Backlash Rising

by Brandon Ellis

  William and Hank looked at each other knowingly. Hank shrugged. “No, no arrest. If you do, maybe they’ll have some way to communicate with the jerks who attacked us, and all hell would break loose. The only thing William and I can think to do is…well…kill them. We know Diana has the Sirona Guards wrapped around her fingers, so they won’t pull the trigger on her or Sleuth. You and your Space Templar friends are more than capable.”

  28

  Koda

  Starbase Matrona

  Koda stiffened as two Brigantia Guard sent gunfire into the hangar. One guard was on one knee, the other standing, and they held their weapons toward the doorway, their bodies out of Payson’s view. The other guards stacked behind them, waiting their turn.

  Payson and his men returned fire, sparks flying off the edge of the door frame and the wall across the way. Then Payson’s teams’ gunshots ceased. The Brigantia Guard filed in, their rifle’s sweeping the area. More gun blasts and a guard flew against the wall. He slumped to his rear, his head tipped to the side, lifeless.

  Manning army crawled inside, Louise following him, and positioning themselves on the far side of Payson and his crew’s location. They both opened fire. A cloud of white dust erupted, and the Guards fell into coughing fits while continuing to fire, moving deeper inside the room.

  Louise coughed, looking away. “Payson is sending bullets into some barrels.”

  Koda watched as white dust misted outside of the hangar, spilling into the large hallway where he stood.

  “Close the door, Koda. Close the door,” yelled Louise. “We have to contain this shit.”

  Koda fumbled with his belt, searching for the ID Card. “You still have my card.”

  Through the white haze, he could see Louise’s outline and the orange bursts exiting her rifle’s muzzle. She turned to the side and tossed the ID Card Koda’s way. It ricocheted off the door frame, bouncing inside the hangar. Koda held his breath and rushed inside, sliding to his knees. He patted the floor, the white dust stinging his eyes.

  The ratatatat and bangs of gunfire died down, with a few shots cracking here and there. Someone grabbed Koda and threw him to the ground. He involuntarily inhaled a moment later and convulsed in coughs, wheezing. There were a few beeping sounds and the door closed. The dust cloud slowly settled, and Koda glanced up at four men in black gas masks staring down at him. One pointed a gun at him.

  A blast of bullets came from across the room, and one of Payson’s men jerked back and forth blood splattering. He dropped to the floor. A Payson soldier in a black mask turned and opened fire, sending the culprit sliding across the floor, his legs twitching a death dance. He looked down at Koda. “You made me take out some of our containers. I don’t like that.” He sounded like the leader, most likely Payson.

  Koda turned and saw Manning and Louise. His heart dropped when he saw both of them dead, blood soaking Manning’s back and blood dripping from Louise’s lips. Payson took a step forward, pressing his gun’s muzzle against Koda’s temple. He turned, facing his two remaining team members. “Finish what we started.”

  Koda gazed at the contraption Payson’s men had put together. A long hose connected to a barrel’s small, round opening. A machine attached to the middle of the hose, the end of the hose laying on the ground beside the barrel. A ladder leaned against the wall, its upper rungs near an air duct. A man ran to the hose and climbed the ladder. He slid the end of the hose inside the air duct just as a shot blared in the room. The man on the ladder lurched, his head whipping back, and fell lifeless to the floor, thudding loudly when he hit. The hose dropped, landing on top of him.

  “You,” yelled Payson, his eyes resting on someone else in the room. “You’re absolutely annoying.” He shifted his weapon from Koda’s temple and pointed it at Louise, who held a rifle now aimed at Payson. Koda, realizing he still held his gun, brought up his weapon, aimed at Payson, and pulled the trigger. Payson moved quickly and jumped away, bringing his gun back just as Koda’s bullet slammed into it, kicking it out of Payson’s hand.

  Louise took a shot a moment later, missing wide as Payson ducked out of the way. The way this guy moved was uncanny as if he was predicting each shot. Koda’s shot had been incredibly lucky.

  Koda coughed, figuring he didn’t have much time before the batrachotoxin took effect and eventually took his life. This one's for my people, he thought, narrowing his eyes and focusing on the manual airlock lever. He scrambled to his feet. Louise crawled toward Payson and threw herself at him. Blood streaked down her chin.

  Koda ran toward the airlock. A gun went off, and a sharp sting grabbed his upper back, his left arm instantly going numb. He was steps away from the ladder and another gunshot rang out. A stabbing sensation plunged into his lower back and shoved him forward. He stumbled face-first to the floor, hitting the side of his head on the wall. Dazed, he looked up to see the manual lever in reach. Koda coughed, his lungs feeling like glass as the toxin settled deeper. Nausea rose to his throat, and vomit full of blood sputtered out of his mouth.

  He pushed up, his muscles shaking, his eyelids wanting to shut, his insides melting away.

  “Where do you think you're going?” Payson’s muffled voice echoed in the large room. Another bullet sunk into Koda, entering his middle back and out his chest, blood spraying against the round airlock. Koda let out a gush of air, most likely his last. He lifted his weary arm and pulled down on the lever. As he fell to the floor, the lever moved down with him.

  Koda’s lips upturned, though barely, his muscles too weak to show his satisfaction, his win for his people. Koda clutched his chest, the pain overwhelming. Bye, Matrona.

  There was a click, and the airlock spun open. Another click and the secondary airlock door slid upward, exposing space. Wind overtook the hangar, and a loud whoosh filled the room, sounding like a heavy waterfall. Koda’s body was sucked out of the airlock and he spun in the frozen black expanse, his vision dotted by stars billions of kilometers away. As he spun, Starbase Matrona came into view, and the airlock pushed out hundreds of black barrels, twirling rapidly in his direction.

  His eyes and body swelled. His vision lessening, his last sight was of Payson coming in his direction. The guy’s mask had ripped off, and his mouth was open as if stunned at the turn of events. Louise and Manning, both dead, spilled out of the hangar and into the dark void. They saved thousands, maybe more from a terrible toxic death.

  More men exited the airlock, twirling away from Starbase Matrona.

  A strange thought came to Koda. War is empty. His body slipped deeper into the cosmos. We saved our people. Perhaps Devon had been right. Koda’s reign as Sphere Nine’s Prime Overseer had proved short, but he may have been one of the best politicians Starbase Matrona had ever seen.

  He forced a smile as blackness overtook him, the pull of space slipping him further away from his home. He never felt so close to his people, so at peace, and so alive when death came.

  29

  Shae

  Starhawk Transport, Unknown

  Shae puffed up his cheeks, then blew out. He put his hand up, ready to defend himself and Devon against the giant woman. He fought against the pain from the bullet wound. “I may be smaller than you, but you lay one hand on us, you get bloody in the process.”

  Kalista held the snip cutters. “Your talk is cheap, old man.”

  Devon stared at the cutters. “Please, ma’am. We don’t want to harm you.”

  “Listen…” She tilted her head at Devon, lifting one eyebrow as if silently asking for his name.

  “I’m Devon.”

  “Devon,” she continued, “turn around, and I’m snipping your cuffs. I won’t kill you two.” Her eyebrows rose, her eyes innocent. She holstered her gun. “I don’t kill. Just not my thing unless I have to.”

  Shae studied Kalista, looking into her eyes and studying her physiology. He didn’t know the Anunnaki’s facial tells, except for Prime Director Zim Noki’s, but if Zim’s physiology was a marker for thei
r race, this woman was telling the truth. Kalista lowered the cutters and walked behind Devon.

  Devon squeezed his eyes shut. “Don’t dismember me.”

  Kalista rolled her eyes.

  “Devon,” said Shae, taking a seat on the cabin bench attached to the wall, blood dripping down his arm. “Stop overreacting. She won’t harm you.”

  There was a snap and Devon flinched, then another snap. The sound of chains jingled against the floor. “Look at your hands,” said Kalista, moving toward the toolbox she pulled out from under the bench. She tossed the cutters in the box and slammed it shut, wiping her hands together. “You’re still in one piece.”

  Devon brought his hands in front of him, the cuffs were still around his wrists, but the chains connecting his cuffs were gone. He sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

  Shae leaned against the wall, rubbing his forehead. “Look, Kalista…” he lifted his head from the wall, the ache in his shoulder from the gunshot wound growing. “…I need you to turn this ship around and head back to Starbase Matrona. My people are in need, and I’m their Fleet Admiral.”

  Her mouth gaped open. “You’re Shae Lutz?” She stood still, resting her hands on her hips. “I’m impressed. From what I’ve heard through past genocide cycles, you’re the only one who ever successfully stood up to my race. I’m in the presence of a hero.”

  “Hero?” Shae shook his head. “No, but I understand you’re an Anunnaki and love your race. I’m a human, I love mine. I can’t let them die. Please, I implore you to—”

  “I don’t love my race. I don’t approve what they do to you, but I also have a job to do, gold and crystal to deliver, and a family to feed. I can’t deviate from my course. I apologize, but when all is said and done, you can come with me on my trip back to Starbase Matrona.”

  Shae grasped the edge of the bench with his good hand, flexing his fingers around it, his knuckles going white. “How long will that take?”

  “Four, maybe five days at most.”

  Shae exhaled sharply, standing. “I can’t do that. I’m sorry. Turn this ship around.”

  “I’m not a killer.” She walked to the co-pilot seat and pressed her palm on the back of it. A drawer opened at the chair’s base. She reached down and picked up a large gun, then holstered it on the other side of her hip. “But as a non-killer, I can make some exceptions.”

  “Wait, hold on. Maybe we don’t need to return right away.” Devon grabbed his ears as if listening to headphones and sat next to Shae on the bench. His lips moved as if silently speaking to someone. He smiled and shifted on the bench, facing Shae. “I can hear Naveya again.”

  “What?” said Shae. He knew Naveya, though he had only met her once. She showed him her Space Templar pendant, identical to the one Shae wore. “Excuse me? Did I hear you right? You say you can hear her?”

  Devon tapped his head. “Yeah, yeah.” His face slowly turned into a frown. “Sorry, Koda knows what I’m talking about, but I haven’t discussed it with you, so you’re a bit out of the loop.” He cleared his throat. “Naveya and I are connected in a way I can’t really explain, but I can feel and hear her sometimes.”

  “In your head?” Kalista chimed in, her face twisted in confusion. “You humans are very odd.”

  Devon dipped his head. “Very odd, especially—” he paused, his grin widening. “Holy Guild.” He stood, throwing a fist in the air. “We don’t need the antidote. The Star Guild Marines sucked the toxin out of the airlocks.”

  “You’re not lying to me, are you? You’re not trying to make me feel better, or lighten the air?” Shae studied Devon. The kid’s eyes didn’t dilate, they didn’t move to his left. He wasn’t making it up.

  “No, Admiral, I’m telling the truth.” He glanced out of the cockpit window. “But still—” Devon held up a finger, listening more. “Oh, my. Payson went out the airlock with the barrels of toxin, and the Space Templars took care of the rest of Payson’s team.” He wiggled his ear with his finger. “There’s more. I can’t quite make out what she’s saying now.” He huffed, dropping his arms to his side. “I lost the connection.”

  Shae plopped on the bench, his shoulder throbbing. He cringed. “I hope you’re right.”

  Kalista stepped back, pulling out a needle gun from her toolbox. She took a step toward Shae and quickly jabbed the needle into him and pulled it out.

  He lurched away in a start. “Son of a Guild.”

  She threw the needle gun in the toolbox. “That will dissolve the bullet and seal the wound. The serum is also packed with an anti-pain med, so you won’t feel much in that shoulder for a few days. After which, I’ll inject you again until it’s completely healed and pain-free.” She held up a thumb. “Got it?”

  Shae rolled his shoulder back and forth. “Warn me next time you do that.” The pain had already diminished. “Nonetheless, thank you.”

  His thoughts quickly turned to what Devon said before Kalista jabbed him with a needle. Devon could talk to Naveya? Maybe the kid was schizophrenic and heard things. If he was telling the truth, then holy crap, life had brightened right before him. Shae needed to see it himself, to believe it. He needed to get back to Matrona.

  “Please.” Shae cupped his hands in front of him. “Kalista, I need to get back to my people. I can’t wait a week.” Especially if he wanted to see his daughter. Heck, since his starbase could potentially be good and saved, he could grab the Brigantia and Taranis fleet and head to Eos. There, he’d be able to help Ali.

  Kalista touched both holstered pistols. “I’m going to Nibiru. I’ll hide you in the cabin until my cargo,” she pointed at a wall at the ship’s stern, “behind that door, is off the ship. Then, I’ll find a reason to get you back to Starbase Matrona. My guess is that since you made a wreck of things there, we won’t be returning for mining minerals soon.”

  Shae wanted to set her straight, tell her he and his people had freed his race, and if it wrecked Anunnaki plans, then so be it. They’d live, and so would Matrona and Star Guild.

  A beep sounded from the cockpit flight console. Shae twisted his posture, looking at the cockpit. A voice blared, “Kali, this...be Y'taul.”

  Kalista’s eyes narrowed, and she walked hastily to her pilot seat, punching several buttons on her holographic display as she sat down. She turned and pointed to the back left corner of the cabin. “You two. Slink back there as best you can. Whatever you do, do not stand or move to the right. He'll see you if you do.”

  Shae bit his tongue, not used to being ordered around. Devon hurried to the corner and plopped on his rear, leaning his back against the cargo bay door. Shae sat next to him.

  Kalista pressed another button. “Y’taul?” She acted surprised. “What are you doing in this sector and so close to Starbase Matrona? Enlil would have your neck if he knew you were upsetting his galactic rules and procedures.”

  “We...intercept call from Eos Two to...you. I...how do you say?” He paused, most likely trying to figure out the right words. “You are going to Nibiru, yes?”

  “I am. Why?” Her voice rose, becoming defensive.

  “So, you must have gold. Only reason you go. We detect it on your ship.”

  Kalista hesitated. “I do.”

  Shae shifted uncomfortably, his butt on the floor, his knees tucked into his chest. He pulled his knees as tightly into himself as he could. Not a position an old man, let alone a Fleet Admiral, usually held.

  Devon whispered. “Are you okay, Admiral?”

  Shae nodded, pressing his finger to his lips.

  Kalista pressed a few more buttons. She stood, moaning, and walked in Shae and Devon’s direction. Stopping beside them, Kalista kept her eyes forward, doing her best to ignore her two unwelcome guests. She pressed some numbers on the console above their heads and the cargo bay door clicked and began opening. Shae and Devon scooted forward, and Shae looked behind him, at the cargo now in full view.

  Devon gasped, and Shae gently elbowed him, saying in a low hush, “Keep your
mouth shut, young man.” Devon nodded, but Shae couldn’t blame the kid. Clear barrels of white gold filled the cargo bay, the gold glistening in powder form, bits of crystal sprinkled inside.

  Kalista sighed, glancing back toward her seat. “Yes, Y'taul. I have a large load. It’s heated and cooled to the white powder etherium form.” The cargo door closed. She twirled around and headed back to the pilot seat.

  “Prepare...board us, Kali.”

  She shook her head. “I’m Kalista for the millionth time. Stop calling me Kali. All of this gold is accounted for. Trust me. I can't give you any. But thanks for trying.”

  “You never give, Kali. We always pay,” said Y'taul.

  “Are you hard of hearing? I said it's in the white powder form. That's not something you take from the Nibiru king.”

  “How much do you have?”

  Kalista’s shoulders dropped. “I don't know. Maybe three thousand troy ounces?”

  “We buy five hundred troy ounce.”

  “Why are you bringing your ship in closer, Y'taul? I haven’t agreed to any such deal.” She pounded her fist against her armrest.

  Out of the side window, Shae and Devon watched as a large ship slowly approached. It could easily hold one of these Starhawk Transports in its belly, and probably a handful more. It was longer than it was wide and about the size of a frigate in the Star Guild fleet. Its belly hung low as if it were pregnant.

  “You cooperate, no? We buy. If no cooperate, we take,” said Y'taul.

  Kalista wilted. “And if I report this incident to Nibiru authority?”

  “You report...we report. We will show them vids of our past dealings. Okay?”

  Kalista tightened her mouth. “Okay, pull me in.”