by Joe Crouch
“Now, what was that about,” Sean questioned, demanding an answer, “I saw everything, are you sure you’re alright?”
“It’s nothing,” Zarid snapped, “They’re just some former employers, nobodies, lowlifes that the new me doesn’t want anything to do with.” Forced to accept the evasive answer he continued with his meal, digging into the side order of bitter leaves this world called a salad.
It didn’t take long for everyone to finish their meals. They remained and sat back, relaxing, soaking in the atmosphere of the establishment. The sound of clattering cutlery, low conversation, and the more electronic music that was now being pumped out through the overhead speakers filled the room. A sweet smell rolled out from the kitchen every time the loose door swung open for the waiter, revealing a gigantic chocolate-looking cake sat on the brushed metal platforms within. Drooling at the thought of digging into the monstrosity, it was only Taris who stopped him from ordering more food, warning that looks were deceiving.
As the night drew to a close the team decided to leave, paying at the register they pushed open the doors to outside. Greeting them were three stone-faced Fre, each wore a dark red suit with an insignia of a type of bird stitched into its chest. “Well, hey there partner,” the man in charge said, stepping forwards with his arms crossed, “If it isn’t Straight shooter, I thought we lost your entire team on Emeio, it seems the reports were right about a snake in the grass.”
“Leave us Pu’Ru,” Zarid barked, pushing the team behind him, “I’m out of that life now, I’ve got a job with the Ioution Fleet as an advisor and couldn’t be happier.” He looked over the three in front of him, weighing them up, “You don’t want to do this, Pu’Ru, you’ll be invoking an ire that the Collective won’t be able to stand against.”
“An ire, eh?” the man said, turning to laugh with the two female Fre who stood behind him, “Fancy words coming from a bottom feeder like you, the Ioutions must have really rubbed off on ‘ya.” A cold wind gusted down the street, onlookers stuck to the far side but watched on, waiting for it all to kick off. “Why don’t you just come with us? Do it for your friends, we will leave them alone, I promise,” he grinned.
“I remember your last promise…” Zarid yelled right before he lunged forward in a fit of rage, throwing a fist out towards the man’s jaw. Stepping aside, the punch missed, but the man managed to crack an elbow into Zarid’s back, dropping him to the floor. Pu’Ru bent down to secure Zarid, pulling out a device that wrapped around his wrists, but just in time Sean lunged forward, kicking the assailant squarely in the face.
“You’ll regret that,” Pu’Ru smiled, wiping away the thin trickle of blood that weaved down his face. In a flash of motion, the two female Fre pushed off their heels, each landed a punch to Sean’s gut, as he curled over in pain they kicked out his legs and watched him crash to the ground. Fuming, Taris grabbed one of the women by her long, black hair and threw her face first into the stone pillar beside them, with a crunch she slid down into a crumpled heap. Pu’Ru began to run towards the female Ioution looking for vengeance, but Sean managed to stick out a leg and trip him up, giving Remulus just enough time to slam a knee into the man’s face.
“Nice work!” Taris yelled, patting the confused Veterum on the back.
“We’re built for war,” Remulus said as she took up a gladiatorial stance. With a soft click, Pu’Ru pushed himself off the floor and stood with a short knife in his hand. “My life for the Emperor!” Remulus screamed as she charged the man down, taking him by surprise. With a gore to the stomach she wrestled him to the floor, the pair struggled for a moment before Pu’Ru broke his arm free and lashed out at the Veterum. Blood spurted out from her face as she yelled out in pain, the guttural rage which came from her startled everyone, but the final female assailant was quick on her feet, barging Remulus to the ground, holding her in place.
“Leave my crew alone,” Fez ordered as he landed a hard punch to the chin of the woman incapacitating her, she was breathing, albeit barely. Remulus scrambled to her feet, her usual soft green eyes burnt brightly with blood lust as they turned a deep, cloudy red as she grabbed the small blade Pu’Ru had dropped.
“May the Imperator smile upon my offering,” she whispered as she brought the knife down into the man’s chest with a lethal precision. Gasps came from the crowd and crew as she knelt over him, her chest rhythmically rising and falling as she slowly twisted the blade ninety degrees. Spurts and gargles erupted from the dying Fre, blood ran down his face as he coughed his last threads of life before he let out his final, drawn out breath. “What have I done,” Remulus cried, falling backwards, shuffling away as fast as she could on her hands and knees. Taris sat, comforting her from the realities of her actions, the gathered crowd and crew watched on, unsure what to make of it all, to their knowledge she had flipped, turning into a homicidal war machine.
“Let’s get back to the hotel, it’s too dangerous here,” Fez said, offering out a hand to the distraught Veterum. Every set of eyes locked onto them as they rushed back to their rooms, people crossed the street to avoid them as whispers echoed through their ears, the once party atmosphere was replaced with a glum, panicked tone.
Sat on the bed, Taris grabbed an emergency first aid kit from the desk and began working on Remulus’ minor flesh wound that was scratched into her face. With some salve and a fabric that dissolved into her skin, the wound quickly sealed to begin the healing process. After a few moments of silence, Sean stepped up, getting to one knee in front of the shaking female.
“What happened?” he asked somberly.
“I just… lost it,” she replied, raising her head with a tear in her eye, “We’re trained for combat from birth but the Imperium lives and dies by the code of no civilian casualties, it’s punishable by execution in our society.”
“But he attacked us, we were in combat, especially once a weapon was drawn, you did what was necessary for a bad situation, you might have saved our lives, you most certainly saved Zarid from being kidnapped with who knows what happening to him,” Sean said, trying to comfort her. She dropped her head, unable to look him in the eye.
“He was disarmed and not a threat, there were many of us and one of him, I must be punished under the rules of the Imperium, here,” she sobbed, handing him the knife, “Finish me off, I must die.”
“We’re not in the Imperium and there’s no way in hell I’m going to kill you,” he said, pushing her head up with a finger, “Besides, if we stain the sheets we have to pay for them and I don’t think Fez has the budget for that.” Laughing under her breath, she wrapped her arms around him.
“Thank you,” she sniffled, “I’ll leave you two alone, I recommend we make an early exit, we don’t need this biting us in the butt.” Closing the door behind her, Taris sat beside him on the bed and crashed out, letting out a loud sigh.
“You handled that well,” she admitted, “I just hope the poor thing is fine, she is right, though, it’s best if we leave early tomorrow.”
“Yeah…” he trailed off, laying back on the soft covers, “You’re probably right…”
Chapter 13
The waves rhythmically beat against the golden sands as the Sun began to crest over the horizon, its warm light pushed back the darkness which had shrouded the city. Sean awoke to a thin streak of light penetrating through the heavy blinds, it bathed his face in a gentle warmth as he rubbed his eyes. Sat on the edge of the bed he stretched his limbs out as far as he could. Eventually, he pushed himself up off the comfortable cocoon and made his way over towards the warm drinks facility. The pungent smell of fresh mieno filled the room as the final drops dripped out from the prongs hidden away behind the cupboard. He stood peeking around the blinds, watching the light foot traffic below shuffled about still half asleep on their way to work.
The crew had a few hours before they had to meet at the shuttle port to regroup and head back to the Mar’Ell. Knock, knock, knock, came the gentle rasping of their door, he put his steami
ng hot drink down and moved to let whoever it was, in, but within moments his brain focussed, remembering the tribulations of the night prior. A switch beside the door turned its entire face transparent so he could see out but no one could see in. An innocent, well-suited male Fre stood with a trolley full of covered dishes. Sean’s appetite took priority over safety as his stomach roared for nourishment. With a click of the handle the door gently swung open and he greeted the waiter with a smile, the man handed him two plates, wished him a good day and scooted along to the next room, cheerfully whistling a tune.
Slumped down in a chair he gleefully looked under the food’s protection to see what wonders awaited him. A selection of warm, thinly sliced meats, raw fruits, and an egg looking thing sat waiting to be devoured. Naturally, the smell of hot food stirred Taris who moaned and groaned as she awoke, bemoaning that today was the day they had to leave, “Just one more day,” she cried playfully. With a gentle peck on the lips, she took a seat beside him and uncovered her food, digging into it a few seconds after waking up.
“I don’t know how you can do it,” Sean said, swallowing the food that he held in his mouth, “If I ate as soon as I woke up I’d be sick I think.” Without another word the pair cleaned their plates and watched the sun rise out the large window, the water shimmered invitingly but they knew there was no time. Reluctantly, they each took a shower and got ready for the day ahead, he knew Fez would want to be off the planet before the authorities caught up with them.
Knock, knock, knock came the rasping at the door once more. This time their captain stood waiting, looking around anxiously. “We’ve got to leave,” Fez said, barging through the door as Sean let him in, “I’ve been watching a shady group of Fre outside the hotel for an hour, they seem as if they’re looking for someone or waiting, I imagine it is us who they desire.”
“Sure you’re not imagining things? Old age catching up with ‘ya?” Sean laughed, walking across the room, “No one will come for us because we’re ‘Fleet Freaks’ remember? They’re scared of us.”
“I wouldn’t be so cavalier about it all, Human, if anything, being in the fleet has made us bigger targets thus far.” He thought it over for a moment, thinking back to all the times they’ve been in fights or scuffles on alien worlds purely because they wore the uniform.
“Yeah…” he admitted, “You’re probably right. So, what do we do?” Fez circled the room for a moment, peering out from their window.
“Your view is superior to my own,” Fez moaned, “But I say if we leave now we won’t have much trouble, there’s only a couple of them down there, so a group of us will scare them away – I hope.” Nodding, they followed the Ioution out from their room, first, they gathered Zarid, and to his credit, he was willing to protect them if anything went down. Remulus was next, as she opened the door her eyes were wide and bloodshot. She grabbed her things and left the room, closing the door behind her. Sean noticed her gait was stiff as if her muscles hadn’t been rested through the night. Unwilling to comment, she stayed behind him as they moved towards the elevator and out from the hotel.
“Everything seems normal,” Sean declared, looking to his left, then to his right, “I don’t see any frothing-at-the-mouth Fre waiting to tear us apart.” The streets were now crowded with people, each went about their normal, daily lives as if nothing had happened the night before, he expected their escapades to be the talk of the town – But apparently, they weren’t. Remulus seemed to calm as they made their way through the dense crowd, the spaceport was a couple of kilometres away so they decided to enjoy their last precious moments on Sarimunio.
Entering the downtrodden, demoralised part of town, the mood changed instantly, the team were jumpy and on their guard as civilians hurried off the streets back into their homes. The entire area had devolved into a ghost town, nothing moved apart from a thin cloud of dust that whipped down the street in a light breeze. “I think you may…” Sean began, but he was soon interrupted as two blaster bolts zipped past, blowing small chunks out from a home in front of them, “Take cover!” Sean belted, diving to his right behind a stall full of fruits. Scattering, the team took cover behind flimsy wooden stalls and barrels as weapons fire rained down on them.
“Where are they?” Taris yelled while prepping her newly acquired XR-61.
“There’s one,” Sean replied, pointing to a man stood on top a rickety brick building, “He’s about to fire!”
“Watch this,” she smiled as she aimed down the electronic scope. In the space of a few milliseconds, a loud whirring built within the weapon as it charged, and with a loud click a thunderous clap emanated out from its long barrel. A dense, red bolt of energy crackled towards its target, and with a loud detonation, a large chunk of the building’s roof was blown away A sea of debris showered down upon them as the weapon let out a defeated burr as two flaps shot open, letting out a hot gas from the capacitors.
“Holy mother of Christ,” Sean screamed, “There’s nothing left of the roof apart from charred brick, that thing is a monster.” Undeterred, their assailants increased their barrage of weapons fire, although it seemed half-hearted as if they wanted to scare rather than kill. After a few minutes, they finally got their answer as the shooting died down.
“Hand over Zarid Shumer and you all get to live,” came a female voice, “Even the red devil, although we would take it as a sign of good faith if you handed her over, too.” Panicked, the team glanced at each other wondering what to do, they had a single weapon and a wide, open street behind them leaving them exposed if they tried to escape. In the distance a stampede of people begun rushing towards them in a cloud of kicked-up dust. A sea of bodies began flooding past them, taking the opportunity of escape they slipped in to be just another face in the crowd. Being thrown aside and juggled about by the collective mass of the crowd, Sean got his footing and sprinted in time with everyone else. He checked around to make sure the others had followed suit but noticed an obvious absentee.
“Zarid!” he yelled over the screaming of the mob, darting his eyes about. Unable to stop as he was pushed forwards, he noticed a lone Fre stood with his hands on his head, walking towards the armed men who stood waiting for him, “They’ve got Zarid!” Sean shouted to Taris. The next few moments were a blur as he came to a hard stop, the force of the horde pushed him to the ground as people continued to run, trampling over his back while he was defenceless. He felt his organs crying out in pain as not a single person stopped to help him up. His breathing became a chore as his eyes grew heavy, the world faded and blurred around him until eventually, it was dark – He was unconscious and could do nothing about it.
***
“Come on, wake up… please,” a female voice pleaded, sobbing. A violent shaking rocked Sean as he began to stir, his eyes slowly opened to the sight of three worried faces looking down at him.
“Ugh,” he eked out, rolling onto his side to spit out the blood which had built up in his mouth, “Where’s Zarid?” he moaned as he tried to sit up, his back was battered and bruised, every organ screamed at him to remain still but he pushed on, worried about the new crew member. Remaining silent, Fez held out a hand and helped him get to a stable footing. “I said, where’s Zarid?” Glancing at each other, they tried to avoid the question.
“He’s gone,” Taris said, lowering her head in shame, “We couldn’t stop him, he gave himself up to rescue us all.”
“Yes,” Remulus nodded, “A true warrior, his sacrifice will not go to waste as we make our way to Caladrius.” With his mouth agape, Sean looked on in disgust and confusion.
“You’re acting like he’s dead,” he raised his voice, condemning them, “We don’t leave someone behind, we’re gonna go find him and bring him back safely, that is the honourable and right thing to do.” Shifting from foot-to-foot, they waited for a clear answer from the captain who remained deep in thought, but finally, he spoke up.
“Sean’s right, we cannot just leave him, we dragged him down to this planet so we w
ill drag him back off from it,” Fez said, “I’ll have the Mar’Ell bring us down some weapons.”
***
“What the hell,” Zarid spoke as he slowly opened his eyes, “Where am I?” He sat on a metal chair in the centre of a square room. Large, eroded sandstone blocks made up the four walls. Rain pattered against the thin, corrugated metallic roof overhead, its poor maintenance allowed water to stream through onto the fine sand which his bare feet kicked up as he tried to move. Struggling, he attempted to free his hands and feet, but it was no use, they were secured behind his back as well as to the chair, which he assumed was bolted to the floor as it didn’t budge.
Looking about the room he noticed a heavy-looking metal door behind him, a small flicker of light filtered through the shoddy craftsmanship providing a dull illumination to the enclosure. As he continued to struggle for his freedom he felt a band slipping about his forehead, what the hell is that he thought. Noticing two antennae extruding out from its surface an idea formed, he had seen something similar to this in his time with the Collective. Proving his theory, he attempted to activate his ocular implant to gain a thermal look of the area around him, but as he tried to access his implant a bolt of electricity zapped down his spine.
“You fuckers!” he shouted, banging against the armrests, they’re blocking me with EM waves he sighed. Remaining calm he searched for any weaknesses, admittedly there were many but if he took advantage of any of them it would expose his position to anyone who was in earshot of the crumbling stone or bowing roof. Leaning his head back, he listened to the soothing pattering of the rain, for a man captured and restrained, he was surprisingly serene. The tranquillity was soon broken as the door opened with a pained creek, opening his eyes his vision was upside down but the bulky figure of the Fre standing in the doorway was unmistakable.
