Unleashed

by D. R. Johnson

  19

  “Come back, Scout!” Naos said, shouting above the thunder and the battle. “Don’t run away now!”

  Lady Cerasi halted, examining the fight below. The fugitives’ help had arrived and fierce gunfights occurred all over the towers. She watched another window shatter and two royal soldiers fall through the opening. She witnessed Ondon’s militia pinning down a squadron of royal soldiers on a landing pad. She noticed pirates equipping a turret on another platform and firing at a mass of royal soldiers.

  Still, she could see the militia escorting the people of Catalan through various corridors. She heard explosions inside the towers and, even though some militia soldiers and pirates fell, she also saw the corpses of royal soldiers through windows.

  Lady Cerasi had to accomplish her mission. The defectors had to suffer and this boy distracted her from that.

  “Please, Scout, please.”

  She turned and saw the boy, Blondie, limping toward her. Blood stained his face and he had multiple cuts and bruises across his body, but still, he approached her. She saw the pleas in his blue eyes, and she wanted to indulge them. She had a desire other than Queen Bettina.

  “You are my most faithful follower, my assassin, my soldier, and my protector.”

  Lady Cerasi touched her forehead. If she intended to live out her purpose, this boy could not live. If he died, the desire would die with him.

  She walked toward him and she saw the mixture of fear and hope in his blue eyes. He shuddered but didn’t step back. She reached him, refusing to permit any sign of hope or affection. Instead, she grabbed his neck and tightened both hands around it. He choked but didn’t struggle.

  “No…Sc-Sc…”

  She squeezed. He puffed his cheeks, struggling to keep what little air he gathered before her attack. Lady Cerasi took in his face. The innocence in those blue eyes. The young, smooth skin, somehow unscarred by all this fighting. The lips that barely kept themselves together.

  “Never let emotions interfere with the objective.”

  Her nails dug into his neck. His mouth opened, trying to collect more oxygen. She couldn’t allow it.

  However, she felt the sensation of her lips touching his. She didn’t kiss him now, but she felt like she had. She shouldn’t know that feeling but she did. She saw herself floating in water, resting her hands on his shoulders, and she felt him embrace the kiss as he waved his arms and legs but didn’t pull back. Relaxation hit her in the present and she loosened her hands. She wanted peace. When she looked at him, she saw more than revenge and destruction.

  Naos. The one who kept her sane.

  He gasped and inhaled but his eyes remained fixed on her. She felt like their blue eyes blended together.

  “Never let anything hinder your knowledge of me.”

  Lady Cerasi felt something unfamiliar in her brain, like a cut or an electric current. She only knew Queen Bettina but she also knew Naos Redgrave. She touched her head again and winced.

  She couldn’t reconcile this.

  “Naos!” the leader, Sora, said, bursting onto the roof from a nearby panel. He didn’t aim his rifle at her but focused on his friend. “Are you alright?”

  “I…I’m fine,” Naos said, coughing and rolling onto his back. Sora rushed to him.

  Lady Cerasi turned, again staggering away from the boy. She couldn’t kill the one who kept her sane. She didn’t want to kill him.

  “She’s…remembering…”

  She again looked to the battle beneath them. The allies of the drug lord finished a squadron on one of the nearby platforms. She spotted Captain Nelson limping in the background, avoiding any conflict. His eyes briefly met her own before he limped to a lower level.

  “I only submit to you, your Highness.”

  The Queen’s government mattered to her. The Queen and her orders mattered to her. They took the highest priority, but if she cared for this boy, then she didn’t only know Queen Bettina. Maybe that meant she wasn’t Lady Cerasi.

  “Who am I?”

  She sprinted across the roof with no destination in mind. She could return and carry out the Queen’s orders but nothing in her desired that.

  “Who am I?”

  Queen Bettina marched through the main corridor of the fifth floor, turning a corner to avoid the firefight at the opposite end of the hall. She held her sword with one hand and applied pressure to the gunshot wound with her other, cauterizing it. Her face did not contort or shift out of place but stared forward as she exited the tower.

  The rain did not bother her as she stepped over several bodies of royal soldiers. The forces above exchanged a multitude of lasers and some soldiers fell off the platforms, plummeting to the surface below. Queen Bettina didn’t give them a glance, continuing forward.

  However, one person dropped off a ladder and limped toward her.

  “Your Majesty,” Captain Nelson said, pulling himself along the walkway. “The ambush has eliminated a great deal of our forces. I’m afraid that we’re…”

  He stopped, gulping.

  “Speak, Captain.”

  “…losing our grip on the planet, as well as our strategic advantage. The enemy has begun to outnumber our own troops. They’ve sustained some casualties but have constantly pushed us back. We did not anticipate an opposition of this magnitude—”

  “Once again, this is quite a failure on your part,” Queen Bettina said, taking her hand off her wound. “What is your suggested course of action?”

  “Our soldiers are dwindling, your Highness,” Captain Nelson said, kneeling before her. He trembled. “Our wisest course of action would be…retreat.”

  Queen Bettina tapped her sword on Nelson’s shoulder and one of the blades hovered above his skin. “Where is Lady Cerasi?”

  “I-I saw her on the roof of a tower, your Majesty,” Nelson said, shuddering. He didn’t look up from the ground. “Her armor was removed. She looked exhausted and…conflicted.”

  Queen Bettina lowered her blade, forcing the tip into Nelson’s shoulder. “Was the boy with her? Naos Redgrave?”

  Nelson moaned. “Yes, your Highness, I believe I saw—”

  Queen Bettina pulled the blade out of his skin and whirled around, stepping away from Captain Nelson.

  “Not just him, your Majesty. Sora Trok.”

  Queen Bettina halted, glancing at Nelson. He lifted his head, still shaking.

  “Take me to my shuttle.”

  Sora lifted Naos off the ground, placing him on a lone box that sat on the roof. He wiped the blood off his hands and grabbed his comm, keying in the Killer’s frequency. Naos coughed again, looking in Scout’s direction. Sora saw her reach the edge of the platform and stop.

  “Captain?”

  “Chok, Naos is injured. Bring the ship to the roof of the tower and pick him up,” Sora said, exhaling.

  Scout didn’t move.

  “All crew just boarded, Captain. On our way.”

  “Sora, she’s…remembering,” Naos said, coughing again and rubbing his chest. “She…couldn’t kill me. Go…get her.”

  Sora glanced between the two teenagers. He believed that Naos could bring her back and that proved somewhat true. However, Sora thought that role could only belong to Naos. He had a special relationship with her and Sora believed in both him and Scout. Sora didn’t know if he could have the same success.

  “I need to take care of you,” Sora said, rubbing his shoulders and shaking his head. “I want her back more than I can say, but you are—”

  “The crew will…get me,” Naos said, eyes widening. “She needs you. Her…real leader.”

  Sora glanced at her again. Scout still didn’t move, staring at the planet before her. He didn’t know what Scout needed from him. Sora believed in his people, not the capability of himself as a leader. He knew that Selas would overcome Anziar because Selas had strength. He knew that Fi wouldn’t give in to the Queen because Fi had wisdom. He knew that Naos could reach Scout because he cared for her. He knew that
Scout still existed underneath Lady Cerasi because Scout had determination.

  However, for Sora, it still felt like every choice ended with death. That tension and weight still felt heavy.

  “Focus on what you can do,” Naos said, whispering.

  Sora remembered his words. He remembered his words to Selas, Natalia, Naos, and Navit. Him and the crew had the responsibility of stopping the darkness. Him and the crew went too deep to question themselves now. Sora and the crew had made strides against Bettina through the smallest of actions. Him and the crew would lead the underground movement to get justice for Scout, Cecil, and Catalan. His crew stood with him and he had to stand with them.

  Overthinking no longer stood as an option. Sora still needed to act. For the sake of his crew and leading them forward, he no longer had a choice. He didn’t have a choice in joining the underground movement and he didn’t have a choice when he shot Fi. Now, he wouldn’t have a choice in going after Scout.

  When it came to the Killer crew, Sora never wanted a choice.

  He slipped his rifle into its holster and sprinted toward the end of the roof. Lightning appeared, thunder resounded, the clouds rained, and lasers zoomed below, but Sora only focused on Scout. She turned and scrambled to the right when she saw him, but he slowed and extended his hand.

  “I just want to talk,” he said, breathing heavily. “Just talk. I know you have to be confused and I can’t imagine what that feels like.”

  Scout nearly tripped as she stepped back. She slowed down, staring at him. He still held his hand out toward her, just as he had done twice on the Killer.

  “You and I have always understood each other, even when we didn’t want to admit it,” Sora said, frowning and ensuring that he didn’t move closer. “We’ve both experienced a lot of the same things, but at the end of the day, we both want justice. We want it because it’s bigger than ourselves.”

  Scout quivered. “The only justice I knew was Queen Bettina.”

  “No, that’s the injustice that you know. The injustice that you hate,” Sora said, giving a slight nod. “No matter how many experiments she does on you, she can’t take that knowledge away from you. That’s why you can’t kill Naos. You know that’s not justice and you know that because he’s your best friend. You care about him.”

  “Emotions shouldn’t dictate anything.”

  “Sometimes, yes, but emotions aren’t all bad. Emotions have always separated you from Bettina and they still do,” Sora said. His foot wanted to move but he refused to lose this moment. “You aren’t just experiencing emotions. You’re experiencing what is true. Your care for Naos is true and your care for everyone else is true.”

  Engines roared and the Killer flew over the opposite area of the roof. He glanced to see Natalia and Kossk darting off the ramp and in Naos’ direction. Scout prepared to run, but he pushed his hand forward, still extending it toward her.

  “You can stay,” Sora said, nodding again. “Scout Gash got tired of running and that’s who you are. Scout Gash is confident and she fights back. Bettina wanted to manipulate that for her own benefit but she couldn’t have that confidence without the person. That confidence only comes with Scout Gash.”

  She stared at him, frowning and caressing her forehead. Tears formed in her eyes. “Everything’s a blur and none of it makes sense.”

  “It will, but it takes time,” he said, feeling his throat tighten. A tear crept into his eye as well. “She tried the same thing on Fi, but it didn’t work for long. Fi broke the Queen’s hold on her and broke that inner pain. She remembered reality.”

  Sora glanced in the direction of the Killer and watched Kossk carry Naos onto the ship. Natalia remained on the ramp and turned her attention to him. He shook his head, wanting to remain in this moment.

  He looked in the opposite direction and saw many fallen royal soldiers on the platforms below. The gunfire had decreased and most royal transports sat abandoned. Sora noticed a few small groups of silver rushing onto the transports, evading the pursuing militia and pirates.

  Alsia and Takk charged onto one platform, taking out a soldier who attempted to rejoin his squadron. Ursun climbed onto the opposite platform, firing at two soldiers who guarded their transport. Several soldiers held their position on another platform, still attempting to push into the tower, but Felicia, Kurt, Jenn, Jaskia, Li, and Sem defended the tower, killing a soldier with every few seconds. Sora saw bodies of both pirates and militia soldiers, but he saw more bodies of royal soldiers. Everyone fighting looked worn and burnt, but they still fought.

  “It’s just us,” he said, holding out his other arm to the surrounding planet. “Just you and me now. This is your chance, Scout.”

  Her eyes repeated Sora’s process, examining the areas. Blue illuminated everything and she blinked, absorbing everything. Rain beat their heads and the sky boomed, but other than that, silence took over Catalan. Sora didn’t hear anything other than their breaths.

  “I want to trust you,” Scout said, shuddering again. Her eyes released the tears.

  “You do,” he said, nodding. His hand remained in the same position and his own eyes let go of his tears. “You told me, remember? You told that to me in a time I needed it most, right after my best friend died. And I told you…”

  Sora stepped forward. “…that you’re a good person, Scout, and a true friend. Then, I said that we will keep fighting and that we will get justice for you, Naos, Nait, and Natalia.”

  Scout trembled and swallowed, but her eyes widened. She stepped toward him. “And Viktor. And for all of us.”

  More tears fell from his eyes and he smiled. “Yes, Scout, yes. For all of us.”

  Scout grabbed his hand. Sora wrapped his arms around her and turned toward the Killer. As they walked toward the ship, he felt the tension and weight leave. He didn’t see any death or trauma, either.

  Behind them, another set of engines roared. Sora and Scout turned around to see Queen Bettina’s shuttle rising above the opposite edge of the platform. Queen Bettina stood on the extended ramp, sporting damaged armor and the same void face. Her sword still sat in her hand and her crown still held its place on her head.

  “Captain Sora Trok,” Queen Bettina said, only glancing at Scout. “You have become quite a nuisance. Not only do you aid fugitives and criminals, but now, you steal my top soldier?”

  “She was never yours,” Sora said, keeping a calm tone. Scout shook in his arms. “Not in your palace, not on the run, and not now. I just reminded her of what she will always know.”

  He saw a royal transport ascend into the clouds behind the shuttle. Every other time they faced the Queen’s army, they fled and barely survived. Now, finally, the positions had switched and they forced Bettina off a planet.

  “You are unwise, Captain Trok,” Queen Bettina said, tightening her grip on her sword. “The consequences of this will be disastrous for you, I’m afraid. I still reign.”

  “Your throne lacks the compassion required to give it merit,” Sora said, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes. “Hence, you fail.”

  This time, Sora didn’t see any satisfaction in the Queen’s eyes. The ramp began to close and the shuttle moved toward the sky. As it shut, Queen Bettina didn’t move or look at anyone else. She only stared at him.

  After the shuttle vanished, he smiled at Scout, gesturing toward the Killer.

  “You’re home.”

  20

  Jaskia rubbed the gel on Sem’s arm, examining how the burn had healed from the day before. Sem probably wanted to carry a scar from her first battle, but Jaskia preferred that she heal so she could have a second. Sem hissed and cursed, pulling toward the table in the shuttle’s small main hold.

  “You sure you don’t want to join their underground, Jaskia?” Li said, swirling around in his chair. “I think we could work pretty well together!”

  “Those guys are saps, kid,” Sem said, hissing again. “Lay off, Jask.”

  Jaskia smirked and shook her head.
She enjoyed seeing Nait, facing Bettina, and ensuring that Scout made it out with the Killer crew, but no, she didn’t have any intention to join them. They would only hold her back.

  “Unfortunately, Sora would never consent to some of our methods,” Felicia said, entering the room. Jenn shoved Chief Bosnan in behind her. “Perhaps he would agree to our protection of orphans, but he won’t find my other project as peaceable. Are you ready to continue your research, Chief Bosnan?”

  Chief Bosnan remained unshackled and no one held any weapons to him, but Jaskia saw the frustration in his large, blinking eyes. “Yes, Miss Malone. My modifications are already in progress.”

  “We helped save your people, Chief,” Jenn said, grabbing a seat at the table. “You should be grateful enough for that.”

  Jaskia didn’t know what Felicia planned and she didn’t trust her, but again, sentiment wouldn’t win anything or keep anyone from dying. The Ghosts would. They took their first victory yesterday and they had only just started to rise. They had only just started to give purpose.

  Felicia, Jenn, and Kurt supported the Ghosts. They could do any other projects they wanted. Jaskia only needed them to advance the Ghosts.

  Nait, Scout, and Naos would all disagree, but Jaskia felt at peace with that. One day, she and Nait would stand side-by-side again, much like they were yesterday.

  Until then, she had kids to take care of and to train. She had a cause to build.

  Kurt reclined in the cockpit, putting his feet on the control panel. He flipped through the pile of credits in his hand. Lately, he worked a string of intense, nonstop jobs, but if the job offered enough, he would bear with anything. These jobs came through and paid more than enough.

  As long as they paid him like this, Kurt would stick with them. Morals didn’t hold much place in the life of a mercenary, even when they made him momentarily pause.