“Who was it?” asked Galaxy, though her words trembled because her emotions made it impossible to speak well. “Do you know?”
“I have never found out,” said Dad. His hands shook. “All I know is that then and there, I swore to get Garth out of the Universal Alliance in order to ensure that no one else need to suffer as I did at the hands of the corrupt officials who run this foul government. That was when I founded the High Superiors.”
“So you're not just a member,” said Galaxy, “but the actual founder of the group?”
“Yes,” said Dad. “But I've kept my connection to the group a secret. Wasn't hard, really. Having worked as a secret government agent for decades, I knew all of the best and most efficient ways to hide your connections to just about anyone. No one, not even the King of Garth, suspected that I might be associated with the terrorist organization that was giving them so much trouble. The fools.”
“I still don't understand,” said Galaxy. “Why were you kidnapped, then?”
“Kidnapped?” Dad repeated. He laughed that same choking laugh that he always had, a laugh that used to comfort Galaxy, but which now terrified her beyond belief. “I was not actually kidnapped. Did you actually see me get kidnapped? Of course you didn't. It was all an act in order to make sure that neither of you suspected that I was behind all of this.”
“You …” Galaxy couldn't even get the words out, she was so angry, but she struggled to speak anyway. “You monster. What are you going to do now?”
“Blow up Sector Six, obviously,” said Dad. “I thought you had remembered that. The Connectors at both ends of Sector Six are laced with explosives. All we need to do is activate them and then the plan will be complete.”
“But this is insane,” Space spoke up. Galaxy looked at him. Despite his pale and pained face, he seemed to have somehow found the courage to speak. “If you're so angry about a bunch of humans killing your wife, how will killing literally thousands of innocent Zinarthians change anything?”
“Silence, degenerate,” Dad said, pointing his gun at Space threateningly. “You don't understand. In the long run, this will save lives, because the powers that be will awake to the evils of the Universal Alliance and leave that vile organization. They will cut off all travel to and from Garth, thus ensuring that the UA will never harm anyone else on my world ever again.”
“You're completely insane, you realize that, right?” said Space.
“You don't understand,” said Dad. “You cannot understand the pain I felt when I saw Grace's corpse. You don't have anyone that special, anyone who you loved more than the universe itself. Your tiny human brain cannot even come close to comprehending the evils of the Universal Alliance and its ilk.”
“Are you going to kill us, Dad?” said Galaxy. “Is that what you're going to do next?”
For the first time since Dad started his ignorant ranting, he hesitated. “Yes and no. Yes, I will kill your friend, Jason Space, because he is a human and must be eliminated. But no, I will not kill you. Instead, I will offer you membership in my organization. I know you are a smart woman, smarter even than many Zinarthians, and I would hate for you to die with the humans. You are too good for them. If you join us, then you and I can live together on Garth as a happy family, even without Grace.”
For the first time, Galaxy was sure that Dad wasn't lying here. He genuinely did want her to join him. He didn't want her to die. She knew he was telling the truth because Dad was speaking in that same tone that he always used whenever he was being truthful to her. Although Dad was obviously suffering from severe grief, Galaxy did not doubt for a second that his offer was honest and without any strings attached.
Yet, as much as Galaxy loved her father, she hesitated. “If I accept your offer, will you spare Space?”
“Of course not,” said Dad without missing a beat. “Didn't you just hear a word I said? Your friend has no place in the High Superiors. The only reason I have even allowed him to live this long is because I know how important he is to you. Otherwise, I would have killed him the moment I saw him.”
Galaxy exchanged looks with Space. She saw how terrified Space was, a feeling she understood well, even though she was in far less danger than he was.
Then she looked at Dad and said, “My answer, then, is no. I must reject your offer. I will not join the High Superiors, not in a million years. Not even if it means staying with you.”
Dad's expression changed from hope to anger in a nanosecond. “What? But I am your father. Doesn't that make me more valuable to you than your stupid friend? Do you love your filthy human friend more than the man who loved and raised you all by himself for decades, sacrificing countless years and money to ensure that you got the best life possible?”
Dad's words stabbed Galaxy's heart like a knife, but she managed to say, “Dad, I still love you more than anyone else, but I can't support this. This isn't you, Dad, and you know it. You're letting your grief over Mom's death control you. You need to stop and think.”
“Did those animals who killed Grace 'stop and think'?” Dad shouted, his voice so loud that even his fellow High Superiors cringed. “Did they stop and think about the pain they were inflicting, both on me and on you? Did the beasts who run the Universal Alliance stop and think long enough to decide to spare my wife? They killed your mother, Helena. They robbed you of one of the most important figures in a child's life. And yet you are telling me to stop and think? Even though I am trying to prevent other mothers from suffering the same fate as Grace?”
“No, no,” said Galaxy, shaking her head. “I agree that what those monsters did was wrong. And I agree that whoever ordered them to do it is evil as well. But you can't stop evil with more evil. That's not how it works.”
“Oh, so I am evil, now, then?” said Dad with a laugh that was completely unlike his normal laugh. “I see. You think I am evil. I should have seen this coming. You are blinded by the apparent goodness of the UA, so blinded that you can't see the evil it commits even when it directly harms you. I am going to get Garth out of this madness before it causes any more needless death.”
“Your own actions are going to cause needless death, Dad,” said Galaxy. Her voice almost broke in sadness, but she kept her tone steady. “Far more needless death than whatever the UA has caused. You are working against yourself and against the people of Garth.”
“You are too naïve to understand,” said Dad. “But very well. If you refuse to side with us, then you will just have to die with the rest of the degenerates who live on this vile dwelling among the stars.”
Dad raised his gun again, aiming it squarely at Galaxy's forehead. Tears streamed down Dad's face, but his aim never wavered even slightly. “I wish that it did not have to end this way, Helena, but if killing you will save Garth from the evils of the UA, then that is what I must do.”
Galaxy didn't even close her eyes. She stared defiantly into Dad's own. Even that was hard to maintain, however, because tears welled in her own eyes, thus obscuring her vision.
“One thing I will do, Helena, is end your life quickly and without pain,” said Dad. “A simple laser to the forehead, which will pass directly through your brain, should kill you instantly. You will not even feel it. That much I can assure you of.”
Galaxy said nothing to that. She just blinked back the tears as Dad rested his finger on the laser pistol's trigger. She looked at Space, who wasn't crying like she was, but he clearly had lost all hope of escape.
Ding.
Everyone froze. Even Dad hesitated. Galaxy, still blinking her eyes, realized that that was the ding of the elevator from earlier.
She realized this just as she heard the elevator doors open, followed by someone shouting, “There they are! Don't let them escape!”
Suddenly, the air was full of lasers coming from the direction of the elevator. At least half of the High Superiors, too shocked by this sudden attack to react, went down immediately, while the other half fled the other way. Dad turned and fired off
his own lasers at whoever was shooting at them before he dashed past Galaxy and Space, though he did look at Galaxy long enough for her to see the disappointment and betrayal in his eyes.
Galaxy then heard what sounded like dozens of armored feet running toward them. Looking in the direction of the elevators, Galaxy saw two dozen armored soldiers—members of the Annulus Defense Force, based on the military gear they wore—charging down the tunnel toward them. When the ADF members reached Space and her, half of them stopped and cuffed the High Superiors they had managed to knock out, while the other half continued running down the maintenace tunnel after the fleeing terrorists.
One of the ADF soldiers—who wore a helmet that completely obscured his face—knelt down next to Galaxy and asked, his voice slightly muffled, “Miss, are you and your friend all right?”
Galaxy blinked several times, but it was Space who said, “No! I got shot.”
The soldier immediately went over to Space. He then pulled out a thick bandage from his bag and wrapped it tightly around Space's smoking shoulder as he said, “This should keep the wound from infecting. But we'll need to get you to the nearest hospital for actual care.”
Then the soldier looked between them, as if suddenly remembering something. “Would you two happen to be Mr. Jason Space and Captain Helena Galaxy? We were told by Commander Alex Space that you two were here.”
“That's us,” said Space, grimacing, probably from the pain in his shoulder which no doubt still hurt despite the bandage now wrapped around it. “We didn't know you guys were coming.”
“Commander Space called us in when he found out where the terrorists were planning to blow up Sector Six,” the ADF soldier explained. “Anyway, we shouldn't waste time talking. The two of you look injured. I will have both of you transported to the nearest hospital in Sector Six, which I think is the Sector Six General Hospital, if I am not mistaken.”
“But what about my Dad?” said Galaxy. “Are you going after him?”
“We were told that a Zinarthian man named Yufan Ohga was kidnapped by the High Superiors,” said the soldier. “Do you know if he is still alive?”
“He is,” said Galaxy. “And he's the leader of the High Superiors.”
“You mean that your father is the mysterious leader of the High Superiors terrorist group?” said the soldier in surprise. “I will have to report this to Commander Space. I will also need to ask you more questions about the High Superiors, as it is obvious that you know quite a bit about them. But of course, that will be after I get you two to the hospital and the doctors there make sure that you have not suffered any life-threatening injuries.”
-
It wasn't long after that—perhaps an hour at most—that Galaxy and Space found themselves inside one of the rooms of the Sector Six General Hospital. Like most of Sector Six, the place was staffed and run by Zinarthians, but unlike the High Superiors, these Zinarthians treated Galaxy and Space with the same kind of care they showed toward their own species.
As it turned out, neither Galaxy nor Space suffered any life-threatening or permanent injuries. Space, however, had to take a sedative to allow his shoulder wound to heal, and thus now slept peacefully under the white sheets of his hospital bed. Alex had come by only a few minutes ago to check on Space, but had then left after telling Galaxy that he had to go report back to ADF headquarters about what happened. One thing he did tell Galaxy before he left, however, was that Dad seemed to have escaped and no one knew where he was, although the ADF had issued orders to all Annulus space ports to keep an eye out for a Zinarthian fitting Dad's description trying to leave the Annulus.
But Galaxy wasn't alone for very long, because Sparky entered the room probably only ten minutes after Alex left. Sparky checked on Space and asked Galaxy what happened. Although it was hard for Galaxy to talk, she managed to give Sparky a brief but accurate summary of the events of the last day. As always, Sparky listened without interruption, though he seemed just as surprised by the revelation of the identity of the High Superior as Galaxy did.
When Galaxy finished the story, Sparky, who was sitting on a stool between her bed and Space's, said, “I am sorry to hear that about your father, Captain Galaxy. You always used to speak quite highly of him. I hoped to meet him someday, but if he is truly as insane you as suggest, then it is probably better that I don't.”
Galaxy nodded, but could barely find any words in her mouth with which to speak. She kept thinking about Dad's words, about how he almost killed her. She didn't really know what to think anymore. She had always loved and trusted her father more than anyone, even above Space, but now, she wasn't sure how she felt about him anymore.
“At least you and Mr. Space survived,” said Sparky. “And the rest of Sector Six survived as well. So it wasn't a total loss, if you think about it.”
“You're … right,” said Galaxy, though she found the words hard to say. “The terrorists were stopped and that's what matters. But Dad is still out there somewhere and I have a feeling we're going to be hearing from him again sometime soon.”
“What will you do if he tries to contact us?” asked Sparky.
Galaxy tightened her grip on her blankets. Without looking at Sparky, she said, “I'm going to kill him.”
Spacetastic Interviews with: The Leader of the High Superiors
T.L. Charles: Hello and welcome, readers, to the Spacetastic Interviews series. In this series, I, T.L. Charles, the author, interview a character from The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy series, usually a character who appeared in the last episode. These interviews tend to be short, but entertaining and informative. Anyway, with that out of the way, let’s start today's interview with Yufan Ohga, the leader of the High Superiors. Yufan Ohga, why don't you greet my readers and say hi?
Yufan Ohga: Hello, humans. I hope this story shows just why you humans are so inferior to us Zinarthians.
T.L. Charles: Um, why would it? You guys basically lost in the end, didn't you?
Yufan Ohga: Yes, but I prefer to think of it as a short term loss in our long term goal to free Garth from the tyrannical grip of the UA.
T.L. Charles: Okay. Well, moving along, are you still upset that Galaxy didn't accept your offer to join your group?
Yufan Ohga: Of course I am. She is my one and only daughter. I suspect that it is her human half that made her reject it. Humans tend not to take very well to being called inferior, I've noticed, even when it is true.
T.L. Charles: Geez, I can't see why.
Yufan Ohga: You can't? But aren't you human yourself?
T.L. Charles: I was being sarcastic.
Yufan Ohga: Ah. Sarcasm. Yes, we Zinarthians know what sarcasm is. We're actually better at it than you humans are.
T.L. Charles: Right. Anyway, what are your next plans, now that your plan to destroy Sector Six was thwarted?
Yufan Ohga: I'm not going to tell you about the High Superiors' future plans that easily, human. All I will tell you is that our next course of action will be even bigger, grander, and far more effective than this one.
T.L. Charles: Uh, okay. Well, it looks like we're running out of time. Any last words for our audience before we close out?
Yufan Ohga: Yes. Don't trust the Universal Alliance. Those who rule it are not what they seem, nor are they to be trusted by anyone, even by humans.
T.L. Charles: Okay, then. Well, that's all the time for today. See you all on the next Spacetastic Interviews!
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T.L. Charles writes comedic action-adventure science-fiction stories such as The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy as an indie author. T.L. Charles is the pen name of Timothy L. Cerepaka, who you can read more about here.
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The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy: Season Two Page 27
