The Backdrafts (Book 4)

[Akirapryde]

New Beginnings
Core World of Kalore
Galactic Republic

Shain looked up from his paper and looked at the man before him. It had been a long and insightful interview in that he learned nothing more then what he already knew from the application. Normally he would have simply ignored the application due to lack of experience but something told him to dig deeper. Shain might not be a prefect man, but he was a smart man. "Tell me David, why do you want to work here. You are clearly more intelligent than to work in this demanding field. Judging by your mannerism and behavior I would take you as having some military background. Yet you claim none in your application. Deserter maybe?” Shain said softly as David shook his head. “I know when a man is running from his past. And I can see it in your eyes that you are running. One thing I won't take is being lied to son. So tell me, why you want to work here."

Shain had his doubts about this David Cambro person. The application offered hardly any details or history about the man. While he did consider his doubts, he didn't think there was a danger from this man. There was something else behind those eye that Shain could see. There was a sense of nobility about him, but David offered more humility than anything else which Shain could respect. David was indeed running from something and it was clear for Shaim to sense. Watching David carefully, he could see that there was deep debate going on in David's mind.

David looked down for a moment as he thought of the best way to answer this question. There was just so much at stake right now. This job was the best opportunity that they had in along time. It was a chance for something better. But the truth was something that he could just tell. The echoes of his past came forward and the answer was clear. "Yes I am running. Not just me, it's both my wife and I. Our lives could very well depend on remaining hidden. Please don't ask further to what. I will not lie to, I promise. I need this job to support my wife and I. Because of this need I will be here everyday ready to work. There is no moving up for me. Staying in the shadows is where I must remain to keep us both safe. So I shall not be a problem employee. I will be hard working, dependable and most importantly quite." David explained.

Shain accepted David's answer about what they were running from. He knew better than to dig too deep. The man was truthfully to a limit, and that limit was fair enough for him. "You have never worked a day in your life let alone at a steal plant.” Shain said looking at David's clean hands. “What makes you think you can cut it."

David leaned forward on the desk as he unfolded his hands, "yes I know I have never endured hard labor before.” David said with a sense of determination in his eyes, “But I have no other choice but to do so now. I will learn and do what I must to provide for my wife. And because you are going to have faith in me now, you assure yourself that I will be loyal."

Shain leaned back in his chair and glanced down at the faded tattoo on his arm. It was so long ago that he was like David. Running from his own past hopping to make a change for the better. A series of stupid mistakes that could have ruined his life had someone had not given him the chance to turn it around. How much his life could have been different today had he not set in that very chair where David sits now. Shain brought is eyes back up to David. "The employees that work for me are like family. All I expect from everyone is to come to work on time, do your job while here and follow the safety rules. These are the same things that I hold myself to. We do regular drug testing and if you stray once, I will call the police on you in a heartbeat." David smiled and nodded as Shain stood up while offering his hand to David, "you start tomorrow morning five AM. Don't be late and expect long hard hours."

David up and took hold of Shain's waiting hand, "Thank, I won't let you down." The path before David was a new one, but he accepted it as just one more challenge. However unlike the others before him, this one meant more than anything else before.

Shain nodded as he let David's hand loss. On that note, David turned and left the small office. Shain lowered himself back in to his chair. He smiled as he watched the young man leave and shook his head in disappointment, "I hope you have that chance to turn yourself around before your past catches up with you son." He turned and looked out of his window which over looked the large factory. His father had started this plant from the ground up. Nearly twenty years ago, his own father set him down in this very office and did the same thing for him. It was something his father had always taught, to pass kindness forward. Up here in the low mountains, life and people were different. Not like those down in the cities. He nodded his head, “Pass it forward son” he recited the saying his father would say to him all the time. He reached over to his desk mounted comlink and activated it, "Janees, let Mao'em know I have hired that extra man he has been bitch'en about. Tell your brother that he starts tomorrow so stop bitch'en at me.”

The comlink crackled to live with a bit of laughter, "yes Mr. Husress."

***********************************

Mao'em walked through the loud and hot factory with a stack of envelopes in his hand. Thanks to increased sells and orders, work at the factory has been nearly nonstop for weeks now. He looked around at his men working hard to meet the next order. Working in a steal mill is one of the most demanding jobs on world, and Husress Steal is one of the very few that does not use any droids. It was the only major industry left in the small community. Nearly everyone worked or had a relative that worked at the mill. His eyes fell upon his newest man, David. Everyone called him Pretty Boy due to his good looks and city slicker mannerisms. It was a hell of a time to sign on board, little time to learn and far less room for mistakes. Many of men had washed out during times like this. But Pretty Boy pulled through and made it work for him. Mao'em had never seen anything like it before. He started to walk towards the group of men working the forge. Each were dressed in heat resistance suits with ear muffs to protect their hearing from the loud machinery. He knew better than to speak. He waved his hand to get David's attention then pointed to a side room. It was the end of the week and time for paychecks. For everyman, it was the best time of the work week. Thanks to all the overtime, Mao'em knew that the two local bars would be packed tonight. However he needed to have words with David personally.

He saw David nodding his understanding, Mao'em turned and headed for the room. It didn't take David long to follow his crew chief in and closed the door behind him. "Yes boss?" David asked while removing his thick silver gloves. He had ever bit a reason to be nervous about being called from his work like this. David didn't want to attract attention to himself so he kept a very low profile. Only talking or joining others when he was asked to. At first it worked out for him, but as time passed he was finding himself drawn in by those he worked with. For what every reason David couldn't come up with, they seemed to like him.

Mao'em leaned on the table that was in the center of the break room. "I heard your wife got hired on last week as a secretary."

David smiled with pride, "yes Sir."

"Look I am going to be frank with you. You are one of the best workers I have, which has surprised everyone. Maybe not the most knowledgeable, but in time that will change. I never seen anyone put so much effort in to doing a job well. There are some rumors going about that Mr. Poe'inl has been talking with you about joining their sales team." Mao'em couldn't believe he was even having this conversation. Four weeks ago, he would have personally taken the young pretty boy right over to Mr. Poe'inl's office. But now looking at the dirty faced hard worker, he couldn't think of letting him go. "Tell me the truth. Are you going to transfer?" The rumors gained credibility when David's wife Mikala was hired on. There had to be something in the works.

David looked down, "he offered me a position with his team and a promotion for my wife two days ago." As he explained he looked up to the man that took him under his wing and helped him learn all he could, "I told him no. This is where I want to be. Mikala needed something to do and it made sense for her to work here with me. The two, as far as I know had nothing to do with each other."

It was true, since David hired on, she had greeted him with lunch everyday and dinner on nights he worked late. It was a sad thing about her. She was crippled by an infection some time ago which gave her a sickly appearance. At first no one could stand being around her. There was just something off about her. Something that drove people away. But up here, things are different. Up here, one finds out why you don't like something rather then going on about feelings. Mikala was just a sad story but a surprisingly nice and kind woman. Mao'em was actually surprised she was hire knowing the owners love for beautiful women. Mikala might be a nice and kind woman, but as looks go, she scared those that didn't know her better. Which was why everyone figured David was transferring.

Mao'em nodded and accepted the man for his word. After all, in the thirty days he had worked with the man, he never knew David to lie. "I got your pay check. Heard you put a down payment on the old Brigum house out by the lake." He said as he pulled David's pay check and handed it over to him. Another thing he liked about David was he never turned down work no matter the shift or hours. David was someone you could count on.

David took the check and opened it with a smile across his dirty face. It was one of few times he ever earned his own keep. "Yeah, this check is going to seal the deal. We were able to move in a couple of days ago. I never imagined how good it would feel to own something that was truly mine." The pride and happiness was clearly written across his face. They had found the place while out walking by the lake and learned that it was up for sell. It was small, with a bit of land to work. But it was theirs and they earned it by their own hard work.

"I talked with some of the guys. They have put together some things. Tables, chairs, lamps and some odds and ends. Nothing grand but it will be a good start for you and your wife." Mao'em knew from a previous conversation that Mikala couldn't bare children so he made sure to stay off the subject. Getting David or Mikala to open up about anything was harder then getting ole Husress to come up with a pay raise. So when things like that come out, one remembers. He didn't have a problem with their secrecy, Mr. Husress had warned him that they probably had a troubled past that might come back to hunt them. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of trouble drove them up in to the mountains.

David looked up from the check with his eyes wide, "is this a ploy to get me to stay?" He joked as he thought of the offer. They had just finished moving in last night. It was not a hard move for the pair. A few plastic bags full of clothes, some plates, and a hot plate and a pan. There were other things that were harder to move but generally it was a pretty easy move. Never before had he worked so hard in his life and had so little. There were so much that he could have by didn't. So much that he had been used to but now didn't have. Never before had he realized what he had and didn't wished for more. Never before had he been more happy about his life.

"Nah, I knew in my heart you would leave. You are not some blood sucking bureaucrat. You're one of us" he joked back. When the rumor first started he looked in to it. Being the boss' brother-in-law helps in times like that. You always should know where a man stands. David was pretty easy to read. Triple the pay, with a bonus was hard to resist. But he could tell that David enjoyed working with the guys. Something about being around them made him happy. It was the damnest thing he saw but couldn't deny it. All he wanted to hear was David's answer from his own mouth. A person could read allot from hearing it from another's mouth. "Last season after I bought that land next to mine, I bought a new tractor. My old one works just fine for a small bit of land like yours. Why don't I bring it by this weekend and the guys and I will show you how to till your own soil."

David took a step back. All his life he had followers but never friends. He really didn't know what to say to such acts of kindness. For a moment he just looked back at his boss with his mouth opened like a fool. Mao'em laughed, "there is a price. Have your wife cook up some of that Tarisha again. It was asked for by guys. Some of them would like their wives to learn to cook the dish." When David hired on, they were living out of a small motel room just down the street from the mill. Everyone knew where they lived and how poor they were. When last minute overtime would come up, Mikala would show up with this large dish for the entire crew. It was something that won over the guys. Even when they didn't have anything they still gave to others. Mao'em knew they were good people.

David broke his mind lock with laughter, "better have those women show up early. It takes hours to prepare."

Mao'em smiled and stepped forward with his hand out, "I bring the beer and my old tractor." As the two men shook a loud whistle blew, "that's lunch, go let your wife know we two will have company this weekend."

David nodded as he put his check in his pocket and turned to walk out. He stopped just short of the door and turned back, "thank you. For everything."

Mao'em smiled, "I didn't do anything. It was all your hard work."

"I know, thank you" David said and left on that note.

**************************

With such a beautiful day one would think that any could draw a sense of happiness from the partly clouded skies and mild mountain day. However for one pair of locals today was anything to be enjoyed. Sitting under a small covered area near the parking lot, David frown at what he was being told by Mikala. While he was working in the forge, she was up in the offices catching news of what has been going on. And that word was beginning to slip out of the media of schools being closed across the world. While none of media outlets are talking about it, there was word from one of the other secretaries relative that the school in Ravendale had been bombed. The Government has put a lock down on key regions of the planet and worse yet, the newly formed Republic Ranger had been sighted operating a few hundred kilometers north of their small hometown. "They couldn't have found, could they?"

Mikala shook her head, "no way! The alchemy completely severs us from the force. As long as we don't use our powers they can't track us."

David looked at her with profound sadness. They had worked so hard to rebuild a simple life here. Here they had a real life, sure it was hard and didn't always work out but they always pulled through. More importantly, they had each other. "I didn't use mine, did you?"

Mikala shook her head as dread set over her face, "no" she answered and looked down at their lunches. Her mind drifted back to just last weekend as they had friends over. How the wives all laughed as David learned how to till the soil. She recalled watching him digging, covered in dirt and sweat. How she loved him completely. For the first time, they were so at peace and together. "I used the office computer and hacked my way in to the planetary network. The Rangers are here" the fear across her face was clear for anyone to read. She looked deep in to his eyes, “Daz is with them.”

David looked around almost fearful of just uttering his name would summon him, "What did we talk about. No hacking, we don't know if they will be able to track it.” he tried to undo any of the damage that had already been done. It didn't matter, if Daz was indeed here and he had no reason to believe he wasn't. All that they had worked for could be lost if they tripped up now. “Okay, listen. No more hacking. We will just act normal and be normal. The alchemy has worked this long, no reason to believe that it has failed us or will fail us. The Rangers aren't right here so they mustn't know we are here” he explained.

Mikala seemed to take comfort in that small fact. But her fears still held true in her heart. Daz was here and he was after them again. She closed her eyes and held fast to hope though. It was a large world with a very large population. Even if Daz was here, it would be very unlikely he would find them through the Force. She made sure of that. She took in a deep breath then let it out slowly, "as long as we don't tap the force, use our powers, or draw attention to ourselves there is no way they could find us.”

David smiled as he resigned himself to the idea of this was going to be their lives for now on. Living on the run was still very new to both of them. He figured that the Jedi hunters would be the first to find them. However a few weeks ago, he saw that show about the Republic's Most Wanted. He almost spit up his ale as his face appeared on the show. The Rangers were pulling all the stops in their hunt for him and Mikala. They even gave him a sinister nickname from his past, The Tiger Prince. Back then, it was a name to instill fear in those he faced. Now it was a name used to describe the Monster he used to be. And they told all the stories of what he did and even more of what he didn't do. For some reason, they insisted on making up even more carp about him. He had actually thought it was funny because he wondered if he had done enough to be a monster or did they have to make sure he was one. He shook his head, “we shouldn't have tried to lay routes. That was foolish of me. I should have known that we would have to run again.” He said looking down in sadness, “I just didn't think it would have been this soon.”

Before Mikala could reply, the air around them light up as if they were in the middle of a sun. All noise seemed to stop in that moment. Even before she realized what had happened, David leaped up and knocked her to the ground while he covered her body with his own. He buried his face in her clothes while covering her eyes with his jacket to protect her face from what he knew was coming. he noise returned in the shape of a loud thunderous roar. David could see Mikala screaming but the roar drowned out her voice even though she was only centimeters away from his face. The roar of the air was followed by winds that tossed vehicles in to the air and about as if they were toys. The ground shook for what seemed like a life time as the winds continued to shift and change ripping and tossing smaller buildings about. The light subsided as the wind shifted from blowing to sucking things back the way the winds came. David lifted his face and looked off in the distance to see a large glowing mushroom cloud rising.

Mikala lifted her head up and looked at what David was looking at. “My god Biggs, what is that?”

“A planet buster, somewhere near city center of Resolute” he explained as the mushroom cloud continued to raise and grow over the now ruined city. 'something wrong' he thought in a panic. Had it been a planet buster, they should have been killed as the blast could have easily reached their community up in the mountains. “Somethings not right” he said then added, “should have been much worse than that.”

Without warning, a loud siren started to wail at the mill. David looked to Mikala, “something is very wrong” he said leaping up to his feet and helping Mikala up to hers. The pair rushed through the debris heading towards the mill as workers were fleeing from it. All were in some manner of wounded or being carried by others. The entire area looked more like a war zone that the pair had become used to rather then the mountain community that they fell in love with. Even though the blast was nearly a two hundred kilometers away and was a weaken blast, the devastation up here was painful for them to see. David pointed, “Mao'em” as they watched their friend stumbling out of the mill with blood on his shirt.

David caught him as they rushed up, “are you okay?”

“The mill's fuel valves are stuck open. The mill will explode soon, you have to get out of here.” Mao'em said while coughing up blood.

Another worked rushing from the mill, “Mao'em!” he yelled over the sirens. “Snip's entire gang is still in the mill. Their trapped under the forge!”

Mao'em turned to the mill and watched vents along the top open up blasting extremely high pressure steam as a last ditch effort to protect itself from the doom that is coming. “There is nothing we can do for them. The temperatures inside will cook them alive in minutes.” he turned to David and Mikala, “you have to get the hell out of here before the mill blows!”

David turned the the mill. The choice was already made for him and he knew it. Those men had to be saved. If the mill blew up, hundreds more would be killed or suffer from the blast. “No!” he snapped as he turned to Mao'em, “Get everyone out here. I will get them out.” he said to a shocked Mao'em.

“Not without me!” protested Mikala.

David just smiled at her. He knew he needed her but wouldn't speak for her. Those days were over. “I need you to cool off the forge. IF we can seal the valves than we might be able to save the mill.”

Mao'em stepped forward with help from his coworker, “Are you crazy!”

“We can either argue and do nothing, or let us try.” David interrupted. He stepped closer to Mao'em, “Soon you will know our dark secret. All of you will. For keeping it from you, I am sorry. But I am not sorry for coming here. Please let us do what only we can.”

Mao'em looked in to David's eyes and saw that same determination that he had become accustom to. He nodded his head, “The Forge is the key. The lower the temperature will allow more control from the safeties. The more control the safeties will have over the fuel. Right now, its running away.” he hated to see his friend go in there, but he trusted David. Regardless of what ever secret there was, he trusted this man. “We will keep everyone clear.”

David nodded as he turned and ran for the mill. Mikala followed shortly behind as they ran toward the disaster. “You know, once we do this, we can't go back. They will surely know we are here.” It was clear that in this very moment of this act, they would be surrendering their lives here. It would be like a giant flare going up for all force users to see. She wasn't second guessing David's actions. But she knew she was going to miss her life as Mikala.

David nodded, “yeah I know. But we can't let them die. We have to stop this!” he knew what had to be done. In this moment, he understand why they were here now. They were meant to be here in this moment to do just this thing. It all seemed so clear to him now. As he let go of the shadowy protection of the alchemy and opened himself up to the force once more. He could feel through the force Mikala doing the same. They would need every bit of power they could muster if they were to save the workers and the mill. He couldn't let them down not after all that they had done for him. “We can do this Lysire” he encouraged her. 'We have to do this' he demanded of himself.

The pair rushed past workers who were still trying to flee the mill as the temperatures continued to raise out of control. The sounds of the sirens were soon over casts by the growing sounds of steam pipes bursting under the incredible pressures within the mill. Mao'em watched his friends rush in to the mill while others fled it. He turned to the other workers, “Okay guys! Lets get everyone clear of the area. David and Mikala will do what they have to do.” For some reason, Mao'em had faith in the pair. He didn't know why but he just knew that they could take care of it. He turned one last time to the mill hoping to see the pair but the plums of steam and gases made looking deeper in to the mill impossible. He turned and started to help workers to a save distance from the danger.