task. I'd hate to see it stolen out from under us," Rench confessed sarcastically and then he took the flask and took a long chug.
"Dramkick will manage, he's got other pools. It's those chairs being stolen that will haunt me in my dreams," Itchi laughed and took the flask from Rench. It quickly made a trip to his lips and the contents to the back of his throat.
Meanwhile 300 Gopas were entering the pool through the Clar lagoon entrance. On the other end, in Jarret marketplace at the Uuvaly fountains, the rest of the Gopas-all 10,000-were preparing for the signal to blow the door and flood into the cavern. All of them dressed as normal patrons and pretending to shop. The door itself has only one Vor Me soldier guarding it and he is sitting in a chair nodding off.
Pleu looked down at the mini monitor in the palm of his hand and said quietly, "They've made it too the pool. Let's wake up our sleepy Vor Me."
Coats motioned with his hand to a Gopas in a tan shirt and pants. The man walked briskly over to the Vor Me and shouted, "She was my little sister!!" When the Vor Me looked up he punched him 3 times in the head knocking him unconscious.
2 women stopped and stared for a second, but then shrugged their shoulders and walked away. Pleu quickly moved a brown square push carriage-that had 3 wheels, a series baked goods on top of it, and an affixed umbrella-quickly over to the unconscious Vor Me. He and the Gopas threw the Vor Me onto the carriage and quickly grabbed his clearance stick-Pleu was taken aback as it had black velvety trim. They threw the Vor Me into a secret compartment and quickly whisked him away.
"I just sent the strike force in the pool a message letting them know we've got a way in!" Pleu said happily as he strolled past Coats-who was pushing the carriage in the opposite direction.
Coats nodded and tapped the microchip in his thumb. This quickly sent an electric pulse to every Gopas letting them know it was time.
"Twosqu never looked so brilliant and the Danbridgo are moving at incredible speed," Rench said excitedly as he ordered the Danbridgo to slither like snakes.
"It's unbelievable! I had no idea it could be like this," Itchi said as he looked at his fingers in astonishment as they appeared to be made of water.
The Gopas watched the Vor Me from beneath the water. Strike leader Asole Maib blasts himself out of the water-with a nitrous jetpack-and opened fire on the two of them with his Paniflu.
Asole Maib is covered head to toe in a dark blue bulletproof wet suit and orange skin tight goggles-and has his weapons fastened tightly around his waist.
His first 3 shots hit Itchi in the chest, neck, and through his left eye sending him to his maker. Asole's next 2 shots caught Rench just under the chin and blew a softball size hole in his throat. He fell awkwardly to the ground as he gasped for air. Asole and the rest of the Gopas quickly exited the pool and started putting explosive gel on the door to the Peneme gym. After the green gel hardened it started smoking. And in one quick flash blew the door into a million pieces.
The 300 Gopas flooded into the Peneme gym with guns blazing. They were quickly met by 900 Vor Me who were milling about and caught off guard. The Vor Me closest to the door were mowed down before they could even draw their weapons. What was left of the Vor Me took cover behind the many obstacles and returned fire. Asole sent word to Pleu that they had engaged the enemy.
"We're go!" Pleu said gleefully as she smiled at Coats and counted the bottles of Praem in his mind.
Coats felt a rush of adrenaline and shouted, "Set up the supply chain I've got the door!"
Coats waved the Vor Me's security clearance stick in front of the lock and the door popped open. They ran down the hallway and soon down the stairs led by Coats and Pleu. 2,000 Gopas swarmed into the cave where the Rala fountains were. Coats went to the fountain of Emasip and turned his head like a bird and shouted, "Fill a container and pass it down the line! We must be swift, Men! Remember your brothers, who are risking their lives for us!"
A line of men formed from each fountain: that went down the hallway, up the stairs, and out to the Jarret marketplace-there were 50 large Hover trucks there waiting. The Hover trucks had Dramkick's seal on the sides of them. And the Gopas driving and loading them were dressed as Vor Me.
"Now this is the dream I awoke in last night and pray I never dream again," Pleu said boldly as he filled and then passed a full see through plastic container of Praem to the next man in line.
"I've never had a dream this rewarding. Let's just pray they can buy us enough time to fill the trucks," Coats said quickly as he filled another container.
"At this place we'll only need an hour and we should have it," Pleu said hopefully as his Praem stained hands made him smile. "Asole's wise, he'll keep them guessing. Plus we've got enough extra troops on this side to fight them off," Pleu said as he rested for a second and wiped the sweat from his brow.
The Gopas in the Peneme gym had been engaged in fighting for 45 minutes and only lost 50 men. The Vor Me had taken losses of 250 men and had another hundred wounded.
"How long do we stay and fight?" Enkins Py asked as he hid behind a barrel and shots exploded all around him.
"As long as we can," Asole replied as he scanned the room for a better vantage point. "Every minute we fight, we buy the rest of us another month of Praem. That adds up quickly. Remember, all's we are is a distraction, this isn't a battle we need to win," Asole explained as he tried to catch his breath. "The key is to get home safe, so watch your head, Enkins," Asole said sternly as he shot a Vor Me in the shoulder.
"Nice shot! I just wish we knew how soon to run for it," Enkins confessed just a second before he got shot in the eye. His body fell to the ground and he died a moment later.
Asole shouted, "No, not you, Enkins, ah I…I just can't," and he reached down and lifted Enkins up and embraced his lifeless body tightly. Shots buzzed over his head looking almost like lightning strikes.
Back at the Rala fountains everyone was moving the Praem out as fast as they could. They had filled 48 trucks, but were beginning to get tired. Just then the Vor Me Sgt. Caip Lah said, "Let's fall back, there's no winning this one. Send out the signal that we’re going to make our stand at the fountains."
"Done, Sgt.," Vor Me Anie Vams answered as she started signaling the other Vor Me to fall back.
Caip turned and opened the door to the Rala fountains. He smiled when he saw the Gopas. He knew then they had been had. The Gopas paused for second in shock as they looked at Caip curiously. Coats drew his Paniflu and blasted Caip 4 times in the abdomen. This sent him reeling onto his back in a colossal thud. Coats pressed the microchip in his hand that signaled for everyone to make a break for it. All the Gopas made a mad dash for the exit like someone had run the dinner bell. They had the containers of Praem in their hands and were smart enough to not lose any.
The Vor Me flooded the fountain's cave fast on the heels of the Gopas. In the Peneme gym, what was left of the Gopas made their way back to the pool entrance and swam for it. When Coats and Pleu got outside they jumped onto waiting Hovacycles and sped away. Pleu had his calf grazed by a laser blast just before he was safely out of Jarret marketplace. For some reason, he didn't mind a bit at that point.