Fi still hadn’t blinked. Her facial expression remained stoic. “You didn’t answer my last question.”
Selas heard the echo of the distant roar. The echo weaved its way to his eardrums, leaving a small ring that bounced in his mind. Selas couldn’t answer that question with certainty, yet he feared his experience gave him enough evidence to draw a logical conclusion. The skies of his home planet gave him that answer in his childhood.
“I can’t give a concrete answer, Fi,” Selas said, gulping. His hand slipped away from her. “But Anziar is the master of darkness, and darkness always rises in the Nebula. I believe that he can return.”
“The master of darkness,” Fi scoffed. “A ridiculous term.”
Selas flashed to the black clouds over Nash. They exuded power that entranced him, taking his attention away from his childhood fun. The headaches left with Anziar, but Selas could still reach out and feel the pounding on his brain that day. The pounding and clawing to escape. He’d never felt Anziar before that day, but when he did, he’d felt Anziar’s awakening wrap darkness around his mind.
A ridiculous term, perhaps, but a true one.
“Three days ago, my brother transmitted a message from this frequency,” Selas said, swallowing and motioning to the screen beneath him. “Every day, I’ve come in here to muster the courage to play it, but I have yet to succeed. The thought of it awakens buried feelings and pain.”
Finally, Fi blinked. “Brother?”
Selas nodded, looking at the floor to hide his shame. “Caleb, my younger brother. It’s been many years since we last spoke. Caleb and I were close, but after what happened to my twin…”
“Well, I’d assume that you haven’t spoken, considering that you took an entirely different name,” Fi said, scoffing again. Selas kept his eyes on his boots.
“I doubt that he would’ve cared,” Selas said, shaking his head. His shoulders sagged. “The first time I felt Anziar was on a treetop. I tried to escape by grabbing my twin’s arm. Of course, feeling Anziar, he panicked and we both fell, but he hit his head. He was left a vegetable and Caleb was left traumatized.”
Selas closed his eyes, pushing back the tears. He heard Caleb begging Jekk to wake up. He heard his parents’ wails.
“My family was never the same. Then, we grew up and I walked away.”
A finger touched his chin, lifting his face. He opened his misty eyes to see the blackness of Fi’s eyes locked onto him and unfazed. “I had a brother too, Selas. We do what we must to survive in this life. That takes precedence, remember?”
Fi never discussed her family history, but Selas didn’t see now as the right time to ask. He cleared his throat and looked at the screen. Roughly the twentieth time he’d looked at it over the last few days. “Indeed, but even that doesn’t dull the pain when it’s staring at you.”
“Then make up for that pain,” Fi said, pointing at the central communicator. She blinked again and shifted her position, resting a hand on the console. “You said on the Bombard that’s what you wanted to do. Not all of us have that chance, Selas, but you do. If walking away didn’t work for you, then this is your alternative.”
Selas glanced back at Fi’s eyes, which narrowed. The blackness once again centered him, drowning out the cries of his family and the storm of Nash. He reached and stroked her short, silver hair. Fi carried herself well, but he knew that she had more pain underneath her exterior. She would deny it if he asked, but he still wished to support her.
However, if he couldn’t face his own pain, then he couldn’t help anyone else. Unless, by facing his own, he could help Caleb. He owed it to him and Jekk above all others.
“Stay with me,” he said, running his hand down Fi’s shoulder. He reached for the communicator with his other hand and hit the button.
The screen below changed from text to Caleb’s face. Selas could only see his brother’s head and shoulders, but he didn’t look any different than he had years ago. He still had a thin baby face with light brown hair. If his shoulders served as any indication, he still had the build of a runner. Selas smiled.
“Looks like he’s in a cockpit,” Fi said, pointing at the tight background with various flight controls. Selas hadn’t paid any attention to that. He only saw his little brother.
“Selas, brother, I hope this is you. I got this frequency from old docking logs on Nash, so if this isn’t Selas Taban, please delete the rest of this message,” Caleb said. Selas heard the tremble in his voice.
Caleb kept enough contacts back home to discover that Selas left with the Killer. Always a clever one.
“Selas, this is an emergency,” Caleb said. His voice shook again. “The medical facility on Nash reached out to me. Jekk’s awake.”
Selas’ fingers went numb and fell from Fi’s shoulder. All muscles in his back tensed. The doctors said he’d remain catatonic for the rest of his life. His brain suffered too much injury in the fall.
Caleb inhaled. As he finished, his teeth chattered. “He…he…got up and left. 13 years and his legs worked like nothing ever happened. They tried to keep him there, but he forced his way out without saying a word. There are not enough people left on Nash to search for him. He’s out there, Selas, and we need to find him. Please contact me.”
The message ended. Selas thrust his hands onto the communicator and leaned forward. His breath became labored. He hadn’t missed the headaches, but now, he wanted them back. He wanted his head to throb. He wanted to feel the crawling. Anything that would show the fight still took place in his head.
“Selas,” Fi said, grabbing his shoulder. “Talk to me.”
He raised his head but couldn’t meet Fi’s gaze. Now, in place of the throbbing, shame crawled through his mind. “Anziar’s coming.”
3
The chess set glistened in the window’s light. The throne still cast a shadow, but the power of the daylight allowed the bronze and gold pieces to twinkle. The gold queen retained her rightful place at the center of the board, but the opposing pieces had progressed from their starting points. They only progressed in accordance with the movements that their pieces allowed, but still, progress had taken place.
Queen Bettina stood behind the chess set, folding her hands on the table. “Nothing of significance to report, Captain?”
Captain Nelson kept his face to the ground. Bandages lined most of his body. “No sightings of the crew, your Highness. The news report has been destroyed and all media outlets are under supervision, but no sightings of the reporter, either. However, in other matters, I checked and your operation proceeds—”
“I do not need a report of a project I am personally overseeing, Captain,” Queen Bettina said, glancing back at the sunlight of Etionapa. Clouds would move in soon enough. “This lack of service dulls you. Perhaps I should demote you back to Governess Haltzilakas’ guard…”
“No, your Majesty, I must see justice,” Nelson said. His head shot up but the Queen’s glare sent it back to the floor. “My-my apologies, your Highness. After their brutal treasons, this has become personal…”
Queen Bettina slammed her fist on the table, but kept it gentle enough that no piece would move. “You understand nothing about the personal nature of their treasons, as admirable as your desire to atone for your great failures may be. Lady Cerasi will carry out my justice, and you shall be grateful to observe.”
“Of course, your Highness, but when will her training be complete?”
She picked up the golden knight. The knights remained as the only pieces that had not moved in these events. Now, that would change. “The knight is an intricate piece, Captain. Its movement patterns differ from every other piece on the board, and because of that, it takes time and precision to accomplish its goal. Once it does, its powerful sting is felt by all other pieces. Even the king and queen.”
She moved the knight to the right and three steps forward. It still had two movements left before it reached its golden queen, but it made its first move. Queen Bettina made i
ts first move.
“Of course, your Majesty. It will be my honor to fight at the side of your newest warrior—”
The black double doors ascended, ending Nelson’s sentence. They ascended at a rapid pace, vanishing into the ceiling as a figure marched in. Queen Bettina snatched her double-edged sword from the arm of her throne and held it at her side. Nelson scrambled off the ground and pulled out his rifle. The window’s light illuminated the figure, revealing a skeletal remnant of a man. Nearly bald with one side of his face sunken into his head, black robes dripped off his deformed body.
Two blue-armored guards rushed through the entrance, aiming their pistols at the uninvited guest. “Your Majesty, we tried to stop this man but he made it through—”
She saw a finger touch a trigger and pointed her sword at the guards. “Do not make a mark in my throne room. You know better.”
They lifted their pistols in a sign of submission. Queen Bettina spun her sword toward the visitor, holding it above the chess board. He stood at the other end. “No citizen has had the audacity to approach the monarch.”
“Your Highness!” Captain Nelson said, raising his voice as he reached her right side. He still pointed his rifle at the man. “This man is one of the Killer crew that we captured on Wantim!”
Queen Bettina allowed an eyebrow to move. She used the window’s light to her advantage, staring at the visible bones underneath his thin skin. “No. That man was not deformed, nor did he look so ill. He bears a strong resemblance, but he is not the same man that you imprisoned on my flagship.”
“You are an adept ruler, Queen Bettina,” the man said. His raspy, low voice echoed throughout the throne room in a manner that caused the two guards to shudder. “Correct. I am not Selas Taban.”
“Your identity has no importance in this throne room,” Queen Bettina said, hovering her sword closer to the man’s uneven face. “Only your audacity.”
“I am Anziar Wraith, and it would do you well to forget this despicable form but remember the name,” the man said, paying no attention to the blade inches away from him. “I bring you an offering: The location of the freighter crew.”
“You look just like one of them,” Nelson said, scoffing and waving his rifle toward Anziar. “Why would we accept any information from you?”
“Ah, Captain Nelson, still teeming with arrogance,” Anziar said, flashing his teeth at Nelson. He lacked a few. “How ironic.”
Nelson growled and he took a step forward, but Queen Bettina threw her arm in front of him. Nelson straightened his back and retreated to Queen Bettina’s side, while her focus remained on Anziar. The man’s sunken eye twitched, but that didn’t take his gaze away from the Queen.
“You are staring at a twin of Selas, the soldier who you’ve encountered. Selas called this twin Jekk Taban, but I do not identify myself by such a brotherly name,” Anziar said, before gesturing to his face. “The injuries before you were inflicted by Selas, and he must receive comeuppance for those and more. However, I cannot obtain that on my own, so I’ve put myself before you, Queen Bettina. I have kept tabs on Selas, and now, I know his exact location.”
“You expect the royal army to go off—” Nelson began. Queen Bettina threw her arm in front of him again.
Queen Bettina didn’t move or allow any expression to cross her face. Queen Bettina glanced down at his emaciated torso, barely hidden underneath the robes. “A thirst for revenge does give way to audacity. What evidence do you have to validate their location? How do you know this?”
“The same way I know an army of monstrous creatures ravaged the Bombard, slaughtering your men and nearly killing Captain Nelson and the Killer crew,” Anziar said, not removing his gaze from Queen Bettina. His eyes twitched again but didn’t turn away from the monarch. “By observing all of it.”
Silence dominated the throne room. Nelson and the guards looked from one another to Queen Bettina, but just as Anziar’s gaze didn’t stray from her, neither did her gaze stray from him. She kept her face neutral and didn’t allow the sword to budge, as if she had fixed it to that position permanently.
“Kneel.”
Anziar snarled, raising his left hand and reaching over the chess set. Queen Bettina’s sword broke free from its position and followed his hand’s trajectory, but as his hand flew over the middle of the board, it stilled. Anziar’s eyes lowered, seemingly ignoring the sword and locking onto his hand. His eyes twitched as he raised his short nails toward himself, allowing them to glisten in the light.
“You will not be fortunate enough to find another holding this information,” Anziar said, turning his eyes back to Queen Bettina. “Once you go there and defeat them, you will have the entire Killer crew kneeling. There is only one condition I have.”
“Condition? Refusal to bend the knee?” Queen Bettina said, scoffing. Her sword remained beside his hand. “Audacity.”
“Audacity that reveals the truth of my words,” Anziar said, narrowing his eyes. “Once you arrive, capture Fi Kal. The silver-haired woman who escaped your flagship. She is a skilled fighter, ex-bounty hunter, and a great asset to the crew. Without her, they will crumble all the quicker.”
“Your Highness,” Nelson said, attempting to step forward again. “Allow me to remove this lunatic.”
Queen Bettina kept her arm in front of Nelson and her sword in front of Anziar, but her eyes dropped to the chess set. Her shadow encompassed the golden knight that only waited on two movements to reach the golden queen. Some light managed to reflect off other pieces, but Queen Bettina’s shadow covered the golden knight. Nothing else touched it.
“Tell me,” Queen Bettina said, raising her head and again locking onto Anziar. “Where are they?”
Anziar’s lips parted and crawled upward, revealing his teeth again. “Graig. They are hiding in a crater with space pirates.”
“Send the order to ready the transports closest to that system, as well as my shuttle,” Queen Bettina said, looking back at Captain Nelson. Her sword remained at Anziar’s hand, but her arm finally released Nelson. “I will be there within hours and will lead a full-fledged attack, but inform the soldiers to find Fi Kal. I need her alive.”
“I won’t punish one of my own over your personal affairs, Trok,” Ursun said, not making eye contact with Sora as the pirate leader tossed a box of weapons into a nearby pile. The light of Graig reflected off the metal as it shone through the rectangular entrance of the docking bay. “Jenn has the right to her own decisions.”
“You’re keeping her in one of your own cells,” Trika scoffed, leaning against the wall to Sora’s left. Sora briefly made eye contact with her, issuing a warning to not get hostile. Trika scoffed again. “From my point of view, this Praxa chick is betraying you.”
“Felicia Malone isn’t our prisoner. We held her as a show of good faith when you arrived. It’s been over a month,” Ursun said, turning to face Sora and his sister. He nudged a box of weapons toward Trika. “Personally, I don’t blame Jenn for helping her.”
Sora withheld a sigh and waited for Trika’s tirade. He didn’t know if he should interject or let her express her feelings. She would either way, so he didn’t see a point in stopping it until it became too much.
Trika’s back straightened and she bolted from the wall, nearly knocking over the pile of boxes. “She’s a murderer, a drug lord, a psycho…the list goes on, man. You think we should just let her go after all that she’s done?!”
Ursun gave Trika a blank stare. “We’re all criminals. Yeah, Malone’s dangerous, so we kept her confined for a little while. But the fact of the matter is she hasn’t done anything to me or my people, and I’m not trying to change that. If I were you, I’d take her deal and go your separate ways. We all have much more important things to focus on, because I guarantee you that Kit Vel Aath won’t wait long for an answer.”
Sora let the sigh escape. The conflict with Felicia came as a welcome distraction and delayed his answer to Kit’s offer. He knew how to handle confl
ict with Felicia. It offered familiarity and comfort. Kit Vel Aath didn’t and Sora didn’t know what answer he should give her. He almost accepted the offer before Jenn burst in, but now, he had the opportunity to never let anyone know that. He could reject it and keep the crew out of any added danger.
Maybe that would doom them because it would keep them isolated. Maybe an alliance with this information broker would doom them. Doomed if they do and doomed if they don’t.
Sora just didn’t want to carry the weight of the decision. His crew deserved better than that.
“Sora, the woman nearly broke every bone in your body,” Trika said, punching him in the shoulder. He didn’t know if that was supposed to be ironic. “You don’t have anything to say?”
Ursun’s eyes drifted back to Sora. The painful echoes of Nait’s voice hit Sora’s brain. He saw Nait slide to his knees as he saw his injured friend. Sora could still see Scout punch the exit in his peripheral vision, channeling all of her rage into that one strike. They cared for Jaskia Paine, who undoubtedly needed them. Sora couldn’t stop that to launch a renewed vendetta against Felicia. No, he could, but he refused to. That wouldn’t gain hold over him ever again.
He told Scout that she could make the call and he meant that. Still, if Trika and Ursun wanted his opinion, he’d finally formed one.
“I don’t want to let her go. It endangers us all, yourself included,” Sora said, nodding to Ursun. He frowned as his eyes met his older sister’s. “But it may be our only option. This girl, Jaskia, should be reunited with Scout, Nait, and Naos. I made a promise to Scout, and if I have to compromise with Felicia to keep that promise, I will.”
Trika threw her hands up. “You’re ridiculous! Seriously, Sora, that’s idiotic. If Scout was here, she’d agree with me! Okay, let’s save their friend. Just take out the merc when he gets here and keep Felicia in her cage. Boom, problem solved.”
“I don’t want to keep playing this game with Felicia,” Sora said. His voice carried a firm tone, firmer than any tone he’d used in the last month. “She’s captured and she’s still exerting control. I’ve had enough.”
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