Crusaders
(You could see in the distance a monolithic compound, with a thick steel cable rising from it into the clouds. Past the space elevator and sandy hills, a train sped through the light of early morning. On the second last car, a man in dark clothing sat in the doorway, legs propped up on the frame as he dozed.
Above him hung the massive artificial ring encircling the planet, "The Archway". The man sleeping on the train, Badger, was better known as Overlook, a disembodied voice that controlled satellites, deflected asteroids and looked out for everyone on the surface below. He rarely left The Archway, trusting his own face as his mask.
He came down for supplies, not friends.
Badger seemed to wake up instantly once they reached the station, leaping off before any of the conductors even noticed him. Disappearing into the buzz of the city's crowd, it was no time at all before he was filling his small pack. It wasn't much, but then again, there wasn't much in his coin-purse either.
Badger noticed the kids, as usual, begging at stalls or pocketing items when the vendors weren't looking. One caught his eye in particular, an unusually old boyl with spider eyes. He looked like he'd gone through heck, spattered in mud and wearing rags. Lived in heck, actually.
Something about him grabbed Badger's attention. Maybe it was the look in his eyes, the five he had left. Badger could put off his return to the Archway for a night, there was something here to be done on the ground.
Badger managed to track the boy to a tavern, where he had an understanding with the owner, washing dishes in exchange for leftovers. Badger took a table in the corner and promptly fell asleep. Watching a planet's worth of satellites by yourself was hard work.
He woke to the feeling of being doused in cold liquid. A collection of hooligans laughed as he sputtered and fell out of the chair)
“Har! Teach em to miss all ter fun”
“What’s a matter, can’t take yer drink?”
“Freak!”
(Badger climbed back to his feet. One of the thugs kicked his legs out from under him and he went crashing back down)
“Lookit boys, can’t even keep his feet”
“Like putting babies in a barrel”
“That’s not how that goes”
(Badger took a second to catch his breath, only to have another glass poured on him, and get pushed over again.
He decided to only get on his knees, picking up his fallen hat)
“You tired? Not getting up?”
Badger: “Are you going to push me over again?”
“... Yeah. Probably”
Badger: “Then I'm not getting back up”
“Why you-!”
(The owner came running over, leading a squad of bouncers. The hooligans were ushered out, with much complaining, jeering and spilled drinks)
Owner: “Hey mister, you alright?”
Badger: “Yeah. I'm fine”
(He accepted the offered hand up)
Badger: “I seem to have made a target of myself”
Bartender: “Yeah, sorry about that. Those creeps run this town, we can only kick them out of here because one of their daddies owns the place”
Badger: “My sympathies. I'll pay my tab and be on my way”
Bartender: “Better use the backdoor, they may be waiting to play another “game” with you”
(Badger was soon in the dark streets of the city, the boy almost forgotten. Before he heard shouting in the distance, his trained ears quickly recognizing one of the goon's voices from before. He took to the rooftops and watched as the gang chased the spider-eyed boy.
Badger pulled a sleeve up, to give him access to his gauntlet. From there, he could access the Archway's drones, hopefully get one down in time to save him and the boy he was just about to jump in and die saving. Or, Badger realized, the boy could give them the slip down a service hatch.
No wonder he had survived so long. The goons could never catch him on his own turf. Badger, and his orbital mapping software, on the other hand...
The boy nearly jumped him, when he peered out of his pipe to find Badger standing there. Overlook managed to calm him down though, in big part thanks to the bribe of a very large apple)
Badger: "Got a name?"
"Isaac"
Badger: "You gave those roughnecks a good chase"
Isaac: "They're not bad. Give me food sometime"
Badger: "Did they take out your eyes?"
Isaac: "One. Accident. Give me blanket to say sorry"
Badger: "Why are you on the streets, at your age?"
Isaac: "No one hire. Can't speak well"
Badger: "Shouldn't you be in a home then? A school?"
(Isaac pulled a face. That feeling Badger had earlier, it was back. It took a lot of coxing, and another apple, but Badger had the full story. And something deep in his heart was burning)
Isaac: "Left, out, gone. Walls don't make safe"
Badger: "No. I guess... I guess not. Hey kid, can I ask your help?"
(Isaac gave him a discerning stare)
Isaac: "What?"
Badger: "I make walls safe"
(The Mordosc Shelter sat in the middle of the city, a home for the abandoned children left on the streets. The crippled, the mentally abused, the lost, or just everyone who had nowhere else. There were guards, and walls, but the city was so big and there were so many. It was far more like a prison than a orphanage: But there were still night-time visitors.
Either the guards couldn't stop them, or didn't care. There was screams and shouts the other kids couldn't forget. Something people like Isaac learned young was that it was a cold hard world and you had no one to look to but yourself. And luck. And sometimes, a miracle.
The darkness was thrown back, the silence ruptured. A blue halberd roared to life and woke all the children, but bringing the "visitors" to a halt.
Badger's eyes gleamed almost as bright as his blade and the invaders, seeing the death in them, ran.
It was a commotion that woke people for miles around. Shouts, alarms, flashing lights and a hum that seemed to come from the sky. People everywhere threw on clothes and ran out their doors or to their windows, watching the chase in the streets. A single figure in black with a weapon of blue fire marching after half a dozen invaders, never losing them, despite his slow pace.
The commotion ended, with the invaders tripping over themselves and sprawling in the mud. Badger stood above them, silencing his blade as he stared at his prey. Then suddenly turning his attention to the gathering crowd of civilians)
"Look! Come on, LOOK! DO YOU KNOW WHO THESE MEN ARE? WHAT THEY DO?"
(Everyone stepped back at the force of his voice, unexpected from the small man's frame, unknowingly amplified by the Archway's speakers)
"You do. All of you. It wasn't hard for me to find out, what's going on in the dark. What can be ignored, because everyone else is, because they're only street rats, after all. This is just the way it is"
(Badger found one of the goons in the crowd and met his eyes)
"I could kill them"
(Laser dots, green and red, suddenly appeared on the invaders, the ground around them. No one could guess where they came from, even though the Archway loomed above their heads. This gave the invaders pause, who had overcome their surprise and realized they were all bigger than their pursuer)
"Without breathing hard, without loosing any sleep. Not one of you, even if you cared, could lift a finger to stop me. Fire and brimstone rain from above and I walk out of a ghost town. But what good does that do? WHAT GOOD?"
(Everyone jumped back again. Badger had stopped caring that the Archway's weapons could not actually be aimed at the surface, designed for asteroid and invasion repellent)
"One stranger walks in, offs the bad guys, and the day is saved, right? Never mind all the "decent" and "honest" folk who let it happen in the first place, the problem is solved. I hold you, each and every one of you, responsible for this.
For every single child, in this city, who can't sleep at night. Who jumps at a shadow because they don't know if it's THEM or not. For the innocent blood that cries out for justice. Justice... that isn't mine to take"
(Badger gave a sigh and his imposing shadow seemed to shrink)
"I come into your city, because I'm bigger and stronger, and take what I want. Not that different, is it? I was given a sacred duty, to this world, to protect it's people. What those people do to each other... maybe that's none of my business"
(The laser dots switched off)
"I believe in justice. I believe that evil can only triumph if good men do nothing. I can't save a city. I can save Isaac though. None of you know him of course, though any of you may have seen him, eating garbage in the ditch to survive. Thank goodness, he was only maimed and nearly killed, he's escaped the horrors so many others haven't. And he's where NONE of you can hurt him now.
I'm sorry to wake you all. I know life is much easier when you don't see what happens in the dark. So much easier..."
(Badger turned and disappeared into the shadows. The invaders breathed a sigh of relief. They could slip away into the crowd now, make sure this outsider couldn't find them again. Only, the crowd didn't seem to be leaving. Everyone stood where they were, like they had been planted. Stony faces, looking at one another.
Then one bent over and picked up a rock. Another followed suit, than another and another.
A ways away, Badger marched throw the streets, deep in thought, hand on his hilt. Ignoring the commotion behind him)
"We are not a Government. We are not a Army. We are not one Creed, not one Race, We are not one Goal, We are not one People. We are not united.
Save by one thing, A shared belief, That when the Darkness pushes you down, There should always be someone there.
To push Back."
(In a place like the City, half a dozen more bodies dumped by the river didn't arouse suspicion. Someone must have walked in on a deal they shouldn't have, or else two nobles had had a disagreement. The soldiers never asked questions.
That night, the entire city were Crusaders. And Moldosc Shelter slept soundly.
Miles above the City, in the closest reaches of space, a new pair of eyes looked down on the beautiful green globe. Badger watched, continent, as his new charge took in the full awe of the world he had been born on. And the fact he had been given as much food as he could eat.
Right now, he snacked on a bag of nuts. Badger noticed a distinct tint to the boy's fingers, a sign of Chalk use. Something to be dealt with later, he decided)
Badger: "Great view, huh?"
Isaac: "Better than Bridges"
(Isaac suddenly stopped eating and gave Badger a deeply concerned look)
Isaac: "Sister?"
Badger: "I remember. Don't worry, we'll find her"
(Isaac nodded, continent, and went back to his snack. Badger moved over and sat next to him)
Badger: "I'm going to find you a proper place to stay. A family. You understand?"
Isaac: "No good. I look. None want"
Badger: "I know kid, but trust me. I'll find you a home and then find your sister. I can't see everything, even from up here. I can't fix everything. But as sure as the Stars shine, I'm going to help YOU. I promise"
Above him hung the massive artificial ring encircling the planet, "The Archway". The man sleeping on the train, Badger, was better known as Overlook, a disembodied voice that controlled satellites, deflected asteroids and looked out for everyone on the surface below. He rarely left The Archway, trusting his own face as his mask.
He came down for supplies, not friends.
Badger seemed to wake up instantly once they reached the station, leaping off before any of the conductors even noticed him. Disappearing into the buzz of the city's crowd, it was no time at all before he was filling his small pack. It wasn't much, but then again, there wasn't much in his coin-purse either.
Badger noticed the kids, as usual, begging at stalls or pocketing items when the vendors weren't looking. One caught his eye in particular, an unusually old boyl with spider eyes. He looked like he'd gone through heck, spattered in mud and wearing rags. Lived in heck, actually.
Something about him grabbed Badger's attention. Maybe it was the look in his eyes, the five he had left. Badger could put off his return to the Archway for a night, there was something here to be done on the ground.
Badger managed to track the boy to a tavern, where he had an understanding with the owner, washing dishes in exchange for leftovers. Badger took a table in the corner and promptly fell asleep. Watching a planet's worth of satellites by yourself was hard work.
He woke to the feeling of being doused in cold liquid. A collection of hooligans laughed as he sputtered and fell out of the chair)
“Har! Teach em to miss all ter fun”
“What’s a matter, can’t take yer drink?”
“Freak!”
(Badger climbed back to his feet. One of the thugs kicked his legs out from under him and he went crashing back down)
“Lookit boys, can’t even keep his feet”
“Like putting babies in a barrel”
“That’s not how that goes”
(Badger took a second to catch his breath, only to have another glass poured on him, and get pushed over again.
He decided to only get on his knees, picking up his fallen hat)
“You tired? Not getting up?”
Badger: “Are you going to push me over again?”
“... Yeah. Probably”
Badger: “Then I'm not getting back up”
“Why you-!”
(The owner came running over, leading a squad of bouncers. The hooligans were ushered out, with much complaining, jeering and spilled drinks)
Owner: “Hey mister, you alright?”
Badger: “Yeah. I'm fine”
(He accepted the offered hand up)
Badger: “I seem to have made a target of myself”
Bartender: “Yeah, sorry about that. Those creeps run this town, we can only kick them out of here because one of their daddies owns the place”
Badger: “My sympathies. I'll pay my tab and be on my way”
Bartender: “Better use the backdoor, they may be waiting to play another “game” with you”
(Badger was soon in the dark streets of the city, the boy almost forgotten. Before he heard shouting in the distance, his trained ears quickly recognizing one of the goon's voices from before. He took to the rooftops and watched as the gang chased the spider-eyed boy.
Badger pulled a sleeve up, to give him access to his gauntlet. From there, he could access the Archway's drones, hopefully get one down in time to save him and the boy he was just about to jump in and die saving. Or, Badger realized, the boy could give them the slip down a service hatch.
No wonder he had survived so long. The goons could never catch him on his own turf. Badger, and his orbital mapping software, on the other hand...
The boy nearly jumped him, when he peered out of his pipe to find Badger standing there. Overlook managed to calm him down though, in big part thanks to the bribe of a very large apple)
Badger: "Got a name?"
"Isaac"
Badger: "You gave those roughnecks a good chase"
Isaac: "They're not bad. Give me food sometime"
Badger: "Did they take out your eyes?"
Isaac: "One. Accident. Give me blanket to say sorry"
Badger: "Why are you on the streets, at your age?"
Isaac: "No one hire. Can't speak well"
Badger: "Shouldn't you be in a home then? A school?"
(Isaac pulled a face. That feeling Badger had earlier, it was back. It took a lot of coxing, and another apple, but Badger had the full story. And something deep in his heart was burning)
Isaac: "Left, out, gone. Walls don't make safe"
Badger: "No. I guess... I guess not. Hey kid, can I ask your help?"
(Isaac gave him a discerning stare)
Isaac: "What?"
Badger: "I make walls safe"
(The Mordosc Shelter sat in the middle of the city, a home for the abandoned children left on the streets. The crippled, the mentally abused, the lost, or just everyone who had nowhere else. There were guards, and walls, but the city was so big and there were so many. It was far more like a prison than a orphanage: But there were still night-time visitors.
Either the guards couldn't stop them, or didn't care. There was screams and shouts the other kids couldn't forget. Something people like Isaac learned young was that it was a cold hard world and you had no one to look to but yourself. And luck. And sometimes, a miracle.
The darkness was thrown back, the silence ruptured. A blue halberd roared to life and woke all the children, but bringing the "visitors" to a halt.
Badger's eyes gleamed almost as bright as his blade and the invaders, seeing the death in them, ran.
It was a commotion that woke people for miles around. Shouts, alarms, flashing lights and a hum that seemed to come from the sky. People everywhere threw on clothes and ran out their doors or to their windows, watching the chase in the streets. A single figure in black with a weapon of blue fire marching after half a dozen invaders, never losing them, despite his slow pace.
The commotion ended, with the invaders tripping over themselves and sprawling in the mud. Badger stood above them, silencing his blade as he stared at his prey. Then suddenly turning his attention to the gathering crowd of civilians)
"Look! Come on, LOOK! DO YOU KNOW WHO THESE MEN ARE? WHAT THEY DO?"
(Everyone stepped back at the force of his voice, unexpected from the small man's frame, unknowingly amplified by the Archway's speakers)
"You do. All of you. It wasn't hard for me to find out, what's going on in the dark. What can be ignored, because everyone else is, because they're only street rats, after all. This is just the way it is"
(Badger found one of the goons in the crowd and met his eyes)
"I could kill them"
(Laser dots, green and red, suddenly appeared on the invaders, the ground around them. No one could guess where they came from, even though the Archway loomed above their heads. This gave the invaders pause, who had overcome their surprise and realized they were all bigger than their pursuer)
"Without breathing hard, without loosing any sleep. Not one of you, even if you cared, could lift a finger to stop me. Fire and brimstone rain from above and I walk out of a ghost town. But what good does that do? WHAT GOOD?"
(Everyone jumped back again. Badger had stopped caring that the Archway's weapons could not actually be aimed at the surface, designed for asteroid and invasion repellent)
"One stranger walks in, offs the bad guys, and the day is saved, right? Never mind all the "decent" and "honest" folk who let it happen in the first place, the problem is solved. I hold you, each and every one of you, responsible for this.
For every single child, in this city, who can't sleep at night. Who jumps at a shadow because they don't know if it's THEM or not. For the innocent blood that cries out for justice. Justice... that isn't mine to take"
(Badger gave a sigh and his imposing shadow seemed to shrink)
"I come into your city, because I'm bigger and stronger, and take what I want. Not that different, is it? I was given a sacred duty, to this world, to protect it's people. What those people do to each other... maybe that's none of my business"
(The laser dots switched off)
"I believe in justice. I believe that evil can only triumph if good men do nothing. I can't save a city. I can save Isaac though. None of you know him of course, though any of you may have seen him, eating garbage in the ditch to survive. Thank goodness, he was only maimed and nearly killed, he's escaped the horrors so many others haven't. And he's where NONE of you can hurt him now.
I'm sorry to wake you all. I know life is much easier when you don't see what happens in the dark. So much easier..."
(Badger turned and disappeared into the shadows. The invaders breathed a sigh of relief. They could slip away into the crowd now, make sure this outsider couldn't find them again. Only, the crowd didn't seem to be leaving. Everyone stood where they were, like they had been planted. Stony faces, looking at one another.
Then one bent over and picked up a rock. Another followed suit, than another and another.
A ways away, Badger marched throw the streets, deep in thought, hand on his hilt. Ignoring the commotion behind him)
"We are not a Government. We are not a Army. We are not one Creed, not one Race, We are not one Goal, We are not one People. We are not united.
Save by one thing, A shared belief, That when the Darkness pushes you down, There should always be someone there.
To push Back."
(In a place like the City, half a dozen more bodies dumped by the river didn't arouse suspicion. Someone must have walked in on a deal they shouldn't have, or else two nobles had had a disagreement. The soldiers never asked questions.
That night, the entire city were Crusaders. And Moldosc Shelter slept soundly.
Miles above the City, in the closest reaches of space, a new pair of eyes looked down on the beautiful green globe. Badger watched, continent, as his new charge took in the full awe of the world he had been born on. And the fact he had been given as much food as he could eat.
Right now, he snacked on a bag of nuts. Badger noticed a distinct tint to the boy's fingers, a sign of Chalk use. Something to be dealt with later, he decided)
Badger: "Great view, huh?"
Isaac: "Better than Bridges"
(Isaac suddenly stopped eating and gave Badger a deeply concerned look)
Isaac: "Sister?"
Badger: "I remember. Don't worry, we'll find her"
(Isaac nodded, continent, and went back to his snack. Badger moved over and sat next to him)
Badger: "I'm going to find you a proper place to stay. A family. You understand?"
Isaac: "No good. I look. None want"
Badger: "I know kid, but trust me. I'll find you a home and then find your sister. I can't see everything, even from up here. I can't fix everything. But as sure as the Stars shine, I'm going to help YOU. I promise"
"Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care"
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