by Megg Jensen
"I have a feeling we'll never fully understand their motives," Malia said. "Still, it can't hurt to try. What else can we do?"
Torsten punched out a message as quickly as he could to the dragzhi, hoping they would see it. He tried to keep it cryptic so the fleet coming up behind them wouldn't understand what they were up to.
You tried to save her. Now save us. Don't let it all be in vain.
Torsten set the message on a loop so it would keep repeating until either he stopped it or the shuttle lost power. He knew which was more likely.
"What else can I do from back here?" Torsten asked.
"Watch the fleet. Tell me how many we're up against,” Malia said, her eyes focused ahead.
Torsten turned around, his stomach sinking at the sight. The light in the distance hadn't frightened him much, but as the fleet pulled closer, he realized that it might be the last thing he saw.
"I'm counting at least twenty small ships like the ones we fought in the battle. Two large ones like the dragzhi ship we docked on. And then there's something else behind it. It's so big, I can't even tell what it is. It's blocking my view of Phoenix's smaller moon." Torsten turned around, gulping. "We're not going to make it out of this alive."
"Just for kicks, we're running out of fuel, too," Rutger said. "Tatsuru's mix took us this far, but we are about to..."
The shuttle sputtered to a stop, floating aimlessly in space.
"This is bad," Rutger said.
Malia turned around, looking at Torsten. "I don't regret the choice I made. I want you to know that. In the end, I don't want your final thoughts to be about that. Think of Rell, and how you're going to see her sooner than you thought."
Torsten nodded. "I want to thank the two of you for believing in me when no one else would. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn't have defeated the dragzhi on Phoenix. Everyone would probably be dead. At least now they have a chance at life."
Rutger stared at Torsten and Malia. "I feel like I should say something profound, too, but I don't have anything. All I know is, I want to go down fighting. Turn the damn ship around."
As Malia complied with his request, Rutger clutched the weapons controls with both hands. With the push of a thumb, he opened fire on the incoming ships. His magnetic beams didn't even reach that far. They shot out of the ship and disintegrated in space before they could hit anything. Rutger pushed the button over and over again. Beams flew like fireworks out of their ship, bursting in space, then falling aimlessly into the abyss.
"Is that making you feel better?" Torsten asked.
"Yeah, it kind of is," Rutger said. He continued to push the buttons until he was only firing blanks.
Torsten gazed out at the incoming fleet. He looked behind once more, hoping to the see the dragzhi ship coming to their rescue.
Instead, he saw something he'd only imagined in his dreams.
31
"I can't believe it." Torsten reached for Rutger and Malia, who were kissing again. "You guys. Stop." Torsten smacked Rutger on the cheek.
"What?" Rutger glared at Torsten, until his eyes focused on the thing over Torsten's shoulder. "Oh. My. God. I don't believe it."
Malia wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "What are you guys—?”
The three of them stared out the back window, silence filling the shuttle. Until a small beep and a line of fuzz broke the silence. "We received your distress call. Please respond. Earth United Starship Six out."
Torsten blinked, focusing on the symbol on the side of the massive ship: a white flag with an illustration of a green and blue planet.
The comm buzzed once more. "Is there anyone on board? Please respond."
With a shaking hand, Malia reached out and pushed the comm button. "This is Malia Jones. We need help. That dragzhi fleet out there is coming to destroy us."
Silence.
A minute later, the comm buzzed again. "Really? This isn't an abandoned shuttle?" Then the voice became excited. "Commander, I think we found the descendants of the souls we lost two hundred years ago."
"Unreal." Rutger shook his head, smiling. "I can't wait to see them take out the dragzhi fleet. Let's just sit back and enjoy the show." He laced his hands behind his head and settled into his chair.
Torsten stared back at the Earth United starship. After all these years, they’d been found. And just in the nick of time. It was almost enough to make Torsten believe in the gods—real ones.
"It's only one ship, Rutger." Malia punched his shoulder. "We still could die."
"You want to make out more?" Rutger puckered up.
Malia rolled her eyes as she pushed the comm button again. "Yeah, that's us. Look, there's a fleet of dragzhi ships coming for us. They've been trying to exterminate us for decades. We're almost gone, and without your help, we'll all be dead in minutes."
"10-4," the man in the Earth United ship replied. "We're going to pull you in with a tractor beam. Once you're safe, we'll stop this."
The shuttle shook as the beam seized it, pulling it backward into the starship’s docking bay. As soon as the blast doors closed, Torsten flung open the shuttle door and jumped out.
Sirens blared in the hangar. Around him, pilots ran to their ships, their feet thundering across the metal floor. Engines gunned to life and the scent of burning fuel permeated the air.
"What about us?" Rutger asked. The three of them stood in the sea of chaos as the EU pilots of every shape, color, and gender boarded their ships.
"Come with me. Quickly, before the blast doors open again,” a voice said from behind. A young woman with flowing red hair gestured to them, her fingernails colored a deep black. She was clad in a one-piece white uniform.
“One of us is injured,” Rutger said, pointing a thumb at Joshua, who was slumped over in the back seat.
The woman called out to a large man, who ran over, grabbed Joshua, and flung him over his shoulder.
“He’ll be fine. Tim will take him to the med lab. Now come with me.” She took off in a fast clip toward the back of the docking bay.
Torsten pulled up next to her. "Where are you taking us? What will you do? The dragzhi—”
She held up a hand. "We know all about the dragzhi. You don't have to worry about them now. You're safe with us. I'm taking you up to the bridge. You can see all of the action from there."
Torsten nodded, then dropped back with his friends. Malia and Rutger's fingers were intertwined, confused expressions on both of their faces.
Malia said, "Am I the only one who thinks this whole thing is strange? It's been centuries, and we haven't heard a peep from Earth United. Suddenly they show up as we're about to be attacked by a dragzhi fleet, facing possible annihilation?" Her eyes were wide. "I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but something feels wrong."
"Maybe we should just be grateful we aren't space dust right now," Rutger whispered. "We're damn lucky."
"I believe in luck about as much as I believe in the Menelewen Dored," Torsten said. "For now, just do as they say. We need to keep our eyes and ears open. Whether we're out in our shuttle or in here, we're outnumbered."
The redhead waited for them at a lift. "Come on, now. You don't want to miss the battle, do you?” She cocked her head and smiled.
The three friends followed her into the lift. The doors closed. A few moments later, they opened into a different room.
"Did that thing even move?" Rutger asked, his jaw dropped.
"We ascended seven stories," the redhead said. "Perhaps you've never been in an elevator before?"
"We have lifts, too," Torsten said. "Yours are just a bit smoother than ours."
"And faster," Malia said.
Torsten swallowed, popping the pressure in his ears. He followed the woman onto the bridge. At first, none of the officers looked at them. All eyes were on the window that spanned the entirety of the room from side to side and floor to ceiling. Torsten’s knuckles turned white as he clutched a rail. It looked as if a few steps would catapul
t him into space.
Another woman strode over to them, her hand extended. "Admiral Lee. Nice to meet you." She stood a head shorter than Torsten, her straight black hair swinging just above her shoulders.
Torsten pumped her hand once, surprised at the strength of her grip and the old Earth custom. She shook Malia and Rutger's hands, too, smiling.
"Imagine our surprise at finding other humans floating in an ancient shuttle. You said over the comm that you are descendants of the crashed ship Explorer? Is that true?"
Torsten nodded. "We've been down there for centuries, trying to find our way back into space. We've been held back by the dragzhi."
Admiral Lee gave a curt dip of the chin. "That doesn't surprise me, given the dragzhi's stubbornness. Once they have their minds set on something, they don't let it go. Had we known there were survivors on Planet XT67, we would have intervened much sooner. You're lucky our comm expert caught your transmission. It's not often we hear English in Sector 9734."
"So what will you do with the dragzhi?" Malia asked.
Admiral Lee laughed. "Just watch. First, our comms will send them a message." Lee pointed to a man sitting at a console. His fingers flew over the smooth touchscreen.
"Turn around or die." It was a simple message, repeated in several languages, and broadcast over a loudspeaker in the bridge.
Thousands of EU fighter ships hovered in space before the dragzhi fleet.
"Now we wait," Admiral Lee said, her arms crossed over her chest.
Torsten held his breath. He wanted them to fire on the EU ships so he could watch every last one of them die.
It wasn't long before Torsten got his wish.
A dragzhi ship fired on the first EU ship. Within moments, the entire EU fleet sped toward the dragzhi, their ships twirling and maneuvering through the fray, taking out dragzhi ships left and right.
"Man, I wish I was out there." Rutger strode closer to the window.
"Your friend has a bit of bloodlust in him?" Admiral Lee asked Torsten. "We could use someone like him to pilot our ships."
"He's more of a weapons guy," Malia said. "I'm the pilot, but I'm not so sure I feel like risking my life again today."
"Smart woman." Admiral Lee clapped Malia on the shoulder. "They'll turn tail and run soon enough. The dragzhi are a weak, cowardly species. They can't stand against the EU, and they know it."
Torsten had read plenty of old books on Earth. It appeared humanity hadn't lost their inflated sense of ego in the last couple of centuries. Perhaps it was well deserved, though. It wasn't long before the dragzhi did just as Admiral Lee said they would, turning tail and flying back the way they’d come. The EU fighter ships began making their way back to the starship.
"I can't believe it's over that fast. We've struggled against the dragzhi for so long. To see them run away like that..." Rutger could only shake his head. "Will you take us back down to Phoenix? And then what?"
Admiral Lee clasped her hands behind her back. "We’ll send a rescue team. We'll have you off that place and back on Earth before you know it. Now, if you please, follow Commander Jillian to another ship that will take you there."
The redhead, Jillian, waved to them from the door to the lift.
"Thank you, Admiral," Torsten said, holding out his hand, his fingers splayed.
Admiral Lee gave him a strange look. "I'm sorry, I don't know what that means."
Malia demonstrated by touching her fingertips to Torsten's. "It's our way of shaking hands. Just something we developed over the years."
"Ah, of course." Admiral Lee imitated Malia's gesture. "I'm glad we found you."
Torsten, Malia, and Rutger followed Jillian into the lift. Moments later, they were back in the docking bay.
"Please, step into this shuttle. Yours is currently under repair. Some of the systems were damaged." Jillian smiled. "I promise, it will fly you home safely. We'll send down a crew soon to help with the evacuation. Your friend will remain here until he is conscious. We’ll send him soon, too.”
A pilot tipped his hat to Torsten as he climbed into the shuttle.
"This is much nicer than ours. They've made some good advances in the last couple hundred years." Rutger ran a finger over the soft fabric on the seats.
Malia sat next to him, a weary smile on her face.
Torsten climbed into the seat next to the pilot. His eyes swept over the controls. Some of it seemed familiar, but other parts were completely alien to him.
Strange that the same tech on a dragzhi ship would be on an EU ship, too.
The shuttle sped toward Phoenix. Torsten was relieved to see both moons again, the view unmarred by dragzhi ships. It wasn't long before they were breaking through the atmosphere and cruising through the sky.
Torsten directed the pilot to the tower, landing just outside.
"You've done nicely for yourselves down here," the pilot observed. "Human ingenuity. There's nothing like it. You three go ahead. We'll be sending more ships with supplies and help. We'll assess the situation and go from there."
"Thank you for bringing us down," Torsten said. "We'll call a meeting and get things rolling on our end."
Rutger and Malia followed him off the shuttle. They waved as the pilot took the shuttle back into space.
“Think they’re going to believe you?” Rutger asked Torsten.
“We’re about to find out.” Torsten lead his friends to the tower door, which was open and unguarded.
Torsten stepped over a small pile of sand sitting alone in the hall leading to the lift. “Strange. Where are the guards?”
“Maybe they stepped out for a minute?” Malia asked, her normally cool voice shaking with nerves.
Torsten wasn’t so sure, but he didn’t want to panic without reason. The three friends took the lift up to the floor with the conference room and walked through the quiet, empty halls. Torsten strode into the conference room, but that, too, was empty.
“Maybe they left on an expedition?” Rutger asked.
“Everyone?” Malia said. “No. Something else is going on here.”
Torsten typed a flurry of commands into the nearest computer. A map came to life on the vidscreen. Other than their three life signs, there was only one blinking green light. “There’s only one other person left in the tower.”
“Let’s find out what’s happening.” Rutger led Torsten and Malia to the lift. They took it to the highest floor, where the brig harbored the only other life signal.
Rutger ran through the hall, then came to a quick halt in front of the force field. “Torsten? Do you still have security permission?”
Torsten waved a hand over the panel, and the field dropped. Rutger plowed ahead, coming to a stop in front of a cell. “You.”
But there was no response.
Torsten looked into the cell, finding Rutger’s brother, Charlie, cowering in the corner.
“What’s happening?” Torsten asked as he dropped the field in front of Charlie’s cell.
Charlie quivered as he looked up at them. “They came. They took everyone.”
“Who?” Malia asked. “The dragzhi?”
“No.” Tears streamed down Charlie’s cheeks. “The dolls. They came, and they took everyone. They left me here as a warning.”
“Did they leave a message for us?” Torsten asked.
Charlie looked up at them, his eyes wide. “Come get them, if you dare.”
32
Rell awoke, her eyes blinking rapidly as she adjusted to the bright light of the room. Her heart was beating normally. Her blood pumped through her veins. And for the first time in weeks, the only thoughts in her head were her own.
She reached a hand up, resting it on her naked abdomen. Her skin was healed, not so much as a scar where Leila had shot her.
Slowly, Rell sat up. She looked around the room, seeing nothing other than four walls and the table on which she sat.
"Hello?" she said.
There was no answer.
"Torsten?"
Again, no answer.
Rell swung her legs off the side of the table and slid down, her bare feet touching the floor. She snatched the thin sheet from the table, wrapping it around her body. Her clothes were nowhere to be seen.
Rell walked around the room, her arms outstretched, reaching for a wall. She walked in a straight line toward the light. She did not find a wall. She did not find anything.
"Am I dead?" she said aloud. "Was the dragzhi right? Did they take it out, and then experiment on me until I died?"
Her tongue touched briefly on the little pill tucked in the back of her cheek. So she was still alive.
And she was utterly alone.
Rell closed her eyes, trying to activate the dragzhi side of her and open a portal to someplace familiar. She pictured the shuttle in her mind, the little she could remember from her painful trip into space. She waited, willing the familiar spinning to start.
It didn't come.
Rell was reminded of the last time she was on a dragzhi ship and in a similar room. Her eyes looked to the ceiling. It, too, was only a bright shining light. Glancing down at her feet, Rell couldn't see the floor beneath them, though she could feel it.
She turned, looking for the table she had been lying on, but it, too, was no longer there. All that remained was a bright light surrounding her from all directions.
Rell spit the capsule into her palm. She studied the round purple casing. It was smooth, with no markings. "What is it?" she wondered aloud.
"It was supposed to be swallowed," a voice said.
Rell looked up, expecting to see a dragzhi dripping down from the ceiling. She saw nothing other than light.
"Swallow the capsule," the voice said.
"And if I don't?" Rell asked.
Silence.
She waited, expecting a reply.
Still, nothing.
Rell closed a fist around the capsule, drew back her arm, and then launched it into the light. "Sorry, I dropped it."
"Your humor is not amusing."
