by D. J. Holmes
“The Resistance was right after all,” Jason said ignoring Sarah and turning to his friends.
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.
“We were always told that Earth and its colonies were the only other planets the Elders controlled,” Steve answered, speaking for the first time. “As children, we are all taught that our ancestors invited the Elders to come to Earth and assume control of our population. We were very backward and on the brink of starvation. The Elders were our neighbors and offered to help. That is why they now organize our society and government – to keep us from harm and make sure we are able to thrive.”
Sarah shook her head in disgust. “It’s all lies,” she said as she reached over and gave a command to the portable holo projector. The image zoomed out to show the entire galaxy. “This is the Milkyway Galaxy,” She explained. “The red line marks the extent of the Elder Empire. Each of the blue dots are sector capitals. Within each sector there are up to three or four hundred inhabited worlds. Every sector capital and all the worlds in its sector have been subjugated by the Elders. There are tens of thousands of species who have been enslaved or subjugated by the Elders and trillions upon trillions of individuals who live under their control. They are not working to keep our race safe, they are keeping you down and enslaved so that you cannot threaten them.”
As Sarah finished speaking and looked at Rebecca, Steve and Jason, she saw that all three of their mouths were open. “So many,” Rebecca said. “It’s impossible to fathom.”
“Indeed,” Divar said. “Yet it is reality. Now, if we return to the Orion Arm of the galaxy. Are there no features you recognize?” As he spoke, Divar manipulated the holo projector.
“There,” Steve said after a moment. “That nebula. It is not too far from Alpha Centauri. I recognize it.”
“But look,” Jason said as he stepped into the projection and pointed at an area of empty space. “Our system should be about here. Yet there is nothing.”
Sarah and Divar shared a look. “What is it?” Rebecca asked as she saw them.
“We believe Earth and its system have been deleted from all galactic maps,” Sarah said. “We don’t know why. But something must have happened in the past. If your system has been deleted as well, then it must have been something very serious. If your planet is where you think it is. Where is Earth in relation to it?”
“Earth should be about here,” Jason answered as he pointed to another empty point in the galactic map. “Only one or two trade freighters come to Alpha Centauri from Earth every year, but I believe that is where they come from.”
Unblinking, Sarah stared at the point in space. She had it. Earth’s location. It wasn’t exact, but she would visit every star in that area of space until she found what she was looking for. Her homeworld couldn’t be more than one month’s travel from Berius. She would be home soon! As the others continued to speak, she lost track of the conversation. Instead she imagined what it would be like to actually set foot on her species’ homeworld.
“Ok,” Divar said as he marked the two points on the holo projection. “That is something we can work from. Now, I think we need to talk. You may as well begin at the beginning. Who are you and how did you get here. And what can you tell us about your people’s history? Something happened to make the Elders treat humanity in the way it does. If we could find out what, it might help us.”
“We were miners,” Steve answered. “We were operating a small mining ship in an asteroid field on the edge of the Alpha Centauri system. One minute we were processing a small asteroid. The next thing we knew, our collision alarms were going crazy. Before we could figure out what was going on, a ship attached itself to our hull. All of a sudden, armed aliens were storming through the ship. We didn’t carry any weapons and we were helpless. We tried to hide, but as soon as they found us, they shot us with a weapon that knocked us out.
“When we woke up, we were in their vessel and the slave collars were around our necks. That was about a month ago. They brought us to this planet and told us we were going to be sold.”
“That was yesterday,” Rebecca said. “We had lost all hope. We thought we were going to be sold to some cruel alien who would just abuse us for sport. Then you two came along and now we are here. We owe you our lives.”
“It was nothing,” Divar said as he waved his four hands at Rebecca. “We understand how you feel. Both Sarah and I were slaves less than a year ago. We managed to escape. We’re more than happy to have bought your freedom.”
“How did you escape?” Jason asked.
“That is a story for another time,” Divar said, smiling. “Tell me about your people’s history first.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Jason responded. “It seems everything we were taught is a lie.”
“What about the Resistance you mentioned?” Divar prompted. “Who are they? What do they say?”
“I’m not even sure they are real,” Jason answered.
“They have to be,” Rebecca jumped in. “Look at the lengths the Elders go to try and suppress any news of them. If they really are keeping our people enslaved, then they would treat any Resistance as a serious threat.”
“I guess,” Jason said. “They are a shadow group,” he continued, turning back to Divar. “I have only ever heard rumors about them. My grandfather told me that in his day, they used to attack government forces and buildings in an effort to kill the Elders who oversee Alpha Centauri. However, nothing like that has happened in years. There are always stories going around. Stories about our past, about a different future that could be ours. Most people ascribe them to the Resistance. Apart from that though, I don’t know much.”
“Neither do I,” Steve said.
“What are the stories?” Divar pressed.
“They are about our past,” Jason answered. “They say that once humanity was independent. That Alpha Centauri was colonized by human explorers. That there are other planets out there that were also colonized. Then one day the Elders came. They demanded humanity surrender to them. When we refused, they attacked. Despite the best efforts of our fleet we couldn’t destroy all their vessels. They won and then enslaved our people.”
“A battle?” Divar asked. “Do the stories say what kind of battle?”
“Not really,” Jason answered and looked to his friends for help.
“I have heard we destroyed many of their ships, but that our fleet, despite being far larger than the Elders, was destroyed in the end,” Rebecca said. “But they are just stories.”
“Did you hear that Sarah?” Divar said when she didn’t respond to what Jason and Rebecca had just said.
“What? Sorry,” Sarah said as she tried to replay their conversation. “That could explain why Earth and Alpha Centauri are not on any galactic maps,” she said a moment alter when she was caught up.
“What do you mean?” Rebecca asked.
“Until we started looking for Earth we had never heard of planets being removed from the galactic map,” Sarah explained. “We have access to a lot of the history of the Elder Empire. The Elders first began expanding their control over the galaxy more than four thousand years ago. Initially they fought with other advanced races. Quickly though, their technology advanced to the stage where they dominated every new race they encountered. As far as we know, they began to extend their Empire up the Orion Arm of the galaxy about two thousand five hundred years ago. If Earth is where you say it is, then it must have been conquered about two thousand years ago. If there really was a battle and Elder ships were destroyed, Earth must have been very advanced.”
“The loss of even one Elder ship would have sent shockwaves through this part of the galaxy,” Divar said. “The Elders must have shut off Earth from the rest of the galaxy for fear that news of another race who could stand up to them would ferment rebellion.”
“It makes sense,” Sarah said. “You know what that means don’t you?” she continued, looking at Divar with excitement in her face.
&nbs
p; “It has been two thousand years,” Divar said, trying to restrain her thoughts.
“I know,” Sarah said, frustrated at his caution. “But if my people could build a fleet capable of hurting the Elders. Think of what they could do with all the information in Alexandra’s data banks.”
“Maybe nothing,” Divar said. “You are getting far too far ahead of yourself. What can one planet do against a galactic empire?”
“I don’t know,” Sarah frowned. “But neither do you. Maybe nothing, maybe a lot. We won’t know until we get to Earth.”
“You intend to free us?” Rebecca said, concerned.
“If I can,” Sarah said seriously. “I know it may be impossible. I have been a slave for most of my life. For as long as I remember. Yet I escaped. If I return home to find my entire species is enslaved by the Elders, I intend to do whatever I can do to free them. You three and Rex are just the beginning.”
“I don’t know if that is a good idea,” Rebecca said. “The Elders are ruthless, they kill anyone who they think is causing trouble for them. If you try to stand up to them, they will kill you. Worse, they may kill many of our people as well.”
“I know how the Elders operate,” Sarah said as her mind went back to Aral. “I don’t intend to risk Earth for nothing. But if there is a chance I can help free our homeworld, then I am going to try and take it.”
“I want to help,” Jason said. Both Rebecca and Steve looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Don’t you?” he said to them. “We have seen the way the galaxy is really run. All our lives we have feared the Elders. Now we know the truth about them. They haven’t been helping us. They have been using us as slaves. I don’t know if the Resistance is real, but if they are, they have the right idea. I can’t just go home and pretend nothing has changed.”
“I suppose,” Steve said. “But what can we do? You saw that galactic map. Thousands upon thousands of worlds. We are nothing.”
Before Jason or Sarah could answer, the buzzer on the hotel door sounded. Divar instinctively pulled out his laser pistol. Cautiously, Sarah moved to the door and checked the visual feed of the other side. When she saw it was a servant with Rebecca’s food, she opened the door. “We can talk more in a moment,” she said after the servant left the food. “I’m sure you are hungry. You should eat.”
“We will certainly try,” Jason said as he prodded the food in front of him. “I’m hungry enough to eat a horse.”
Sarah didn’t know what that was, but the food didn’t look too appetizing to her, so as Rebecca, Jason and Steve tore into it, she guessed they were indeed hungry. Another beep on the door let her know Rex had returned. When she let him in, she was surprised to see that he had bought several pairs of clothes for each of the miners.
“I didn’t know what they would like,” he said when she quizzed him on why he had so many clothes.
“Well, I guess you can take your pick,” Sarah said as she laid out the clothes for Rebecca, Steve and Jason to look at.
Once they were fed and dressed, Jason began to ask just what Sarah had in mind when she got to Earth. “We can talk about this once we get to our ship,” Divar said. “You are fed and clothed. There is nothing keeping us here on Berius. The sooner we leave the better I’ll feel.”
“We’re not leaving yet,” Sarah said. “There is one more stop I want to make.”
“Where?” Divar asked. It looked like he didn’t want to hear her answer.
“Rex’s previous owner,” Sarah said. “Rex’s file said he was a human breeder. I know I can’t save everyone from slavery. But I’m not going to leave even one human slave on Berius if I can help it. They are all coming with us.”
Divar rubbed his scalp as he thought about what to say. “Fine,” he said. Sarah was surprised he conceded so easily. “There is no way I could stop you anyway, is there?”
“No,” Sarah said.
“I have one condition then,” he said.
“What?” Sarah asked.
“We’re stopping at an arms dealer on the way,” Divar answered. “I want our new friends armed. Who knows what trouble we’re going to run into.”
“That’s ok with me,” Sarah said. “Rebecca, Steve, Jason, are you three with us?”
“If there are other human slaves on this god-forsaken planet, then I’m happy to help them,” Rebecca said. Both Jason and Steve nodded at her words.
“Then we have another stop to make,” Sarah said. “Rex, are you happy to take us to your former owner?”
“Yes,” Rex said excitedly. “I can see my mother again. I thought we had said our last goodbyes.”
Sarah was taken aback. She hadn’t thought about Rex growing up knowing his mother. It made his eagerness to be sold to a new owner even more strange and concerning. “Take that off,” she said to him as he made to follow them out of the room with his slave collar still on. “You are going to see your mother as a free man.”
Rex hesitated. “Take it as an order,” Sarah said prompted when he made no move to remove it.
Slowly, Rex reached up and detached his collar. It bounced on the ground. Sarah stretched out a leg and kicked it further into the room. “Come on,” she said to him. “You’re one of us now. There is no need for that.”
Chapter 30
Rex led them on a short walk through Berius’ wide open streets to a nearby transport hub. There they hired an air car to take them to Rex’s previous owner’s compound. As the aircar flew over the city, Sarah took a moment to admire her surroundings. Though Kashal would always carry a stain of filth in her mind, she had to admit the city had a rustic beauty. It wasn’t as built up as the cities she had grown used to when she had been a slave on Burakko. Yet it still surpassed the black colonies she had visited over the last couple of years. It was evident that thought had been put into the planning of the city and its symmetric lines appealed to her. The development of pirate outposts and black colonies was haphazard at best.
When they left the city and flew over the countryside, Sarah was even more impressed. Rarely had she ever set foot outside a planet’s capital city. She had never explored the open and undeveloped agriculture areas of a planet. As she looked down at the small trees and other plants below her, it was hard for her to picture what it would be like to actually stand among them.
Sarah lost herself in the views passing underneath her. Then, as she realized what she was doing, she paused. Normally Alexandra would be scolding her by now. She should be thinking up a plan for confronting the slave breeder they were going to meet.
With Alexandra out of range, Sarah turned back to staring at the passing forests. Why not? She thought. We know we can find Earth. I should be able to take a few moments to myself.
“We’re here,” Rex said as the aircar banked and descended into a valley. Ahead, a clearing in the forest came into view.
“Impressive,” Divar said.
Rebecca simply grunted. Sarah knew what she meant. Though the spires reaching up above the trees and the large round marble buildings looked as well made and decorated as the slave market in Kashal, the place was still owned by a slaver. It could never really be beautiful.
“Just what do you plan to do here?” Divar leaned over and whispered as the aircar began to circle the compound looking for a place to land.
“We have a freighter in orbit,” Sarah said. “We have plenty of room for a few more slaves.”
“And we’ll completely blow our cover,” Divar said.
“Likely that has already happened,” Sarah said. “I’m beyond caring. I want to free my people. Plus, there may be someone here who knows more about Earth. Just knowing its general location isn’t going to be enough. We may need to know a lot more if we are going to sneak into the system. If there really is a Resistance, it would be very useful if we could find someone who knows more about it.”
“I see,” Divar said. “I suppose that makes sense. Let’s hope we don’t run into any trouble.”
“I hope so too,” Sarah sai
d. As the aircar touched down she nodded towards the compound. Two large metal gates had just slid open in the wall surrounding the compound and several guards carrying laser rifles were coming out.
“Weapons out,” Divar said to the three miners. “Don’t point them at anyone, but let them know we are armed.”
“Ok,” Jason said on behalf of his friends.
“Rex, you stay at the back. Stay out of view unless Sarah or I call you forward,” Divar added.
“I understand,” Rex replied.
Sarah was the first to step out of the aircar. She kept her pistol holstered. There was no sense in appearing too hostile. A quick appraisal of the guards told her they were all the same species. Unsurprisingly, it was one she hadn’t met before. From the middle of the guards though, another person from another species pushed his way into view. He walked on two legs, as did the guards. However, he was about half their size. Whilst he had a large belly that matched his guards, his legs were short and stubby. He wasn’t armed, instead he held his arms out in a welcoming gesture.
