A Galaxy Divided

by Spencer Maxwell

  Ryze couldn’t count how many guards there were—too many—but if he had to guess, he’d say about thirty, maybe forty.

  The surprise attack made the front line fall back a few dozen feet in the corridor. They took cover behind boxes and inside the alcoves leading to other rooms and hallways.

  Ryze, in the lead with Alfis, waved his fighters forward. They needed out of Section J. Having their backs up against the wall, vastly outnumbered, would do them no good. As they advanced, two guards came around the bend holding a turret. Ryze shot their way, but at the last second had to turn his attention to closer enemies or risk getting a bolt to his unprotected head.

  “Turret!” he shouted over the blasts. “Gotta knock it offline before—”

  “I’m on it!” the Poranin yelled. He took off, thundering down the wide corridor before Ryze or anyone could stop him. The alien’s hide was hit with at least a dozen beamblasts, enough to put down any sane man, but the rebel was determined and kept on going. Somehow. It bulldozed its way through a wall of Dominion uniforms, knocking them every direction.

  Ryze let some cover fire loose, taking out a few guards in the process, but it didn’t do the Poranin much good.

  “Crazy son of a—” Alfis was saying.

  Then something else caught Ryze’s attention. The Poranin had reached the turret. Unfortunately, so had the guard carrying the turret’s ammunition moments before. Now a great burst of rounds exploded on the rebel, and they did the trick, rendering the Poranin useless. Hole after hole continued punching through his skin.

  “No!” Ryze shouted, breaking rank against Wylow’s wishes. He aimed and fired at the gunner. Hit him square in the upper chest. The shot knocked him back a few feet and onto his side. Dead or not, he wouldn’t be on the turret, but someone else would be unless Ryze destroyed—

  The Poranin remained standing, but he was wobbling, full of holes, and leaking white blood. He made it about a yard from the turret and then fell, crashing down on the heavy gun, crushing it.

  It was a sacrifice Ryze would never forget. He stopped advancing, shot at two other guards popping out of their alcoves near the downed power weapon, and took cover.

  Peeking around the wall, a beam ricocheted off the edge, spraying rock and dust in his face. The pebbles ripped into his cheeks like bee stings. This is why I wear a helmet, he thought as he gritted his teeth against the pain. Warm blood trailed down his jawline and dripped onto his armor, leaving dark red streaks.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wylow moving forward until she stopped at the alcove opposite him. “They’re still coming,” she said. “We gotta get out of here!”

  Alfis, on the other hand, was unconcerned. The Atorga rushed through the battlefield, blasting and screaming. He would’ve kept going to his death, had Ryze not yanked him out of the open and into cover.

  “Hey man! What the hell?!” Alfis shouted.

  “How many?” Ryze asked.

  “What?”

  “How many guards are left?”

  “I don’t know, maybe twenty. It don’t matter, I’m gonna gut ‘em all!”

  “How many of us?” Ryze said. He wouldn’t risk a glance. He had learned his lesson, the bloodstains on his armor a constant reminder.

  “Not twenty…or twelve, for that matter.” Alfis answered. “A few, I’d say.”

  “We need a diversion, a way to get the hell out of this corridor and this prison,” Ryze said. Think, think. C’mon, think! his mind demanded. The image of the Poranin and the turret popped into his head. An image he’d never forget. Was there an explosion? There should’ve been an explosion. He sniffed the air, but all he smelled was the blaster fire, no smoke.

  “Surrender!” one of the guards yelled, only to be answered with a shot from somewhere behind Ryze, so loud he couldn’t think. But he was onto something, though. He was so close.

  “How about this for a diversion?” Alfis said. “I shoot their faces off!”

  “No, no. You’ll just get killed,” Ryze answered. “Hate to say it, but we need to be smarter here.”

  “Well, any day now, Starlo!” Wylow called from across the corridor. She leaned around the corner and blasted at the guards. “Put that soldier brain of yours to use!”

  “Working on it!” Explosion, explosion—there should’ve been an explosion. Why—

  Then it hit him. “Yes!” he shouted. “The turret. We can shoot the energy-drum. A gun as big as that one, hardly shot…it’ll be a mini supernova.”

  “Good luck,” Alfis said, leaning out and shooting at the guards. One screamed in pain. “Those turrets are armored more than Button.”

  “There’s a weak spot, just like there’s one on Button. It’s tiny—minuscule, in fact.”

  “The ventilator?” Jade called.

  Ryze smiled and nodded. “The ventilator.”

  “The whatinator?” Alfis repeated.

  “The ventilator is the opening the blaster turret connects to. That’s how it draws the energy from the drum and turns it into beamblasts. It’s only about two by two inches wide, but—”

  “How do you suppose you’re gonna hit that with all of them shooting at you, Star Boy? You gonna run up there and blow up with the rest of ‘em?”

  “Alfis, my friend, I don’t miss.” Ryze dropped his empty n-pack and smacked in a new one, grinning. “Lay down some cover fire and I’ll hit it.”

  Alfis looked at him, his one eye regarding Ryze like a crazy person. After a few seconds, he gave in. “All right, if it means I get to shoot some more, whatever. Let’s go!” He rolled into the corridor and took cover behind two downed Dominion guards. His rifle ripped off blast after blast.

  Wylow saw Ryze moving and she shouted, “What are you doing? Are you serious about this?”

  “Take cover!” was all he said.

  Then he spun off the wall and into the corridor with Alfis. There were what seemed like a hundred guards with their blasters firing. So many, that their faces and bodies blurred together into one large Dominion monster, some sort of ravenous being—but beyond them lay the dead Poranin and the broken turret.

  No helmet, Ryze thought as he sighted the square energy pack lying on the floor. No targeting system, but I can still do this.

  He willed everything to slow down as he took a deep breath and squinted an eye. And then he pulled the trigger.

  Twenty-Seven

  Ace Silver came out of a QJ into Sker space just as Ryze shot his flayzer at the energy-drum.

  Unlike the Starblazer, the previous owner of the ship Ace piloted had splurged on a cloaking device. It was the Gray pirate’s. Ace turned it on now and listened to the comm chatter coming from the planet’s surface. There was a small revolt happening there. A dozen or so prisoners had escaped and gotten into a firefight with the guards. It seemed the prisoners were winning. Soon they would be freeing the others, taking weapons, and commandeering their own transports off the planet.

  Ace sneered. As much as it hurt for him to hear this, he only had one goal in mind: Find Queen Jade, obtain the crystal his God-King was after, and win back his old friend and his spot as the God-King’s right-hand man.

  That, or Ace Silver would die trying.

  But he would need patience, something he'd lacked for the better part of his life.

  Patience.

  So he waited for the Starblazer and for the bounty hunter degenerate who would lead him to his goal.

  Twenty-Eight

  Three bolts blasted from the flayzer’s muzzle, and each shot was true.

  The explosion shattered the slow motion illusion. A wave of heat and blue flame flared down the corridor, sending Ryze and Alfis back several feet. They landed roughly their asses.

  Coughing, Ryze sat up.

  “Shit!” Alfis said. “That. Was. AWESOME! Nice shot, Star Boy!”

  The smoke cleared. Red light filtered in through a hole in the wall. Most of the guards lay unmoving while some squirmed weakly.

  “There’s
our exit,” Ryze said. “I better let Eradice know.” He wiped soot from his face, then punched his wrist comm button.

  “I see you guys have made yourselves at home,” Eradice answered.

  “Listen, Eradice. I don’t think we’re going to be able to make it to the rendezvous point. Some…things have come up.”

  “Well, guess we’re going to have to leave you behind,” she replied.

  “What?”

  “Joking, joking. Look out of that new window you just made,” Eradice said.

  Ryze did, and as he did, the Starblazer hovered into view.

  “Well, what the hell are you waiting for?” Eradice said. “Come on!”

  “What about Blue?”

  I AM ALREADY ONBOARD, Blue responded. UNLIKE YOU AND ALFIS, I AM CONTINUALLY PUNCTUAL. THE SHIELD IS DOWN, LET’S GO!

  Ryze laughed. “On our way!” A few steps toward the opening, he stopped and looked over his shoulder at the remaining rebels they had freed. “You guys need a ride?”

  The aliens glanced at one another, communicating only with their eyes.

  “Our work here is not finished,” one of the Roviks said, its lizard tongue whipping out between sharp teeth.

  Still, Ryze hesitated.

  “I know who you are, Ryze Starlo,” continued the Rovik. “The God-King wants you, so I assume you are an integral piece to this uprising. So go! We will find our own way off, and we will free the others.” He tapped his chest. “Long live the rebellion!”

  “Thank you, friend,” Ryze said. “And long live the rebellion!” Alfis jumped on his back and climbed to his shoulders. The ship’s boarding ramp emerged. Blue was there with one green tentacle wrapped around the railing, another extended in their direction.

  Ryze offered a hand to Wylow. She took it. He would not lose her again.

  From his wrist comm, Spex said, “Glad you’re back, sir.”

  “Glad to be back, buddy.” Ryze grinned. “All right, now let’s get off this rock.”

  Then he, along with Wylow and Alfis, entered the Starblazer and escaped the prison planet of Sker.

  They had completed their mission—not as six lone rebels, but as one rebellious team.

  Want to know how Ryze and Spex became best friends? Join Spencer’s Star Team and get a free copy of Ship Seeker, a Cosmic Outlaws prequel story!

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  Voidrunner

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  Characters

  Ryze Starlo — Former Xovian war hero turned bounty hunter, captain of the Starblazer

  Spex — The Starblazer’s snarky artificial intelligence, Ryze Starlo’s best friend

  Jade Alanden — The new Queen of Xovia, keeper of the crystal, practiced in the ways of the Essence

  Wylow — Jade’s closest queensguard and friend, great warrior and small tech genius

  The God-King — Zaidre, the ruler of the galaxy, practicer of the Essence, hellbent on finding the missing crystal piece for nefarious reasons

  Ace Silver — War-master of the Celestial Dominion, the God-King’s right hand man

  Akyra — Thrathan mercenary hired to track down Queen Jade

  Ty — Bug owner of a repair hangar on Cryton IV

  Quen — Ryze Starlo’s employer on Coliseum

  The Sisters — Ancient order of Essence users on Xovia, lead by Scarleth and Reinya

  King Alanden — Deceased, Jade’s father, friend of Ryze Starlo

  Alfis — A short, fuzzy Atorga with a foul mouth, one eye, and sharp claws, part of the rebellion

  Blue — A telepathic Gelerris, shaped like a blob with many eyes, part of the rebellion

  Eradice — An otter-like alien, tech genius, part of the rebellion

  Sae — The last Linq in the galaxy, cat-like, part of the rebellion, a Voidrunner and wielder of an ancient weapon called the abysslade

  Ricz Danning — The God-King’s new second-in-command

  Gnar — A space pirate, part of the Grays

  Planets

  Xovia — Ryze Starlo and Jade Alanden’s home world, attacked by the Celestial Dominion

  Ypso — A wretched hive of scum and villainy

  Capras — Home of Coliseum, where Ryze Starlo collects on his bounties

  Thrath — Home to the Thrathans

  Eitas — Home world of the God-King and Ace Silver

  Zed — Planet on the outskirts of the galaxy, largely made up of a desert terrain

  Cryton IV — Mostly barren planet run by the Gedix Hunil, home to the “bugs”

  UK-1457’s Moon — Location of a rebel base

  Sker — Dominion-controlled prison planet

  About the Author

  Spencer Maxwell lives in Ohio with his beautiful wife, daughter, and their five furry best friends.