by Dante King
“I doubt that,” I said. “Tell me what you know of the Sitar. Why are they here? What are their plans?”
“They’re slavers,” he stammered. “They want the planet, but they don’t want everyone to know about it. They want the population to breed so they can collect slaves. Frightened people don’t breed as quickly.”
“Sick bastard,” Reaver hissed, while Beatrix held her back.
“Beatrix,” I said without taking my eyes off my cowering opponent, “somewhere in here, probably on the floor, you’ll find something I think you’ll be interested in. It looks like a chain with a weight attached at each end.”
“A kusari-fundo?” Reaver asked. “Oh, look at it! It’s Void-tech! I haven’t seen one of these in years.”
“What do you know about my crew, my Martian crew?” I asked.
“I know of them, the humans,” he said with a sneer. “Troublemakers. They fought every guard I sent to corral them. I had to make an example of a few. After that, they were much more. . . cooperative.”
“Where are they now?” I asked, doing my best to swallow my rage.
“I sent them to the Sitar as tribute. They went up into the cloud and off the planet. With any luck, you’ll be joining them.”
“How did they get off the planet?”
“Through the cloud,” he said, shaking his head at me like I was dumb.
“Is the cloud a spacecraft?”
“No, it’s a… platform, sort of.”
“A space elevator,” Reaver breathed.
“A what?” Beatrix asked.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” Reaver promised.
I turned back to the enemy who only moments before had been ready to watch me suffer. He’d been too happy to watch me die slowly. He was a slaver, and his people suffered under his cruel reign. He deserved to suffer.
“You’re not going to kill me,” Tortenger sneered as his thin lips curled into a grin. “If you were going to, you—”
I hoisted him off the ground by the scruff of his neck. He tried to claw me with his long nails but stopped when I knocked him against the nearby wall. I walked him out to the balcony.
The view would have been gorgeous, if this city had been ruled by someone who’d cared even a little about his people. Now, all I could see was desolation, a pile of shit for the people to work day and night to turn back into a home and a hub for trade and culture, something it had obviously been in the past, judging by what remained of the once-grand structures. On the dusty square that stretched out unevenly beneath the balcony, a crowd had assembled. They must have heard what was happening.
The crowd started to grow excited when they realized who I was dangling from the tower. Tortengar screamed and held onto my arm with all four of his.
There were thousands of people. Some cheered, some hissed, and the rest screamed incomprehensible words of rage up at their oppressor.
“Wait!” the former dictator protested. “I told you everything! I didn’t send your companion, the one you call Reaver, to them! I could have, but I didn’t! I saved her!”
“You saved me for the arena,” Reaver hissed. “You sold me into slavery.”
“People of Thaz’red,” I called over the crowd. They quieted almost instantly. “This is Tortengar. He was your ruler, but no more.”
With that, I momentarily adjusted my grip and then I severed the mewling alien’s body, keeping hold of the head. His body fell unceremoniously to the ground. The swift death was what I’d promised, but not what he deserved.
“The Ish-Nul will rule your city now. They are wise, strong, and kind. If anyone challenges them, they will answer to me!”
The crowd erupted in a cheer so loud it threatened to tear the palace down.
“What is happen?” Skrew asked.
“Tell Timo-Ran he’s in charge now. There’s enough treasure up here to rebuild the city. I want him to spend as much as it takes, and then some. Thaz’red is now an Ish-Nul town.”
I sat Tortengar’s head on the edge of the balcony and turned back to the women.
“Let’s go through this stuff before Timo-Ran gets up here,” I said. “We’re only taking the Void-tech for Nyna to check out, all else just dump outside. Then we’ll make a stop at the armory, then we’re going to Brazud. We’re finally going to face the Xeno and free my crew.”
Chapter Thirteen
We started emptying Tortengar’s treasure chests onto the polished stone floor. Among the expected gold rings, coins, necklaces, and goblets were only a few Void-tech items. I wasn’t disappointed, though, because they were all Fex. We were up to a dozen. I wasn’t certain how to measure their power output or potential, but from what I’d seen, it wouldn’t take more than 10 to power a Martian heavy cruiser—maybe even a battleship.
At first, it looked like we wouldn’t find anything more useful among the treasure. That was, until I found something that looked completely out of place. It was a key, or something resembling a key, and it was definitely Void-tech. It was about ten inches long with a narrow shaft and three uneven teeth. The handle end was intricate and depicted a creature resembling a squid. There was no doubt; not only was it Void-tech, but likely the Lakunae themselves had made it. There weren’t any obvious candidate keyholes around, so I pocketed it for the time being.
“Anything else?” I asked the others.
Beatrix was still spreading out treasure heaps with wild kicks, and Reaver looked like she was searching for hidden panels at the bottom of the emptied chests.
“Nothing here,” Reaver said. She rested a fist on her hip and raised her eyebrows. “To think that, back home, this treasure would be enough to retire on a hundred times… ”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “But, well, our retirement’s still a while away. And unless you want to carry all of this around in your pockets until that day… Anyway. let’s go check out the armory and barracks.”
Cries of joy and gratitude met us at the bottom of the stairs. Dozens of people were outside the open door to the tower. I figured they’d come from another exit that I didn’t know about.
“Thank you!” one bird-like alien said as it waved to me.
“May the Void Gods bless you, sir,” an old man with frighteningly large and yellow teeth said.
Several others were stretching, squirming, or extending eyestalks as they tried to catch a glimpse of me past the crowd.
“I can see him!” one said.
Dozens, maybe hundreds, behind the alien cheered. I hadn’t done it for the praise, but knowing they were grateful felt good.
Neb-Ka and Tila were having a tough time keeping them back while Timo-Ran tried to answer simple questions like whether there was any food, who was going to be in charge of the police, and if there would be trials for those who wronged so many. All administrative issues he’d need help with later, but as for the leadership part, I knew he could handle it.
Meanwhile, Skrew was standing behind them doing his best to look as intimidating as possible. And he was pulling it off, in spite of having Nyna crawling all over his mech as she fixed and adjusted parts.
We walked through the open doorway and headed downstairs. I kept my pistol in my hand, just in case there was a guard hiding in the barracks or armory, but put it away when it became apparent we were alone.
There were three rooms. The main chamber was the barracks proper. It was a rectangular room 50 yards long and half that wide. Large, metal-framed beds lined both walls. Between them were weapons racks, most of which were empty. The guards had thoughtfully brought their weapons with them, so we didn’t have to haul them up the stairs.
What I could see of the next room made my heart pound with excitement. Through the double-sized doorway, I could see several different types of weapons I recognized, and neat stacks of equipment I didn’t.
“You’d better go get Nyna,” I told Reaver. “I think we’re going to need her help with some of this stuff. Grab Timo-Ran too, And put Neb-Ka on the doorway. As the new may
or of Thaz’red, Timo-Ran should know what his resources are.”
As Reaver made off with a terse “Roger that,” Beatrix and I walked into the room and were greeted by the familiar scents of gun oil and ozone. Among the energy weapons, we spotted at least two partly assembled pieces of artillery and three heavy anti-armor missile launchers, along with crates of missiles, and enough power packs to keep the weapons killing for a long time.
“It’s exactly what they needed,” I breathed.
“It was kind of Tortengar to gather the equipment here,” Beatrix said as she looped an arm around my shoulders. “It will make them easier to disperse among the people.”
Two of her tentacles were gently stroking my neck while a third found its way down my shirt and stroked my chest. I found it amusing that she couldn’t keep her hands, or tentacles, off me. And I found it much more than that, too.
As we walked further into the armory, I spotted a third door. It was made of a silver-colored metal that had once been painted a dull shade of green. Most of the Neb-Ka had chipped off, though, and it appeared not to have been opened in quite some time.
The lock was the most interesting part. It was primitive in design, had thick rivets running through it into the door and frame.And it was, unreflectively, totally black: Void-tech. I’d found a key, and now, I’d found a lock.
“Wow, look at all this stuff!”
The voice dragged my eyes from the lock, to the back of the narrow room with racks of weapons on both sides and tables of equipment in the middle. Timo-Ran looked around with wide-open eyes, and Nyna had her arms stretched out to her sides like she was trying to keep her balance. Maybe she was, because her head swiveled back and forth, and her eyes rolled around like she was trying to look at everything at once.
“Wow, is that a vehicle-mounted plasma cannon?” she gasped. “It is! I could strap this baby to a hoverbike and turn it into a fast-attack ship. If we sacrificed a Fex for it, it would never run out of power. Not just like not now, but ever, you know?” She wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, but I nodded my understanding.
“Oooh,” she then said, picking up a three-foot-long studded rod. “This is a shock-stick. Guards use them to subdue people without killing them. I’ve heard that other people like to use them in the bedroom. They turn down the shock, of course. The material should be perfect. I mean, if you’re into that kind of thing.”
She gave me a long, curious look. I rolled my eyes, which made her giggle.
“Oh, this looks like battle armor,” she continued. “It’s only for people with two arms, so we and the Ish-Nul could use them. There’s got to be, wow, probably 50 of them.”
“These are different,” she continued as she help something up for Reaper. “I think they’re for breathing in space. See how they fit together? And the helmet is big enough to cover your whole head. And this part is clear, so you can look around. They’re really tough, too.
“And that,” she continued breathlessly, “that looks like a big gun for shooting down hovercraft and stuff. But it’s too big for people to carry around. Maybe—oh, yeah—it’s like the one we destroyed at the front gate to the palace. I wonder if the people could set it up. It would be really good defense for the city. Especially if they set it at the very top of the palace instead of just guarding the gate. That way it could shoot down any enemy trying to fly in, you know?”
“Nyna,” I said right after she finished, in case she wanted to go over every single item in the room, “get an inventory going. We need to know what’s in this room. We need to leave everything we can for the citizens, but our next stop is Brazud, so if you see something useful that we can carry, set it aside. The more destructive, the better.”
“Like phase-grenades?” she asked.
“Is that a thing?” I asked.
She shrugged. “No idea, but I bet if it is, this is where it’ll be.”
She smiled like she’d won the Comedian of the Year award. Beatrix and I laughed.
“Yes, if you find a phase-grenade, we could use a couple dozen of those, I’m sure. We don’t have a lot of time, though, so please move quickly. It might already be too late, but I want to get to the space elevator as quickly as possible. Space elevators are usually used to place objects into orbit or to transfer troops or material between the surface and a spacecraft. If my crew are already at the other end or aboard a ship, I want to get to them before they’re taken away.”
“Will do,” Nyna said before she turned back to her favorite pretty things. Reaver stayed with her to help her move the heavier items while Timo-Ran still stood frozen with his mouth hanging open.
I was glad he was impressed. But the man would have to make some careful decisions on who he armed, and with what. Not everyone could be trusted, but the more guns he had pointed at his enemies, the better.
“It could already be too late,” I mused.
“You are correct,” Beatrix whispered into my ear. “Your crew may be gone already. But we will follow you anywhere, even out among the stars.”
“Thank you,” I whispered back.
Our lips were close, and I noticed the hunger in her eyes. So I looked intensely into her eyes, pulled back just an inch, and went back in to kiss her. She returned it hard and strong as she wrapped several more of her tentacles around my head, while two more gently stroked my ears. Her signal was loud and clear, so I decided to give her a little thrill. My tongue found her lips and parted them. I gently touched her teeth, her lips, and found her tongue. She gasped, her tentacles going rigid for a moment, and pressed her pelvis against mine. There was no way I could hide my erection from her, and she pulled away with a big smile as she ground her body against mine, reveling in the experience.
I gently separated myself from her and ran the back of my hand down her soft cheek. She tilted her head toward it and touched my arm with each of her tentacles, one at a time.
“I think I found the lock this key goes into,” I said as I held the Void-tech skeleton key between us.
Beatrix blinked like she was waking up from a dream and stared at the key for a moment. She was still breathing hard but was successfully fighting to regain her focus.
“Let’s try it,” she said.
I squatted down to inspect the lock and realized there was no keyhole. It was as if someone had welded the device into place as a permanent barrier rather than making it easy to access for someone who had the key.
I lifted the key and touched it to the black lock. There was a sensation in the room like a soft thump, and the lock vanished to reveal a regular doorknob. I placed the key back into my pocket, and stood up with a grin.
“Let’s see what’s inside,” I said.
Gather our artifacts. Bring them together. Bring peace to your world.
The Lakunae’s words kept repeating themselves in my mind as I opened the door. With this powerful lock to the door, no doubt this room was crucial. I wasn’t prepared for what I found, but I was delighted. The room was the smallest of the three and, based on how it was secured, served as a vault for the best items in the collection. Racks, most of which appeared to have been custom-made to accommodate the weapons and armor they held, were scattered throughout the room, unlike the rest of the armory, which was far more organized.
The experience of seeing Void-tech weaponry, armor, and various tools and equipment all gathered in one place was a bit overwhelming. I felt drunk with the power laid out before me, and I wondered again whether the Lakunae were intervening on my behalf. They knew where I was, and they were reminding me of the mission they expected me to complete; that was for certain. But whether they were guiding my actions and my decisions… I wasn’t sure. In any case, this room meant I could equip my entire team with Void-tech, and any problem we applied our massive force to would have a hard time resisting.
I heard the door close behind me and found Beatrix leaning against it. She looked at me and remained still for a while, her hip cocked, before she slowly started removing
her clothes. She was breathing hard, and her tentacles danced on her head like she was caught outside in a storm. When she smiled, it was the smile of a determined feral cat closing in on her dinner. When she was completely naked her smile didn’t waver, she knew what she wanted and she knew she would get it.
The sight of her curves, her smooth skin, her dark, erect nipples, and her hairless pussy made me throb with anticipation. Apparently, she was tired of giving me hints. It was her intention to take me whether I liked it or not. I liked it.
I undressed as quickly as possible to avoid her ripping my clothes off of me, possibly damaging some of them—just in time for her to grab my ass with both of her hands and thrust her pelvis against mine. She was aggressive, more aggressive than I’d ever seen her before, even in life-or-death combat. I was curious what she had in mind and how much further that knob could be turned, so I decided to draw it out.
I started by running my fingertips up and down her back. Slowly, lightly. I made her wait. She wagged back and forth against me, her head nestled against my chest. She was holding her breath. My touch was like an electric rod to her skin, one whose charge could be released at any moment, and all her attention was drawn to it.
Then, I found a tentacle, rolled it around my finger, and moved my hand away as I gently uncoiled it. She moaned, unable to contain herself any longer, and started kissing my face, neck, and ear, while one of her tentacles snaked and stretched its way down my chest, past my belly, and curled itself several times around my manhood. The tentacle was soft and warm, but instead of stroking me as I’d expected, she used it to guide me toward the gap between her thighs.
I felt her wetness as she rubbed me against her, lifting one leg up and wrapping it around mine. She thrust her hips into mine, letting me feel the moist length of the lips between her legs.
“I want,” she gasped.
Then, without another word, she wrapped her tentacles around me, lifted me from the ground, and dropped me on my back, almost hard enough to knock the wind out of me. I couldn’t help but smile. I’d never seen her like that before.
