by Craig Gaydas
Several moments later, Kona came trotting towards her with ten members of the crew. All of them had been geared for battle. “I assume by your sour expression that our alternatives are slim to none at this point?”
“You could say that,” she grumbled.
Kona leaned over to peek at the view port. The first line of soldiers entered the terminal. The maintenance works scattered like leaves in the wind. A soldier with a remote control in his hand directed a four-wheeled flat cart with a box on top
“What the hell is that?” Kona growled.
Lianne looked at the screen and grimaced. “Whatever it is, I am sure it is not good.”
“Why don't we just blast them out of the terminal with the ship's cannons?” one of the crewmembers asked.
“That would be a great idea if you wanted to bring the entire terminal down on our heads,” Kona responded.
The soldier parked the cart fifty feet from the entrance of the ship. With the push of a button, the box opened and a cannon barrel extended from it like a telescope. A seat ejected from the rear and four metal legs extended outward on each side, fastening the contraption to the floor. The soldier who had been guiding it hopped into the seat.
“Well, that can't be good,” Kona remarked coarsely.
Another soldier stood before the door to the ship. Although his armor was the same as the others, the helmet he wore bore a violet plume of fur that ran across the top and down the back, giving it a mohawk-like appearance. “Crew of the Stellar Horizon, the Order of the Sun has commanded you to lay down your weapons and surrender.”
“'Commanded' us they say,” another crewmember stated curtly. Zac was his name and he was a battle hardened Umbral who had participated in many missions with Lianne before.
Kona uttered a dry chuckle before turning to Lianne. “So what's the plan boss?”
Before she could respond the soldier outside spoke again. “You have ten seconds to comply with our request or we will have no choice but to board your ship and take you by force.” The officer glanced at the soldier seated on the cannon and nodded. “Ten…nine…eight…”
Lianne cocked the sonic rifle which charged the power cell. She leaned her head against the cold steel of the door and closed her eyes. Nathan's group was out there somewhere, alive or dead. If they were alive, they were on a hostile planet with no maps and no weapons. They had been sent into the lion's den. She poured through every possible scenario in her head and every one of them ended with all of them emerging on the losing side.
“Seven…six…five…”
“Captain?” She opened her eyes. Kona stared at her with concern etched on his face.
“Three…Two…”
Her hand rested on the switch which would open the door. Kona moved toward the door while the rest of the crew established a defensive perimeter behind them. Kona cocked his weapon and nodded at her. She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her thoughts drifted from Nathan to her father. She remembered the rage she had felt when he was gunned down in front her very own eyes. It was time to channel that rage, if she hoped to survive this. She emitted a primeval growl and flipped the switch.
“One!”
The door opened.
Follow the Yellow Brick Wall
“Damn!” Vigil cursed under his breath.
Leaves crunched and tree limbs snapped as Janero's robots rushed up the hill. With the back of my hand, I wiped the sweat from my brow. A cool breeze whipped through the trees as the sun set and darkness began to blanket the land.
“We need to hurry,” Kedge urged, casting a glance at the fading sun.
Vigil grabbed his tiger hood by the fangs and pulled it over his eyes. The glassy black orbs of the hood's eyes changed to an emerald hue when he settled it over his face. “There may be a break in the wall near that tower.” He pointed toward a dark shadow which loomed in the distance.
“They are getting closer,” I said. “We better hurry.”
We ran to the tower, hugging the wall along the way. The earth was soft at the base of the wall and it was difficult to gain traction, which slowed us down significantly. Shots rang from the distance and bullets ricocheted off nearby trees. They had made it over the hill and gained on us despite the difficult terrain. It appeared the soft ground did not hinder their movement as much as it did ours. Janero's voice cried out over the gunfire, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. It didn't matter because I knew what his intentions were so his words were meaningless.
When we reached the tower, our situation became dire. There were no breaks in the wall. It stretched for miles, but it could have gone on for eternity for all the good it did. I turned around and scowled at the advancing enemy. They were roughly seventy-five yards away with Janero in the lead. Even from that distance, I could see the smug look on his face. He closed the gap to the point I could make out what he had been saying.
“Surrender Nathan,” he shouted. “It's over.”
The robots formed a perimeter around us. Their arms remained upright with their fingers pointed toward us, ready to blast us at the slightest provocation.
Kedge turned to me. “How much ammo do you have?”
I turned the rifle on its side. A digital display panel embedded in its side read “22”. “Twenty-two,” I read back to him.
He frowned and held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
I handed it over reluctantly. I saw a strange glimmer in his good eye, as if he was about to plan something stupid. “What are you going to do?”
He glanced at Vigil, who looked as confused as I was. “I remember something my father said centuries ago, right before the Lumagom killed him. 'You only realize the value of time once you run out'.” Kedge pointed the barrel of the rifle down with his finger on the trigger. He placed his other hand on my shoulder. “I'm a dying man, Nathan. My time has run out.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked. I had a suspicion, but I needed him to confirm it.
He responded with a smile. “I plan to take out as many of them as I can. Hopefully, that will buy you two enough time to get out of here.”
I was about to voice my protest, but he turned and ran down the hill before I could get a word out. Kedge let out a bloodcurdling scream as he hurtled toward the group. In between his battle cries, it sounded almost as if he was laughing. He gunned down the closest five of Janero's men before turning the gun on Janero himself. Janero managed to dodge a bullet as he ducked behind a large boulder. Three more robots fell beneath Kedge's furious onslaught. His ammo clip went dry with eleven robots still standing. A pair of tinted goggles peeked over the boulder as Janero cautiously stepped from it.
“Come on Nathan, we need to go,” Vigil urged.”
Vigil grabbed my arm, but I resisted. “No,” I whispered.
Kedge grabbed his rifle by the barrel and wielded it like a baseball bat. The robots approached with less caution now that their enemy was seemingly defenseless. They had underestimated him. The first one got close enough to reach out and grab Kedge, but received a crushing blow from the rifle for his trouble. Its head was knocked cleanly off its shoulders and rolled down the hill. The stock of the rifle split in half from the impact, rendering it useless. Kedge dropped it and looked back toward us. His face filled with urgency. “GO!”
“Let's go!” Vigil shouted. When I didn't move, he grabbed me in a bear hug and dragged me up the hill.
Kedge smiled when we cleared the next hill. With a furious shout, he charged the first robot, tackling it to the ground. The momentum caused him to fall on top of it, causing flesh and metal limbs to flail around wildly. Janero seized the opportunity and gestured toward the remaining robots. They swarmed over the two combatants until the pile was nothing more than twisted black mass of metal. Kedge's screams of fury soon morphed into agony.
“NOOOOO!” I shouted.
An unbridled rage emerged from the depths of my soul. I broke free of Vigil's iron-like grip and sprinted toward the pile.
I only made it ten feet before a white light surrounded me and all the breath shot out of my lungs like I had been punched in the gut. I fell to the ground, where I remained curled in the fetal position, unable to move. I managed to cock my head slightly to see Vigil standing over me with wisps of smoke drifting from his bracelet.
“We don't have time for this,” he growled. He leaned over and hauled me to me feet before tossing me over his shoulder. “Kedge sacrificed himself so we could get away and you would throw yourself right back in the fire,” he growled.
As we ran from the scene, I glanced up to see Janero dragging robots off the pile and motioning furiously in our direction. We rounded the corner and the last thing I saw was Kedge's battered body, lying motionless on the ground. Tears filled my eyes, but I refused to let them loose. Part of the reason I refused was Vanth's teachings, but there was another, more sinister reason. My heart had finally become numb to it all. Too many friends had been lost. My planet had been lost. This senseless war drove me to the edge of a dark chasm. As Kedge's corpse vanished in the distance, I found myself briefly wondering if dying would be easier than dealing with all the emotional torment.
“I think we lost them,” Vigil said breathlessly before dropping me to the ground like a sack of potatoes. “The effects of the stun should be wearing off.”
“What the hell did you do to me?” I gasped as I struggled to my feet.
He turned to me angrily. “I did what I had to do to stop you from getting yourself killed! Do you think this is some kind of game?”
In a blind rage, I drew back my fist and punched him in the face. He fell to the ground where he remained flat on his rear in stunned silence.
“Was that a game?” I roared. “Did you enjoy it, you son of a bitch, because I can play this game all day!”
Using the back of his hand, Vigil wiped away the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. A smile replaced the stunned look on his face. “The mouse has become a lion.”
The rage bubbled inside me like a cauldron. I clenched my fists and prepared another strike, but he stopped me with an outstretched hand. “That was not meant as a jest. Perhaps I have been too harsh. Save some of that anger for our enemies.” He stood and brushed himself off. When he looked up, his smile faded and a concerned look replaced it.
“What's wrong?” I asked.
“That,” he muttered and gestured behind me.
Janero's forces were coming around the corner, one hundred yards behind us, but they weren't alone. Three objects floated about fifty feet above them. They looked like flying speedboats, with long hulls shaped like a V and two large enclosed propulsion units underneath. Aboard each of these skiffs were several Order of the Sun soldiers, heavily armed.
“That's not good,” I grumbled.
We turned and ran. The wall continued toward the north, but we continued east, toward a building nestled alongside a dirt and gravel parking lot situated off of a single lane dirt road. The parking lot was empty with the exception of a rusted pickup truck in the corner that was missing its wheels and apparently, arrived at this location to die a lonely motor vehicle death. A bicycle had been tied to a wooden pole like a horse in the Old West. A wooden sign hung at an angle out front which read, “The Bottle and Glass Pub”. The building looked a hundred years old and was probably last maintained around that time. The roof lost about half of its shingles and was desperately in need of repairs. The paint peeled from the walls in thin ribbons. In contrast to the rest of the building, the front door looked as if it had been recently replaced and painted. The door handle was constructed of polished bronze, free from blemishes.
“Do you think we should go in?” I asked.
“As much as I don't like finding myself trapped inside, we cannot keep running forever. We are unarmed and greatly outnumbered.” Vigil stepped up to the door and tried the handle. It turned freely in his hand.
When the door opened, a musty smell slammed me in the face. It was like walking into a four hundred year old root cellar. We stepped inside and the door slammed shut behind us, cutting off light from outside. The remaining sunlight drifted in through a single grime-covered window in the corner of the room. As my eyes adjusted to the gloominess, I investigated our surroundings. Several heavy wooden tables and chairs were scattered around the room. Despite the musty smell, they were in rather good condition, as if they had recently been resurfaced. A polished wood bar stood in the opposite corner of the window. On one end of the bar, a lone candle burned next to a man hunched over a tall glass full of murky liquid.
“We're closed,” he growled without looking up from his drink.
“We are not here for a drink,” Vigil replied as he made his way cautiously toward the bar. I grabbed a seat at one of the tables. My eyes never left the man. We had no idea who to trust or if there was anyone left to trust on this planet anymore.
The man looked up slowly. The candle cast eerie shadows over his face, giving him a macabre clown-like appearance. Although he was bald in the center, his hair protruded wildly from each side. His Fu Manchu mustache curled down into a pointed goatee. His scowl carved deep lines into his chin. “Then why are you here?”
“We are being hunted.” I stood up and carefully approached the man. He hovered closer to his drink, as if I were going to snatch it from him. “We were diplomatic representatives sent by the Insurgents. Maybe you have heard of us, maybe you haven't. That's not important. What is important is that we are fighting against the Consortium. We had hoped the Order of the Sun would join our cause, yet they were just another group to be added to an ever growing list of betrayers.” My cheeks flushed scarlet with anger. My anger wasn't directed toward the man, he was just an unlucky recipient of my ire.
I could almost feel Vigil stiffen in the gloom, perhaps bracing himself for some sort of retaliatory strike from the stranger. Instead of the stranger leaping from his chair in a fit of fury, his eyes sparkled. It could have been a trick of light played by the candle, but he softened his expression a bit.
“Hunted?” He stroked his mustache methodically. “I hope you don't take me for being rude, but who'd be hunting you?”
Vigil and I exchanged a concerned glance. He was thinking the same thing I was: Could this guy be trusted or would he turn us in at the first chance he got?
“The Order is hunting us,” I replied. I lowered myself into the seat next to him.
He stared at me for a long time. Eventually, he lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip. He put it down and smiled. “I shouldn't be harboring no fugitives.” He took another swig of his drink before slamming the glass on the bar. “But then again, I was never one to conform to society's standards.” He pushed the seat away from the bar and stood up. When he came around to stand next to me, I realized how tall he was. Despite the fact I was seated on one of the elevated bar stools, he still towered over me. “Bofor is the name. This is my establishment.” He swept his arm toward the main floor. “Normally this place is filled to the ceiling, but the Ministry increased working hours at the plants, so I only open this place at the end of the work cycle.” He turned to me and narrowed his eyes. “Loss of income, you see, but do they care?” he snorted.
Vigil interrupted his rant. “We would hate to be an additional burden, but they are coming and will most likely stop here to search. Is there a place we can hide?” I admired how diplomatic he could be when called upon, despite our differences.
“Perhaps there is, perhaps there ain't.” His facial expression tightened into a scowl. “I'm sure I could curry favor with the Ministry by turning in some wanted fugitives. They might even throw business my way in appreciation.”
I slid off the bar stool angrily. “We need to get back to our people. Jori and Yori sacrificed themselves to give us a chance to make it out of here. My friend Kedge sacrificed himself. I'll be damned if I will let some backwoods tavern owner stand in our way.”
I felt Vigil brace for impact next to me. Bofor's eyes widened and he slowly
climbed up on his bar stool. He drained the glass, slammed it down and stared at the bottom of it. “So Jori is dead?”
“Yes,” I replied as I tried to figure out what his motives were.
He looked up from his glass and locked on us with a cold stare. He squeezed the glass so hard I was amazed it didn't shatter. Vigil took a step back and placed his hand over his bracelet, prepared to blast the tavern owner at the first sign of aggression. Bofor saw Vigil taking a defensive posture and he smiled broadly. He must have eaten some sort of meat last night because pieces of it were still wedged in between his teeth. They were perfectly rounded and yellow, like kernels on an ear of corn. He lowered his voice to a whisper.
“Well, in that case, I have a secret to tell you.”
The Timeless
Celestial Monarch, Ibune's ship.
The Timeless gathered again inside the great hall aboard Ibune's ship. Vigil, Scribe, and Moro were not present for obvious reasons. News of what had happened on Gliese had reached them and their grim expressions revealed their thoughts on the subject. Moro was now a hostage of the Consortium and Vigil may soon join him. Updates from Scribe had been few and far between, which created an enormous amount of concern.
“This mission was folly from the start,” Arcturus growled. “Discreet diplomacy will not win this war. We should have attacked the Consortium directly before they gathered more worlds to their side!”
“Relax yourself, Arcturus. There is no way we can fight a full-scale battle directly against the Consortium,” replied Horus.
“That plan was considered and rejected,” added Ibune.
“It would have been like engaging an intergalactic armada with nothing more than a bucket of fluffy bunnies and a smile,” laughed Vayne.
Arcturus slammed his fists on the table and glowered at Vayne. “I'll give you fluffy bunnies!”
