"Aren't they marvellous creatures?" Her voice was that of a zookeeper marvelling at their collection. "The deeper mines are smaller and harder to reach, and old shaky hands have no place in processing. We used to have so many deaths."

  "Is this when the troubles started? When you switched to… them." Alec's heart was breaking looking out onto the work floor.

  "Initially, yes. But the baron, in his infinite wisdom, decided to create dormitories here on site. Once the kids were kept offsite, the instances of desertion for Tusong's camps ceased entirely. We send parents updates with a photo and performance reviews each year. The highest rated workers can achieve extra rations for their families on the outside for work well done." She was beaming again as if she had stumbled onto the recipe for utopia.

  "Seems he thinks of everything." Alec's deflection was dry and unemotional. He didn't dare give away the twisting knots his stomach was tied into. He saw the boy for ages past; he saw the one from the last planet. He saw the face of the Grounder youth, looked down at the boys and girls below, and saw their faces in them.

  The impossible boulder that the universe had given him grew too much and came rushing down on Alec. But he was practiced and poised, and now, even worse for his enemies, he had intent. The first part, though, would be to play along as he had at so many baronhood events until he was out past the gates. Then he could find time to think. He stuck to honesty because it made the best kind of lies.

  "You and he truly are a wonder to behold." She took it at face value; those in the wealthy elite truly bought their own shit. He gestured to her with a hand to lead the way out, and she took one last longing look at the children and sighed with reverence. "Some are just so beautiful to behold, I desire them to be my own Aamaranth children."

  Alec coughed, indicating he wanted her to move on. The thought of a child bound in stasis forever was a thought that could have pulled the trigger for him. He needed to put space between himself and this woman.

  The return ride up the magnilift was quiet and uneventful. Madam Zelsim seemed caught in a daydream of creating an Aamaranth-bound family collection. Alec was caught dreaming up deaths for her. The thoughts were engaging but inaccurate, and that was beyond frustrating to him. With all his skills, the level of military presence here could easily overwhelm and kill him before he could do anything. Had his mind already chosen an action to take?

  He focused on his steps and made a quick formal goodbye to the madam. She leaned in when she took his hand and caressed his arm, moving down towards his hip. It took everything in him not to leave her dead on the stairs as she offered him her services, if he should ever require. This woman had the mind of a parasite-infested rats' nest. Despite the greasy, queasy feeling she gave him, Alec knew she was well rooted in the baronhood and all the privilege that came along with it.

  He wasted no time in firing up Quip and driving back through the small town. He still needed Cafe, but he would not stop here. Not now, he needed to be free and clear, somewhere out in the wild desert where none but he and Quip could talk this through. In town, the faces of the baronhood citizens grew Alec's revulsion; outside, the faces of the Teretha grew his sense of purpose.

  Aamaranth gave life, but what good was that life if it was invested in the evil acts of the ruling elite? It meant the purpose he had driven himself with, nay, distracted himself with all these years, was futile. It was as if, brick by brick, a fortress of buried emotions and frustrations was crashing down in Alec's psyche. He realized his ankle was extended fully, and he and Quip were racing down the dusty road into a starry evening.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "Alec, as fun as this may be, without someone chasing us, I do not see the value in expending this much energy."

  Alec realized he was lost in thought and full throttle. He hit the brakes, and in a second, he was at a standstill. He heard a thump from the back and felt a small amount of remorse. The unconscious grounder would feel the bruise from that when he woke. Alec's impact suit cradled him to stop, softer than a mother's embrace.

  He leaned his seat back and let out a primal yell, something he usually only reserved for the heat of battle.

  "Alec, have you ingested any new foreign substances? Indulged in too much grape-berry wine? Alec? Alec? You are worrying me!" Quip's voice took on a human emotion of fear in the last moment, and it brought Alec back into the moment.

  “Kids Quip. Kids”

  "Yes, I know, I did not see any in the Teretha camp either."

  "No, the baron's using kids to mine. He's keeping them there to keep the parents in line. That's why there's a rebellion here, Quip."

  "So the contract?"

  "We gotta figure it out. I will not be an instrument of genocide for the baronhood. An ocean of Aamaranth couldn't do that for me. What have you got, Quip? Don't do that human thinking bullshit. I need your real brain now, that quantum speed that is unique to you."

  "Right. It's not an easy task, Alec. By all accounts, we have three options that end poorly. The first is to try to escape by force. We will surely die. The second is to finish the contract. This, to my machine understanding, is not a solution as it impacts Teretha's children." The last was said factually. The binary motivations of the quip clearly indicated that it still believed that to be the most viable solution for living.

  "Correct. Move on and strike it as an option… ever."

  Lastly, then, according to my calculations, the option with the highest chance of you and me retaining life is to seek out the Teretha rebels and use their forces to liberate control of the rift-station. If you made allies of them, they could serve as both front-line defence for us and provide us a way out. Not to mention, we could probably ransack enough Aamaranth that we could do nothing but trip around the systems. No contracts required."

  As the last was said out loud, Alec felt confirmation in his own brain of the imminent chances. Even with an army of well-trained soldiers, let alone a couple of dozen rebels, the chances of survival on this plan were slim to none. He needed more information first; something in the back of his mind was pulling at him. There was something left to uncover, something that was calling to the most instinctive part of his brain.

  He was halfway through drawing on that string of thought when it clicked. His brain was sending out alarming signals similar to Quip's Passive defence system. Someone, or rather, many someones were creeping slowly towards Quip on the rocky desert floor. Alec reached over to activate Quips' defence, but he was too late.

  A large boom punctuated by a purple fire explosion was set off to Quips' right side, then another to its left. The vehicle became weightless and then began to fall sideways, pitching wheels over the roof down a mountain ravine. Alec's head hit the bulletproof glass, and his hat was knocked sideways. His impact suit took the damage as he bounced around the cab, and Quip finally came to rest on his roof.

  He heard footsteps all around and, in whispered tones, the language of the Teretha people. Tusong or some of his people had found him. Alec was uninjured, but from the back ripping screams of pain were coming from the grounders' voice. Alec's mind whirled. Quip seemed knocked out fully by the blast. He stealthily reached forward to press the release on the bay and cockpit doors. Then he lay perfectly still as if unconscious from the fall.

  He heard three of them enter the cockpit. None spoke, but they gently gathered Alec up, binding his arms and legs. He heard them grunt in an effort to lift his augmented frame, then one man left. He heard muffled communication from outside, and then two more entered and helped carry Alec free of the vehicle.

  He heard the boy grounders cries of pain cut off with a thudding noise. Someone had knocked the boy unconscious or dead. Alec put all vitals into reserve mode and calmed his pulse. He felt them check him for signs of life and then heave him onto a metal flatbed cart. It was clearly designed to haul Aamaranth, as it hovered near-silent over the rocky terrain. Alec dared not open his eyes yet. So far, the people of Tusong had not made a move to harm him. He could patiently wait to see what came next.