by James McEwan
He watched as a large chunk of the ship blew outward and he could see a few bodies floating off into the distance. But it didn’t stop the ship as he had hoped. “Okay, maybe not,” he said as he noticed a single flash of light from the lower right side of the ship. “Oh that’s bad,” he said as he realized that they had just fired a missile back and he was sure it was aimed at him. He demagnetized his boots and kicked off with everything he had. He shot off the Eden almost as fast as if he had a booster pack on.
He was just barely clear of the blast area when the missile struck the Eden blowing another hole in her hull. He quickly caught up with Kára. He timed it right and grabbed her has he was about to pass by. He pulled her tight to his chest and the two of them spun off towards the planet. He couldn’t help but laugh because of all the ways he thought he would die he never thought the he would die in the arms of the woman he loved as they burned up in the atmosphere of some alien shit-hole planet. He figured if he was going to die it would be on an alien shit-hole planet, not above it. But a least, he surmised, it was in a blaze of glory.
Ruby stood on the battered and darkened bridge of the Eden. Her face plate pressed against the window. She watched in horror as the missile nearly killed St. Claire. She was in so much shock that she had forgotten about her powers. Her shock quickly turned to anger and she focused it on the Ralnai. A hatred burn deep inside her and she let it lose upon them.
On their ship, the ship master was the one with the strongest mind so he was the first she felt and it was his mind that she attacked first. The big lizard stood up straight, cried out and grabbed his head. Within seconds’ blood was streaming out of his eyes, ears, and mouth. He dropped to his knees as the rest of the bridge crew started screaming. The ship master fell to the deck dead, his brains had been crush to liquid and they were now pouring out of his ears and eyes and within a minute the entire crew lay dead where they fell all suffering the same fate.
Oh, but she was not done with them yet. She held out her hand and with an open hand she started to close it. She focused everything she had towards the ship. Their ship groaned and creaked and then all at once the ships bulk heads failed and crushed inward. Rudy screamed a primal howl of hate as she closed her hand into a tight fist. The ship collapsed on itself and was crushed down to the size of a large truck left to drift in space.
With the threat gone she turned her gaze towards St. Claire and Kára. Blood was pouring out of her nose and she was shaking all over but she wasn’t ready to stop. Not yet, not while she could still save them. She closed her eyes and stretched out her hands and concentrated on them.
St. Clair held Kára tight and waited for the end to come. He wondered which would come first; death from lack of oxygen or burning up in the atmosphere. He figured it would take about three days for either one to happen. He began to think about what he was going to say to the team before the end.
He didn’t get to finish that thought because he suddenly felt some unseen force grabbed him and Kára. He stopped moving towards the planet and started to move towards the Eden. He watched as they were pulled back to the airlock. They were met by two Commandos who took Kára’s body and carried her inside.
Once Ruby knew that they were safely aboard the Eden, she let them go then passed out.
“Okay who showed up with a portable tractor beam?” St. Claire said as he closed the airlock.
The two Commandos just looked at him. “Sir?”
“It’s not important I just wanted to say thanks,” St Claire said.
“It wasn’t us Sir,” the Commandos said in unison.
“What do you mean?” He asked then it donned on him, “Ruby!”
“Ruby Sir?” They were really confused as they didn’t know about her powers.
“Forget I said anything. Just take care of Kára. I need to check on Ruby.” With the power off he had to use his magnetic boots to keep from floating all over the place as the Eden was still spinning and adrift. It was slow going to get to the bridge, but when he got there he found Ruby floating in the middle of the room. It was a strange sight as she was motionless while everything else rotated around her.
He grabbed her and pulled her close. It was when he noticed that her face shield was covered in blood and his heart dropped. He ran as fast as his boots would let him for the infirmary. “Eve, if you can hear me Ruby and Kára are both hurt and I need power and life support on in the infirmary as fast as you can,” he yelled into his comm.
Much to his relief he heard her voice in his helmet, “Working on it, but a lot of my systems are fried and it is going to take a while.”
Chapter 29
Lex had spent most of the night exploring and memorizing the number of steps to each area she visited. She had discovered that the fortress was much larger than she thought. She found that some areas were where the masters keep their wives and other areas where the men and women were housed separately.
She also found that the masters were the elite ruling class and the rest lived to serve them. She had seen similar things on more than one world as she had been a slave several times as a means to get close to her target. She hated to see so few control so much, but this was not something that she wanted to deal with. She just wanted to get out alive.
It was nearly sunrise as she was made her way back through the darkness. She didn’t need light to see where she was going as she had learned how to move in the darkness by counting her steps. She counted every step she had taken sense she left her cell. All she had to do to get back was to follow the same number of steps and turns and she would be right back where she had started.
She had made it back to the base of the spiral staircase when she thought, so far so good. Unfortunately, at the top of the steps she ran right into the one they called the big son of a bitch. He was carrying a lamp in one hand and with his other he grabbed her by the neck just below her jaw. He lifted her off the ground as if she was nothing more than a bag of feathers. Being that she only weighed about a buck fifty, she was not heavy.
Lex grabbed his hand and tried to pry his meaty fingers from her neck, but it was like trying to bend steel bars. She tried kicking him but his arms were long enough that he could hold her far enough away that her legs just barely grazed him. She tried scratching him but as her nails dug deep into his flesh he just smiled and his crooked teeth showed under his thin lips.
He began to squeeze her neck and she fought with everything she had. There seemed to be nothing she did could stop this beast. She tried to scream but she just couldn’t get the air in or out. As the fight began to drain away from her he pulled her close and licked her face.
“It’s been a long time since I have tasted beautiful,” he said with breath that could down a Thog. “I am going to enjoy breaking you.”
He dropped her to the ground. Lex fell in to a heap and it took her a few seconds to get enough air in to clear her head. She instinctively reached up and covered her throat to protect it and rub the soreness. The big man reached down, grabbed her by the shoulder and picked her up again before spinning her around.
He walked her down the hall to a small room that was used to store cleaning supplies. Against the wall was a small wooden work bench. He set the lamp down and then he forced her against the bench. He bent her over it and pulled up her robe. He held her down with one hand and with the other he tried to get to untie his diaper like loin cloth.
Lex knew what was about to happen next and she was not about to let him do this to her. She still had the little metal hook in her hand. She pushed it against the bench top to flatten it out. Now she waited for an opening to attack. She didn’t have to wait long as he was having problems untying the knots with one hand and so he let go of her so that he could use both hands.
That was a mistake, she thought and launched her attack. She spun around and knowing she only had one shot at this and if she missed she knew that he would not be kind or gentle with her. She took careful aim and struck with every ounce of strength th
at she could muster. Her aim was true. It also helped that he wasn’t use to the women fighting back. He was quite surprised that she twisted away from him so fast and he was even more surprised when she jammed the piece of metal deep into his right eye. He roared in pain and he grabbed his eye.
Lex took the opportunity to slip away from him and she did it in a hurry. She ran down the darken hallway, in her zest to get away from the big son of a bitch she had lost track of where she was. The big man pulled the piece of metal from his completely destroyed eye. With blood and eye fluid streaking down his face he stormed out of the room. His blood on fire and when he found her he wasn’t going to bother with raping her, he was just going to enjoy twisting her pretty little head off.
Lex kept moving, she could hear him searching for her. “Come hear little bird. Let me put you back in your cage.” He was trying to sound sweet, hoping that the honey approach would work. She wanted to scream back a stream of profanities, but she didn’t want to give away her position. He kept on searching by looking with his one good eye and the lamp. He was getting closer to her and she didn’t know where to go next. She peaked around a corner to see if she could see him. Unfortunately when she did, he saw her.
“There you are you little bitch!” He yelled at her. Lex ducked back behind the corner and turned to run. “Get back here so I can kill you. I am going to skin you and wear your face for a mask!” She could hear from behind her.
Lex took off at a full run but only got a few feet before she ran straight into the old lady. The old lady also held in her hand a weighted strip of leather. She struck Lex in the side of the head and Lex crumbled like a sack of potatoes.
The big man came around the corner and stopped just short of the old woman. She looked at him, “What are you doing skulking around the women’s quarters? You know you are not allowed in here. He just looked at her with a blank look. “Never mind, pick her up and then let’s see to that eye.”
Horota had arrived just after dark and was granted an audience with Yiska. He explained that he was after Thaddeus Hammer and that he knew that he was on his way to Qasr Burqu'.
“Why would this man come here?” Yiska asked as he sipped tea from a little silver cup.
“You have his two wives, the twin human women, and he will stop at nothing to get them back. He is extremely dangerous and if we work together we can kill him. Then you can keep your prize and I can take his head and get paid,” Horota answered the question and then sipped his tea. He didn’t really care for it, but he didn’t dare refuse it.
“I see, well it seems like a reasonable offer, how can I help?” Yiska asked.
Yiska wanted to know the plan so he could make his own plan. He didn’t care much for Nektons and fully intended to double cross Horota. He figured he could kill this Thaddeus Hammer, keep the women for himself and finally make some money by selling Horota as a slave.
What Yiska didn’t think about was that Horota didn’t get as far in his business without being able to read others. He could tell right away that Yiska was planning to double cross him. Knowing this, Horota spent the rest of the night using the active camo part of his Eli suit to hide explosives in key location around the fortress. Once that task was finished, Horota made his way to the minaret tower that overlooked the court yard and waited for his prey to come. The trap was set.
Chapter 30
Normally the desert people didn’t travel at night as the temperature drop was enough that it was dangerous for them to travel. This didn’t stop Thad. He was tired of chasing his wives across the galaxy. After just missing them at Tor Tran-Kor’s estate he wasn’t about to rest until he held them in his arms again. Thad drove them throughout the night, pushing the beast that carried them to its limits.
Thad stood on the beast’s back holding the rains. Sabella sat on the bench seat bundled up the best she could from the cold. Eve sat next to her although she didn’t have a need to bundle up. All of the cold weather gear and sleeping gear they had packed was free for Sabella to use.
Furhan, on the other hand, sat with his back to the wooden backboard with his arms lashed to it. He was freezing and, if Eve hadn’t insisted that they keep him warm enough to survive the trip, Thad would have let him freeze to death. As it was, the few blankets they had wrapped around him where keeping him alive, but there was no comfort. They raced across the desert under light of the twin moons and stars. Thad, although cold, was in no danger as his Nano protein healed any damaged cells almost as fast as they were damaged. He looked up at the twin moons and couldn’t help but feel a pain in his heart as they reminded him of Fiona and Freya his twins.
It was just before dawn when they reached the canyon where the mountain fortress was located. They had to leave the beast and make the rest of the way on foot or risk being spotted by the guards in the canyon. Sabella knew the terrain like the back of her hand as she had grown up here. She was brought to Qasr Burqu' as young girl. She explained that she would sneak out when she could and explore the mountains. She knew every path and stone and she knew of an unused path that led up onto the top of a hill that overlooked the open courtyard.
The sun had just broken the horizon and its first rays had kissed the ground. Horota, who had been sitting with his sniper rifle all night, had fallen asleep and was softly snoring away. Everything was quiet.
The loud speaker was turned on and a voice began the call to prayer. The loud noise startled Horota right out of his sleep and he let out a yelp as he jerked awake. He was sitting on a chair and his sudden movement pushed himself backward and past the balance point of the chair. He tumbled over backward and landed on the cold stone floor. He quickly found his feet and he looked around and, once he discovered he was in no danger, he relaxed. Then he felt stupid,
“Very professional Horota, you must be slipping in your old age,” he said to himself as he picked up the chair.
The courtyard slowly filled up with the worshipers, the men on one side and the woman on the other. They stood in lines and waited for their leader to show up for the morning prayers.
Rod stirred a bit, but the beatings along with being staked outside in the cold all night had given him hypothermia and sometime in the night he had slipped into unconsciousness. Yiska didn’t want him dead yet so before the prayers began he ordered a warm blanket and some tea be taken to him. Two men removed the leather cords that bound his wrists. They sat him upright and slapped him a few times to bring him around.
Then one of them grabbed his head and pulled it back with one hand and used his other hand to force his mouth open while the other poured the hot tea down his throat. It was too hot and burned going down, but Rod didn’t care it was warming him up and that was all that he cared about at that moment in time.
They wrapped him in the blanket and dragged him over to a stone block that was in the front of the courtyard. While this was going on Thad and Eve were on their bellies crawling up to the edge of the overlook so they could see down into the courtyard below. Thad spotted Rod right away and he used his comm chip in his head to talk to Eve so that they would not be heard. “He doesn’t look good,” he said.
“No, he doesn’t,” she replied her voice in his mind.
“Do you see the girls?” he asked as he scanned the crowd.
“They are not there,” she had scanned the crowd as well however she was much faster at it than he was.
“Damn it!” Thad swore.
“I’m sure they are there somewhere we just need to find them. Do you have a plan?” She asked “Need more intel, for now we wait and watch,” Thad said.
As the two watched from up above, a stunningly beautiful young woman with blond hair and covered in a black robe was dragged out of a nearby door. Her hands were bound and Thad noticed that one side of her hair was matted with dried blood. She didn’t look to happy to be there as well. “I wonder if that is the other woman that Sabella said was with them,” Thad communicated.
“I would bet on it,” Eve replied.
High above the planet and hours earlier on the Eden things were getting back on track. In the last eight hours, most of the major systems had been repaired and power and life support restored. The first hour was one of the longest of St. Claire’s life. He had to sit and wait while Eve and the self-repair systems struggled to get main power on and pressurize the ship so they could get Ruby’s and Kára’s armor off so that they could check on their injuries.
The second the infirmary had heat and air St. Claire tore off his helmet and gloves. He worked quickly with the team’s medic to get Ruby’s armor off and check her. Much to his relief she was still breathing. The blood on her face was dried now and looked as if it had come from her nose and not a head wound. Satisfied she was going to be okay he left the medic who was still working through a list of medical checks and tests on her. St. Claire turned to help Kára.
He wanted to get her helmet off, but then again he didn’t, because he feared what he might see. She hadn’t shown any signs of life since he brought her in, and because of the condition of her armor, he had little hope. But, he had to know, one way or the other. He felt for a latch or release mechanism, but could not find one. Then he remembered that she had shown him the emergency release that would remove her armor if there was ever a problem. And this was about as bad a problem as problems get. He reached up just under her left breast and placed his fingers on four symbols and pushed on them in the sequence that she had taught him.
