Star Guild Episodes 10 - 18 (Star Guild Saga)

by Brandon Ellis

  Devon dropped the gun, looking at his own hands, wondering why they acted on their own. “I—I—didn't want to kill him.”

  Devon felt a hand grab his wrist and pull him into a run and out of the room, down a hallway.

  “You only stunned him. Unfortunately, Y'taul will be fine in a couple of minutes,” said Kalista, tugging Devon along. “Until then, we're getting our asses out of here.”

  “Where's Chase?” asked Devon, looking over his shoulder.

  “Right here, buddy,” responded Chase, running on the opposite side of Kalista, dwarfed by her massive body.

  Sirens shrieked throughout the ship and red lights illuminated the hallway. Footsteps were heard in the distance, accompanied by animated Plearian words.

  “This way,” ordered Kalista, finally letting go of Devon's arm. They turned down another hallway and into a small, darkened room. The door to the room automatically shut behind them. Opposite the door was a large window the size of a wall with hazy red light blinking against it.

  Kalista smashed her elbow through the door's console, crushing it. The console sparked momentarily, then smoke trailed from it. She then ran over to the glass, leaning into it, trying to push it off its frame. It wouldn't budge.

  “There's the Starhawk. Right down there.” She pushed again.

  A loud bang jostled the door, then another. They all turned, blankly staring at the door, expecting it to burst from its seams, exposing them. When the door held, Kalista spun around, bracing her shoulder into the window and pushing with great force. The window bent slightly outward but still didn't break.

  The door to the room suddenly crept open, lifting about an inch off the ground. A metallic pry bar, sharp and thin at the end, protruded through the opening.

  “We all run through this window together,” said Kalista.

  Devon whistled in trepidation as he looked through the escape window at the two-story drop below it.

  The door inched up again.

  “On my count,” Chase called out. “One...two...three!” They all ran toward the window and slammed into it, only to be repelled to the floor.

  A creak of metal against metal filled the room. The door opened another few inches.

  ∞

  Sleuth handed Wrench a beam drive—a small, round memory instrument designed for HDC data, vids, and schematics.

  “What are ya' giving me?” asked Wrench.

  Sleuth looked around, making sure no one was listening. “Put this in your HDC and open the vids under loop, and look at the days and times.”

  Wrench stroked his gray beard, then shook his head and leaned in closer to Sleuth. “Shouldn't ya' be eatin' lunch?”

  Sleuth rubbed his tummy. “I ate at my desk in Tech Quarters.” He turned away, crossing his arms. “It was peaceful until Hank and his friends decided to intrude.”

  “And, those bit furry people have gotten in your mind. They stir the calm. Ya' hear them, don't ya'?” asked Wrench.

  Sleuth crinkled his brow. “I'm not following.”

  “I'm serious, man. You don't hear them? Those furry people talk to each other from brain wave to brain wave or somethin'.”

  Sleuth shrugged. “Yeah, you keep thinking that.” He slapped Wrench's shoulder and squeezed. “I don't hear them. You want to take some meds? Stress getting to you, old man?”

  Wrench imagined himself kneeing Sleuth in his skinny stomach, but refrained, giving in to his more peaceful side. No nice person calls an old man, 'old man'. “What do I do after I watch these vids?”

  “You bypass all ports, hatches, launch bay doors...anything that lets anyone come in and out of this sucker.” He eyed the walls in Sirona's launch bay.

  “Bypass them to do what?”

  “To not open...at all. They will be locked. You and I will be the only ones who can unlock them.” He touched the beam drive in Wrench's hand. “You, me, and Diana are the only ones who can do this. I trust you. Just watch the loop vids and get back to me as soon as you can. Change the access codes, so only you and me can access all perimeter exits and entrances.”

  “Alright. And where are you going?”

  “I'm going to put Diana in the brig.”

  “Jail?” If Wrench were in the middle of taking a drink, he would have spit it all over the floor. “You’re gonna lock her up?”

  “She isn't on our side, Wrench. Trust me. Com link me in Tech Quarters with the code after you lock all perimeter doors.”

  Wrench watched Sleuth leave the launch bay, thinking how arrogant the guy was. Wrench had known Admiral Diana McCoy for over a dozen years. He would never consider doing something that would put her in the brig.

  Nonetheless, Wrench inserted the Beam Drive into his HDC. He placed his elbow on the workbench, resting his chin on his palm, and watched the first loop. He grabbed a mug next to his HDC and took a sip. He held the liquid in his mouth, his eyes widening. Finally, he swallowed hard.

  He clicked on the next loop feed, watching. “What the Guild?!” He threw his mug on the ground, causing it to shatter into pieces.

  He pressed a holographic button on the HDC. “Com link the admiral.”

  “Wrench?” said Diana, her face appearing on the screen. Her eyes were sunken and her face was pale, as if she hadn't had a good night’s sleep in a long while and had been eating nothing but sugar for weeks. “You need something?”

  “There is a loop in the outside vid feeds, Admiral.”

  Diana blinked a couple of times. “Excuse me?”

  “I'm watching an artificial feed. Someone is tampering with the vids and creating loops, I think.”

  “Who?” asked Diana, shocked.

  “I-I don't know. Do ya' know?”

  Diana slightly jerked her head back at the question. “Do I know?” She shook her head back and forth, feigning ignorance. “I wish I did.”

  “There is a vid of ya outside, Admiral. That true?” questioned Wrench.

  Diana paused for a moment. “What do you mean?”

  “Sleuth gave me a beam drive and I see some odd stuff, ya' know?” Wrench cleared his throat. “Do ya' think it's Sleuth makin' stuff up? Maybe he altered you into the vid...somehow?”

  Diana hesitated, thinking and perhaps weighing out the options that each possible answer to Wrench's question would create. “I wouldn't be surprised. He isn't a trustworthy sort.”

  “He is the head of Tech.” Wrench squinted his eyes, disgust appearing on his face. “Ya' put him there. You wouldn't put someone there who ya' didn't personally trust”

  “What are you getting at? Are you saying —”

  “I know when ya' are lying, Diana. I've known ya' and have been around ya' longer than anyone.”

  Diana pursed her lips, anger flashing in her eyes. “I'm exhausted, Wrench. I'll com link you back in a few hours.” She shut off the com link and her image blinked off the screen.

  Wrench sat on a stool, his body hot and his heart pulsing fast. He didn't like to be lied to, especially by a good friend and one he thought was an ally of the human race.

  He eyed his HDC screen. “Bring up lock codes.”

  Admin login and password flashed across the HDC screen.

  “Login, Wrench. Password, Graybeard414.”

  The screen changed to the lock and unlock codes.

  “Change codes,” he ordered. A second later a screen appeared asking for new codes. “Lucky,” he said. The HDC asked to verify and he repeated, “Lucky.”

  Once the codes were changed, he pressed several more holographic buttons, then spoke, “Lock all perimeter exits.”

  Confirmed blinked on the screen.

  “HDC off.”

  He turned to run after Sleuth, but stopped when he saw Sleuth standing behind him.

  He's like a creepy, balding poltergeist, thought Wrench.

  “I didn't want to say this, Wrench, but I've found several indications that our engine drives are operational.”

  “Didn't ya' just leave?”

 
; Sleuth looked behind him, then back at Wrench. “Yes, and I obviously came right back. It's called turning around, Wrench. You really might need some meds.”

  “I don't need any damn meds, ya' nitwit.” He turned his HDC on. “Show me what ya' got.”

  Sleuth moved closer. “Punch in engine components. Then press on the collector coil. You'll see what I mean.”

  Wrench did as asked and an image of a coil, outlined in yellow, appeared.

  “You see?” Sleuth pointed at the screen. “It's warm.”

  “As it should be. It catches the radioactive emissions from the ion drives. It hasn't been scrubbed since our last routine check months ago.”

  “Pull up our last routine check.”

  Wrench did just that, then dropped his hand by his side. “They were cleaned a day before the attack.” He glanced at Sleuth. “Our engine has been on a low hum since we've been here? How could I miss this?”

  “Because you were meant to miss it. The Admiral has us all thinking that we are stuck here, when in fact we aren't. We could have left this planet every day since we've been stranded here.” He put his fingers in quote marks when he said 'stranded'.

  “Still, that doesn't mean our engines are fully stable or online,” replied Wrench.

  “Queue up fission chamber.”

  Wrench did and stared at the screen, then stood, grunting, looking for something else besides his shattered mug to throw on the floor. When he found nothing, he fumed more. He put his hands on his hips, pacing. “It's active and has enough energy for thrust capabilities. The power converter is unharmed and the catalysts are still reactin' in the chamber—”

  “Which means our engines are fully functional. At least functional enough.” Sleuth gave a crooked grin.

  Wrench glared at Sleuth. “Why ya' grinnin'? This ain't funny.”

  “I have a sick sense of humor, retorted Sleuth. “Now, it’s time to oust the admiral and get this bird in the air.”

  “And who would fly her?”

  “We can't rely on Captain Tressel. He is probably in on it.”

  “Tressel never made it back to the ship when we got attacked. He was on Starbase Matrona.”

  “Oh?” responded Sleuth. “I've been in Tech Quarters so long I haven't noticed.”

  “Eden can fly this.”

  “We can't trust Eden.”

  “Yes we can.” Wrench went to his HDC. “I'll see if I can get a hold of her.”

  Sleuth put his arm between Wrench and the HDC, stopping him from continuing. “What's the lock code?”

  “Lu—” Wrench put his hands on his hips. “I'm havin' a strange feelin' about this.”

  “We need to change the ship operation codes, so we can override anything that Diana does and doesn't do.”

  “I don't have the access to do such a thing, Sleuth.”

  “I know. But, I have found a way around that and it's through you. You see, as Chief Engineer, you have rights not many of us have. You're almost as high up as the admiral.”

  “Then we can fly out of here?”

  “Yes,” nodded Sleuth.

  “Do it.”

  “I just need you to type in your authorization code.”

  Wrench hesitated for a moment, then conceded. “Alright, Sleuth. It's ‘lucky’.”

  Sleuth took Wrench's place and typed in the authorization code, then punched in syntax after syntax. Wrench watched as streams of data, much of which he didn't understand, went across the screen. Sleuth tapped one more holographic button and put his finger in the air, “Done.”

  “Now what?”

  “Well, you and I have authorization over every aspect of this starship. You ready to take off?”

  “From here?” Wrench pointed to the ground. “We can't do that.”

  “Yes, I know, old man. I'll do so from the bridge.”

  “We need ta try and persuade Diana away from whatever it is she has gott'n into. Then, we will get Sirona back into space. She is Diana. She can be turned.”

  Sleuth reached into his pocket, pulling out a very small but deadly phaser. “I was hoping you wouldn't say that.”

  Wrench put up his hands and stepped back. “Whoa! Put that piece o' shit down, Sleuth.”

  “I'm afraid I can't do that. There is a lot on the line.”

  “I'm the best mechanic on this starship. Ya' kill me and ya' won't be able to fix half of the things in and around the engines.”

  “I'm sure we can manage.” Sleuth pulled the trigger and watched Wrench fall to the ground. A trail of smoke filtered from the end of the barrel, and Sleuth, having never fired a weapon from his own hands before, felt a strength he never knew he had. He turned on his heels and dashed out of the launch bay and down the hall, heading to Diana's quarters. She was next.

  Episode 15

  Escape

  Chains clanked down the long, rocky corridor, echoing into Crystal and Daf's cell. Crystal held her arms against her chest as she sat on the stone cold ground, her back against the wall. Her downcast eyes drifted to the bars, waiting for what was to come.

  Daf stood, shooting a glance at Crystal. “Get ready. It might be our rescue,” she whispered.

  Footsteps, totaling more in number than their last visitors, traveled with the sound of the chains—chains that seemed to carry more weight the closer they came.

  Soon enough, Daf and Crystal saw small men holding torches illuminating a dozen faces and torsos, the rest of their bodies hidden by the combination of the brightness from the flames and the shadows below.

  “Stand!” ordered a booming voice, and at once Crystal moved to her feet, touching the hilt of her sword strapped and sheathed onto her baldric.

  The voice spoke again, “Rest your hand elsewhere.”

  Crystal dropped her arm by her side. “Who are you?”

  The chains clambered against the bars and at once Crystal could see that the chains were not chains at all—they were keys, dozens of them connected to a large ring.

  “Silence!” The man slid a key into the keyhole and twisted. A click sounded. The cell door sprang open and Crystal's first thought was to run and topple over these Dwarves, then find Starship Tranquil and get her and Daf out of this underground city. Her thoughts were stymied at sight of a long axe brandished over the shoulder of a Dwarf.

  A small hooded man entered, holding a pickaxe in one hand and a sword in the other. He looked at Crystal. “You are to be executed at once.” He held the sword out to Daf, who instinctively backed away. “By Daf.”

  Daf covered her mouth and shook her head. “No.”

  Crystal took a stance, brandishing her sword. “Over my dead body.”

  Suddenly laughter erupted from the group. They guffawed, bending over, holding their bellies as if they had just heard the funniest thing ever. Crystal then noticed bottles in many of the Dwarves’ hands.

  She sheathed her sword, back into her baldric. “Are you guys drunk?”

  The man inside the cell let his hood fall to his back. It was King Bilrak, smiling.

  “Nay, not I.” He dropped his pickaxe, banging it against the floor and thumbed over his shoulder. “They wanted a good laugh. I'm sorry.”

  Crystal gave Bilrak a cold stare, wondering what was next.

  Bilrak, still holding the sword out toward Daf, jostled it up and down. “Are you going to take it?”

  Daf set her palm against her chest. “I'm not killing Crystal.” Her voice was soft, but strong.

  The Dwarve's gee-hawed a second time and Daf looked at Crystal, who gave her an inconsequential shrug.

  “This sword,” spoke Bilrak, “is for you.” He stepped closer. “Take it. You'll need it.”

  Crystal didn’t trust him. “What will she need it for?”

  “My son, Thun, and our friend Shan Ru have convinced us that both of you sun dwellers mean us no harm. On the other hand, Harak, second to the throne behind Thun, does not carry the same feelings. He would like you two to prove your loyalty.”

 
Harak grunted, frowning at Crystal. The grunt usually meant a sign of agreement, but she was new here in Dirn Garum and wasn't quite sure if anything she thought about the Dwarf's would stick. They seemed changeable at their own whims.

  “And how shall we prove our loyalty?” asked Crystal.

  “Excellent question.” Bilrak became serious. “We are leaving tonight into the mouth of the eastern tunnel that leads to our enemy's doorstep.” He put his hand up, quieting any interruptions. “It is a day-long journey and Daf will be with our army of hundreds.” He turned to Crystal. “And, you...” he paused, rubbing his tummy as if it had just given him a great idea, “you will be our pilot on Starship Tranquil. And when one day has transpired you will lift out of Mount Gabrielle and bring fire down our enemies’ throats.”

  “And if I refuse?” asked Daf.

  “Then you are left here in the cell. There will be no telling when you will be let out since we plan on leaving this planet one way or another. You would probably starve and die.”

  Crystal tapped her scabbard. “But, I have Soul's Eye.”

  Bilrak bowed his head, his eyes becoming innocent-looking. “You do, and I apologize for all of this but it had to be done. You are the bloodline that unlocks Soul's Eye and can communicate with Starship Tranquil, but we are willing to leave Tranquil altogether if you do not help us. We would continue to search for our own way back home.”

  “Gaia?” asked Crystal.

  Bilrak grunted.

  “That's where my race is from?” questioned Crystal.

  “I don't know the origins of your race, but I have heard that Gaia is where you are from.”

  “May I?” spoke a voice from behind the crowd of Dwarves. It was Shan Ru, who must have arrived sometime after the cell door opened.

  Bilrak grunted again, nodding his head a couple of times.

  “Thank you,” replied Shan. “Most races are created somewhere. Although, most races, including your race, Crystal, come from many other bi-ped species across the Universe. The sum of your particular race, the homo sapiens sapiens was created on Gaia, crossing genes from many different races from many different galaxies.” Shan gently smiled, bringing both hands together at his chest.