Defender of the Stars

by Lucee Joie

  A blast of red-hot fire zips past my head so close that I feel the heat of it. Ducking, I continue my search.

  The brute force of the Qorcin is starting to become apparent. I can see at least two bodies slumped over on the ground. Both of them are women and I crouch briefly to make sure that Shirley is not one of the fallen. They are women that I recognize but they are not my human so I continue on.

  Pointing my laser, I shoot randomly at the Qorcin. Their hulking forms make them easy targets. And, while they are brutally effective in battle, with a weapon, they are much less effective. I use this to my advantage and try to take out as many as possible. If we are going to free a prison filled with women, we need to take out the enemy first.

  Gazing further afield, I check out the cells up ahead. If the faces of the women in my own group were worried, the faces of the still-trapped women show nothing but complete and absolute terror. While many women appear to hang back, to avoid the gunfire, others are pushed against the bars, crouched down low so as to avoid laser blasts but still trying to see exactly what is going on.

  Missy has said that the women knew that we were coming and I am not so inclined to believe a word she says now. Although, there does appear to be some hope on the faces of those watching closely. Perhaps Missy really did want to see these women freed.

  Another blaze of light whizzes past my ear as I observe and I return to the battle at hand. I shoot another Qorcin and watch as the warrior quickly drops.

  Scanning the room, I wonder if my father will make an appearance. However, I doubt it. He would not risk his own life just to show his own son up, or to confront me about my rejection of the Union. No, he simply sends in the worst kind of warriors available and hopes that they do their job.

  To know that my father likely wants me dead after my defection hits me like the searing heat of a laser. I actually stagger. Reaching out, my fingers wrap around the bars of a cell and I lean into the cold strength of it.

  “Thank you,” a thin voice whispers and I glance around.

  Inside the cell is a tiny human. Her red hair covers her face but I can still see the dirty marks left by tears.

  It is all that I need. This is the reason I am here. Even if my father wants to see me dead, these women don’t.

  I may have been somewhat forced into the battle. Hell, if I am being honest with myself, into the previous battle too. But, at the end of it all, freeing these women is the right thing to do. Missy may have been deceitful but even she has the right idea, the one truth that we all need to abide by.

  We need to free these women and we need to overthrow the Galactic Union.

  Even if that means we die trying.

  I raise my laser, nod at the woman, and rush right back into the fray. Fuck my father. Fuck his regime.

  These women are all that matter. That, and finding Shirley in this chaotic mess of battle.

  I fire my gun, watch as it pings off the metal bar that I have inadvertently hit. Even still, it hits a Qorcin. He is only injured, though, the action merely infuriating him.

  I shoot again and hit him right between the eyes. Once again, I am off-target. The Qorcin have a bony ridge, built up over millennia until it has become stronger than armor. To shoot a Qorcin in the face is merely an act of aggression or annoyance to the race. No, to kill them, you need to aim lower, to hit them in the chest and hope you hit their heart or that they bleed out. I aim once more as the beast roars out at me and charges. I take aim, my gun shaking only slightly as the hulk of a creature looms over me, approaching at such a quick rate that I am not even sure I will be able to fire in time.

  Then, just as I am ready to shoot, the Qorcin drops, landing at my feet with a heavy thud and I look down at him to make sure he is dead. Once confirmed, I raise my gaze and see Shirley across the room.

  She is not happy with me; I can tell that from the way she glares and then darts away. But at least she doesn’t want me dead.

  And, thankfully, she is still alive.

  I suck in a long-staggered breath as I compose myself before returning to the battle. Bodies are starting to mount up and I have to duck between them in order to properly assess the situation.

  Plenty of the bodies belong to human women but a surprisingly good number are also Qorcin. I frown down at the women, saddened by the fact that they have given their lives so that other women can have the same sort of freedom these ones only briefly obtained.

  Still, I continue to shoot out at the enemy, hoping that I can take more lives than they can return the favor. All of the groups have finally made it to the prison and as they continue to shoot, they are also moving in closer, trapping the aggressive species.

  The circle is tightening, shrinking, taking its hold around the Qorcin. I am surprised when I see how small this group actually is, impressed that we have managed to take out so many.

  Continuing to shoot at the shrinking circle is becoming a major risk, though. The potential is real that we will start killing our own team.

  Even still, I fire once more, hitting a Qorcin in the neck and a spray of blood arcs out over the rest of his comrades as he staggers. The confusion is exactly what we need and our circle is now complete, surrounding the warriors but I do not let up for a second. They may be captured and worn out, but you can never, ever underestimate a Qorcin. They will fight to the bloody end. And, now that they are contained and closer to the enemy, they are just as likely to attack hand to hand.

  And, this is exactly what we don’t want.

  “We need to force them forward,” I say quietly into my headpiece as I switch the setting so that everyone can hear me.

  The hard bars of a cell are behind me and I wish we had the keys in order to open it, to force the captured warriors into it. They would be less of a problem if they were caged.

  However, I have no access, Missy screwed that all up for us by not telling us there was an extra threat and I no longer trust her to help us. Now all I can hope for is to corral them all into a corner and have a small group risk their lives to hold them in with their own weapons.

  Or, to kill them outright, once it is safe to do so.

  “This way!” Horgeer yells and I can see that we are both on the same page.

  “We could use your help, Missy,” I can hear Shirley say over the headset but I give little thought to my stepmother. Instead, I start shooting at the closest Qorcin.

  “Follow Horgeer,” I say to the others once I have killed one of the captives.

  The Qorcin are brutes but they are not idiots. They can see that we are deadly serious. Following our direction, they finally head in the direction that I am pointing.

  I continue to assess the situation, to make sure that none of them are talking, or planning. One of the members of the group starts to shoulder his way to one side, pushing aside his own kind in order to break free. I quickly swat him over the head with my weapon and he grumbles as he returns to the main group. However, I fear it is only a matter of time before a serious outbreak occurs.

  Horgeer is directing the head of the group into a gap between cells. A bench is positioned there and normally it would be a break station for the guards on duty. Now, it is the best shot we have at a holding bay.

  I swat at the tail end of the group but I can feel them all starting to shirk away from their captivity. They know exactly how this will end if they are forced into the corner. So, they do exactly what they always do—go down fighting rather than become prisoners.

  I start shooting, hoping that everyone that I care about is out of the way, that the women in the surrounding cells are well down and out of my firing range.

  The mob continues to push back.

  Two bodies drop at my feet even as I feel the sickening thud of a Qorcin’s fist meeting with my face. The world blackens as I am hitched sideways and the room sways in and out of my vision. I fight desperately against blacking out. If I do so, I will be lost, simply another dead body in the mess of battle.

  I continue t
o fall, though. The fray around me is still in focus but I just can’t seem to keep myself upright. The Qorcin start to swarm, my falling body forgotten as they rush through the gap that I have created.

  “Quick!” I hear Shirley say. Her voice is nearby, though I can’t work out where she is.

  The hard, cold bars of a cage are stopping my fall and so I begin to slide downwards.

  The crush of bodies around me is too much and I can feel my eyelids drooping even as I try to fight my own body, as I try to claw my way upwards and out of the dangerous crush of those around me.

  It is no use, though, and I finally resist the urge to fight against the inevitable.

  Chapter Fifteen: Shirley

  “Ece!” I scream even though the mass of Qorcin are headed straight for me.

  Ece is nowhere to be seen and I continue to scream as Missy pushes past me, grabbing my wrist as she passes. Her tiny body belays a fierce energy underneath and I can do nothing against the pull of her as she drags me away from the angry group.

  “Cover me,” she says as she reaches the cell. “Don’t lose your shit now or we all die!”

  She is harsh with her words as they hiss out but it triggers something inside of me. I push down my feelings for Ece, of that last memory of him as he surrendered to the pull of death. I can’t let that destroy me now. There will be plenty of time for that later—if we survive, that is.

  I turn, my weapon shaking in my trembling hands as I start to shoot.

  “Watch it!” Horgeer calls and I start to focus in on those around me.

  I can see Horgeer, digging his laser into the backs of those closest to him. Some he shoots, some he merely pushes forward as I finally hear the hiss of an airlock behind me.

  “It’s open,” Missy calls and moves to one side. I follow her as Horgeer leads the warriors forward once more. As they try to break away, I am there at the ready, my laser blasting those who get too close.

  Pushing them in the only direction that will give them their lives, the group finally starts moving through the cell door and into their captivity.

  As Horgeer pushes through the last few Qorcin, I am frantic as I charge away from the group. Between Horgeer and Missy, they should have this covered now.

  “Ece!” I am shouting his name over and over again as I search the ground. There are so many dead bodies, so much slick blood everywhere that I am horrified. Vomit rises in my throat and I try to swallow it back. There is no time to be disgusted by what I see or to react to the moist sounds issuing under my feet as I climb over bodies.

  As I search, I can hear the clicking of further doors being opened. I have no fear for that sound though. This is the sweet victory of the rest of the humans being released.

  I cannot be distracted by that. No, I must find Ece.

  And, there he is, a slumped mess of blood off to one side.

  “Ece?” I say it softly this time as I kneel down next to him. My heart is thumping in my ears as I gingerly reach forward. Ece’s forehead is clammy with blood and sweat but, underneath that, he is as cold as ice.

  I can feel the heat of my tears as I cry hysterically. Leaning into Ece, I rest my head against his, not knowing how I am going to go on without my handsome alien.

  It has taken such a short time for him to fix himself firmly in my heart that the shock is too much for me to bear.

  Arching backward, I scream once more, allowing the anguish, the terror, the sheer magnitude of my situation to pour out of me. I don’t care who hears me. Let the emperor hear it, let all of the guards come running at the sound. I am so sad, so angry, so blind with fury that I am sure that I can take out a good few before I finally join with Ece as a bloody, lifeless form among the sea of dead bodies.

  “Shirl…”

  My scream is cut off as I return my gaze to Ece’s lifeless form. I am not convinced that he really spoke the word. Instead, I believe that I have imagined it in my grief, pretending that he is alive because I cannot fathom a life without him.

  “You ... need … to be ... quiet,” he whispers and I start to cry again. But there is hiccupping laughter mixed in as I reach forward to embrace Ece, to feel the movement of his fingers as they reach out for me, to feel the life in his form that only a moment ago I suspected was never going to be there again.

  “Ece, I thought you were dead,” I say it over and over again, punctuating my words with wet kisses. My tears mingle with his and finally I wrap my arms around him and hug him with all of my might.

  “Careful,” Ece says and I am forced to release him.

  “Where are you injured?” I ask, trying to see through the splashes of blood to identify any wounds.

  “I think I am fine,” Ece finally says. “I was punched pretty hard and was probably trampled a little when I went down, but that is the extent of it.”

  “We need to go,” Beth is saying behind me.

  I turn around and see Horgeer at the ready. I scurry backward out of the way and allow Horgeer to reach in and help lift Ece to a standing position. Ece staggers forward once upright and Horgeer allows him a moment as he settles back into an upright position. He finally nods at Horgeer and we are ready to move off.

  “Follow us,” Missy is saying as she uses her arms to heard the group in the direction we need to go.

  Ece is slow to start but quickly regains some of his former speed. I am relieved that he has avoided serious injury.

  Now that the Qorcin are captured, I have no doubt that there will be back up guards on their way. Missy has assured me that we should be safe, that there is no indication that there is trouble. The Qorcin seem to have attacked first and forgotten to press the emergency button. So, even though it has been a noisy battle, it is possible that we were not heard on other parts of the ship. The Leonida is so huge—a mini-city, in fact—that many parts have been sound-locked for the citizen’s comfort.

  In addition, Missy has assured me that she took out all of the guards on duty in the command center so that there is no one to alert anyone else regarding what was witnessed on the monitors.

  It still doesn’t mean that I feel safe. Far from it, in fact. After the advent of the Qorcin and the knowledge that Missy ‘forgot’ to tell us about them, I am less likely to believe anything she says.

  However, she has managed to follow through regarding freeing the women, of making sure that she could access everyone, and release doors as required. So, she has that going for her, at least. Still, I am on guard towards her now. Until we are safely onboard the Prennia and hundreds of miles away from here, I am not sure that I will ever feel safe.

  In fact, I may never feel safe again until the Galactic Union is destroyed. Deep down inside, I know this is the truth of the matter and I try to ignore it. I not sure if I can live with the knowledge that we will always have to be on high alert now that we have escaped the Leonida not only once but twice.

  Well, potentially escaped.

  I shouldn’t be so sure of our group just yet. Until we are on board the Prennia, until we have lifted off and are in open space again, I should not consider us freed once more.

  “I won’t leave Thuva behind.”

  Turning, I can see a frightened woman tugging on Missy’s arm.

  “We have to go,” Missy is saying but the woman refuses to budge.

  “I won’t go without him,” she repeats.

  Another woman chimes in, insisting that she won’t go without her Ochek either. I swallow hard at the realization that Beth and I are not the only ones who have fallen for our breeding partners.

  I step forward. It is a slow, deliberate movement and I sag under the weight of it. “We have no choice, at the moment,” I say and the new group of women turns to look at me.

  “Who are you?” one asks.

  “She already has her partner on the outside,” another says and I can hear the bitterness bleeding through.

  “I do,” I admit. “Ece is free and he is alive. However, these are things that none of us will be if we
try to rescue your partners. You’ve seen what we are up against, and these guards aren’t even the regular ones. Meaning, that if we venture to the men’s quarters, we risk having to battle a new army all over again. Now, I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted and we have already lost a large number of women fighting the Qorcin. There is no point risking your lives with a group that is not only exhausted but have less knowledge of this ship than the guards do.”

  There are murmurs among the women and it doesn’t sound good. I allow them their conversation, though, as I couldn’t imagine having to leave Ece behind in order to save my own neck now.

  “We plan to set your breeding partners free,” Beth cuts in and I am not sure we were actually ever going to do that. However, I let her continue. “But, in order to do so, we need to alert the other planets who are contemplating rebelling against the Union know that there is a force gathering, that the Union has already been compromised. If we do this then we stand a good chance of creating a bigger rebellion, of having your men released without too much bloodshed. If we go into tonight, with our lasers blaring, we could lose them all. Think about that. Not just your lives could be lost but those of the men you love so dearly. And, I don’t know about you but there is no way I will risk my own Ochek’s life with the slight possibility of freeing him. Instead, I want to know that I will get to see him once more.”

  “The Union will not hurt their own kind,” Missy interjects. “The emperor will not compromise his breeding program and we need to use that weakness against him. We need to trust that his greed to keep his own race alive is greater than his desire to punish those who might be involved. And, at the moment, the emperor has no reason to believe that this rebellion is headed by the Ochek who are still on board and under his command. If we march in there now and try to free them, that is the only assumption that Emperor Thahars will make. Trust me on this one.”