Page 34 of Orange Lake
“Is that all you can do, Zirc? Brood?”
I heard someone snickering from Jigen’s outburst. It better not be Crix or Coone -
I looked down at the top of her head. I sighed. Now all the occupants of this room are laughingwithher. At my expense. I stifled the growl building in my chest.
I still don’t think it’s a good idea for Brin to be included in this conversation. But Roqs and Jigen have a point. I did not asked her what happened in the Skull cave when she was kidnapped. I am able to remember and describe it to them but she might provide some interesting clues.The room has been repaired and arranged as if the fiasco from the previous day did not occur.
“Continuing on,” Jigen raised his arm slightly to get everyone’s attention. “This Ist character.”
“I have more information about that.”
I looked up at Roqs. He did not mention anything about it to me. He must have heard my thoughts when he looked at me and continued. “My informant told me that he is a double spy. He was sent by the Blue Tribe’s alphas to spy on Kilo and his gang but end up in another gang. The gang who took Brynn. However, this pseudo gang is very new but closely related to Kilo. It looks like someone who is related to and very close to Kilo.”
“I only saw three manasties. I couldn’t tell who was leading who but they tried to get the black crystal from me. My beast is very agitated, it swallowed it into my skin.”
That gave everyone a pause. Maybe remembering this incident is crucial.
“Ah, your beast is such a wonder,” Crix moaned. “I wonder if you can allow me to see and look into that.”
“Quit pestering Zirc about his beast,” Roqs admonished. “Jigen will -”
Ah, but JigenandVolks are interested in my beast. I heard Roqs just sigh. Of course, these three are sadists. They enjoy the pain.
“No one is messing with my beast,” I said firmly. My friends are of course made of sterner stuff and are willing to risk it. “No.”
Crix sighed again. “Okay. But it’s good that the black crystal did not have any effect on you. You have been carrying it. It looks like the Elders are keeping information about this black crystal. We can’t seem to find what it does. Other than we can feel its enormous energy but no way of harnessing its power.”
“It’s also dangerous to play with it not knowing what it can do,” Jigen advised. “We know from history it’s not very good to play with crystals in a very confined environment.”
Crix gave him a sharp look. “I know. Even our underwater cage might not be enough to withstand its power once we unleash it.”
“Not mentioning disturbing the other crystals on the lake,” Volks added. The three are scientists by heart. They have really thought this through. Volks is especially wary of experimenting such dangerous artifacts especially a black crystal. He came from a mix of Green and Blue Tribe. Members of the Green Tribe were long ago reduced to mere numbers. His ancestors were lucky enough to survive the blast when they experimented on an artifact that wiped out almost all of their numbers. There was a period when the Green Tribe ruled the planet because of the advanced technology they developed. The ones we are using today came from the ideas of the Green Tribe who are immensely intelligent people. Mixed with curiosity and the desire to go above and beyond what they discovered, they continued to experiment and create things. The explosion moved the planet by 0.00027 second per day. Now, there are only a handful to them. Many shun away from those with Green Tribe blood because of this stigma that they cause chaos. That is what brought these three mates. They were unique ever since they first met.
Crix is the bane of the Purple Tribe with his weird and borderline psychotic tendencies in pursuit of science. Jigen who turned away from his place at the Red Tribe to find his true mate, much like what I’m doing right now, and Volks because he has Green Tribe blood. Turns out, they are all mated to each other. A true triad that is also unique. And they created this small haven. They are preparing themselves to have a child but vowed first to help with our cause to free the slaves from gangs.And destroy all the calcifying crystals on the hands of every gang. They know but I will not say it aloud. The reason I want to free the slaves, is so I have the opportunity to kill the gang leaders, their officers, so that Brin can be safe. Her secret makes her in danger. Others have yet to know she has iron blood.
“I never could understand why these gangs take on slaves,” Coone asked. Being a foreigner and living on another planet where there are no slaves, he took an interest in our plight and he is also an adrenaline junkie, very much like every manasty alive today. In our part of the universe, we are the only planet that has enforced slavery. This ruling limits our capacity to trade with other planets.Something the Council wants to eradicate.
“Are they trying to overpower your current government?” Brin asked from my side.
“Do you have slaves on your planet?” Jigen asked curiously.
“Yes. But it is not allowed.”
I feel sad that from where she came from, it is the same.
“We have institutions that help fight slavery. Decades ago, it is rampant and people do this to conquer other countries.” At our puzzled looks, she added, “Or tribes and kingdoms. They gather people to rule.”
An interesting theory.
Coone spoke up. “I did hear an interesting rumor about this on my planet. Turns out, the gangs here are working with each other unlike in the past. They saw someone from Kilo and Trux gangs meeting up at Station 6 chatting up like they are old friends. The owner of the bar was afraid a brawl or shoot out will happen because each has about 4 or 5 members with them. We all know the gangs have their own turf wars.”
‘That has not died,” Roqs said. “I am in charge of mitigating the fall out from a turf war of at least 4 gangs circling my tribe.”
“They are not passing through?” I asked worried.
Before I can even ask, Roqs added. “I have Minnow and Rune in charge.”
I calmed down. The Silver Tribe have the equivalent of the Red Guards. Minnow and Rune is a mated pair and can lead the Silver Tribe when Roqs is gone. Of course, knowing its them, the old tribal leaders will support them. Just the whisper of Silver Bullet is enough to cause fear. Because like any Silver Tribe member, we are known to kill first then ask questions later. Of course, my Silver Beast is the most feared boogeyman in the Silver Tribe which irked Roqs the most. His beast is ferocious and cunning but when it comes to brute force and senseless killing, no one can beat my beast. Roqs is a very good tribal leader and dedicated to a fault.
