Confined

Set in the future, this story follows the story of Elden, a rebel, and Anrion, an Elite cop for the corrupted government.

Tick, Tick, Tick.

Seconds, mere seconds had passed. Where was she?

Tick, tick, tick.

All his staff, everyone of those scum who worked beneath him, were insubordinate. Who in their right mind would ever hire them? he thought. S**t, I did.

The clock on the opposite wall that he was watching was an archaic model; a round shape, with Arabic numbers and two metal arrows powered by what was called a battery. Such a primitive lifestyle back then.

He turned his focus away from the clock and turned to stare out of the window behind his desk. The wall-to-ceiling flexglass made up more than half his wall space, which he adamantly requested when designing his office, in order to emphasize his view from Level 256. Thousands of skyscrapers stood before him, blinking blue and white lights as the sky began to darken. The dying rays of the sun bounced off nearby cruisers and reflected the light into his eyes. He turned away from the window scowling when across the room there came a gentle knock.

“Come in” he said, taking no notice of the visitor.

“Um sir, I have some papers for you to sign…”

He looked up to see his assistant, Marjorie, standing before him. Finally, he thought and waved her to come forward. He wanted to know the outcome of the current mission, but before he could ask, his attention was drawn to the curves of Marjorie’s silhouette as she walked toward him. Her breasts were pushed up in some geometric corset, and bounced ever so slightly with each step she took. How he wished he could trail his lips down her sweet neck…

“Sir, the papers?” she said, holding them out in front of her nervously. Slightly dazed, he realized he had been staring at her. He blushed, thinking how she must think him creepy. His dreams of ever getting close to her were dashed if she always caught him staring like that.

“Ah yes, the papers. Set them there please Marjorie. Anything else?”

“Yes, the newest shipment of bioweapons has just arrived.”

“Excellent! Where are the forms?”

She handed him a Tetra file, and touching the screen he saw the 3D replica of the weapons floating before him, the blue light illuminating his greedy grin.

“These will come in handy for the outer-world rebellion, don’t you think?” he said, more to himself than Marjorie. She just stood there, anxious to interrupt her boss’s happy moment. She had other news to report as well, and was definitely not eager to sour his mood with it. Apparently he noticed her extended silence because once he looked up, the smile wiped clean from his face.

“You have something else to tell me?”

“It is about the mission, sir. Commander Sterling is waiting outside, along with his Lieutenant.”

He twitched, but ever so slightly. The last time he was face-to-face with Axabert Sterling, he was being criticized for not keeping tabs on weapon expenditures and was reported to the High Council by Sterling himself.

“Send them in”, he growled. Marjorie quickly left the room, leaving three seconds of silence before his two other visitors stepped through the door. In strode a man of about fifty, followed by a woman in her early twenties. Out of all the people he had squirming beneath his thumb, the commander of his armed forces unit, or Elites, was not one of them.

“Axabert. I’m not used to seeing you in such formal attire. How is it being above Level 200? Better than being on the Ground, no doubt,” he said, forcing a smile. They shook hands, Sterling’s large ones crushing his own smaller, clammy ones. Upon release, Sterling motioned to his companion.

“This is Lieutenant Weber.”

She inclined her head slightly. “President Reade,” she said.

“Weber…Your name sounds familiar. If I am not mistaken, you are the Anrion Weber that was recognized by the High Council at the last charity event, no?”

“You are correct sir.” She did not smile, but kept her eyes staring forward with her hands clasped behind her back. Compared to Sterling in his crisp paneled suit, she looked rigid in her space armor and with her hair tightly pulled into a ponytail her features bore a chilling severity. Reade was glad she had not looked into his eyes, for he feared she could penetrate his mind with her cold stare. He snapped his attention back to Sterling.

“So…let’s get to business. Did you retrieve the file I asked for?”

Sterling, looking at Reade with controlled calm, said, “No.”

Reade stood for a second, furrowing his brows. “No…? You mean to tell me that you, Commander, failed a mission?”

There was silence, and Reade paced in front of his window, looking down as far as he could. Lights flashed back up at him from the surrounding buildings and cruisers, but even from his clear view he could not glimpse the Ground Level.

Finally he spoke, still staring out the window. “This will not do. Not at all. You are the Elites, the best in the System. And you are under MY COMMAND!” He turned away from the window and slammed his fist on the desk. A few papers fell to floor, but no one made a move to grab them. “Who else am I to send to retrieve the file if I cant even rely on my Elites?” Reade whispered.

“Sir, I assure you�"”

“You assure me? I was assured when you were appointed Commander Elite that you would get the job done, Sterling. Apparently I have misjudged.” Reade spit out his words, his face swollen from the effort. Sterling did not move, nor did he say a word. It was Anrion who spoke next.

“President Reade, the mission failed under my watch. I was given specific orders, and responded inadequately to the situation. I take full blame for the outcome.”

At her last words she met his eyes, and Reade was struck off balance by their brilliance. They were a shade of amber so clear the he knew they were not natural. She must be part of the genetic research experimentation; a facility he has been trying to persuade the High Council to bring back. They were genetically enhanced humans in both intelligence and physique, and in Anrion’s case, combat as well. The perfect soldiers to help kick start his outer-world campaigns.

            “Lieutenant Weber,” Reade started, regaining his composure. “I appreciate your taking responsibility in the matter, and since you seem worthy in your field I pardon you. But only this once. Fail me again, and you will feel less inclined to take blame. Commander, prepare your squad and restart the mission. I want that file before Friday night’s Council meeting, understood?”

            A unison “Yes sir” responded.

            Reade looked back and forth between the two of them, mustering the most disappointed look he manage. Then he sat down in his chair and waved a hand at them. “You are both dismissed.”

            Anrion turned on the spot, her dark red ponytail swishing behind her as she reached the door. Reade noticed that Sterling had not left, and cautiously looked up at him. This is what he wanted to avoid: a one-on-one with Axabert.

            “President Reade,” he said, placing his hands on the desk and leaning forward so their faces were inches apart, “the next time you question my leadership and try to put me in my place, I assure you that I will put you in yours.”

            With that, Sterling’s wide frame left the office and left Reade feeling genuinely fearful for the second time that day.

***

Elsewhere, in the district no one cared to name because it was far off the main grid, stood a building that threatened to fall apart. It was once the main headquarters for the Elites, but that was back in 2354. Now, almost one hundred years later and after numerous civil wars, the new President and High Council decided to take the only form of authority the city had and corrupted them to do the bidding of top officials, which usually consisted of arresting rebellious citizens and destroying the populations of nearby planet systems. The Elites were moved to the inner city, and this building became a place of refuge.

Unfortunately for the rebellion who resided there, they needed to nab intelligence that was stored in the heart of the city. The hardest part wasn’t getting past the guards around the outer wall, or even blending in with the citizens; it was making it past the Elites. Ten squadrons, each one assigned to the one of the ten inner rings of the city, leaving the innermost ring subject to squad one where only the elite of the Elites patrolled. To outrun them was unquestionable; to outsmart them was nearly impossible. That is why Mara Dakkis sent only the best of her rebellion to retrieve the intelligence they desperately needed. But as the sun began to set and her unit had yet to report, she was worried that they were dead, or worse: captured by the Elites.

“Barris, have you heard word from Elden yet? His mission should have ended hours ago.”

“Nope, haven’t gotten word back. Sorry Mara.”

Mara started pacing again, pausing every so often at a table to glimpse over some maps of the city. There were highlighted routes, some of which Elden and his team were supposed to take in order to avoid paths frequented by Elites. As she stared into the paper, she imagined what the city would look like at night. Thousands of buildings, all over one thousand feet tall at least, with windows brightly lit like the stars. She could imagine cruisers zooming at different levels, filling the air with the familial buzzing sound and the people walking in the bridges, laughing as they head home from the bars. From this far away, though, Mara could only make out the outlines of the city. She never dared go nearer than District 12, two grids away from the first wall of the city. It was too dangerous; the safest place for her now was out here, far from Reade’s prying little eyes.

Footsteps up the stairs brought her back to the map, and she stood up straight as the newest of her recruits, Elora, rushed over.

“Mara…we’re back!” Mara started fro the stairs, but Elora held her back and whispered into her ear. At her words, Mara looked towards the stairs anxiously.

As if on cue, four people emerged from the same stairs and headed toward the table. Mara mentally assessed their damages as they drew nearer: Derrick had a razed temple, and Hinge a broken arm. She let out a sigh of relief; her team was alive and well. Several people who before had been working at other tables came forward and welcomed the team, giving high fives and claps on the back.

Finally they reached Mara, who stood with her hands on her hips. “Were you successful?” she asked when the clamor died down.

The man in front of the crowd gave a wry smile. “Not even a ‘pleased to see you’ huh? I thought you loved us Mara, what with us risking our butts out there and all.” A few people suppressed giggles, but Mara’s silence sobered the crown once more.

“Stop fooling around, Elden. Seeing as you are late I expect it had better be for more than just saving your asses.”

“Oh you wont be disappointed,” he said and handed her a Tetra file.

She grabbed it and held it gently in her palm. “The…the file?”

Elden nodded, and Mara hurriedly placed the Tetra on the table and touched the screen. Several different holograms rose from the file at once. One resembled the architectural outline for the President’s building; another was a lab report dating back almost fifty years. Some of the contents, however, were bright blue locks. Encrypted coding, no doubt, to keep the most important files away from the likes of the rebellion. This was definitely the file she had been searching for.

“This, ladies and gentlemen, holds the key to bringing down all the corruption the Sanctum has created. Nova, how long do you think it will take to decode these sections of the file?”

A small girl, barely eighteen and with bright pink hair, stood against the farthest wall and only seemed to notice the commotion around her when Mara called her name. She shyly nudged her way through the crowd and made it to the table, her eyes widening as soon as she saw the Tetra file displayed above the table. Mara watched as Nova examined the file, her eyes growing larger the longer she looked at the blue locks.

“Nova! The codes!”

“Yes! Sorry,” she said. Derrick gave a small chuckle, but Nova seemed unaware. “Give me eight hours and I should be able to find the code to crack it.”

“The best you can do is eight hours?”

“Well, yeah. What you have here is no ordinary file encryption; this is heavy top-secret stuff, so it has the highest level of security the Sanctum can muster placed upon it. The best I can do is eight; usually it is eight, so don’t push your luck.” Suddenly realizing that she sassed her leader, Nova disappeared behind her pink hair. Under any other circumstances, Mara would have deemed her behavior unacceptable, but Nova had grown on her, and she was most apt to deal with such a situation. She patted the girl on the shoulder.

“Okay then, you have eight hours. The rest of you, prepare to go underground.”

“What? You are going to make us lie and wait until a siege? I made sure we cleared our trail Mara,” said Elden.

“No, I'm not waiting for a siege. As soon as Nova has unlocked these files, we are entering the city.”

Whispering broke out among the crowd.

“Have you lost it, Mara? We are not ready to take the offensive, not yet anyway,” said Elden, low enough so the others could not hear.

“Of course we are. We’ve been planning this for years Elden. It is our time now.” She stepped away from him and looked among those who still remained in the room. “Well, did you not hear me? Start preparing!” she barked and the crowd scattered.

But before Elden could walk away, Mara grabbed him by the shoulder. He looked down at her hand, then up into her face. There was a white scar that stretched from her left eye down to her collarbone; a story she had never shared with anyone, though rumors floated around she was slashed by a Desert Hork. He did not believe them. He tore his gaze from her scar to her eyes. “As long as we do not have another encounter like the one today, we will succeed in getting close to Reade,” she said.

Elden’s brows furrowed together. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Elora told me the reason you were late,” she said in a low voice, stepping closer to him. “You ran into Anrion during your mission.” He stiffened at the mention of her name. It was not a question, and as he looked into her hardened green eyes he thought he saw a glimmer of concern within them.

“If I run into her again, I’ll make sure I’ll end her this time. Satisfied?” he tugged his arm from her grip and strode out of the room. Behind him and all alone, Mara shook her head and wiped a tear from her eye.

 

 

Author's Note

I want all types of constructive criticism, but also I want to hear your opinions about the characters. Were their actions confusing, were they too underdeveloped/overdeveloped, basic first impressions, etc. This is a single chapter, but I'm not sure if it is the first or if it belongs halfway through the book.

Reviews

[Alira]

It's a great first chapter, let me tell you that! I was kind of frustrated that I didn't get the guy's name in the beginning sooner, but it added to the suspence, if that's what you were going for. What I don't understand about Reade is why he's afraid of Sterling ... what's their deal?

I guess there's a lot going on that readers don't know of, but you can definitely start the story from here ... It'll have to be like those movies that start off with an event that happened at so and so time, and then the go back 12 hours or something. This could work that way ...

I definitely interested in knowing what's going on with Mara and Anrion ... Are they sisters? I'm vaguely reminded of Tonks from Harry Potter with all the female characters combined in this. I'd be willing to read more!