How Far the Stars (The Star Scout Saga Book 5)

by GARY DARBY

  “I took aim and fired. My laser shot went into its left eye and out the right, and it dropped to the ground.

  “I sprinted to Coulier and got the talons out of him. He was hurt pretty bad. The thing had practically severed his right arm at the shoulder joint, and he was bleeding out from a sliced artery.

  “I pulled him under some nearby cover, put a compression tourniquet on him that stopped the bleeding, and then checked on the rest of the team.”

  His lips lifted in a quick smile as he recalled what happened next. “Gamain Honsa was my Path Finder and when I yelled out to him asking if he was okay he yelled back that he was hunkered down and pretending to be a rock.”

  Jadar shook his head, a melancholy expression crossing his face. “Gamain was always like that, joking around even in the most intense situations.”

  Sighing, Jadar took up his story again. “Everyone else was okay, but Ky, who was covering our six, reported that he could hear more of the things behind us.

  “That meant that the lizards had us cut off from our scouter, and it was evident that these things had a way to spot us, even through the fog. We had to find a defensive spot, because we were too exposed where we were, and we needed medical help for Coulier, and soon.

  “Gamain found a small cave nearby, and we made a run for it, with me lugging Coulier and the rest of the team covering us. We got inside the cave, and while Simms and I worked on Coulier, Ky and Gamain covered the entrance.

  “I ordered Franklin to run an LS sweep of the cave; I was afraid that there might be some nasties in there with us or a back door that would let them get to us from the rear.

  “We got Coulier stabilized and I stepped just outside the entrance to try and raise base camp over my t-comm, but I never got a reply.”

  He grew thoughtful and mused, “I remember thinking to myself that Deklon sure had picked himself one heck of a last mission and why oh why hadn’t he taken that sweetheart trail to Alderbaran?”

  Grimacing a bit, he said, “But he hadn’t and now it was up to me to get his team back home safely.”

  Dason held up a hand to stop him. “Your battalion headquarters actually received your distress call, but it was garbled, and they weren’t able to pinpoint your location. Veni’s magnetosphere played havoc with communications. You obviously didn’t get their reply.”

  Jadar took in the information, let his gaze drop to the ground and sighed, “As they say, if only—”

  He remained silent for some time, his eyes focused on the ground before he began again. “When I stepped back inside, I went over to check on Coulier.

  “Simms had pumped two hemo-pacs into him, and that seemed to stabilize him, but it was evident he was going to need far more than the field aid we could provide.

  “We had to get out of there and make it back to the scouter somehow. Sergeant Simms and I were discussing that when suddenly Gamain stood up and said, ‘Where’s Franklin’?”

  In an exasperated tone, Jadar explained, “The idiot had wandered off again. We tried to raise him over the comms, but he didn’t answer. I searched the back of the cave and found his prints leading into a side tunnel.”

  Jadar shook his head back and forth several times. “I have to be honest and tell you that at that point I just wanted to leave him to his fate, whatever that was.”

  “But,” Dason replied, “you didn’t and you couldn’t because even if he wasn't a scout, he was a member of your team. Marrels don’t leave scouts, or their team members, behind.”

  Jadar nodded at Dason’s response. “That’s right. So I put Gamain in charge, told him that if I wasn’t back in an hour, to either make a decision to stay in the cave and wait for help from base camp or make a run for the scouter.”

  “Uncle Jadar,” Dason said, “I have to ask—did any team member ever suspect that you weren’t Deklon Marrel?”

  Jadar hesitated before answering slowly, “I think perhaps Sergeant Simms suspected. That order to embed the Sci-techs with the tac teams came directly from the sector commander.”

  “Ri Romerand,” Dason stated.

  “Yes, and when I said something about it, she went into a tirade against him. When I asked her to be respectful toward a senior officer, her eyes got big and wide, and she whispered, ‘Who are . . .’ and then stopped.”

  His face grew thoughtful and he ran a finger over his lips as he recalled the memory. “There was something in her eyes that told me that in that instant, she realized who I was.”

  “But she didn’t say anything?” Dason asked.

  Jadar shook his head in response. “Not to me, anyway.”

  He gave a little shrug before continuing. “She didn’t bring Romerand up again, but the way she acted, I’m pretty sure she knew.”

  “And she never said anything to the others?” Dason asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jadar replied frankly. “It was shortly after that that we deployed and well, it didn’t seem to matter after that.”

  Both remained quiet for a long moment before Dason prompted his uncle by asking, “So you went after Peller?”

  “That’s right,” Jadar affirmed. “I followed his boot prints through the tunnel and they led me to a huge cavern. It was big enough to put a dozen troop transports in and then some.

  “It wasn’t entirely dark, there were a few slits in the sides and roof that let in a little light, but I couldn’t see him anywhere.

  “Straight across from the tunnel was a large, jagged opening and that’s the direction Peller’s prints headed. I didn’t know what the fool was thinking because it was evident to me in about two seconds that he’d walked right into the saurians’ den.

  “I remember standing in the tunnel mouth looking at his footprints. I couldn’t understand why he hadn’t stopped, hadn’t turned back. It was crazy. For the second time, I almost turned around.”

  His countenance became hard, and his voice trembled in anger. “If I had known what was going to happen to my . . . To Deklon’s team, I wouldn’t have hesitated even for a second and left him behind.

  “But I didn’t. I tightened my equipment, snapped my snoopers down, and followed his trail.”

  Jadar waved both hands as if he could see in his mind’s eye what he was about to describe. “Scattered across the floor were huge boulders and mounds of rock. I used them to mask my movement from one point to another.

  “As I said, the cavern was dusky, but there were enough pools of inky blackness that I used them to hide my movements.

  “My LifeSensor showed multiple hits on the beasts throughout the cavern and I could hear this rustling undertone from the lizards moving around. However, most of the creatures clustered around the cavern’s edges and that’s probably what saved me.

  “I couldn’t see Peller nor could I find his signature on my LS, so I started across the cavern. I came to this high rock formation, like a wall, that partitioned the cave and aimed straight as an arrow toward the far opening.

  “I decided to take a chance, opened my communicator and whispered, ‘Franklin!’

  “He didn’t answer, so I moved a little farther on and then my boot hit something metallic in the dark. I reached down and picked up what I hit. It was Peller’s LifeSensor and on the display was the reading for an Alpha Prime.”

  Dason’s mouth gaped open. “He thought he was following an Alpha Prime signature. That’s why he left the cave.”

  Jadar blew out a breath and nodded. “At the time that’s what I thought, too. In fact, I remember thinking to myself, ‘Peller, you fool, you’ve been chasing a false positive, nothing more than a biospheric amplification, there are no Alpha Primes here.

  “I looked around thinking that if I’d found his LS, he must be in the area, but I couldn’t see him. Then, I noticed something peculiar about his LS device.

  “There were some added dials and displays on the facing. I thought that SciCorps must have modified it in some way but then I noticed one of the dials showed a reading straight toward th
e opening.”

  Dason furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “You mean like another lifeform reading?”

  “No,” Jadar answered. “From the scale and digital alphanumeric lettering, it was a mineral analyzer and the display was blinking KMI.”

  The two stared at each for a few heartbeats before Dason breathed, “It was reading a lode of Kolomite ore.”

  Jadar nodded his head. “That’s what I figured too. And after what you’ve just told me it all makes sense. Not only was Kavon Peller not a SciCorps tech, he was on a hunt for Kolomite and using us as his personal security detail.”

  Running a hand over his grizzled face, Jadar said, “Well, I certainly wasn’t after Kolomite. All I wanted to do was to find Peller and get back to the team.

  “So, I took a few more steps before I heard something and froze in place. At first, I couldn’t figure out what the noise was but then it suddenly hit me.”

  He stopped to swallow several times as if the memory was extremely disturbing. “It was the sound of cracking bones and ripping flesh.”

  “The lizards got him,” Dason stated.

  Jadar nodded in reply. “I think what happened is that he climbed on top of the wall, and either fell off or the lizards attacked him. Either way he dropped his LifeSensor, and it fell to the opposite side.”

  Jadar paused for several seconds, his eyes staring at the ground in front of him as if conjuring up long ago harsh memories.

  “After that, it was apparent that there was no reason for me to go on, and I turned around to go back. Only, I discovered that the lizards had closed in behind me.

  “In fact, it appeared that several were moving towards me. I wasn’t sure if the things were stalking me or were just moving toward the sounds on the other side of the wall, but I knew I couldn’t go back the way I had come.

  “I had just one choice and that was to make a run for the opening. I silently followed the wall until it ended about twenty meters from the portal.”

  Chuckling, he said, “I have to tell you, sweat was pouring off me so fast that I was afraid that the lizards would mistake me for a waterfall and come take a drink.

  “Once I got to the wall’s end, there was too much light coming through the opening for me to continue my silent sneak. So I pocketed everything except my weapon, rocked back on my heels, and made a run for it.”

  He smiled in saying, “I shouldn’t be laughing, but I bet I would have beaten any Olympic sprinter over those twenty meters. I was maybe halfway across when there was this eruption of screeching and I knew that the things were on to me.

  “I hit that portal as if I had a jetpack on and then I was outside, running for my life in foggy daylight. I didn’t know where I was going, the only thing that was in my head was that I couldn’t stop because I felt certain that those beasts were right behind me.

  “I’m not sure how far I ran, but suddenly I saw these dark shapes emerging from the fog. At first, I thought it might be some sentinel beasts coming at me. I skidded to a stop, leveled my weapon, and . . .”

  Jadar paused to lean forward, an intense expression on his face as he peered at Dason. “But, then the fog lifted just slightly and I saw these three beings staring straight at me. I froze in place; couldn’t move a muscle.

  “I was staring right at three extraterrestrials and I had no doubt from their expressions that they were sentient beings. Our eyes locked for maybe two, three seconds before one alien raised a tubular device.

  “I didn’t have a chance. This blue light, sphere, bubble . . . I’m not exactly sure how to describe it, came out of the tube and totally enveloped me.”

  He ran several fingers through his shaggy beard and muttered, “The last thing I remember thinking was that if I had to go, at least I knew the answer of whether or not we were alone in the universe.”

  Waving a hand at the surrounding terrain, he said, “When I regained consciousness I found myself on this planet, and here I’ve been ever since.”

  “But why?” Dason asked. “Why would the Mongans set you down here?”

  Jadar didn’t answer for several seconds and when he did, it was a mere whisper. “I don’t know, but they’ve come back twice.

  “Each time they do, it seems that they know exactly where to find me because they fly a little ship down to the surface, dose me with that blue light device of theirs, I black out and when I regain consciousness, they’re gone.”

  “I still don’t understand,” Dason returned. “What’s it all about?”

  “It . . .” Jadar mumbled before he inhaled deeply and muttered in a low voice, “May have something to do with this.”

  He stood, turned, and pushed his stringy hair away from the base of his skull.

  Dason stood, took a step forward, and stopped. His expression went from shocked incredulity to an intense, almost overpowering anger.

  “I’ve seen this before,” he replied, “on their devil dogs.”

  In a voice full of disgust, Dason said, “The Mongans implanted a mind control device in you.”

  Chapter Eight

  Star date: 2443.114

  Unnamed Planet

  Standing completely still for several seconds, Jadar finally turned to stare at Dason with hard, angry eyes. Neither spoke for several seconds before Jadar muttered. “I suspected it was something like that. When I woke up the first time, I tried to pull the thing out, but it felt as though I was slicing into my brain with a laser-knife, so I stopped.”

  “We’ll get it out, I promise,” Dason replied in a firm voice.

  “I hope so . . .” Jadar started before he stopped and held up a hand. “Wait,” he said. “Do you hear that?”

  Dason glanced skyward and answered in an excited tone, “Yes, I do. It must be a Zephyr looking for us, or maybe even the Intrepid.”

  He ran to one side of the stand of trees and faced in the direction of the oncoming sound. He caught sight of what was making the deep rumbling. His smile went to a dark scowl, his voice coming out in a snarl, full of anger and disgust.

  “Oh, no,” Jadar mumbled from beside him. “Not now, please not now.”

  The giant Mongan ship flew high through the sky, before slowing and dropping closer to the surface, coming straight at them.

  Jadar grabbed Dason by the arm and pushed him away. “Run!” he bawled. “Get out of here. They’re after me, not you. If they catch you, they’ll put one of these things in your head, too.”

  Dason hesitated for just a second as a painful flashback of his time as a Mongan captive flashed through his mind. “No,” Dason muttered, his voice guttural and intense, “they wouldn’t put one of those things in me. It would be far worse.”

  He gripped Jadar’s arm in a tight hold. “I’m not going to run.”

  Facing Jadar, he said, “But I’ve got an idea if you’re willing to go along.”

  “I’m listening,” Jadar replied, “but make it fast, we don’t have much time.”

  “One thing that I know about the Mongans is that they are supremely arrogant and overconfident,” Dason returned. “There’s a good chance that they’ll think you’re the only human down here and there’s no threat to them.”

  He bared his teeth in a wolflike expression. “But we’re going to change that notion real fast.”

  Jadar eyed him suspiciously. “You’re going to set a trap for them, with me as bait.”

  To Dason’s quick nod, he at first frowned before he broke into a grin and clapped Dason on the shoulder. “I like it. Just make sure you don’t get caught in their net.”

  Dason did a quick survey of the surrounding terrain before pointing to a far stand of stubby trees that crowned a small knoll. “I’ll get behind that hill and hunker down. Find yourself a good spot and make yourself comfortable.”

  Jadar nodded, hesitated, and then said, “Before we do this, there’s one thing I’d appreciate from you first.”

  “Anything, sir,” Dason replied.

  “You wouldn’t happen to have an ext
ra field ration on you? I’ve been eating pretty lean lately,” Jadar finished with an embarrassed smile.

  Dason dug into his vest and pulled out several rations. “One or two?” he asked with a smile.

  Jadar glanced up at the oncoming ship and reached out with a hand. “I think I’ll only have time for one, but if you’ve got extras, we’ll have a little celebration after you bushwhack our friends.”

  Dason tossed the packet to Jadar and hustled over to the circular ring of trees. He slid down the small hill, and crouched between several palm tree lookalikes. His vantage point not only hid him, but provided a good view of his uncle, too.

  Jadar, munching on the cakelike ration strolled over to a solitary tree, put his back to the tree’s trunk and slid to the ground. He glanced up at the now hovering ship before turning toward Dason with a “thumbs up” gesture.

  They didn’t have to wait long. From the Mongan warship came a slim, needle-nosed craft. Jadar stood as the ship passed over, and a moment later, a blue shimmering enveloped him. He stood immobile as if he were in a trance.

  The ship settled to the ground, and from the vessel stepped out three Mongans. They marched over to Jadar and pushed him to his knees.

  Pacing around to his backside, one of them reached out to Jadar’s implant with a tiny hand-held object as if to manipulate the device in some fashion. The Mongan withdrew his hand and the three turned and formed a semicircle around Jadar.

  Dason sucked in a breath. Somehow, he knew what the aliens were going to do next. In some fashion, they were going to use the device to meld their minds to Jadar and take his memories for their use. Furious at what the Mongans had done to him, and now to his uncle, Dason raised his L-gun, thumbed it to “stun” and fired.

  * * * * *

  In deep space, Zephyr Four floated mere meters away from the planetoid’s craggy face that had hid the Intrepid from the Mongans.

  From their position, they had a birds-eye view, as if they viewed it through a set of binos of the distant planet on which they had left Dason. More importantly, their sensors could tell them what was happening with the Mongan ships.