Lord of Water All In A Row

Rig Story

Chapter 12 – All In A Row.

We had definitely struck the end of the line. The horizons had dropped off for another day and there was no sign of another Rig. I gave Gary the nod and we turned Hi-Sun to follow the line of Rigs one after the other to see what we were really up against. For the following three days we drove Hi-Sun at a safe distance right along the line of Rigs as they sat one after the other, all in a row across the horizon.

“Nineteen, Shane,” Gary gave the final announcement as we were certain we had again driven well past the other end of the line.

“Then Nineteen it is, Gary. We only have about 2 weeks left to wreak havoc before the “Marshal” arrives. He will be here at the turn of the orbit though I doubt little that we will see his presence beforehand. This is a tricky game we are about to begin. The Rigs themselves are driven by hypnotized slaves, no more, but it is the Monitor that we have to stay aware of. If he detects our presence there is very little room for hiding out here. It would be a matter of trying to outrun a machine that is capable of spanning the whole universe.”

“The “Monitor” sounds like one of those school teachers that I was always getting in trouble with back in my school days,” said Gary.

“I wish it were, Gary, but this monitor is the leading unit of this mission. It will be driven by brutal, cold and feelingless creatures with no other purpose than mining this planet to dust. They will stop at nothing to achieve their mission orders and they are armed with heat ray weapons of the like that this planet has never seen before.”

“Heat weapons, huh!” Gary laughed again and was now really in hysterics about the impossible odds that we faced, “We have the dorsal pilots and Hi-Sun and the brute of Max and Pei of which I know they have never felt before.”

“That’s the spirit, Gary. That is exactly what we have and I can tell you one thing with total certainty. It is not a team that we are up against here. Each one of these worthless pirates would not be able to trust each other for a second without their technology to protect them. Spiritually, they are nowhere and you wouldn’t want them on your team even if they were the last choice on Blue-3. However, we do have a responsibility to straighten them out when it’s all done. Deep down each one of them is just a trapped soul that was one day long past, bright, alive and faithful just as we are.”

“Well, if you must take care, then you have to do what you have to do. Personally, I would love to just smash them up and grind them to dust, but I figure that they are just going to pop up in another lifetime and sooner or later we are going to have to sort them out.”

“You are our wise, Captain Gary. There is no doubt that you are above the brutal revenge that it is so easy for a man to seek.”

Gary paused to take in Shane’s cordial words. Looking back at the Rigs, he asked,

 “Which one do we start on first, Shane?” He reached for his tall cup of mill tea and took a large gulp.

“I want to take one out somewhere along the center. We will strike at night time and leave Hi-Sun well back from the action. I don’t want the Monitor to catch wind of her in any way.        I will be guided by my dorsals and carry out my work on the first Rig. At first, they will only notice that there is one Rig out of action, but within a few days, they are going to start noticing that one after the other will be left unmanned as we snatch the operators away.”

“Well, it will just look like the skippers have abandoned ship then!” laughed Gary.

“That it may, Gary. But they need them driven and they need them all in a row. So they will certainly notice that something hidden and unknown is taking them out.”

“Just tell me exactly where you want me, my mighty Lord of Water and we will be right there for you,” Gary gave me that look with an almost serious frown that nearly got me. He has an amazing ability to make me think that he has truly dropped down to a serious tone, but not this guy, I am sure that he doesn’t have a serious bone in his body.

I guided Gary and Hi-Sun to the back of the middle Rigs just over the cover of the horizon. We had all eaten and the whole crew was on standby for orders. There wouldn’t be much for them to do, other than to be ready and take custody of the first “Weepers” as ,with the assistance of the dorsals, we bring them one at a time on board.

Mila took my hand and held me close, 

“I will see you soon,” she whispered. 

I turned to Gary with his loyal Max and Pei standing at the side looking each of them in the eye and ensuring that we had each of us seen each other and were content. There were no more words to say.

The sun had finally set over the horizon. The darkness of the night set in. I stepped to the nose of Hi-Sun and dove a high arch out and into the ocean. My main dorsal right there beside me as he picked me up and drove me through the ocean towards the first Rig. Let’s see if I was still up for the challenge.

As we approached, the glow of the Rig illuminated the water more and more. We dove deeper to be less visible and six of the other dorsals disbursed in various directions to remove the appearance of an approaching attack.

There were plenty of other ocean inhabitants sharing the water with us. I felt relaxed and knew that there would be no reason for us to raise the attention of the Monitor.

I could perceive the three-pronged magnetic stools that supported the Rig so evenly above the water. Taking great care to keep my dorsals from the disturbing field that radiates outward from either three. 

We thrust up through the water and pierced through the surface sailing high and lightly, right to the disposal platform on the underside of the Rig. I stepped to the side still holding a guiding hand on the left, dorsal fin of my main man. I could not have stepped more gently onto the platform as my dorsal pilot smoothly dropped back to the ocean below and slid back in under its surface.

It had been quite a few lifetimes since I had set foot on one of these lower decks, but the black steely smell and feel of death were oh-so familiar, once again.

How the wormholes allow such machines to pass through never ceases to amaze me. Wormholes! A disgusting death vacuum. I suppose it does give us a game.

Lord of Water finds himself yet again standing alone on an the all too familiar platform. They are all built the same and for one purpose. To suck every last drop of water from any water planet that it can rest its feet on and steal it back to its own black universe. What will he find inside this time?

Lord of Water a Rig Story

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