A meeting had been called. The wooden hut, thirty miles from the nearest Primusian settlement, would for the next five days be the receiving point for those Primusians who had made it. It was a dangerous journey to make on foot, but it had been necessary. They had to act.
The jungle surrounded the hut, the small clearing constantly becoming a battleground between those who took up permanent residence at the hut and the vines that crept in during the night. They weren't sure if the Spore was deliberately trying to push them away, knowing their presence was unknown to the Council of Wise. But if the Spore had wanted them removed, it would have told Mugatu or any other members of the Council of Wise. That was if the Spore knew of what they were doing, what they believed in, and what they were trying to accomplish.
The feeling of being surrounded troubled Maktu. It kept him on edge, fearing that at any moment Primusian troops could march to the hut via the only path and execute them. He hoped the spacing out of arrivals had kept the Spore unaware. It could see everything, but that didn't mean it did.
The meeting was of special importance, and they could not afford for the Council of Wise or the Senate to discover its existence. It was where the Primusian Communist Party, or what remained of it, would finalise their plans to leave Primus and join the Coalition in its struggle. They had failed to bring revolution to Primus despite their best efforts, so for the time being they must find a safe haven.
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
Beneath the wooden hut, the twenty-nine members of the Primusian Communist Party were celebrating the festive season. The hut was a ploy, it being the cover from which the PCP could access the underground structure. It had been a mining site, originally created by the Zoners during their short stay using Primusian and machine labour. Like many other sites, it had been abandoned and forgotten. Now it served the PCP as the perfect hideaway from the problems above ground. Until they needed to gather supplies, anyway.
The network of tunnels was small, the mining only beginning a few months before the Zoner evacuation. But the PCP had still been able to turn the small space into a home for all its members, and their families. They could decorate it the way they wanted to, without worry. If they hung up posters of the hammer and sickle in their homes it would be too public a display of their beliefs.
But in the cave, which they had named Iskra, the stone walls were carved with great memorials of communism and its glory. A Coalition flag, preserved by their ancestors since the launch of the Hispania, hung on the wall and was the first sight when entering Iskra. The next thing were the printing presses which printed a newspaper of the same name, to be distributed around Primus. The name Iskra had been chosen mostly due to its reference to the political paper founded by Vladimir Lenin, but it was also chosen due to its irony. The Spore sometimes made reference to a spark, and as Iskra translated into Spark it seemed somewhat suitable.
The Spore had done so much for the Primusians, even the PCP respected it. It had given their world new life, lush green forests growing in what used to be an unpopulated radiated wasteland with the occasional lifeforms poking their heads out of the soil.
The printing presses led to the main meeting chamber, its entire space occupied by a massive wooden table. The table could seat thirty places, each place using a high-backed wooden throne-like chair. The wood was a tinged dark brown, resembling mahogany. The members of the PCP were all present, all but one chair occupied. They each wore smiles of joy as they feasted upon Christmas food. They were preparing to pull the crackers.
Each person grabbed two crackers: one for each hand. Maktu had been told to count to three, which would be when everybody pulled on the crackers.
'One,' Maktu's voice rang out through the chamber. Everybody prepared to pull their crackers, their muscles tensing and the chamber falling into silence. 'Two. Thr-'
Somebody pulled a cracker. Everybody else began to pull on theirs, and soon the chamber was alight once more with laughter and conversation. There was truly a joyful atmosphere in the chamber tonight. Maktu felt saddened that he would have to ruin it.
He pushed his chair back, and stood. He was eight feet tall, his fur coat matching the sun-tanned wood of the hut. His eyes were a knife-edge blue, and sparkled with such power and authority that perhaps they were the inspiration for the name of the cave. He bent himself down and lent his hands on the table, his palms flat and showing his hairy knuckles.
'Comrades.' His voice was dominant, and in an instant all other words in the chamber died mid-conversation as the others turned to face him. Waiting on their Premier to address them. 'Today. Today, Comrades. Today is the day we leave.'
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
Pandemonium was immediately set loose in the meeting chamber. Rampant conversation, shouting, even occasional screams of 'Oooo ooo ooo, ah ah ah! These served only to remind Maktu how different the Primusians were from the humans.
Eventually he grew tired of the lack of focus, and lifted his drinking cup. He then slammed it on the table, what remained of the water splashing out onto the table.
'SILENCE!' His voice was deafening in the cavern. All eyes turned to him once more. 'We leave tonight. Kombuchinus's transport for his visit to the Virulian Enclave on Gran Canaria is relatively unguarded. We can take it, and fly it away from Primus. Then we can start gathering information as to the location of the Coalition, to meet up with them and join their struggle.'
One stood up, the rest remained silent. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, and began to speak. She was one of the scholars of the group, in her mid-forties and spending most of her time in the cave studying texts.
'How long have you had this plan, Maktu?' She was the most likely to put her voice forward. She was confident, enthusiastic but also very pessimistic and determined to know every little detail.
'Rosha...' Maktu began.
'How long?' She obviously wanted a straight answer.
'Two weeks.' He had to tell her the truth, because he knew one way or another she would discover any lie eventually.
'And you decided to keep us all in the dark about this until now?'
'Yes,' Maktu was speedy in his response. 'I had to keep details secret until everybody was present and nobody would be leaving to return home. If any who heard the plan were captured, it would spell the end of our only shot of reaching the Coalition and joining the fight.'
'Are we giving up that easily?' Another voice inquired.
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
'No!' Maktu shouted, to quell any doubt. 'No, we are not giving up. One day we shall return as the liberators of our people and bring a new communist order to Primus that shall last until the end of time. But we must leave for now, re-group and re-organise. If we help the Coalition bring communism to the humans of Sirius, then perhaps they can in turn help us.
'Humans and Primusians can live side by side, if we put our effort into it. But when we arrive at the Coalition's door, and we join their ranks, we shall have the opportunity to experience what we fight for. No classes, no damn family clans being more important than each other! No, a family clan name shall be worn with pride, not with what power it brings in mind. I shall be Kamtu of Kemklau, but my family clan shall hold no extra prestige or power.
'We shall be what we believe we are meant to be. We shall be equal!' An uproar in the chamber began as people cheered at the prospect of living with the Coalition and finally living the way they want to. Cups were banged together in ceremonial toasts, their contents splashing upward like an explosion.
'Has there been a reply from the Coalition on the transmission?' Rosha asked.
'No,' Maktu answered, but quickly added, 'but I am sure there is a reason for that. Now, Comrades, let us celebrate that we will no longer hide in caves such as this one, and that we shall rise from the shadows and do what needs to be done. Comrades, let us drink!'
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
The night was quiet at the Compound. The animals of the forest were quiet, occasional scurrying paws rustling the leaves. The guards paid no attention to the rustling in the trees. They weren't even in earshot of the forest.
The twenty-five guards of the Compound - no name had yet to be decided for what was essentially one of Primus's first spaceports - were having a Christmas dinner in the Compound canteen. The name spaceport was an overstatement used by Senator Kombuchinus to make the Compound sound far more important than it was. Really it was just a section of cleared-out grassland surrounding by a steel barrier. The Compound hadn't even been paved over; the one Dromedary that filled all of the available room for starships rested on low-cut grass.
Their party was similar to the PCP's. There was wine and crackers and Christmas hats and everybody was having a good time. Most of the guards were drinking themselves under the table, having a good time, celebrating the festive season.
The crashing down of the doors and the safeties of guns clicking off put an end to their celebrations. Armed Primusians swarmed into the room, disarming whatever weapons the guards held. Most of them would've been lucky to still be able to hold a weapon, Maktu thought, judging from the amount they've had to drink.
His fellow party members proceeded to bind the prisoners to their chairs, while he moved to the commander of the guards. He was lying on the floor, being one of those who had drunken himself half to death to celebrate the festivities.
Maktu didn't even bother talking to him. He rested his AK-47 - the weapons of choice for the PCP, simple the construct and use, they required little training - on the wall and crouched down to the commander. He reached into the Primusian's breast pocket, and pulled out a set of keys. He lifted himself back up and moved away, just as the commander vomited where he'd been stood. A Party member swooped in to bind the commander's hands behind his back.
Maktu moved out of the room, and proceeded outside. All of the PCP was stood, looking at him expectantly. He held up the keys, high above his head for them all to see.
'Fellow Primusians,' he called to the small crowd. 'The time has come. To the ship!'
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
The next ten minutes were used to load the seventy-two Primusians who had reached the Compound into the starship, and begin the Dromedary launch sequence. Elite Guard Bobby, their avionics expert and source on the inside, had been the pioneer of Primusian initial exploration. He was, to put it rather bluntly, a pothead. His rastafarian cap and long, braided hair always sheltered his often comically bemused expression.
'Why couldn't've we just, like, used my Ahoudori, man?' He asked Maktu as he slid into the pilot's chair. Bobby was so trusted by Senator Kombuchinus that he commanded one of the only truly combat-capable craft of the Primusians - an Ahoudori purchased at great cost from the Zoners. It was normally used to collect Nomad remains to sell, which was the primary source of Sirian credits for Primus.
'It was too well defended, Bobby.' Maktu patiently replied. 'As I told you before.' Poor Bobby, he thought. The drugs had had some adverse affects on his mind. Memory loss was the main one. His mind was so far gone that he couldn't even remember his own Primusian name, which was why he'd taken up calling himself "Bobby". Sometimes he even needed to be reminded of that.
The ability to fly would never leave him though, as he often said. He effortlessly began his pre-flight checks with the Dromedary, lights on the wings flaring into life, a gentle hum as the engines began to ignite. Within seconds the ship was in the air, Bobby taking it up toward the emptiness of space.
'No need for the docking ring, man', he said to Maktu, who had taken the co-pilot chair. 'It's all like, a conspiracy. You don't need a docking ring.' He took a puff from his joint, the air filtration system immediately sucking up the smoke. Maktu nodded.
'Here we are man, edge of the atmosphere. Get ready for an awesome view man, it really is something.'
The Dromedary cleared the final barrier posed by the planet and propelled itself into space. Maktu and the others in the cockpit gasped at the sight, Bobby grinning at their reaction. It seemed to go on forever. It did go on forever. Oddly shaped rocks littered Omicron Kappa in their orbit around the lone star. In the far distance, a white orb was prominent in front of the darker space behind it.
Maktu was the first to shake himself from the trance. He reached deep into his pocket, pulling out an envelope, which he handed to Bobby.
'This is where we're going. It was left behind by our brothers who first came to Primus. It hasn't been opened yet, strict instructions to keep it sealed until we reach this point. Will you do the honours?'
Bobby took it, and without a hint of care ripped the envelope open and took out a single sheet of paper. He read it, before handing it to Maktu to read for himself.
'This is where we must go.' He said after a few seconds. 'Where our brothers will be waiting.'
'Woah, hold on there cowboy,' Bobby was quick to respond. Maktu hated him when he used his expressions like "cowboy" and "man". 'We gotta sort some stuff out in Omicron Delta first. Gonna take a while. We need to get enough supplies for the trip, enough fuel, and all we got here is the last step of the journey. We gotta find out how to get to this point first. And that's gonna take a while.'
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
[17:45:39] Wolfs Ghost (Murphy): Tom, you have problems. Go kill yourself.
[19:25:12] Johnny (Jam): Tomtom, I will beat you with a spoon.
[14:22:56] Prarabdh Thakur: KILL HIM WITH A SHEEP.
[17:40:48] Eagle (Junes): Tom should be slapped with a spoon.
[11:32:18] Warspite: Thank you for being so awesome Tom. <3
[18:17:36] Metano: I love you tomtom
[20:06:24] Warspite: I will seriously give you epic head.
' Wrote:Edit: also, Tomtomrawr, fappin' like a boss.
