Martian Quadrilogy Box Set

by Brandon Ellis

  “Where are the guards?” asked Jozi, her chin high and her feet planted firmly on the floor as if she were ready to go to war.

  “Don’t worry,” said Gragas, “they are long gone. They won’t be coming back. I have their com devices patched into the Galactic Knights’ network. Any move in this direction, I’ll know in a heartbeat.”

  “You have family here?” Ozzy asked.

  “Indeed. You’re in my brother’s home.” He extended his arm and opened his hand. Two small, silver, rectangular objects sat in his palm. They were no bigger than a centimeter across and half a centimeter tall. They looked like shiny magnets and nothing more. “Put these on your chest. You’ll be able to understand my races language, and they’ll understand yours.”

  Ozzy placed one on his jumpsuit above his heart. It suctioned in place. He tried to move it around. It wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Porgas,” said Gragas. “Come meet my friends. Friends, meet my brother.”

  The big Dunrakee walked around the corner. He put his fists together at his chest and bowed. Jozi did the same. Ozzy glanced at Jozi and figured he should probably mimic the guy too.

  Porgas’s mouth moved. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience my race has become.”

  His lips didn’t move in conjunction with the words Ozzy heard in his mind. He tugged on his ears. “Mars, this is going to be weird.”

  Porgas slapped his chest, touching his own translation device. “Yeah, you’re telling me.”

  Gragas laughed. “You’ll get used to it.” He clapped his hands together. “Okay, what’s our feast tonight, brother?”

  Porgas nodded. “Right. Your friends scared away our meal, which was a nice elk that was nearing our net trap. But we can make your favorite, Gragas.”

  Ozzy’s stomach growled. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until now.

  Porgas continued. “We’ll be cooking up soup with lots and lots of vegetables.”

  “No elk?” asked Ozzy, disappointed. He’d never had elk for food, and he’d never seen an elk for that matter. But he knew elk was meat, and he was itching for something robust and hearty.

  “I don’t eat meat,” said Gragas. “But my family, like many of your race, eat gobs of it.”

  A small child rounded the corner and pulled on Jozi’s pant leg. Her black lips curled into a smile. “Can I sit next to this one?” She also had a translation device attached to her shirt.

  Gragas folded his arms over his chest. “They aren’t animals, Zalas. They are like you and me, sentient Beings that want a peaceful life.”

  A crash came from the front door. Gragas held up a dagger and turned toward the hallway. He pulled out a pistol for good measure as he headed for the entrance.

  Ozzy unholstered his weapon. More Dunrakee crap was about to fly his way, and he wanted to be ready.

  “No,” shouted Gragas, disappearing around the corner. A loud thump echoed, and a wall blocking Gragas from Ozzy’s view violently shook.

  Someone had been thrown against the partition.

  Ozzy huffed. “Get ready.” He pointed his weapon down the hall.

  A vast, hefty man in a battle suit rounded the hallway and faced Ozzy. Ozzy took a shot, hammering the guy in the chest.

  The photon bolt jerked the man backward, singeing his battle suit right across the chest plate. The guy shivered and shook it off like it was nothing. He grunted and stood tall.

  23

  Earth • Ancient Athapaskan Land, California

  Ozzy lowered his gun. “Quad?” He shook his head and put his hand on his heart. “You about gave me a heart attack.”

  Quad was an unusual sort. An ex-bounty hunter turned into a Galactic Knight. And his entrances weren’t so ordinary. He liked to give a friendly punch or kick.

  Quad laughed. “It is nice to see you again, my friend.” He pounded his chest. “First time you actually hit somebody with that gun of yours. I should probably design you a weapon better suited for your scrawny arms.”

  Ozzy looked at his gun and then his arms and shrugged. “No need.”

  “Alright, but I’m an engineering and building genius of sorts.”

  Ozzy shook his head. He wouldn’t be surprised if Quad were a tinkering genius. The guy used technology Ozzy had never seen before, specifically his weaponry and ship. But Ozzy wasn’t that into guns.

  Much like Gragas, Quad wore a mask. The helmet topping his head had feathery hair cresting the center, much as what the Romans and Greeks wore in ancient times.

  Gragas gathered himself. “Porgas, my brother, is the feast ready?”

  Porgas gestured down the hall and to an area Ozzy hadn’t yet seen and said, “Lady’s first.”

  Why are these people treating Ozzy and Jozi so nicely? Hell, they’re being kind and even protective.

  Ozzy shrugged his thoughts away. They were most likely the way they were because Gragas had them trained. The majority of the Dunrakee were probably like the evil jerks that forced Ozzy’s race off this planet.

  And murdered those that couldn’t escape.

  Ozzy followed the group down another hallway. They curled around a corner into a large room.

  In the room was a long table with several Dunrakee men, women, and children sitting around it on benches. Bowls were in front of them with large wooden spoons. A steaming pot was set in the middle of the table. Ozzy assumed that was the soup.

  A little girl patted the bench next to her. “Can that lady sit next to me?”

  Jozi feigned a broad smile but was a little hesitant. She walked over anyway and sat down next to the grinning girl.

  Ozzy sat across from her, and Gragas sat next to him. All together, twelve were seated and a thirteenth, Porgas, was dishing everyone the meal.

  Porgas paused and tilted his head. “Brother? Are you sure we have time for this? I’m a little concerned that—”

  Gragas put his hand on Porgas’s forearm, interrupting him. “I assure you the government is looking for Jozi and Ozzy someplace else.” He tapped the side of his helmet. “All communication is being streamed to me at this very moment, and I don’t miss a thing.”

  “Okay, brother.” Porgas set a steaming bowl of vegetable soup in front of Ozzy. “From the Great Spirit, we are given food. From the Great Spirit, we are given drink. From the Great Spirit, we are allowed to eat.”

  It was something Porgas said after setting a bowl in front of each individual.

  Ozzy wanted to toss the bowl to the side, emptying the contents on the ground. He grimaced and held his anger inside, thinking, Screw your Great Spirit. Your Great Spirit threw my people off Earth like we were a piece of shit.

  He let out a soft huff and dipped his spoon in the bowl. He tentatively ate some and swallowed.

  The savory taste of vegetables and spices touched his taste buds, and he moaned. He’d never tasted heaven before, and all thoughts of poison slipped from his mind.

  Earth wasn’t only beautiful, it was delicious.

  He took another sip, savoring it in his mouth. He paused for a moment and looked around.

  No one else had eaten a bite.

  This was probably poisoned.

  He spit the soup out into his bowl.

  Porgas stood straighter, and everyone at the table stiffened, including Jozi.

  “Do you not like the taste?” asked Gragas. He gestured to Porgas. “Can you get Ozzy something else?”

  Ozzy lowered his glance, his voice sharp, “Why isn’t anyone else eating?”

  Porgas dropped his spoon in the bowl. “Do you think I plan to kill you, human? And after all I’ve already done for you?”

  “After all you’ve done for me?” Ozzy flared his nostrils, his face reddening. “After all your race has done for me?” He slammed his fist on the table and began to stand. “This should be my race’s planet, not the Dunrakee’s.”

  Jozi reached across the table and touched Ozzy’s arm. “Ozzy, relax.” She tilted her head toward the young girl next to her. She was sl
urping away, her head down but her eyes darting from the soup to Ozzy. “You’re scaring her.”

  Ozzy tapped the table with his index finger. “This is our land, and we deserved to taste this abundant flavor every damned day.” He motioned to the table. “They stole this planet from us.”

  Jozi pressed her lips together and widened her eyes at Ozzy. “Let’s talk about this later. After we eat.” She took a sip of her soup. She swallowed and dropped her spoon back in the bowl. “I can’t believe how delicious this is.” She looked away, and her chin trembled. “Earth is beyond what I ever imagined.” She covered her face with her hands and wiped a tear from her eye.

  Gragas stood. “Ozzy, I understand. But understand this: most of us Dunrakee, and especially those around this table, aren’t terrible people. We want peace just as you. We didn’t want to invade, just as you didn’t want us to invade. And least of all, we didn’t want to take your home.”

  Ozzy clenched his hands. “Then why did you?”

  Silence filled the room, and the girl next to Jozi shifted in her seat. She probably had no idea what Ozzy was talking about and was most likely taught a lie—that this place was her rightful home.

  Quad lifted his mask, only showing his chin and lips. A scar ran across his skin. His lips were human-like though turquoise. His skin was black like the night.

  He took a sip of soup and nodded. “Good.” He continued to eat, ignoring the tension in the room. “Very good.”

  Gragas cleared his throat. “To answer your question, Ozzy. We killed our own planet via pollution, war, and politics. And while this was happening, our government lied to us about our dying world. The lesson we learned was that even your own race will lie to you.

  “Eventually, we had to leave our planet which we called Dunrak. It was in the Perseus Arm of our Milky Way Galaxy. As you know, we came here. Earth was the most beautiful and abundantly rich planet we came across. We told ourselves we’d never destroy a planet again, and as you have seen, the Dunrakee have made good on that word.”

  Ozzy took in a shallow breath, doing his best to control his emotions for the sake of the girl sitting next to Jozi. “Again, Gragas, you may be living pollution free, but your hands aren’t blood free. You killed more than two-thirds of the human population and are also trying to kill us off of Mars. Is there no end to your race’s evil?”

  Gragas paused and looked around the table. “This was not our goal. The government made a choice behind our backs, and that choice was to take Earth as their own and to eradicate the human presence. Why? Because the humans weren’t kind to Earth, much as the Dunrakee weren’t kind to Dunrak. So, they eliminated the biggest threat to your planet—humans. But that wasn’t the enlightened path. The enlightened path would have been to teach humans and instruct them on how to care for their environment. Instead, the Dunrakee government went on a road to genocide. They liked the taste so much that they have since committed the same crimes on other races throughout the galaxy. That’s why I stepped in, and that’s why I created the Galactic Knights. To right a major wrong.”

  Ozzy faked a grin and lifted his spoon. “Well, to genocide and to all of you pricks who took over my world.” He dropped his utensil in his soup, splashing liquid over the sides and onto the table. “Sorry, but I’ve lost my appetite.”

  He stood and exited the room. He marched into a living room and sat on a chair. The chair molded to his body.

  The little girl tiptoed around the corner.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, the movement of her mouth not matching her words.

  “I’m sure you are.” For a moment, she reminded Ozzy of Lily, his own daughter—innocent, smart, and curious.

  She took a step toward Ozzy. “Do you think someday we can live together? Humans and Dunrakee?”

  Ozzy wanted to answer with a growl but refrained. He wanted to tell her to leave, but Lily came to mind, and he knew how crushed she’d be if someone told her to get out of their face.

  He folded his legs and leaned back, acting like this house, this room, and this chair were rightfully his. “How old are you?”

  “I’m seven.”

  Ozzy nodded. The same as Lily-bug. And truth be told, if Lily and this little girl got together, they’d play. They may be hesitant for a few seconds because of the difference in looks, but children are children. Play and connection tend to be more important than past grievances, past history, and any worry about genocidal races.

  “What’s your name, girl?”

  “Zalas.” She took another step forward.

  “Well, Zalas, maybe someday we could be. But right now, things aren’t kind between my race and yours.” He’d rather they all drown in a lake of mud, but he wouldn’t tell her that.

  “How about we trade planets?”

  Ozzy scoffed. “That’ll be the day.”

  “Oh good,” she responded, not knowing the expression. “Can you play with me?” Zalas’s eyes beamed with excitement. “Please?”

  Shit. This was the last thing he wanted to do. Do they have chess? No. Do they have toys? Who the hell cared.

  She reached under a small table and pulled out a doll. It was human, and most likely one taken from a long-abandoned human house or a house with the skeleton of a kid—the true owner of the doll.

  His lips pulled back, and he bared his teeth. “Where did you get—”

  Heavy footsteps came down the hall. “Get up, Ozzy.” It was Gragas.

  “I’m fine here.” He let out an angry breath.

  “They are here.”

  Ozzy cocked his head, his body going rigid. He didn’t like Gragas’s tone. There was a tinge of fear in his voice. “Who?”

  “Governance soldiers.”

  The floor vibrated. Ozzy stood and peeked out the nearest window. Two ships were landing on the street nearby.

  “Jozi,” yelled Ozzy.

  She walked into the room with Quad and Porgas behind her. They held weapons.

  Gragas tapped his wrist, and a hologram hovered in front of him.

  Dizzy’s masked face stared back at Gragas. “Yes, sir?”

  It must be the language translator on Ozzy’s chest because he’d never heard Dizzy speak in any other tongue but his own weird pops and snaps or whatever it was that Dizzy sounded like.

  “Did you miss something?”

  “What, sir?”

  “Governance troops are here. You were supposed to be my eyes and ears, Dizzy.”

  Dizzy shook his head. “Sir, our tracking must be off. We didn’t spot them.”

  “That’s obvious.” Gragas pointed to the floor. “Get down here as soon as possible. We have a fight on our hands, and we won’t survive without the rest of the Galactic Knights.”

  The hologram blipped off. Gragas held a large double-barreled rifle and unstrapped a gun from his leg. He tossed it to his brother. “We go to the roof.”

  24

  Earth • Ancient Athapaskan Land, California

  Outside Porgas’s back door, Ozzy found himself climbing up the side of the house and to the roof.

  The roof was sturdy, and he crawled toward the peak. Jozi was beside him, also creeping across the rooftop.

  “Don’t shoot until I give the order,” said Gragas. “They will kill all the townspeople simply to find and kill Ozzy and Jozi.” He was somewhat hidden, looking over the roof’s peak and staring down at the soldiers. Porgas was by his side, and there was no telling where the hell Quad went.

  The rest of the family and friends were in the room under the hovering table and rug where Ozzy and Jozi hid earlier.

  Ozzy peeked over the tip of the roof and bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not good,” he whispered.

  A handful of Dunrakee soldiers was more than enough to do this scout, but two dozen? Three ships were now parked nearby, and the troops were gearing up on the street, readying to pour some evil rain onto the townspeople in order to find two humans.

  Ozzy narrowed his eyes and brought his rifl
e into position, aiming it at one of the Dunrakee soldiers.

  Gragas put his hand on Ozzy’s shoulder and said softly, “Hold until I say. Do you understand?”

  Ozzy nodded. He understood these Dunrakee bastards were about to get what they deserved. But he’d wait.

  Jozi brought her rifle over the roof’s peak, targeting a Dunrakee. “In position. Give me the go-ahead, and I’ll blast three of these Dunrakee before they know what hit them.”

  Something moved across the street.

  Ozzy raised his rifle again. “They are positioning in the trees. They’ll have a clean shot at us.”

  “That’s Quad,” replied Gragas.

  Ozzy jerked his head back in surprise. “How did he get over there so quickly?” More importantly, undetected.

  “Again,” Gragas said. “It’s Quad. He’s what humans would call the badass of badasses.”

  As if Gragas weren’t already a badass himself.

  Ozzy watched more trees to make sure the Dunrakee troops weren’t setting up snipers. He spotted a man with a photon blaster pointed down at the soldiers along with several others. Dozens of villagers were in trees, weapons drawn, and ready to pounce.

  Ozzy v’d his eyebrows. “What’s going on?” He motioned toward the Dunrakee villagers in the trees. “You’re going to get them killed.”

  “The governance treats us more or less as slaves. These villagers would rather defend my Galactic Knights than continue the terrible life that the governance has forced upon them. Very few of us are as free as your race, and I suspect it’s going to get worse,” responded Gragas.

  Ozzy rolled his eyes. He wanted to tell Gragas to cry him a river or get a pair of balls. It served them right for taking what wasn’t theirs.

  Gragas touched the portion of his mask that covered his ear. He nodded. “Twenty seconds and the Galactic Knights will be above us in our ship. They will engage and then we will.”

  The Dunrakee grunts clicked in their ammo charge packs and filed in rank. A lead soldier spoke to them. He motioned at several areas in the village.