by M J Dees
“A Republic fighter? Have they have caught us?” asked Sevan.
“Not yet.”
“Did we win?”
“Matthews is president. Nothing has changed. She won’t overturn Kirkland’s curse. Nothing is going to change, so you’d better get used to it.”
“How are you feeling, Sevan?” Ay-ttho asked.
“Exhausted.”
“I’m not surprised. Rest more. We’ll work out what to do soon.”
“What to do?”
“We came to Herse to find Nadio but the Republic is here and we don’t know where he is.”
“What about Scotmax or Yor?”
“We do not know where they are.”
“So what do we do now?”
“That is what we are trying to work out,” said Tori.
“We could use this fighter to re-enter the Republic and return to the Doomed Planet,” said Ay-ttho.
Sevan’s mood brightened.
“But that would mean leaving Nadio and I can’t do that.”
Sevan’s mood fell, but he was glad that his friends had looked after him.
“Thank you, Tori, Ay-ttho. I suppose I owe you again.”
“You will always owe us,” said Ay-ttho.
“Great. So what are we going to do?”
“Our only hope is that Nadio gets my messages on his communicator. Now that we are on Herse, he might stand a better chance of receiving them.”
“I don’t think we should stay here for long,” said Tori. “It’s only a matter of time before this guard realises we are not who she thinks we are.”
“Agreed. Let’s circle the city in case it improves Nadio’s chances of receiving my messages.”
To the surprise of the guard, they took off and headed for the outskirts of the city.
“Perhaps we can find another cave to hide in,” Tori suggested.
“I don’t think Herse has many caves and certainly none large enough to hide a fighter, it’s not like Angetenar or Pandoria. But you are right, we should find somewhere to hide. It’s only a matter of time before they come looking for us. I’ve been ignoring Republic messages since Angetenar.”
Ay-ttho’s communicator buzzed.
“Ay-ttho? It is Nadio. Please come and get me.”
“Nadio? Where are you?”
“I’m in Yor’s house.”
“Yor’s house? But we’ve just been there.”
“I know, these guards know nothing.”
“Stay there, we are on our way.”
“Are you sure that is a good idea?” asked Tori.
“What option do we have?”
“I suggest we don’t fly straight there. Set the ship down a little distance away so that we can proceed on foot, then we can check out the house before we’re spotted.”
“Good idea.”
Ay-ttho set down the fighter a short distance from Yor’s house.
“What about Sevan?” asked Tori.
“I’m okay, I can manage,” Sevan answered.
Ay-ttho led the way through burning streets. Tori and Sevan followed with the two Angetenareans taking up the rear.
Yor’s house was on a small hill overlooking the city so they could clearly see the number of Republic troops, which were few. Fewer than when they had last visited.
“Smells like a trap,” said Tori.
“What choice do we have?” asked Ay-ttho. “Let’s use the service entrance.”
“Isn’t that what they would expect? What we need is a diversion.”
They both looked at Sevan.
“What? No, hold on, I don’t know what you’re thinking but…”
“Don’t forget, Sevan, you owe us.”
“Uxclod! Okay, what should I do?”
Sevan walked up the main drive to Yor’s residence, towards the huge ornate doors, and banged on them with his fists. There was no answer.
He pushed on a door and it opened into the vast ornate hallway, which appeared deserted.
Carefully, holding his weapon, he entered the house, looking in each side room. But the whole place, which had been full of Republic troops earlier, seemed deserted.
Sevan climbed the enormous staircase to the first floor and checked each room as he passed them. Eventually, he came to a vast room, which appeared to be the master bedroom. On the edge of the bed, sat Nadio.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “They made me do it.”
“Nadio?” asked Sevan, entering the room. “Made you do what?”
From every entrance to the room and from the door behind Sevan, Republic troops burst in, pointing their weapons at him.
“Drop your weapon,” an officer ordered.
Sevan did as he was told.
“You are surrounded, so come quietly. Where are your friends?”
“No, you are surrounded,” Ay-ttho’s voice came from the hall.
Before the Republic troops had time to react, Ay-ttho and Tori had started shooting and the Angetenareans had burst through the windows and were doing the same. Sevan grabbed his weapon from the floor and joined in. Before long, all the Republic troops were lying dead on the floor.
“Come on Nadio, let’s go.”
“Ay-ttho? Where’s Scotmax?”
“I don’t know, but we have to go now. We will try to find him later.”
“What if he comes for me?”
“Then we’ll have to find him first. Come on.”
They descended the stairs and were leaving through the entrance when they realised troops surrounded the house. They quickly returned inside and bolted the door.
“Did you see how many there were?” asked Tori.
They crouch by the windows.
“I’ve got a good idea where we should go next,” said Ay-ttho.
“I don’t want to hear it,” said Tori.
“You’ll change your mind when I tell you.”
“Shut up.”
“Okay, okay.”
“It was your good idea that got us here.”
“Forget about it…”
“I never want to hear about your good ideas, alright?”
“Alright.”
“Good.”
“Pallene.”
Tori just stared at Ay-ttho.
“I thought you secretly wanted to know, so I told you. Pallene.”
“That’s your great idea?”
“Latest in a long line.”
“Pallene’s no better than here.”
“That’s what you say.”
“Tell me one good thing about Pallene.”
“They speak Republic standard.”
“They do?”
“That’s right, smart clone, so we wouldn’t stick out. They’ve got a pleasant climate, loads of places to hide and beaches, you could learn to swim.”
“Why would I want to swim? It’s a long way though, isn’t it?”
“Everything’s got to be perfect with you, hasn’t it?”
“I just don’t want to get there and find out it’s a load of uxclod.”
“Will you at least think about it?”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“Now after we…”
Tori froze for a moment.
“What?” Tori asked after what seemed like an age.
“You didn’t see Matthews out there?”
“Matthews? No.”
“Good, for a moment I thought we were in trouble.”
Outside, the troops were priming their weapons. A Republic officer pointed to the house.
“Attack!”
The troops ran towards the house, firing their weapons.
*
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
M J Dees is the author of six novels ranging from psychological thrillers, to dystopia, to historical to humorous fiction, as well as the Mastery of the Stars sci-fi novella series. He makes his online home at www.mjdees.com.You can connect with M J on Twitter at @mjdeeswriter, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mjdeeswriter and send him an email at [email protected] if the mood strikes you.
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DEDICATION
To Homer, Aeschylus and Ted Hughes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted to the following for their help: My beta reading team, especially Peggy Coppolo, and my Advance Review Team.
COPYRIGHT
First published in 2021 by M J Dees
E-book first published in 2021 by M J Dees
Copyright M J Dees 2021
The moral right of M J Dees to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Cover Design by James, GoOnWrite.com
