by Francis, Ron
She nodded and sobbed a reply, “I need to be here, too”.
“So,” he began, legitimately trying to understand Kimi’s story and trying hard to let go of his anger. “Why did you go through with it then?”
“What?” She replied, not quite following what he had just asked.
“Well, if you found out your masters were evil and you believed me to be innocent and yourself to be good, why did you still try to kill me?”
“Because I was weak,” she replied, too ashamed to even look at him.
“What does that even mean?” Suzy interjected impatiently.
Kimiko looked up at Suzy with tears in her eyes and said; “They have my mother and little sister. I have until Friday to kill Jesse or the Asian Dawn will kill my family. Jesse may be innocent, but my family is all I have. I had no choice.”
“Do the chemicals in that syringe really have negative side effects, Suzy?” He asked seemingly changing the subject.
“Not really,” She replied, puzzled by the question. “Just a headache for a couple hours. I was only trying to frighten Miss Tamanorra.”
“Good, stick her,” He replied.
“What?” Came Kimi's shocked reply. “I’ve told you the truth.” She said unsure of what was bringing about this sudden change. “There is no need for needles.”
“I beg to differ,” he responded as Suzy was approaching with the syringe. Then to the disbelief of both women he added “You have spent the last month lying to me and I need to be absolutely certain that what you have said is the truth if I’m going to help you save your family.” With that Suzy injected the truth chemicals into Kimiko’s arm with mixed feelings of pride in her friend and dread for his safety.
______
Present day…..
As Jesse continued to pour over the information contained within the portable data unit, he noticed that Suzy had stopped speaking. “I’m sorry,” He called. “I got wrapped up in the data and began ignoring you, didn’t I?”
“Don’t worry about it,” she called back while staring out the viewport. “I’m the same way when I’m going through medical information, and I know you well enough to know that you have to have all of this information as soon as possible.”
“Well,” he puffed out his chest in mock pride. “The commanding officer should have all the relevant information if he is to adequately perform his duties.” She smiled as she continued surveying the barren landscape and he went back to reading the data unit.
About an hour later he called out, “Hey, Suzy, did you know that Lizard guy from the pirate ship is actually a member of a species known as the Mannagore from a planet called Taglaharn? It’s a bit disappointing, really. I was hoping for something a little more…lizardy.”
“Lizardy, really?” came Suzy’s bemused reply, “You know that’s not a word, right Jess?”
“Of course it is,” he replied. “Lizardy!”
“What does it mean then?” She asked.
“The state of being lizard-like. Back me up here, SAMMI.”
“Dr. Baker is correct, Colonel; Lizardy is not a word in the Common language. The correct term is sauroid. It appears as though your grasp of the Common language is as tenuous as your grasp on reality itself.”
Suzy broke into laughter, “Well spoken, SAMMI.”
Jesse, meanwhile, was mumbling something about dismantling AI’s.
“Whether or not I am functional, you would still be incorrect in this instance.” The feathery voice called through the ship`s speaker.
“He was only joking, SAMMI,” Suzy comforted while still laughing.
His good mood came to an abrupt end as he read on in the database. “Suzy,” he called out. “When is the rest of the crew due back at the ship?” He asked anxiously.
She was not quite sure what had brought on this sudden mood change as she replied. “Nineteen hundred hours, why?”
He leapt to his feet, “We have to get them back now.”
“Jesse, what’s going on?” She began growing concerned. Colonel Jesse Marcos was legendary for his gut feelings both before and during battle, and for him to grow this concerned this quickly meant something bad was likely about to happen.
“Pirates,” he yelled. “According to the database, Pirates attack this outpost on a regular basis, almost like clockwork.”
“And,” she wasn’t sure she wanted him to finish his thought.
“And,” He replied. “According to the schedule in this information, they will back sometime in the next twenty-four hours.”
She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, “We’ve got to get them back here,” she exclaimed, sharing his anxiety.
“SAMMI, raise Josiah on comms.”
“What’s up, Jess?” Josiah’s voice came though the ship’s speakers. “Finally woke up, huh, buddy?”
“Josiah, I have reason to believe that pirates could be attacking the settlement any time in the next twenty-four hours. You need to pull out and come back to the ship.”
Josiah was silent for a moment, probably relaying what he was just told to Collin and Kimi. “Copy that, we are on our way. Do we have any plan to help the civilian population?” He hated retreat and hated to see innocents suffer, so his question was no surprise to Jesse or Suzy.
“Not yet, but it doesn’t look like the pirates kill very often. They come here pretty regularly, mostly it seems to terrorize. It may be wise for us to merely observe, ready to intervene if things get out of hand, but otherwise we’re just collecting intel.”
“Copy that,” Josiah replied. He knew Jesse was right, but he didn’t have to like it.
“Scratch that,” Jesse added. “I failed to factor in the ship we destroyed. They may be quite angry and it’s our fault. Come back to the ship so we can come up with a defense strategy.”
Josiah had forgotten to factor that in as well. Having already seen some of the damage the pirates had previously done, it chilled him to think of what they would do when provoked. “Our ETA to the ship is approximately…..” As the transmission cut out Jesse knew he had heard laser fire, and he knew that angry pirates were headed toward a defenseless settlement and his crew was stuck there with them.
Chapter three
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“Take cover behind those boulders,” Kimi yelled as several starfighters screamed by, firing on the nearby settlement. She was certain that the pirate fighters were at a sufficient altitude that they could not see the three figures dressed in black that were jogging through the wasteland. She knew they would not remain at their current altitude, however, and she did not want to take any chances. She hated when Jesse had these gut feelings because they usually came to pass. As soon as he had alerted them to the possibility of a pirate attack, they had left the settlement at a run, hoping to reach the speeder they left three kilometers away.
“Colonel, Colonel!” Josiah yelled into his communicator. Communications had gone out at roughly the same time as the first lasers were being fired. “It’s begun, what are our options?” He called out as the trio reached the relative safety of the boulders keenly aware that if the pirates had seen them, they wouldn’t be safe at all.
“The pirates must be jamming all communication to keep the outpost from alerting the main continent.” Collin observed. “The speeder is about a klick away. Should we make a run for it?” his question was almost drown out as two fighters performed another fly by; this time at a much lower altitude.
“No,” Josiah replied, shaking his head. “It seems as though the fighters are running a perimeter search, trying to round up anyone they missed. It’ll be dark in an hour. We wait until then. Our battle suits will hide our heat signature, and we should be able to move around much more safely in the dark.” As he tried his communicator in vain again, he looked at his companions and said; “The way I see it, we have two options. Option one: we get to the speeder and make best time to the main continent. We alert authorities to the situation and bring reinforcements. Option two: we h
ead back to the ship, gather more intel, and come up with a plan.”
Both options had merits and drawbacks. The first option could get them all the reinforcements they needed to save the settlement, but it would take time. The second option would include Jesse, because he would insist on joining the fight. As their commanding officer, there wouldn’t be any way to dissuade him. Under normal circumstances, having him on your side during a fight would be an advantage. Jesse, however, was still recovering from the injuries suffered in the shuttle, and was not yet battle-ready. Josiah did not want to put him in harm's way before he was recovered. It seemed to him as though option one was the best available option.
As he was finishing his internal debate, he heard Collin saying, “I think going for reinforcements seems like our best option Jo.”
Kimi shook her head in agreement. “I believe that to be the case as well, Josiah,” she added. He knew they didn’t want Jesse entering the fight at less than one hundred percent, and he knew that was the reason for their thinking.
“I agree,” he replied. “Now, we just need to lay low for an hour or so and hope the pirates don't begin to search out here before we leave. Hopefully, we can get help on the main continent and be back to the ship by morning.”
______
Jesse had gone to engineering to continue Collin’s work on the sublight engines. Chances were they might have to lift off fast, and he wanted the ship ready as soon as possible. It looked like it would take at least another day before he would be able to get them going, and he was getting tired fast. Still feeling the effects from the recovery pod treatment, he knew it was only a matter of time before sleep caught up to him and overtook him. He was beginning to worry; his crew was long overdue and the pirates must have been jamming communications. He knew his crew was resourceful, so he figured the best thing he could do was get as much work done as possible and wait. The problem with that was; he really hated waiting.
A short time later, the door to engineering slid open and Suzy walked in with Commando and Shadow. “Time for bed. Doctor’s orders.” She sang as if she were letting a child know it was the end of the day. He was too tired to argue and followed; he knew he would need all the rest he could get if he were to mount any kind of rescue the next day. By this time he was sure his crew was at the very least pinned down somewhere, but more likely they had been captured. As Suzy continued past his room and down the corridor, he noticed Commando claiming his usual spot at the foot of the bed to be his protector while he slept. He smiled and called out, “Good boy, Commando.” The large wolf wagged his tail at the mention of his name and Jesse smiled. He didn’t even bother to undress for bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
______
Josiah figured they only needed about ten more minutes until it was dark enough to make a run for the speeder. That’s when he heard a high pitched whine coming in their direction. He knew it was only a matter of time before some ground-based forces came this way. Judging by the frequency of the starfighters fly by’s, he knew they were looking for someone or something. They were most likely looking for Jesse, still angry over the destruction of their ship.
“Someone’s coming,” Kimi whispered, breaking into his thoughts. “We should retreat further into the boulders.” The light maroon boulders were a maze of passages and tunnels as time and wind had worn a pattern into them. At one time the boulders may have been one massive rock. Some of the passages were wide enough for all three of them to walk side by side, and others were barely wide enough for Kimi to squeeze through. Some of the tunnels were high enough to walk through, while others you would have to crawl. If one were to get turned around in there, it might take them some time to find their way out. He had a bad feeling about the boulders, but their only other option was to engage the pirates.
“How are we going to find our way out if we need to move quickly?” He asked as they entered the maze.
“Collin is marking a trail with an iridescent pen; we can check it using the black light setting on my blaster.” Kimi responded as she rounded the next corner.
“Good idea.” His crewmates were the best he had ever seen in their areas of expertise. Somehow, Jesse always seemed to attract those types of people. He could hear the pirate’s bikes whizzing around the boulders. He heard one of the pirates call out, “Singo, I think I saw something over here.”
After walking in the maze for several minutes, he rounded another corner and he noticed an iridescent mark on the rock, but something seemed off to him. “Collin, are we going in circles?” he asked.
“I don’t think so, why?” Collin questioned as he came up beside him.
“I just came upon one of your marks.”
Collin looked around and the setting became more familiar to him. “We have been this way; I must have weaved a figure eight, which means we are near the entrance.”
“Yes,” Kimi concurred, “And the pirates are right outside.” As she looked at her surroundings, her expression quickly changed from one of mild concern to puzzlement to fear. “Collin?” she asked. “If we have been this way before, where are the footprints?" They looked at the ground and began to wonder what happened to their tracks. "I believe something might be stalking us, something big.” She was a natural born predator, and Josiah trusted her instincts. They had to get out of the boulders immediately, even if it meant giving away their position to the pirates.
While he was still considering the implications of Kimi’s words, a pirate appeared around the corner of one of the boulders. Before he could even look in their direction, his eyes widened in fear and he turned and ran. “Borragg!’” he shouted. “Run!” Josiah heard the other pirate repeat the word Borragg with fear in his voice, and a moment later Josiah understood why. A large snakelike creature with bulbous eyes and razor teeth slithered past at the speed of a thoroughbred. Josiah, Kimi and Collin ran for the entrance, not wanting to be in an enclosed space if the creature decided to turn around and come back for them. As they made it to the entrance of the boulders, the Borragg was already making a meal of the first pirate. Meanwhile the second pirate was pouring laser fire into the creature from a heavy blaster mounted on his speeder. Eventually the creature went down, but it was too late for the first pirate. The second pirate hadn’t seen them yet; he had been too preoccupied with the Borragg. They stood motionless, hoping their black battle suits would hide them in the darkness, but ready to move instantly if necessary. Josiah heard the pirate calling the encounter in to his captain as he drove back toward the settlement.
When the pirate left, Josiah, Kimi and Collin let out a collective exhale. “We need to move; they’ll be coming back for their speeder,” Josiah informed. As they were getting ready to make the three minute run to their speeder, the Borragg raised up behind Kimi to strike. Before Josiah could even open his mouth in warning, Kimi was already a blur. In one fluid motion she had unsheathed her sword, spun around and sliced through the Borragg’s throat. As the Borragg’s head toppled from its body, she sheathed her sword, shot a puzzled look at her motionless companions and said: “Let’s go.”
Collin and Josiah looked at each other, looked back at the headless Borragg, and then looked at Kimi as she was running for the speeder. “I am soooo glad she’s on our side,” Collin said with a smile as he and Josiah took off at a run to catch up to her.
They reached the speeder in just under three minutes. They knew they had to hurry and put as much distance as possible between themselves and the pirates. It was only a matter of time before the pirates returned for their speeder and saw the headless Borragg. Once they did, they would know someone else had been there and would intensify their search. There was no way they could chance heading back to the ship now, even if that had been their plan. Collin revved the Mag-Lev speeder’s engine and took off towards Kaldor’s main continent. He drove as fast as the speeder could carry them thankful that he had modified the engine to reach far greater speeds than a factory model
could.
After driving through the night, the sun was just beginning to rise, causing the sky to turn a slightly brighter shade of pale pink than it had been the previous day. They had finally made it to the city. As a precaution, they left the speeder about a kilometer and a half outside of Kaldor City.
They took off at a jog towards the city, leaving most of their gear, including Kimi’s sword, safely locked away in the speeder. Each of them carried only their blaster. It had taken them far longer to get to the city than Josiah had anticipated. He knew that Jesse and Suzy would be worried and Jesse would probably begin searching soon, but there was nothing he could do about that. The main priority at this point was to bring help to the settlement as soon as possible.
______
Jesse woke up with the sun. He had been asleep almost twelve hours, but for the first time since arriving in the Kalephi Galaxy he felt like himself. He had learned a lot about the Kalephi galaxy while reading Josiah's intel including the helpful fact that the entire galaxy, although not united, did use the same monetary system to make interstellar trade easier. Their money was called dudichrons, or chrons for short. “SAMMI, has Josiah checked in yet?” He doubted as he asked, but he did hope.
“Negative, Colonel.” The expected reply only intensified his commitment to go find his friends. SAMMI continued, “Lieutenant Jackson has not checked in, and I have not been able to raise him on comms.”
He knew he shouldn’t be disappointed. At least now he would be heading out there to start looking for them. He took a ninety second military shower, dressed in a minute and brought Commando his breakfast with a fresh bowl of water. Less than four minutes after waking, he was ready to go find his crew. He just had to take care of one slightly painful detail first.
