A New Reason To Fight: An Intergalactic Romance

by T. J. Brandow

“Indeed he does,” Rebroan agreed.

  Rebroan recruited a small band of ten of his best fighters. One by one, they loaded into a Remoir space cruiser that he and his followers had stolen from Perbron just before they left planet Remoir. Rebroan and his men were dressed in the same outfits that Perbron’s men wore so that they would look the part. The journey went by without incident, bringing the group to sector 12. As soon as they neared the colony, which was built on the barren moon called Heliodor, they began to receive warnings on the ship’s communicator.

  “Identify yourselves if you wish to land or prepare to be attacked!” a deep voice spoke.

  “I am Co-Commander Fredoran from Remoir. I have been sent as back up for our leader, Perbron’s meeting with the Intergalactic Army and Defense Squad,” Rebroan answered.

  “No one notified us of this. We shall need to gain clearance,” the voice answered.

  “I am ordering you to allow us to land. Perbroan does not want any long distance communications sent out about the upcoming exchange. He does not want the enemy to intercept those messages,” Rebroan explained. The creature on the other end seemed to be considering this information.

  “Very well, permission granted. You may land at the south portal, coordinates 2473,” the voice finally answered.

  “Thank you,” Rebroan answered, switching off the communicator. He turned to smile at his men. “We’ve been granted permission, boys!”

  The settlement was very primitive, consisting of cave-like dwellings carved into the rocky surface of the moon that the Fridrazoids built long ago before Perbron sent Remoir guards to Deratadon. Once Rebroan landed the Remoir ship, a host of Remoir guards were waiting for them at the end of the runway.

  “I am Captain Gwarthon, and I want to know why I wasn’t told of your arrival,” he said. Rebroan walked over to him, flanked by two of his men.

  “Captain, how long have you served Perbron and his family?” Rebroan asked.

  “I have served Perbron and his father for ten years, and I have been stationed here at Deratadon for two if you must know,” Captain Gwarthon replied.

  “I have served him for twenty-two years, and all during that time I have not had my loyalty questioned. Perbron wanted our arrival to be secret so that our enemies would not get wind of it,” Rebroan said. Captain Gwarthon looked at Rebroan and the other Remoir guards that Rebroan brought with him and nodded his head.

  “Very well, I accept your explanation. After all, are we not on the same side?” the Captain asked.

  “Indeed we are. Perbron hopes that we can rid ourselves of the Defense Squad once and for all once the exchange is made,” Rebroan said.

  “Yes, that is our wish as well. Once we are rid of the Defense Squad there will be little standing in our way. We shall gain control of the Allied forces’ settlements with little opposition,” Captain Gwarthon answered.

  “Where are the prisoners being kept?” Rebroan asked.

  “They are being kept in our deepest dungeon just a few miles to the south guarded by the Fridrazoid that calls himself Skar,” the Captain explained.

  “I see. You have done well. Commander Perbron will be pleased,” Rebroan said.

  “Indeed, that is my hope. Come, I will show you and your soldiers to your quarters,” the captain said, waving for Rebroan and the others to follow him. They walked a mile down a rocky path that led past cave openings that dotted the stony hillside. The hills were terraced into three different levels. When they came to the end of edge of the hillside, Captain Gwarthon began to walk up the stone steps to the top terrace and entered the last cave opening. All along the walls, torches were burning to light the way in the gloom. After they walked down a long, narrow corridor, the captain showed them a large room with a single table and several beds stuffed with straw.

  “The accommodations here are primitive at best, but it is all we have to offer,” he said.

  “It will do just fine, Captain,” Rebroan answered.

  “We will have dinner in the large meeting hall that we passed on the way here in two hours time. I do hope you can join us,” the captain said.

  “We are very tired from our journey, but we will try and do so,” Rebroan said.

  “Very good. Make yourselves at home,” the captain said, taking his leave.

  After the captain was out of earshot, Rebroan’s men began to laugh amongst themselves.

  “He bought it!” one said to the rest.

  “Yes, but we must be careful not to arouse any suspicion. We should be able to gain access to the prisoners without any problem,” Rebroan said.

  “What of the giant?” one of them asked.

  “Once giant is no match for all of us, but we will try and reason with him first,” Rebroan said. “Perbron will likely be sending more of his soldiers tomorrow in order to make sure that he has outmatched the general’s forces. We must try and rescue them tonight and leave under the cover of darkness. We will be gone before Perbron even knows anything has happened.”

  That night at the feast, Rebroan and his men did their best to tell stories of their loyalties to Perbron. Captain Gwarthon and his guards had lived in Deratadon for so long, they would not have known whether or not the stories were true, so they believed every word. When darkness descended on the barren moon, Rebroan announced that he and his men were tired and ready to retire to their quarters. After they left the meeting chamber, they immediately made their way to the dungeon where the Intergalactic Army soldiers were being held prisoner. There were two guards posted outside of the entrance that had bars on its doors. Rebroan had not counted on there being guards outside of the door.

  “State your business here!” One of the guards said, sternly.

  “We are here to relieve you,” Rebroan answered.

  “Wonderful! I thought that Captain Gwarthon would never send someone to relieve us,” the guard said, surprising Rebroan with his cooperation.

  “But why did he send so many guards to relieve us?” The other one asked.

  “Oh, who cares, Keravon. Aren’t you ready for a break?” the first one asked.

  “By all means. It’s all yours, guards. Here are the keys,” Keravon said as he handed Rebroan the keys. Then, he and his companion began to walk away.

  “Well that was easy enough,” Rebroan whispered to his men. They quickly unlocked the door and began to walk quickly down a narrow flight of stairs into the darkness. Immediately a rank smell began to invade their nostrils.

  “What is that?” Gorderon, one of Rebroan’s closest comrades, asked him quietly.

  “That, my friends, is the stench of a giant. Once you catch the scent of one, you will not forget it,” Rebroan stated.

  When they got to the bottom of the stairs, the smell was almost too much for them to bear. In fact, many of the Remoir began to hold their noses. They entered a large, dank chamber and began to hear a roaring sound that descended from a high pitch to a low pitch. It was the sound of Skar, the giant snoring in the corner of the room. After taking a few more steps, Rebroan and his men saw the beast. He was much larger then any of them had pictured. He was about two stories tall, had broad shoulders, legs as thick as tree trunks, and two large fangs protruding over his lower jaw. He was sitting on an enormous boulder, which was the only object that was able to sustain such massive weight. To the left of Rebroan’s men was a line of cells on the opposite wall from where Skar slept. Rebroan peered inside the cells and saw that each one contained a soldier in an army green uniform. One of the soldiers came to the front of his cell to see what was happening. His mouth fell open as if he were about to start talking, but Rebroan put his finger up to his lips to let the soldier know he needed to be quiet.

  “We are here to rescue you,” Rebroan whispered to the man. A few of the others heard this as well. The expressions on the soldier’s faces began to brighten, although they were a little confused as to why Remoir guards would want to free them.

  “Where are the keys to the cells?” Rebroan asked th
e imprisoned soldiers, quietly.

  “The giant has them in his grasp,” one of the soldiers whispered.

  Rebroan turned towards Skar and saw the keys in his right fist. Skar opened an eye, but Rebroan saw this and waved for his men to run back towards the entrance.

  “Who is there?” Skar asked in a deep, booming voice as he opened his large, green eyes.

  “We are here to take the prisoners for the exchange,” Rebroan said, as he walked back towards the giant, revealing himself.

  “Hmm, why would Perbron want the exchange to happen so early? It wasn’t scheduled until tomorrow,” Skar said.

  “Well, be that as it may he wants them now,” he said. The giant stood up and lowered his head so that it was level with Rebroan. Rebroan’s comrades stepped out of the shadows in order to assist their leader if the need arose.

  “You wouldn’t be lying to Skar now would you?” the giant scoffed.

  “Of course not,” Rebroan insisted. The giant stood up at full height and began to laugh at Rebroan. It was so loud, the Remoir had to cover their ears.

  “I really frightened you, didn’t I?” Skar said.

  “Perhaps, a bit,” Rebroan admitted.

  “Who are you? I only take orders from Captain Gwarthon or Perbron himself. If you want me to turn these prisoners over to you, you must get him to tell me so, directly. I have my orders and I’m sticking by them,” the giant insisted crossing his arms. Rebroan heaved a sigh and stood there, contemplating his next move.

  Chapter 13:

  Rebroan stood before the giant, choosing his words, carefully. Although he didn’t wish to go up against the Fridrazoid, he would if it became necessary.

  “You don’t work for Perbron, do you?” Skar asked accusingly as he took one step towards Rebroan. The others stood behind him, clutching their laser pistols should they need them.

  “Maybe you should ask yourself why you do,” Rebroan said, realizing that lying to the giant was a useless exercise. In addition to being huge and strong, Fridrazoids have the uncanny ability to see through lies and deception.

  The giant took another step forward, eyeing Rebroan curiously.

  “Do you want to continue to live out your life in this dungeon beholden to a crass and craven leader or do you wish for your people to live like they once did before the Remoir came to this rock?” Rebroan said.

  Skar did not answer right away as if he were considering Rebroan’s words.

  “Nice try, but I know what your game is. You must be one of those members of the resistance the guards keep talking about. You seek to supplant Perbron so that you can control things yourself. You will get no assistance from me!” he growled. The giant took another step towards Rebroan while Rebroan took a step backwards. Rebroan’s comrades readied their weapons, and it was curious to them why the giant didn’t seem to fear the threat of the laser cannons.

  “Skar, we aren’t like Perbron. Most of the Remoir simply wish to live their lives freely without fear of an authoritarian telling them what they can and cannot do. If we were to take control, we would take things back to the way they were before the coming of the despotic rulers such as Perbron and his father,” Rebroan said.

  Skar laughed heartily and took another step towards Rebroan.

  “Do you expect me to believe that? All of the Remoir are the same: either serving themselves or their rulers. If you were to take control, the Remoir would continue to attempt to rule over others and use them to their advantage,” Skar said.

  “If you feel this way about our kind, why do you serve Perbron the way that you do?” Rebroan asked.

  “I do what I have to do to ensure the safety of my people. If I had my way, I would drive all of the Remoir to the farthest corners of the Universe and banish them from this place forever,” Skar replied.

  “So, why not do that? Do the Fridrazoids not outnumber the Remoir? Is it not your right to live your lives freely without Perbron lording over you?”

  Skar paused for a moment, as if considering Rebroan’s words again.

  “You Remoir are gifted with a silver tongue, but we Fridrazoids are gifted with seeing things as they are!” Skar said as he lunged suddenly and violently at Rebroan, knocking his laser pistol out of his hands. Rebroan fell backwards, and Skar continued to advance towards him. Rebroan’s comrades, seeing no other recourse, opened fire on the giant with their laser pistols. They were shocked to see the beams being deflected off of the tough hide of the giant. All of the Remoir fell to the ground, covering themselves in case the deflected beams came at them. Skar erupted into a frightful, loud laugher. Rebroan backed away as far as he could, but Skar was through moving slowly. The giant lunged again, attempting to throw his full weight on Rebroan. At the last moment, Rebroan jumped out of the way. Rebroan and the others retreated to the dark corners of the chamber, noticing the chains attached to the wall. Some of the chains were sitting unused on the ground while others were attached to skeletons of prisoners that had perished there.

  “Let’s see what we can do with these chains,” Rebroan told his comrades. Rebroan took one end of one of the longer chains, while Gorderon took the other end.

  “You cannot hide out in the dark for long!” Skar warned as he began to walk towards the Remoir.

  “When I give the word, we will go for his legs and wrap the chain around them,” Rebroan said. Gorderon nodded.

  With a loud roar, Skar came at them again, attempting to grab his opponents with his long, tree trunk-sized arms.

  “NOW!” Rebroan shouted. He and Gorderon ran towards the giant as his huge arms swept towards them. Fortunately, he was unable to grab the two Remoir who wrapped the chain around his legs as quickly as they could. Skar frustratingly flailed about, trying in vain to grab the Remoir as they ran around him in the circle, wrapping the chain around him four times. Using the large padlock on the end, the Remoir bound the two ends of the chain together.

  “AHH! YOU MAGGOTS!” Skar cried out, trying to free himself. The more he moved, the more he lost his balance until he fell over onto his belly, still flailing his arms about.

  “Herdron! Larbroan! Grab another chain and we will get it around his arms!” Rebroan commanded. The two Remoir grabbed another chain and came at Skar. However, he managed to hit Larboran with his mighty fist, knocking him unconscious. Rebroan ran over and grabbed the end of the chain that Larboran had dropped. They ran at Skar as he continued to flail his arms about, managing to get the chain underneath his arms.

  “Throw me your end and I’ll throw you mine,” Rebroan shouted to Herdron. Soon the two Remoir managed to get the chain wrapped around the giant’s arms, but he was too strong for them to hold him.

  “Quickly! Everyone grab the ends of the chains. Soon, all of Rebroan’s comrades were grasping the ends of the chains as the giant struggled to free himself, unsuccessfully.

  “ARGH! You will not get away with this! Captain Gwarthon! Guards!” Skar yelled out as Rebroan and Herdron managed to wrap the chain around Skar’s arms again and locked the padlock at the end.

  Rebroan began to search the walls for the keys to the cells. The imprisoned soldiers had all moved to the front of their cells to witness the spectacle unfolding before them.

  “Here, I’ve found them!” Gorderon shouted from the wall opposite the cells. He tossed the keys to Rebroan, who ran over to the cells and began to unlock them one by one. The soldiers were quite stunned at first, not understanding why the Remoir were there to free them.

  “Come quickly! We have to get out of here before more guards come! We are here to rescue you. There is no time to explain now!” Rebroan said. The soldiers seemed to snap out of their daze and followed Rebroan and his comrades out of the entrance.

  “The prisoners are escaping! HELP! RESISTANCE SCUM!” Skar shouted as Rebroan, the other Remoir, and the Army prisoners made their way out of the dungeon and into the cold darkness of the Deratadon evening. It wasn’t long before the giant’s cries began to attract the attention of C
aptain Gwarthon’s guards who began to flood the entrance to the dungeon. Rebroan and the others made their way back to their ship as quickly as they could under the cover of darkness. They had to stop a few times to hide from guards who were being dispatched towards the dungeon. Word soon reached Captain Gwarthon himself who sent out a communication to the security forces he had in place.

  “We are in lockdown. The rebel commander and his men are to be shot on sight. They have somehow managed to tie up Skar and make off with the prisoners. They cannot be allowed to escape!” Captain Gwarthon commanded. Soon Remoir guards and some of the giants began to pour out of the caves throughout Deratadon. Rebroan’s group reached the south port, but a group of Remoir guards emerged from the adjacent control tower. Lasers began to shoot past the group of comrades and soldiers as they reached their ship. Only one of the army soldiers was hit with a laser beam. Two other soldiers stopped to help him to his feet and drag him on board the ship.

  “Let’s get off this rock! Get those shields up!” Rebroan commanded. The shields were activated just in time as a barrage of laser fire made contact with the sides of the ship. By now, Captain Gwarthon and the bulk of his forces were right outside the launch pad.

  “Prepare to shoot them out of the sky. They can’t be allowed to escape!” Captain Gwarthon commanded his guards.

  “But sir, doesn’t Commander Perbron want the army soldiers to remain alive?” one of the soldiers asked.

  “It is too late for that now!” he shouted back. “Do not question my commands, soldier!”

  As soon as the ship took to the air, three gigantic beam concentrators emerged from the top of the control tower. Each concentrator produced a blinding beam that was combined into one. The beam came at the ship, but Rebroan anticipated the shot and maneuvered the ship into a sideways position. The beam missed its mark, but four Remoir fighters had taken to the air to chase Rebroan’s ship, firing as they went. Again, Rebroan outmaneuvered them, making mad swoops and turns to avoid the laser fire.

  “Give them a taste of their own medicine, Herdron and Gorderon!” Rebroan shouted to his comrades as they manned the ship’s laser cannons.