by Edward Brody
“Didn’t go exactly as planned,” Mich sneered. “Let’s go!”
They closed the speeder door and zipped towards the city, attempting to divert attention in the direction they were not actually headed. “What port number is the old Zatyr docked at?” Earl asked frantically.
“What? We’re flying out of Rashada?” Tristyn wailed.
“It’s at port 36.” Walter said calmly. “And if we stayed on Rashada, we’d be captured just as quickly as we were rescued. Let’s just hope the old bird can fly us out of here quick enough. It’s been ages since I’ve fired her up.”
After a few quick turns, Earl spun the speeder around and headed back in the direction of the ports from different angle. They had captured the attention of the other soldiers that they passed, but were flying so fast, none of them had enough time to react.
Eventually, they found themselves pulling up to port 36, a long narrow platform with several spacecraft’s and starships parked to the sides. One of the smaller ships near the end of the platform was shaped like a massive, light-grey American jetfighter with wings that Mich imagined was quite unsophisticated in comparison to the sleeker and more high-tech looking counterparts parked near it. On the side of the starship was etched the words Zatyr in a retro-colored print.
“There she is,” Walter said as Earl parked as close to the Zatyr as possible.
“Looks a little dated compared to the other ships. It’s safe, right?” Mich asked.
“I’m one of the few humans that has the privilege of owning a starship. An older model z-18, but no chance of getting my hands on anything that costs more. At least with the situation we’re living in. It suits its purpose. Never had any issues.”
Behind their group came the sound of other speeders, and when they turned, they saw the soldiers quickly approaching on foot as well. The group jumped out of their craft, and Walter ran over to the Zatyr and opened the door by typing on a keyboard attached to the panel. He motioned for everyone to go inside with his hands.
Walter was the last to enter, and barely managed to dodge a laser shot as the soldiers began shooting right as he was closing the door.
The inside of the Zatyr smelled old and dusty, but everything was well organized. There were several rooms inside with solid steel walls and there was plenty of room to stand and move around throughout. Walter rushed towards the cockpit of Zatry, and the others were standing behind him, watching through the window as more soldiers joined in the rush towards them.
Walter furiously pressed buttons on the control panel as the entire ship rattled with the weapon fire from the soldiers outside.
“They’re going to destroy the ship!” Mich squawked.
“Nah, they might hurt ‘er, but they won’t destroy ‘er. They’d need something a little stronger to bring her down.”
“Like that?” asked Scaggs, pointing through the front window.
Off in the distance, they could see one of the mechs–one that was not haywire–slowly marching towards their ship.
“Yep, that’ll do it.” Walter gulped. “No time for formalities. Everyone hold onto something.”
Scraggs saw Walter reach for the thrusters. “Hey, you haven’t disconnected the anchor!”
“If I go through the disconnect sequence, that mech will roast us.”
“And if you take us up without–“ Scraggs was interrupted by the thrusters engaging and lifting the Zatyr vertically into the sky, much quicker than a normal undocking. The ship rattled furiously as the anchor broke, sending the three standing parties to the ground, and there was a powerful thunder that echoed from outside. “…that’ll happen.”
“What the hell was that?” Earl asked.
Scraggs sighed. “Our underside shields were ripped off by the anchor.”
“It was either that or get roasted by the mech. We’ll have to be careful not to take damage to the belly, but otherwise the bird should be okay.” Walter patted the control panel of the Zatry and turned the ship so he could see the soldiers on Rashada, some still firing in the direction of the escapees, and others rushing to board another starship. “They’ll be coming in hot if we don’t get out of here now. Hold on this time!”
Tristyn and Mich each grabbed on to pieces of secured furniture, and Scraggs, not seeing anything else to grab onto to, reached for Tristyn’s arm. Tristyn threw Scraggs a menacing look as Walter rolled the ship, and the sound of thrusters roaring into full throttle filled the air.
They soon found themselves hurdling out of the Rashada atmosphere and into the vastness of space.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Kryle stood on the deck of his large mansion on his home planet, Dreasha. His home overlooked a large sea of water, and over the horizon he could see the planet’s three moons simmering brightly in the sky. Dreasha was large, dry, flat, and even though he lived in a desirable coastal area, the closest other home was nearly a half mile away.
Off into the distance, he could hear the gentle hum of thrusters slowly approaching his land, so he knew that a visitor was forthcoming. He navigated to the front of the house and then stepped on the purple, barren land to great the newcomer. A small, single-passenger, craft slowly descended to the ground.
The vessel landed, and then the gentle hum turned to silence as the power was turned off, and out of the ship stepped Carl, his arm hung in a sling and a wide smile on his face.
“Carl, nice that you made it here. I take it everything went according to plan?”
“It happened just as you expected. They rebels thought I had been kidnapped and led me right to their rebel base. And then as soon as I saw the soldiers, I flipped… Everyone bought the whole thing.”
“The results?”
“The rebel base was wiped out. Weapons confiscated. Most of the rebels fled to the surface, and those who tried to resist the soldiers were killed.”
“What about Walter St. James?”
“Captured, along with a few of his henchmen. I knew the access codes for Candy’s transporter, so as soon as everything was taken care of, I fled straight here to share the news.”
“Why didn’t you use your telecommunicator?”
“I didn’t want another situation like the one with Candy on my hands. With the Queen’s military on Rashada and the humans who would have my head, if anyone heard me talking, it could have been bad. Better to tell you in person.”
“Good… You’ve done a good job.”
“Sir?” Carl asked questioningly and bobbed his head as if expecting something. “The compensation we spoke about?”
Kryle Yago’s head tilted back as if he was about to laugh. “Oh yes, I almost forgot. Just a moment.” He retreated into his home, and a few moments later, he returned with a thick envelope in his hand. “I take it that a million credits will be enough?”
Carl accepted the envelope and tilted his head gratefully several times. “Oh wow… Thank you, sir. It’s… It’s more than enough.” He continued to bow his head as if he couldn’t control himself.
“And I think I also said something about a starship? I have a beautiful machine that I think you’ll love.”
“Really? I’ve always dreamed of having my own starship.”
Kryle lead Carl to the side of his house where three other starships were parked, and pointed to a smaller one with a circular body and two large thrusters jutting out the back. “She’ll house 3 or 4 comfortably and can take you from here to Krimeous without needing to refuel. Go ahead and take her. Her systems are unlocked, so you can reprogram her to your liking when you land wherever you wish to go. I’ll have that tiny transporter returned before anyone notices.”
Carl’s eyes glistened as he stared at the starship. “Wow, sir. This is more than I could’ve asked for. It’s been a pleasure working for you.”
“Yes, of course,” Kryle said dryly. “No need for thanks. Run along. I have matters to attend.”
Carl walked to the starship, stopping halfway to turn and give another last minute bow.
He placed his hand on the door, entered, and then sat down in the pilot’s chair. It was one of the nicest ships he had ever seen and perfect for the life he had planned.
With a million credits, maybe he could move to Atlantos, buy a flat and take up a life of gambling. Or perhaps a simpler life on Milliean would be more appropriate. Surely, he could find a human wife or he might set his sights high and look for a female of another species to mingle with a bit before settling down. Now that he had a starship of his own and a mass of credits, the possibilities seemed endless.
Carl waved through the window to Kryle who was standing on his deck as he started the thrusters in the starship. The controls on his new ship were simple–another great benefit of the craft. He pulled a lever and the craft hovered into the air, and he looked down one more time to see Kryle press a flat hand to his hand as if he was saluting a soldier.
Carl smiled at his good fortune, having escaped the troubling life that the vast majority of humans on Rashada would live. He further accelerated the thrusters and the starship hurdled into the atmosphere.
Kryle watched patiently as the Starship bolted high into the sky and then exploded into a million pieces, creating something akin to a fireworks display. There were enough explosives on the craft that any evidence of what it was would be incinerated beyond scrutiny.
“Disgusting humans,” he muttered to himself. “Will betray their own for a few credits.”
He retreated inside his home and rested his head on his plush bed. The human from E-17 had been killed, the rebellion had been flushed out, and Walter St. James had been captured. He may have lost his spot on the Council, but his work had been done. The humans did not pose a threat, at least for the immediate future.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Once they were out danger, Walter placed the starship on autopilot and retreated towards the passenger wing of the Zatyr.
Scraggs was sitting beside Tristyn with his arm extended behind her back. “C’mon, I know you saw how good I was back there. If it wasn’t for my disrupter, we would’ve never been able to save you, babe.”
Tristyn rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay. You did well. But if it wasn’t for Mich, we would’ve never been able to get out of the cell.” She glanced across the table towards Mich and gave a warm smile.
Mich could feel the energy radiating between him and Tristyn, and he knew then why he left the miholo village and risked his life to save her. He didn’t quite understand the feelings he had, but he knew that something he hadn’t felt before was there.
Scraggs frowned and was about to speak until he noticed Walter walking in.
Walter pulled up a seat and sat down at the edge of the table with the other 4 crew members and stroked his white beard. “There’s a lot to talk about, but before we get into anything else, I need to ask you about what happened back at the cell.”
Mich smiled. “It’s something that I’m just beginning to learn. I’m not even good at it yet.”
“Yes, but I’ve only seen one other human who’s been able to channel their energy the way that you did back there. What you did was special, Mich.”
“It’s really nothing. It can be learned by–“
“Show ‘em,” Earl interrupted and pointed towards Mich’s back.
Mich nodded and reached under his linens to reveal the copper sword he had recovered. When he placed it on the table, Walter, Tristyn, and Scraggs all seemed stunned.
“Holy shit...” Scraggs said.
“Where’d you get this?” asked Tristyn as she reached out to touch the blade.
“He fought a fuckin’ Keeper is what he did,” Earl said with a toothy grin.
Everyone sat bright-eyed, but Mich held up his hands in protest and then began to clarify. “I never fought a Keeper. I was kidnapped by a Keeper and watched two of them fight. One of them tried to save me.”
“Tamor fucking Landry,” Earl added.
“When the kidnapper saw that he couldn’t win, he impaled me with this thing, and I fell over a waterfall. I’m lucky to be alive.”
Walter flicked his eyebrows. “Lucky is an understatement.”
“Mich said he’ll let us sell the sword. It’ll be enough for us to rearm the rebellion.”
“Really?” Tristyn straightened her back and beamed a huge smile. Scraggs and Earl gave each other high fives and excited grunts.
“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with the sword yet,” Mich corrected, his tone unsure. “Maybe…” he gave a slight shrug. “Maybe I’ll keep it.”
The mood of the party went from overjoyed to disappointed in a split second, but no one spoke against Mich.
“Why did you save us, Mich?” Walter asked. “You’re not a part of the rebellion.”
“But I’m a human, and you’re my only human friends. Besides,” Mich shrugged, “before I woke up with this sword in my body, I had nothing. I still have nothing to lose. I lost everything the moment I stepped into that cryonics chamber.”
“You’ve got a skill that’s uncommon amongst humans. If you learn to master that skill and join the rebellion, you could be a great asset to our cause.”
Mich put a hand up and shook his head. “I’m not a solider. I want to become a better fighter, but I don’t want to go about fighting any space wars.”
“You think he could become a Keeper?” Earl snickered and rolled his eyes. “Forget about it! Let’s sell the sword and buy the rebellion weapons and armor.” All but Walter and Mich shook their head in agreement.
The head rebel let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair. For a long moment, he paused before speaking again. “You should keep the sword, Mich. Outfitting the rebel soldiers would do us no good.”
“What are you talking about?” Earl snapped and creased his brow.
“It’s been so long… You three have no idea. Fighting the throne with an army was never the intention of the rebellion. Even if we outfitted everyone with up-to-date weapons and armor, we would still be no match for the Queen. We’re 100,000 strong on our best day. The Queen has pretty much the whole galaxy behind her.”
“So you’re saying that everything we’ve been doing up until now was for nothing?” Tristyn asked, a confused and hurt look on her face.
“No, not at all. You all remember Snake, don’t you?”
Earl nodded. “You founded the rebellion with him years ago, right?”
“Snake, Stryker and I all three founded the rebellion. We realized early on that there was no way we were going to make a difference through strength alone and decided that we would have to go through the route of diplomacy, infiltration, and sabotage.”
“But Snake and Stryker left the rebellion years ago,” Tristyn said.
“Stryker left, yes. He was the first human to learn how to tap into the unused portion of his mind, just like Mich here has learned to do. After he tasted a little power, he decided that continuing as a part of the rebellion was not in his best interests and left Rashada to follow his own path. But Snake never quit the rebellion.”
“What do you mean he never quit?” Scraggs asked. “He hasn’t been around for years. I don’t understand.”
“Snake is the silent leader of the rebellion and always has been. The rebel base, the rebel army… It was all built up as a distraction to draw the attention away from Snake and his activities. So long as the Galactic Council and the Queen had their eyes focused on me and whatever we were doing on Rashada, they paid no attention to the stray human’s travels and activities. They assumed he had defected just the same as you all thought. I’m sorry we mislead you. It was done solely for the good of humanity.”
Confusion was etched across the faces of the three rebel soldiers. “So where is Snake now?” Earl asked.
“It’s been a while since we spoke, but last time we made contact, he had just made his way back into our solar system.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“My Queen,” Lena said with a slight bow as she entered the Queen’s personal ch
ambers.
The room was filled with copper ornaments and large paintings of past queens adorned the wall. The Queen was laying silently on a massive, canopy-covered bed, and across the room was a wide, freestanding bathtub made of porcelain with copper etching.
Lena scurried over towards the tub and turned the water on, then added a variety of soaps and scents to the quickly rising liquid. She turned back around to the Queen. “Are you ready for your bath, your majesty?”
Queen Vashalla pushed herself up on the bed and then let out a deep sigh.
“Is there something wrong?” Lena asked.
The Queen stood and slowly pushed the edges of her royal gown off of her shoulders. “No, it’s quite alright, Lena. There’s just a lot on my plate today with the Council coming to the capital. I received some rather troubling news.”
Lena cleared her throat. “What is that, may I ask?” For a moment, she wondered if she was overstepping her bounds.
The Queen stared off into the eyes of a previous queen, who was painted and immortalized for her power, staring back at her with a disapproving glance, then slowly pulled the rest of her dress down until it fell into a hump on the floor. There she stood naked, with her perfect skin and body on display, and wondered if she was worthy of the huge responsibilities that had been bestowed on her. “The rebellion was flushed, but our targets managed to escape. A simple occupancy of a fragment planet turned out to be a failure.”
“Your target escaped?”
“I’m sure you know of Walter St. James. Somehow he managed to slip out of the containment cell before he could be brought to trial.” The Queen shook herself as if she was relieving herself from a trance. “But anyway… It’s not important. The Council will be disappointed that the leader has escaped and will be expecting answers. They’ll probably demand heavier occupation due to all the illegal weapons that were confiscated. It’s embarrassing nonetheless, as I acted without consulting the Council.”
