This post started off as a one-off response to a writing prompt in the Freewriters Community. Then I wrote a part 2 (with the outcome literally determined by a coin toss).
But that naturally leads to a part 3, which is where this short series comes in. I felt that doing it in just one post really wouldn't give enough time to build up a bit of suspense 😀 Enjoy !
Image created by AI in NightCafe Studio
The jail beneath the governor's office in Meranda Base hadn't been designed for the job. Originally, it was just a small sub-surface shelter constructed when the colony was first established.
Once it was clear that there were unlikely to be weather events serious enough that people would have to hide underground, it became a document store for a while. Then it was converted to have a couple of holding cells. The colony hadn't needed anything more substantial; people were working far too hard to have the energy to commit serious crimes.
So now Mihai Dafang sat in a cell opposite Doctor Helen Thwaites, whiling away the time and wondering how Mr Garnes was doing as self-appointed governor. There were clues that things didn't look good.
The biggest giveaway was the guards. Dafang didn't recognise any of them as members of the Colonial Gendarmerie. Sure, they wore the uniforms, but ill-fitting and slovenly. These were not the retired Imperial soldiers Dafang had recruited for the Gendarmerie, who were men who knew how to wear a uniform.
His suspicions were confirmed when he recognised one of the men. A fellow by the name of Karmey, who had appeared more than once before a tribunal. A bully and trouble-maker, mostly employed by the less reputable bars and clubs as a bouncer. That told Dafang that Garnes was hiring any warm body that said they could fight.
Meanwhile, the subliminal crunching sound continued. Never loud enough to be noticed by the guards as the clomped down the short passageway to throw bowls of slop to the captives, but loud enough to disrupt sleep in the quiet hours.
As near as he could guess, a couple of weeks had passed. All their devices had been confiscated, and there was no daylight down here, so Dafang based his guess on the number of meals that had been thrown their way.
Then, footsteps down the passageway. Three guards came into view, headed by Karmey. They went straight to Helen's cell, opening it and then closing the barred door behind them.
"Well, well, my pretty little scientist. You're being sent offworld once you've been lobotomised and programmed. So me and the boys thought we'd do a bit of scientific research. A before and after experiment, if you like. It's not like you'll remember anything anyway."
It was clear to Dafang what they had in mind. He flung a half-finished plate of food at them. It bounced off the bars of Helen's cell. The three thugs just laughed and Karmey turned to him, waving a neuro-whip casually in his direction.
"You just sit tight. Watch and enjoy the show. A single word to anyone and it'll be the last thing you ever say."
Then he turned to Helen with a leering smile. She was shaking and terrified. She knew that screaming was pointless, but couldn't help letting out a yell when Karmey grabbed her blouse and ripped it away with a single violent move.
That was when the floor gave way.
The extruded resincrete floor just seemed to turn into churning gravelly dust, behaving like a liquid. Helen and the three thugs all screamed simultaneously as they disappeared downwards. Dafang was sure he saw something like small segmented limbs flailing in the collapsing chamber, but the air was so full of dust he couldn't be sure.
As the area of flowing chaos expanded towards his cell, Dafang heard a dull thump somewhere outside, followed by a familiar voice.
"Get back ! Away from the door !"
A cylinder bounced out of the passageway and onto his door; a drone-mine. With a sharp bang, it's directional charge sheared the lock off. At the same time, Wardek came into view.
He was no longer wearing the light blue-grey Gendarmerie service dress coveralls. Instead, he was in the tan of the Advanced Strike Brigades, his old unit. Chocolate brown patches moved and morphed across the adaptive camouflage battledress. This was modern gear, not the outdated surplus the Gendarmerie got.
"C'mon Governor, time to get out of here. Fast. Transport's waiting outside. Couple of ASU lads are holding off Garnes' militia."
Dafang was only too happy to leave. He had to jump over the encroaching collapse as he left the rapidly dissolving cell. Helen was gone, there was nothing more he could do for her, he had to focus on his own survival now.
Previous posts in this series;
- https://peakd.com/hive-161155/@alonicus/24-january-2025-mariannewests-freewrite-writing-prompt-day-2626-mother-love - the post that started it all, and introduced the spine-spiders
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/escape-from-the-caves-of-meranda-iv - the sequel, where the science team escapes back to base and recommends the planet not be colonised. They were too late.
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-1 - we meet the Governor Dafang and get the first hints that the colony isn't going to plan
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-2 - Governor Dafang takes a trip to the Greenfields settlement, only to find it is not there any more
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-3 - a fractious meeting of the co0lony's government, and a worrying foreshadow
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-4 - this is where things start to really go sideways for the colony
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-5 - Doctor Helen Thwaites returns to Meranda to reveal the cover-up
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-6 - Garnes tries to arrest Helen, and gets told to go away
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-7 - Meranda Base finds itself surrounded by a broad band of patterns
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-8 - Mr Garnes makes his move
- https://peakd.com/hive-199275/@alonicus/the-colony-on-meranda-iv-part-9 - Mr Garnes' juniors aren't impressed by his self-promotion
Now that's a hell of a rescue!
lol, yep ! A good rescue has to be just in the nick of time.... it's what makes the difference between fiction and reality 😁
!BBH
Aaaaah noooo! Helen is gone! But is she dead?
Survival isn't guaranteed 😉
!BBH
🤔🤔🤔🤔 Indeed
The whole thing with the guards 👀👀 talk about a bad situation getting worse. Glad Wardek showed up just in time, though. This story really knows how to keep me on edge. Can’t wait to see what happens next, I'll follow the series 😍😍😍😍
Thank you ! Even I don't know exactly what's going to happen next 😀 I originally thought this would be a 3-post series, but these plot twists keep jumping into my head from nowhere. It's just a case of making sure there's still an overall structure to the story so it doesn't turn into an endless ramble 😁
!BBH
Wow man then you're truly an artist... If you don't know what happens next😱🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 lol