Baldur’s Gate Heroes #009
Insurrection, Part One
TV! Imoen couldn’t believe how much she’d missed TV… all her life it had been her one true constant companion. And people blamed it for so many terrible things, which was totally unfair. TV had never caused violence for example. The bloodiest wars happened before television, because in those days people had nothing to do in doors so they had to go out and make their own fun.
Anyway, she’d been able to tweak a few things inside Dynaheir in order to pick up and descramble the satellite signals, so now she could watch any station for free. She stretched herself out on the lower bunk and hopped through the channels. Music… infomercials… some psychic reducing a grieving widow to tears for the entertainment of viewers… a documentary about a guy who claimed he could read the minds of fish. The last one actually looked interesting, but she should see what else was on first. After all, she could be missing the one episode of Whacky Races where Dastardly actually finishes the race, rather than building up a huge lead but then throwing it away by stopping in order to lay elaborate traps which always backfired.
“ This summer on Sci-Fi ,” the announcer boomed, “ as part of our five year mission to find the lowest common denominator, we bring you… Extreme Psychic Reality Makeover…! ”
“Off!” Imoen threw the remote at the screen. Okay, so admittedly there were times when TV brought out violent tendencies in people. Unfortunately she failed to hit the off button and it continued blurting out commercials. So now if she wanted to silence it she would have to get up from her bunk and walk the view feet to the screen… and she was just starting to get comfortable. What a dilemma.
Science fiction. Imoen didn’t really read a lot of books, not fiction anyway, but she certainly had watched a lot of sci-fi on TV. Not that she considered herself a trekkie or anything… or was it trekker? Was there a difference? There probably was, but really, she would prefer being disintegrated and having her atoms spread all across time and space than to become involved in a conversation with the type of person who actually knew that sort of stuff.
Now she was faced with the reality that extra-terrestrial life existed, since it was lying on the floor a few feet away stirring from her sleep. The red head wondered a little what Aerie would make of our shows… but then it occurred to her that our sci-fi is actually pretty damn arrogant.
A lot of sci-fi shows were basically about humans going off into space and showing the rest of the galaxy how things should be done. Teaching them that human gut instinct and prejudice was far superior to any alien concept of logic. That, and it was about human males with large guts and receding hairlines getting together with exotic alien females who were all ‘ tell me more about this feeling you call love…’ smoochysmoochsmooch … ugh.
But now we knew there really were other civilizations out there that will find us sooner or later, and the reality was that the future most probably wouldn’t involve us leading any grand federation, but us doing a lot of boot licking if we wanted to survive. Assuming all the aliens had boots, or even feet… we’d have to revise all our terminology as well.
What was really terrible about this whole situation was the way Aerie just seemed so accepting of her fate. Like a small bird that lands to help a limping spider, which immediately turns on the bird injecting it with its venom, yet even while its being eaten the little bird remains stoically philosophical about the whole incident.
Anyway… They’d left Quayle and Miss Morgan back on the island, having all agreed that no-one else had ever been there and that Aerie had been killed by Kalah. Convincing Morgan not to spill everything to the first rescue team that arrived was trying to say the least. But, Quayle was sharper than he seemed and had spent a long time collecting evidence against his employers… enough that the De’Arnises would have to sell off all their assets just to pay for the legal fees, and was happy to provide Imoen with a copy. So finally Hannah was convinced that silence was in the best interests of her company.
As for the old man… he had been reluctant to let Aerie go with them but he was powerless to do anything about. They were the ones with all the guns, and the Avariel made clear that she had no intention of going back on her word, most likely to protect him since it seemed she placed almost no value on her own life.
Yoshimo promised that no harm would come to the girl… Imoen knew that promise was going to be a damn hard one to keep, but nevertheless after some tearful farewells they were on their merry way.
There were only two bunks on board Dynaheir. Fortunately, Minsc didn’t need to sleep and Aerie was happy to lie on the floor… well, not exactly happy, more that she was used to it. Evidently the TV had woken her.
“Good Morning,” Imoen beamed, “well, evening, actually… you’ve been asleep all day. Not that it makes any difference in here I suppose.”
“N-no,” Aerie rubbed those big cartoon eyes of hers, “But… g-good evening,” the blonde reciprocated, and there then followed a moment of silence since the alien clearly wasn’t used to small talk and asking about the weather and stuff like that. It was pretty clear that if you wanted a conversation with Aerie it had to actually be about something. In that moment when she wasn’t talking or watching TV for a change, an idea managed to claw its way into Imoen’s mind.
“These… Seldarine? They made you all to be good servants right?”
“We… were created to serve and protect a-all the peoples of this galaxy from creatures such as the Rauko…” Aerie stated, but with the tiny added scent of regret. However, that wasn’t what Imoen was interested in right now. It was the ‘serving’ part.
“Cool… so, could you fetch me that remote control?”
“As you wish,” the alien crawled across the floor to retrieve then return the object to the red head, who having never left the mattress switched the TV off and grinned triumphantly.
“So let me get this straight,” the red head had already begun pondering the many possibilities, “you’ll do anything anyone tells you to do?”
“I… although my DNA was written by a machine, I-I am not one. But, fulfilling my purpose allows me to feel… w-well, fulfilled,” Aerie shrugged and smiled sheepishly.
“So, any time you do something for someone it makes you happy?”
“Y-yes,” the alien answered. This time though, if you paid attention to what her body language was saying than it was ‘well, it’s supposed to, but for some reason it isn’t quite working…’ Of course, it was alien body language so Imoen could have misread it entirely, but she’d decided it was pointless to keep second-guessing like that.
“Get me a soda,” The red head instructed and Aerie immediately started to obey. Having the blonde around could certainly have advantages… and it wasn’t like Imoen was using her or anything. Taking her home and having her clean up the apartment might cheer the girl up a bit, so they both gained something. Of course, if she didn’t hand Aerie over or get any money for her then there wasn’t going to be any apartment. She’d checked with the bank and was down to sixteen dollars, so unless Minsc had a fortune stashed somewhere about his person…
As Aerie approached the fridge Yoshimo hovered nearby, scrutinizing her every move, watching for any sign of rebellion.
“You… need not fear, sir,” the blonde bowed her head, “I know I can’t escape. A-also… Avariel never go back on our word.”
And while he scrutinized her, Imoen scrutinized him as he picked the soda and forced it into Aerie’s hands. His poker face was starting to crack a little. His conscience was starting to give him trouble, although he was still determined to go through with his plan… whatever that was.
“What do the Seldarine look like anyway,” Imoen said when Aerie returned, doing her best nonchalant yawn and stretch.
“It’s… hard to say, since no one has ever seen one,” the alien dutifully answered, “They have only ever communicated their wishes indirectly.”
“And you’re okay with that? How can you serve a master whose face you don’t know… don’t even know if he has a face.”
“D-do not many humans believe in serving a higher being?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s different… That’s God. He’s the one who… just… look, just damn your Vulcan logic.”
“We… only know that the Seldarine are a form of life very different from others. So much so that… i-it simply isn’t possible for them to have direct communication with other races. Part of the ELF’s purpose w-was to be intermediaries between them and other peoples.”
“But you must want to know what they look like… I know I do and I’ve only just heard about them. Or maybe it’s just that humans are obsessed with what things look like… maybe you’ve picked up on that already. I remember reading my school reports by Sister Francesca, and she would write things like ‘a pleasingly plump individual, a little shorter than the other girls’. Because I was a bit chunkier when I was little… it’s not really a school report though is it? It’s more like a biologist’s field notes… ‘Imoen: Small red haired mammal. Can be sighted at dusk scurrying towards the cookie jars…’”
Imoen stopped herself, once again catching Aerie’s Vulcan eyebrow or question face. It was more than that though… the blonde’s tiny mouth hung slightly open and was accompanied by a certain starry eyed fascination.
“Have I strayed a bit off-topic?” Imoen smiled, “I’m babbling again…”
“I… don’t mind,” Aerie said very softly. Poor girl was like a love starved puppy… just happy that someone was talking to her and not caring that nothing they said made any sense at all.
“You’re a better person than most humans are… most humans would say ‘shut the hell up Emmy, you’re giving me a headache.’”
“Now that you mention it,” scoffed Yoshimo.
“You know, we’re having a private conversation,” the red head informed him, “you don’t have to listen.”
“Agreed… it is just that my understanding of ‘conversation’ is that it involves two or more people talking to each other. Not just you prattling about your school days to any person that will listen.”
“What about you, Yoshi? Where did you go to school? I bet the girls all loved you.”
“That goes without saying,” he shrugged, “beyond that; I do not see it as being any of your business.”
“Well, that’s one point of view. Another point of view is that it’s kinda hard to trust someone who won’t say anything about themselves. Kinda of makes you think they’ve got something to hide. I mean, do you have anyone waiting for you in Japan? Just yes or no… you don’t have to give away any big secrets or anything…”
“No,” he answered. There was something about the way he said; the slight sneer as if somehow that were all Imoen’s fault.
“Right… sorry,” although the red head wasn’t sure what she was sorry for. His fault if he lived the life of a loner, and it wasn’t as if she was any better off. She could count her number of living friends on one hand… well, two fingers really. Neither of them had sent a Christmas card last year. So she guessed she would to scrub them off the list as well. “We’re all lonely here,” she sighed, “Lonely as stones with… no moss… but we just gotta keep on rolling…” if someone was ever going to write this stuff down she would make sure Aerie came up with a slightly better sounding metaphor.
Fortunately, before anyone could break into a recital of ‘Old Man River’, fate intervened to prevent such an assault on anyone’s eardrums. The engines stopped and Dynaheir shuddered to a halt.
“We have arrived!” Minsc nevertheless declared in a sing-song manner. The words struck Aerie like the toll of a funeral bell.
“What will happen to you?” Imoen, who had now sat up, asked solemnly.
“Th-they… want to know everything that I know,” Aerie spoke to the floor, “but… I’ve seen now that humans lack the patience… t-to take time needed to understand or to use such knowledge wisely. So… I-I’m going to try… try to not to tell them anything.”
Somehow Imoen suspected Aerie would do more than try. The Avariel obviously didn’t believe her own life was that important, and no amount of torture was likely to change that. They already knew she could be damn stubborn even in the face of her own death.
“Well,” the red head clapped her hands together, finding that the melancholy thoughts she was having didn’t really suit her, “suppose I’d better go outside and take a look. Minsc will keep an eye on you.”
The hatch opened and she followed Yoshimo into the cold night. Dynaheir was, for now, well concealed under trees and other foliage. The place where they were to deliver Aerie into the hands of a top secret branch of the US military lay just over the hill above them. The thieves made their way up but remained close to the ground.
The place was an abandoned chemical plant. Miles of pipes ran all over the place… what purpose they served Imoen couldn’t say; you would have to ask someone who knew a lot more about this sort of thing. What she could say however the buildings and warehouses were numerous and close together, meaning there would be little room for a big vehicle like Dynaheir to maneuver. Through her binoculars she could see what looked like soldiers armed with Sub Machine Guns patrolling the grounds. Hidden away there were likely snipers and rockets. The place was clearly a death trap.
“They’re gonna kill her you know,” Imoen said just to lighten the mood. She lay next to Yoshimo, each of them peering over the hill. “Soon as they realize she won’t say anything, they’ll make sure she never goes blabbing to anyone else.”
“We don’t know that,” Yoshimo sighed.
“Yeah we do. See, they can lock up her up and torture her because inalienable rights don’t apply to actual aliens. Least that’s what these guys figure.”
“All she is a servant… she’s like a worker ant…”
“She’s not… I see it in her eyes. All that stuff about serving… it’s not enough. She knows there’s more to life than that.”
“We don’t know that they’ll kill her,” Yoshimo protested again, “If you ask me, she’s done a fine job of getting to you.”
“Yeah, I’ve thought of that too,” Imoen slid back a bit, “that maybe all along it was Aerie somehow manipulating me into coming and rescuing her… but too much about it doesn’t add up. All she’s done is told the truth… if we’re feeling guilty it’s because we know it’s wrong. Rather than face it up to it like we should we start looking for ways to blame other people, even our own victims. Further proof that the whole human race is just damn immature…”
Yoshimo turned around and was about to formulate a counter argument, when a heavy branch connecting with his jaw knocked him unconscious.
“’Strikes with the unerring precision of an eagle’,” Imoen made her own report.
This had never been a dilemma, at least not as much as getting up to turn off the TV had been. There was no way she was letting someone who had committed no crime be locked up and tortured. Besides, Aerie was right. Alien tech was lethal to humans.
The smart thing to do now would be to run away to Brazil, cover Aerie’s ears with a hat and lay low for about fifty years.
No, the really smart thing to do Immy would be to kill Yoshimo…go on, once through the head and once through the heart. Then you can get away…
Imoen had her hand on her holster. It did make sense, but… she’d never shot anyone like that before. Instead she lifted Yoshimo from under his arms and started dragging him back to Dynaheir.
“Lucky for you I’m not an executioner,” she whispered. Besides, she wasn’t just doing this for Aerie. If Yoshimo didn’t, then someone in that plant might know about the dreams she was having or about the bald guy with a leather fetish, if he was even real.
“M-Minsc!” She huffed as soon as she had opened the hatch. The huge Russian picked up Yoshimo in one hand relieving Imoen of the burden. For a quite little guy he was damn heavy.
“What has happened?” The big guy asked as he dropped Yoshi into a seat. Imoen wasted no time getting out the tape and binding his hands.
“Tiny difference of opinion, that’s all.”
“Are we not returning little Aerie to her friends?”
“Those people were never Aerie’s friends Minsc… haven’t you been paying any attention at all?” He turned to Boo who apparently confirmed that thus far, they hadn’t being doing Aerie any favors. “As for you,” Imoen turned to the blonde, “I knew you were gonna cause trouble.”
“I’m sorry,” Aerie looked confused, “I… didn’t mean to.”
“Yeah, well… you’re free to go now if you want.”
The blonde stared at the stars beyond the hatch. This was all confusing to her, but there was a spark in eyes. Hope was a very good feeling. It didn’t seem to last long however.
“Go where?” She asked resignedly.
“That’ a way… doesn’t really matter does it? So long as you get away from here.”
“I… don’t know what your world is like. A-am I not likely to just be captured again anyway?”
“I don’t know… maybe. But you’ll have a fighting chance at least.”
Aerie tilted her head, processing the information and weighing the pros and cons. At first it looked like Imoen’s argument was winning. But then, she turned her face up and looked the red head directly in the eye.
“W-what are you going to do?” The blonde asked.
“Yeah… that’s the thousand dollar question,” Imoen sighed, “I really have no idea what I’m doing. I’m just hoping that someone around here will have some answers for me.”
“Answers to what?”
“Project ELF… I saw it all you know; in a dream… just before I found out it was all real. I don’t know… you said that Kalah was able to ‘influence’ those creatures back on the island. Can one of your people cause someone to have dreams?”
“S-some Avariel can cause others to experience hallucinations… but actually giving a person dreams in their sleep? N-no… I’ve never heard of a thing like that.”
“Wouldn’t explain why anyone would be interested in me anyway.”
“Maybe I can help you?”
“Aerie… beasts with claws are one thing. There are lot of well trained and heavily armed men down there.”
“I-I’m not defenseless… all Avariel are trained in basic combat techniques. If the city ship is invaded we must all fight to defend it.”
“No offence, but you’ve been out of practice for nearly forty years,” Imoen said, causing Aerie to hang her head sadly.
“Would… would you have a better chance on your own?”
“Not really.”
“Then I must help you,” the Avariel looked up again resolutely.
“What,” Imoen sighed and opened a pouch on her belt, “What if you had this?” Aerie was a little shocked to see the Witch Crystal. It had been fused to Kalah’s skull and Imoen had to cut it out with a knife while no-one was looking. The whole thing was icky… but she could hardly leave it so the De’Arnises could make the same mistake again.
She dropped the tiny crystal into Aerie’s hand and it instantly began glowing to her touch. “Cos, if you could make a shield or those fireball things, that would be really helpful.”
“With… Quayles help, I have been learning to focus the energy,” Aerie explained, “b-but… I could not possibly channel as much energy as Kalah. I can shield you from their bullets… but, only for about a minute.”
“That’ll have to do… it’ll be the four of us… yes, I was counting Boo… the four of us versus the US Armed Forces. Now I don’t know about them, but you guys already scare the hell out of me. And hey Aerie, if we survive, I’ll bring back to my hometown and you can help me pick out the box we’re going to spend the rest of our lives living under.”
“Th-thank you… I, think…”
Imoen took in a deep breath to steady herself, as she realized that from now on everything that happened to Aerie was her responsibility, which was the scariest feeling she had ever had. She’d never been responsible for anything… well, actually she’d been responsible for lots of things like crashing puffguts car. But, she’d never had anyone look up to her and trust her to take care of them. She wasn’t sure she could, even if she was far wealthier and better off than she was.
‘ She trusts you ,’ a voice said from a very far away place, ‘ Just try your best not to betray that trust and you’ll do fine .’
‘ I will ,’ Imoen’s inner voice answered, ‘ I just know I’m always going to resent Aerie a little for making me feel old .’