by S. W. Gunn
Chapter 15
Jarron was jostled violently out of his bed from the ship rocking as it came to a suddenly stop. He felt Elyse move next to him but could not see her in the dark room. He sat up.
“What was that?” Elyse asked.
Shifting his feet to reach out for the light, which he flicked on, he then stated, “I don’t know but it did not sound good. Let’s go.”
Moving quickly he slid on his trousers and then his shirt before moving quickly to head out to the cockpit. The ship had come to a stop way too soon and as he started down the hallway it rocked towards the right and began very slowly moving that direction. Jarron knew immediately that the Keg was pulled out of the fold and now was in some sort of tractor beam. He spotted Hain stumbling through the hallway as the ship started to rock more violently from the tractor beam. He guessed that Feligrin was at the controls and he was attempting to fly against the beam. It was clearly failing. Jarron guessed that they were trapped in the beam and it would be difficult to make their escape. As he walked into the cockpit he spotted the dire situation facing them. The Keg was surrounded by five alien looking ships. He did not recognize the type of ship they were, although they seemed vaguely familiar. One of he could tell was some sort of fold voiding ship, similar to the one Tiberius had. The one slowly pulling the Keg towards it was a cruiser. The other three appeared to be fighters.
“Jarron!” Feligrin said in a panicked tone.
He was fighting the controls of the Keg in a failing attempt to keep it from being pulled into the cruiser. Jarron slid down into the seat as Feligrin moved. He realized that no matter what he did there was not going to be a slick escape. Jarron checked the readings on the controls. It appeared that the folding machine got blown out when the ship was pulled out of the fold. The engines themselves were straining heavily with several warnings indicating that they were about to give out as well. Shields were down, the sensors appeared damaged, and the Keg’s structural integrity was at risk. It was a failed cause to try and escape with the ship in its current condition. Jarron frowned heavily.
Begrudgingly he announced, “We’re not escaping this.”
There was a long uncomfortable silence as Jarron turned off the engines in order to protect them.
Finally Hain spoke, “Everyone git some weapons. We’re not gonna just surrender.”
“Who the hell are they?” Feligrin asked.
Jarron shrugged. While the ships that were attacking him seemed vaguely familiar, he had no idea who they were.
“Magial.” Hain announced.
The Magial! Jarron had not ever seen them or their ships before. He heard they were Eal’tain who left a long time ago but that was more rumor than anything. Concern suddenly started to overwhelm him. The last thing they wanted to do was tangle with the Magial. Everything he heard about them led him to believe that they were a highly aggressive race that would fight others over any cause. Of course much of the things he heard about the Eal’tain turned out not to be true so he was very lost on what was about to happen. There was little doubt they were in a lot of trouble. He thought to try and continuing fighting but the ship was not going to last. The fight that Feligrin put it through initially had already overwhelmed several systems, including the weapons and sensors. Their only hope could possibly be to let the larger vessel pull them into the docking bay and then use Elyse’s powers to fend them off long enough to repair the Keg. Once the Keg was fixed they could then try to make a proper escape.
“Hain instead of all of us fighting we’ll need you and the others to repair the ship. Elyse and I will have to fend them off.”
“Aye,” Hain grimly stated before gesturing for Feligrin and Mara to follow him.
No one said a word as Feligrin and Mara paced behind Hain. Jarron deactivated the engines so Hain could get right to work fixing them. He powered down everything but the primary life support. As he stood up he looked at Elyse before tilting his head towards the exit. It was likely to be dangerous so they needed to be ready once the doors of the ship were opened.
As they walked along Elyse stated nervously, “I don’t want to kill anyone.”
Giving a slight nod Jarron replied, “Hopefully you won’t have to. The goal is to push them away from the ship and keep them occupied until Hain can fix the Keg enough to make our escape.”
He could feel the ship begin to shift direction, no doubt these Magial were turning the Keg so they could bring it aboard their vessel. They made it to the only hatch that opened into the Keg. It would be the access point that any boarders could make their way onto the ship. Jarron deactivated the lock. He did not want the Magial destroying the seals of the door, which would make it hard for them to make their escape later. In fact once the Keg landed he planned to pop open the door himself instead of waiting on the Magial. The exterior of the Keg was heavily reinforced but the interior was not so they last thing they wanted would have been a gun battle inside. The Keg rocked slightly before violently shuttering as it landed in the docking bay of the large Magial ship. Jarron activated the small screen that would show the view outside the hatch. It was currently empty, no doubt the Magial were first scanning the Keg while the docking bay was being sealed and filling with normal air. Jarron felt nerves begin build up. He suspected it was partly his own nerves and partly Elyse’s. Eventually he could see the Magial begin to fill the bay. They looked very much like the Eal’tain, although they were wearing dark brown uniforms. Each was armed with a blaster. On their left hip was attached an unusual looking sword. Where the Eal’tain seemed peaceful and soft these Magial seemed like a military force. They appeared quite harsh and very ready for a fight. Jarron was curious as to why they wasted their time capturing small ships in the neutral zone.
“Follow my lead.” He instructed Elyse before popping open the hatch of the Keg and exiting.
He could hear Elyse’s footsteps as she followed behind him. Right as he stepped out of the Keg he was met by the group of Magial, all raising their blasters towards him.
In a thick accent one of the Magial said, “Stop.”
Jarron raised his hands before asking, “Why have you pulled us out of the fold in the neutral zone?”
The Magial laughed. He was slightly older than the others around him, with his dark hair peppered with light gray. His fitted brown uniform had what appeared to be some type of golden colored rank on the high collar and upon his left breast was some sort of stylized dagger emblem.
“You dared to enter Magial space and we deal with intruders firmly.”
“We were in the neutral zone.”
“Enough!” The leader of the Magial yelled before gesturing towards Jarron and commanded, “Seize them.”
Several of the Magial placed their blasters into a holster that was on the side of their right leg and began to move forward.
“Jarron?” Elyse asked nervously.
“Push them away from us and push up a barrier to protect us if they fire.”
He felt Elyse’s power pulse through him as the Magial closing in on them were violently flung backwards into the group behind them. The leader of the Magial reacted with a shocked pause before yelling out commands in their language. It sounded exactly like the Eal’tain language to Jarron. The men Elyse tossed away recovered quickly. They retreated from the hangar bay the ship was in. Jarron was able to move again.
Elyse announced, “They realized what we are once I used the Gift. Their leader ordered them to retreat and said something about their Commander.”
“Probably going to get orders on how to deal with us.”
There was an uncomfortable pause before Jarron finally decided it was a good idea to go back inside the Keg, just in case the Magial decide to pop the bay doors open to be rid of them. Reaching out he held Elyse’s hand before tugging her to follow him. She followed behind him as they went back into the Keg. After closing the hatch Jarron turned to watch the screen.
“So what now?” She asked.
“We w
ait. No doubt they’ll come up with a new plan of attack. We just need to stall long enough for Hain to repair the engines and the fold machine. We can even set the fold machine to calculate a trip before we launch and then once we get outside this ship we can escape almost immediately.”
Elyse said nothing in response to Jarron’s plan. He hoped it would work but things were looking quite bleak. Even if they got out of this bay, it was going to be a trick to make their escape before being pulverized by the other ships. The Keg was pretty beat up and could not take very much damage, especially without the shields available. They could end up space dust pretty quickly. The wait for a response from the Magial was pretty brief and Jarron was more than a little surprised. The doors of the bay opened and only two Magial entered. A male and a female. The male Magial was tall and thin with short cropped auburn colored hair, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. Like all of the Eal’tain and Magial Jarron had seen this one had pointed ears. He was wearing a similar uniform to the others except his uniform was a dark purple color instead. The dagger emblem was exactly the same but the rank on his collar was a golden sun emblem. Jarron had little doubt that he was in charge. The woman with him clearly was not part of whatever military mechanization that the man was. She was wearing a very form fitting low cut blood red top that had nothing but a thin strap that held it up. The top ended a few inches above her belly button, leaving most of her belly exposed. She was wearing a long flowing blood red skirt that almost dragged along the floor. Her hair was the same auburn color as the man and she had bright blue eyes. Jarron immediately thought that she was very pretty. The pair stopped in front of the Keg and chatted for a brief moment before the woman reached out and knocked on the hatch.
“Let’s go.” Jarron stated as he reached out and opened the hatch.
Moving with as much caution as he could Jarron stepped out. Elyse took hold of his hand.
Before he could say or do anything the Magial woman excitedly announced, “Awww and they’re a couple!”
The man mumbled, “How predictable.”
“Oh hush.” The woman replied back.
As Jarron and Elyse approached them the man suddenly and swiftly rose his sword hand up and began to swing it towards Jarron. Elyse responded by using the Gift to force the sword out of his hand and away from them.
The woman clapped joyfully before stating, “Its true!”
“Of course its true, my men would not lie.”
She scoffed at him.
Turning to look at Jarron and Elyse the man instructed, “Come with us.”
As he started to walk away Jarron looked at Elyse, who looked very hesitant.
The Magial woman announced, “Come on. We won’t hurt you.”
She gestured with her hand and began walking behind the man. Jarron turned back to Elyse and shrugged before following them. He did not know what they had in mind but if push came to shove they could use her powers to fend them off. If anything all of this would give Hain more time to repair the Keg. Reaching out he closed the hatch of the Keg and enabled the lock before heading towards the two Magial in front of them. Elyse continued to hold his arm as they walked along. Jarron took a moment to look at the hangar bay. It was well lit with basic flat steel colored walls. There was a mirrored window, which he could not see through to the left of the hangar bay doors. Along the back wall opposite of the bay doors was a simple pair of steel doors. Jarron already knew that the doors were automated to open as someone approached them. He continued to follow the Magial through the door and down a hallway. The halls were well lit and made of the same boring steel color as the bay. The only exceptions he noted on the walls of the hallways were a series of paintings hung at regular intervals. They seemed to be a mix of landscape and portraits with the rare occasional one that seemed to be a rendition of some sort of battle. They were walking briskly so Jarron was not able to get a very good look at some of them but one of the battle one appeared to be between Magial, or Eal’tain. He could not tell the difference between the two outside of the clothing of the ones he had met. They had the same lithe figures with delicate features. They passed several metal doors before finally stopping at one at the end of the hallway. The male Magial tapped into a control alongside the door before entering. The woman followed behind him. Jarron and Elyse passed through the door last. Jarron was very surprised when he realized the door that they had passed through was a side door into what appeared to be a smallish throne room.
“Now,” The Magial man announced before sitting down on a metallic throne centered along the back wall before continuing, “I anticipate hearing how you ended up on my ship.”
Taking a moment to think about a response Jarron glanced around. The throne room was mostly empty outside of the metallic throne the Magial man was sitting on. He saw several paintings hanging from the steel walls and emblazoned on the two main doors opposite of the throne was the same dagger emblem that was on the chest of most of the Magial they had seen. Jarron began to think it was some sort of crest for the Magial here.
Wanting to give as little real information Jarron smoothly replied, “We’re just members of a crew of a transport ship heading back home after finishing a delivery.”
The Magial woman clucked her tongue before saying, “Yurain.”
The man named Yurian asked, “Yes.”
“He’s not a very good liar.”
Yurian chuckled at her before stating, “No Mael he is not a good liar at all.”
Jarron frowned. He had always considered himself to be pretty good at exaggerating when he needed to.
The woman named Mael turned to look right at Elyse before asking, “He isn’t a good liar is he?”
Elyse chuckled before stating, “Ya but he has a good heart. We’re just heading back to Terra.”
“Tell us more. I know it cannot be that simple.” Yurain stated.
“Elyse…” Jarron said in a warning tone.
He knew that she was too trusting. Everything he had heard about the Magial, not just from the Eal’tain but from everyone else, was a warning of danger. They were a warrior race looking to prove themselves in battle.
“Its fine.” Elyse stated.
She then went through and told them the entire story of how Jarron and Elyse had met, including their capture by Tiberius and escape. Jarron noticed that she omitted the specifics of their trip visiting her father, including the fact he was Eal’tain. She just said that they found her lost father and was able to visit him. It was probably wise since Jarron heard that the Magial detested the Eal’tain. Both looked very thoughtful when she finished regaling them with the story.
Yurian was the first to speak, “Quite the tale.”
“And more likely truthful.” Mael interjected.
Yurian turned to her and commented, “Indeed. Now the question is what to do with them. We cannot just let interlopers cross into our borders without recourse.”
“And it would be a sin to just kill a bonded pair.” Mael retorted.
Jarron frowned yet again. He did not like where this conversation was headed. He had no intention of staying with the Magial any more than the Eal’tain.
Elyse said, “We could always force our way out.”
Mael laughed before stating, “You could try.”
Mael gestured towards a nearby stand. Jarron saw a series of plates begin to rise from the stand she pointed at. Panic struck him when he realized that Mael had the Gift and then Yurian must have been a focal point as well!
Chapter 16
“That’s right,” Yurian stated smoothly, “You aren’t the only ones out there.”
“We knew that already.” Elyse retorted.
“There are more human focal points?” Mael asked.
Jarron shrugged. He had no idea outside of the Eal’tain ones he met and now this Magial.
Elyse answered, “We don’t know for sure.”
Mael leaned into Yurian’s shoulder and in a soft tone said, “Brother I think they’re hiding
something.”
“Indeed.” He replied.
Standing up fully she strode down the slight elevated platform and up to Elyse before circling around Elyse.
Leaning into her shoulder Mael said softly, “Oh yes, something is going on here. We’re not quite seeing it.”
She ran her hands along Elyse’s bare arms, which were exposed because Elyse was wearing a short sleeved light blue dress that went down slightly below her knees. Mael pressed her cheek up against Elyse’s head and inhaled deeply. Elyse did not look very pleased. Mael then released her hold on Elyse before approaching Jarron. She ran her right hand along his arm before placing it on his shoulder and squeezing slightly.
He felt her press up against him from behind and heard her voice whisper into his ear, “But I am certain we’ll find out. Oh yes we will.”
Still standing uncomfortably close to Jarron Mael announced, “Brother I think we should keep them. I’ve never had a human.”
