FALAHA'S JOURNEY Into Pleasure | 18+

11. BARO

Between checkpoints eight and nine we upgrade our engine. I would dare to say we have found a better engine than we initially had. We don't throw out our old engine though—we might still need it if this one dies before we reach checkpoint eighteen. The gear definitely belonged to a professional racer. Its build—what is left of it—has little application in most daily tasks. Unlike the lone pilot, the engine has survived serious damage, but Tarry and I equally come to the conclusion that it could take one final push to its limit before burning out completely. We surely would need that one final push. Yet we still miss several items that would allow us to speed up our monster without it falling apart. In your mind you want to fly, but then the basic laws of physics slap you right in the face in the most painful way. So we still drag our gear at half-decent speed, though we are doing far better than earlier. We don't celebrate our victory yet—far from that. We simply focus on rebuilding the machine before time runs out. This focus on what we normally love doing helps to take pressure off our minds and our hands, and our brains work faster that way. The rest is left to our black luck and the wayward wind.

~~~

Past checkpoint thirteen we find ourselves a nice set of parts to complete our job. Find isn't exactly the right word: the parts are still attached to a working machine owned by a living team. It is damaged slightly and these guys are busy with repairs, watching their surroundings carefully.

Tarry pats me on the back: he has a plan.

~~~

Need is a strong force.

But it is not strong enough to go against the physical forces of the universe, governed by rigid rules and harnessed through precise calculations and motion.

Armed with one of the metal pipes we found back at the watchtower, I do a sharp turn, forcing the enemy crew to ditch their ride and scramble to the sides. The weight on the cord tied to my gear makes a whoosh, raising dust along its trajectory, and slams directly into their gear with a powerful thrust, making a hole through the hull and destroying its engine.

I am an evil man.

But we need those parts now.

Tarry, always wearing his helmet, slowly walks towards me, also holding a metal pipe in his healthy hand. It makes a chilling, clanging sounds as he drags it on the ground. He looks at the two men we just chased off. Unarmed, they don't try to approach our suddenly-storming, somber, dirty duo. We probably don't even look like people now.

While Tarry stands guard, I get to work as fast as I can.

My third cousin has never harmed a person in his entire life. I am amazed at his bold act, looking like he has killed a bunch and then some more. His 'meaty persona' surely has weight in dirty business.

The unfortunate team painfully watches my every movement with wide eyes, making no attempt to stop us as I tear parts off their gear and collect them in our item box to be properly added to the build later. Guess they have never been treated with such impertinence before. Definitely not locals. Welcome to Medas.

Done, I tell Tarry to get on and start our engine. Before we take off, I say to the men we just robbed, "Guys, don't be so upset. I'm not sure you would handle a blast from orbit too well."

"Satellite?!" one of the men screams.

"Yeah!" I salute them farewell and we simply ride into the wild just as we had appeared.

We leave them shocked and their gear properly scavenged.

Personally, I still have no idea how we are going to survive that one either. Satellite blockade. Unless those weapon systems are disabled by then.