“Well, now that you mention it, I guess I was probing your willingness and ability to lead the men down on the surface of Drylon. Yaza only agreed to let me take this commission if I promised that I wouldn’t step foot on Drylon when we got there.” He looked over at him, “I know it seems cowardly, not leading the men out to battle. But, I see this as a co-commandership anyway. Besides, I’m not sure that I could handle walking into those mines again. How would you feel about leading the ground attacks Ceran?”
Ceran smiled and said, “I had every intention to go down in your place. I only hoped that you wouldn’t give me a hard time about it. Besides, wasn’t that was the reason why I was sent away for training?” Talk about coincidences, the tall blue Eldorian ducked under the threshold leading up to the bridge, “What can I do for you, Zion?”
He looked at the constellations that passed quickly by in the large window in front of the commander’s chair. “Good morning, I was under the assumption that we were scheduled to leave at this time, not that we would be halfway there.”
“I trust you slept well,” Zirlo said.
“Yes, I did.” Zion stood next to Ceran at his workstation.
“I couldn’t sleep,” Zirlo said. “We had enough crew when I came back here. I took a vote and everyone here agreed that we should leave early. That way, we could be the first ones to arrive. It would be easier to brief the incoming ships as they arrive, would it not?”
Zion nodded. Ceran watched him, carefully taking note of how he stood in this space. He was comfortable on the command deck. “Do you often travel on ships like this?”
“I do. On the ship I’m stationed on, I am the navigator.” He reached out at touched the images of the plotted course. “We can get to Mithuna faster if we take this route.” He flicked his finger in the direction of the commander’s chair and the information was instantly brought up in front of him.
Zirlo examined the suggested course and replied, “You are right. I didn’t think to go this way. We could shave off several parsecs.” He nodded at Zion, who bowed his head in respect to the commander. “Make it so, Ceran. We will follow Zion’s suggestion.”
“Yes, sir.” Ceran elbowed Zion in the side and smiled whispering, “Show off.” His fingers were typing fast on the workstation. Zion looked away chuckling and finding humor in Ceran’s comment. If he was anything, he was modest. “Did you want to hang out up here? I am sure that we can find you something to monitor.” They laughed and Ceran got him settled on the bridge.
Coming out of the last wormhole that led directly to Mithuna, they came to the stars that marked Orion’s belt. They looked just under to the Gemini constellation to the stars Castor and Pollux. The edge of this system overlapped the Milky Way Galaxy. He loved the old fables of the Gods and Heroes of old that Laura had shared with him. Three sets of twin stars were in front of them as they continued to the rendezvous point past Gemini. When they arrived, they found the starships from nearby Pleiades and Sirius waiting for them.
“We are being hailed, commander,” Alista said from the communications desk.
“Put it up on the main monitor,” Zirlo replied.
The glass that once displayed a view of outer space turned to static and was replaced by the image of a woman with long blond hair and very large crystal blue eyes. “Commander Zirlo, it is nice to finally meet. I am Nivea the commander of the starship Karanja from Pilades, sent by Lord Ashtar to assist you on this mission. My sistership, the Colwyn, is headed by Nukificos of Sirius. I was instructed to tell you that Lord Ashtar sends his regards and highest blessings for a successful mission.”
“It is very nice to meet you Nivea. We are honored to have you with us. Please pass my thanks to your Lord Ashtar. We appreciate all the help that can be mustered to bring the prisoners held on Drylon freedom from Gatton. I have word that the other starships should all start arriving shortly and we will proceed as planned through the wormhole into Drylon territory. I am sending you a detailed copy of our battle plan. You can assist where ever you see fit. We are a little weak when it comes to battling small fighter craft. If you can try to put as many fighters as you can spare in this capacity, we should do quite well.”
“Sounds good. You will have all that you need. We will be waiting for further instructions.”
“Roran, send a cloaked probe through the wormhole to make sure that there are no obstacles in our way,” Zirlo said.
Roran typed on his keypad and the image of space changed again to the picture captured by the camera of the probe. They all watched the probe pass through the wormhole and emerge on the other side. Nothing could be seen but darkness and the tiny planets that shared the solar system with Drylon in the far distance. Several loose rocks were floating by and the probe’s hadron lasers vaporized them. “All is clear, sir,” Roran said as he relaxed in his chair. The view from the probe was minimized and the view of space resumed. Off in the distance came the long Pernmock ship, the Karnack. From far away, it looked like a big “V”. The gravitational drive circled around the outside of the vessel, making it look like the body of the ship was oscillating.
“We are being hailed by the Karnack, Commander,” Alist announced.
Zirlo nodded to her as she touched a couple of lit buttons on her console to put the image on the screen, “Hello Kurtz!”
“It’s good to see you my friend,” Kurtz said. His image did nothing to portray his nine foot stature. He blinked his four eyes on the monitor and smiled, showing a line of razor sharp canines. “Zeb is just behind me.”
This went on until all ships were accounted for. It was almost like a party with communication between the ships. Everyone involved in the offensive against Gatton was in good spirits. King Og, the commander of the Gauntlet was the next to check in. Followed by Zeb’s ship the Eternity. The Murmods came in their giant water ship called the Leviathan with its squid-like tentacles that helped it move through space. The bell shaped Sanganese ships arrived last. All of those planets that didn’t have huge Starfleet ships such as the tiny people of Blacknor had docked with some of the larger ships among them. The ships that gathered here were huge and could only enter the wormhole one at a time safely.
“Hail them all, Alista,” Zirlo said and the screen was covered with images of all of the commanders that represented the ships. Everything was quiet and Zirlo stood and addressed them all.
“Commanders and crews, we all are about to embark on a mission of great importance. The self-appointed Emperor Gatton of Drylon must be defeated at all costs. If, not killed, he must be captured. We are here to free our fellow men from the deplorable conditions of the prison camps. Each one of you has been briefed about what awaits you there. However, words cannot accurately prepare you for what you will see.”
“The people from my camp are starving and I will venture to assume that those at all the other camps are as well. I have been advised by Dr. Arden that no prisoner is to be fed. To eat food in the quantities that we are used to consuming, could put the prisoners at risk for death. It is important that all of the prisoners be brought back to the motherships for assessment. They will be fed and healed by medical staff only.”
“Many of these people will not know that we are coming for them today. Our first task will be to subdue or eliminate the guards, then we will organize the people we have come to get into groups to be brought aboard the ships. Every ship here has been told to have set up quarantine areas for the safety of our crews. Sickness is something that you may not remember. However, in these camps, disease and sickness are at epidemic levels at times. It’s best to be cautious. Only those members of the staff that have been trained to handle these conditions are allowed into the quarantine areas until further notice.”
“Some of us have set aside specially trained teams to find and capture Gatton. They know their orders and they will report to me. We must fight smart. We must fight true. We will NOT let Gatton get away with what he has done to our people and countless others among the univers
e. Until the day, that he is captured or killed, we will never see the end of his tyranny. The fire that burned Theron, UV-49, and countless other planets in the universe burns forever in our hearts. We will be victorious! We will bring our brothers and sisters home! Let’s go!”
The sound of the battle cry rang through the ship. He could hear them all from the feeds of each of the ships that they were in contact with. With Zirlo’s motivational words, everyone was ready for this mission to begin. Zirlo steered the ship into the wormhole and one by one, each ship met on the other side.
“Yellow, blue, and red teams away,” Zirlo said as his commands were sent to every loudspeaker in the ship by Alista. These teams would go closer to the planet to set up the offensive. They would report any activity back to Zirlo. The teams were released as each ship came through according to the protocol set up before they had even arrived. It was all going according to plan.
Just outside the outer rims of the Drylon solar system they all converged. “This is yellow-one, reporting that all Drylon probes are disabled. The planet isin the dark.”
“Thank you, Yellow-one,” Zirlo said as he had Alista connect the bridges again.
“We are ready. Use your hyperdrives to get you to your position around the planet. Complete your assigned tasks. We will now separate into our own directives. May the strength and wisdom of the Gods be with you all!” Zirlo clicked off the monitor. “Ceran, initiate the hyperdrive sequence.”
“Hyper drive sequence initiated,” Ceran said as the screen went white and all space dust and particles bounced off the ship’s shield. Seconds later they were in position.
“Prepare to deploy landing teams 1-20,” Zirlo nodded at Ceran. “Good luck.”
Ceran nodded back and went down to the transport crafts with Zion at his heels. He put on his armor and picked up his CG-3 gun. Zion wore his trench coat with his usual double edge swords and other assorted small weapons strapped on to his person. “Teams 1-20, let’s go!” he walked up the ramp to his transport and strapped himself in the first seat next to Zion. Each team had 30 soldiers sharing a transport vehicle. There were five seats in six rows. Each one filled with a battle-ready soldier. The transport began to lift-off and pass through the large cargo doors in route to the planet’s surface.
As they entered the atmosphere the temperature inside rose and beads of sweat formed on Ceran’s forehead. They descended fast and the pilot put them on the ground just outside the gates of the prison. They got out fast and the transport vehicle took off. What they found there was odd to be sure. The prisoners were standing by the gates of the camp. The guards outside the gates ran away when the first three transports released their troops. Team two and three were dropped off on the opposite side of the fence. They chased down the guards while Ceran and team one started to ask questions.
“What’s happened? Why are the guards running?” Ceran asked a Pernmock man who had hands and arms that were covered with blood.
“I am Danuwee. They raped and beat us for the last time!” He yelled baring his teeth with his lower hands on his ax and the upper two were fists in the air. The others screamed out behind him. “All the guards ran for their lives and locked us in here.”
“Set them free,” Ceran said to the nearest of his soldiers.
“It might take some time, sir,” the soldier replied.
“Well, get on it.”
“This is Hator. We were sector mates with Zirlo. We need to find Carel and Jenaya. The guards took them away yesterday. They were probably transferred to the dungeon.”
“Did you say Carel?” Came a voice from behind them wearing an odd metal vest and a visor that folded back behind his head into a metal band that was connected from ear to ear. “I am Rog Gizzeppli, a captain in the Drylon Rebel Forces. I have been working with Carel from the beginning of this rebellion. Where is he?”
“We think he’s in the palace Dungeon with Jenaya,” the Pernmock said.
“You must be Danuwee, and you must be Hator. Carel has told me so much about you.” Danuwee bowed his head and looked down. “What are we waiting for? We need to go get them.”
“Is everyone safe inside the camp?” Ceran asked.
“We think that guards have all fled. There are some really sick people in there. One, in particular. If you can get someone down here, Hator can lead you to her.” Ceran thought a moment. It was safe now. The guards had fled and Laura might be able to help the woman.
Ceran tapped his communicator badge. “The prisoners have chased off the guards. I need Laura down here with a medical team. It is time to get these people up to the ship.”
“Sending medical down now.” Laura appeared to his right and he instinctively reached out to grab her hand.
“They have assured me that it’s all clear. This is Hator,” He pointed to the Theron man, “he will bring you to someone very sick. Send down the EVAC teams to start the evacuation protocol.” Laura turned to go, but Ceran wouldn’t let go of her hand. She looked at him for an explanation. Never taking his eyes off of her, “Zion, would you stay with her?”
Zion looked perplexed. He had wanted to go out and hunt Gatton. He looked off into the distance toward the palace and then at Ceran, “I’ll keep her safe, you’d better go.” Ceran kissed Laura on the cheek and turned to join the others.
Laura grabbed the handle of the bag that held her supplies. They followed behind Hator, who walked so fast that she had to jog to keep up. She turned back to see Zion ever watchful behind her. Any sign of movement around them instantly called his eyes to focus. While she was looking at him, she didn’t see a rock in her path and almost fell face forward into the dirt. Zion caught her mid-fall and put her back on her feet without a single word.
“Thanks,” she said. He just nodded. She had yet to hear his voice. This made him more of a mystery. She thought about all the stories that Ceran had told her that suggested he had a sense of humor but came to the conclusion that looks were definitely deceiving. Hator led them into a cave and it took her a moment for her eyes to adjust from the bright light outside to the dark caverns that were lit by torches braced to the wall.
“She is just over here.” Hator looked back as he ducked under a low opening. Lying on a thin blanket was a woman covered with masses on her face and shoulder. If she had to guess what was ailing her, she would say cancer. Is this the woman that Anora eluded to? Would she be able to heal someone this far gone with the disease? “This is Mattie and her husband, Neshal,” Hator said. She dropped down to her knees with her scanner in hand. The scanner was beeping wildly. That wasn’t a good sign. That meant that the scanner was ill equipped to deal with sickness of this magnitude. She put the scanner in the pocket of the bag and reached out her hands.
“How long has she been like this?” she asked Neshal.
“I wouldn’t know. Danuwee brought her to me yesterday. I’ve been told that she has been sick for a long time, but they would never let me see her,” Neshal replied. Laura thought he looked extremely overwhelmed and harbored the idea that she wouldn’t be with him much longer. “Carel had brought some medicine for her that Jenaya asked for. But, we don’t know how to give it to her.” He handed her a cloth bag. Inside it was a glass vial with a powdery substance within. Problem was, she didn’t know what it was or how to administer it either. She put her hand on either side of her neck to feel for lymph nodes. They were swollen to three times the size they should have been.
A noise came from behind her. It was the sound of a pebble rolling down a rock decline. She looked behind her to find Zion on alert and his hands reaching for his weapons. Hator backed behind Zion’s large body as if looking for protection. Zion walked toward the entrance of the cave they were in. She turned away and focused on the patient. The men would have to handle any intruders. She checked the energies that surrounded this woman and it was all dark, muddy black and grays. “Is everything alright Zion?” She heard nothing. Not surpri
sing, after all the yapping he did around her earlier.
She looked toward the door and heard a loud “oof”. A guard with a rather nasty gash on his forehead was leaning against the adjacent rock wall looking at Zion with murder on his mind. Zion pulled both of his swords out in one easy motion and swung them around as the guard searched his belt unsuccessfully for the pulsar gun that used to reside there. With no weapon, the guard decided to take his chances with his fists. He closed the distance on Zion and when he got within inches, he flew slamming into the nearest wall. Zion took the long hilts of the swords and screwed them together. The guard was edging closer and he seemed to remember something important. He kneeled down and reached into his sock for a set of throwing knives.
Zion saw them, too. He let him pull them out and even let him throw one. The first knife missed its mark by inches. Zion then advanced toward him as the guard cowered. He found enough space to throw the next knife, and he let it fly. It flew against the wall with the sound of metal hitting rock and clanged against the floor. He got closer on that one. The purple blood of Zion’s ear was on the tip. Zion stood taller and reached the guard who was determined to make one last ditch effort to thwart this stranger. He had the knife in his hand as Zion twisted several times playing with the man, baiting him out of the small space where his dual-blade was rendered ineffective. The guard parried and that was when Zion made his move. He flipped backward avoiding the tip of the knife and his sword moved so fast it whistled. Several swings later the guard’s head was upright in his hands falling onto his lap as his blood gushed up from his neck against the wall. The tang of iron in the air was ever-present now.
Zion wiped the blood off the blades and untwisted the hilts. Each sword was returned to the scabbards hidden in the back of his coat. She looked at him quizzically.
“What?” he said, as he resumed watch.
The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) Page 33
