Apes Chapter 11

 

11.

Lances’ cruiser to the Outland was no different from the one he took at the city. The cruiser was still shaped like an elongated beetle with the front shell, its glass cover that displayed the single driver to the rear passenger. The glass cover opened like the cockpit of the vintage flying vehicle except the four wheels were double the size and thickness. The side headlamps were still there but it could be swivel to cover different areas up to forty-five degrees. At the rear beside the extra storage space, was the powered generator set that powered the engine and supporting it was then the extra huge tyres. The vehicle had mounted cannons on the left side that makes it a deadlier unit on the patrol.

The drive to the Outlands was similar to driving past the wasteland with a difference; there were piles of scraps from the city that were laid there from the damaged machineries to the normal house tools. These items were salvaged of the useable components but out there in the outlands, the scavengers were adept to extract more from even the damaged parts. The discarded scraps were piled up higher than four levels resembling a range of hills in parallel rows up to five miles. At the end of the line there were the cruncher machines which towers at over four levels height and with a width of over five hundred feet and length of a thousand feet. The machinery will scoop up the scraps into the huge crushers that will break the huge parts before it was transported by the wagons to the grinder machines where it will make into smaller pieces before its disposed into the huge metal well measuring over a mile in width and five miles in length. That well was the smelting pit that will melt the parts into molten metal before it’s extracted into metal bars for recycling. The entire process was automated and with the intense heat there, only the droids could work there.

There were twelve of these sites around the Outlands circling the city. And it was heavily guarded by droids and automated defences system. There were attempts to get at the recycled metals but the success rate was one in ten attempts but that did not stop the scavengers.

The drive to circumvent the plant took some time but there was no missing the sight of scavengers that were on the scrap’s piles. The scavengers will collect whatever that could be salvaged onto the makeshift carts that were powered by their salvaged parts. They don’t welcome outsiders and more so if it’s an Enforcer’s cruiser. Lances felt all lone then in the cruiser and regretted not bringing a partner along. It was not his first trip to the outlands for some of these previous tasks called for him to come out there.

Lances cleared the smelting pots where the intense heat could be felt by him although he was driving a mile apart from it. He squirmed in his seat then for a more comfortable seating.

Lance drove past the huge warehouses that were guarded there, and made his way to the outside boundary which was the Outland. Soon his destination was in view when he saw the huge sign.

“Welcome Section V.”

“City, I am approaching the Sector Five I am moving around it to proceed to the outlands.” That was the protocol call signalling the cruiser leaving the safety zone. Sector V was patrolled by the droids and also the Borders Security. They have orders to shoot on sight.

He heard then the alert on his cruiser console. The outer glass panel on the cruiser began to darken but the inside of the panel will revert to the vid-screen that showed the outside scene. He could make out the dark clouds on the horizon. Those were the electric storms that will sweep across the outlands with the strong winds and lightning. The normal procedure was to seek shelter or the wind could stifle breathing or the lightning may strike then.

“Shelter identified. Rerouting the cruiser now.” The cruiser console took over the driving then and moved it to a low mound where it parked behind it.

“Anchors secured.” Then it was to wait out the storm.

It was stormy then when the Colonel raised his voice at the officers standing then in front of him.

“I don’t give a …. care who you want out with you there.” The Colonel glared at the four officers. “All of you will travel on two cruisers to the Outlands. I want you to trail Officer Lances, and even if he is going to nab the Dark Ones, I want that glory on my mantle. Not his and if he gets in the way, leave him there.”

“Colonel…” Bernice was to speak when she was stopped by the Colonel.

“Bernice, this is nothing to do with family feuds; yours or mine or anyone else. I want that glory for myself. And when I do, all of you will be duly rewarded.”  The Colonel glared at Bernice. “Or lose your rank otherwise.”

Soon after the meeting, Bernice confronted the other two errant officers at the hangar where the two cruisers were prepared for their new tasks. She disliked Griff more.

“I am the Senior Officer and you will obey my commands.” Bernice glared at the other two. She was to call on more words when her attention was diverted by the commotion at the assigned cruiser.

“Fool! How could you …?” Juanico kicked at the ape in the left shim. The servant had dropped the long case that was to be loaded into the storage area. The towering ape crouched there on its four limbs stared listlessly at the officer. It then proceeded to pick up the case which had weighed at over thirty pounds before loading it. It then strolled to grab the other cases.

“Settle down, Juanico. It’s just a servant.” Bernice approached her partner. “Look on the brighter side. We get to go out there.”

To Bernice, once she was in the Outlands, she does not have to hold back her restraint on using extreme force. She stole a glance at the two long cases that were loaded. It was what she needed there; the extra firepower that will give her the satisfaction in the kill.

If it was satisfaction then Doctor Lanceston smiled when a junior aide approached him at the lab. The junior aide was from the labs of Doctor Julius but the monetary credits with the promises of promotion bought the needed loyalty.

It was the retrieved microchip inside the dead servant. The microchip was the controller that allowed the users to make the servants subservient and depressed their aggressive traits. The microchip could be updated by the controller through the wave link on the console. Doctor Lanceston placed the chip on his console and downloaded the contents. It was then Doctor Julius stormed in.

“Lanceston, I am not keen to have anyone else and especially you to intrude into my research.” Doctor Julius confronted him.

“I am baffled to what I have done. All I was ….”

“Telling the Council that I may be on some errant tasks with my testing. Please, Lanceston. I do not favor you putting your …. imprint into my work.” With that Doctor, Julius stormed out. Lanceston stared at the other leaving and then smiled.

“Well, we shall soon know.” Doctor Lanceston held up the chip. He then turned to Astrid. “Keep that in my vault please.”

The servant strolled over and took the chip before leaving for the vault.

“And bring me my tea.” Astrid heard the doctor. It took to the vault and then into the pantry where it saw the signal left there. It smiled for the tracker was on the cruiser. Now the movement of the cruiser will be known.

The Dark Ones will be glad.