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Plait the Prison
Planet
The Saga of the Grey Ranger
Issue #2
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter Two
The Meeting
They head into what appears to be a bar. There are
different species sitting at tables, some are drinking and others are playing
games of chance. The Grey Ranger scans over the place, seeing if he recognizes
any of the denizens. After the attack earlier, he is not in the mood for
another such fight. Once he is sure he did not recognize anyone, he walks over
and sits at a table. A Bordrellon comes over and takes their order. The Grey
Ranger takes a good look at the Bordrellon, as he has never seen one up close.
They are a race of mostly water dwelling creatures. They resemble large
salamanders and pride themselves on their fire stripes, which are markings
that are especially bright when they are trying to attract a mate. They stand
about 5 feet tall and have a slick look to their skin. This one is mostly black,
with a dull red stripe along the back. "Whatsss your order, sssir?" he asks as
he slurs his s's as most reptilian races do. Because of their unique shaped
tongues, they have more trouble making the "s" sound. At least that is the
common story. Some think they do it to make themselves appear more deadly. It
is thought that the hiss is a way to instill fear into their adversaries. No
one knows which is correct as they won't say. They like the mystery and how
it keeps people guessing. After they placed their orders, the
Grey Ranger watches the Bordrellon walk away. Something odd struck him as he
watches
the creature move away. It has a third eye on the back of its head. This is
another trait that he has heard of, but never saw with his owns eyes. Some say
that this makes them great warriors as they are never surprised from behind. The
Grey Ranger could see how this could be an advantage in a battle.
As the drinks come, they sit and talk. Tredd tells him about
some guys whom he was going to introduce him to and how they could seek shelter
from them. The Grey Ranger listened with caution. He could not shake the feeling
that Tredd is setting him up. He wasn't sure how or why, but he felt that if Tredd
is able to deliver him, a great reward was in store. While he didn't fear
anyone, he was also quite cautious. This planet housed thousands, upon thousands
of the most hardened criminals in the galaxy and there were no laws against
killing another inmate. In fact, it was encouraged as it meant one less mouth to
feed. As long as no one got off the planet, the authorities could care less what
happened. You could kill all the people you wanted, just so long as you posed no
threat to the fortresses or the bots. In fact, it was long rumored that the
wardens of the different fortresses used to make bets on how long certain
criminals would live. The Grey Ranger figured with his status, there were
probably allot of bets on his lifespan. He also knew that the chips in his arm
made it very easy for them to keep track of how long a prisoner stayed alive.
Since it was modified to not only identify a prisoner, but also serve as a
beacon to track them and also keep track of their vital signs. Once the host
body expired, so did the chip. This was to keep people from using others chips
to gain access to more rations. Before they set up this new feature, it was
quite common for a prisoner to kill another and keep his arm to use to gain
extra rations. Some would just peel away the section of skin and then after they
got their rations, they would stick the skin over their own and get more
rations. Since feeding prisoners was a necessary, but costly part of maintaining
the prison, the different worlds got together and devised this more efficient
way to track prisoners and keep costs down. Little did the politicians know it
would also serve as a form of gambling for the wardens.
After some time at the table, a few other men came over and
sat with them. One is a tall and thin man. He is very much humanoid, like the
people on the Grey Ranger's planet. The other man is shorter and covered in
short, white fur. He has almost catlike features. He is also thin and has a
long tail that follows behind him. His face is more bat like, with a very
long, but pushed in nose. He also has large ears that come to a point. The ears
seem to have a mind of their own as the keep moving around, like radar dishes,
picking up conversations. He seems quite tense and keeps looking around. The
Grey Ranger recognized this race as the Lynthians, one of the first species to
visit his planet. He also knows that while they were normally quite friendly,
that their own welfare comes first and they will turn on you in a minute if it
is in
their best interest. This makes them less desirable as warriors. While their keen
sense of hearing and their quick reflexes make them quite formidable, their lack
of commitment makes them hard to rely on.
Once they all sat down, the tall, thin man reaches in his
vest and pulls out a bag. He hands it to Tredd and then motions for him to
leave. Tredd looks upset but one look from the man is enough to make him
leave. Once he leaves, the man turns to the Grey Ranger and says "Welcome to
Plait. We have been waiting for you to come." The Grey Ranger looks at him and
says "Tredd spoke of a teleporter. Is it real?" The man laughs out
loud. He then says "Right
to the point. No hello or anything." The expression on the Grey Ranger's face
does not change, in fact it rarely changes. A part of his training is to not
show any emotion. If an opponent did not know what you were thinking, they could not
predict your next move. It made you a more deadly opponent. Realizing that he
was not going to get an answer, he says "I do know of such a device. But you
need to prove that you are trustworthy before I tell you anymore." The Grey
Ranger knew this was coming. He knew there would be a price to pay. Two
possibilities went through his head. He could kill everyone except this man and
try to extract the information out of him or he could go along with it and wait
until he had enough information. While the first option sounds more appealing, he
knew the chances of ever getting off this planet would be gone. As much as he
hates to work with criminals, he was wrongly sent here and has to do what he
can to get off this planet. Unlike a normal prison, there is no solitary
confinement to go to. He would be a target for the rest of his life here. He
decided to see what this man has in mind before killing him. "What do you want
me to do?" he says as he stares right at the man. The man laughs again only
this time louder. He then speaks
"I have need of your fighting skills. I need an escort for a caravan I am
sending to another fortress and I want you to stand guard." The Grey Ranger keeps
his stare up as he asks "What are you transporting that makes you believe you
need my assistance guarding it?" The man once more laughs "We meet for five minutes and
you want me to tell you everything." Once again, the Grey Ranger stares
right at him, with no
emotion on his face. This unnerves the man enough to say the following "If you
must know, it is rations that we are trading with another fortress." The Grey
Ranger does not believe that is all and makes sure to let him know "And what
else?" The man stands up and stares back at the Ranger "That is all you need to
know. Do you want the job or not?" The Ranger stands up and stares back at him
"What is the pay?" The man laughs again "I already told you, this job is to
prove your trustworthy." The Grey Ranger responds "Not good enough." With that
he walks away from the table and towards the door. Before he reaches the door,
the man yells out "Name the price." The ranger now knows the cargo is extremely
valuable. He slowly turn towards the man and walks back slowly to the table. He sits back down and
goes back
to his stare "I want the best weapons that are available. I also want extra
rations for Tredd and myself." The guy smiles as he said "That can be easily
arranged. Anything else?" The ranger moves closer and speaks in a slow and
menacing voice "I want your word
that you will take me to the people who have the teleporter as soon as I finish
this job." The man smiles and puts out his hand "You have my word." The ranger
grabs his hand and gives it a shake while giving it a solid squeeze. When he
lets go, the man rubs his had to get rid of the pain. He heard how strong the
ranger is, but until now he had no idea just how strong he is. What he didn't know was the ranger
was only using a small part of his strength. He could have easily crushed every
bone in his hand without much effort.
With that done, the man calls over the waiter and orders a
bunch of food for the group. He also motions for Tredd to join them at the
table. As Tredd comes over, the man says "Our friend here has asked for you to
accompany him on his mission." Tredd looked at him with a scared look on his
face "I never agreed to this. My job is done here." The man smiles and says
"Would you like to tell him yourself that you do not want to come along?" Tredd
looks over at the ranger who stares right through him. He gets a worried look on
his face. He knows that he has no chance against the ranger and it would be in
his best interest to go along with him. He gulps as he says "Count me in."
After the meal, the man shows the Grey Ranger to his room.
They go up a flight a stairs in the backroom of the bar and it leads to a
hallway with numerous doors. He takes him down to one at the end and lets him
in. Inside the room is a poorly made bed with an animal fur blanket. The fur was
all white and quite long. There was a makeshift pillow that was made from the
same fur. "This will be your room for the night. Not much, but it will do for
now." The Grey Ranger looks around and notices there are no windows. He then
says "It will do." The man then leaves and says "I will have guards posted to
make sure no one disturbs you." The Grey Ranger stares at him and says "Are they
there to stop people from coming in or going out?" The man just laughs as he
walks away. The Grey Ranger does not laugh. He goes into the room and sits on
the bed. He does not intend to sleep.
The next day, the door opens and they find the ranger on his
bed in what looks like a trance. He is sitting up and is completely still. As they walk in, one
of the guards says to the other "Think he's awake?" The ranger ends that
conversation by saying "I'm always awake." His eyes then open and he looks
directly at
them. A sense of fear sails down their back like a chilly breeze. While they have not seen him fight,
the stories of the previous day's activities are already spreading through the
town like wildfire. One of the guards gulps as he says "The boss sent us to get
you." The ranger steps off the bed and follows them. He grabs his bag of
belongings. It is just his extra set of clothing and rations, but it all he has
on this planet. He follows them as they leave the room and head back downstairs.
As they enter the bar again, they are greeted by the same group from the night
before, including a very worried looking Tredd. "Hope you slept well" the tall
man says as they enter the room. "I am fine." is all the Grey Ranger says. The
less he says the better off he is or so he thinks. He likes to remain a mystery.
It keeps people guessing and gives him an edge. He already has an advantage
because his race is unlike any other on the planet. He does not know how he
landed on the planet he called home. He was left there as an infant and was
found and raised by one of the Ranger Elite. But while the rest of the home
planet looked human, he was different. He was bigger, stronger, had grey skin,
no body hair and glowing red eyes. He also had powers that none of the men on
his planet had. He could see in the dark. He was able to leap twice as high as
any of them. He had the strength of at least five men and was nearly perfect in
his aim with weapons. He also could go weeks with no food. His skin was able to
absorb sunlight and turn it into food, much like a plant. He also could breathe
underwater. His skin was harder as well. It had armor like qualities and it took
a very sharp weapon to pierce it.
Within minutes, the group was on a wagon and headed out of
town. The wagon was pulled by six men who were hooked up to wagon. The Grey
Ranger thought this was cruel, but not knowing what kinds of beasts of burden
resided on this planet, he felt it was best to say nothing. As much as he was
trained to protect the rights of all people, his only goal right now was to get
off this planet and if it meant sacrificing some of his principles, then so be
it. What did his principles get him? They led to the world he protected, turning
against him and sending him to this prison planet. They led to being locked up
with many of the same men he prosecuted. So he was not feeling too law abiding
right now.
Once the wagon left the city limits, the men slowed down.
Their faster pace was more of a desire to limit the number of people who saw
them in a subservient role. Your reputation and your affiliation were the most
valuable things on this planet. A loss of either meant death. These men knew
that and pulling the wagon was sacrificing their reputation. But it also meant
the chance to be affiliated with one of the most powerful gangs in the area and
that gave them more protection than their reputation ever could. It was well
known that gangs were much like corporations. You started at the bottom and
worked your way up. One of these bottom rung jobs was being a pack mule. The
more powerful a person was in a gang, the more mules he had working for him.
Tredd enjoyed the ride as he once spent time as a mule. But he soon found that
he could do better by just being low key. He stayed in the shadows and waited
for opportunity. By not being out in the open as much, he kept a low profile and
people overlooked him. And it was much easier than being abused by some power
hungry boss. He had a boss like that at one time. But when he was killed, Tredd
slinked into the shadows before he became someone else's property. When one boss
killed another, they would try to absorb all his mules into their group. If
they were powerful enough, they could do it. But other bosses would also come in
and try to scoop them up. Some used force and some used bribery to get the mules
to join them. The more mules a boss had, the more powerful they were. That is
the reason why some bosses would station men outside of the main gates to eye
over the new arrivals and try and recruit the best men right away. Get the pick of the
litter, so to speak. Within days, almost all new prisoners were scooped up or
killed. Very few did not join with someone. Unlike normal prisons, there was not
early paroles for good behavior. When you came to Plait, you came for life. So
it did not make allot of sense to not affiliate yourself with someone.
As the wagon got further into the outskirts, the town became
a blur on the horizon. The Grey Ranger looked back at the only civilization he
knew and wondered how far to the next town. There were quite a few fortresses on
the planet, but he did not know how far apart they were spread. As the came over
a hill, they saw the rest of the caravan in the distance. It looked like a train
from a distance. There were a dozen large wagons that consisted of two or more
cars. Pulling each one were giant beasts. The creatures were covered in a coarse
white fur that resembled a polar bear's fur. But the fur was longer and thicker.
The beasts stood a good fifteen feet at the shoulder and had a large bison like
head. There were two small horns on its head that did not seem to serve any real
purpose. They were too small to really do any damage as their large head would
take the brunt of the impact. They did have six legs, all of which had large
flat feet. The fur went down to their knees and was various lengths. They had
large nostrils that snorted on a regular basis. Their eyelashes were long, like
a camel's and they had what looked like a large hump or bump right behind the
head. Like a bison, the bump was covered with more hair than the rest of the
body. There were two of these beasts pulling each train. The driver turned to
the Grey Ranger and said "Ever seen a Snort before?" He looked at him and said
"A snort?" The driver laughed and said "I don't know what their proper name is,
but everyone calls them snorts because they snort all the time. Don't get in
front of them or you may find yourself snorted on. And that ain't too pretty."
As they meet up with the caravan, the driver stops and gets out and hands two
bags to Tredd. "This one is your rations and the other is some weapons for the
trip. Good luck and hopefully we will see you in a week." He then motions for
them to get out and as soon as they, the wagon takes off. Tredd watches it
leave. He wishes he was on it, instead of in the middle of the plains in a wagon
train. He knows a storm is coming soon and he does not want to be stuck out here
when it hits.
As they stand there, a few men come walking over. "Hurry up,
we have to get moving." one of the men yells. Both the Grey Ranger and Tredd
start walking over. As they reach the men, the main one speaks up "I am Azrael
and I run this train. Now hurry up and get on board. We have to make tracks
before the storm comes. There is some shelter up ahead where we can hole up."
Azrael looks mostly human. He has two small horns on his head that stick out
like a demon. Jet black hair surrounds the horns and goes hangs down his back.
When he opens his mouth, they can see his sharp teeth. The Grey Ranger is
unfamiliar with his race. He is actually an altered human. He was part of a cult
that worshipped an ancient demon and had cosmetic surgery to resemble him. His
cult, while small, did cause quite a bit of trouble before they were taken down.
Most of them were sent here because of their viciousness. Not many of them
survived here on Plait as the rest of the prisoners hated them and would kill
them on site. But he was able to battle his way to a prominent position and has
done well for himself. And in his position, he has plenty of men protecting him.
As they board the caravan, Azrael yells out some orders to the men and within
seconds, the snorts are moving. He turns to the two of them and says "Just sit
back and relax. We shouldn't face any problems until after the storm. Right now,
every bandit is holing up for the storm. But once it passes, we will be a moving
target and that is when you will earn your keep." He then heads up to the top to
make sure the caravan is progressing at a steady pace. As he leaves, Tredd looks
at the Grey Ranger and says "Something tells me that the worst is coming and I
don't mean the storm." The Grey Ranger looks at him and says "They would not
send me if it wasn't bad." Tredd frowns at this as he knows things are not good.
They both then settle down and relax. It may be the last time they get a chance
to relax.
Plait the Prison Planet ©
2007 Tom Zjaba
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