PREVIOUSLY, ON “LEGEND OF AKI: REBIRTH”…
Aki’s half-sister Rho takes the place of a male guard named TN-MN6, a.k.a. “Tin Man,” to infiltrate the prison facility on Karlessa Minor. She makes her way to the deepest level of the prison, the solitary confinement wing. There she finds Arden Sabik, her creator, and tells him she has come to break him out of jail…
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KARLESSA MINOR: MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON
“Some elevator music would be nice,” Rho remarked idly, shifting her feet.
Her father, Arden Sabik, glanced in her direction but said nothing.
“I’m just saying, it’s a long ride up these things. Would it kill them to install a sound system?”
They were traveling up the second of three elevators in the prison facility. For security reasons, each elevator car could only go up and down one level. That way an escaped prisoner—like Sabik—couldn’t reach the surface in a single ride. Of course, the elevator wouldn’t work at all without a guard’s keycard authorization, not to mention voice verification. Luckily for them, Rho was currently inhabiting the body of a guard, TN-MN6, whose keycard and voice granted them the access needed to make their escape.
The big blue CAST decided to break the silence again. “So, um, do you have any idea where that Lee Okada guy might be hiding out?”
“I told you already, I’m not throwing in with Okada. The man only has one person’s best interests at heart: his own. An alliance with him would only prove fatal in the end.”
“Just making conversation, y’know? Plus, it helps to know where to steer clear of during my travels.”
“Right,” said Sabik, not sounding entirely convinced. “It’s possible he’s set up camp at his father’s old base of operations on
Feoh. But given his interest in
Ur of late, I’d be willing to bet he’s a lot closer to the front lines than anyone thinks.”
“You think Okada’s on
Ur? With those Council doppelgangers you mentioned?”
“It’s a distinct possibility.”
“So what’s his end game? Did he tell you when he came to see you?”
“Why the sudden fascination with Okada?” Sabik snapped. “Are you certain you’re ‘just making conversation’ and not grilling me for information? This is all starting to sound rather like an interrogation!”
Rho shrugged her armor-plated shoulders. “Sorry, sheesh. Forget I asked. I, uh… I was curious, is all.”
“What you
are is a bloody liar! I see your game now. This whole time, you never had any intention of helping me escape, did you? You were just trying to pump me for information on Okada. I could kick myself for not spotting it sooner. Sitting in that cell must be rotting my damn mind.”
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“No, you’re as sharp as ever.” Despite her lack of a mouth, Rho sighed in resignation. “Guess it doesn’t matter if I spill the beans at this point, so… you got me. You hit the nail on the head. Colonel Aki sent me here to find out everything I could about Okada—his plans, where he’s hiding, the whole shebang. I figured you wouldn’t tell me if you knew that, so I made up this little ‘prison break’ scheme. And by the way, your testimony about Okada’s CAST doppelgangers is gonna come in real handy if there’s ever a trial.”
Sabik’s face contorted into a snarl. “You traitorous little wretch! And after everything you said about family and loyalty!”
“Hey, I meant those things—well, except the part about being loyal to you.”
Arden Sabik was a bad man who deserved his sentence, there was no doubt about that. He had ordered the murder of Aki’s creator, Dr. Bowman. He collaborated with known criminal organizations like KAI-OS and Cerberus. He was probably responsible, either directly or indirectly, for more deaths than Rho wanted to know about. Even so, she still cared for this man. He wasn’t just a random criminal to her. He was family.
She also knew her duty as an ARKS soldier. “Sorry to disappoint you, dad, but I’m one of the good guys now.”
Rho didn’t fear her father. Not physically, anyway. Even in her female form she could’ve easily overpowered him. That’s why she wasn’t afraid of revealing her true mission to him now. He was an old man, bound by handcuffs, trapped in a small elevator with a much larger, much stronger CAST. What was there to fear?
And yet, somehow, he was smiling. Chuckling, even. “Is something funny?” she asked, thinking maybe he’d lost his mind.
“You almost had me fooled,” he replied with a shake of his head. “Almost, but not quite. I suppose I should thank you for getting me this far, at least. I can go the rest of the way myself.”
“Not gonna happen, pops. I’m turning you in to the warden, then I’m heading back to the fleet. I hope your cell is comfy ‘cause you’re gonna be spending a lot more time there.”
“I think not. I’m going to teach you a lesson in obedience, then I’m going to walk out of here.”
Arms crossed, Rho gazed down imposingly at her father. “And how exactly do you intend to do that, hm?”
“It’s quite simple, my dear. All I have to do is utter one simple phrase: ‘red midnight eighty-three.’”
And with that, Rho’s central processor shut down.
* * * * * * * * *
“Tin Man?”
W-Wha…? What happened?
“Hey, Tin Man! Can you hear me?”
Rho opened her eyes. Or, rather, her yellow photoreceptors winked on. She was still in TN-MN6’s body, still standing in the same elevator. But Arden Sabik was gone.
A kill switch! That jerk-of-a-father actually put a kill switch in my programming! she fumed to herself. In this case, the “kill switch” was a phrase—a color, time of day, and number—that would shut her down when spoken. It the past it had been common among CAST soldiers to keep them from disobeying orders, though the practice had been outlawed during the push for CAST equality.
Not that her father had any regard for the law, of course. And now he was nowhere to be seen.
In his place stood Cosmo, one of her host’s friends and fellow guards. “This is no time to be napping on the job, Tin Man. There’s an escaped prisoner on the loose!”
“R-Right!” she responded. “C’mon, let’s go!”
* * * * * * * * *
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Rho and Cosmo hustled through corridor after corridor, looking for any sign of Sabik. Along the way Rho checked her internal chronometer. Three minutes. That’s how long had passed during her time offline. It wasn’t much of a head start, but there were several directions he could have headed, making it hard to track him down.
“Let’s split up, we’ll cover more ground that way,” suggested Rho, partly to increase their odds and partly because she didn’t want Cosmo around when she found her father. The old man might let her identity slip… or worse.
“Good idea,” said Cosmo. “I’ll cover the east blocks, you take the west. We’ll meet up at the north elevator.”
She nodded. At the next fork in the passage, Rho headed left while Cosmo went right.
Now that she was alone, it was time to begin the search in earnest.
Think, Rho! He’s your father. You know him better than anybody. Where would he go? What would he do?
She considered his situation and tried to imagine what he might be planning. The prison was built underground and the only means of escape was an elevator at the north end of the current level. That was the only way up to the surface—up to the docking bay where her shuttle was parked. But Sabik wouldn’t be able to activate the elevator without the help of a guard, which wasn’t possible. Unless…
Rho took off down the corridor in a mad sprint, her metal legs banging loudly against the tile floor.
Oh, I’m such an idiot! Why didn’t I realize it sooner? I just hope I’m not too late…
Her father had known all about Rho’s encounter with Aki and becoming a full-fledged member of the ARKS. How had he phrased it earlier?
“Even in here I have my sources.” But Sabik had been in solitary confinement the whole time. His only regular visitors would’ve been the prison guards. Was one of them feeding him information? If so, that same guard might be helping him escape.
But which guard could it be? There were literally dozens of them, and Rho had no way of knowing which ones had visited her father. Then she had a flash of inspiration. Her father was a well-known CAST designer, so maybe the guard she was looking for was a CAST. It wasn’t much to go on but it was better than nothing. Luckily for Rho, there was only one person matching that criteria, a Caseal named Gemini who had spent time working in the solitary confinement wing.
According to TN-MN6’s memory files, Gemini was scheduled to be on duty that day, and sure enough, Rho found her patrolling a deserted hallway past the next cell block. The emerald-colored Caseal looked up in curiosity as Rho skidded to a stop in front of her.
“TN-MN6, greetings. Your presence here is unexpected but welcome. Is there something you require from me?”
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“Hey, uh, Gemini. This might sound like a strange question but I need you to tell me the truth. Have you ever visited my fath—I mean Arden Sabik, a prisoner in the solitary wing?”
That got a reaction from the Caseal, albeit a subtle one. She blinked twice in rapid succession and her head tilted slightly to one side. “I confess, I visited him on several occasions in the past. I knew of his reputation in the field of CAST engineering and thought perhaps he could assist me with… a personal matter.”
“Normally I wouldn’t pry, but he’s escaped from his cell.” Rho put her hands on Gemini’s shoulders. “Please, I need to know everything.”
The smaller CAST averted her eyes. “This is a rather embarrassing admission. I… I am a big fan of Quna’s, you see.”
“Huh, Quna? The pop idol?”
“Affirmative. I have committed all her songs to my memory banks. ‘Our Fighting’ is my favorite. My dream is to sing on stage with Quna one day. However, I was not programmed with any musical subroutines. Therefore, I queried Dr. Sabik for his input.”
“You let him reprogram you?”
“Of course not!” Gemini exclaimed. “I merely asked for his advice. I performed all the programming work myself.”
Rho was still skeptical. “In exchange for what? Did he ask you to help him escape?”
“Not at all. I would never jeopardize my duty as a prison guard here. All he required in exchange was information. The information did not appear to be of a classified nature, so I agreed.”
“What did he want to know?”
“His inquiries focused on CASTs he had designed, in particular the models designated ‘Zeta’ and ‘Rho.’ He desired to know of their exploits, how they were doing.”
“That… that’s all? He didn’t ask for anything else?”
“Correct,” the Caseal confirmed flatly.
Of all the possible answers, Rho hadn’t expected that one. She felt like crying but her current body lacked the necessary tear ducts.
Dad… you…
“I found his concern for them… touching,” Gemini continued. “And the risk appeared minimal. Still, as you are aware, guards are not permitted to exchange services with inmates. My actions were in violation of the rules, subject to termination of employment or—”
“I don’t care about that,” said Rho, interrupting her. “And I’m not planning to turn you in. I just want to make sure you didn’t do anything that could help Sabik escape. Was there any more to that story?”
“I practiced singing every day and returned to his cell after one week to demonstrate the results of my effort. He listened to the recording device I used to gauge my progress, though his interest in Quna’s songs was minimal at best.”
“A recording device?” Rho perked up. A modicum of concern entered her voice. “Did you say your own name anytime during the recording?”
“Yes, during the sound check at the beginning.”
“Does my fa—Dr. Sabik know that?”
“Of course. I played the entire recording for him.”
“And does he know where you keep it?”
“I informed him that I store the device in my desk to practice between shifts.”
That’s it, thought Rho.
It has to be. The elevator’s set to open only when a guard says their own name. If dad gets his hands on that device…
“Gemini, take me to your desk right now. Hurry!”
“You have developed an interest in my singing ability?” she asked, confused.
“No—I mean, I’ll listen to you sing as much as you want later. Right now I just need to check something.”
“Understood. Please, follow me.”
* * * * * * * * *
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Rho was right to be worried. When they arrived at Gemini’s desk, the drawer was ajar—and the recording device was missing.
She was too late. Or was she?
Wait a sec. Even if dad uses the recording to open the door, the elevator won’t go anywhere without keycard authorization. Where’s he gonna get—
Rho’s gears froze up. Slowly, she reached down to check her own keycard. It was gone. Stolen, most likely. Sabik must have taken it during the three minutes she was shut down. In that case he already had everything he needed to escape, which meant there was no time to waste.
Rho thanked Gemini for her help and bolted for the elevator. When she got there, the elevator car was already on its way to the surface level—and she had a good bet who was inside. She was about to perform a manual override and trap her father inside when Cosmo came jogging from the other direction. The split-second distraction proved costly; when Rho looked back to the elevator, the lighted arrow above the door vanished, indicating it had already reached its destination.
She frantically tapped the call button as Cosmo stopped beside her. “No luck finding our guy,” he announced. “You?”
“Yeah, and it’s all bad. I think he already made it to the surface.”
“What?! How is that even possible?”
“Long story, no time. Right now we’ve got a criminal to catch!”
* * * * * * * * *
Hurry up! Stupid elevator. What am I gonna tell Aki if dad actually gets out? Ugh, this is a total nightmare!
Rho’s impatience made the ride feel longer than it really was. She must have been fidgeting because Cosmo nudged her and said, “Hey, calm down, Tin Man. I’ve never seen you on edge like this.”
“Sorry. Just, um, anxious to track this guy down.”
“We’ll get him, man, don’t worry. Just stay calm and focused.”
“Right. Calm and focused. Super calm right now. Suuuuuper calm.”
There was a chime as the elevator finally ground to a halt. No sooner had the doors parted than Rho flew down the hall in pursuit of her errant father. Cosmo trailed behind, struggling to keep up. They searched high and low, through administrative offices, visiting areas, even the break room where TN-MN6 and his friends had been playing cards earlier. Rho was careful to avoid the storage closet where her own body was hopefully still hidden.
Still, there was no sign of Sabik, and they were running out of places to look. Then another thought struck Rho:
How’s he planning to get off-planet?
There was only one answer, really: her shuttle. The man was a genius with computers. Rho had no doubt he could hack his way into the shuttle’s navigation system and plot a route to wherever it was he was going.
A fresh wave of panic swept over her. “I think he’s planning to steal a shuttle. Cosmo, get on the radio with control and tell them to seal the blast doors! I’m going after him!”
“Wait, how do you know what he’s planning?” the man shouted after Rho, but she was already sprinting towards the hangar bay and didn’t answer.
* * * * * * * * *
Rho’s footfalls echoed loudly in the cavernous, mostly-empty bay. There were a handful of shuttles and transports owned by the prison, but she knew her father wouldn’t bother with them—that would be too conspicuous. No, he would pick one of the civilian craft, of which there were only two at the moment. One of which was her own shuttle, and sure enough, she found Sabik outside the ship tinkering with the controls to lower the boarding ramp.
He seemed to have been successful, too. As Rho approached, the ramp lowered to the floor with a harsh
clang. Her father was about to enter the ship when she called out to him. “Hold it right there!”
To his credit, Sabik wasn’t foolish enough to make a run for it. He complied with the order and casually turned around. “You found me faster than I expected. Not that it really makes a difference.”
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be, dad. They’ll never let you make it out of here. Give up; it’s over.”
As if to illustrate her point, a sharp grinding noise marked the closing of the blast doors high overhead. Sabik merely chuckled in response. “You think those doors are going to stop me? You think
you’re going to stop me? Come now, have you learned nothing? Perhaps you’re in need of a follow-up lesson. And this time, make sure it sticks in that synthetic brain of yours.” He paused, possibly for dramatic effect, then curled his lips into a rather humorless smile. “‘Red midnight eighty-three.’”
Rho stood motionless—but unlike last time, she did not shut down. “Huh, what was that? Maybe you should speak up, I couldn’t quite hear you.”
“‘Red midnight eighty-three!’ ‘Red midnight eighty-three!’” he shouted furiously, to no effect. “That… that’s impossible! There’s simply no way you had time to reprogram that kill switch!”
“You're right, I didn't,” she said cryptically. “I did, however, have time to disable my audio sensors. Can't be affected by something I can't hear, right? Lucky for me, I’m pretty good at reading lips.”
“You… you…,” Sabik fumed, apparently at a loss for words.
“You… what? You’re proud of me? You realized how great I am? Don’t worry, I know that already. I also know it’s time we got you back where you belong—behind bars.”
At that moment, Cosmo reappeared and ran over to Rho’s side. She couldn’t hear him coming, of course, but she could feel the subtle vibrations in the ground as his boots slapped against the pavement. When he reached her, he stopped to assess the situation. “You did it, Tin Man! You caught him! Talk about a close call. A minute later and he would’ve been gone.”
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Sensing an opportunity, Sabik smirked at Rho. “If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.” He turned to address Cosmo. “Guard, this CAST is an imposter! She even helped me escape from my cell.”
Cosmo raised an eyebrow. “‘She’?”
“Don’t listen to him, Cosmo!” Rho interrupted. “He’s just trying to confuse you. I’m the one who caught him, remember? We chased him down together!”
“To be honest, Tin Man, you
have been acting a little weird today. More than normal, I mean. Maybe this guy’s right, maybe you’re not who I think you are.”
“Aww, c’mon! Good buddy! Old pal! Who are you gonna listen to, an escaped inmate or your friend and fellow guard?”
“Fine, I’ll make you a deal. Answer this one question correctly and I’ll believe you. If you’re the real Tin Man, you’ll know what to say.”
“Deal,” said Rho without hesitation. What alternative did she have?
“Okay. What’s my last name?”
“That’s easy, it’s…” Rho froze mid-sentence. Despite searching through TN-MN6’s memory files again and again, she couldn’t find it. Her life literally depended on it, but the answer she was looking for wasn’t there! How could that be?
Then, in a flash of inspiration, it hit her. “It’s a trick question,” she replied. “You never told me your last name.”
Cosmo grinned. “Never doubted you for a second, Tin Man.”
“But you said—”
“I was just joking, man. A little humor to lighten the mood? Don’t take it so seriously.”
“Right. Heh. That’s, uh… that’s a good one.”
Cosmo grabbed Sabik by the arm and rather forcefully pulled him off the boarding ramp. “And as for you, your prison-breaking days are over. Next time you feel like lying, at least make it a convincing one.”
“I’m telling the truth!” Sabik protested. “She’s tricking you! She’s not really a guard!”
“Quiet, old man! I don’t want to hear it. Now come along nicely, we’ve got a date with the warden.” To Rho he added, “Maybe we’ll get a promotion out of this, huh?”
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It was over. Rho watched Cosmo lead her father back toward his cell, where he would likely spend the rest of his days alone. Arden Sabik said he had built her to be nothing more than an infiltration unit. He implied that was all she meant to him. But if that were the whole truth, why had he programmed her with the personality of a bright, energetic girl? Why had he given her the capacity to love, to hope, and to dream?
She knew her father better than he would probably care to admit. He was a cold man, but even cold men need a little warmth now and then.
Maybe she would visit him again sometime. Not as TN-MN6, but as herself. Whenever that day finally comes, they could trade all the “stale, tedious banter” they want.
INTERLUDE: END
Author’s Notes:
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I do like how you've treated Arden Sabik over the course of your two stories--he was a major villain that got very little screen time, but you've found ways to continue to implement him and have him still cause trouble when he can. I can tell you found him to be a very interesting character that you simply didn't have much chance to show off.
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