by Ma West
Prisoner 00 recognized the girl. She was the same one the baroness had pawned off on Big M, but for the moment, his head was too concussed to remember the girl’s name. Prisoner 00 fidgeted and wiggled, but he was left helpless as that poor unconscious girl’s body bounced around the cabin with the jostling of the flight as the shuttle abruptly lifted and sped off.
Chapter 19
Tallyho
The doctors nestled close together in the corner, their tentacles dancing and caressing in an odd ballet as each new topic fragranced the room. The furry creature Logging curled up in a ball like a sleeping dog.
Yet the rest of the room stood in stunned submission as the tiny, if not powerful, frame of the baroness held the absolute beast of a warrior Aragmell in a position of mercy. “But, mistress—” Aragmell began to speak, but the baroness roared.
“That’s baroness, you murderer!”
“Yes, Baroness.” The creature looked as if it was going to beg for forgiveness, but then its face changed again. “I have failed you, my lady. You have the right to take my life. It is yours to do with as you please.” Then, taking the baroness’s hand, he moved it from his neck to his throat and rotated it so that she could simply push it through.
Rage burned in the baroness’s eyes, and for a moment, not only could she see herself pushing the blade through, but she relished the thought. Yet as her resolve tightened, it also faltered. She slowly slid her hand down from the beast’s throat, and her body fell against the alien’s chest. The baroness, who had always been the strongest person she had ever known, now sobbed and collapsed into the arms of someone she feared, hated, loved, and barely knew.
“How could you, how could you agree to it?” The tears streamed until they turned back into rage, and she beat the beast’s chest with her fist. Yet as her energy drained, so did her rage and her wall against the tears.
It took several minutes, but Aragmell knelt down and embraced the girl. “If you wish to save him, we must acquire a shuttle craft and pursue them. The planet’s surface will be the easiest place to recover him. The baroness pulled back, wiped away the tears, and nodded in affirmation. She then turned to face the room.
A strange ensemble of faces stared back at her, and her words came out garbled. “I just need you all . . . to know . . .” Her thumb went to her mouth, and she gently bit it. “Thank you.” The two doctors had broken away from their corner, and Dr. Fengie now embraced the baroness.
The moment lasted a bit too long before the baroness broke away and came toward Lady Lyndia. “I know I have not known you very long at all. Yet you have gone to great lengths and exposed yourself to risk in order to demonstrate your trust in us. So I ask you now, can you get us to the shuttle craft?”
Lady Lyndia bowed with a smile. “Thank you, your words honor me, and your trust blesses me. I can indeed get us to a shuttle craft, but I am afraid that we must go before the commodore first. Taking a shuttle craft on my own authority during a time of battle could get me killed.”
The baroness nodded. “Very well then.”
The ship shook with a great intensity. Wave after wave of turbulence pounded against the ship as its engines throttled back, pushing with all their might. There he was, restrained and helpless. Prisoner 00 had saved this girl, only to watch her die. It wasn’t love, but he had been intimate with this girl, and that was more than nothing. Guilt filled his thoughts, and grief overcame him.
The ship banked left, and the girl was thrown against the bulkhead. Her body moved without reaction, lifeless of conscious thought. He could see her chest rising and falling, but only slightly. He scanned the room, desperate for a way, desperate to do something, anything. His legs flailed, searching, feeling, hoping to find a way. The baroness gave him strength and confidence, this girl gave him longing and desire, and neither was helpful. For the first time in his life, Prisoner 00 felt truly alone.
Being carried like a doll was much less comfortable than being carried like a toddler. Once again, the baroness was in the arms of an alien, executing a plan she couldn’t believe herself able to execute, nor able to find a way to stop herself.
Retracing the path would be impossible. There didn’t seem to be a single straight hallway anywhere in the ship, nor could she easily discern most of the doorways. The walls were covered in vegetation, and the air was hot, humid, and sour. Lady Lyndia and the baroness had discussed what she hoped would happen and a couple of possible alternatives, but to call what they had a “plan” was to embellish greatly.
It was near the destination when Lyndia suddenly took a knee and the baroness felt in control of herself. The tint of Lyndia’s skin had a red hue, and the flaps of her skin were waving along her neck. She rested one elbow on her knee, brought the other hand to her head, and rubbed.
“Are you ok?” the baroness asked quietly, as she was uncertain of who was around and might be listening.
Lyndia took a couple of long, deep breaths, and then with a start, she grabbed the baroness and once again marched toward her destination. “You will not speak to me, pitiful human.” A much softer voice followed, not audible but only in her head and still quite faint. “No, but we must move forward.”
The baroness could feel the burning desire and perseverance coming from her captor, and it brought about sympathy. She knew the cause, but not the how of Lyndia’s aliments. Had they mixed the viruses yet? She didn’t remember mixing them.
The baroness felt a twist in her stomach as her worry overcame her resolve. No amount of alien company could give her the reassurance he could, and damn if he wasn’t just plain wrong, a lot. Yet he had power inside him, and his power was her power—they had become one, with child.
Lyndia leaned against a wall and held the baroness at a more restful position. The words once again came across very weak and shallow, and only in her mind. “Something is wrong. My strength escapes me, and my mind pounds in pain.”
The baroness forced her thoughts forward and mentally whispered as best she could. “Please, Lady Lyndia, I must save him. He means more to me than I want him to.” The emotional transmissions of the stones were incredible. The baroness could actually feel this alien’s sympathy and renewed determination.
Lady Lyndia stood erect once more, manhandled the baroness, and spoke aloud. “You will not speak unless spoken to. Disobedience will merit punishment.” The baroness nodded in acknowledgment, and together they stepped from an innocuous hallway and into an amazingly grand command center.
The shuttle lurched left, flinging the helpless body of the baroness’s girl, Terresa, and smashing her helplessly against a hard-tiled wall surface. A loud eruption of laser blast struck the shuttle, emitting sparks from various junctions. The interior filled with a moist heat, and Prisoner 00’s seat burned momentarily as it flared with heat.
The shuttle banked hard right and down, tossing Terresa near Prisoner 00’s feet. Still bound to his restraint, Prisoner 00 reached out his foot but only ended up smashing one of her fingers before the shuttle banked left again, sliding Terresa back across the shuttle-bay floor.
Several electronic sounds of varying pitch and intensity sped like bullets around the shuttle. His view of the cockpit window was highly obstructed, so all Prisoner 00 could see was an occasional burst of colored light in a wondrously star-filled sky. The two Xendorian captors piloted their craft in a cooperation he would have thought impossible just moments ago as the two bickered like political rivals.
Twice more, Prisoner 00 felt his seat heat up with a burning intensity as the echoes of laser gallivanted around the interior. Each maneuver that brought Terresa closer was met with an attempt to secure her body, but Prisoner 00 felt helpless. So he called in a new voice, an internal voice that seemed to project out from within him, and with that voice, he asked for help.
Prisoner 00’s seat burned his ass and forearms as Lady Imric screamed and the shuttle broke off into a dizzying spin. His stomach churned, and for the first time in a long time, he was glad i
t had been a while since he last ate. Terresa’s body smashed against each wall as the shuttle slowly spun, and she finally landed on top of Prisoner 00’s body. He squeezed hard as the poor girl’s body flailed haplessly about.
After several dizzying rotations, the shuttle now straightened out, and a bright-blue, magnificent piece of Earth lit up his small view out of the cockpit. The shuttle hummed and crackled in a tumult of electrical cracks and hisses, and mechanical pops and whistles. Terresa’s body fell more comfortably onto Prisoner 00, and he was now able to release his firm leg grip as her head gently landed in his lap.
“Commander Lymphod, this delay is unacceptable!” The voice of the commodore echoed both inside and outside the baroness’s head.
The voice of the commander was barely audible, as it only came across verbally. “My intention was to achieve one hundred percent accuracy. I will expedite the evacuation immediately.”
“Fleet command, where is my telsa net?” The commodore turned and paced the room. “Our one and only damn weapon against the Wilde and it isn’t even deployed yet! Unacceptable.”
Again the replying voice only came verbally. “Redeploying fleet to engage. Final ship will be in place at estimated time of Wilde arrival.”
The commodore barked out several more commands before he finally brought his attention to the baroness. “Ah yes, Lady Lyndia. What news have you to report?” The commodore gave her body a thorough check. “And are you feeling well?”
“Apologies, my commodore, I am fatigued, but I assure you my mission progresses well enough. This creature has revealed the existence of an object that may hold an important clue to our mystery. I request use of a shuttle craft and temporary possession of this creature for extraction of an artifact from the surface.”
The commodore and Lady Lyndia exchanged a hard look, but the baroness could sense nothing from the stone. “I am afraid that I must decline your request. New science liaison Imric will be returning shortly from the surface. Meet her in the hangar bay, and inform her of your discovery.” Again the two exchanged a hard look before the baroness felt her body rise and then fall as Lyndia performed the customary ceremony, turned, and left. “And, Lady Lyndia, do see that you make your way to sick bay after your meeting.”
It had been decades since Prisoner 00 was last on a roller coaster, and he now remembered why. Simulated motion was much different on a screen compared to the real world, and he was about to puke. Terresa’s body rested unnaturally, but with a few swift maneuvers, the shuttle settled into a smoother course, not to mention Terresa herself.
He gently relaxed his legs, and the girl’s body slowly slid downward. With each unexpected shudder, he clasped hard, squeezing her to a point of discomfort, had she been conscious. Her body finally wiggled down to the point where it relaxed against his lap as her arms dangled loosely to each side.
His nerves tightened and his lip quivered as he waited, waited to see if she had survived. Her face was down and away, in his crotch, her body trapped between his legs. Was that swaying her body or the ship? Was the bouncing her breathing or the ship? Was her skin warm, or was it the ship again?
His feelings were different now. Just days before, he had no more feeling for her than lust. Now he was desperate to protect her, to raise her, to be her father. He was desperate to be the person he couldn’t before. He was going to be a father, and for the first time, the truth of the matter sank in, and it was terrifying.
Memories long purposely forgotten now returned, and with no method to vent them with anger, he was forced to face them, and it hurt. It hurt so badly. There is no greater tormentor than one’s own self, and to be trapped with himself was agony. The pain of past memories and future fears burst out in a river of tears he would never have admitted to creating.
The shuttle’s interior volume decreased as the two pilots no longer faced immediate danger. The sound of the tears was broken as Imric spoke to fleet command and the shuttle was cleared for landing.
“Well that went nothing like what we had discussed. What do we do now?” The cadence of Lyndia’s steps was different somehow, choppier for sure. The baroness felt herself rising and falling as her alien captor would slowly relax, become aware of it, and quickly correct, only to start the cycle over again.
There was no reply, and the labored breaths of Lyndia were becoming more and more noticeable. While it would be impossible for the baroness to self-navigate this maze of windy corridors, it definitely felt as if they were heading in the same direction as before.
The baroness waited as long as her patience would allow. “What is happening? Are we returning to the others? Is there a new plan? Tell me what you are thinking.”
The intensity of the reply was startling, and heard only in her mind. “You will mind yourself, little one! I am the superior being!” The baroness froze in shock, thawed only slightly by the less chilling apology. “Forgive me, but I don’t feel well. I was ordered to the shuttle bay, and that is where we are going!”
Again the baroness focused her mind so as not to slip out some stray thought about why Lyndia might be feeling so ill. Even in her weakened state, this alien could easily destroy the baroness in a physical fight, and without her guardians, she had no way to rescue him. The thought of his presence—flawed, unpredictable, and even somehow scary—still managed to fill her with hope. Where there was hope, there was power, and wherever he was, there was hope. That was somehow infuriating to her.
The hallway burst forth in a strong red light, flashing for a second and then relinquishing. Lyndia labored ever onward, faster now with the alarm. The baroness wiggled and squirmed but was unable to free herself. She attempted to protest, but Lyndia squeezed so hard that it forced the air out of her lungs. The baroness kept her fear for the baby foremost in her mind. She wasn’t positive how the stones worked, but she could feel a small release from her captor’s pressure when thoughts of the baby entered her mind.
It was some meters before Lyndia finally took a knee. The baroness considered fleeing but thought, the better I know the enemy, the better my chances. Instead, she decided to use some mental pushback. “What is happening? What does that light mean?”
A nasty look crossed Lyndia’s face, scolding the baroness with her predatory eyes. “Yes, it is time for some answers.”
The baroness attempted to step away but was snatched up. Lyndia’s eyes now pierced with the sharp points of a predator. She brought the baroness in close, the foul smell of her breath staining her nose receptors. A red hue exacerbated her viciousness. The baroness tried to escape, but it was futile, and as they neared in proximity to the center tower, Lyndia’s mantle began to rotate, exposing a spongy circular tube.
The baroness prepared to scream, but it was too late. Lyndia was inside her mind.
The hangar bay located on the side of the ship now slid open as an orchestra of lights and signals guided the ship home. Terresa had yet to make a conscious move, but Prisoner 00 had seen enough death to know when there was still life. He had finally stopped crying, but his heart had been altered, changed in a way that would forever guide his future. The path forward was no more clear than his reality, but with its change of direction, he felt a sense of renewal, hope, and most importantly, longing—a longing for something more substantial, more meaningful, and more emotional. Something to replace the terrible, terrible past.
The ship slid nicely in at first, but a tense outburst from the team leader sent Imric scurrying in haste with the controls. A sudden jolt in the ship coincided with a twitch from the illness, causing Prisoner 00 intense neck pain.
Nervous and urgent chatter filled the cabin, but with all the pain, he wasn’t able to hear any of it. When the collision came, it came without warning. It came silently and swiftly, so fast it seemed to be outrunning the accompanying sound. The cabin began compressing, moving without pause or hesitation, as the walls crushed everything in their path.
His body lifted and changed axis, yet still his restraints h
eld. Had there been time, he would have prayed, but it all happened faster than a thought through the brain and slower than gridlock in the eyes. The girl’s body moved too, but he was powerless to intervene, and as he felt another shift in his body, he closed his eyes.
There must have been an intense flash of movement, but it was all a blur to him as the shuttle crashed into the hangar bay. In his next conscious moment, he was still seated and alive. Now, if only he could open his eyes and find the girl.
Chapter 20
The Most Powerful Force in the Universe
They came in random patterns, but for having always been in control, the baroness found it gravely troubling that she couldn’t even think her own thoughts now. Her short-lived journey replayed over and over again, each memory being scanned for its emotional content. Her fall down the shaft was examined closely for Aragmell’s role in the situation. The ambush in the corridor—again the alien was looking at Aragmell. While the baroness couldn’t quite grasp what the alien was after, it was certainly related to her guardians.
A burning sensation, small at first, radiated in the back of her head. With each new movement the alien made in her mind, it furthered the flames. She had to fight back, had to find a way, yet she couldn’t think of anything, only what the alien wanted her to remember. With fatigue and frustration, she had almost reached a daydream-like state when she saw a flash. She followed the flash with her mind’s eye, and it came again, only this time there was more than a flash—it was an image. The baroness pursued the image, and now she was able to get a good look at it.
It was the commodore, and the grimace on his face was menacing. She slipped back into her own memory, just a hint at first, but the more she focused, the more it came. Pulse after pulse, each new round brought slightly more clarity until, at last, the terror of the newness overcame her. Yet the memories she was experiencing did not match her own. The baroness had no such fear of the commodore in this way, nor had she ever seen such a look on his face. The image moved only a quiver, like pictures, at first. The more she focused, the easier it became, and soon the images were a movie.