by J. K. Mabrey
“Why is this place so special?” Zavik asked. “Some kind of secret base for Red Moon?”
Varin wretched his head towards Zavik, his face suddenly very flushed. “So, you think you’ve stumbled on a Red Moon base do you? What do you know about Red Moon?”
“You took the Secretary, and you’re evil," Zavik said.
“What more? What is your vendetta against them?”
Zavik shook his head.
“Enough games!” Varin shouted. “My patience is over!” He jabbed the rod into Zavik, his jaw clenched at the excruciating pain surging through his body. “Your girlfriend will feel that until I decide she has had enough. You will beg me to end her life to quench her pain. Then I will open her up, very slowly, in front of you. Do you understand me? What do you want with Red Moon?” He stuck Dani with the rod briefly and she screamed for Zavik again. “What is your interest in our operations?” He stuck her again and held it in place while she continued screaming in agonizing pain. He held it in place for five seconds, but it seemed like an hour.
“Stop you bastard!" Zavik screamed. "I swear I’m going to get out of this and kill you.”
Varin flashed his razor sharp teeth and spewed hate. “No, Mr. Khan, you’re not going to get out of this, and I am going to kill you. Talk soon and your girlfriend might live. I’m sure I could find some value in her. She should fetch a good value on the market.”
“Zavik!" Dani cried, her voice growing fainter. "Help!"
Zavik knew Dani was not trained to resist torture. The fact that she hadn’t passed out yet was remarkable to him. He knew she was going to have to talk soon. It might be the only way to save her life.
“Only a little more then,” Varin said and shocked her again.
“Ok! Ok!” Zavik yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks. He had to stop the torture, he no longer cared what it cost them.
“Finally getting somewhere. You humans are slightly more resilient, and stubborn than I gave you credit for.” He sat back down.
“We know Red Moon is behind the attacks on Earth,” Zavik admitted.
“How do you know?" he demanded.
“We tracked the ships that attacked last time."
“I doubt that,” Varin looked back at Dani.
“Earth has all the information they need to convince the Council that Red Moon is behind the attacks. Then the Council will deal with you.”
Varin laughed. "The Council? They are mere pawns these days. Paquiko trusts me completely, and I already pointed the finger away from Red Moon. He will not believe some false evidence presented from an outcast human smuggler, especially one that can’t be located.”
“Why are you attacking Earth?” Zavik asked.
“I thought I was the one asking the questions here?" Varin asked, a slight smile creeping up the side of his mouth. "Very bold, Mr. Khan. Fine. I hate the way humans have entered our system and just expect to be in charge, and have a say in galactic affairs that they have no business being involved in.”
“I think it’s more," Zavik said. "I think there’s something else about your attacks. If Red Moon just hated humans, why be so secretive? I think you wanted to push us into something rash. You want us to start a war.”
“Impressive theory. Not as stupid as I gave you credit for either. If Earth defies the Council, the entire Community will turn on you, save a few," he snarled. "They will turn against the Council and we’ll have a civil conflict on our hands. Such a weakening of the structure will lead to a revolution, instilling the Chokmnds as the supreme rulers again. And I will sit on the throne.”
“Delusional aspirations you have there,” Zavik said.
“I’m not delusional, though," he said in a menacing tone. "This has all been planned, long before you decided to get involved. And I’m afraid you’re soon to outlive your usefulness. You have nothing on me. I will find the Secretary. I will keep pushing Earth, and I will rule this galaxy, and you will be dead.”
"You can't do this."
"You think you're so important, don't you?" Varin asked. "There are what, maybe three billion humans in the galaxy? There are over twenty-five billion Chokmnd in the galaxy. Do you realize how insignificant you are? And your inability to coexist is intolerable. How can you hope to assimilate to our society, and it is our society?"
"What is it you're doing? Not very tolerant are you?"
"I am purging a virus from the galaxy. You are a disease. Look at your planet. You've killed it. I won't let you infect any more systems with your stench."
Suddenly Zavik’s wrist communicator started to beep.
Concern fell over Varin's face. “What is that doing?”
Zavik contorted his face to glance at his wrist. “You forgot about my ship. It's getting closer,” he said with genuine surprise.
At that instant, the door to the holding cell opened and Traval rushed in. “Sir, we’ve detected a large number of ships entering the atmosphere.”
“Their destination?” Varin demanded.
“Their current trajectory is putting them on target for us," Traval admitted.
Varin stood. “Ready battle stations. I want them all destroyed. Get the crews to their ships.”
“Yes, sir.” Traval left, closing the cell door behind him.
Varin walked around and stood behind Zavik. “So, your people are mounting an attempt to rescue you. How admirable.”
“Believe me, I’m just as surprised.”
“It is unfortunate that they will not find you alive.” Varin stuck Dani with the rod, at full force. She convulsed and shook violently in her chair, screaming out in pain. Zavik tried with all his strength to free himself, blood beginning to drip down his hands. But the restraints were proving too much. His world went dark, all he could focus on was Varin standing over Dani. After a few seconds of direct shock, she had stopped screaming, but Varin continued to keep the rod on her. Her motionless body began smoking where the rod was jammed in her back. The smell of burnt flesh began to fill the room. Zavik caught a whiff of the smell and lost all control. His screams and pounding heartbeat drowned out the battle that was starting to rage outside the tower. Varin would have held the rod there for another minute just to spite Zavik, but he was thrown backward by a blast on the left sidewall. The explosion knocked Zavik over and destroyed the outer section of the holding cell. Zavik rolled over on his broken chair, his ears ringing from the deafening blast. His vision blurred from the concussion, but as it cleared he could see the side of the Rinada hovering through the smoke and falling debris. Varin, also knocked over from the blast, attempted to get up but was trapped by a large chunk of ceiling that had fallen on him.
Zavik could finally hear the battle roaring outside, behind the still crumbling cell. Laser fire began to drown out the ringing in his ear. The Rinada maneuvered to the side and opened its ramp closer to the newly created ledge. Brax jumped off the Rinada and went to Zavik's aid.
“Dani! Get Dani!” he yelled.
Brax nodded and went to where she laid. He cut her loose from the shackles. “She’s in pretty bad shape,” Brax yelled.
“She’s dead,” Zavik admitted to himself as well as aloud. “That son of a bitch there killed her.”
Brax heaved her onto his shoulders and placed her down beside Zavik. He unshackled Zavik’s broken restraints, eyeing the cuts on his hands, and helped him to his feet. “We have to get out of here,” he said. "This place is collapsing.”
“Just a second,” Zavik said barely registering what Brax said. Zavik picked up the electric rod laying near where Dani was and walked over to the trapped Chokmnd. “Why don’t you let me know how it feels to get poked back,” he jabbed it into his neck and wedged the rod between Varin and the wall. He walked back to Brax while Varin continued to scream in unrelenting agony.
“Do you know who that is?” Brax asked.
“Yeah, Red Moon’s leader," Zavik said walking past the stunned Brax.
“You’ve got to be kidding. He’s something
more than that.”
They boarded the ship, Brax carrying Dani aboard himself. Once they were on board the ramp closed and the Rinada fled the battlefield. Earth ships continued their attack on the station but began to pull back once the Rinada was clear.
Brax, still carrying Dani, turned to Zavik and said, “Why did you say she was dead?”
“Because she is,” Zavik admitted again, tears filling his eyes. "He electrocuted her."
“Then how come she keeps spitting on me?”
Zavik grabbed her head. “My God, lay her over here.” The Rinada was not well equipped for medical emergencies. The table in the living quarters would have to do for a place to lay her. “Dani! Dani, can you hear me?”
She moaned slightly but didn’t move. “Her breathing is labored, but steady,” Brax said.
“We have to get to Earth," Zavik said. "I don’t have any medical equipment, besides the basics.”
“I thought you were in the military? Don’t they teach you this kind of stuff? I’ll get her some water. What did he do to her?”
Zavik's heart was still racing. “He was shocking her with that rod he had. High voltages.”
“I see. We’ll get her help at Earth, Zavik, don’t worry. She’s alive, that’s the important part.”
“I need her to wake up," he said hysterically, kneeling beside her. "I need her to hear my voice, to tell her I’m sorry.”
“Zavik! She’ll be fine. I need you to pull yourself together.”
“You don’t know that," his voice straining. "You didn’t see what he did. That monster…I’ll kill him.”
“I don’t doubt you will try, but right now we need to regroup at Earth. This has become quite the mess.”
He stood and got right into Brax's face, his resemblance to Varin was remarkable. “You're calling this a mess, calling Dani’s condition a mess?”
Brax tried to back up. “No, that's not it, it’s just that Earth commissioned ships just attacked a sovereign planet. The Council will demand answers, we will need to provide a reason, and proof of justification for the attack.”
“You betrayed us!" Zavik said as he grabbed Brax by the neck, blocking out everything around him. "You’ve set this up real nice to give the Council the opportunity to come down tough on Earth. Have you been planning this the whole time? That's why you agreed to help us, isn't it?”
“Zavik!" Brax said as he brushed off his hold, "I don’t know what you’re talking about, we-"
“Liar! All of your kind is disgusting, uncivilized. You fear humans are better than you. You fear the galaxy will realize this, and you’ll lose your power. That’s all you care about is power.”
Brax's voice hardened. “You know, I should kick your teeth in for comments like that, but you're not thinking straight. You forget that if we didn’t come back, with these reinforcements, she would be dead, and so would you. So pull yourself together, I need you thinking straight. I’ll be expecting an apology later. Until then, let’s focus on Dani, and our next move.”
Zavik paused and realized he would need to put aside his sudden distrust of all Chokmnds and remember that Brax was on his side. He was not Varin, and he didn’t work for Red Moon anymore. He returned his focus to Dani and got her some water. He propped her up on his chest, feeling her breathing slow and calm down from its earlier exasperations. He told her she needed to drink some water, and tipped a little in her mouth. Unconsciously she swallowed a little, but most ran down her cheek. He whispered in her ear, “Dani, I need you to wake up. I’m so sorry for putting you through this. I promise I’m going to find that bastard and make him pay for hurting you. Please wake up. I need to know if you’re ok. I can’t loose you.”
Brax walked to the cockpit to find out where Vask was going.
Zavik tried to pour more water into Dani’s mouth, this time, she spat most of it up, and her eyes opened slightly.
"Dani! Thank God.”
She coughed and muttered, “Why are you trying to drown me? Haven’t I been through enough today?”
He squeezed her tight. “I thought you were dead. How do you feel? What hurts?”
“My head is pounding, and my back is on fire.” Elevating her voice she added, “Other than that I’d say I’m perfect.”
“That you are,” he said as he pressed his face against her forehead. Tears began to run down his face onto hers.
“Oh? I didn’t know you thought so highly of me.”
“I do, I can’t loose you.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Zavik. Mainly because I don’t think I can move right now, but even if I could, you're stuck with me."
“Joking are we? How appropriate.”
Dani tried to sit up but slumped back on Zavik's chest. “What happened back there? How did we get on…” she looked around, taking in the surroundings, “the Rinada?”
Still holding her tightly, he admitted, “I’m not too sure really. Brax and Vask came back and got us, brought some Earth forces along too.”
“How nice of them to do that. What about that Chokmnd, Red Moon’s leader, what happened to him?”
“I stuck his rod in his neck and left it there," he said without emotion.
“That should be an unpleasant experience, I would know.”
“I don't know if that'll be enough to kill him. If it isn’t, I’ll just have to finish the job for good next time.”
“Where are we going now?” she asked.
“Earth, I think. To get you help, and regroup.”
“What about Red Moon? Did the ambassador convince the Council that they were the ones responsible for attacking Earth?”
“No,” Brax said reentering the room. “We got Earth to send forces to help us in rescuing you. You’ll have to thank Vask and the ambassador for that. There just wasn’t enough time to worry about getting anyone else involved.” Brax walked over to Dani and said, “It is good to see you’re ok, Ms. Epson. Zavik was almost certain you had died.”
“She’s strong," he said.
“I knew he couldn’t bear to loose my piloting skills," she said.
“I don’t know," Zavik said, "Vask showed some pretty good skills getting us out of there.”
“Indeed,” Brax agreed.
“Brax,” Zavik said. “I’m sorry for attacking you earlier.”
“What did you attack him for?” Dani asked before beginning to cough.
“You need to take it easy,” Brax said. “I accept your apology, Zavik. I can only try and imagine what you must be going through.”
“It doesn’t excuse my actions.”
“Why were you attacking him?” Dani asked again.
“He thought I had betrayed you. He was just blinded by the circumstances.”
“You thought he was on their side? What’s wrong with you?”
“I wasn’t thinking right,” Zavik said. “I’ve never been so angry in my life. I wanted to rip him apart, and when I saw Brax I wanted to do the same to you. I’ve never lost control like that.”
“Like I said, you were blinded by the circumstances. I understand. We can get past it.”
“Thank you,” Zavik said.
“What exactly happened back there? We knew you were captured when your communicator cut off. But we could still track your location.”
"They must have detected us near their property. They knocked us out, and we woke up in that room, tied down. That Chokmnd wanted information on why we were there. You said you know who he is.”
“Yes," Brax said, pacing the room. "His name is Varin Bragko. He’s the son of the Chokmnd Supreme Emperor. He’s also the current Chief of Staff of Paquiko, the Chokmnd Galactic Councilor. It’s hard to believe that he’s working for Red Moon.”
"Working for them?" Zavik asked. "No, he’s the leader of Red Moon.”
“The leader?" Brax asked, confused by the admission. "Of that installation?”
“No, the whole organization.”
“That’s impossible. I can’t believe that.”
>
“It’s true,” Dani said. “I remember him saying that. He wanted to know why we were looking at the compound, how we found it, and what happened to the Secretary.”
“In that case," Brax said as he paused his movement, "you just met the most secretive, and dangerous person in the galaxy, and more amazingly, lived to talk about it.”
“Barely lived,” Zavik said glancing at Dani.
“Did you tell him anything?” Brax asked.
“I had to tell him that we thought Red Moon was behind the attacks,” Zavik said. “He pretty much confirmed they were. He wants Earth to start a war that’ll tear the Galactic Community apart, so he can take over.”
“Ambitious little prick isn’t he?" Brax said. "Red Moon’s powerful, but to overthrow the Community, that’s madness. I can’t imagine they have those resources. The Council, especially Paquiko, most be told.”
“Why should they believe us?" Zavik asked. "Even if we can prove and convince them that Red Moon is behind the attacks, we’ve no proof that Bragko is the leader. They all know him, they won't just trust us.”
“And I’m sure he’s covered his tracks very well,” Dani added.
“All true, but we could at least warn them of his plans. The other councilors will at least keep an open mind on Varin. Paquiko will defend him.”
“Well there is that off chance he’s dead," Zavik said, "then we won't have to worry about him. I left him with a little shock therapy to think about. He took a steady stream of a few thousand volts for quite a while.”
“If that were true, then Red Moon may fall into disarray,” Brax said. “We won’t have to worry about them either.”
“I wouldn’t write him off just yet,” Vask said as he entered the room. “We Chokmnds are a little more resilient to electric shock than humans. You’re too squishy inside, too high a water content. Us, it's more solid, insulates better.”
“He’s right, you know,” Brax said. “If I were a betting man, and I am, I wouldn’t put a lot of stake into Varin being dead.”
