Justice had become blind on Gineeren.
Gerin knew this could mean only one thing. The Sercons headquarters was not safe to return to.
Yet the lady Justicia still held both guns. Everyone was safe, but how safe exactly was hard to tell. Every aspect of the guns had to be analyzed, if only to let her know where to go.
While her ankle still ached, she was far more mobile now. Far more stealthy. She quietly waltzes around the corner to the broken vent where she kept an emergency outfit for just such an occasion.
After a quick glance around to see it was all clear, she jars the vent cover with her hip. Just as she's about to retrieve her outfit a small voice comes from an open window above, “You broke it big butt.”
With no time to get offended, Gerin quickly put her fingers to her lips, then pointed to her Sercons insignia on her shoulder. The little girl in the window above covered her mouth for a moment, then moments later attempted to whisper, “You're on a secret mission?” She quickly covered her mouth again realizing it wasn't as whispered as she was attempting. Her gaze shot quickly over to the HQ building.
Gerin quickly grabbed the hoodie from the vent realizing it probably meant nearby Protor Sercons had probably mobilized. Throwing it over her head, she pulled the hood and slid down the wall placing her knees inside the sweatshirt to conceal the lower half of her cold suit.
Moments later two Protor Sercons descended into the alleyway near her. The dust kicked up from the alley and hit her face like a sand storm just before the heavy metal feet came into contact with the cement. For a moment she was preparing to meet her end as she heard the high powered cutting lasers whirring up. Taking their aim, but hesitating. She dared not open her eyes, realizing they needed a retinal scan for positive ID before firing thanks to her face being covered in dust.
“You're letting them get away!” The little girl in the window yelled down and pointed towards the high-rise district. Gerin quickly covered her face again as the Protor Sercons immediately jetted off into the high rise district. Another stroke of luck. Searching the district would keep them well occupied for hours.
Gerin wiped her face and looked up to the girl who now stood silently saluting her. Gerin smiled. She would have done the same thing. It was how she became a cadet.
As was tradition, she owed the little girl her ticket into the Sercons academy. A keepsake from an official Sercon, to signify coming to the aid of the Sercons who gifted it. A symbol of valor and courage, presenting it to the academy gave the bearer automatic acceptance to the academy, all expenses paid, regardless of class or status.
There were only 3 ways to receive a Sercon badge, through completing the academy, through this honored gifting, or through your neck as it was also a very sharply bladed GeNeEr Alloy throwing weapon. Removing it from her shoulder, she rubbed the edges against the ground to dull and chip it.
She motioned for the girl to step back, and with highly trained precision sent it flying. It embedded itself in the window frame.
“What in the caves of Tercom?”
Gerin darted down the alley before the girl's father had time to get to the window. She began to wonder if this is what it felt like to be human.
Gerin rounded the alley way for a better view of the statue. The Protor Sercons were nowhere in sight. No matter, she just needed to see the guns of Justicia. With a clear view of both now she could begin deciphering the clever code all Sercons knew by heart. The signs of Justice.
Looking over the guns, both of the hammers were down. The Sercons were met with opposition. One hammer meant that shots were fired. Two meant they were forced to retreat.
Both of the thumbs were straight forward, a subtle sign that the trigger finger is depressed, gun firing. One thumb meant this location was compromised. Two meant all underground bases were compromised.
All else seemed fine with one exception. A missing clip. One meant someone was mortally wounded. Two meant someone had died.
While all these signs left much to be hopeful for, it still left many questions unanswered. She glanced over the statue one last time for any hidden clues. At the foot of the statue the glint of a small bottle caught her eye. An empty bottle of Neeri.
The Sercons often debate which came first, the alcohol or the sniper. Neeri however has remained closed lipped about it stating she always enjoyed hearing the theories more than the truth.
Nevertheless, the historical existence of alcohol on Gineeren, and the truth behind it is well known.
As one would expect, the recipes and formulas to make it arrived with the human race. However given the lack of plant life, it was mainly derived from minerals and chemistry with whatever else was available.
After sharing this discovery with the Tracties, all it took was a bit of Tracties magic to start mass producing it, and just like water the Tracties used this to manipulate and control much of the human population, eventually establishing a monopoly over its distribution.
Later on, a prohibition of sorts took place. Both hybrids and native Gineerens stopped drinking it all together. By choice. For a secret loomed in the shadows that was well kept from humans.
It took some time for humans to finally catch on, but it's estimated roughly 30% of the human race on Gineeren was removed by the poisoning of the already toxic drink.
Who was responsible for the poisoning remains unknown as the Tracties maintained full denial during this time as they had not yet made the official decision to eliminate the over-consumptive invasive species by force.
Having caught on, word finally spread to humans not to drink it and with little to no market for it, it began to fade away from the shelves.
Its resurgence back into society happened some time after the human race had all but disappeared. It came as a bit of a surprise, but was also celebrated upon its return thanks to the Toraudite of Optics who began distributing it under the brand Neeri, now Gineerens top shelf flagship brand, and staple of Gineeren Society.
While seemingly disconnected at first, it's important to note that Optic modifications are a brutal and gruesome process that often requires a lengthy amount of recovery time. The Toraudite of Optics had maintained the recipes and distillation process as it was very useful in both operations and in recovery. Its production carried on separately throughout the human prohibition and had amassed an ample surplus by the time it was bottle packaged and distributed in a diluted form.
“Justice is justly represented as blind, because she, just as I, sees no difference in the parties involved.” The Consultant's voice behind her was a sliver of comfort in the forest of disturbances surrounding Gerin. Without words she immediately embraced him.
His antenna began to whirl and twitch as she passed beyond the peripheral vision of his optics and proximity sensor as his system struggled to comprehend the registration of pressure sensors coupled with her close proximity and sudden disappearance.
“I must insist that you revert this merger, our enclosures are incompatible and hazardous when combined. Furthermore the combination of organic material within my - “
Gerin withdrew the embrace and reappeared in his optics. She looked at him with tear filled eyes while holding back her laughter. She smiled softly and returned her attention towards the statue. “I can't stay here, but if anyone asks, you never saw me. Ok?”
“I fear my protocols would insist I am truthful if the authorities inquire,” he explained softly, “I am not programmed to provide falsehood.”
“You don’t need to lie. You never saw me the entire time I merged with you.” Gerin gave one last endearing look before heading down the alley.
He turned to watch her leave, his antenna still twitching. “Indeed, I never saw you.”
Not far from the Sercons underground base, down a flight of stairs, a buzzing neon sign greets wayward travellers. For a time it was a herald, a sign of the times but also a satirical mantra as Gineerens adjusted to the evolving society left in the wake of the Protor Uprising.
“All is well”
Aside from the historical meaning of the phrase, each of these locations found throughout the city designated a venue with particular characteristics, that the name applies to in various fashions.
All is Well (the venue): On earth, this type of venue was known as a “Bar”. On Gineeren, it is better known as a drinking well, or a “Well full of Gineeren Alcohol”. All this venue is, is a drinking well.
All is Well (the menu): There is only one drink on the menu, it is considered the entire selection of alcohol from the top shelf, down to the house shelf, or “well” drinks. All on the menu, is well.
All is Well (Humans are extinct): With the human population no longer consuming resources, and the poisoning of the alcohol no longer being conducted, All is well to drink.
All is Well (the water has returned), All is Well (the Genegier Ni have arrived as the prophesized rulers), All is Well (insert reason to celebrate, be happy, and get intoxicated here).
As an added bonus for the biological portion of the population, these venues are generally found to be free of any Protor presence. This is more than likely a result of the sign itself, as it represents a large deviation from their ethical protocols, self preservation, and fear of the dark past associated with the drink. The multiple meanings also seem to send their processes into overload trying to grasp at the multiple nuances associated with such a broadly termed sign.
For Gerin, “all” currently would be quite a stretch, but knowing she could find Neeri inside was a comforting thought. Neeri the Sercon, not the alcohol. She passed through the door, her head down and slinked her way to the front table with stools, taking a seat next to Neeri.
As the man behind the table walks up to her the bottles on the shelves clang with every step. “Ay, how well are you feeling today.”
“Very well thanks” Gerin replies with the utmost innocence.
“Ay one Very Well, coming right up!”
“No! No. No. She’s not well. No well. Nothing well.” Neeri, unaware that she had entered and taken a seat next to her, pops up with her eyes wide with surprise as she nearly blinds the well tender.
The well tender leans over the table. “Well what are yeh, a couple of Sercons?”
“Ha! Come on, how long have you known me? What kind of a sercon has a name like mine?” Neeri was quick to reply. “She just needs to get away from those gearboxes, same as me. I told her to meet me here.”
“Hmm… Well, see I hear there’s a nice reward for finding a couple of Sercons, 2 kinds in fact. You don’t look like cybernetics, but you do look like a couple of females. So unless you want a couple of Protor Sercons to come settle this and give me my reward, I suggest you prove it.” With this warning, the well tender shoves a shot in front of Neeri and another in front of Gerin.
It should be noted at this time that it is against the Sercon oath to consume Neeri, a well known fact, and a well known characteristic.
“Well?” The well tender crosses his arm and stares intently as the rest of the well quiets and all attention is laid upon the pair.
“Well well hell, one never hurt anyone, isn’t that right, Geri-tron?” Neeri struggled to come up with a nickname for Gerin, but Gerin was quick to follow suit and picked up her shot.
“No, I suppose it probably saved more than it ever hurt!” This line from Gerin caused an eruption of laughter in the well.
“Ay! All is Well!” The well tender exclaimed with great excitement.
“All is well!” The rest of the well erupted in unison, then returned all focus back on the pair who immediately took their drinks down in one swallow and began dry heaving and coughing, resulting in more laughter from all the patrons.
“Oh that's horrible! How? Eww.” Gerin had barely recovered enough to speak while Neeri was still engulfed in the fumes of the potent drink and was unable to speak.
Neeri held her composure for just a moment long enough to nod towards the well tender, then motioned to Gerin that they were leaving. They both quickly made it for the door.
Once outside Neeri burst into laughter, then after catching her breath looked up at Gerin. “All. Is definitely not well. We. Oh you’re here. You’re good. You’re not dead. This is good. No, no, it's not good. Nothing is good.”
“Talk to me Neeri, what the hell is going on.” Gerin needed answers.
“We… No you. You need pants. Why are you so dirty?”
“I... Let's go, we can talk on the way.” Gerin tugged on Neeri’s arm to get them moving. Neeri resisted.
“No, the ship is this way. I need the ship, we have to go this way.”
“O.K. Well I need to go get some pants. This way. You go get the ship, meet me at the fountain. Then you can fill me in. I need to know what's going on. Can you tell me anything?” Gerin was eager for any details she could get.
Just before Neeri was about to give her some, a pair of patrons stumbled out of the well and on to the ground laughing between them.
“Nothing going on, All is well! I’ll see you at the fountain!” Neeri said before turning and heading up the stairs behind her.
The intoxicated patrons coming to their feet yelled loudly, “Yes All is Wellleyeahhhhh” and continued with obnoxious laughter. Fearing the attention they might draw, Gerin quickly headed up the opposite staircase on her way to the shopping center.
As she walked Gerin could feel the Neeri coursing through her system, and she began to feel a euphoric sensation. Small tracers of light came and went as she passed the neon signs and lights on her way. It was the last thing she would remember.
In all his years with the Tracties, Big G had never seen eyes filled with such terror, with such fear, with such a desperate need for answers to questions not yet answered that only a life beyond these moments could answer that may be fleeting away now. Wide and awakened, they locked onto him, begging him for answers, begging him to somehow ease the overwhelming pain, fear, and panic behind them. As Gerin coughed and the blood came spewing out her mouth, she never blinked, never took her attention away from him. She just stared in utter disbelief, in pain stricken fear, in panicked arrest. For the first time in his life, Big G felt paralysed. Unsure of what to do. Caught between his duties and the compassion he had for Gerin, having almost raised her as one of his own.
He looks up for a moment hearing the clang of metal as Dosi strikes another blow against the armor of Inswarm, but is quickly thwarted, struck and falling to the ground. Gerin’s hand grabs onto his arm, he looks down to see the same eyes still looking at him, now backed with anger.
The lights of Neeri’s thrusters followed by a hot wind and sound emerge over the fountain wall. Big G looks up but feels the grip on his arm loosen and turns back to see Gerin’s eyes rolling back into her head as she loses consciousness.
Inswarm turns to see the ship as it comes in for a landing, and immediately begins firing neon bullets in rapid succession, barely missing him as he ducks out of the way. Dosi springs to her feet and follows suit, striking his armor once again, but he is quick to send her flying once again with his taloned foot and a swift kick, just before he is forced to once again dodge the optic controlled fully automatic neon bullet cannon fire.
Big G gently picks up Gerin, careful not to further injure her severed spine. He hobbles with her limp body over to the ship where Neeri is standing just in front controlling the ship's guns with her optics. She shifts her attention to him and nearly opens fire on him until she sees he is carrying Gerin. She furrows her brow with confusion.
Big G nods his head, motioning to allow him to place Gerin inside the ship. Still confused but understanding she runs over and hits the bay door button, then resumes firing at Inswarm. Big G places Gerin inside as gently as possible, then exits the ship and hits the button again to conceal her inside. He pops up next to Neeri who doesn’t pay much attention to him. “She needs attention. Now.” He says solemnly while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a paper blank already signed. “Cybernetics. They’ll know what to do.” He holds out the paper blank for her. She angrily grabs it and goes back to targeting Inswarm, then begins backing up to the cockpit of her ship.
As her gunfire pauses for a moment while she enters the cockpit and readies the ship for takeoff, Inswarm makes his move towards Dosi. Big G had already begun his long stride sprint towards the battle and collides with Inswarm with his full force, a collision that breaks the air like the thunder of a Protor Horse-E clearing the scene of a car wreck. They crash into the fountain and bring the large sculpture in the center of it crumbling into the water on top of them.
Moments later as Neeri’s ship begins to take flight, the fountain explodes as Inswarm emerges, seemingly unaffected by the water. Something the Foreman had likely installed as a feature to resist any attacks that utilized water from the Tracties.
Neeri upon seeing this immediately turned the ship and began firing on Inswarm once again. A few well placed shots making their mark on his armor. To which he simply stood and flexed and began screaming his signature growl.
The shots from Neeri’s ship quickly faded and began its retreat as a fleet of Protor Sercons approached the scene and began landing in numbers with full attack formation.
Inswarm steps out of the fountain. The Protor Sercons reorganize, and surround Dosi, forming a wall all around her. But they do not attack.
Inswarm steps up to the outer edge of the fleet and stares them down. His mandibles click as he paces around them, sizing them up. He hears the bubbling of water from the fountain, and after glancing over at it, begins walking away into the city.
Big G emerges from the fountain and hangs over the edge. He lifts his mask to spew out water, then quickly places back over his face and hits the gas multiple times as he limps out and begins pushing his way to the center of the Protor Sercons.
He finds Dosi at the center and knees down to make sure she is still breathing, her mask cracked and leaking, her hand still glued to the call button for the Protor Sercons. He unclasps her grip, and looks up. “Why. Why haven’t you mobilized?”
The Protor Sercon nearest to him began synthesizing for the first time in a long time, as his speech initially came out as a series of glitches, then began to clarify. “W----w----ai---serv----www----arr----mmm----A---w----ayyy---. Awai------orrr----- Awaiting Orders.”
He picks Dosi up into his arms, and flashbacks of Gerin’s face flash in his memory. He shakes his head, and sees her blood on his hands as he holds Dosi, then calmly gives the Protor Sercons their orders. “Sweep the city. Find it.”
The fleet of Protor Sercons take to the air line by line until all have gone and Big G. is left by the fountain holding Dosi.
The consultant stands not far off, straining to watch them as they take flight. “Oh Magnificent.”
“You there. Consultant is it?” Big G interrupts the consultants fan boy admiration.
“Oh my. Yes, I am the consultant at your service. Is that her Majesty? Oh dear, Big G. I apologize I am just now computing your presence. This is quite embarrassing, my optics may need adjustments. I didn't recognize you. Your clothing it appears have taken on an increase in weight and it seems to have distorted my perc--”
“Yes. Ok. That's enough. Have you any information about the Sercons and their whereabouts?” Big G was visibly annoyed.
“No, I have not seen any sercons since my last encounter where I was embraced by their presence. It was an interesting experience in which -”
“Fine. That's enough!” Big G was not in the mood to hear any of the consultants' long winded explanations. “Contact the Toraudite of Cybernetics and arrange a meeting at the palace. I have an idea that will help remedy many of our problems.” Big G began limping with Dosi in his arms.
“It would be my honor to do so in the name of Genegier Ni and for you, most respected member of the royal guard. Can I also assist you in ordering a pickup from a Tractiprotor to escort you and her highness back to the Palace?”
Big G paused, then replied in defeat. “Yes, then leave us be.”
“As you wish.”
