Explorer X Alpha

by LM. Preston

  Gitab’s hands slightly shook as he turned his gaze from Pelaan to address Heno with his answer. “Master, we have a stun device that worked well on the female when we held her. Finul got careless and didn’t subdue her with it over time, since she rarely fought us. As a matter of fact, she never screamed, and she spent most of her time in our care unconscious. A male child of similar species saved her. Sir, I must add a bonus to our discovery… they had Jantik with them, the son of the Nutah leader. We had thought that race of beings had disappeared or died off, but they are alive, and they are holding those beings within their hidden borders. We have their location and can attack at anytime in the near future,” Gitab added, feeling a bit giddy at being free of Pelaan’s disdain as Heno started to smile.

  “Gitab, I can whip you, I am so happy. We will be able to capture the girl. She has a male with her with the same genetic marker, I bet, and finally, we can destroy those Nutah, which are an abomination to our kind. We should have destroyed them all at birth. However, my grandfather thought enslaving them would be a better idea, only for them to escape and become a thorn in our sides ever since,” said Heno, hitting his fist on the nails of his chair and wincing in distorted pleasure and pain as his smile grew.

  “Pelaan, prepare our warriors to attack. We attack at dawn tomorrow, at the second sun’s rising! Gitab, you are dismissed,” Heno said, and Gitab didn’t waste any time as he ran from the room.

  Chapter 55

  Quetek ran quickly to the meeting room. He was elated at the news his spy had gathered for him. He was also angry that he had the male species the Femoh wanted so badly in the palm of his hands, only to lose him. Oh, he would get him back all right, and the female too. He had a plan that would please their leader and give them all freedom from this hateful planet. Petin was at his heels and also in his confidence. All of the warriors with him when he captured the being, and Jantik the Nutah leader’s son, agreed to keep a secret their folly.

  The meeting room came into view, and they ran through the large opening of red rock that was carved out of a mountainside. Quetek didn’t hesitate, as he wanted to be the first to speak to their leader, Olinu, before anyone would spill the story that Quetek and Petin lost their captives.

  The meeting room was filled with pure-blood Katek. They were all sizes and shapes, but all were red with red eyes and huge muscles. Their skin was reptilian, as were their features, and they spoke freely as Olinu, their leader, had not entered the chambers. Quetek and Petin pushed roughly through the crowd to stand directly in front of Olinu’s seat that allowed him to look down at them all.

  Olinu had came into power because he was a member of the original Katek who fought and destroyed the Femoh when they all had started the Katuluk, which was when they changed into a Katek warrior. As children, when they were taken from their homes, their bodies were soft and not fully muscled. Their strength was limited, and their innate desire to destroy, challenge, and wage war was not developed. That quality came when the Katuluk started, and it happened quickly, for usually within two full moons, the cycle would be complete. The young Katek would shed its youthful skin and become the warrior it was meant to be. The full-grown Katek’s skin would be deep red, thicker, stronger, and hard to penetrate. It caused the Femoh major problems when the full-grown Katek could not be contained. The Femoh ritual of pain only made the Katek stronger and angrier, causing the Katek’s retracted teeth to become exposed. This was a quality the Femoh had underestimated. It was the secret that had won the war for the Katek.

  Olinu finally made his entrance, and all of the Katek kneeled on one knee. All of them were deeply respectful of their surly leader, knowing that he was part of the reason they were all free. Quetek and Petin impatiently kneeled, as they were anxious to get their warriors ready for the attack and capture of the beings from the sky.

  Olinu looked down on Quetek, and seeing his lead warrior fidget, he knew that Quetek was anxious to share important news. He motioned for all to stand and sat watchful of Quetek as the Katek got settled for their meeting.

  Quetek stepped forward before the crowd of subjects to speak to Olinu, and Olinu gave him the signal to wait.

  “Quetek, I would hear from Lentif first,” Olinu said, then moved his eyes to Lentif. Quetek could barely hold his anger in check. Lentif was his brother and his biggest rival. Lentif was the oldest and led the band of warriors that went on the Femoh attack missions. Their sole purpose was to hunt and kill the Femoh and the Nutah. Quetek’s job was to protect the Katek lands, but he was about to be elevated to Lentif’s job if he could help it. That was the reason why he was in the outer rim the day he had captured the being and Jantik.

  “Olinu, thank you for letting me speak. I come today with news regarding the capture and loss of a valuable captive. It was bought to my attention by my second-in-command, Samil, that Quetek’s band was in the outer rim,” Lentif said while in resting stance with his arms across his massive chest.

  “Our leader, if I could explain. I have something of importance to share with you,” Quetek interrupted as he stepped closer. Lentif, never being one to be challenged, turned toward Quetek, baring his sharp teeth, which extended from the top corners of his mouth. Quetek responded in kind as the Katek’s could never turn away from an attack. They would die fighting.

  “Enough!” Olinu growled, his teeth and claws extracting as he stood. “Lentif, you will finish, and you, Quetek, will have my ear thereafter!” Olinu said, as his simmering red eyes laid on Quetek. Quetek reluctantly retreated and stood behind his brother Lentif.

  “Olinu, it had also come to my knowledge that Quetek’s band captured the son of the Nutah leader, Jantik. He also had the being that came from the sky,” Lentif said, and now smiled with his teeth still extracted. He stepped closer to Olinu’s chair as he breathed deeply to add to his story. “However, he let them escape!” Lentif growled his anger and disgust at his brother, obvious to all.

  “What? Let them escape! No one has ever escaped a Katek! Quetek, explain yourself, before I finish you here and now!” Olinu roared, teeth extracted, chest bursting free of his robe, as his eyes turned red with fire, and his claws extracted.

  “Let me explain, sire. I let them go on purpose, sir. The male being was searching for the female of his kind. The Femoh were holding the female because they believe that she holds the key to powering up the shilmena. My spy at the Femoh lands told me the location of the shilmena and the Femoh’s plan to attack the Nutah. If we wage war on the Femoh and the Nutah, we can kill off thousands of Femoh, and Nutah. When we capture the female, the male, and Jantik, we will ensure that the beings will help us start the shilmena, which would allow most of us to go home,” Quetek rushed out.

  “Hmm, I like your plan. You may live today. However, if this goes astray, I will kill you myself, Quetek,” Olinu growled.

  “It will be so, my leader” Quetek said and kneeled down on one knee.

  “When will the Femoh attack?” Olinu asked, now seated and his teeth retracted.

  “At the dawn of the second sun,” Quetek added, barely holding back a smile at his triumph over his tattletale brother.

  “You will lead the war, Quetek. Lentif, I will trust you to capture the beings and the boy, Jantik. Dismissed!” Olinu said, as he stood to take his leave.

  Lentif sliced his nails down Quetek’s face, causing blood to flow and Quetek’s teeth to extract as a growl built deep within his stomach.

  “I will not forget your lie, Quetek, or your treachery. I will not, and you will pay dearly for your folly!” Lentif said as he and his warriors walked out the door. Quetek watched his brother leave and knew at that moment he would kill him during the war. Quetek would be the one to bring back the captives and get the glory, but Lentif would die by his hands.

  Chapter 56

  Eirena and Aadi walked the outer rim of the Nutah lands. They realized that only part of the land was protected by the hologram that appeared as a mountainside to most outside observers. T
he back end of the lands looked out onto a barren wasteland of dirt and rock. They walked quietly, both having a lot to say and not knowing whether to say it.

  Aadi stopped and turned toward Eirena and said, “Eirena, we need to talk.”

  “About what, Aadi? There is nothing I want to talk about. There is nothing to say,” Eirena said and turned away from Aadi to look out toward the large rocks and cracked red lands.

  “Yes, there is. Since you were captured, you have changed. You are angry all the time and seem on edge. You know the Katek captured me when I was trying to save you. I know how you feel, being abused and hurt. Those things don’t change your inner self. No one can change you but you. Fighting for your life and killing for pleasure are two different things. I don’t want you to kill for pleasure. If we kill them just because we can, we have become what TEGRC wanted us to be and what the sick Femoh wanted. They wanted to break us, but I won’t be broken. I won’t let you either,” Aadi said and touched her shoulder to get her attention.

  She jerked his hand off her shoulder and turned abruptly around toward him. “How do you know what I went through? They tortured me until I had no more tears. I want them dead! All of them, and I want to be the one to kill them! No one - and I mean no one - should ever go through that amount of cruelty! The Femoh are evil, and I can be evil too!” she said, breathing hard, so angry that tears ran down her face in continuous rivers. Aadi reached out and turned her to face him.

  “Eirena, killing them in the way in which you would, hurts this planet and hurts you. How many of them do you need to kill before you become like them? Twisted and evil but justifying it all because they hurt you? It’s one thing to defend yourself in a war like this one, but it’s another to enjoy the killing,” Aadi said as he pulled her to him in a hug. She hugged him back and cried as he stroked her hair to give comfort to them both.

  “Aadi, I don’t know how to stop this. When I think of it, I get so angry, hurt, and scared. I don’t know if I can ever get past this. I don’t think I will ever be the same. I believe that more than my body changed… but me, I changed… on the inside. Sometimes it’s hard to feel, to forgive,” she said and pulled away from him.

  “Eirena, I am your friend. I am patient, and I will be here for you. I would never let anyone hurt you as long as it’s in my power to help. We are stronger now, different, but we are now hunted. We have to fight, but I don’t want you to enjoy or find pleasure in hurting or taking lives. Can you promise me you’ll try to hold back just a little?” Aadi begged, now looking at a calm Eirena. Aadi released her, and she stood and returned his gaze as she took a deep breath.

  Eirena looked as though she was deep in thought, and she looked directly at Aadi and said, “Yes, Aadi. I will try.”

  “Aadi, Eirena! Come quickly! We are meeting in the town square for preparation of war!” Jantik said as he ran toward them. Eirena looked toward Aadi and gave him a smile that finally reached her eyes as they walked to meet Jantik and Ebu.

  The Katek were moving toward the Nutah land, knowing exactly its whereabouts due to the spy Quetek had employed that was part Nutah and part Femoh. Quetek’s spy looked to be completely Femoh and lived among them undercover. Triab’s position as the assistant to the head scientist of the Femoh was of great use to the Katek. Triab had a deep hate for the Femoh as had all Katek, and he wanted to be one of the first to go back to the Katek’s home planet. Little did Triab know that he would never make it out of this war alive. His usefulness to the Katek was over. He would die on this day also. Quetek was just happy that he would be the one to do it.

  Quetek led his warriors around the back entrance to the Nutah land - a place rarely traveled by any of the species of this land because of the dangers of running into the druguna, large snakelike creatures that burrowed their way underground, only to come up to feed. Since it was dawn, these creatures rarely came out, as the heat was too hot for them. They preferred to live in the cool, dark ground.

  Lentif and his band were coming in from the front, waiting for the weakening of the hologram and force field surrounding the front entryway to Katek land. Petin was chosen to be the warrior to open the way for Lentif. Quetek was giddy with excitement, for today would end his brother’s reign as lead warrior - for good. It would also end the life of the half-breed abomination from the Nutah, Triab.

  The Femoh lead warrior, Pelaan, decided that the best way to attack the Nutah was from their underground dwellings, coming through various hidden openings that they had been working on all night. Gitab and Triab were accompanying them. They were needed to help kidnap the Nutah leader’s son, as well as the species that would be needed to start the shilmena. Gitab would stun the captives with Femoh stun device that would immobilize any being from the neck down. They all went to their places of attack. Pelaan pulled Gitab and Triab alongside him since he didn’t trust the two scientists. If they made one mistake, he would kill them both, and slowly, he hoped.

  “You will stay close to me, and I will lead you to the captives. One false move, and you both will feel the sting of my whip this night. I’ll make sure that you stay alive enough to withstand my worst torture. It will be my pleasure to see you bleed,” Pelaan said and ended with an evil smirk. Then he climbed up through the sinkhole to attack.

  Just as Aadi and Eirena got to the meeting place in the center of the square, chaos broke out. Femoh poured into the lands through the ground and came in droves. They sliced and cut any Nutah that were in their way. The Nutah were slow to react since they were caught off guard by the attack. Aadi noticed the Femoh heading toward them. He grabbed Eirena and Jantik and pulled them to the middle of the battle.

  “Let’s fight back to back. We can start to break their defenses while protecting ourselves!” Aadi yelled, and before he could complete his sentence, hundreds of Katek warriors broke through the barriers. It was a bloodbath, and Eirena was blasting all in her path with white energy pouring out of the palms of her hands. She got so caught up in the carnage that she was killing any Katek, Femoh, or Nutah in her way.

  “Eirena! Control! Control it! Don’t kill the Nutah! Subdue and weaken only,” Aadi yelled.

  Aadi felt the cut of a knife slice down his back and turned to the Femoh warrior who was able to land the attack. Charging at the warrior, Aadi punched him in the gut, then pulled his head down on his knee and pushed poison through the warrior’s veins. His attacker dropped, and he was attacked by two other Femoh who pulled at his head while punching him in the stomach. Letting his body jerk to draw them closer, exhilaration and euphoria of his power to control poured through his veins, and he squeezed the wrists of his two attackers and relished in breaking their arms. He forced his poison into their veins, and they fell. He looked to find Eirena and fought his way to her side by punching and poisoning Femoh and Katek that were in his path.

  He spied Eirena and Jantik back to back. Jantik was moving in tireless opposition, cutting and slicing Katek and Femoh warriors as they attacked. The Nutah warriors were too spbutt to do much damage, and their numerous deaths were evident. Aadi closed the gap and got closer to Eirena when he felt the jolting pain of electrified hooks sinking into his skin. Fire burned down his back and arms, but the pain was dull compared to the pain he had felt during his change. He shook off the discomfort, and jerked his body just enough to grab the ropes connected to the hooks in his back. The two Katek warriors pulling on the ropes jerked forward, and Aadi’s fist met them both with a powerful punch that knocked them to the ground unconscious.

  Determined, he continued on his path to reach Eirena and Jantik as Jantik cried out in pain. A Femoh warrior cut Jantik’s back, and he fell to his knees as another Femoh warrior attempted to put a metal net over his head. Aadi called to Eirena mentally and told her to save Jantik. She slightly turned her head as if listening to him and blasted the Femoh warriors into pieces, causing their blood to eat through the hard-packed ground.

  “Eirena, no killing!” Aadi yelled into her mind. She mentall
y conceded to his command as she immobilized several Femoh and Katek warriors that were charging her.

  Eirena hesitated but a moment while listening to Aadi’s mental message, only to be attacked by a large Femoh from behind. He swung a whip-like weapon with a tail on the end and jerked her back to the ground. Femoh came from everywhere to attack. It had appeared to Aadi that they had burst through the Nutah’s barriers. Aadi’s anger built, and he started fighting hand-to-hand combat with a Femoh as he watched her fall. He let go of the hold he had on the power he had caged within himself, closed his eyes, and pictured all the Femoh that surrounded Eirena, projecting blackness and pain into their minds. They all fell, some dead to the ground, and others to their knees, and Eirena was immobilized on the ground with the whip around her neck. Aadi looked at the war around him, and the Katek had strengthened their numbers. It appeared that the Katek were starting to win the battle between the Femoh and Nutah, and he knew he had to turn from her to fight.

  Jantik ran over to Aadi and threw him a weapon similar to a sword and yelled, “Slice the Katek in the neck! It is their weakest point. Use the tip of it to attack the Femoh, and it will poison them and keep their deadly blood intact!”

  In the midst of the battle, Quetek saw his chance. The Femoh had stunned the girl, and the male with Jantik were near her. Triab, his spy, was about to be killed by Quetek’s brother Lentif. Perfect, Quetek thought, I can kill them both, and bring back the captives. He turned to his second-in-command and gestured for him to follow. He came up behind Lentif just as he was about to slice through the half-breed spy. Quetek’s teeth extended, and he bit down into the neck of his brother and yanked out half of his neck with a jerk. Lentif fell, and Triab looked relieved. Triab then turned his stun gun on Aadi and Jantik, which caused them to stumble and fall to the ground.