The Ice Warrior

Chapter 26

Upon hearing Rose's straightforward question, all of them straightened up, ready to tackle the task at hand. The tasty meal they shared was long gone.

They all knew they had to project confidence they didn't have to inspire others for the mission that awaited them to be successful.

"Alright, so as you can imagine, our sector is not as well guarded as the rest of the sectors. They are mostly protecting other sectors from us, from our scavenging, not keeping us safe." Joe said.

"How does that help us?" Silv asked impatiently.

"If you know your maps well, you'll remember that we are on the outskirts, unlike the other sectors. Thus, we don't border with any other sectors on the south." Joe said.

"What about the patrol that used to run that perimeter?" Rose asked.

"They are scant at best. Usually, one kid is patrolling, if you can even call it that." Joe said, with disgust.

"What do you mean?" Silv asked, trying to catch up with what was being said.

"Well, he is just strolling around the perimeter, not paying any attention to his surroundings. We've gone past him a dozen times, and he never even noticed anything unusual." Joe said disapprovingly.

"Why are the patrols so weak now? I remember that they used to guard that side to prevent you from going outside the sectors and then cycle back to the sector you need." Rose asked.

It surprised her how much things had changed from her last run though it wasn't that long ago.

"I am not sure. Rumor has it that Government is getting ready for something big. No one is sure what that might be. I thought you were more likely to know since you've always been well informed." Joe said.

"I am not sure. I've fallen from grace before this whole mess even started. They didn't revoke my clearance or anything like that, but I could feel that I was excluded from some important meetings." Rose said.

"You didn't tell me that! Why?" Silv asked.

"After all these years of staying quiet about things and singing praises to the Government, I was bound to make a mistake," Rose said.

"Is that why you disappeared on us? What happened?" Joe asked.

"Yes, I didn't want to put you or your operations in jeopardy since I was afraid that they might start tracking my movements closely," Rose said.

Then, she took a deep breath to calm her anger at the Government, which she served for years, knowing how unjust they were. She could tell herself that she was bidding her time, but that wouldn't bring back the dead or erase the pain the Government had caused.

"Jack, honey, why don't you go and show Wir Eis your sleigh, while we get ready. I am sure he has never seen anything as cool as that." Rose said, smiling at Jack.

"Sure! Come on, Wir Eis, you are going to love this! I bet they don't have anything like this on your planet!" Jack said excitedly.

Wir Eis followed the tiny human without questioning, sensing why Rose insisted that they should leave the room.

"Don't stay out too long! Wir Eis and the rest of us need to leave soon!" Rose warned as Jack dragged the enormous alien to his most precious possession.

"How bad was it?" Joe asked the moment Jack and Wir Eis were gone.

"Very bad," Rose answered, running her hands through her hair.

It was the first sign of nervousness Silv had seen on her grandmother in a long time. As a consequence, she was even more curious to learn what occurred to make her grandmother so insecure.

"So, you heard about the accident in sector 7?" Rose asked.

"Yes, system failure. Almost everyone died." Joe said.

"Well, it was not a malfunction. The Government decided to stop their supply for disobedience." Rose said, lowering her eyes.

"You mean, they executed all those people! But there were women and children there!" Silv said lividly.

"That hasn't stopped them before. Still, I am surprised to hear that since the Government has never done something on such a grand scale before. I worry about my people even more now." Joe said.

"You are trying to say that this has happened before, they have murdered people before?" Silv asked, still in shock.

"Yes, but it was rare and limited. However, recently there was a rise of anti-government feeling in sector 7. The kind that leads to rebellion and even the reprogramming didn't help. Besides, it couldn't be done on such a great scale." Rose explained.

"You were part of those monstrosities?" Silv asked accusingly.

"No, I was trying to stop it. I spoke up against it, but all it did was raise suspicion in my devotion. I couldn't save anyone. It was already too late to do anything." Rose said with a trembling voice.

It was the first time Silv had seen her grandmother so broken, and it hurt more than she wanted to admit, even to herself. Thus, Silv decided to leave her grudge behind. She chose to be there for Rose, the way she always was for her.

Silv proceeded to hug her grandmother while Rose fought to keep her composure, unused as she was to expressing weakness.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean to doubt you." Silv said.

"Aww, my mistresses are finally getting along well," Arthur said in the voice of an excited teenager.

"What was that?" Silv asked, smiling through tears that Rose's plight brought to her eyes.

"Oh, did the young mistress think I did not learn anything from her? That was what you said when you read that book in which friends reconciled after being angry with each other." Arthur said.

"Anyway, I think your sector is safe for the time being since you've never tried to organize mutiny as sector 7 did. Also, you don't rely on technology as much." Rose said comfortingly.

Still, all of them knew it was only a matter of time before they were next on the Government's list for clean-up.

"What did we miss?" Jack asked, barging into the room with Wir Eis in tow.

"Not much. Just making plans to get them out without the Government's knowledge." Joe said, smiling warmly at his grandson.

"So, Justin, you know the guard's routine. Wait for his lunch break, then lead them towards the mountains. When you are far enough from the sector, you can circle back and go where they need to. Do you have the coordinates?" Joe asked Silv.

"Yes," she answered.

"Okay, then you and Justin can lead the way. The rest of you be careful, watch your backs. Humans aren't the only threats nowadays. The animals that remain aren't too friendly towards humans. It's as if they can sense the role we played in their demise." Joe warned.

"Don't worry, grandpa, I got this," Justin said.

"We all got this. After all, we are all more than capable here," Silv said flippantly.

She was annoyed that there was yet another person who wanted to be in charge and who implied that her skills weren't good enough.

Moments after she said that, Wir Eis tried to move towards the door and hit the table, which tumbled to the ground.

"You were saying?" Justin asked, raising one eyebrow questioningly.

Silv pursed her lips and did her best to stop herself from making any retorts while Rose and Joe smiled at the foolishness of the young.

The two old souls knew that there were so many more pressing issues ahead than who would lead the way.