Enemies and Allies

by Daniel Peyton

  Thunderquake sneered at Red Fury and stated, “I bet we're being investigated because they just don’t like us.”

  Red Fury sneered right back. “If you two wouldn’t get yourselves in trouble all the time, then we might like you better.”

  The truth was that Green Scream often encouraged his friends to do and say things that weren’t kosher with the UCH staff. This led to his little entourage getting detention a lot more than most students. But, they consoled themselves with the notion that it was just meanness from the staff, not their fault.

  X-Eyes watched as Green Scream headed around the room and finished right near the corner where there was a loose panel on the wall. Behind that panel was the safe place for all the contraband that this little group of friends obtained against the station’s rules. There was nothing highly illegal in there, just things like naughty magazines and booze. X-Eyes became nervous at how long his friend was standing there. Surely he wouldn’t rat them out.

  When Red Fury turned to get a closer scan near another part of the room, X-Eyes hurried over to see what his friend was doing. “Hey, Green, what’s up?”

  Green Scream pulled the panel aside. “Did you know about this?” He showed his buddy the shock collar sitting on top of everything else in the panel.

  X-Eyes just about lost his teeth. “Oh my God, what's that doing in there?!”

  “I don’t know, but this looks pretty bad.” Green Scream reached in and picked up the collar, but didn’t announce its presence yet.

  “Hey, get back in line! What are you two doing?” Red Fury had just found the boys by the wall.

  X-Eyes desperately whispered, “Don’t tell him. Just put it back, we can figure this out later.”

  To his dismay Green Scream stood up and revealed what he found. “It’s another one. I guess you were right about them.”

  X-Eyes jumped back from his buddy and pled, “That's not mine! I have nothing to do with this!”

  Red Fury came over and took the collar. “This looks like one of ’em, but this one looks newer.” He scanned it with his device. “Yup, it’s one of ’em. You boys will have to come with us to the holding cells.”

  Thunderquake panicked and yelled, “I'M INNOCENT!” He slapped his hands together and a rumbling shockwave shook the station and knocked Green Scream and X-Eyes over. Red Fury was pushed back but managed to hold his footing.

  The enraged instructor jumped at the boy and smacked him right in the jaw, sending the kid down quickly. With one blow Thunderquake was out.

  Red Fury carried Thunderquake out while Green Scream slapped the cuffs on his friend.

  X-Eyes muttered, “We didn’t do it.”

  Green Scream shook his head. “Don’t tell me, tell the general. Now go, before Red Fury knocks you out as well.”

  Chapter 5: The Enemy Moves

  Bark’s Journal: Day 8. Well, classes have been canceled, training has been canceled, and the station is on a high level lockdown. More than one student has been taken into custody and put in a holding cell until further notice. I'm worried sick about Snow. I don’t know if she's one of the students that have been put into a holding cell or not. The thought of her sitting there scared and alone makes me want to burst out of this room and run to her side. On the other hand, a part of me wants to get out of here, find the real culprit, and teach him the meaning of pain.

  Since I'm spending all my time in this room, I decided that I should be practicing some of my katas and mental exercises that Toshi Sensei has taught me. Some of my instructors sent me assignments to work on while I wait, but I finished those hours ago. Boy, am I glad I have my martial training to keep me busy.

  Bark and his roommate Richard were spending a lot more time together now that they had nowhere else to go. Fortunately, Rich and Bark get along pretty well.

  Rich came to the UCH not long before Bark. He was a cook for a very fancy restaurant in Israel before he discovered his powers. Rich had the ability to shoot tiny poison darts from the back of his mouth. With some careful training, he has learned how to control the venom so that it can either make you sleepy, make you ill, or kill you. If he were a villain, he could be a very dangerous person. But, he was a little on the lazy side and a genuinely nice guy.

  “Hey, Rich, your instructors sent another pile of work for you.” Bark held up a computer tablet with fifteen message windows waiting to be opened.

  Rich, who sat on the top bunk with his feet dangling over the side, took the tablet. “Don’t those workaholics know this is my vacation time?”

  Bark shook his head. “This isn’t a vacation. This is lockdown. Trust me, if this were a vacation, I would be spending it with Snow somewhere far from here.”

  Rich laughed slyly. “Yeah, if I had a babe like Snow, I wouldn’t need these VR glasses.” He held up a pair of virtual reality glasses he used to escape boredom.

  Bark’s smile faded just a little. “It is nice. I just wish she were here and not…well, I hope she isn’t in the holding cells.”

  Rich reached down and rubbed Bark’s head. “It’ll be alright. I'm sure she's innocent and this'll be cleared up in no time.”

  Bark wasn’t overly fond of being petted like a dog, but he allowed Rich since he knew it was not meant as an insult. “I hope so. I'm sick and tired of just sitting around wondering.”

  “Well, if you want to escape the dull inside of this tiny closet they call a dorm room, you can borrow my VR glasses. They only show vistas from earth, but it is a great distraction.”

  “Thanks, but no,” Bark said, shaking his head. I can practice my kata and catch up on homework when it comes through.”

  Rich laid back and slid on the shades. “Your loss. I'm going to ignore that dull homework and relax on Waikiki beach. Hey, could you hand me my drink?” He flopped his arm over the edge of the bunk bed.

  Bark picked up a replicated glass of iced tea, with a little umbrella sticking out. They couldn’t have any hard drinks in the student quarters, but Rich was a master at pretending. Rich sipped his tea and sighed heavily at the view of the ocean.

  Crouching down, Bark got into the first stance of the most basic kata he learned from Toshi. He would much rather escape the boredom and worry through practice and training. Smoothly transitioning to another form, Bark did a condensed forward flip that came an eighth of an inch of hitting the ceiling. He landed on his hands and held this pose to focus on his upper body muscles.

  Just then, the little computer screen on the lone desk in the room beeped. Bark knew that Rich would not answer the message, so he dismounted and went over to check the incoming call. It was not a call, but another letter. Bark assumed it was from a teacher. When he turned it on, he barked once and hit his fist on the desk so hard that the computer screen flickered.

  Rich was startled and quickly removed his glasses. “What?! What happened?!”

  Bark growled while his voice box read, “To the furball: A picture of the puppy toy.” It was from Green Scream, who had sent him a picture of Snow sitting in a small holding cell on the station. She looked miserable and very lonely.

  Again Bark hit the desk with his fist. Oh, how he wanted to break that jerk’s neck.

  ***

  Dr. Josiah Stone sat at his desk checking some data and examining some of the evidence he was sent. All of the high level instructors had been put onto the investigation.

  Green Scream came in the door to the infirmary. “Hello doctor?”

  Josiah turned to him, “Oh, I wasn’t expecting a report right now.”

  “I finished early.”

  Dr. Stone stood up and turned to the green-headed boy. “Actually, I do need to speak with you.”

  ***

  The general was fraught with annoyance. He was never pleased to be this confused about any investigation, but to have it on his own station was putting him in a really bad mood. Even Thrasher was frightened by The General right now, which wasn’t something easily accompl
ished.

  As he walked through the corridors, The General looked at two different tablets. One held the information they had gathered so far, which wasn’t much. The other held a list of all of the people on the station and the internal scans to show if any other unknown people were hiding aboard. There was another list of people found to have one piece or another of the stolen goods. They had recovered almost all the shock collar and several of the other dangerous artifacts. Only two items were left to be located. But, even if they found every last stolen item, they still needed to find exactly who did this. The General simply would not believe the names on the list; other than a few troublemaker students, these were all loyal students of the UCH. Even the troublemakers never showed any sign of this level of deception.

  Turning yet another corner, he found himself at the entrance to the infirmary. The door was open already, so he walked right in. His eyes were still glued to the computer tablet in front of him. “Josiah, I have some more data for you.” He found the doctor deeply engrossed with his computer, but not with the investigation reports. “Hey, what are you looking at? Is that information on the hibernation chamber?”

  Dr. Stone turned off the monitor as he turned around in his seat to greet the general. “Just a little check up on the maintenance systems. Nothing much. What do you need?”

  The General handed the doctor the tablet with the internal scans. “Here. Check the data again, and make sure we aren’t missing anything. I want to be certain we don’t have some kind of intruder on board.”

  Josiah took the tablet, but he didn’t spend much time looking at it. “I see. Well, if that is all, then you can go. I have a lot of work to catch up on. Unless you have any other questions for me.”

  The General scrolled down to the bottom of the investigation reports. “First, you haven’t sent any reports all day. Second, I need to ask you about Snow and Bark’s alibi. Bark said that….” The General had lowered the tablet and just then noticed a pair of boots on the floor behind a curtain. They were not standing up, but laying down as if attached to a body that was on the ground. “What on earth is that?”

  Josiah looked back and then at the general. “Nothing. You see nothing.”

  The General went for his gun, recognizing a mind attack when he saw it. But, he wasn’t fast enough. Soon he was unable to move, and unable to stop looking into Josiah’s eyes. His speech began to slur. “What..are…..yoooo..”

  “It's about time to get this over with, don’t you think?” Josiah watched as The General fell to his knees and then to the floor in a slump. An evil smile played on the doctor’s lips.

  ***

  Not too far from the UCH space station, a large space craft approached the perimeter. On board were several officers wearing the dark uniforms of Marshal Dea’s loyal operatives.

  “Commander, we've arrived at the coordinates,” the helm officer announced.

  The woman at command stood up and walked toward the large view screen. “Good. Sensors, are the security platforms active?”

  The young man at the sensor station scanned and then replied, “Yes. If we take the ship in, we’re dead.”

  The commander glared at the screen. “I'm aware of that fact. This means our contact has not obtained control of the station’s security commands. See if we can make contact with him.”

  They all waited while the communications station sent the coded signal in to the spy on the UCH station. In moments, a blurry image came on. This signal was coded so that no one could tell they were communicating with the station.

  A man hidden in the shadows answered the call. “I have the station under my control.”

  “What about the security net? If we are to take the students into custody, we'll have to get closer.” She was abrupt.

  The man answered, “I cannot take down the security without setting off all sorts of alarms on earth. We won’t get half the students off before they send up enough firepower to take your ship and turn it to ash. But, I have a plan.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “This station can pass through the net without setting off the weapons platforms. I'll set the thrusters to move us into a higher orbit. Once it is achieved, and we pass that damned net, then you can dock and have all but one of the students.” His tone was commanding and direct.

  She glared at him. “No exceptions. The deal was for all the students and instructors.”

  The man shook his head. “I was contacted by a special person who has a unique interest in a new student on board. He has made me a better offer, and I doubt that you will care much about missing just one furry hero without any decent powers.”

  The woman scoffed at that. “That was not the deal!”

  “I don’t care. If you want me to move this station, then you'll agree. Do we have a new deal?” His confidence was annoying.

  She gritted her teeth, but nodded. “Fine. Just move that station and we'll dock.”

  The man reached over and turned off the signal, disregarding any normal pleasantries.

  ***

  The holding cells were cold and hardly comfortable. There was just enough space to walk around with a small bed and a force field to keep the prisoner inside. There were a lot of cells on this station, though only about ten percent of them were used at any given time. There was one person at the controls of the holding cells and several security bots stationed all around. It was a bleak place to be, especially for a person who was not accustomed to being imprisoned.

  Snow sniffed hard, trying not to cry again. She felt very lonely right now and terrified at what might happen to her. She knew she was innocent, but if they did not believe her she could be put away for a long time.

  A new guard came on duty to relieve the one that was sitting at the control terminal. Once they changed places Snow stood up and came to the extent of her cell’s invisible force field.

  “Guard?”

  He did not look up at her. “What?”

  She cleared her throat from all the sobbing earlier. “Did they find any more information?”

  The guard shook his head. “Nothing of value to you. Now, try to get some –” The guard stopped mid-sentence and seemed to stare off into space. His eyes glazed over and he began to sway in his seat.

  “Guard, what's wrong? Do you need help?”

  The man appeared to drift off into a sleep and then he opened his eyes partly and looked at her. He started typing in commands on the central security computer. The security bots all deactivated at once, slumped over and then crashed to the floor.

  The door to the holding cells opened and an equally dazed Solstice came in carrying a box full of shock collars. Both Solstice and the security guard took out shock collars and for some reason wrapped them around their own necks. Then, the security guard pressed the button to deactivate all the force fields. Snow was stunned and scared. Some of the others stepped out, just as confused as she was. Solstice took a collar and started walking toward Snow.

  “Wait! What's going on?” She held up her hand to use her powers to defend herself, but suddenly she too was overcome by dizziness. The room faded and she blacked out just as she heard the click of the collar being fastened around her neck.

  ***

  Bark lay in his bed. He was trying to sleep but could not get the image of Snow in a holding cell out of his mind. To make matters worse, he dreamt that he was watching someone secure one of those shock collars around her neck. He wanted to save her, but he was unable. Each time the image became clear, he would jerk awake and find himself back in his room.

  After about three hours of this in-and-out of sleep, Bark picked up his tablet to read a book or look at some school work to study. He was willing to try just about anything to keep his mind busy while he waited for morning to come.

  Suddenly, he heard a low mumbling. Rich had sat up in bed and was talking to himself in his sleep. Without warning, he got up and started for the door. Bark would stop him, but he w
as always told to not bother a sleepwalker. Besides, Rich couldn’t get out of the room easily; the codes were changed so that only security personnel could get in or out for the time being.

  Before Bark could return to his book, he heard the door open. Either Rich knew the new access code, or security hadn’t changed it yet. Knowing that this could get Rich in a lot of trouble, Bark set aside his tablet and jumped up from the bottom bunk. He put on his briefs and collar while rubbing some of the blurriness out of his eyes. “Hey, Rich, get back in here,” his collar said while he yawned.

  Suddenly the station rocked slightly and the thruster system activated. This kind of activity was unusual this late at night, so Bark looked out the window. The station was most definitely moving, and faster than Bark had ever seen before. “What the hell?” Outside the window, he saw a starship approaching. The station was moving to meet a ship? Why? “Must be part of the investigation. I better get Rich back to bed before Coach Thrasher sees him wandering the halls at night.”

  ***

  Bark walked over to the door and pressed the ‘open’ button. To his surprise, the door didn’t ask for a security code. What surprised Bark even more was that everybody on the ship was out of their rooms right now. The halls were filled with students and instructors walking around in a daze. Most were mumbling to themselves, while others looked paranoid and dangerous.

  “Rich,” Bark called out, not seeing his roommate around.

  Dodging people all over the place, Bark looked for someone who was not in this sleepwalking state of mind. He found two students fighting slowly, another arguing with a wall, and yet another eating what looked like some dirt. This was a mad house.

  “Bark-san. Bark-san!” Bark looked up to find Toshi Sensei running toward him.

  Bark stepped back, not sure if she was in this mesmerized state of mind. “Sensei?”

  Toshi stopped and stood firmly right in front of him. “I'm fine, but the others are stricken with an illness. You and I must get out of here before we become sick too.”