S2, 09 Weapons Convoy (RB) (July 29, 2015)

Corresponding text underneath each picture.

**1st March 2094**

I was stood at my workbench, hammering a piece of scrap metal into the shape I desired, when the door opened and Jarred entered.

Tank: “Hey.”

Jarred: “Hey, pal. You still working on that?” he questioned as he walked over to the table and dumped his rucksack on it.

Tank: “Yup.” I replied and carried on hammering.

Jarred: “You know it ain’t gonna work, right?”

Tank: “It’ll work.” I replied stubbornly. “It’ll work.”

Jarred: “Actually speaking of work…”

At that I rolled my eyes and put down my hammer. I turned to face him.

Tank: “Now what?”

Jarred: “Ghartic has put me on to something.”

Tank: Of course he has.” I retorted.

Jarred: “Hey! Do you want to be stuck here forever? No! Then we need to make some cash to get us out of here!”

I didn’t reply. Instead, I returned to my work.

**Several Hours Later...**

The sand swirled around us in the wind.

It wasn’t quite a sandstorm but it was getting near to one. I had my bandanna pulled up over my face and was crouched low in a sand dune.

Jarred and a handful of other men, including Ghartic, were nearby, similarly hidden in the sand.

Back in the cave, Jarred had gone on to explain how he’d heard that a GI convoy carrying weapons was meant to be passing nearby later today and that a local gang lord by the name of Remy Ac’ross had hired him to steal the shipment.

And now here we were, waiting in the sand for the convoy to pass our way.

We had been here for some time already and I was fed up of being sand-blasted, however, thankfully, a sharp whistle went out from our spotter, meaning that the convoy was in sight.

It drew closer and we waited, hidden in the sand, until it came right between the two dunes. When it did, we struck. Leaping out of the sand and taking the convoy by surprise, two of our men stopped the hover truck by getting in front of it. While they did that, the rest of us attacked the rest of the convoy. I was wielding a knife and I knew that several of the other men were likewise poorly armed. Jarred had a selection of knives on his person, as he always did. I’d noticed that he seemed to spend half his spare time collecting and sharpening them.

I didn’t want to hurt anybody but as I climbed onto the back of the flatbed, a GI guard came at me. He had a baton which he swung and I managed to dodge. In retaliation I lashed out with my knife and caught his arm. It wasn’t much but it knocked him off balance and he fell over the side. There, another of our gang attacked him.

I turned away, not wanting to see him getting killed, and saw Jarred using his signature knife-throwing skills to impale the last two guards, who were running away, in the back. So much for not watching somebody die.

Jarred pulled out a third knife and as he leapt on board, I noticed him slyly slice through one of the straps holding the gun containers down.

I was about to question him but he put a finger to the mouthpiece of his helmet and moved on as though nothing had happened.

Nobody else had noticed and Jarred walked to the front of the truck and banged twice on the roof, signalling the all clear. Ghartic laughed and exchanged a conversation I didn’t listen to with Jarred as the hover truck lurched forwards and began moving off.

As it did so, the container which Jarred had cut the strap to, toppled off the back and fell into the sand. Worried, I turned to mention it, only to find Jarred, now with his helmet off, giving me a silent stare over Ghartic’s shoulder and I knew he was telling me not to say anything. So I didn’t. I glanced back at the crate but it was already half-covered by the swirling sand. As were the bodies. Within a few minutes they would be buried.

Jarred laughed at something Ghartic said and I turned back to them. He came over to me, grinning, and put his arm around my shoulder.

Jarred: “We did it, pal! We did it!” he shouted joyfully and I couldn’t help but grin back. I had been growing more and more concerned for Jarred and the amount of time he was spending around the shady people he called friends. However, now having pulled of this successful heist, I could understand the thrill of it all and the feeling of being successful and getting away with it.

It didn’t make me any less worried, but I did at least understand slightly better.

**Several Hours Later...**

We pulled up outside what I assumed was Ac’ross’ compound and everybody got out.

Nobody had noticed the missing crate and as everybody disembarked, we were all in high spirits. We piled the containers onto the hover carts that had been on board the truck and pushed them towards the main entrance.

There were a few guards outside and they questioned us as we approached.

Jarred: “We’re here to see Ac’ross. He’s expecting us. I’m Jarred Zeal.”

The guard told us to wait there for a few minutes while he checked it out. He came back and gave us the all clear and so, after taking away all of our weapons, we entered the base.

We were led through the base and a couple of minutes later, emerged into a large hall-like room.

There were tables and chairs scattered, almost cabaret-style, around the room. At one side was a bar and at the opposite, a stage. Music was blaring out and there were brightly coloured lights aimed at the performance area as a couple of scantily-clad women danced on poles for the delight of the armed men scattered around the tables. And in the middle of it all, in the middle of the room on a raised dais, sitting on a throne-like chair, guarded on either side by tough-looking thugs, was a man who could have only been Remy Ac’ross.

He was dressed to the excess. Wearing a brightly coloured suit and so much jewellery that I wondered how it didn’t weigh him down, he was younger than I’d been expecting, with dark floppy hair and a huge grin on his face as he watched the dancing girls. He was also, I realised with surprise, the first human outside of the Galactic Imperium I’d seen since before the Shift! I looked around and realised that there were more humans scattered among the thugs and dancing girls as well!

Did that mean that others from Earth had finally made their way out into this new system? The more I thought about it though, the more unlikely that seemed; This seemed to be a well-established organisation. But then the only other solution was that there were already humans in this galaxy! But how? Where had they comes from? How long had they been here? Did they originate here or were the from Earth’s past?

My thoughts were interrupted then though as we walked over to the dais, still pushing the weapons crates and Remy finally noticed us when we got close enough. With a wine glass in one hand and his legs hung crossed over the arm of his throne, Ac’ross looked totally ridiculous and yet at the same time, like somebody with power.

Ac’ross: “Ah! You made it!” he cried joyfully, still with that huge grin, giving the impression that he was always in a good mood, but somehow I highly doubted that.

Jarred: “Remy!” Jarred replied casually, as though greeting an old friend. “I told you I wouldn’t let you down!”

Ac’ross: “So you did, my friend! So you did!” he replied, taking in the scene before him.

Jarred: “We’ve got the crates you asked for.”

Ac’ross: “So I see!” he grinned back and un-crossed his legs to sit facing us.

He glanced around all of us individually, and I could feel him weighing us up.

Ac’ross: “Hello everybody!” he called sounding incredibly patronising and like he was talking to a monkey.

None of us replied.

Ac’ross’ face turned sour and he repeated himself as he stood up.

Ac’ross: “I said, hello everybody!”

There were murmurings of returned greetings and I did likewise. He didn’t seem much happier but Jarred spoke up and distracted him.

Jarred: “The convoy was easier than we’d been expecting.”

Ac’ross: “Good.” He replied simply and stepped off of the dais, still scanning his eyes around the rest of us. Eventually he looked back at Jarred and the grin reappeared on his face.

Jarred: “Everything that was on the truck is here. They’re all guns, just like you said.” He explained.

Ac’ross: “Are you sure?” he asked.

Jarred: “Yeah, I checked them all myself. They’re definitely all guns.” He replied, and I had indeed seen him checking the crates during the journey.

Ac’ross: “No…” Ac’ross slowly moved forwards until he was right up close in front of Jarred.

Ac’ross: “I meant, are you sure that everything that was on the truck is here?”

I mentally gulped.

Jarred: “Well, yeah. There’s nothing else on it, your men can check if you’d like.”

Ac’ross: “Oh, there’s nothing left on it now, I take your word on that. However, I know for a fact that when this convoy left its base, it had six containers. You have brought me only five. Therefore, you seem to have lost one container, somewhere along the way.”

Jarred remained calm and tried to lie.

Jarred: “No. When we ambushed it there were definitely only these four.”

Ac’ross: “You’re lying.” He put simply, still with a grin, except now it had turned slightly sinister looking.

Jarred: “No, I’m not! Remy! You know I wouldn’t lie to you!”

Ac’ross: “Is he lying?” he asked still looking at Jarred but then around the rest of us in turn. Everybody shook their heads honestly, not knowing what the fuss was about. I on the other hand, knew the truth. Never the less, I still shook my head like the others. But somehow Ac’ross’ gaze lingered on me.

Ac’ross: “You’re an even worse liar.” He told me and lashed out, backhanding Jarred across the face. Jarred fell back and I rushed to help him as Ac’ross stepped back onto his dais.

Ac’ross: “Guards!” he called and suddenly we were surrounded by numerous armed men. “Throw them into the cells. I’ll decide what to do with them later.” he commanded.

We were all dragged away and taken deeper into the heart of the base. I could tell that we were getting deeper underground now and not long later, we were all roughly shoved into one small cell, which had been hacked into the rock. The metal door clanged shut and was locked behind us.

I sighed and slumped against the wall.

Tank: “Great…” I muttered quietly to myself.

**BONUS PICTURES:**

The convoy set.

The entrance to the base.

Remy's throne room.

As my series is going to be jumping around though time, I will include a date on each episode and add it to the timeline at the end of each episode so that you can follow it.

TIMELINE