by Tim Marquitz
A blaster bolt tearing through the house and shrieking over their heads made his announcement redundant. Taj hissed and ducked low, and Cabe grabbed Dent, shielding him and moving him toward the next room as he yanked his bolt pistol free of its holster.
Krawg snarled, the sound vibrating Taj’s bones and setting her nape standing on edge. He pushed her toward the same room Cabe had taken Dent. “Go!” he shouted, stuffing the strange device back into his pouch and slinging the strap over his shoulder. “There is an exit hidden two rooms back.”
Once in the room, Krawg slammed the door and took the lead, pushing past Cabe and Dent, leading the way. He opened the door to a large storage room and ushered them inside, closing the door behind them. Then he grabbed the sides of a crate and yanked it aside. The crate creaked and warped under its weight and the stress the Ursite was inflicting upon it, but Krawg clearly didn’t care about its condition.
A trapdoor appeared where the crate had sat moments ago, and Krawg hooked a clawed finger in its metal clasp and pulled it open. “In here,” he shouted.
Taj went first, gun up and ready, and Cabe pushed Dent in behind her. They clambered down the steep set of stairs and into a dank, gloomy tunnel that smelled of mildew. Cabe stomped down behind them, and Krawg came right after, closing the trapdoor above, engaging a stout lock attached to its face.
“Straight down, it’s not far,” Krawg ordered. “There is only one way out, you can’t miss it.” The Ursite shooed them down the hall, staying right behind them.
True to his word, the corridor ended a short distance later, another set of steps leading up to a massive steel door, with a circular locking mechanism set dead center. Taj didn’t hesitate, reaching up and spinning the wheel. It turned easily, clearly having been well-maintained.
A hard push, and the door swung on pistoned hinges, making it easier for Taj to open. The cold hit her hard then, but worse still was the smell.
Blaster fire scarred the air, and she could smell charred flesh wafting to her from the battle she could now hear directly rather than filtered across the comm. She bit back a groan and forced herself to climb out of the secret exit.
She regretted her choice instantly.
Her people were being slaughtered.
In front of Krawg’s house, where there was little in the way of cover, her people stood their ground, firing and dying in equal measure. She turned her glance to the pirates and realized they’d brought an army of men to collect the mechanoid and kill those who’d stolen him from them.
They were doing a cruelly fantastic job of it, too.
She raised her pistol, and her finger grazed the trigger as she thought to join the fight, but Cabe stopped her, yanking her weapon aside.
“That will only destroy everything we’re trying to accomplish here,” he told her, tears in his eyes. He hadn’t made his decision lightly, she noticed. “We have to go if we hope to save the rest of our people.”
Logic and reason warred with the need for revenge inside Taj, and she knew what side she wanted to win. Still, Cabe was right. Her crew here was essentially dead, an army of pirates bearing down and murdering them right before her eyes.
She’d seen similar on Krawlas, when Vort had executed her people to lure the rest out of hiding. It sickened and made her stomach roil then, and it did no less now. Cabe pawed at her arm and started to drag her off. Taj allowed him to…but only for a moment.
“No,” she shouted, shaking free of his grasp. “Our people deserve better than this, better than to be sacrificed without some kind of retribution.”
“You can’t help them,” Cabe argued, desperately trying to get her to flee with him and the others. “They’re dead, Taj.”
She nodded. “Maybe, but we’re not.”
Taj tapped her comm, triggering a line to Lina. The engineer answered breathlessly, and Taj conveyed her orders in sharp, crisp terms.
“Do it now,” she said in closing, then she went to silence the comm to mute the voices of her people who were dying before her only to stop herself. She pulled her hand away, letting a growl build up inside her.
They deserved her notice, her attention, especially then.
Cabe posted himself in front of her, doing his best to block her view of the carnage. “Now will you come with me?”
She moved him aside and shook her head. “Not yet,” she answered. “Not until this is done.”
“It already is, Taj!” Cabe hissed and went to grab her again, but Krawg stopped him, easing the enraged cat aside with a gentle paw.
“Let her have this moment of closure,” he told Cabe, patting him on the back. “While it is true nothing can be done to save your people, there is much that can be done to save your friend’s spirit. She needs this more than you can know.”
Cabe glared at the furry giant, looking as if he might argue, or even take a swing at the Ursite, but Krawg’s patient stare seemed to wear Cabe down even more than the massive paw at his chest.
“Bloody Rowl,” he shouted. “This is stupid.”
“It is,” Dent confirmed, “but Krawg is correct.” He gestured to Taj, who stood there with her hands clenched and teeth bared. “She needs this.”
And they were right.
Taj howled as the last of her people crumpled to the ground, never to rise again. Wisps of smoke curled from their bent and broken bodies, and the auburn-skinned pirates who brought such death and destruction walked among them, smiles on their faces and laughter in their hearts.
And then all that went away.
A great peel of thunder echoed through the gray sky, drawing the eyes of the pirates to the heavens.
It was then that judgment rained down on them.
The Discordant broke free of the clouds and swooped toward the mass of pirates. The ship’s weapons barked viciously, and a fiery burst of death hurtled toward the ground.
The Terants screamed and ran under the assault, but neither did them any good. The Discordant’s weapons railed on nonstop, tearing great troughs in the frozen ground and pirates both. Burst after burst streaked loose, and Taj watched as each bolt tore through a handful of pirates, casting their lifeless bodies into the air like leaves falling from a shattered tree.
The leech craft hovered in place, turning only to get a better angle to fire upon the fleeing mass of pirates below. There was nowhere to go, however. Pirates shrieked and died as the Discordant’s guns, manned by Lina, methodically worked their way through the Terants until there were none of the pirates left.
Only then did the roar of the ship’s guns cease.
The absence left a ringing void in Taj’s ears and a knot in her gut.
She stumbled toward the Discordant as the ship eased toward an area where there were no bodies, friend or foe, so it could land and collect the survivors.
Of whom there were few.
Taj stared as the leech ship’s landing gear creaked against the frozen soil. Cabe came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, doing his best to comfort her.
To his surprise, she shrugged him off. “I’m okay,” she said, her voice raw from her howls, but there was a steely undercurrent to it. “I’m okay,” she repeated, more to herself than him.
And she was, though she knew she shouldn’t be.
Taj glanced across the field of bodies—the bodies of her people—and she felt a familiar rage building inside her, an ember of heat flaring to life. Where she’d expected to feel sorrow, there was nothing but a burgeoning anger at the cost to her people of a random event—the Wyyvan ship crash-landing on her planet.
They hadn’t asked for any of this. She hadn’t asked for any of it either. Yet this was what it was, and there was no changing it now.
All her decisions had led to this point. Taj now had a choice. She could wallow in consequences and the loss, or she could rise above it for the survivors, stand up for those who could still benefit from all they’d worked for.
She knew gacking well what Beaux and Mama would do,
and while she’d held herself to their standards since long before she’d been handed the reins to her people’s futures, she knew then why they’d been seen as such rebels.
They didn’t do what was expected of them, they did what was right, what was necessary. They were in it until the end, always ready to fight, to win or die, but always striving to make a difference, to ensure the survival of their race.
And that’s what Taj would do.
Cabe leaned over her shoulder, a questioning look in his eyes. “What do you want to do now?”
She drew in a deep breath and met his gaze. “First thing is we need to gather our people and bury the dead,” she told him. “Lina can use the Discordant’s weapons to dig a hole in the ice.”
Maybe this was what leadership was about, becoming so cold you couldn’t feel any longer, becoming numb.
No, that wasn’t it, she told herself, though it might be some small piece of the whole. Beaux and Mama had never become harsh, and they’d always had a greater burden on their shoulders than Taj was carrying now. She’d never seen anything but love and compassion from the pair, even when they were angry or disappointed. Still, they did what needed to be done.
She would have to do the same.
Taj triggered her comm. “Lina, send some people to the Terant ships to kill any remaining pirates and raid them of supplies,” she ordered. “And when they’re done, have them blow all three of them to smoking gack.”
“And then?” the engineer asked.
“Then we plug Dent into his device and get on our way to our new home.”
It was a simple plan, but it was all Taj could muster right then.
It’d have to do.
Chapter Twenty
“You hear that, Rath?” Vort asked, leaning his head closer to the wall of their makeshift cell. “That’s the sound of this ship obliterating your forces, lest I’m mistaken.”
While the captain wasn’t completely sure what was happening, it only made sense. He’d heard Kal talking outside the door about how Taj and the other Furlorians had gone to meet someone on planet. Then he’d been privy to Kal’s emotional outburst regarding his people dying, and then the Discordant was on the move.
The fact that they were still alive told Vort that it was Rath’s men who paid the price.
Rath leapt to his feet, cursing and stomping about, his fury making his skin even redder than normal. “Those fools! They’re underestimating these cats. I should be there, leading them to victory.”
“And you can be,” Vort told him, stopping Rath mid-step.
“What do you mean?” he nearly shrieked. “We’re trapped in here. There’s nothing we can do.”
“Is there not?”
Rath growled and leaned into Vort, putting them face to face. “If you know something I don’t, now would be the time to share.”
Vort grinned, letting the little pirate vent and feel dominant without retribution. “I do indeed. Now, if you would be so kind as to step aside and follow my lead, we can be free of this place and you can have your vengeance, as it seems you will be too late to turn the tide.”
“Just do it,” Rath howled.
Vort shrugged and went to the door, knocking on it. “Kal!” he shouted, his voice shifting from cold and calculated to raw and emotional. “I need to warn your captain.”
“Quiet, Vort,” Kal shouted back. “Now is not the time. You’ve gotten me in enough gack already.”
“Now is exactly the time, my friend. This wrathful scum has spilled a horrible plot to murder the entirety of your people,” he told Kal, winking at Rath as the Terant stared. “I’ve subdued him, but we need Taj to get the truth from him before his devious designs are seen through. They’re already set into motion, I’m afraid. You’d be a hero to her if you’d only listen.”
“He can’t do anything from in there,” Kal shot back, but Vort could hear a hint of uncertainty in his voice now, the rodent questioning himself and his decision. “He’s locked up, remember?”
“He is indeed, but his minions are not.” Vort let a long second drag out before he went on. “There are more of them out there, waiting for your people to let their guard down,” he said. “Death is coming for you soon. You must let me speak with Taj so I might warn her.”
Vort heard Kal mutter something, and he could see the shadow of the Furlorian’s feet as they paced back and forth in front of the door. Then he heard the subtle scrape of metal against leather, and he grinned. Kal had unholstered his weapon.
“Make ready,” he whispered to Rath and Dard.
Dard held his ground in the back of the closet, but Rath grinned, a maniacal sheen coloring his face.
The was a sullen thump as the door lock was undone, followed by a second, then the door swung open and Kal filled the entryway, his gun out and pointing at them.
Vort pushed forward, hands raised. “Please, there is little time before we are all dead. You must take me to Taj.” He squeezed into the doorway, forcing Kal to back up. For an instant, he blocked the Furlorian’s line of sight.
Then he stepped out into the corridor. That was when Rath struck Kal. A brutal punch slammed into Kal’s jaw and sent the young Furlorian crashing into the door. His weapon wavered in a shaking hand, but Rath gave him no time to recover. A second punch sent Kal crumpling to the floor, his head bouncing off the steel with a thud. His bolt pistol clattered beside him.
The pirate boss snatched up the gun and pointed it at Kal’s unconscious head. Vort knocked it aside before he could pull the trigger.
“No time for petty assassination, Rath,” the captain told him. “We’ve bigger cats to fry.”
Without waiting for Rath to the respond, he tugged him onward, Commander Dard closing in behind, making sure the Terant could only move forward. Rath nodded and gave in.
“You’re right, Vort,” he replied, grinning all the while. “Lead the way.”
Oh, I shall, pirate. I shall.
And Vort did, marching them toward the gangplank and the hope of freedom that lay beyond.
Chapter Twenty-One
Taj watched as a group of her people marched across the snowy terrain toward the pirate ships. There likely wouldn’t be much to be had, the ships were not designed for overly long journeys, but any additional supplies they could scrounge would extend the Furlorians’ survival a little longer.
And now that they had their hands on the device Dent needed to reorganize his scrambled brains, they could find their way to the Federation and start fresh.
Although it hadn’t been that long since they’d fled Krawlas, it felt like it to Taj. It was a whole lifetime ago, given all that had happened in between, and it’d been a nonstop flight since that fateful day.
Now, they were ready to embark on the real journey, the one that would find them a sanctuary to build, where they could mourn their losses and raise litters and grow old and forgetful like all the Furlorians before them.
She glanced over at Cabe and a smile brightened her lips despite her defiance. He helped organize the burial, Dent and Krawg assisting him while he called out orders, but he didn’t avoid the work himself.
Taj felt blessed right then, despite it all, because she still had Cabe with her, still had Lina and Torbon and Jadie and Kal and all the others. She’d made new friends in Dent, and even Krawg, and they had a future now, one that had been nothing more than a dream only days before.
And even with all the blood on her hands, the bodies splayed out before her, Taj saw a chance at happiness for her people.
Then cruel fate intervened.
A flutter of movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention. Her head snapped about, and one of the Terant bodies sat upright, rising from the pile of its dead companions. A vile grin was plastered across his face, and he held a blaster in his hand.
Taj recognized him instantly, despite the blood that marred his features. Doran.
Without hesitation, he fired into the crowd of Furlorians, blasting anyone
that didn’t dodge away.
Taj screamed her rage as two more of her people fell beneath the onslaught, and then Doran was shot in the head. The pirate appeared stunned for a second, eyes going wide and mouth falling open, as if he couldn’t believe what had happened, and then he slumped to the side, dead.
Torbon stood behind him, the barrel of his gun smoking.
Taj screamed, “Check them all! Make sure they’re all dead!”
Cabe and Krawg and Dent raced to do as she said, the previously quiet ice field suddenly exploding with motion.
She spun around to check her surroundings, paranoia in high gear, and that was when she saw Captain Vort emerge from the Discordant at a trot. Her stomach sunk, a tight knot of stones.
Rath emerged behind Vort, and she saw the gun in his hand.
“No!” she shouted, clawing at her holster to draw her own pistol. She was too slow.
Rath grinned and raised the gun, took aim, and fired.
As if the bolt traveled in slow motion, Taj watched it sear its way through the air toward its target. Her eyes flew wide at seeing where it was aimed, and her pulse threatened to shred her veins. She gathered the energy to scream, but the sound simply wouldn’t come.
The bolt shrieked toward the gathering of Cabe, Krawg, and Dent, and Taj flung herself that way, as if she could hurl herself in the path of fire.
She’d barely taken a step when the bolt slammed into Dent and sent his mechanoid body flying.
“Noooo,” she screamed again, scrambling to keep her balance as the rest of the group scattered, only now noticing the threat that had snuck up on them. Taj slipped and hit the icy ground hard, frosty shards whirling around her in a gleaming mist.
She stared up at Rath, his grin broad and malevolent as he made ready to fire again.
Then, to her surprise, she heard Vort cry out. “No! What are you doing?”
Rath hesitated an instant, turning to stare at Vort, and that was when the captain lashed out with his tail. He spun about, whipping the appendage around with a force she hadn’t known he could muster. It struck Rath in the chest and slammed him hard into the gangplank. The gun fell from his hand.
