In Thade We Trust
Jun. 24th, 2010 08:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
veiledndarknessTitle: In Thade We Trust 16/?
Author: veiledndarkness
Warning: The usual disclaimer, not my property, just playing with the characters.
Takes place shortly after the end of Planet of the Apes (2001).
Summary: In the darkest parts of the human mind lies the ability to be needlessly cruel and inhuman, a baser nature that separates us from the animals.
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The three of them passed through the tunnels, darkened faces lit only by the fading gleam of the illumination sticks. Naira paused every so often, looking about, gathering his bearings before pressing onward. Finally, after hours it seemed, Naira stopped abruptly in one tunnel, his gaze lifted to the ceiling of it.
"Do you hear that?" he whispered.
"I hear you," Leo said, shivering more in the chilled air.
Naira looked past Ari, frowning. "Echoes, I can hear them. Thade, we have less time than I hoped for. Hurry, the grid is a few feet away." He grasped Leo's arm and shoved him forwards, their footsteps muted by the packed dirt floor.
Leo panted, shaking his head. "Naira, Doc, you gotta give me a sec. My legs don't work so well when I'm this damned cold."
"Is there a chance that the grids can be weakened or disarmed?" Ari looked to Naira, biting her lower lip. "A shock to his system could easily become a larger problem..."
"I'm aware," Naira muttered through clenched teeth. He tugged Leo around a sudden bend in the tunnel and exhaled. "Thank you..." He stared up at the metal grid in front of them, the thick metal chains woven tightly together, stretched from wall of the tunnel to the other, from top to bottom. Naira tilted his head. "There's...What in the world...The grid is off!"
Ari looked to the grid and then to Naira once more. "How can that be? Calder would never allow the grids to go down if he's looking for Leo."
Leo crossed his arms over his chest and approached the metal. He leaned in, straining his ears. "Nothin', no hums, no buzzing...Yeah, I'd say they're down. Who would be stupid enough to lower them in a lockdown?"
Naira's mouth quirked in a slight smile. "I'd like to say Riva, but I'm not so certain of that." He held out his illumination stick and touched it to the metal, holding his breath. When nothing happened, he sighed. "There's one less thing to worry about."
"How do we get through it?" Leo paced the length of the grid, looking for something, anything. "You got a key in that magic coat, Doc?"
Naira rolled his eyes. "Someday I'll become accustomed to that mouth of yours. I fear that day won't come soon enough." He leaned in closer to the grid. "The keypad should be...there!" He pointed to the far corner, tucked down and barely visible. "Well, they weren't trying to be helpful by placing it there."
"You really gotta ask why?"
Naira ignored him and crouched down low, typing in six separate numbers. The grid made a series of clicking sounds and began opening, the metal chain slats pulling back to one side, creating a narrow walkway. Leo darted through, shifting from foot to foot restlessly.
"One moment, Leo," he slid the grid back into place and set the code once more. "Now down the tunnel, in twenty feet or less, there should be a fence and past that will lead us beyond the grounds of the facility."
"And beyond that…you guys got an actually plan or are we wingin' this?"
Ari smiled then. "I have my information for where to go and I've secured a car to drive us out there."
X
Far above the tunnels, a throng of reporters surged up to the steps to the building, each shoving their microphones and recorders near the chimps that stood before the large doors. Calder gritted his teeth, grinding them silently. "This is a fiasco," he hissed under his breath. "When I get my hands on Riva..."
Senator Sandar glanced at him. "Everything is under control now, Calder. The human won't get far," he murmured, forcing a smile for the reporters. "He's hardly smart enough to escape the facility."
One reporter stepped up, dodging the large ape in front of Calder and Sandar. "Senator, do you have any comments on the report of the escaped human?" he shouted, his microphone thrust far forward.
Sandar darted another look to Calder. He cleared his throat and smiled at the reporter. "I fear the reports have been greatly exaggerated, my dear boy. The human is still within our containment and is not running amok as the press would have you believe," he fake chuckled.
"Then perhaps you can explain why several sources have come forward with claims of having seen the human before the alarms sounded?"
Sandar waved one arm, snorting. "All rubbish. The human poses no risk to any citizen, and is, I repeat, under our control."
Another reporter pushed up beside the first. "Senator Sandar, the leaks to the media contained details of brutal testings on humans, as well as the human from the landing on the Thade memorial. Some have said that the testing facility is nothing more than a sadistic science experiment. What are your thoughts on that?"
Calder stepped up beside Sandar, glaring daggers at the reporters. "Now see here," he snapped. "This facility is first and foremost a building of science. We are committed to furthering the advancements of ape kind and to do so, experiments are conducted. I believe your sources are nothing more than fear-mongering, liberal human sympathisers, protestors," he spat the word, one long finger jabbing at the air between them. "Any reports from them are bound to be filled with half-truths and exaggerations, shrieked to those who will listen!"
A gasp ran through the crowd. Sandar groaned and covered his head with one palm. "Calder...Silence yourself," he whispered harshly.
"Then you admit that unnecessary testing is occurring within the facility?"
"Don't you twist my words, you half-wit!" Calder reared back, enraged. "I won't listen to a word of this nonsense!"
Sandar pushed his fingers in front of the reporter. "This interview is over." He grasped Calder's arm and dragged him back to the doors. "So help me, Calder, if you pull a stunt like that again," he rambled.
"Let go of me!" Calder yanked his arm back. "Everyone knows where you stand on the issue of humans, you and that daughter of yours. You ought to be ashamed. It's simply disgraceful to be associated with human protestors, and your very own daughter leads them! A conflict of interest, wouldn't you say?"
Sandar paused and narrowed his eyes at Calder. "Careful steps, boy. You wouldn't want to lose future funding now, would you?"
"How dare you threaten me?" Calder drew himself up and hitched in a breath. "If I were of gambling persuasion, I would bet my last coin that your daughter has aided in the human's escape! Like the others who were 'liberated' from our cages in the past. If I find her before you, Sandar, then you'd best prepare for the worst. She has caused enough difficulty for this life and many others."
"Are you threatening Ari's life?" Sandar stood in front of him, eyes dark with anger. "If so, then collect your belongings."
Calder glared at him. "What?"
"Collect your belongings. Your services at this facility are no longer needed. I will see you fired by day's end, Calder, I promise you that much," Sandar nodded to one of the apes. "Take him to his quarters and remove him from the building immediately," he said over Calder's furious sputtering.
He faced the crowd, ignoring the shouts behind him as Calder was dragged into the building. "As of this afternoon, the human from the memorial was released from his containment," he said, picking each word carefully.
The reporters surged once more, questions tumbling over each other. Sandar held up one hand, asking for silence. When they settled, he looked to the late afternoon sun and smiled thinly. He had no doubt Ari had helped in Leo's escape.
"The human is within our facility and will be returned within moments, I assure you. He has not breached the building. The public is safe; you can rest easy on that. We will be performing a full investigation on the practices of the testing departments. Good afternoon," he nodded and turned away, entering the building.
"Ari," he sighed, the doors closing behind him. "Where did I go wrong...?”
X
They walked on, the course of direction slowly leading upwards. Leo shivered again. "Is it just me or is it getting lighter up ahead?"
"Yes, it is, we're moving uphill in the tunnels. Our exit is not far from here." Naira flicked his illumination stick. The light flickered on and off, fading to a dull white blue. "Ari, you're certain that we can leave these tunnels safely?"
She held up her illumination stick near them. "Do you doubt me still, Naira? I'm wounded."
"Ari..." Naira pinched the space between his eyes. "I haven't the strength to debate you right now."
"Ok lovebirds, enough bickering, huh?"
"We are not...I, that is," Naira protested, huffing, "Leo, really."
Leo smirked a bit. "Uh huh…”
Ari pushed between them impatiently. "My contact arranged everything as per my requests. We don't have time to discuss this, every minute that we wait; Calder will be that much closer to Leo. We need to get out of here and over to the Thade Memorial as fast as possible." She grasped Leo's arm and propelled him forwards.
"The memorial, you sure that's a wise thing?" Leo stumbled over the cold earthen floor, his toes numb. "I mean, it'll be covered with security...right?"
"Crawling with them, in fact."
"Perfect," Leo muttered.
XX
Author: veiledndarkness
Warning: The usual disclaimer, not my property, just playing with the characters.
Takes place shortly after the end of Planet of the Apes (2001).
Summary: In the darkest parts of the human mind lies the ability to be needlessly cruel and inhuman, a baser nature that separates us from the animals.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
XX
The three of them passed through the tunnels, darkened faces lit only by the fading gleam of the illumination sticks. Naira paused every so often, looking about, gathering his bearings before pressing onward. Finally, after hours it seemed, Naira stopped abruptly in one tunnel, his gaze lifted to the ceiling of it.
"Do you hear that?" he whispered.
"I hear you," Leo said, shivering more in the chilled air.
Naira looked past Ari, frowning. "Echoes, I can hear them. Thade, we have less time than I hoped for. Hurry, the grid is a few feet away." He grasped Leo's arm and shoved him forwards, their footsteps muted by the packed dirt floor.
Leo panted, shaking his head. "Naira, Doc, you gotta give me a sec. My legs don't work so well when I'm this damned cold."
"Is there a chance that the grids can be weakened or disarmed?" Ari looked to Naira, biting her lower lip. "A shock to his system could easily become a larger problem..."
"I'm aware," Naira muttered through clenched teeth. He tugged Leo around a sudden bend in the tunnel and exhaled. "Thank you..." He stared up at the metal grid in front of them, the thick metal chains woven tightly together, stretched from wall of the tunnel to the other, from top to bottom. Naira tilted his head. "There's...What in the world...The grid is off!"
Ari looked to the grid and then to Naira once more. "How can that be? Calder would never allow the grids to go down if he's looking for Leo."
Leo crossed his arms over his chest and approached the metal. He leaned in, straining his ears. "Nothin', no hums, no buzzing...Yeah, I'd say they're down. Who would be stupid enough to lower them in a lockdown?"
Naira's mouth quirked in a slight smile. "I'd like to say Riva, but I'm not so certain of that." He held out his illumination stick and touched it to the metal, holding his breath. When nothing happened, he sighed. "There's one less thing to worry about."
"How do we get through it?" Leo paced the length of the grid, looking for something, anything. "You got a key in that magic coat, Doc?"
Naira rolled his eyes. "Someday I'll become accustomed to that mouth of yours. I fear that day won't come soon enough." He leaned in closer to the grid. "The keypad should be...there!" He pointed to the far corner, tucked down and barely visible. "Well, they weren't trying to be helpful by placing it there."
"You really gotta ask why?"
Naira ignored him and crouched down low, typing in six separate numbers. The grid made a series of clicking sounds and began opening, the metal chain slats pulling back to one side, creating a narrow walkway. Leo darted through, shifting from foot to foot restlessly.
"One moment, Leo," he slid the grid back into place and set the code once more. "Now down the tunnel, in twenty feet or less, there should be a fence and past that will lead us beyond the grounds of the facility."
"And beyond that…you guys got an actually plan or are we wingin' this?"
Ari smiled then. "I have my information for where to go and I've secured a car to drive us out there."
X
Far above the tunnels, a throng of reporters surged up to the steps to the building, each shoving their microphones and recorders near the chimps that stood before the large doors. Calder gritted his teeth, grinding them silently. "This is a fiasco," he hissed under his breath. "When I get my hands on Riva..."
Senator Sandar glanced at him. "Everything is under control now, Calder. The human won't get far," he murmured, forcing a smile for the reporters. "He's hardly smart enough to escape the facility."
One reporter stepped up, dodging the large ape in front of Calder and Sandar. "Senator, do you have any comments on the report of the escaped human?" he shouted, his microphone thrust far forward.
Sandar darted another look to Calder. He cleared his throat and smiled at the reporter. "I fear the reports have been greatly exaggerated, my dear boy. The human is still within our containment and is not running amok as the press would have you believe," he fake chuckled.
"Then perhaps you can explain why several sources have come forward with claims of having seen the human before the alarms sounded?"
Sandar waved one arm, snorting. "All rubbish. The human poses no risk to any citizen, and is, I repeat, under our control."
Another reporter pushed up beside the first. "Senator Sandar, the leaks to the media contained details of brutal testings on humans, as well as the human from the landing on the Thade memorial. Some have said that the testing facility is nothing more than a sadistic science experiment. What are your thoughts on that?"
Calder stepped up beside Sandar, glaring daggers at the reporters. "Now see here," he snapped. "This facility is first and foremost a building of science. We are committed to furthering the advancements of ape kind and to do so, experiments are conducted. I believe your sources are nothing more than fear-mongering, liberal human sympathisers, protestors," he spat the word, one long finger jabbing at the air between them. "Any reports from them are bound to be filled with half-truths and exaggerations, shrieked to those who will listen!"
A gasp ran through the crowd. Sandar groaned and covered his head with one palm. "Calder...Silence yourself," he whispered harshly.
"Then you admit that unnecessary testing is occurring within the facility?"
"Don't you twist my words, you half-wit!" Calder reared back, enraged. "I won't listen to a word of this nonsense!"
Sandar pushed his fingers in front of the reporter. "This interview is over." He grasped Calder's arm and dragged him back to the doors. "So help me, Calder, if you pull a stunt like that again," he rambled.
"Let go of me!" Calder yanked his arm back. "Everyone knows where you stand on the issue of humans, you and that daughter of yours. You ought to be ashamed. It's simply disgraceful to be associated with human protestors, and your very own daughter leads them! A conflict of interest, wouldn't you say?"
Sandar paused and narrowed his eyes at Calder. "Careful steps, boy. You wouldn't want to lose future funding now, would you?"
"How dare you threaten me?" Calder drew himself up and hitched in a breath. "If I were of gambling persuasion, I would bet my last coin that your daughter has aided in the human's escape! Like the others who were 'liberated' from our cages in the past. If I find her before you, Sandar, then you'd best prepare for the worst. She has caused enough difficulty for this life and many others."
"Are you threatening Ari's life?" Sandar stood in front of him, eyes dark with anger. "If so, then collect your belongings."
Calder glared at him. "What?"
"Collect your belongings. Your services at this facility are no longer needed. I will see you fired by day's end, Calder, I promise you that much," Sandar nodded to one of the apes. "Take him to his quarters and remove him from the building immediately," he said over Calder's furious sputtering.
He faced the crowd, ignoring the shouts behind him as Calder was dragged into the building. "As of this afternoon, the human from the memorial was released from his containment," he said, picking each word carefully.
The reporters surged once more, questions tumbling over each other. Sandar held up one hand, asking for silence. When they settled, he looked to the late afternoon sun and smiled thinly. He had no doubt Ari had helped in Leo's escape.
"The human is within our facility and will be returned within moments, I assure you. He has not breached the building. The public is safe; you can rest easy on that. We will be performing a full investigation on the practices of the testing departments. Good afternoon," he nodded and turned away, entering the building.
"Ari," he sighed, the doors closing behind him. "Where did I go wrong...?”
X
They walked on, the course of direction slowly leading upwards. Leo shivered again. "Is it just me or is it getting lighter up ahead?"
"Yes, it is, we're moving uphill in the tunnels. Our exit is not far from here." Naira flicked his illumination stick. The light flickered on and off, fading to a dull white blue. "Ari, you're certain that we can leave these tunnels safely?"
She held up her illumination stick near them. "Do you doubt me still, Naira? I'm wounded."
"Ari..." Naira pinched the space between his eyes. "I haven't the strength to debate you right now."
"Ok lovebirds, enough bickering, huh?"
"We are not...I, that is," Naira protested, huffing, "Leo, really."
Leo smirked a bit. "Uh huh…”
Ari pushed between them impatiently. "My contact arranged everything as per my requests. We don't have time to discuss this, every minute that we wait; Calder will be that much closer to Leo. We need to get out of here and over to the Thade Memorial as fast as possible." She grasped Leo's arm and propelled him forwards.
"The memorial, you sure that's a wise thing?" Leo stumbled over the cold earthen floor, his toes numb. "I mean, it'll be covered with security...right?"
"Crawling with them, in fact."
"Perfect," Leo muttered.
XX
