Star Guild Episodes 10 - 18 (Star Guild Saga)

by Brandon Ellis

  “Sleuth! You piece of...” She took a deep breath and calmed herself. This was probably a mistake. Sleuth may have had nothing to do with this. Then she shook her head. This has Sleuth written all over it.

  She slid her hand under her desk, clicked a lever, and a few seconds later, a small hidden drawer opened. A safe place for her weapon. She grabbed her phaser, pulling it out of the drawer and slipping her finger over the trigger. She checked the back of the barrel and moved the indicator from stun to kill. She noticed the charge and was happy to see that it was full this time.

  Standing, she called out, “Open,” and the door slid vertically open, exposing an empty hallway. She heard footsteps coming and casually placed both hands behind her back, acting like she was just beginning her daily stroll.

  She paused. The steps now sounded as if they were just around the corner. She squeezed her hand tightly around her phaser.

  “Diana?”

  “Yes?” she responded.

  Sleuth emerged from around the corner, holding a phaser by his side, while his other arm fidgeted with what little hair he had left. He was sweating and appeared to be deranged. His eyes flitted to hers and then to a wall, and continued that erratic movement for several moments.

  She stared blankly at him wondering if she should expose her weapon, just in case he lifted his firearm and pulled the trigger. But she didn't want to make any sudden movements since Sleuth was clearly haunted by something, or perhaps drunk. She didn't know which.

  His gun hand trembled. “Hi Diana.” He glanced down for a moment, his free hand grasping his other forearm, steadying it as best he could.

  “Are you okay, Sleuth?”

  He slowly shook his head no, his lips quavering as sadness took him over. “I just killed someone—and I've never killed before. At least, not in person.”

  Diana wanted to back away but remained steadfast.

  “Who did you kill, Sleuth?” she asked, making sure her words were sweet, in a way she figured a loving mother was with a son—something she wished she practiced more with her own daughter.

  “He was in the way.” His eyes steadied on hers. There was an evil darkness in his pupils. She'd never seen this side of him before.

  “Who, Sleuth? We can fix this, you and I.” Her voice carried alarm, so she softened her breathing, making sure to calm herself down, and most importantly, to prolong Sleuth's probable intention to kill her next.

  “Wrench.” His voice was barely audible, coming out more as a whisper.

  Her heart sank. How could he?

  Wrench was one of the greatest people she had ever known. The old man wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone another human being.

  “Why?”

  Sleuth shook his head. “He got in the way of my plan.” His eyes welled up and his body shook, as if he was suddenly cold. “I had to change some things, Diana. I had to change some things on account of you.” He stepped forward.

  Diana instinctively stepped back this time. “What has changed, Sleuth?”

  “You have, and therefore, our plan has.” His face contorted. “You blew it, Diana!” A torrent of spit came out with his words.

  Diana became angry for a moment. Again she slowed her breathing, taking longer breaths, sending signals to the part of her brain—the limbic system—that controls both her breathing and aggression. She could override any aggression by concentrating on her breath. The longer the breath, the more the hypothalamus focuses on breathing instead of anger. It was part of admiral training in Star Guild.

  She kept her hands behind her. “Put the weapon away. Please, Sleuth.”

  He stopped his slow advance and a lull came over him, as if Diana's request was the correct action.

  “No.” Sleuth shook away his momentary lapse of sanity away and advanced toward Diana. She continued to back away from him, but with each step she took he took one as well. Even worse, she noticed they were getting closer to her quarters. She didn’t want to get trapped in there with him.

  Sleuth raised his weapon and Diana's body took over, as if the years of training actually did something, meant something. Her arm came out from behind her and she pressed the trigger, aiming directly at his chest. She saw Sleuth's finger pull the trigger on his phaser too and she felt a wave pummel her. She fell sideways.

  She felt paralyzed and her breathing became fast, light, and anxious, her eyelids heavy. She glanced toward Sleuth, struggling to stay awake and alive. Sleuth was on the ground with his arm out, reaching for her. Blood oozed from his mouth and he shivered. He coughed just before he took his last breath and his body became lifeless. Diana wanted to scream for help, but her body wouldn't respond.

  Guild, she thought. I should have just killed myself when I had the chance. This hurts.

  She was dying, her body shutting down. The weight of her eyelids grew heavy. Her feeble attempts to keep them open morphed into rapid blinking, and that too slowed. She blinked again until the effort was too much and her eyelids remained closed. She couldn't move. She couldn't stay awake. Then silence.

  Is this death?

  ∞

  Shanraing sat at Zim's desk, staring at his HDC screen. She had connected into Starship Sirona's mainframe and was looking at Tech Quarters through cameras wired into that room. She had many views she could choose from, but she focused on one—a desk where a fairly overweight man sat lounging back in his chair, his feet up on the desk. He didn't seem too interested in his own HDC though.

  He held a cup in his hand and sipped through a straw.

  Shanraing typed, Is Crystal safe?

  She could see the man talking to someone who was out of the camera’s view. He spit out the contents of his drink as he started laughing, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

  Shanraing sighed and slouched forward, resting her chin on her hand. She waited. She did a lot of waiting on this particular starbase—Starbase Matrona.

  The overweight man scanned his HDC screen then did a double-take. He put the drink on his desk and stopped conversing with his co-worker. He looked left and right, making sure no one else could see what he was seeing. He hunched over, typing slowly. Who is this?

  Shanraing snapped upright and tapped the holographic keypad. Crystal knows me as “S.” She left many days ago to travel to Forever Mountain. Did she make it back safely?

  No.

  Alarmed, Shanrain continued. I will rephrase my question to get a more specific answer. Did she make it back to Starship Sirona or has she gone missing?

  Through the camera view Shanraing saw the man become agitated, bouncing his knee up and down nervously.

  She never made it back. I don't know if she is alive.

  What is your name?

  Hank.

  Thank you, Hank. I feel her and sense that she is very much alive. She will be back, as per the mission I gave her.

  The mission you gave her?

  To find a way to get you and all inhabitants off Starship Sirona and to safety.

  Are we in immediate danger?

  In a day or two, or perhaps even sooner, an experimental weapon will be launched at your starship. I know this because I have firsthand knowledge of this weapon. I also know that Starship Sirona is the weapon’s first test run. There will be no survivors.

  That's uplifting...

  Shanraing chuckled at Hank's sarcasm. Can you convince your people of this impending disaster?

  I doubt it. What is this weapon?

  It's an implosion cannon based in fission theory. I could explain the components and method of shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another, but that would take too long. Trust me, this weapon has the ability to suck matter inward until it gathers enough supercritical mass to create a minor supernova that doesn't affect physical space around it and is instead immediately absorbed, leaving no trace behind. It will kill all aboard your ship and could potentially disrupt time and space on a different dimension—a level of reality your people are not yet aware of.

 
That doesn't sound like something I want to get mixed up in. Question: you typed 'your people'. If you’re not one of us, who are you?

  I'm of a different race—that doesn’t matter right now. Get your people off Sirona if you can. Signing off. Good luck.

  Shanraing turned off her camera view and switched to a different window on her HDC display. She typed in Brigger Hamilton.

  A picture of a young man with brown hair, white healthy skin, and what looked to be perfect teeth popped up on her screen. To the right of the picture was his military record. Under parents, date of birth, and home dwelling of birth, it stated, 'unknown'. Usually, an unknown wouldn't be allowed to step foot on a ship, let alone be stationed on one. She had never met this guy and was having a hard time locating his physical whereabouts inside Starbase Matrona. He seemed to have disappeared, much like his profile. Still, she was determined to find him, especially once she learned that Brigger had witnessed Admiral Byrd's death. She had questions—and she wanted answers.

  She pulled up his service records and was surprised to see that they hadn't been wiped clean like the rest of his profile. “First stationed on Starship Hathor under Fleet Admiral Revel Sune.” Continuing to read she saw that he was Third Mate, Operations Officer on that ship. He was in charge of the flight department, navigation, guidance, hyperdrive velocity and jumps, piloting and course corrections, atmosphere entries and flight planning. Most importantly, he was in charge of the third watch shift and was third in line if the admiral and captain both somehow perished or left the ship.

  She pondered this information. He was important on Starship Hathor. She pulled up his military records on Starship Brigantia, seeing that he was only a Lieutenant, just above Junior grade. Lieutenant would be a good rank to have on a small vessel but is by far lower than an Operations Officer on a starship, which was his earlier rank. He wasn't even on piloting duties and had never steered Brigantia.

  Why was he demoted?

  She turned off the HDC. This wasn't making sense. If he was on Starship Hathor, then he should have died on board with Admiral Sune and the rest of the crew. Yet he was somewhere on board and no one questioned it?

  She pressed her com link. “CJ, did you find the mystery man?”

  “Brigger isn't anywhere to be seen. We've been monitoring all vids in each Sphere and have been questioning everyone we can find. It's like he just disappeared.”

  “I guess that's how he survived Starship Hathor.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Nothing. Get here as soon as you can.”

  “Almost there. See you soon.”

  The com link clicked off. She exhaled hard and paced the room, her thoughts on the day, which pricked at her heart more than this Brigger guy. She had lost several Knights Templar Guard, along with Captain Louise Stripe who was a much needed light in this time of humanity’s darkness, and Sergeant Manning. She didn't know his last name, but she figured it didn't matter. A name doesn't make one courageous, doesn't give its life to save an entire race of people. No. Brave souls do that and those two souls were of the finest ilk.

  Shanraing found herself in front of Zim's bar and as her thoughts faded, she noticed a piece of paper next to several bottles of mead, along with his favorite mug, which was half full. It was always half full.

  She read the writing on the paper out loud: “I'm not as evil as they say I am.”

  She placed the paper back on the bar. “You weren't, Zim.” She looked at the ceiling. “You see the light now and you see the truth. You see your place in the Universe and everyone else's place, too. You taught us lessons, even if you didn't care or pay attention. Evil is not the word for you. No. Maybe misguided; but evil? Never.”

  “Yes. He was here to learn and teach hard lessons. There is no waste in the Universe,” said a female voice coming from the office doorway.

  There was truth in that statement and Shanraing shivered from the reminder. Even with her back to the female’s melodic tone, she smiled with recognition. “I haven't heard the sound of that voice in a long, long time,” she said, spinning around slowly. “You’ve brightened my day.” She stretched out her arms for a hug.

  Naveya put MiMi down and walked over to Shanraing and embraced her friend. “I've been here so long. I've missed you and Kien so much.”

  “We've missed you, too. You have done a superb job. I knew we sent the right woman to raise the consciousness of everyone on Starbase Matrona.” Shanraing stepped back and examined Naveya closely. “You haven't aged a day. Suficell Pods?”

  “Sufi spins, the Merkaba meditation you taught me, raw fruits, herbs, and veggies, and yes, Suficell Pods.” She lowered her head. “I didn't think we were going to make it. We made it by the hair of our chinny-chin-chins.”

  “We did.”

  MiMi barked and Naveya turned to see a Knights Templar Guard coming down the hallway with a Brigantia officer behind him.

  “That's CJ,” said Shanraing.

  CJ came to the doorway. “He wasn't easy to find, but here he is.”

  “Brigger?” asked Shanraing.

  CJ nodded. “He appeared out of nowhere just as I was heading up the steps here.”

  Shanraing bowed. “Thank you, CJ. Can you accompany Naveya to the Matrona Control Room? I've received communication from my brother Kien. He is expecting us to jump to planet Aurora any minute now. I'd like Naveya to be one of the first to glimpse that beautiful planet.”

  Naveya grinned and patted her leg, “Come MiMi.” MiMi jumped into her arms and Naveya cradled her in the crook of her arm. She placed her other hand on Shanraing's shoulder, pulling her down so they could be eye to eye. “Thank you.” She kissed Shanraing's cheek, then walked down the hall with CJ and out of the Capital Building. “We're exiting this starbase.”

  Brigger stood at attention.

  Shanraing looked him up and down, then sat in Zim's chair. “You can ease up, soldier. That is what they say here, isn't it?”

  Brigger relaxed. “Something like that.”

  “You've had quite the journey on Matrona, haven't you?”

  Brigger blinked a couple of times, then gave a half-smile. “You can say that.”

  “Someone mentioned you, so I looked you up on the HDC Star Guild files and I found you very peculiar. And, I heard stories, as well.”

  Brigger frowned. “Stories?”

  “Let's start with what I found.”

  Brigger was confused. “I'm not following, Ma'am. There isn’t much to find. I live a simple life.”

  “A simple life with a lot of complicated events surrounding you.”

  “Again, I'm not understanding where you're going with this. Am I in trouble? Did I do something wrong? If so, I'm not aware of what I did, but I do apologize. If it's about Admiral Byrd, I did my best to save him.” His eyes welled up. “There was nothing I could do. I loved him. He was like a father to me.”

  “He was like a father to everyone, so I hear. He is safe now, journeying with his mentors across the ethereal cosmos.” She pursed her lips, studying Brigger. “You used to be on Admiral Revel Sune's bridge, yes?”

  “Yes, I was on Starship Hathor.”

  “You were there when Starship Hathor mysteriously exploded, but through some glitch in the system no one noticed that you somehow found your way to Starship Brigantia later.”

  “I —”

  “How did you survive when the rest of Starship Hathor didn't? No one survived. I checked the records to see if any escape pods departed from Hathor. You know what I found?”

  Brigger slowly shook his head.

  “I didn't find anything, except that you were re-assigned to Starship Brigantia under the then new Fleet Admiral James Byrd.”

  “Well, that's true. I was assigned to his bridge and very glad of it.”

  “Of course you were, but what I find interesting is that you were assigned almost 18 years after the destruction of Admiral Sune's starship.”

  “I could see how you would find that interesti
ng, Ma'am.”

  “So, Brigger, how did you escape Starship Hathor and where were you for those 18 years?”

  Brigger shook his head. “I can't remember.”

  “That’s convenient. What do you remember?”

  “I remember that our ship was attacked and then I woke up somewhere else.”

  Shanraing creased her brow. “Where did you wake up?”

  “On Lumus, but I don't know how I got there.” His voice softened and he continued almost in a whisper. “It has oxygen. I could breathe. No one really knows that.”

  “Brigger. I know when someone isn't telling me the truth. I see it in their aura. And you're not telling the full truth, so here is how I see it. You don't have a birth date, a place of dwelling, or any parents on record. You tend to show up here and there, during fantastic events and sometimes you don't show up at all, as if you have left the Starbase all together. So, who are you...really?”

  “I'm Brigger, Ma'am.”

  “We've established your name, but I would like to establish more. Where do you come from?”

  Brigger remained silent.

  “You won't answer and I won't force you to. Nevertheless, you are an asset and an anomaly. What do I do with you?”

  “In truth, Ma'am, you can't do anything with me or to me.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes, Ma'am.” He became very serious. “You have created an entire race, an entire species and that's against Universal Law. You did not have permission for such an immature, un-evolved act. You've destroyed the sanctity of life, using homo sapiens sapiens as tools for your desires. You and your race have killed in the name of materialism and in fear that your own race would not survive. You have toyed with humans, human DNA, human everything.”

  Shanraing narrowed her eyes. “Who are you?”

  “I am Brigger and I'm here to tell you for a second time that you were divinely guided, Ma'am. Universal Law or not, you were divinely guided. We have found this out by the most extraordinary means. I was supposed to stop you and all of the Nankuani, but with divine guidance comes divine discovery. We have found that these humans, and all humans, are more powerful than you can imagine and I'm here to make sure you don't screw that up anymore. You, Shanraing, have learned many lessons and this one you have learned the most. It has always hung heavy in your heart that you created a race for your own race's benefit. You have changed your ways, along with Kien, and you have convinced many others of your race to follow suit. Most of your race, however, hasn't changed.”