by Lee Watts
"Aye, Captain. Good luck."
"You too… Captain," Sosimo echoed to his best friend then left for the docking bay.
Unsure how far the cloaking field extended, Sosimo didn't know when he reappeared on sensors, but when Balin hailed him, he guessed he was visible again.
"My Dear Friend how are-"
"I don't have time for this, LaRouche," Balin grumbled, cutting him off. "Why are you here? I thought you promised I'd never see you again."
"No. I said if you'd let me go, you'd never see me again, but you didn't, so I left, but now I'm back, and here I am. But I tell you what, since I like you, I'll make that one-time-only offer a second time. You let me go, and you'll never see me again. Trust me."
"Trust you? You're a man without a country, without allegiance, a rogue, a renegade. Why should I trust you?"
"…Uh, well... I can't really think of a good reason. I'd just like to go. Can't something be simple for once?"
"Nothing's ever simple with you, LaRouche! The Dauntless has located your ship and is closing fast. Surrender."
"I've been at this too long to give up now." Sosimo cut the transmission and made a fast, hard landing onto the Fortune. Pulling out his communicator, he called the bridge.
"Mei, we've been spotted. Plot a course out of here. I'm on my way to the bridge."
Mei started calling out orders.
"Disengage stealth mode. Get me a lightdrive vector out of here."
"Mei, there's Hegemony fighters on an intercept course," Giovani reported.
"Great," she groused. "Shields up; charge weapons."
The doors to the room opened, and Sosimo stepped onto the bridge. Mei vacated the command chair for the captain to take his place then she immediately took position at the station beside him.
"Hail Lei," Sosimo ordered. A brief moment later his life-long friend Shen Lei appeared on the screen.
"Lei, how far away are you?"
"About thirty seconds."
"Good, get here and extend your cloaking field around the Fortune then we'll change headings and glide right past everyone.
"Aye, Captain, setting cour-" before he finished speaking a blast of energy slammed through Lei's back and burst out of his chest, killing him instantly.
"NO," Sosimo exclaimed in shock.
"FATHER," Mei shouted as she beheld the murder.
As Lei collapsed to the floor, it revealed the killer. Holding a smoking blaster was Crimson.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CRIMSON?" Sosimo demanded.
"What I've wanted to do for a long time," he gloated with satisfaction. "I'm tired of doing things your way. I'm leaving, and I'm taking the map rings with me; you really should've kept them locked up. Now, me and my crew are heading out while you get blasted by… well, I guess that depends who shows up first. I'd do it myself only… that'd give away my position wouldn't it."
"I'll kill you for this, Crimson," swore Sosimo. "If it's the last thing I do. I promise I'll see to it."
"No," Crimson scoffed. "The last thing you're going to see is me as I fly out of here. Oh, wait a minute; you can't see me can you." Laughing, Crimson closed the frequency.
Within seconds, the Dauntless arrived as did an entire squadron of Ramillie starfighters. Not wanting to waste lives in futile resistance, Sosimo ordered his people to stand down. He and his crew were sentenced to life in prison. It was the second time he received such a sentence, but this time, no one was coming to free him.
CHAPTER 26
"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." – Matthew 10:28
It was one year to the day since their crash when Alexander's group reached the island's edge. They had made water crossings before, but they were only a few hours at most. The next island would take a day or more to reach. At the edge of their visual range, they saw the peak of a mountain on the neighboring island. Constructing a quartet of rafts, they launched and used vine ropes to link the tiny ships.
"Any hostile tribes on that island?" Alexander asked Aulani as they shoved off.
"I don't know," she shrugged. "We never explored this far."
Over the months, Aulani had become fluent in Theeran, and even Jaiden was able to speak it reasonably well. Telza, remembering her promise to keep an eye on Aulani, insisted on being on her raft.
"I always loved the water," Telza said as they floated along. "My husband and I were going to take a year off to sail around our planet to celebrate my retirement, but then I got the job ferrying colonist and… well, we never made the time for it. They're so many things I never made time for. I was always so busy with my career, with plans… now, all I have is time."
Her eyes moistened, and Aulani put a supportive arm around her shoulders.
"We're going to make it out of here," the younger woman assured. "Our time here is nearly over, Telza. We're almost home."
Wiping her eyes, Telza smiled at her and considered the irony of how the person she was to look out for was taking care of her instead.
"GRALLAS," Jaiden shouted.
Everyone looked up to see several of the large-winged creatures.
"Blasters ready," Merrick called out.
Aulani loosed her whip. Though it was only two and a half meters in reach, she refused to be taken without a fight. Jaiden kicked himself for not taking along rocks for his bolos.
With razor-sharp talons agape, the first creature dove with a high-pitched shriek. Marcus fired, hitting the monster's left wing. It cried in pain, breaking from its dive it banked away, flapped to gain altitude then turned to dive again. Marcus loosed two more shots, both impacting the creature's center mass. Its wings stopped. Dead, it tumbled uncontrolled from the sky, smacking into the water.
"LOOK OUT," Aulani shouted as a second Gralla came at them from the opposite direction.
Using its fellow as a distraction, this monster approached almost unnoticed. Cale fired four shots. The first two bolts missed, but the remaining hit their mark. With too much momentum, the dead bird continued on course and slammed into their small craft, shattering it.
Panicked, Cale and Simon began swimming madly for the other rafts. Seeing the humans struggling in the water spurred the other Grallas to charge, and two of them dove simultaneously. Alexander fired, wounding one of the creatures. Crashing, it impacted the water so close that Alexander and the others on his raft felt the splash and tasted the salty water on their lips. Wildly struggling to stay afloat, the bird thrashed with its one uninjured wing. Its efforts brought it near the raft, and it ravenously snapped its long, jagged beak at them. Telza screamed and scrambled backward, trying to escape the frenzied creature. Aulani snapped her whip at the flailing animal. After taking two cracks, it caught her whip in its beak. Before she had time to react or loosen her grip, the creature jerked its head, yanking her over the side. The animal's great strength hurled her quite a distance from the boat, and she shouted as she flew then hit the water.
"AULANI," Alexander yelled, scanning the area where she had disappeared into the waves. After a long moment, she resurfaced, gasping for air. The crazed bird continued to flap wildly, trying to lift itself from the water with its one good wing. Its efforts raised it slightly, but it suddenly let out a piercing shriek and was dragged below the surface. Noticing the Gralla pulled under by something from the depths, Aulani swam for the raft with all she had.
With the group distracted, another Gralla zoomed downward, preparing to snatch up Jaiden who was calling out to his sister.
"JAIDEN," Merrick warned.
The boy turned but had no time to move. The bird shrieked as it opened its talons for the kill. Bursting from the water, a sea creature lunged upward. Snatching the Gralla in mid-flight, its jaws closed on the bird, and the monster sank in a straight line back under the surface, taking the screaming Gralla with it.
As the battle continued, the sea creature broke through the waves again, its lo
ng, muscular neck extending ten meters above the surface. Its head was three times as wide as the raft, and Alexander knew there was no way Aulani could out-distance the beast. As the creature spotted the human racing for the tiny craft, it roared and bent down to swallow her. A sudden blast of blue energy stung it, pausing the attack. Though he had several shots left, Alexander knew it wasn't enough to get through the monster's thick scales. The prince had succeeded in attempting to divert the animal's attention long enough for Aulani to reach the raft, but he had angered the beast. Aulani clutched Alexander's hand as he pulled her into the raft while the enraged creature shook off the pain and returned its attention to them with a roar. With all his strength, Alexander hurled his blaster at the monster. Catching the projectile mid-flight, the beast swallowed it whole.
"WHY DID YOU THROW YOUR GUN AT IT?" Aulani shouted in bewilderment. "YOU HAD SHOTS LEFT!"
"TRUST ME!"
The monster roared so loudly it shook the waters and raft. Suddenly the beast lurched as an explosion broke through the base of its mighty neck. Its neck went limp, and the towering monstrosity fell oddly to the side, smacking against the water with a great crash and dousing everyone on the raft. Hungry Grallas descended on the dead best, ripping flesh from it.
"You could have mentioned you'd set it to overload," Aulani chided.
"Didst thou ever doubt?" he teased.
She looked at him in amazement.
"Didst," she answered with a laugh.
Suddenly disinterested in the humans, the birds began feasting on the monster. Using the distraction, the group paddled away quickly. Three rafts remained, but everyone had made it. For the next several hours they sailed without incident. As the sun grew low on the horizon, the stars of the night sky were blocked out by clouds. Telza folded her hands under her arms to shelter them from the increasing wind.
A crack of lightning streaked across the darkened sky. Thunder rolled deeply, and waves bounced the little ships up and down. In large, hot sheets, the rain poured from the heavens, soaking the castaways. Telza lost her footing and slammed into the prince as the raft was quickly jerked by the rope connecting it to the other ships.
"We have to sever the line!" Merrick called out over the howl of the storm.
Alexander nodded his agreement. Pulling out his half of the battlestaff, he chopped at the vine, cutting it in one swipe. A swell of water suddenly lifted the ship, tilting it and causing Telza to stumble uncontrollably toward the side.
"TELZA," Aulani called out as she reached for her, but she couldn't catch hold of the falling woman before she toppled into the water.
"NO," Aulani shouted, rushing to the edge in panic. In the pitch of night, with the thick clouds blocking the moonlight, and heavy rain impairing her vision, Aulani could barely see. Rocked by the rolling waves, the ship moved quickly as it was tossed about uncontrollably.
"TELZA," Aulani called desperately. "TELZA!" Flashes of lightning gave a strobe of visibility letting her see the flailing woman for half a second. In an instant, it was pitch again. There was another flash, but Aulani couldn't catch sight of her this time. Her eyes searched frantically through the raging storm.
"TELZA," she called out through bitter tears as the beating rain pelted her. "TELZAAA!" Alexander and Merrick joined in the shouts for their friend, but the maddened storm made their cries futile. Wind and waves making it impossible to go after their lost comrade they called for her, hoping to catch even a glimpse, but it was hopeless. It was slightly before dawn when the storm finally broke. The haggard trio on Alexander's craft made landfall two hours later, but there was no sign of Telza nor any of the other rafts. With no idea, if the others survived, Merrick and Alexander set to gathering wood and lit a signal fire while Aulani stared blankly at the sea. Her thoughts were of the woman who became like her mother on that island world and of her brother who may have met a similar fate. As smoke rose from the signal fire, Aulani cried while looking upon the sea.
Alexander came and sat beside her on the sand. For a long while he said nothing, not having the words to comfort such pain, but feeling he should be near her. He sat with her a long while, quietly supportive. They remained there for quite some time. Placing his arm around her, she buried herself in his shoulder, sobbing heavily.
"Hello," came a faint shout, causing Aulani to jolt. "Hello," the call repeated.
"Jaiden?" Aulani sputtered as she bolted to her feet recognizing the voice. Wiping her tears, she turned and looked through bleary eyes down the beach. There was Jaiden with Marcus, Cale, Payton, and Christina.
"JAIDEN," she shouted through new tears of joy. She ran to him, and the siblings embraced with relief at the sight of one another. The joy of their reunion was fleeting as she related the fate of Telza. Adding to the direness was news the scanner, their only means of finding the signal, was also lost in the storm. Unwilling to give up, but with only a vague direction to now follow, they spent the next several months making their way in the general direction the scanner had indicated. They hoped to come across the wrecked hulk of the Morningstar, but with each passing week, their hopes faded a little more. Cale became increasingly vocal in his bitterness. He placed the blame for the crash, the fruitless trek, and the loss of the scanner all at Alexander's feet. He considered killing the prince, but couldn't figure how to get away with it... yet.
***
Months after the opening of the Hegemony station, Balin was in his office when across the bottom of the screen on his desk scrolled the words, "…developing crisis… Hegemony soldiers in standoff with school officials and parents at largest Elderite school on Theera." He clicked the line causing a newscast to come on the screen.
"Now joining us in the studio is Province Administrator Saqir Nexos. Tell me, Administrator, why are Hegemony troops at the school today?"
"For the good of the children of course. As you know, hate organizations are banned in the Hegemony, but the fundamentalist Elderites running that school teach kids hate and intolerance and are passing off fables in place of science. Those children deserve better. What's most deplorable is the systematic mental abuse."
"Joining us via audio lines from inside the school is the headmaster, Hector Silvanus. Sir, these are serious allegations? What are you doing to these children?"
"First, let me assure you that no children are mistreated here."
"Oh," Saqir interrupted, "So you deny telling the children there is nothing good about them?"
"You're taking things out of context," Hector countered.
"Out of context," Saqir exclaimed. "Allow me to read a passage from the book they teaching from, 'you are all together become filthy' and, 'there is none that doeth good, no, not one.' Degrading the children in such a way, you don't call that abuse?"
"Mr. Silvanus," the reporter interrupted, "are you telling the children there is no good thing in them?"
"… Yes."
"And you don't call that mental abuse?"
"Not at all. It's the words from the Holy Codex written by a loving Elder."
"Loving?" Saqir scoffed. "This is exactly the kind of twisted, degrading philosophy that's made this cult of hate illegal."
"For those who hate the truth, truth becomes hate," Hector countered. "The Codex says, there is none righteous, and the wages of error is eternal death in the Vortex, but the Elder has provided Elkanah as a means of escape so we can be in Paradise with Him. It is written, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Elkanah, and shalt believe in thine heart, committing thyself to Him, then thou shalt be saved."
"You mean to tell us," the reporter demeaned, "you're claiming that only people who accept Elkanah will go to Paradise?"
"The Codex tells us so," Hector pointed out.
"This is what I'm talking about," Saqir emphasized. "They're intolerant of other beliefs. We are obligated to remove children from such a hostile environment."
"Many of the parents are here," Hector said in cutting off Saqir's statement. "And we won't let the childre
n be taken by the Hegemony!"
Saqir knew media coverage of Hegemony soldiers pulling crying children from their parents would fuel The Remnant's cause. Determined to not give them that, after the interview, he contacted Salazar and told him to have Realm forces handle the situation. A short while later a dozen Realm troop transports arrived at the school. First, to exit the transports was Gunnery Sergeant Imre Kovacs.
"What's the meaning of this?" sneered the Ramillie commander who was in charge of the scene.
"Orders from the Regent," answered Imre. "We're taking the lead here."
The white-skinned alien laughed with disdain.
"I am a Major in the Hegemony, and I don't care about the orders of some province regent. They told me you are to take the lead, but I'm in control of the mission so you'll follow my orders, understand?"
"Understood…Sir."
"Good, now, tell your men to get ready. Records show there's almost fifteen hundred students in there, plus faculty and parents. The last thing we want is a firefight in front of all those cameras, so we'll keep the shooting inside, got it?"
"Do you expect us to go in there and blast everyone?"
"What I expect is for you to follow orders."
"What about the parents? You want us to kill them right in front of the kids?"
"I don't care. Just keep it away from the cameras."
"We're not going in there and shooting a bunch of unarmed civilians. That violates the Realm Charter and besides-"
"Realm Charter?" the Ramillie mocked. "You've got to be kidding. That thing died with the Realm. There is no more Realm, you belong to us now. So, have your men form up on me, we're going in, and you will follow orders. Move out!"
As Balin was watching news coverage of the incident a follow-up call from the regent instructed him to dispatch empty transports to the school as well.
