“Please!” Farris begged openly weeping as his whole body trembled. “It wasn’t me! Please, just give me a chance.”
“I can’t take that risk,” she muttered her eyes narrowing as her whole body tensed.
“No stop!” I cried stepping toward the two of them with an outstretched hand.
“You’re about the last person I’d expect to come Farris’s defense,” Strave said his eyes wide with surprise.
“As far as I’m concerned, we should string him up and flay him,” Kaya growled pressing the phase pistol into Farris’s skin with such force that he stumbled backward.
“We are NOT the Qharr,” I said looking about the room. “We’re better than they are! Or at least I’ve always believed so! How many of us have lost friends or family because one of those bastards decided they’d done something wrong? You guys want to kill Farris without even giving him a chance to prove his innocence! How is that any different from the gray-skins? He had a Qharr device! So fucking what! Any one of us could have easily slipped that in his pocket without him noticing! Being a jackass isn’t proof of guilt!”
Jaysen nodded. “She’s right. We can’t kill him… not without being completely sure. I don’t want his blood on my hands.”
“Yeah, well what do you propose we do with him until then? We’re coming up on your old compound now! We can’t just leave him in the ship with only the doctor to guard him!” Kaya panted the hand holding the pistol quivering as she yelled.
“We need to interrogate him…” Jaysen trailed off glancing at Farris. “Maybe then we can figure something out.”
Kaya shook her head, glanced at Farris then raised her phase pistol and slammed the butt into the side of Farris’s head. The platinum-haired goon’s eyes rolled into the back of his skull and he fell to the ground face first.
“Damn, I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” she said with a dramatic sigh and turned to Strave. “You and Jaysen go and lock him up in the rear crew quarters and see if you can’t find some rope or maybe some of that organic cabling the grays like so much, so we can tie him up.”
Strave nodded then without a word bent over and flipped Farris over his shoulder then turned to Jaysen grinning from ear to ear. “Care to join me?”
Jaysen nodded then just before he left he turned to me. “Oh, by the way the new hair and eyes… Th-they look nice.”
“Shit, what the hell was that all about?” Kaya rounded on me after the two of them had left.
“This all seems a bit too convenient doesn’t it? We think we may have been betrayed and suddenly we find Farris with a Qharr communicator. I think it’s a setup. My guess is whoever is really responsible planted it on him knowing that we’d all be quick to jump down his throat,” I muttered with a shake of my head.
“Then what the hell do you propose we do?”
“Oh, the solution is quite simple,” Khala said suddenly appearing leaning against Kaya’s shoulder. “Set the ship down and set a trap for your betrayer.”
I relayed what Khala had said to Kaya, who then grimaced. “And how does she propose we do that?”
I stopped to listen to Khala then turned to Kaya with a shrug, “We bluff them and hope someone falls for it.”
“Well then,” Kaya grimaced. “What the hell do we have to lose? Let’s do it.”
“Vakrexid is most fond of potatoes,” the doctor proclaimed his head titling back and forth. “The taste of them when they are juiced… It is most nectarous!”
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it,” I mumbled letting out a long yawn as the doctor continued to babble on.
“You know,” I said suddenly. “It’s probably best if no one heard me talking. I mean you are supposed to be guarding Farris alone.”
“Ah, yes. Of course, of course!” the doctor proclaimed absently running his hand across his face tubes. “Vakrexid shall talk to myself then.”
“Won’t that seem a little odd if anyone heard?”
“Odd… Why? I frequently talk to Vakrexid,” he replied letting out an odd sort of trumpeting sound.
“Alright, well just… forget it,” I mumbled running a hand through the back of my head. It felt odd having so little hair there. I’d sort of gotten used to my longer tresses.
I shook my head and let out a long sigh as the doctor continued to name the Earth foods, he liked to juice; including, oddly enough, salmon and mice. How in the world could you juice a fish much less a rodent? I shook my head, suppressed a shudder and looked down at Farris’s form. He was chained to the bed and was sound asleep thanks in no small part to the cocktail of drugs the doctor had given him. It would be so much easier if he proved to be the traitor, but as much as I tried to convince myself that he was I couldn’t bring myself to believe it.
The doctor continued to babble and nothing happened for what seemed like the longest time, then all of a sudden the door slid open and Straffen poked his head in. “Doctor,” he grinned pointing his thumb over his shoulder. “It’s time for Jaysen and me to have a turn.”
Vakrexid cocked his head. “Has it been four hours already? It is as you humans say, the passing of events flies when you are enjoying yourself.”
“Close enough doc, close enough,” Strave muttered before strolling into the room followed closely by Jaysen, who was so much smaller than the bearded rogue that he had been completely obscured by the other’s larger frame until Strave had stepped away. They both carried pistols at their hips but Jaysen’s was of a much smaller and thus less powerful variety. I gritted my teeth and sunk down further into the bunk-bed then waited for the doctor to depart.
“I don’t know why the fuck we don’t just blow Farris’s brains out here and now,” Strave growled once the doctor had zoomed out the still open door.
“I don’t know…” Jaysen trailed off. “Maybe Lexa’s right about Farris deserving the chance to prove his innocence. I know he’s a huge asshole, but he’s been fighting with the resistance for almost ten years.”
“Come on, Jaysen you and I both know the bastard’s guilty why waste the time on him?”
“Because we know who the real traitor is,” Kaya muttered suddenly appearing in the doorway toting two phase pistols in either hand.
I gritted my teeth and felt my muscles tense up. I hadn’t expected Kaya to make her appearance so soon, but knowing her impatient nature I wasn’t really surprised. It really didn’t affect the plan whatsoever so I suppose it didn’t really matter.
“It’s Strave,” Kaya said grimly.
“Very good, Kaya. So you figured it out did you?” Strave said pulling out his own phase pistol and training it on the other rebel.
“No, actually. I didn’t, but you just gave yourself away,” she scowled training both of her pistols on Strave. “Lexa thought this whole thing seemed jilted, but she didn’t know whether you or Jaysen was the traitor so we came up with this little plan. Personally, I didn’t expect it to work, but we had to try something.”
“Clever, but I’m afraid it doesn’t do you any good,” Strave muttered. “The Qharr have destroyed nearly all your bases and captured or killed most of the members of your rebellion. You’re all that’s left.”
“Why?!” Kaya shaking with rage. “Why the fucking hell did you do it Strave? You hate the Qharr as much as any of us!”
Strave threw his head back and let out a throaty laugh, “I used to, but… then I met up with a couple Hunters about a half a year back and they showed me the error of my ways. The Qharr are our rightful masters and why shouldn’t they be? We are a loathsome honor-less people. Under their rule we’ll learn the true meaning of honor and thus bring true everlasting joy into our lives.”
‘By the makers! His mind has been bent!’ Khala curses echoed through my mind.
‘Bent?!
‘This is inconceivable! I did not believe the Ascendancy would go to such lengths! To do such a thing… it is without honor!”
“Christ, you�
��re freaking insane!” Jaysen muttered stumbling backward with a horror-filled look on his face.
“No, it’s you damned rebels who are insane! You fight the Qharr and bring misery to the rest of us! If you served the masters like you were supposed to, they wouldn’t bring so much pain down on us! Don’t you see? It’s all your fault!”
“News flash!” Kaya yelled. “You’ve been fighting right alongside of us.”
“I know,” Strave shook his head and started to sob. “When the masters helped me to understand the truth. They gave me this task so that I could earn forgiveness and if you join me and tell them what they need to know they’ll forgive you too.”
“What they need to know? What the fuck would that be!?” Kaya yelled between clenched teeth.
“Mara’s secret plan. I never was able to figure it all out, but I know about the biometric key and I know she thought it could be used to save humanity. My handlers thought it was important enough that they instructed me to help you escape so I could find out what she had planned.”
Kaya was shaking with rage and I knew it was only a matter of time before she pulled the trigger on one of her pistols. “Just tell me one more thing, you only knew the location of a handful of bases, how the fuck, did you figure out where the rest of them were?”
“That, my dear Kaya was easy. You see as you might recall I was involved in the transfer of supplies. I didn’t need to know the locations all I had to do was place small almost undetectable tracking devices inside some of the supplies so that the Qharr could track their comings and goings.”
“That’s all I needed to know,” Kaya narrowed her eyes then pulled the trigger.
Strave suddenly dove out of the way and the phase bolt struck the wall instead. The bearded traitor trained his own phase weapon on Kaya. I picked that moment to act. I dove off the bunk bed and went flying at him, but he was ready for me. There was a flash of metal and a bang, pain exploded in my chest and I collapsed to the ground at his feet clutching at my right breast.
“Mara’s Magnum,” Strave grinned. “I grabbed it from where she had it stashed on the Phoenix. I thought it might come in handy if you caused any trouble. You honestly think I didn’t see you hiding up there on that bunk?”
“Now,” he growled turned back to Kaya and placing the barrel of the gun against my back. “Put the god-damned pistols down or I fire again!”
“Fuck,” Kaya muttered dropping both of her guns and glaring at Strave with a look that sent cold shivers up my spine.
“Well, that was easy,” Strave laughed. “… but Lexa’s too dangerous to keep alive. So I’m going to have to kill her. It’s too bad really she really knows how to give a guy a good fucking.”
“Nooo!” Jaysen yelled and threw himself at Strave.
I gasped and rolled onto my back then staggered back to my feet. My chest hurt like hell, but I didn’t let that stop me. Of course, if I wasn’t bonded with Khala I doubted I’d have the strength to even lift my arm. I slowly turned and watched as Jaysen struggled against the other man.
I swallowed hard as I realized that the much smaller man didn’t stand a chance. Whatever advantage Jaysen had gained when he jumped Strave quickly evaporated when the bigger man began to fight back. There was another loud bang and Jaysen collapsed to the ground with a huge wound in his chest from Strave’s weapon. I had no idea whether the smaller man was dead or alive when his assailant rounded on me, but I did know I was going to make that bastard pay.
Burning hot rage the like of which I’d only felt a handful of times in my life filled me and I raced to where Strave was standing not caring if he shot me or not. He brought the weapon up, but before he could fire I grabbed his wrist and twisted it away from me. I felt something snap, probably one of his bones, and he howled out in pain as the gun slipped from his grip “That was a mistake, you mother-fucking bastard,” I spat and locked my hands around his neck and with one violent jerk snapped it. I shoved his body aside then I fell to my knees next to Jaysen’s inert form frantically feeling for a pulse and felt a surge of hope as I found a very faint thump.
I turned to look at Strave and felt a deep sadness come over me. Poor Strave, he didn’t deserve what had been done to him. He was a womanizing bastard to be sure, but to actually have his mind twisted in such a manner. It was horrendous. Killing him was probably a mercy to his soul, but this realization didn’t make me feel any better or help to remove the sour taste from my mouth.
“Kaya,” I breathed bowing my head over Jaysen’s chest. “Get the doctor… Hurry!”
I felt tears well up in my eyes as I stared down at him and let in a long intake of breathe as I confronted a new set of emotions. Guilt. I felt bile rise in my throat and shuddered as I thought of having sex with Strave. I’d let myself find comfort in the arms of a traitor even if he wasn’t responsible for his actions. If only I’d seen through his veil! Maybe I could have prevented this whole mess. Maybe, we could have even found a way to save Strave and return him to his former self. If I had just done something differently…
“Move aside! Vakrexid is here!” the doctor suddenly proclaimed from the doorway.
I bit my lip, struggled back to my feet and stepped away still clutching at my bleeding chest.
“No, no, this… it is not good,” Vakrexid muttered his hands tracing across Jaysen’s wound.
“Is he… is he going to be alright?” I mumbled fighting back tears.
“Vakrexid cannot say. His condition is most dire. If I had access to my equipment from the bunker Vakrexid is certain I could save him, but the implements the Qharr use they are unfamiliar and Vakrexid is unsure if I can make proper use of them.”
‘There is another way. My child, the symbiote, which is growing within your body, is nearly mature. If we were to let my daughter bond with your friend she may be able to save his life,’ Khala’s voice whispered in my mind.
I felt cold chills run down my spine as I realized the implications. I could save Jaysen, but only by making him like me. ‘He’s unconscious,’ I answered her back. ‘You agreed not to let another human be bonded against their will.’
‘I think there is call for an exception don’t you? I made the agreement with you therefore you can override it. You could save his life isn’t that what you want?’
I swallowed hard and looked down at Jaysen’s inert form. The symbiote would surely transform him just as Khala had transformed me, but wasn’t that what he wanted? He’d be saddled with an unwelcome guest for the rest of his life, but wasn’t that worth it if it meant saving him? I didn’t know, but I made the only choice I could stomach and felt an even greater surge of guilt as I came to my decision. Jaysen had taken that shot trying to save me if only I hadn’t acted more quickly.
‘Tell me what I have to do.’
‘My daughter is not mature and as such she will need extra help with the bonding process.’
‘So you need energy?’ I replied, but didn’t wait for a reply. I swirled around; my gun wound temporarily forgotten thanks in no small part to Khala, as I practically leapt out the door.
“Lexa wait!” Kaya called after me, but I didn’t stop or give any sign that I heard her.
“God dammit Lexa!” Kaya yelled grabbing my shoulder from behind.
I whirled on her, and stared into her eyes. “Let go Kaya!”
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“I… I can save her Kaya,” I growled.
“Her?! Who’s her?!”
Jaysen was a woman, even if she had the body of a man. I’d let my own perception of gender keep me from seeing that. “Jaysen! I can save her life. Now let go!”
Kaya eyes were wide as her hands slid away and I didn’t waste any more time as I broke out in a run. I hadn’t been far from the engine room so it didn’t take me long to reach it, but I could not escape the feeling that I was wasting precious minutes.
“Okay, you’re going to have to help me out here,” I spoke to Khala aloud. “What’s the best w
ay to way to do this?”
‘Remove that wall-plate in the right corner there above that panel. From there I should be able to drain power directly from the ship’s reactor.’
“Damn, I really hope you know what you’re talking about,” I said before grabbing hold of the wall plate. There looked to be a mechanism for releasing it, but I didn’t waste the time trying to figuring it out. I summoned up all the enhanced strength Khala granted me and ripped the damn thing off the wall.
“Okay, what now?” I asked tossing the wall plate to the ground.
There was a single thick tube about twenty centimeters in diameter within the opening, and as I stared at it, Khala told me what to do. In the middle there was a slight bulge and I grabbed at it pressing my finger into an indentation wide enough around to accommodate a Qharr finger. There was a faint click and the sheathing slid away to reveal the bare wires within.
“That’s convenient,” I said tentatively reaching out to grab the exposed cords.
I felt a surge of sudden energy as electrical currents swam up and down my arm. ‘There is nothing convenient about it. All Qharr ships have an access such as this in the event of an emergency,’ she replied just before she began to feed.
Power beyond anything I had ever experiences before slammed into me with the force of a stampeding bull, so much so that I was almost painful and yet… it felt good at the same time. An abrupt and very sharp pain flared in my right breast and I heard the ping of metal against the floor as the bullet flew out from my wound. I reached up to grab at my chest only to find that smooth flesh where before there had been a mass of bloody tissue. I let out a high pitched squeal as Khala continued to take in more power and the pain seemed to increase tenfold.
“God!” I screamed.
Then, with no warning whatsoever the pain fled, I let my hand slip away from the wires and it was all I could do to keep myself from collapsing to my knees. ‘Shit! You could have warned me! That hurt like hell!’
Battle For Earth Page 18
