Galactic Destiny

by Alex Guerra

  “Is there a risk of radiation from the beam?” I asked.

  “Temporary use of the scanner on biologicals have marginal radiation spikes, but you would need to scan yourself for six hours at close range for most of the radiation to begin picking up,” said Dotty.

  “So, that’s a no,” I confirmed.

  “It is safe for use,” said the A.I.

  “That’s really all you needed to say, Dotty, but thank you,” I added.

  In the hangar bay, we approached Dagger, making our way around to the nose of the drop shop.

  “Just point and shoot, right?” I asked the A.I.

  “Yes,” replied Dotty.

  “And these buttons on the back?” I asked, lightly sliding my thumb over the top of the buttons.

  “Those may cycle the frequencies of the beams, which will show on the display. You may also use the top and bottom-most buttons to increase or decrease the power of the beam, in the event you need to scan something from a distance,” it said.

  “Fair enough.” I shrugged, pointing the scanner at the nose of the ship. A red laser point marked the center of the scanning field before a solid horizontal line appeared. The line slowly swept top to bottom several times before switching to a vertical line and repeating the process.

  When the process finished, a prompt appeared to release the trigger and the beam shut off. The display showed a three-dimensional image of the scan. I was able to manipulate the angle of the scanned area using my free hand to swipe the dataslate. When I wanted to zoom in, I used a slider along the edge of the screen. This covered most of the cockpit and penetrated the hull deep enough to scan all the instruments inside as well as the seats.

  “Okay, what are we looking for?” I asked viewing the white wireframe model on the display.

  “Anomalies are designated with a red color. There appear to be no anomalies found within this scan. You will need to continue scanning the rest of the ship. In addition, an alert message will notify you of the finding, then you would need to manually search the area,” explained the A.I.

  It would take us some time to scan the dagger completely at this rate, so I started immediately. I made my way around the ship in a clockwise rotation, continuing to scan, starting with the starboard side wing and moving around to the tail. We made our way completely around Dagger and didn’t find anything. The two women also used the device, as I manually poked around the ship a second time.

  “We’ll need to scan the inside now,” said Seya.

  “Okay, I didn’t find anything suspicious here,” I said as Dagger’s rear ramp lowered, and we went into its hold. Seya repeated the scanning process on the opening when a message came up.

  “I’ve got something here,” she said, showing us the display.

  Sure enough, there were areas marked in red. The red spots didn’t have any typical polygonal form to it, instead, looking like smears and puddles, marked along the seats and deck.

  “What’s this?” I asked. We moved towards the marked locations, but all we found were the old dried up blood stains from the troopers. “This can’t be right. Try running another scan of the blood close up,” I said to Seya.

  She crouched and held the scanner a few inches away over the largest bloodstain, which no doubt came from Del’s injured legs. When the scan finished, she held up the display and zoomed in on it.

  “There is a faint signature of a foreign substance within the blood,” said Dotty.

  “In the blood?” I asked, repeating the words and rubbing my chin in thought. “Ellar, it’s Art, you read me?”

  “I hear you, Art,” came the reply seconds later.

  “Go to the lab and grab some supplies to scrape up old blood. We need to run a test on it. Meet us in the hangar,” I said.

  “Old blood? Yes, sir, I’m on it,” he replied.

  “Dotty, are you sure this scanner works? The blood is technically not supposed to be here, sure, but I’m having some doubts,” I said, placing my hands on my hips.

  “I am positive that there is a foreign substance saturated throughout the blood. Further analysis will need to be done in the lab,” said the A.I.

  Ellar showed up with a small box of items. “What’s this about, Captain?” asked the medic.

  “Get a couple of samples from these bloodstains. We’re going to be running some tests on them,” I ordered.

  “The blood is the tracker?” he asked in disbelief.

  “We’re not sure yet. Dotty is going to run the tests with your help,” I said.

  Ellar didn’t ask any more questions, scraping up a few samples and putting them into the larger box in separate containers, and marking each one as he went along.

  “That should do it,” said Ellar, completing the task.

  “Let’s get these up to the lab,” I said, leading the group out of the hangar.

  *****

  The four of us were in the lab under the guidance of Dotty, and Ellar was able to set up the samples in one of the lab’s advanced microscopes. Coss sat quietly in his makeshift jail cell watching us—not that it mattered, he wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

  A display next to the microscope gave us a view of the samples. The image zoomed in and centered on a dense cluster of cylindrical objects. I wasn’t sure what alien blood looked like but going back to my limited knowledge of biology from high school, these didn’t look like any blood cells I had ever seen.

  “What is this Dotty?” I asked, studying the strange objects. Some of them twitched or shifted slightly.

  “These are nanoscopic robots, Arthur. In short, we have verified the tracking devices,” said Dotty.

  “The trackers were in Del and Garvo’s blood?” asked Kayton, furrowing her brow.

  “Yes, although, I would suspect that other team members may have trackers inside them, including yourselves,” replied the A.I.

  Everyone looked at me, including Coss, who turned away and sat down when I shifted my gaze towards him. Did he know about this all along? I wondered.

  “Ellar, we are going to need blood samples from everyone aboard,” I said.

  “Including the Yau?” he asked.

  “Get a sample just in case since we need to be sure. And don’t forget the prisoner,” I said, looking at Coss, who shot me a glance over his shoulder.

  “Why wasn’t this found when we placed Del and Garvo in the pods, Dotty?” I asked.

  “My apologies, Arthur. The medical pods were set to a trauma routine and did not analyze anything on such a small scale,” said the A.I. “If someone came in dying of poison, it would have been caught.”

  “If it turns out we have these trackers in us, can you make something to get rid of them?” I asked Dotty.

  “I will begin working on just the thing, using these samples here,” said the A.I.

  “Okay, who wants to go first?” asked Ellar, fishing out supplies to draw blood samples.

  “I’m just as curious as everyone else,” said Seya, revealing one of her arms from beneath the bodyglove.

  “Have a seat there, please,” said Ellar, pointing to the nearby chair. “Let’s get started.”

  *****

  If the troopers weren’t happy about the sudden mandatory blood draw, none of them showed it. They had relative freedom to do whatever they wanted aboard the ship, giving some blood wouldn’t be asking for much.

  Entosh and Piki were more reluctant. After the last of the troopers finished, Entosh trusted us enough to get the small samples taken. Piki was brave and only winced when the needle touched her arm.

  When it came time to get the blood sample from Coss, he was resistant to the point that I needed to have Dotty wrestle him into the chair with the tentacle-like arms it had at its disposal. Only after Dotty thoroughly secured him to the chair, did we enter the lab and forcefully take a blood sample.

  After marking each sample, Dotty analyzed them. It didn’t take long to get the results. Everyone that set foot on Fengar had the trackers inside them. Th
e Yau—as we suspected—were clean. Results revealed that our prisoner also had trackers inside him—no doubt, something the empire purposefully did in case of capture. I imagined a dot on the enemy’s monitor marking our position.

  “This doesn’t tell us how they were able to track the dropship. There wasn’t any blood present on the ship when we went down to the planet,” I said.

  “Uh—I can explain that part,” said Bon, raising a hand slightly. “I had a nosebleed as we were going down.”

  Crossing my arms, I looked at Ellar. “This true?” I asked.

  “He does get the occasional nosebleed, I didn’t think anything of it,” replied the medic.

  “S-Sorry, Art,” said Bon, turning his gaze to the floor.

  “It’s alright. Who would have ever thought something like this was going to happen?” I shook my head.

  “Another question is, how did we get these trackers in us?” asked Kayton.

  “We’ve been on Fengar for some time so someone could have slipped something into our food or drinks perhaps?” suggested Seya, tucking her hair behind a long and slender ear.

  I rubbed my chin, thinking of the possibility. “Could be, since I don’t remember anyone giving me an injection or anything. Our arrival from Vallus drew a lot of attention, and it would be easy for someone to target us while in Kestar.”

  “You think there is a spy in Kestar?” asked Seya.

  “It would be the last place you would expect a spy, which makes it the perfect place, but that’s just speculation,” I replied. “Dotty, start working on something to get rid of these things and give us an estimated completion time. I want the team to be clean before we go down to the planet.”

  “Right away, Arthur. My estimates put the completion of the serum at around ten hours,” said Dotty.

  “Let’s meet here again in ten hours then,” I said. The team dispersed, and I stepped over to Coss’ holding cell. “I’m disappointed in you Coss. You shouldn’t be withholding information from me. I’m afraid that if you don’t start telling me the truth, then you’re going to have a tough time on Fengar.” I clicked my tongue. “Make it easy on yourself, the choice is yours.

  Coss’ eyes shot daggers at me.

  “Undo his bindings in two hours, Dotty. Let him know who’s in control,” I said, making my way towards the stairs.

  “I have to use the toilet,” said Coss.

  “Then piss on yourself,” I said, not bothering to look back at him.

  EIGHTEEN

  I entered the lab with the prisoner’s lunch and stood near the glass watching him. He was doing some bodyweight exercises, going at it steadily. Setting the food aside on a table, I crossed my arms and watched him for a time. Sweat poured from his face, and he huffed a bit. This was the enemy, and there were millions more like him. Tough, loyal, and determined. He most likely searched every inch of the lab for something to use to escape or sabotage the ship, but it was an impossible task under Dotty’s surveillance.

  Finishing his last set of the routine, he stood up and turned around. I gave him a small wave as he used the front of his uniform to wipe the sweat pouring from his face. He leaned back against one of the counters in the lab.

  “Keeping yourself occupied? I brought you some lunch,” I said, motioning to the plate of food.

  He nodded at me, and I grabbed the food and drink. “Stay where you are,” I ordered. “Don’t try anything stupid.”

  Willing the door open, I kept my eyes on the man the entire time. I set the food on the counter just inside the entrance and walked backward out of the room. He didn’t even flinch, but I kept my guard up. The door shut between us, and he moved over to where I placed the meal. We were a few feet away from each other with the glass separating us.

  “Have anything you want to say to me?” I asked him.

  “No,” he said, picking up the fork and trying the food out.

  “I’m sure this is better than the stuff you’ve been eating, huh?” I asked.

  “A cheap imitation of something more luxurious. That Darkkon woman, she’s Seya Aranis, isn’t she?” he asked, not bothering to look up from the meal, as he continued to eat it at a brisk pace.

  “No other Darkkon people are working with the conglomerate, so your assumption is correct,” I said.

  “She’s a hated traitor among our people,” he said.

  “Well, I can’t imagine the empire holding her in high regard after she’s been whooping your asses over the past decade,” I said with a grin.

  I found a mild enjoyment in making him squirm, despite treating him well up to this point. Beating him up or starving him would not help me get the information I wanted, even if it would feel good in the short term. I needed to keep him occupied until we used that mind-reading device on him. If Coss wanted to volunteer some information on his own accord, I’d have to take it with a grain of salt.

  Dotty made a note to have one of the mind-reading machines brought aboard the ship. If we had all the tools necessary, we could essentially make the ship more self-sufficient over time.

  “The empire will see the fall of your weak Galactic Conglomerate,” he said, finishing up.

  “Really, man?” I’m trying to be hospitable,” I said.

  “It’s just a fact—I hope you have made your peace with it,” he said with a shrug.

  “I don’t think you understand the whole situation,” I began. “While you managed to take out Vallus with some secret weapon, I don’t believe that the Vael Empire would have ever approved of such an act. No, I think Prince Ibram stepped over the line with that.” I squinted at the man who watched me in contempt, his eyes studying me carefully. “I don’t know what the Darkkon are planning, but you obviously are afraid of my team and my ship, otherwise you wouldn’t be hunting us down. We scare Ibram, and he’s acting out—and screwing up a good thing you all had going.”

  “That’s Prince Ibram,” he corrected. “There had to be a breaking point. Nearly a century now, the conglomerate has acted against the empire through acts of terrorism and guerilla warfare. How many innocent people have the conglomerate killed?” he asked, crossing his arms.

  “It doesn’t need to be this way. The Empire continues to encroach on lands that are not theirs. You can’t just expect entire civilizations to uproot themselves and move on. Where would they go?” I scoffed.

  “They can join the empire,” he offered.

  “And live like slaves? I know about how they treated the Codari on Vallus. It’s in the history logs if you care to see for yourself.”

  “The empire protects them under imperial law. They no longer need to worry about the threat from pirates and raiders, especially on the fringes of wild space,” he said.

  “Oh yeah? When was the last time the empire defended a subjugated civilization from pirates? When were they ever attacked before that?” I urged, hoping for any reasonable answer.

  He didn’t answer. Thought so.

  “Probably not any time in recent history, considering you can’t give me an answer. You take the resources from the people while making them become indentured servants to the empire and conscripts for your armies, expecting them to fight against the people they once held as allies. You are all deranged,” I scoffed and dismissed him with a wave.

  “Progress and expansion go hand-in-hand. If an empire does not grow, it will stagnate and someone else who continues to grow, will come along and outdo it” he said in a flat tone, like a mantra drilled into his head his entire life.

  “What did you do on Ilo before you enlisted into the military? How many years have you been in now? Well past the mandatory three years by the looks of you.” I mimicked the scar on his head with a finger.

  He narrowed his eyes at me and sighed. “I was a farmer, and I have been in the military for seven years now,” he admitted.

  “A farmer?” I asked, surprised. He can’t be serious.

  “Yes, I know what pains are endured to feed a growing population,” explained Co
ss. “I also know how it feels when the very people we strive to help betray us, and yet I woke up every day to help the automatons and machines work the fields from sunup to sundown. I knew that if I did my part—as did my brothers and sisters—that we would make the empire stronger. From the farmers in the fields to the Emperor himself—everyone strives to do their best to work towards a prosperous future.

  “The taking of one’s land and home is part of the growing pains, but those who do not fight the change, quickly find their lives suddenly enriched with the prosperity that comes to themselves and their fellow man. I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand such a thing, as I can see that you’re a selfish man at your core. No amount of meditation will change that. You, along with the several hundreds of billions who live among the conglomerate territories, are hopeless. Someone has to show you the correct way, even if it means by force.”

  “How poetic...and brainwashed,” I commented. “You think you will end all the suffering by taking over everything then, is that it?” I laughed. “A bit counterintuitive don’t you think?”

  “Life is full of tribulations. You cannot seek anything of worth where others have tread. You must make your own path,” he quoted the Kalan scripture that Seya often quoted during our meditations.

  “So, you wait for the blood of all these innocent people to carve your path to total domination, is that it?” I mocked. “How do you explain what the Darkkon Empire is up to now?”

  “I am not in charge of such decisions, and I have nothing more to say to you,” he said, turning away from the glass and sitting cross-legged on the floor, as he assumed the meditation stance and closed his eyes.

  I studied the man for a time in silence before opening the lab door once again, grabbing the empty plate and leaving.

  *****

  Several hours went by as I practiced weapon drills at the range with the others. Switching between the blaster and the rifle, I engaged the man-sized holograms at the far end of the range, taking them down in rapid succession. Without pause, I ran the drill five times over until completion.