by R.E. Rowe
Chapter 29
When they punched out through a star in the middle of the Ghost of Cepheus, Jayden’s stomach began doing Olympic high dive flips.
“Punch-out complete,” reported Altair5.
He tapped his ear. “Zeekmo? Can you hear me?”
Nothing.
His stomach sank. Oh no, he thought. Had Nora failed? “Zeekmo?”
“Sis?” shouted Parker, tapping his earpiece. “Are you there?”
Still nothing.
Finally, a beep vibrated from their earpieces.
“Killgeek? G-striker?” Nora said urgently. “You there?”
“We’re here,” said Jayden at the same time Parker did, and then asked, “Are they?”
Nora interrupted. “Relax. Everyone is safe.”
He turned to Altair5 and gave a thumb’s up, then let out a long breath.
“Thank God,” Parker said.
She continued. “We moved our getaway spot from the far side of Earth’s moon to the dark side of Titan. We’re all fine, but we encountered a slight problem.”
“What happened?” Jayden asked.
“Well . . . ,” she said.
Jayden heard his parents and others talking loudly in the background. “Where are you from again? Andromeda? The galaxy? Jayden is okay? Where’s Parker again? The moon? We’re in space? What about our Cleo? This must be some kind of prank. Is that real hair? It looks like a plant.”
Rox barked as if the dog were asking the same questions. He imagined Rox running in circles through Nora’s UFO, then wondered if Nora had remembered to grab a pooper-scooper. “So what happened?”
“Rosa about killed me,” she said. “Oh, and disgusting! Rox peed all over my leg!”
He smiled. “That sounds like Rox. What’d Rosa do?”
“She was completely nuts, talking a mile a minute in Spanish. Thank goodness I understood her. She thought she was being taken to heaven. Then she started to cry when she thought she was being taken to hell, and . . . well, you get the idea. Most of the other parents thought we were taking them on an international trip. When they saw space, all of their eyes grew to the size of the moon. Anyway, it was tough to explain everything.”
“Cool,” Jayden said.
“You did it, sis!” shouted Parker.
“Are you in position?” she asked.
“Yeah, we’re here, in the Nebula,” Jayden said. “We’ll be ditching the transport soon and hitching a ride on a UFO to travel to Nuk’ana’s briefing.”
“Be careful, okay?” she said.
“We will. Don’t worry, sis,” Parker said.
“Right, like I’m really not going to worry,” she said.
“You know what I mean,” Parker added.
Jayden shushed Parker. “We need to go.”
“Just come back in one piece,” Nora said. “Besides, someone needs to calm your dog down, Surfer Boy. He’s doing his business every ten feet. He obviously smells alien.” She softened her voice. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
He felt his face warm. “Will you be able to watch the briefing?”
“Yep, Altair3 rigged up the UFO com-channel to receive it. He told me Space Command blasts out their broadcast, so we don’t have to worry about anyone tracking us.”
“Good,” Jayden said. “We’ll need to stay silent, so don’t try to call me with the comm device. I’ll call you when it’s over.”
“Got it,” she said. “You want to talk with your parents? I’ll pull out this ear thing—”
“No time. Tell them I’m fine. Besides they’ll just tell me not to do anything crazy, and this entire situation is crazy.” Jayden’s stomach was back in knots. “It’s too late to back out now.”
He was thankful the families were safe. But he knew if the plan didn’t go well, they’d all be in big trouble.
“One more thing,” she said. “I found something curious in Nuk’ana’s personal data files.”
“What’d you find?”
“It’s hard to explain,” she said.
Jayden made two fists, tightened, then shook them out. “Should I be worried?”
“No, it just looks like some sort of wearable technical device he keeps on all the time.”
“What sort of device? A weapon?” Parker asked.
“Not sure, but it seems important. Be careful.”
“Okay, see what else you can find,” Jayden told Nora. “We need to get moving. Contact the emperor and tell him what you found. Keep digging and see if you can find anything else.”
“Right,” she said.
“Killgeek, out.”
“G-striker, out.”
Before long, Jayden, Parker, and Altair5 ditched the galactic transport on an asteroid and transferred to a UFO. Jayden and Parker quickly changed into pressed Space Command uniforms, put SECC caps on, and walked back to where Altair5 was piloting the UFO.
“Are we in position yet?” Jayden asked Altair5.
“My father has provided me with coordinates. I transport you using quantum wave particle-izer.” Altair5 frowned and raised his voice. “But why cannot I join?”
“I appreciate you want to help us. But we need you here to transport us out if things go south.”
“Go south?”
“I mean if the situation gets bad and we need a quick exit.”
“Ah. Understood.” Altair5 gave Jayden a quick look over. “You are impressive in uniform, Killgeek.”
“Thanks.” Jayden stood a little taller.
“So where are you transporting us?” Parker asked.
“The location is a mining operation on a moon with no atmosphere. Space Command base is an enclosed habitat with artificial oxygen atmosphere inside. You can breathe without apparatus. Father has knowledge of secret water channel entrance below habitat. The entrance avoids Zepar security.”
“A water channel?” Parker asked. “You mean a sewer?”
Altair5 turned his head slightly.
“Never mind,” Jayden said. “Once we’re in, which way do we go?”
“Masons will greet you. Follow them. They have weapons and credentials. What is your plan, Jayden the ultimate Killgeek?”
Jayden sighed. “If I knew, I’d tell you.” He took off down the stairs to the transport platform with Parker, and then projected his voice to activate the intercom. “We’re ready, Altair5. Transport.”
“Yes, sir,” Altair5 replied.
The next instant, Jayden and Parker found themselves standing in a brick hallway with eighteen other masons dressed in Space Command uniforms. It was at least one hundred degrees Fahrenheit inside and smelled like a sewer.
Jayden began to sweat and gag at the same time. Most of the masons around him reminded him of typical Earth kids in middle school and high school, but with subtle physical differences like bug eyes, cat ears, dog noses, and flicking lizard tongues, all alongside green-haired Andros kids.
“Hi, sir. I’m Talon,” a teenage boy about Jayden’s age said to him. His face was long, with a hawk nose and crooked bright white teeth. “Put this on.”
Talon handed Jayden and Parker credentials and small compact blasters. “Hide these on your trousers behind your back. They’re a new design. Looks minimal, but the blast is epic.”
Jayden stuck two onto the back of his pants and pulled his shirt over them. He did a double take at Talon. “Where you from?”
“Huntington Beach. All the masons from Cali have mad love for you, dog.”
Jayden smiled. “Thanks.”
He turned to Parker. “You too, dude. The way you walked a robo pod up a skyscraper was, well, seriously cool. We’re glad you’re okay.”
Parker grinned.
Another boy walked up to Jayden and stared at him with haunting topaz eyes. His dark eyebrows looked drawn on his face with a Sharpe. “I’m RegusZ. We, sir, are pleased to help.” RegusZ lowered his voice. A growl followed at the end of each word he spoke. “Lorcan hath assigned me mason go-team leade
r in thirty-third quadrant.” The alien teen looked down and whispered, “We shall indeed miss him, sir.”
“Yes, we all will,” Jayden replied. “Please, just call me, Killgeek.” He pointed at Parker. “He goes by G-striker.”
RegusZ raised his voice. “It is a privilege. Lorcan spoke highly of your clan.”
The rest of the team greeted Jayden and Parker as if they were the heroes of a recent football game.
“No one ever fought the Atilla on the front line like you did,” another mason said.
“Your fight holo-vid has gone viral among the masons,” Talon added.
“A viral video?” Parker asked.
“Totally, all tin cans have thee video recording,” Talon said. “We hacked in and stole it, along with Zeekmo’s flying video. Lorcan uploaded it to our Space Net Zebra cloud and configured it for self-replication. It went viral. You, G-striker, and Zeekmo are doing some major trending. Will the babe be joining us?”
“Sorry. Just us,” Jayden said.
Talon’s face dropped.
“What is the plan?” RegusZ asked.
“Good question,” Jayden replied, and scratched his head. “I’ll give you all a signal, probably a sound or something. Just follow my lead and make sure the briefing continues to be transmitted across both galaxies no matter what. I want everyone out there watching.”
“What is the signal?” RegusZ asked.
“Knowing my friend here, it will depend on the situation,” Parker said, turning to Jayden. “Right?”
Jayden nodded. “You’ll know it when you hear it.”
RegusZ reluctantly nodded.
“Let’s start by getting into the briefing. How are we going to manage that?” Jayden asked.
“Follow,” RegusZ said, waving at them. “You will stand in the middle with G-striker next to you.” RegusZ gazed at a device on his wrist filled with sequences of numbers that made no sense to Jayden. “We must hurry. We have this timed to a micro-rotation.”
The boy began jogging.
Jayden, Parker, and the rest of the masons followed him along a walkway with channels of stinky, dark water on both sides. The group continued jogging until they reached a long flight of steep stairs with no handrails that went upward about five stories.
“Watch your step,” RegusZ said.
Jayden wasn’t typically freaked about heights, but falling onto a solid walkway or into a river of brown sewer water and poop had him navigating the stairs more carefully than usual. When they reached the top level, a dozen more masons greeted them.
The area was wide enough to drive two golf carts side-by-side. But the level wasn’t as warm as the one below, and it wasn’t humid either. Even the smell was better. Clean with a touch of lemon. He figured this level was probably a supply route below the main habitat, sort of an underground, temperature-controlled maintenance level.
“Be ready, they come soon,” a mason said to them, his face dark green and his hands trembling.
A door opened from a level above. An older kid in a Space Command uniform led twenty Space Command recruits down the open stairs to where they had previously gathered.
Jayden held his breath. None of the recruits were masons. It would only take one wrong word to blow their cover.
A young recruit approached Jayden and RegusZ. “Is this where Leader Nuk’ana will give his briefing?” he asked. The kid shifted his head in jerks, searching the hallway.
“Yes, recruit,” replied RegusZ. “Please follow these Space Command officers.” He pointed to the mason kids in pressed Space Command uniforms who’d been waiting on the platform.
The recruits followed them down to the sewer level.
“All clear,” RegusZ said. “We’ll take their places beside Nuk’ana in the briefing. Quickly now.” He led the way to the main level.
The group walked into a spotless hallway with bright, artificial white light and marched single file behind RegusZ. When they turned a corner, a tall Zepar army officer was waiting. “You are thirty ticks late, Space Recruits,” the officer said with a growl.
Jayden cringed when he got a close-up look at the shape-shifter’s bony jaw. And he still couldn’t get used to the Zepars’ old sock smell with a slight hint of dead snake.
Focus on the mission, he thought.
“Apologies,” RegusZ said, his eyes steady. “We are ready, sir.”
The Zepar hissed and showed its teeth. “Stay single file and march behind me to the briefing area,” he said sharply. “We must not be late.”
They continued through the rounded, dome-shaped habitat in a synchronous march a couple of feet apart. Jayden followed behind RegusZ with Parker behind him. It was as if they were walking through one-story pipes with a transparent top half. Metal ribs reinforced the rounded walls.
Jayden saw rain splashing on top of the habitat through the clear ceiling. The inside was spotless with a hospital odor, sort of a cross between rubbing alcohol and mint. Leader Nuk’ana was one smart alien dude, picking out such a remote location instead of a planet like Earth or somewhere similar to give his briefing.
Local workers hustled back and forth as they continued to march. The workers were men, women, and children no taller than four-feet tall, with chalky skin and long, unkempt, greasy yellow hair. Grime and dirt covered their faces and soiled their clothes. The workers smelled like a ripe trash bin. Jayden figured they hadn’t bathed for months, if ever. The workers were busy cleaning everything in sight. It was as if all the grime from the habitat stuck onto them like biological lint rollers.
Up ahead, he saw healthy green plants and trees—an atrium oasis in the middle of a sanitized mining habitat. Plants grew out of the stone floor. The entire place had been scrubbed and polished—trees trimmed, bushes shaped, and stone floors polished to the point that Jayden could see his reflection.
About thirty round, softball-sized metal balls hovered in the air around the atrium with lenses sticking out of them. A group of twenty Zepar worked just outside of the atrium at desks with control panels, apparently controlling the camera balls.
He realized why Nuk’ana had selected the location. It was obvious. Leader Nuk’ana and his army could control the briefing set and manage security. Over fifty Zepar guards patrolled just outside of the set. Jayden never imagined so many Zepars would be guarding Nuk’ana, though it made perfect sense. He also had hoped there’d be a few escape routes to choose from, but he didn’t see any at all. Not a single one. He was feeling sick again.
Nuk’ana is one smart buzzard, he thought, and worried about ever seeing Nora, Rox, or his parents again. Get it together!
With shaking hands, he touched the blasters tucked into the back of his waistband and reminded himself he wasn’t alone. Parker and eighteen masons were with him. Everyone carried blasters. His focus shifted back onto the mission.
The last thing Killgeek wanted was a shootout at the O.K. Corral. He had no desire to be a martyr. Think!
He needed a plan, quick!
A Zepar officer pushed Jayden, Parker, and the other mason rebels into position on a small stage in the middle of the atrium briefing set. The boys stood shoulder-to-shoulder. Cameras floated all around.
Little did the shape-shifter know he was pushing around Spring Tide Masons, Jayden thought. But the alien jerk would find out soon.
The Zepar continued. “When camera red lights are on, we broadcast live,” said the officer with an impatient edge to his voice. “Smile. Say nothing. If you disobey, you die after briefing.”
Jayden figured Nuk’ana’s briefings were probably an opportunity for Zepar officers like him to meet and greet their mass murderer boss.
“Stand at attention,” the Zepar continued. “Prepare for inspection.”
All of the disguised masons with Jayden and Parker stood on red painted Xs on the floor. They had been arranged in a half circle. All the masons appeared calm and cool. No one said a word. Parker didn’t even look nervous.
/> Jayden stood close to the center. It was a perfect spot, but he still needed a plan. How am I going to tell two galaxies’ worth of people that Nuk’ana is deceiving them? he wondered. Who would believe him? How would he avoid getting zapped? And keeping the masons with him safe? His head spun.
Jazu and Shazu arrived. The Zepar officer greeted Nuk’ana’s left and right, and then followed behind the two weird-looking aliens.
Jazu strutted his short body, moving his pasty face close to each of the masons as though his vision were failing. Shazu followed him and smacked her bright red lips, sounding as though she were collecting spit for a lugee. She pushed and patted her red hair, probably checking that it was still piled high.
Leader Nuk’ana’s left and right inspected each of the disguised masons, flicking their forked-whip tongues while making last minute adjustments to the Space Command uniforms. The leader’s assistants straightened collars and applied white powder to the mason’s faces, presumably for the camera.
Jazu stopped in front of Jayden, narrowed his eyes, and looked him up and down, sniffing the air as if he were trying to smell a Spring Tide Mason. Shazu pushed Jazu aside and hit Jayden’s face with a pad of powder. He nearly choked in the cloud of white make-up.
As Jazu and Shazu walked away, they said something in a weird language that didn’t translate. Did they recognize us? he wondered.
A moment later, Jayden relaxed when the two aliens didn’t turn back, and the Zepar officer ignored them.
A gong echoed throughout the level.
Jazu and Shazu clicked their heels and stood at attention in front of the disguised masons. A large, red X marked the center where Nuk’ana would stand, slightly in front of Jazu and Shazu.
The entire group faced outward toward the network of hovering cameras. Twenty more Zepar aliens shimmered and appeared, carrying handheld weapons. They all approached the briefing set and spread out around the perimeter. As they dispersed, Leader Nuk’ana shimmered, then took form in the middle, near his assigned red X.
Nuk’ana had arrived—live and in person. He wore a long, gold robe and brown leather boots. Heavy silver chains hung around his thick neck. The leader puffed on a smoking stick. He let out a long exhale, and then tossed the stick to a nearby Zepar. The Zepar caught the hot end and made a face, but he didn’t make a sound.
This time Jayden watched as a column of smoke continued upward to the ceiling. He smelled tobacco too. Both were good signs that this Leader Nuk’ana wasn’t a hologram. Game on!
Jayden gazed at the back of Nuk’ana’s gold robe and up at the hovering cameras and bright lights as he still struggled to come up with a plan. He reflected on all that they’d endured since he’d gotten onto that first UFO. Lorcan: killed saving boys like him. Two of Jayden’s robo pod clan, Zebraguts and Knifetango: captured by the Atilla. Parker: captured and beat up. The Milky Way is full of alien life. Space Command and the Zepar bullies. Ruthless Leader Nuk’ana and Ga technology.
Parker, Nora, BBgun, Cleo, their parents, and the masons were all counting on him. He knew why he was there in the middle of a Zepar army ready to shoot off his rear end and turn him into BBQ. But what he was going to do was still a mystery.
The Zepar officer who’d led them to the briefing hugged Leader Nuk’ana, then kissed him on both cheeks.
Gross. Jayden glared at the murderer, and then forced himself to calm down. Too much was at stake to let emotions take over.
It took a moment, but his pulse rate slowed. He watched as the Zepar commander took his position on the red X in the center of the group. Welcome, buzzard.
Show time! Jayden realized the setting would appear beautiful to those watching the briefing. All the weapon-carrying Zepar aliens had taken up positions out of camera shot. Viewers would see luscious green plants, Jazu and Shazu, and a group of adoring Space Command recruits. No alien watching the broadcast would know how staged the scene was or know anything about the enslaved lint roller alien workers and their children.
Jayden knew massive changes were needed throughout the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies to free kids and their parents, get rid of disgusting execution events, and more. And he knew the first change had to be the permanent retirement of Leader Nuk’ana.
The Zepar officer stepped out of camera range and said, “We are live in three, two, one . . .” The shape-shifter pointed at Nuk’ana with a long claw. Red lights flashed on around each of the hovering cameras.
Nuk’ana spread his arms and raised his voice. “Greetings, loyal citizens. We have excellent news that the war effort continues to go well for Space Command. I hope you enjoyed the special entertainment we provided at the recent big event. All the mason rebels were quickly captured and executed. How fun was that?”
One of the Zepar pushed a button to play an applause track, and Parker elbowed him. It sounded like a thousand people were in the atrium.
Jayden stayed silent and didn’t react to the elbow jab. He peered at a monitor hologram floating above a Zepar cameraman’s control desk, catching a glimpse of the video being transmitted out to the galaxy. The video stream cut from a live shot of Leader Nuk’ana to video footage from the battle where Lorcan had been fatally injured.
His blood began to boil. Total propaganda!
The live video feed of Leader Nuk’ana resumed. “The Atilla invaders do not stand a chance against the fighting Space Command’s great forces—”
“Liar!” Jayden shouted.
Leader Nuk’ana stiffened.
Jayden’s eyes went wide. Did I really just yell that? Oh man.
None of the other masons moved, obviously watching Jayden for some kind of signal.
Jayden watched the video stream of Nuk’ana in a monitor. The shape-shifter leader tightened both claw hands into fists. His jawline extended and eyes bulged as he glanced over his shoulder at Jayden, Parker, and the other masons. He was pretty sure Nuk’ana had no idea who had spoken up.
Jazu and Shazu searched each mason with their eyes.
Nuk’ana smiled as if he hadn’t heard anything. “I promise the people of the Milky Way and Andromeda we will build a better tomorrow together, a better future, take care of our citizens—”
“Liar!” Jayden shouted again, but this time louder. Yet he still remained frozen at attention as though he hadn’t made a sound. Parker fidgeted next to him and whispered. “This is your plan? Seriously?”
“Hold tight for one more second,” he whispered so only Parker could hear him in the earpiece comm.
Nuk’ana stopped and stared in Jayden’s direction. It was clear to Jayden, Nuk’ana was narrowing in on him. It was time to act.
Here goes nothing.
“Now!” Jayden jumped toward Nuk’ana and felt as though he was jumping into a pool of hungry sharks. He pulled out a blaster weapon then pointed it straight at Nuk’ana’s face. He grabbed a second blaster with his other hand and pointed it at Jazu.
Parker lunged forward and forced one blaster against Jazu’s back and another against Shazu. “Move and you’re all dust!”
With Parker covering him, Jayden put Nuk’ana in a chokehold and held a blaster to the leader’s cheek. He felt the leader’s jaw extend and contract.
A handful of other masons replaced the Zepar, who were operating the cameras at the control desks. And the rest of the masons raised their weapons at the Zepar army aliens surrounding them.
“It would seem you have my attention now, Earth Boy,” Nuk’ana whispered to Jayden. Then Leader Nuk’ana raised his voice and projected it toward the cameras. “You see? These are the rebels I warned you of. We thought we had killed them all, but these are the last. Once we execute them—”
“Silence!” Jayden thundered. The volume and deepness of his voice surprised even him. “Shut your disgusting pie hole, you alien buzzard.” Now what? He reflected on the energy being’s words: “Reveal you will the truth at last, tell all you can, quantum fast.”
It seemed like he was t
elling the intergalactic audience “quantum fast” using Nuk’ana’s broadcast, but what else did that pixie say? He tried to remember, his pulse pounding in his ears as the masons around him took control of the hovering cameras.
The masons repositioned the cameras above Jayden and Nuk’ana and kept the video stream live.
“People of the Milky Way and people of Andromeda,” Jayden said. “You’ve been deceived. This Zepar calls himself a leader, but he’s the one who started this ridiculous war.”
Nuk’ana tried to jerk out of Jayden’s grip, but Jayden shoved his weapon harder into Nuk’ana’s cheek. “Don’t even think about shape-shifting,” he whispered.
Jayden continued. “The leader is the one who murdered innocents. He sends teens and kids like us to war. Nuk’ana murdered Atilla so he could take over their galaxy too. He’s a deceiver.”
“Turn the cameras off!” Nuk’ana shouted. His reptile eyes went wide when he glanced up and realized masons had taken over the hovering cameras.
“See,” Jayden said. “Nuk’ana controls everything. He’s a faker, a liar, and a jerk.”
Nuk’ana forced a smile. “Prepare to die, Earth child,” he whispered.
The trees around the stage rustled and fell backward. Multi-level platforms full of Zepar reinforcements rose from below the floor. Jayden saw laser light from gun sights on his chest from new weapons. Zepar took control of the cameras.
Uh oh, he thought.
“Drop your weapons, terrorists!” Leader Nuk’ana said. “Your executioners have arrived.”
Jayden looked around and realized he was sunk. Even if he started a firefight, they’d all end up as stardust. He dropped both blasters.
“Masons,” Jayden said. “Drop your weapons.”
Parker dropped his blasters along with the other masons.
“Keep the video streaming.” Nuk’ana began to circle him. “On your knees, Earth boy.”
Jayden complied.
“This is the boy who leads the rebels? An Earth baby?” Nuk’ana said, smirking. “You expect our great ancient civilization to believe an Earth boy over me, the great leader of leaders?” He turned to a Zepar officer. “Give me a weapon . . . now!”
A Zepar officer threw a blaster to the leader.
“I find you guilty of treason. Prepare to die,” Nuk’ana barked at Jayden. He took aim at Jayden’s forehead.
Jayden squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. All his options were gone now. He’d failed.
Suddenly someone shouted from across the room. “Do not move, Nuk’ana! Zepar fighters, drop your weapons or the leader dies!”
Jayden’s eyes popped open. Two dozen red laser sights moved from his chest to the chest of Leader Nuk’ana.
Emperor Ruchbah9 strode through the briefing set and stopped in front of Nuk’ana. “Drop your weapon, Zepar scum!”
Nuk’ana looked down at his chest at all the red dots from laser sights. His blaster fell to the floor.
The rotund emperor marched forward, his long, red velvet robe flowing behind him. Rhea1 and two hulky, olive-skinned men wearing long black leather jackets followed him. The men’s kind, light-blue, almond-shaped eyes scanned the room with hawk-like intensity. Each had short black hair, bushy eyebrows, and wide noses on their smooth, hairless faces.
Jayden peered across the room and could see the masons had regained control of the cameras hovering above them.
The emperor gazed up at the cameras. “People of the Milky Way and people of Andromeda, it is my honor to introduce you to General Apep and General Kerberos of the Atilla Empire.”
Atilla? Gasps spread through the atrium area. Jayden was just as confused as everyone else except for the emperor. Twenty more Atilla warriors filed in behind them and pointed golden blasters at the Zepar. Three Zepar attempted to shape-shift but were zapped by Atilla into BBQ dust. Nuk’ana and his left and right assistants got the hint.
“Drop your weapons, Zepar!” Emperor Ruchbah9 repeated. “I will not say it again.”
They all complied. Still more Atilla flowed into the atrium area until they outnumbered the Zepar two-to-one. Atilla warriors looked as though they weight-lifted and stayed in darn good shape. Jayden grinned. They were bigger and stronger than the Zepar. And they were on his side now.
“Atilla? Here?” Nuk’ana glared at the emperor. “Traitor! You will all—”
“Enough! That is simply not true,” Ruchbah9 said. “People of both galaxies, the Atilla have agreed to end the war. Let me be clear, the war is over!”
Jayden still couldn’t believe it. These were the Atilla? Live and in person? The Atilla warriors’ eyes had an intelligent glimmer in them. They weren’t evil or horrific. Their teeth weren’t sharp or pointed. They had normal looking white teeth. In fact, his mom and the family dentist would be seriously impressed.
“Killgeek, please rise,” Ruchbah9 said.
Jayden stood, grinning at the emperor. Rhea1 embraced him, then she embraced Parker.
“How—?” Jayden whispered.
“Zeekmo contacted us,” Rhea1 whispered in Jayden’s ear. “She decrypted Leader Nuk’ana’s plans to invade Galaxy IC1101 in his private Space Command database. My father sent the Atilla leadership the metadata as proof. The Atilla agreed to peace if the leader is removed from power.”
Atilla warriors shoved Jazu and Shazu to the ground next to Nuk’ana. The three captives cowered and made screeching sounds that the translator couldn’t decode.
“Silence!” Ruchbah9 said.
The three stopped muttering.
Two Atilla warriors in black leather stood next to Jayden. The emperor handed one of them an ear translator. The warrior inserted the earpiece, no doubt including a recent language upgrade to another custom translator device.
The Atilla general named Kerberos began to speak in a low voice: “People of the Milky Way and People of Andromeda. We have received information from Leader Nuk’ana’s encrypted datalog. Your Leader Nuk’ana is the one who planned the invasion of my people’s galaxy. Nuk’ana is responsible and will be charged with war crimes and unthinkable crimes against all life forms in three galaxies. He is the one responsible for loss of blood on both sides.”
“Enough of this nonsense,” Leader Nuk’ana said. “Lies. All lies. Fight these Atilla or you too will become their slaves. Mason criminals have hacked into my files using advanced technology and obviously forged documents to make it appear as though I am the guilty one. I swear to you the so-called proof you have been shown is not true!”
“Oh?” one of the Atilla leaders said. “Hacked into your files?”
A larger group of Zepar suddenly appeared with weapons aimed at the Atilla. The intensity in the room instantly increased. Nuk’ana and his left and right stood.
Nuk’ana smirked. “Looks like the fight is even again, yes?”
It was beginning to seem to Jayden like there might be a shootout, after all. All it would take was one of them to slip and fire a weapon. Everyone would die in blaster crossfire. He quickly thought back to what the energy being had told him. Two lines from her song stuck in his mind. “Find the spot behind the neck. Push to switch off the hologram tech.”
Jayden peered at the back of Leader Nuk’ana’s neck.
There! Jayden saw a strange small black circle. With a quick glance, he confirmed similar circles on the back of Jazu and Shazu’s necks. A switch? It has to be, he thought. Jayden lunged at Nuk’ana, reached around, and then pushed down hard on the circle. He rotated and pushed down on similar circles on the back of Jazu and Shazu’s necks.
Nothing happened at first.
Jayden started to panic as Nuk’ana glared at him. More Zepar appeared with weapons. A blaster firefight was only seconds away.
“Emperor!” Jayden said, projecting his voice toward the cameras. “Everyone! Watch now and see.” He pointed to Nuk’ana, Jazu, and Shazu. The three suddenly flickered, buzzed, and jerked.
Jayden’s stomach sank. Another
hologram? But instead of disappearing like previous holograms, each of the three images transformed right before everyone’s eyes.
Nuk’ana morphed into a creature about four feet tall with long, slender arms and legs, and a head too large for his body. Jazu and Shazu transformed into identical creatures, but half as tall. Each one of their oval-shaped heads had a small chin and large, almond-shaped dark eyes. Black netting wrapped their shark-skin-like bodies, and a black net hood covered the tops of their heads.
The emperor gasped. “Ga! Leader Nuk’ana and his entanglements are . . . Ga3si! All three of them are Ga!”
Jayden knew this was the solid proof the Atilla needed. Even the Zepar warriors around the room were shocked and lowered their weapons.
Everything the energy being had told Killgeek suddenly made sense: “Find the spot behind the neck. Push to switch off the hologram tech. Reveal you will the truth at last. Tell all you can, quantum fast.”
“It is clear!” the emperor shouted. “The Ga planned the overthrow the Atilla!”
The three Ga yelled in ear-piercing screeches: “Ssse-ba-aag-tex!” The shrieks sounded like the language from the cube Jayden used to open the cockpit door of the transport.
Everyone in the room covered their ears.
The three Ga made their move, pushing the emperor and the two shocked Atilla generals out of the way. In a flash, the tall Ga snatched the emperor’s blaster and scampered to the hallway just beyond the atrium area. Both of the shorter Ga grabbed a weapon and scurried behind their leader.
Ga aliens are seriously fast! Jayden thought.
The three Ga turned and pointed weapons toward Emperor Ruchbah9 and the Atilla generals.
“No!” Jayden yelled.
Before the three Ga fired their blasters, multiple blasts fired from somewhere behind them, vaporizing the three Ga into a large, barbeque-fireworks dust cloud.
Nuk’ana, Jazu, and Shazu were gone.
Jayden peered out into the hallway, wondering who’d fired the shots. His gaze settled on two boys in black Space Command uniforms holding blasters.
Hah! He recognized the two boys and felt a lump suddenly materialize in his throat. Knifetango and Zebraguts saluted him. They’re alive! They bolted over to Jayden and Parker and embraced them.
Jayden let out a hoot and pumped his fist into the air. “How’d you guys—?”
“Freaking cray,” Zebraguts said in a high-pitched voice. “Turns out these Atilla were just defending themselves. They’re seriously cool when you get to know them.”
“Way unbelievable,” Knifetango said, standing tall. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Once we worked out the language prob, they realized we were decent. But, dude, we were shocked. They had hacked into the Space Expeditionary Combat Command game but couldn’t get past level 10.”
It felt to Jayden like years had passed since they had battled Nora trying to reach level 150.
“Who knew World Corp games are played in other galaxies?” Zebraguts said, chuckling. “I told them they should try hard, but the newbs didn’t get it.”
Knifetango pointed to the Atilla commanders. “They brought us with them when the big man reached out.”
The hovering cameras continued transmitting.
“They play World Corp games?” Jayden started to ask.
The emperor grabbed Jayden and embraced him in a bear hug. “Young man, you are a hero. You have exposed them and saved us all.”
After a moment, the emperor looked up at the cameras. “You see, people of Milky Way and people of Andromeda, explanation is simple. The Ga3si have been the ones to mislead us. The Ga did not disappear at all. No! They played the puppet master, disguised as the Zepar leader and his left and right. They fueled the war against the Atilla, hoping that we would kill each other. Hoping we would reduce to weak civilizations, so they could offer to fix what they had deliberately destroyed. It was Ga that wished to control Atilla’s access to Golden Way. The war is over!”
Everyone cheered.
“People of our great galaxies,” the emperor continued, “peace has finally come, my star brothers and sisters. It is a time to celebrate. All Space Command warriors and recruits will return to their home worlds immediately. All three of our galaxies will begin peaceful Golden Way trade talks.”
“Peace,” an Atilla general said. “Today is a new day.” The two Atilla bowed to the emperor, then to the cameras.
Emperor Ruchbah9 spoke again to the cameras. “In coming days, I will address you all and provide an update as to our progress.” The emperor softened his eyes. “Today, I give thanks to Jayden Banks, the ultimate Killgeek; Annora Jameson, the great Zeekmo; Parker Jameson, the amazing G-striker; Cleo, the ZapperGirl; BBgun, Zebraguts, Knifetango, and all Spring Tide Masons.”
The emperor moved past Jayden and embraced each of the Atilla warrior generals. “We must remember our Atilla star brothers and star sisters who died fighting so bravely for their people. In this place, on this moon, at this rotation, we must all learn to trust in each other.”
The Atilla generals agreed.
“Until next briefing, I bid you good-bye,” the emperor said.
The red lights on the cameras faded to black.
