Martian Quadrilogy Box Set

by Brandon Ellis

  “We’ve also seen a woman that looks like a human,” mentioned the man. He tossed Ozzy his belt and satchel. “Is she a Galactic Knight? She has the color of our women’s hair.” He pointed at the Dunrakee woman. “Black.”

  Ozzy held in the surprise of his holy-crap luck. “That’s Jozi. She also formed the Galactic Knights with me.”

  “We know exactly where your friend is,” said the woman, nodding emphatically.

  The man motioned for Ozzy to follow him. “Come. Come.”

  “Just a moment,” said the woman, moving closer to Ozzy.

  She held the two crystal diodes on his leg. A zap went into his wound, and Ozzy jolted. Seconds later, the pain subsided. He moved his leg around and let out a sigh of relief. There were less pain and more movement.

  Ozzy tied his belt and satchel around his waist. He touched the woman’s shoulder. “Can I have that thing?”

  “Of course. Anything for a Galactic Knight.” Her face took on a slack expression, and her eyes were dull as she said, “You are the only hope we have.” The woman handed Ozzy the healing device. It was small and could easily fit in his satchel.

  Ozzy held the woman’s hand in his, being as diplomatic as possible, much like Gragas would be. “You will be rewarded for this.” He touched her cheek, wanting to roll his eyes for what he was about to say. “I will let Gragas know your good deed, fine young lady. He will help your rebellion even more now.”

  She went on her knees and bowed, her hands and forehead touching his boots.

  This was ridiculous. No wonder Gragas enjoyed being a Galactic Knight. He was honored as a god.

  “Your Galactic Knight woman friend is nearby,” said the man, walking around the corner and out of the portion of the underground cavern where Ozzy was located.

  “Come. Come.” The woman motioned for him to follow.

  Ozzy curled around the corner and entered an immense room that had to be ten warehouses wide if not bigger.

  Large frigate craft, battle cruisers, starfighters, and other military vehicles were parked all around. Hundreds of Dunrakee men and women were at stations, viewing vid screens and moving their fingers over the holographic displays.

  The Galactic Knight Underground, thought Ozzy. What a shitshow. In a way, it was like the crime bosses back on Mars. They hated the Ministry and eventually took it over.

  Maybe that’ll be the case for the Underground.

  Everyone was quiet as Ozzy strode past.

  “Out this way,” said the woman.

  They walked to a nearby door built inside a rock wall.

  The man pressed his palm on the door. “Your friend is in a tree beyond the waterfall. Count the trees to your right, and she’ll be in the eighth one.”

  Ozzy nodded. “Thank you.” What was it with all of these Dunrakee trying to help him? Hell, these two had just saved his life. Little did they know, he was aiming to end them all.

  He eyed the man and the woman. They looked broken. Not physically but mentally. Whatever the Dunrakee government—or the governance as the Dunrakee called it—were doing to them was sapping them of mental energy and strength. He wondered why, but a more pressing question slipped from his tongue. “Why are you helping me?”

  The woman folded her arms over her chest, confused by the question. “Because you’re helping us. You’re a Galactic Knight. There aren’t many of you, but what you all have done to help us so far is immense.”

  Ozzy pointed to himself. “But I’m human. You don’t like humans.”

  They both shook their heads.

  “We love humans,” said the woman. “Don’t mistake us for the brainwashed governance and those in the governance’s military. They are power hungry and are killing many races across the galaxy, and not only yours. We were forced to take over this world, and those of us who didn’t help with their efforts were tortured or killed.”

  The man lifted his palm off of the door. It opened inward, and Ozzy stepped away, allowing the space to open. “It is time to go, my friend,” said the man. “We are doing everything we can to stop our governance from further harming your race. We in the Underground will defend you with our lives, and maybe one day we can help give you your world back.”

  Ozzy took back his first thoughts about this guy. If Ozzy were a world-class fighter, he’d shake this guy’s hand instead of knocking the poor bastard to the floor.

  Ozzy bowed. “We look forward to having our planet back.” He couldn’t drill that in the man’s head enough. Earth was a paradise. Mars was a tar pit in comparison.

  Ozzy turned and walked out of the massive warehouse cavern. A gushing sound took over. It was so loud, and he couldn’t figure out why he didn’t hear it the moment the door opened.

  Mist spun around him in a cloud. He turned. The door was closed, and in its place was a wall of rock. There was no sign that a door had even existed.

  He didn’t have time to inspect it as he had to get to Jozi.

  He walked toward the deafening sound. The closer he came, the more water droplets splashed against him.

  “Is this a waterfall?” He’d never seen one in person.

  It tumbled down, crashing into a river below. He was behind the fall, and to his right was the exit.

  He put his hand on the side wall and trekked forward. The footing was slippery, and to make matters a little worse, the closer he came to the waterfall, the more the wind coming off of it picked up.

  He took a few more steps closer. The wind slammed against him, and water droplets plastered his hair, face, and jumpsuit.

  He kept walking, moving away from the waterfall and into a bright, beautiful sunny day.

  How long had he been sleeping? It was already the next day.

  He eyed the trees on the right side of the river. They were big and filled with leaves and needles.

  He ambled over to a rock in the middle of the path and stepped on the needle-riddled soil. A bird flew by him, landing in a tree in front of him. A rodent scurried into a bush.

  Other than the waterfall, everything here was calm and perfect. Tranquil, actually. He took in a big sniff and couldn’t help but smile.

  It verified something he’d always heard. On Earth, a person could be happier. On Earth, everything was beautiful. On Earth, perfection existed.

  He continued forward and past a tree. At the eighth one, he looked up.

  Jozi was sitting on a low limb, almost camouflaged by leaves. She held her gun out, pointing the muzzle in his direction. Her narrowed eyes relaxed when she saw who it was. “Ozzy?”

  He put his hands up. “Don’t shoot.”

  She holstered her gun. “How did you find me?”

  He looked back at the waterfall, wanting to explain everything but shook his head. “Long story.”

  She frowned and held out the holopad. “We have a problem. Zeld has the crystal sphere.”

  32

  Earth • Ancient Athapaskan Land, California

  Ozzy kicked the ground. “Are you kidding me?” This was getting to be too much. The Dunrakee people had been nice to him. The governance wanted him dead, of course, just as they wanted every human obliterated. Of all things, he should be dead himself ten times over.

  And the worst of it—he was having doubts about whether or not to carry out his mission. Did all these people minus the governance deserve to be murdered?

  But if he didn’t do it, the Dunrakee leaders would eventually wipe out his own people. He had to push his conscience aside and do what was right for his family and his entire race.

  Jozi climbed down the tree and hopped to the ground. “She followed me. The sphere was located in some small shed type of thing and in a box. I don’t think the Dunrakee knew what to do with it.”

  “And she took it from you?”

  “She ambushed me is what she did. She clocked me on the side of the head, almost knocking me out, and left me to the Dunrakee.” She rubbed her head where she’d been hit. “If I didn’t have half my wits about m
e, I’d have been caught and probably tortured to death.

  “A small Dunrakee contingent were alerted to my presence. They chased me. I activated the emergency beacon, hoping Gragas would come and help me. He didn’t, but I finally lost the Dunrakee troops and slept up in this tree last night.”

  Ozzy pinched his upper lip, glancing at his feet. “We can blame this entire thing on Jonas Moon if we can’t find Zeld. It was a bad idea to hire Zeld to help find this sphere in the first place.” He pursed his lips, thinking more. “This is that bastard’s fault. What was he thinking when he hired her?”

  “Are you worried about your family?”

  Ozzy sniffed the flowery aroma in the air, taking it in deeply. If he could move his family to Earth one day, then life would be good. “Look, if we can’t find it, Jonas will keep my family. I need an angle, even if it’s a small angle, to pin this bullcrap and bad decision making on Jonas. He should have known better. He can’t use my family as leverage because of his dumb decision.”

  Jozi rested against the tree and grimaced. Ozzy could tell she didn’t like what she was about to suggest. “Your family is important.” She let out a sigh. “Family is the only thing I ever wanted and never had. Even when I found a family member, it turned out to be Robert Baldwin, the High Judge. And soon after I found out, he died.” Her eyebrows creased in worry. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She handed Ozzy the holopad.

  Ozzy eyed the pad and then Jozi. “What’s this have to do with my family?”

  “Check the holopad. We can still retrieve the crystal sphere because the crystalline signature is active.” She tapped on the holopad, and a holographic image of a map lifted above the pad. A red dot blinked on a map along with trees, buildings, and hills in full display. The dot was moving. “That dot is the crystal sphere in Zeld’s hands. She’s heading toward the forest where the Ark is right now.”

  Ozzy’s mouth went slightly agape. “I thought you wanted to help the Dunrakee people? If I get this sphere, it’s not helping them.”

  Jozi nodded. “That’s right, but we take that sphere to Mars and keep it ourselves, then we almost guarantee the Dunrakee governance won’t attack us anymore or any of their bullshit terrorist organizations.”

  “That doesn’t guarantee a thing, Jozi. Someday after I die, who will be the one that can use the Ark? Who else is of the bloodline besides me and Gragas?” He shook his head. “We don’t know and may never find out.” He placed his hand on the map, sinking it through the hologram and touching the pad. “This may be our only chance to rid this solar system of the Dunrakee evil.”

  Jozi covered her mouth, her mind going somewhere else. “Hold on. Zeld can activate the Ark and the sphere. There’s no telling who else she’ll target besides every Dunrakee on Earth.”

  Ozzy threw a dismissive hand. “She can’t do that. Trust me. She’s not of the bloodline.”

  Jozi glared at Ozzy. “You’re sure about that?”

  “I’m sure about that.”

  “Didn’t she help you carry the Ark of the Concordant out of Olympus Mons when you found it?”

  Ozzy thought for a second. Zeld had been hired by Mort Wildly to extract the Ark and use it against an invading Dunrakee force back on Mars.

  Ozzy had been hired by Jonas Moon to do the same damn thing.

  The only reason the Dunrakee weren’t invading Mars right now was because of that stupid Ark. It’s the weapon of all weapons, and when Zeld and Ozzy found the Ark at the same time, she indeed helped him carry it.

  He shook his head, remembering something of vital importance. “It was veiled with a cloth wrapping. She never touched the actual Ark with her bare hands.”

  “That doesn’t tell us anything, Ozzy.”

  That was true.

  Ozzy slapped his thigh. “Dammit. We have to stop her. She doesn’t know how to work the thing and may blow Earth to shit like Mars blew Maldek into millions of pieces with the Ark.”

  A rumbling stirred in the sky, and the ground vibrated.

  Ozzy glanced at the heavens. “We’ve been found.”

  “Time to go.”

  They both rushed forward and wound up a dirt path.

  The rumbling grew louder.

  They pumped their legs faster, climbing higher on the path’s ascent. The sun’s rays were bright, and all Ozzy could see was a shadowed ship. “It’s coming in for a landing.”

  “This way,” said Jozi, running toward a bridge built over the churning river. Their feet pounded on the wooden slats as they raced to the other side.

  The ship changed direction and zipped overhead and slightly beyond them, hovering.

  A rope dropped and hung from the craft’s belly.

  Crap.

  Troops were about to repel.

  Ozzy unholstered his gun, keeping a steady pace next to Jozi.

  He eyed the holopad in his hand. “Keep going.” He rushed into a thick crowd of trees.

  Ozzy peeked over his shoulder. A Dunrakee was repelling from the ship.

  Ozzy aimed his weapon. He pulled the trigger and missed wide left. He was useless with these death toys. He shook his head and went down a path between tall, full trees.

  A thud echoed behind them. He glanced over his shoulder a second time. A soldier was chasing after them.

  “I need you to shoot at the soldier, Jozi.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me someone was coming?” She pulled out her sidearm and skid to a halt. She twisted around and went to a knee, targeting the oncoming Dunrakee.

  A few more thuds reverberated against the trees. The ground shook and felt as if it were moving.

  More troops had repelled and were racing toward them.

  Shit.

  Ozzy went to one knee like Jozi and aimed his weapon at a new target.

  It was too late.

  He could tell these soldiers were elite. They were fast and ducking behind trees, only to race out and quickly find another tree as cover.

  In seconds, a handful of men in battle suits, masks, and helmets surrounded them. They held rifles and cannons.

  Ozzy and Jozi were about to be slaughtered.

  He swallowed hard and lifted his brows. He set down his gun and put his hands up in surrender. “I have auric credits and lots of them.”

  33

  Earth • Ancient Athapaskan Land, California

  A soldier laughed and bent over, slapping his belly hard and shaking his head.

  There was no mistaking who that was. It was Dizzy, a Galactic Knight, who seemed to find humor in most anything human.

  Ozzy tilted his head and squinted his eyes. The shadows from the looming trees and the bright sun peering through the cracks in the branches made it difficult to make out much detail on the people surrounding him.

  “Stand down, Jozi.” Ozzy rose to full height and slipped his gun into his holster.

  Jozi holstered her weapon and crossed her arms. “You about made me crap my pants.”

  Dizzy laughed more and made snapping sounds that even the language translator couldn’t decipher.

  Gragas walked forward and gave a friendly slap on Ozzy’s back. “We have to get going. We’ve been tracked and followed. The Dunrakee military will be here soon.”

  Quad was next to him and held a photon cannon at his hip. A strap clung to the cannon and wrapped around his shoulder. Two swords crisscrossed the back of his battle suit.

  Quad motioned toward the forest behind them. “My helmet display detects more than a hundred troops two hundred meters away and spreading out across the forest. It’s time to fight.” He smacked his fist in his hand. “It’s time to defend the Galactic Brotherhood.”

  Gragas rubbed his helmet. “It’s the Knights, Quad. The Galactic Knights.”

  “Whatever,” responded Quad. “We stand and we fight.”

  Gragas watched Quad. “My friend, when you don’t have to fight, it’s best not to.”

  Quad shook his head. “I disagree.”

  A thunderous
roar cracked across the heavens, and an explosion rocked the sky.

  Fire blasted outward from the starboard side of the Galactic Knight’s ship. A missile had met its target.

  “Noc,” said Gragas into his wrist com device, speaking to a Galactic Knight in the craft. “Activate shields and get out of here.”

  “Already on it, Gragas. I need to land and repair. I’ll get this craft up as soon as I galactically can to aid in your time of need. May the Great Spirit be with you.”

  The craft tipped to the side and reversed engine thrusts, sending a metallic whine across the forest. It zoomed low, flying off in the distance.

  Gragas touched his wrist com again and nodded a few times. He glanced at his Galactic Knights and Jozi and Ozzy. “We have to defend ourselves and on foot.”

  Ozzy’s stomach formed a knot. This could be it. This could be the end of the suicide mission he was on. “Where do we go?”

  “Quad, do we have an area where we can defend ourselves?” Gragas asked.

  Quad put up a hand, telling him to hold on. He was viewing something inside his helmet. He nodded to himself. “I found something. A hundred and twenty-eight years ago, before the Dunrakee took this planet from the human populace, a structure was created and—”

  Gragas shook his head. “We don’t have time for a history lesson.”

  Quad slapped his hands together, disappointed. “Fine. Fifty-eight meters due northwest and away from the coming troops. A stone lodge was built for this park. It’s stable and from the looks of it can take a beating.”

  Gragas dipped his head. “Thank you. Let’s go.”

  The Galactic Knights ran fast past a tree line and into an opening, their heavy weapons clacking at each step.

  A large building, topped with a vast, logged roof, stood in a clearing. It was run-down. A wide and tall, front-glass window was broken, two massive chimneys that stuck out of the roof were crumbling, and the two doors acting as the entrance were on the ground, covered in moss.