Malachi

by Ashley West

  The majority of the room replied with a quick "Yes, Champion," but Hapt still looked skeptical.

  "So it's just a coincidence, then?" he asked. "That she's here and we're being attacked by humans."

  "You know why we're being attacked by humans," Malachi snapped, brow furrowed. Another sound of metal on metal rang out from outside. "And Emma was being held hostage by them long before we even got here."

  "That's my point!"

  "Hapt," Malachi said, and there was a clear warning in his voice. Emma was a little ashamed at the tingle that ran up her spine at the sound of it. "If you have a problem with her or my trust in her, then you are more than welcome to leave. For the moment, we have an actual enemy outside our door, and I would prefer to focus on them rather than throwing accusations around. You are either with us or against us. Which is it?"

  Hapt could clearly tell that Malachi was not in the mood to be disobeyed, and in that moment he was every inch the Champion of his people. "I am with you, Champion," he murmured, looking at the floor.

  "Good," Malachi said. "Now. We need a plan."

  "We can't hurt them," said Priya.

  "They're armed!" Oro pointed out. "They mean to hurt us."

  "They don't even know how to use those weapons, probably," Malachi said. "Not as well as we can, at any rate. The Alva don't want them to win. They want them to make a fuss, to serve as distraction. They want the humans to make us give up, but we will not."

  "What are you going to do instead, then?" Emma asked. It wasn't her place, really. This wasn't her fight. But Malachi sounded so confident for someone who didn't even know what he was going to do to stop this.

  "I'm going to talk to them," Malachi said.

  She had to wonder if this was the first time talking had been put forth as a battle plan by the Randoran because the rest of them did not look enthused about the prospect of not getting to fight. But they seemed willing to obey their Champion on this, and fell back, letting Malachi move toward the windows that let him see outside. Emma crept up beside him, wanting her own view of the chaos.

  Thirty or so humans were gathered outside, all holding weapons. Many of them were men, strong and broad, but the weapons seemed awkward in their hands all the same. If they'd had guns or something, they might have posed more of a threat, but the lack of them showed the Alva's ignorance of human culture. And the fact that they weren't expecting the humans to do much real damage.

  As they watched, one man near the front ran up to the side of the ship and slammed his axe down on the metal side.

  Aside from the noise, nothing happened. There wasn't a scratch on the ship, and they were not closer to getting in.

  Malachi shook his head. "They could do that all night and nothing would happen. These ships are built to withstand collisions with space debris and asteroids. Their weapons aren't going to do anything." He sighed and then pulled the window open, sticking his head out. "Stop," he said, using his commanding voice, and Emma tried to keep her reaction appropriate for what was happening. He'd never used that voice in bed with her, and she was already wondering how she could get him to incorporate it.

  "Alien!" one of the humans shouted and threw something at the window. It was a rock, and she missed spectacularly, bouncing the rock off the side of the ship.

  "If you're finished," Malachi said. "I would like to speak with you."

  "We don't have anything to say to you!" another human cried. "We have to drive you off our planet."

  "We are not your enemy! The Alva are the ones who came here and hurt you. We are here to help!"

  "Lies! They said that you only want to remove them and install yourselves! They said if we kill you, they'll give back my son!"

  "And my brother!"

  "And my mom!"

  Emma made a sound of distress at that. Of course the Alva were using the humans they'd caught as bait to get the others to do their dirty work. They wouldn't have to worry about their makeshift army running away or defecting when they had their loved ones in their clutches.

  Malachi's eyes slid to her, and Emma shook her head, swallowing hard. "Sorry, I'm fine," she said.

  "It's horrible, I know," Malachi said softly. "We'll fix it."

  'How?' Emma wanted to demand. She hadn't seen any evidence of a plan yet, and Malachi could say all he wanted that things would be fine, but that didn't mean that they would be.

  "Listen to me!" he was saying, head back out the window. "We are the Randoran, and we have come here to help. The Alva are just using you. They want you to either be cut down by us or they want us to refuse to fight you and let that drive us away. This isn't going to help make things better for you! If they stay, they will just end up killing you all."

  They seemed to consider that, and Emma had hope that Malachi's words had actually gotten through to them. But then a cry went up and they started attacking the ship all at once.

  Malachi pulled his head back in and sighed, rubbing at his face. Clearly he'd thought that was going to work.

  Emma didn't want to see him distressed, and she didn't want this to result in humans being killed. It was like she could hear her brother's voice in her head, telling her she had to do something, telling her to stop just standing there and actually help.

  "Let me try," she heard herself saying, even though her hands were shaking.

  "Emma," Malachi said. "I don't think that's the best idea. They're armed, and they aren’t listening."

  "And you're here to protect me," she pointed out. "They aren't going to listen to you. You're an outsider, you haven't been here with them through everything. I'm one of them. They'll listen to me." Or so she hoped. “I have to try. You kept me here so I could help, remember? Let me help.”

  Malachi looked at her for a long moment and then sighed, nodding and gesturing for her to step up to the window. She did, sticking her head out. Her heart was pounding, but Malachi was a soothing presence at her back, clearly ready to pull her back in if anything happened.

  No one paid attention at first, and the air was full of the cacophony of weapons striking the side of the ship and the commotion of the people yelling and cursing.

  With her brother in mind, Emma stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a piercing whistle. She remembered being eleven years old, in the woods behind their house and looking for Dan. She remembered following the sharp sound of the whistle and finding her way back to him. The way he had grinned and ruffled her hair, telling her she'd done a good job. She also remembered how their mother had yelled at him for letting her wander off in the first place, but that wasn't the point.

  When everyone looked up at her, she swallowed hard. Their eyes were hard and haunted looking, and Emma had to wonder if being 'trained' by the Alva was worse than being held captive by them in the cages. She was willing to bet it was.

  She drew in a deep breath and pitched her voice to carry. "Stop! I'm not an alien. I'm one of you."

  "How do we know that?" someone shouted up at her. "Maybe you're a shapeshifter."

  "I am not!" Emma replied. "I've been here since the beginning. I saw the ships come over the city. I saw them block out the sun, the first big one, and then the two smaller ones to either side. I was there when they landed and when they started snatching people. I was here that first night when houses burned and people were fighting each other to get out of the city. I watched my family leave, and I couldn't follow them. I was grabbed at the grocery store, dragged to the summit building in the middle of town. Kept in a cage. That's where your loved ones are. They're in cages, waiting. But fighting the Randoran isn't going to get them back."

  "But they said-"

  "They lied," Emma snapped. "Why is that so hard to believe? They're creatures from another planet who came here and started killing for no reason other than that they could, and you think they'll just hand your family members back over at the end of this? They want either you all to die or the Randoran to leave, or both. They don't even see us as people. We're tools to them, pets
maybe. Beasts of burden.

  "If you were in their cages, how did you get free?" One woman demanded, a sword awkward in her hands as she tried to lift it.

  "The Randoran saved me," Emma said, thinking quickly. "They asked me for nothing but my help with the Alva, and they've kept me safe. They can keep you safe too, if you let them."

  A murmur rose up amongst those who were gathered there, and Emma held her breath. She didn't know if this would work, but she did know that these people likely just wanted their loved ones back. They didn't want to fight, they just wanted to live their lives. If there was someone else they could trust, then the situation might just be resolved.

  "Will they save us?"

  Emma's attention snapped back to the matter at hand.

  "How do we know we can trust them?"

  Good questions. Emma took a deep breath. "They came here to help," she said sincerely. "They crossed space to come here and defeat the Alva and save us. They don't want to fight any of you, I swear it. All they want is to make things better for us. To give us our lives back. But we need your help. Tell the others not to fight. Don't throw away your lives for the Alva. They aren't worth it. If you want to see your families again and live through this, don't be their pawns. Please, I don't want to see anyone else get hurt and neither do the Randoran."

  For a moment no one said anything, and Emma could tell that Malachi was holding his breath as well, waiting. Finally, someone stepped forward. "We'll trust you. Please. Help us."

  Emma looked back at Malachi who was wide eyed with disbelief. "Well?" she asked, stepping back and gesturing for him to take over.

  "We promise," Malachi said, addressing them all. "We'll see you through this. Spread the word as quietly as you can."

  They watched until the humans were out of sight and then Malachi sighed and shook his head. "I don't know how you did that, Emma, but you are amazing."

  She shrugged a shoulder. "I just told them what they needed to hear. This isn't about fighting, it's about surviving." Emma grinned at him. "I bet you never won a battle without even lifting your weapon before, huh?"

  He snorted and shook his head again. "No, I can't say that I have. You are an asset."

  "What I don't understand is why there weren't any Alva here with them," she said. "What was to keep them from running away?"

  "Fear is a powerful restraint," Malachi said. "And they probably chose people who had the most to lose if they ran off. Coming back in defeat was inevitable, but they wanted them all to come back."

  "What happens now?" Emma wanted to know.

  Malachi put a hand on her shoulder. "Now, we wait for the rest of the warriors to get here, and then we take the fight to the Alva. We keep our promise."

  Chapter Thirteen: Execution

  They didn't tell the General the plan.

  It seemed like the best option, and when his crew expressed reluctance to lie to their leader, Malachi calmly explained that it was a lie of omission rather than a blatant fib.

  "I don't think he'll approve of this," Malachi said, hands clenched tightly in his lap as he addressed those who had come from Dorn with him. They trusted him, that much was obvious, and he was going to do the best he could not to betray that trust. Or make them regret it. "The General likes to win fights with decisive actions, and this will be...less than that."

  To begin with, at least. Malachi was praying to the stars and anything else that might have been listening that Emma's plan would work.

  He'd expected to have more time to work on it, but then the backup ship had arrived, carrying their extra warriors as well as fuel and more supplies for the ship that had been there for nearly two months already.

  Malachi refused to look nervous as he disembarked from his own ship and made his way over to the one that had landed a few hundred feet away.

  This was no diplomatic vessel, come with the illusion of peace. No, this was a full Randoran warship, equipped with sonic blasters, light cannons, and a full armory on board. Seeing it made it clear that they would have to fight, and Malachi waited for the stirring in his blood that usually came from knowing a good battle would be upon them, but it never came.

  The warship was being led by Serica, a squadron leader that Malachi was familiar with. She was tall, nearly as tall as he was, muscular, and she wore her pale blond hair cut short. When he approached the ship, she was waiting for him beside it, and she saluted and bowed her head to him. "Champion."

  Malachi remembered what was expected of him, and he saluted back. "Serica. Welcome to Earth. Uneventful journey?"

  She nodded. "No trouble out in the darkness," she said.

  "That's good. Report, then."

  "Champion, we have enough warriors on board to drive these Alva back to their hole where they belong. Enough armor and weapons to supply this team and yours, and fuel, food, water, and medical supplies for both ships."

  Malachi smiled. "Very good."

  "Thank you, Champion. We await your orders."

  She was a good warrior, good at following commands, and she waited in place while Malachi summoned the rest of his team and Emma to meet them at the warship. Including Emma was something he'd lain awake at night debating, unsure if it was the right thing to do. This was her home, and it wasn't uncommon for them to use a native to the planets they were trying to save as a guide. But she was human, and Malachi hadn't told anyone but Thyrra about how she was more than just a guide. But this was her plan, and he wasn't going to leave her out.

  The twenty who had come with him to Earth approached the warship, and Malachi had to search for Emma who seemed glued to Priya's side.

  She didn't like being outside the ship, Malachi knew that, and the prospect of being with so many Randoran probably didn't make things any better. He made a point of finding her eyes when the group was close enough and giving her a smile. Some of the tension left her face, and she smiled back.

  They all filed onto the ship, and Malachi could just imagine the wide eyed look of wonder that would be on Emma's face. Warships were huge and decked out with things to keep warriors comfortable on their journey to wherever they were going to fight. They didn't have the opulence of a diplomatic vessel, but the sheer size alone was awe inspiring.

  The dining room was the only space large enough for all of them to meet, and so they went there, everyone claiming a seat on the low benches at the tables. Malachi went to the head of the room, standing on the raised platform there, trying to find that feeling inside of him that he channeled when he needed to give orders and be the Champion of his people. This was being left in his hands, and he needed to do this right.

  Once everyone was gathered, he cleared his throat and pitched his voice so it would reach everyone in the room.

  "First and foremost," Malachi said. "I want to thank you all for coming here. I know that defending planets from the Alva is what we do, but this is somewhat different. Earth was never on any list of planets we needed to watch, and it's far from our home. What you all do here will help the people of Earth immensely, and it's something you should be proud of. That said..." He took a breath. "This will not be an easy fight."

  The Randoran knew about fights that weren't easy, and they all perked up at that. The crew who had been with him through this whole thing already knew what was going to happen, and they waited for Malachi to explain to everyone.

  He talked about how the Alva had arrived, what they'd done when they'd gotten there and how things had been since then. Malachi used all the information that Emma had given him and the things he'd seen since he'd arrived, spinning it in a way that would make the warriors ready to fight.

  "Some of you may have noticed that there is a human here," he said, and the murmuring of all the warriors was loud for a moment. He watched Emma fight not to shrink down and smiled when she held her head high. "She has been invaluable in helping with this," Malachi said. "She was also a prisoner of the Alva. They are keeping humans in cages, like pets, barely feeding them and treating them like
vermin. What's worse is that those who they don't keep caged, they have groomed into an army."

  There was a moment where the assembled group laughed at the absurdity of a human army, but Malachi waited, keeping his face impassive.

  "It's not the army we need to worry about," Malachi said. "It's what they intend to do. The Alva are using the humans in the hopes that we will either cut them down instantly or refuse to fight them and leave this planet."

  "We could just order them out of the way," someone shouted. People seemed to agree with that.

  "No," Malachi said. "They have a reason for fighting. The humans in the cages are their loved ones. Their mothers and brothers and sons and daughters. That's why they want to fight. The Alva have promised that if they fight, their families will be returned unharmed."

  It was clear to see that everyone found that disgusting and despicable, and that was good. That was what Malachi needed. "I have a plan," he said. "It is an odd plan. It is unlike any plan we've ever had before. But it will work."

  As he'd expected, many of the warriors had thought he was crazy for what he outlined to them in that dining room. They were going to strike the next morning, hoping that having the element of surprise would work in their favor.

  "Unless the Alva spotted the huge ship coming in," Emma murmured, and Malachi laughed at that.

  "We don't do things subtly where I'm from," he said. He was worried, but finally he was feeling some of that pre-battle excitement coursing through him. "Are you sure you can do this?" he asked her for what had to be the hundredth time.

  Emma worried her lip between her teeth. "Do you think I can't?" she wanted to know.

  "I didn't say that. I only want you to be sure. This will be dangerous."

  "I know that. And I'm terrified, but..."

  But this meant something to her. Malachi knew that. Someone had to lead the humans to safety while the Randoran fought the Alva. Emma had volunteered. The governor had set up his mansion as a safe house at Malachi's urging, and Emma would take the humans there to be protected. She'd have a Randoran guard, but if the Alva decided to attack, then she might very well get hurt.