by L H Whitlock
“So, do we have a plan yet?” Gloria asked.
Lily looked at Ulrick. He sighed and responded, “Gloria said that a Renegade commander named Chuck spoke through the intercom, so we know whoever is on this ship is aligned with Golan.”
Lily massaged her temple. “Well, it does appear that Chuck is acting on his own interests. I cannot believe he would do this. I have known him for years.”
Gloria gasped. “Gustavo! Do you think he was working with Chuck?”
Lily fell silent with thought. That was one possibility. Another was that Chuck had to detain someone to maintain his cover. Gustavo was an easy target. If there was a severe technical or system malfunction he was the person in charge of completing the pre-mission checklist.
Lily released a breath to fight against a wave of nausea. “I don’t know. Somehow I don’t think so, Gustavo is better than that.”
“I was thinking that.” Gloria nodded.
Lily staggered and leaned against the wall.
“Please, rest, A’Kilini.” Ulrick’s face was etched with concern. “We cannot do anything now, so try to rest.”
Lily patted the wall and sat down, leaning against it for support.
Gloria sat across from her. “Do you want to play make-make?”
“Sure.” Using the edge of her boot, Lily drew the horizontal lines of the game board. The side of her boot left a waxy film on the plastic floor.
Gloria pulled out a lipstick she somehow managed to sneak in and drew a teal circle on the upper right line.
They played in silence for what seemed like hours.
***
The door to the prison opened and soldiers filed into the room. Lily and Gloria stood next to the wall they shared with Ulrick.
The soldiers parted and Chuck and Vincent walked up to the cell, stopping just before the glass wall. Vincent was walking without a limp, despite having broken his leg recently. His long black hair shone in the artificial light, making his skin seem paler then normal. He wore the standard issue black cargo pants low on his hips, elongating his lean torso.
Chuck’s gray skin was blotted with white patches. This happened every so often when he was exposed to harsh sunlight. His thick tail bobbed behind him, matching his thigh in thickness. He was much stockier and shorter then Vincent.
“Vincent!” Gloria gasped, a smile stretching across her face. She raced forward. “I’m so happy to see you! I knew this was just a misunderstanding.”
Vincent ignored Gloria and smiled at Ulrick. “Well, who would have thought I would be the one to bring down the mighty Ulrick.”
Ulrick growled. “What is it you hope to accomplish? Getting rid of me would do nothing.”
Vincent chuckled. “Golan had wanted to get rid of you for a while, what use is a general who won’t Harvest a planet.”
Ulrick smirked. “Yet he was unable to…”
“You went rogue, working at your own leisure. You are no longer useful to Golan, just a liability.” Chuck argued.
“A liability? I am his strongest general.”
Lily looked from Ulrick to Chuck. Ulrick was a good actor, not letting his anger give his own plans away.
“It does not matter how strong you are, if you’re not able to follow instructions you are disposable.” Chuck crossed his four arms over his chest.
Vincent turned his attention to Lily. “Who would have thought all we had to do to destroy the mighty Ulrick was to kill Lily. It was in front of my eyes the entire time.”
Gloria banged her fist against the cell wall. “What the hell, Vincent. What happened to you?”
Vincent glanced sideways at Gloria. “Oh, yes. Thank you, darling, for providing me cover. I needed another person to steer the guilt away from me. Rowan still naively believed Gustavo to be the traitor on the team, all the way up to the moment I blew up the base’s landing bay and hijacked this ship. You were his first choice you know, he was about to get rid of you.” Vincent smirked. “But there was no need to play that card; Chuck did a great job convincing everyone that Gustavo was a spy.”
Lily opened her mouth to speak but Gloria beat her to the punch.
“You shit head. How could you do this? We trusted you…I loved you—“Gloria’s voice cracked.
“How could I do this?” Vincent held out his arms. “What has the Renegade ever given me? I cannot advance in rank, they don’t pay worth a damn and all their equipment sucks.”
Chuck picked up the conversation. “Golan has offered us high positions, with rewards, state of the art technology and money, lots of money. It’s not too late for you Lily, Golan would be happy to have you.”
“Fuck you.” Lily sneered. “Rowan saved you when your planet was being Harvested. You are nothing but a back-stabbing, honorless asshole and I am done hearing your excuses.
“Vincent…” Gloria murmured, her eyes glazed over.
“Sorry, doll,” Vincent cooed. “Thanks for playing along though.”
Gloria staggered back a few steps, Lily caught her shoulder. “What happened to you Vincent? You were never faithful, but you weren’t an asshole. She cared about you! The least you can do is give her some sympathy.”
“Hmm, it’s a shame I can’t just kill you now. But Golan wanted the pleasure of destroying Ulrick himself,” Vincent mocked.
“Then bring us to him, we shall see who destroys whom,” Ulrick rumbled.
Chuck laughed, his thick tail twitching behind him. “We shall see.”
Vincent twiddled his fingers. “Enjoy your cell.”
The moment Vincent left, Gloria sunk to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Lily knelt next to her and rubbed her back.
“Gloria,” Ulrick said from the cell next to them. “Do not listen to him. He obviously does not deserve such an amazing, beautiful woman.”
Gloria looked at him and smiled weakly. “Thanks you guys, but, I just want to be alone for a while.”
Lily rubbed the golden-haired girl’s back and scooted away, giving her privacy.
***
Pulsating red lights drew Lily out of her thoughts. She stood up sluggishly, her legs and hips stiff from sitting too long.
“What do you think it is?” Gloria asked, standing next to her.
“Everyone to your battle stations!” Chuck yelled through the comm. “It’s the Renegade.”
The ship jerked to the right and the power flickered off. The locks on the cell released and the doors cracked open. Gloria hopped off the floor and ran for the door, knocking it open. Lily sprinted after her. Ulrick met them at the door Vincent and Chuck had exited hours before.
“Lily.” He crushed her in a tight embrace. “I was so worried,” he whispered into her ear before releasing her.
The ship shook, knocking Lily and Gloria off their feet.
Ulrick kicked down the door. Two guards turned from their station and raised there E-Guns. Ulrick kicked one in the side of his head, and punched the other in the gut. The man cried out, gripping his stomach. Ulrick slammed him against the wall, yanking his E-gun from his grasp. Dropping the unconscious man to the ground, he patted the other down and tossed an E-Gun to Gloria and Lily. With a wave of his hand he motioned for the women to follow him. Sirens blared and smoke filled the hallway, dimming the pulsating red lights. Coming to a corner, Ulrick stopped and signaled for the girls to wait.
Lily came up behind him. “I will go first, fall back and take my rear.”
Ulrick glanced at her, one eyebrow raised. “I shall take the lead, A’ Kilini. You stay behind me.”
Lily glowered. “You have got to be kidding me,” she mumbled, but ultimately waited behind as he checked their route.
Finding no one in their path, Ulrick waved the girls forward. They ran closely behind him, guns on point.
Ulrick glanced back. “Does she always carry her weapon in this manner?”
Lily looked back at Gloria. “Point your gun down.”
“Sorry!” Gloria adjusted the firearm so it was poin
ted safely away from Lily and Ulrick.
A Gnak rounded the corner, rotating awkwardly on its seventeen appendages. Upon seeing them it let loose a cackling cry then somersaulted toward them, rolling on its hands and legs.
Gloria shrieked and shot her weapon. She hit the oncoming Gnak in what appeared to be its abdomen. Gray blood spilled onto the ground but the creature kept rolling. Lily shot it again, it slumped to the floor.
“Do not touch the skin, it is highly poisonous,” Lily warned Gloria as they ran around the Gnak.
The shots they fired seemed to have alerted backup as two additional Gnaks rolled into view, followed by three K’lors wielding an assortment of axes and swords. Ulrick dodged the Gnaks, knowing that Lily would handle them, and elbowed the nearest K’lor in the head; it slumped to the floor. After picking up the fallen K’lor’s axe, he sliced the pursuing K’lor across the stomach. The giant gave a ghastly cry and collapsed; his blood pooling on the polished floor. Ulrick caught the last of the K’lor’s arm and broke it. The K’lor’s cries ended abruptly as Ulrick snapped his neck.
A Gnak rolled so fast Lily could hardly make out its seventeen limbs. She shot its core; it gave a squealing cry before it withered to the metal floor. The second Gnak sped up and bounced off the wall, launching itself at them. Gloria summoned a shield, its iridescent edges sparkling around Lily like diamond dust. The Gnak slammed into it, bones from its many limbs breaking against the obstacle with a teeth-tingling crack. It screeched and launched at Gloria. Startled, Gloria dropped the shield. Lily dove and tackled her. Gloria shot at the Gnak as they fell, only managing to land a few bullets.
Ulrick growled, raised his stolen axe, and sliced the creature down the middle, spilling its innards to the floor.
Gloria retched, but managed not to throw up. She covered her mouth with a shaking hand and took several deep calming breaths. Lily doubted that was working as the creature’s foul smell hung thick in the air.
“That was awfully gory…” Lily said, wiping her hands on her pants. “And a bit of an overkill.”
Ulrick raised an eyebrow. “My apologies, A’ Kilini. I should have been more sensitive toward your friend. I will refrain from using aggressive sword tactics in the future.”
Lily rolled her eyes. “Sure, tough guy.”
“Seriously, you guys. I can’t believe you’re flirting in the middle of this mess,” Gloria scolded.
The shrill of an alarm saved Lily from her embarrassment. “Attention crew. Evacuate ship.” The message sounded through the hallway repeating itself again and again. The blinking red lights cast a sickening glare over the walls.
“Where’s the dock?” Gloria asked, following the Hilians down the hallway.
“Not sure. There should be a guide at the end of the hallway,” Lily followed closely behind Ulrick. He stopped at the end of the hallway and studied a diagram on the steel walls.
“Follow me,” he said. They ran down another seemingly endless hallway before entering into the control room.
From the looks of it a great battle had taken place. Bodies littered the room, blood pooling around their bodies. Sparks shot out from control panels and glass covered the ground. The silvery white surface of a planet filled the ship’s windows.
“Oh shit.” Lily ran to the controls, trying to redirect the ship’s course. The systems were non-responsive.
“The escape pods are down the hallway,” Ulrick commanded.
Lily grabbed Gloria’s hand, and followed Ulrick down the hall.
The door to the dock was open. Wires sparked and hung at crooked angles, several destroyed pods lay on their sides, charred and leaking fluids. The ship rocked again as it was pulled deeper into the planet’s orbit. The tattering of rocks made it hard to hear.
“What is that…hail?” Gloria called out.
“No, too high up. They might have a collapsing ring system,” Lily yelled back.
They hurried into the room. Three K’lors attacked, swinging axes high above their heads. Lily shot each of the aggressors in the head and ran past them, pausing briefly to pick up their battle axes, and hefted one to Gloria. She looked doubtful as she half-dragged the primitive weapon behind her.
“There looks to only be a few shuttles left. Get in. I will set the coordinates,” Ulrick commanded.
The ships were an older model than Lily was familiar with. Instead of a pod shape they were designed like shuttles, allowing for up to six people. Their dusty gray exteriors seemed out of place in the updated transport ship. Gloria hopped into the ship and rummaged through the compartments.
“We have food and water. And there are six suits,” Gloria shouted.
Vincent and Chuck burst into the room followed by a dozen K’lors. Vincent charged, grabbed Lily by the hair, and threw her to the ground. He pulled out an E-Gun. Lily rolled, scrambled to her feet, and shot first. She missed. The bullet ricocheted off the metal wall and struck a K’lor’s calf. The giant stammered, knocking over a rack of space suits. Gloria jumped out of the shuttle and shot at the stumbling K’lor. He slumped to the floor.
Vincent fired another round at her. Lily dove behind a shuttle and his bullet bounced off the side of the vehicle. Peeking around the side, Lily conjured her energy and laced her weapon with power. Vincent knelt behind a fallen metal storage cabinet. She shot, the energized bullet struck the metal and blew up, flipping the cabinet in the air.
Vincent howled and shot rapidly, not allowing her a chance to attack.
Ulrick grunted as he swung the battle axe, chopping at K’lors as they tried to retreat. Dead K’lors lay at his feet, their blood pooling around them.
Gloria screeched. Her gun fired, hitting the ceiling with an energized bullet. The ceiling erupted with flame and metal, wires, and lights fell to the floor.
Chuck wrapped his tail around Gloria’s throat, lifting her off her feet. Her legs flailed, her hands gripped at her restraint. Lily sprinted for Gloria, grabbing a fallen K’lors sword as she ran past. She raised the weapon in the air, her eyes set on Chuck’s thick, ugly tail.
Gloria held out a glowing hand. A shield materialized around Lily. She skidded to a halt; she wasn’t able to attack anything outside the shield. A ping echoed through the room, Lily spun around to see Vincent’s weapon ricocheting out of his hands, the man’s arms frozen with vibrations.
The shimmer of the shield dissipated. Lily brought her sword up and sliced Chuck’s tail off. Gloria toppled to the floor, wheezing and gripping her neck.
Chuck howled, blood spritzing from his opened tail, and dove for Gloria.
Lily lunged for him. A fist tangled in her hair, yanking her back and throwing her to the floor. She landed hard on her back, the air forced from her lungs. Vincent aimed his E-gun, a sneer distorting his handsome features.
Vincent was hit by a ball of energy, launching him away. His gun went off, bouncing off the metal floor next to her. Vincent hit the ground hard, his body crumpled and steaming.
Lily looked up to see Ulrick racing across the room, another ball of energy forming in his right hand. He hurled it at Chuck. Chuck looked up and fell to the side, barely evading the attack.
Gloria coughed and rolled away. She snatched her weapon off the floor and shot Chuck, striking his shoulder. His wails were cut off by a blast of Ulrick’s energy. He slumped to the ground, blood seeping from his mouth.
We have to leave, we are entering the atmosphere,” Lily yelled to Ulrick as she ushered Gloria toward the shuttle. “Get Vincent’s RAB!”
Ulrick marched to Vincent, yanked the device from his arm, and then sprinted toward the shuttle.
Ulrick closed the door once everyone was inside and sat in the pilot’s seat. He powered up the vehicle and guided the shuttle out of the transporter. The shuttle was pelted with rocks from the collapsing rings. They pinged off the sides with frightening persistence.
“How much fuel do we have?” Lily asked.
“Not enough to get anywhere. We have to land on the surface.�
�� Ulrick guided the ship down through the layers of pebbles. Off in the distance, the transporter ship entered the atmosphere in a streak of fire. It propelled toward the ground, hitting the surface in a fiery explosion. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she wasn’t sure if it would ever return to its rightful place.
The purity of the white planet below made Lily’s eyes hurt. Snow dunes covered the ground, some hundreds of feet tall. Clusters of hot springs broke apart the frozen wasteland. Billows of steam rose in the distance, distorting the image of the hot springs. Forests of snow-covered pillars disrupted the waves of pristine snow. Ulrick landed the ship between two snow dunes, hiding the ship from scouts.
“Let me check the readings before anyone gets out.” Ulrick waited for the system to take a reading of the atmosphere. “Suit up. It’s 244 Kelvin, and the radiation is high.”
“Can’t I just use the RAB?” Gloria asked, looking down at the bulky suit.
“No, the RAB is only designed for short-term excursions,” Ulrick explained.
Gloria sighed and put on the suit. Her long hair gathered at the bottom of the dome helmet, surrounding her in a golden scarf. The fitted, full body suit was white with bright orange seams, not too great for camouflage. Lily put her’s on as well, the insulation instantly warming her body. She fiddled with the RAB, reaching out to her team.
“Hello? Hello? Anyone there?” After a moment of silence a response came back.
“Lily, is that you? We saw the transporter crash.” Sara’s worried voice came through the arm band.
“We got out on a shuttle.”
“Rowan is going to be so happy you’re okay. Vincent and Chuck…They-they blew up base, stole a shuttle and hijacked the transporter you were meeting.”
“How many are dead?” Lily asked.
“There are a lot of casualties,” Sara’s voice croaked. “A lot of people were lost.”
Lily’s nose tingled as she blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. “I cannot believe he did this. I hope that bastard died in the crash.”
Ulrick gripped her shoulder. “Tell them to check the wreckage. We will meet up in a bit. We need to get away from the shuttle in case Golan sends troops after us.”
