Unleashed

by D. R. Johnson

  “Selas,” Jekk said, calm from the lack of awareness. “What has happened?”

  “A trap.”

  His head didn’t pound and no internal voices spoke. However, somehow, Selas could still hear Anziar’s bellow.

  “I-I warned her,” Naos said, breathing fast and rubbing his hands through his hair. “I should’ve gone after her! I would’ve gotten her out of there before Bettina showed up. W-We could’ve stopped this.”

  “But she was right,” Nait said, pacing from one wall of the communications center to another. He stared at the ground and his clenched fists whitened. “We had to protect Jask, but we should’ve seen it coming. Scout was a ticking time bomb and we didn’t do much to defuse it. I can’t blame her, but I wish I would’ve held her back or…something.”

  “Anziar set this up,” Selas said, breezing into the communications center. Water droplets followed him as he approached the central communicator. “He lured me out by using my brother so that Fi would get taken. He thinks that will weaken me, and he’s right.”

  “So, now Bettina has Scout and Fi,” Nait said, scowling. “Great. Just great.”

  “We have to go after them,” Naos said, sprinting a few feet forward. He slammed his hands onto the central communicator. “Now! If we wait, she’ll kill them!”

  “Agreed,” Selas said, lowering his voice. “There will be hell to pay.”

  Sora turned around, putting his hands on the corners of his eyes. He pulled air into his nose, ushering it in to calm him. His crew had grown frantic and he couldn’t blame them. Losing Scout and Fi in one battle devastated the crew in more ways than one. The image of either of them in Bettina’s custody made him nauseous.

  He’d made a mistake by staying in the docking bay. He thought they needed to defend it, but instead, it seems they made the move that benefited Bettina the most. While she taunted him and Natalia, his people faced much tougher fights and he didn’t make an effort to help them when they needed it.

  Bettina, Anziar, and Felicia each got what they wanted today. Sora did nothing except watch his rifle shatter. Now, the Killer floated in orbit of Graig with no immediate course of action.

  He knew that blame didn’t fall on him but it felt like it did. Even keeping his earlier conversations with Natalia in mind, he still felt failure. He may not have considered himself guilty, but a leader should anticipate situations like these. Sora hadn’t and now Scout and Fi suffered for it.

  His people still faced much tougher fights and Sora had to join them in that. As frustrated as he felt, he had to think strategically when everyone else felt despair. Once again, he no longer had a choice.

  “I agree,” Sora said, exhaling and turning to face the three frantic friends in front of him. “However, we shouldn’t rush into anything. We can’t afford more losses. Before we find them, we need to take precautions.”

  “Precautions?” Naos said, scoffing and shaking his head. “I don’t think we have time. You guys didn’t waste time rushing to the Bombard, and we made it out of that.”

  Time changed people. Him and Naos had switched roles as the one who once questioned every move now wanted to charge forward. Then again, maybe it showed his attachment to Scout. Sora understood that, too, and he wanted to agree with him. He wanted to charge forward and rescue them, too.

  “Viktor didn’t,” Sora said, shaking his head in return. “Bettina is changing her strategy. She focused on me and Natalia instead of going for one of you. She potentially worked with Anziar to capture Fi. None of that matches her past actions. If she’s changing her strategy, we need to change ours.”

  Selas sighed and mentioned, “Nelson called Fi a ‘target’. They were searching for her, so Sora is right. This is different.”

  Nait looked from Selas to Naos and stopped pacing. He walked up to the central communicator, relaxing his fists. “Then what do you think we should do?”

  Sora wanted to look at the ceiling or the ground but didn’t. He still didn’t know if he would make the right choice, but considering everything that happened today, this seemed like the best option. He had to move the crew forward and that included getting Fi and Scout back. He would take any avenue to get them back.

  “I want us to accept Kit Vel Aath’s offer,” he said, moving his shoulders as the words came off his tongue. “We need more support and they can give it. Originally, we had more freedom, but now, we have to accept. We need to take any resource and insight we can find.”

  Naos tilted his head and bit his lip. “Y-Yeah. I guess…I mean, at this point, can’t complain…”

  “That feels like a lot of extra time, Sora,” Nait said, frowning. His wide eyes showed worry. “What if the Queen…”

  Selas growled and gripped the edge of the communicator. Sora opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. He wanted to assure them that nothing would happen but he couldn’t. He didn’t know that. He couldn’t offer them any guarantees and he didn’t know how to answer that problem. His usual confidence had fled.

  “She won’t,” Jaskia said, rounding the corner and limping through the doorway. She winced but progressed toward the group. “If she was going to kill them, we would’ve found their bodies down there. She wants something more.”

  “Jask, you shouldn’t be up,” Nait said, reaching for her.

  “That medical bay is a little cramped,” Jaskia said, swatting his hand away. She stumbled to the communicator and made eye contact with Sora. “Don’t think we should waste time on introductions. Use whatever contacts you have and make alliances.”

  “Well, it’s just—” Naos started, raising a hand.

  “Doesn’t matter what they want or what they do,” Jaskia said, not looking at her longtime friend. “If they get us closer to Scout or give us power against Bettina, you need them.”

  Sora nodded. He didn’t know Jaskia but he understood her logic. The only logic they had left, really.

  “I need her back, Sora,” Selas said, tapping the communicator. “We all do. I need to check on Jekk and Kossk.”

  “How do we know that your brother won’t turn back into Anziar?” Naos said, swallowing as he glanced at Selas. “I mean, sorry, I know it’s a lot for you, too, but we can’t handle another ghost ship. Not now.”

  “Anziar used Jekk as a mere distraction and discarded him. Now that I have him back, I won’t lose him again,” Selas said, shaking his head and looking to Sora. “Whatever you can do, Sora, don’t delay.”

  Selas turned to leave, while Sora turned around and walked to the televisions that sat in the corner of the room. He sat down in the tall chair and quickly keyed in the last frequency of Ursun’s that he knew. Sora closed his eyes, hoping that Ursun would respond. He hadn’t seen him make it off Graig.

  Seconds later, Ursun’s face appeared on the screen. Several cuts lined it, but he had the same neutral expression. “Trok. This isn’t good.”

  “I know,” Sora said, folding his hands on the desk in front of him. He grimaced, which he and the crew had done far too much of over the last day. “I’m sorry. This shouldn’t have involved your—”

  “It was bound to happen at some point,” Ursun said. Blurry outlines bustled behind him, likely rushing supplies from one destination to another. “What remains of us made it out in the last transport, but the base isn’t salvageable. The Queen and the army wrecked the command center. Still don’t have a body count.”

  “Two crew members got captured,” Sora said, clearing his throat. “Scout and Fi. We’re recovering, but we need help. Ask Kit Vel Aath to arrange the meeting.”

  “Consider it done,” Ursun said, nodding. “We’ll see you in two days.”

  He opened his mouth but again, no words came. He wanted to ask about Jenn. What happened to Felicia?

  “See you then.”

  He had bigger priorities than Felicia.

  The screen went black and Sora stood, giving an affirming nod to Naos, Nait, and Jaskia. They all made their way out of the communications c
enter and he turned right in the corridor before making the short walk to the cockpit. The room sat empty and he started to approach the main console at the front of the small room but paused when his eye caught a familiar sight.

  The wall to his right still held the dents from his last fight with Felicia. The reminder of a time when it felt like the battle within him outweighed the battle outside of him.

  Sora touched the wall with his arm and leaned forward, feeling the exhaustion hit him. He ran his fingers across the dents. Right now, he would take that battle over this one.

  Jaskia positioned her back on the maroon couch, letting her head rest on the soft surface beneath it. Softest thing she’d felt in a while, or at least, softer than the Peor sewage system. She moaned, crossing her legs on the small table in front of the couch. The bullet weakened her entire body, but she considered it a victory that this position didn’t feel more painful. The healing process continued.

  She needed it to speed up. Now, she had to rescue Scout and make it back to Li and Sem. She’d trained them well, but she didn’t like the idea of the kids on the streets for too long. She couldn’t leave this crew until she found Scout, so she hoped Li and Sem would survive until then. She had an idea on how to rescue Scout, too, she just didn’t know how to find her.

  “Uh, I’ll go get some more gel from the medical bay,” Naos said, giving a sickened glance at her stomach and practically jumping across the spacious main hold. “Maybe some different clothes…”

  “He still doesn’t know how to hold a conversation with me,” Jaskia said, grabbing a piece of her torn shirt and smirking at Nait, who sat down on her left. “I guess there’s no point in complaining or debating about how I’m stuck here, but I do have one question. There’s like a hundred people on this ship and you guys don’t have a doctor?”

  “We used to,” Nait said, frowning. His face only showed preoccupation. Jaskia guessed that him and Scout hadn’t separated too much since the takeover. “Well, scientist, I guess, but…”

  “A lot of people dying, Nait,” Jaskia said, allowing her smirk to disappear. She didn’t allow a look of sadness to replace, it either. There was no point. “Can’t dwell on it. We’re lucky we made it out a lot better than your pirate friends.”

  Nait nodded and glanced down, like he wanted to avoid the subject. He patted his stomach and looked up with bright eyes. “Hey, at least we have matching wounds. People love going for the stomach, huh?”

  Jaskia reached and touched Nait’s bandage. She couldn’t see it through his shirt, but it felt heavy. “How’d you get it?”

  “Bettina.”

  “Lucky,” Jaskia said, snorting and pulling her hand back. That explained the heaviness. Bettina always ensured that double-edged sword remained sharp. “I gotta say, that makes you a little more of a man for surviving. I’ll get her back for you, don’t worry.”

  Nait smiled but looked down again. His hands fidgeted as they rested in his lap. Jaskia glanced at his hair, noticing that it hadn’t grown much over all these months. Very slow for a 16-year-old, but still, she liked it. Little details like that provided familiarity that she had forgotten.

  “You’re making this a lot more awkward than it has to be.”

  Nait’s head snapped up and he smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, figured you’d call me out for that eventually. I guess…there’s just so much, you know? So much to catch up on. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again, but when I saw you tied to that bed…it woke me up. I felt scared for your life. I felt guilty that I hadn’t been there to stop him.”

  “Guilty?” Jaskia said, scoffing. “Come on, be realistic. You had no way of finding me and vice-versa. Even if you had been there, there’s no guarantee that you would’ve been able to help.”

  “I like to think that I would’ve at least—”

  Her face hardened. “What we like or what we think doesn’t matter anymore. I got captured, yeah, but that’s over. Scout’s the captive now, so think about what you’d like to do for her.”

  Harsh? Maybe, but the times called for that.

  “I know,” Nait whispered. He knew the truth of her statement, which she appreciated, if that mattered at all. “Just trying to focus on you a little bit for both our sakes. So many questions have run through my head since I saw you on that screen. What have you been doing all this time, Jask?”

  “The same as you: Getting by,” Jaskia said, shrugging. She didn’t see the need for a history lesson, but she’d indulge him a little bit because he cared. “I went to Peor after the takeover. I knew the Queen wouldn’t find me there. I started searching for orphans, like us. I found a couple and started training them.”

  She wanted to give Li and Sem better training than she had received. Training that didn’t include a last-minute betrayal. Someone had dropped her on Bettina’s doorstep as a toddler because, apparently, no better place existed. A better place needed to exist, especially for the kids who didn’t have anyone to drop them off.

  “Wow,” Nait said, slowly nodding. “You ever think about striking back at the Queen?”

  Jaskia laughed. “Duh, but the right opportunity hadn’t cropped up yet.”

  “That’s what we’ve been trying to find. Maybe that’s what this new lady has for us, but there’s no telling,” Nait said, sighing and sinking into the back of the couch. “Just hard to find trustworthy people.”

  “Trust is irrelevant,” she said, lowering her voice and narrowing her eyes. She figured that he’d default to that line of innocent thinking, but she couldn’t let him live in it. “The bottom line comes down to whether they can actually help or not. I don’t need to trust them.”

  Nait raised an eyebrow and alarm took over his face. “Working with untrustworthy people is a dangerous game, Jask, and we’ve seen that firsthand. There has to be some level of trust, or else, we’re risking a lot.”

  “If you think that anyone can stop Queen Bettina or change the Nebula without taking risks, you’re blind,” Jaskia said, retaining her hard stare. “I’m happy that you can trust the people on this ship, but don’t limit yourself to that. Trust is a sentiment and sentiments won’t win anything.”

  “Trust built the relationships the four of us have,” Nait said, frowning and shrugging. “That has to carry some importance, right?”

  Jaskia paused, taking in Nait’s worried face. She appreciated her relationships with Scout, Nait, and Naos. Growing up in the palace, she could only rely on the three of them. Their close relationships served as the reason behind each of them working as hard as they did to rescue her from Kurt. She respected that.

  However, those relationships hadn’t carried her through the last several months. Trust had nothing to do with achieving a goal.

  “Sometimes, yeah. But Scout trusted Bettina and that didn’t save her.”

  Jaskia never trusted Bettina. She only served her because she’d had no other choice. The state of the Nebula reflected her character as a cruel, narcissistic monarch. The takeover just revealed that to those closest to her.

  Nait nodded, looking down again. “Yeah, I guess.”

  She nearly rolled her eyes but withheld the gesture. Instead, she reached forward and pulled his chin up. “Listen, Nait, I like that you value people’s character. The Nebula needs someone to do that, so if you’ve got a ship full of people that do, then great. Just don’t expect the same from me.”

  She released his chin and he smiled. “Thanks. Maybe we need people like you, too.”

  “Well, you certainly do. Don’t know about everybody else.”

  They both laughed. Jaskia had missed his innocence and his optimism. Those qualities never came to her, so over the years, he served as her sole source of them. Now, she probably disagreed with them more than before, but she still liked seeing them in Nait. A weird position for her, but she guessed she would embrace it for now.

  “You know, Jask,” Nait said, widening his smile. “You still look pretty good with a gunshot in your belly. The long ha
ir makes you look even cut—”

  “You’re still terrible at flirting,” Jaskia said, grabbing his collar and leaning in.

  They kissed. Yeah, she missed that, too.

  7

  First, she felt the metal. The sleek surface sent its chill all over her back and her muscles tensed from the cold’s touch. She probably laid on a slab. Second, she felt the restraints on her wrists. She gauged her flexibility by trying to wiggle her hands, but found that she had none. The grip on the restraints indicated iron. Third, she smelt the stale odor of an old room. Fourth, opened her eyes. A white spotlight greeted her and prevented her from scoping out the rest of the room, but she could still tell that the entire room didn’t have this level of brightness. Only her.

  Fi lifted her head and felt the pain from whatever hit her on Graig. That would leave a bump, but it didn’t feel as bad as the regret that she had over not seeing that attack coming. A stupid oversight.

  “The sedatives are wearing off,” Captain Nelson said. She couldn’t see him, but she knew his voice better than she liked. “Should we re-administer?”

  Fi should have slit his throat on Adli.

  “No. The last day has cost us too much time,” a female voice said. Fi hadn’t heard it before, but she knew to whom it belonged. “We’re ready to test the final perfections, so she must be awake.”

  Nelson removed the spotlight and the slab rose. As it lifted Fi upright, she didn’t focus on the dim, dark green room. She took in the details quickly and only noticed how empty it seemed. Instead, she focused on the person emerging from the shadowed entrance. Queen Bettina.

  “You showed more resistance than expected, Fi Kal,” she said, folding her hands in front of her waist. “You annihilated soldier after soldier, but do not fear. It is forgiven.”

  “Didn’t ask for mercy.”