***
In the emptiness of Cargo Hold One, Saleek and Kracht stood by the main hatchway. The lyan was wearing a thin yet strong armour-vest of some shiny material which would allow for maximum mobility whilst providing a reasonable degree of protection from attacks. In his back pockets he carried twin energy pistols and in his left hand he cradled a medium sized brown disc with flashing lights on it. Saleek held onto a hand-grip with his right hand to stop himself from falling over as the ship flew through the atmosphere of the barren desert planet at considerable speed. If the spiky lyan was an aerodynamically built, manoeuvrable sports car then Kracht had to be the biggest and heaviest battle tank ever constructed. The large alien was enmeshed in a suit of thick armour which covered everything from his neck to his feet. He even wore a thin helmet with a retractable visor built into it. He had a series of stun grenades attached to his armour’s back storage compartment and in his right hand he hefted a large laser rifle, while his left hand held onto the nearest hand-grip to the hatch.
‘Can’t believe I let you talk me into only bringin’ stun grenades. We don’t know if these guys are armed or not,’ complained Kracht as he looked across at Saleek.
‘I told you before,’ said the lyan, ‘we can’t just start throwing explosive grenades into the tunnels once we’re inside. At best we run the risk of killing Patrick by accident and at worst we could start a cave-in that would bury us alive.’
‘I’d still feel more comfortable with more firepower,’ insisted Kracht. ‘A few stun grenades, a couple of energy pistols and a laser rifle aren’t much when we could be facing more than forty hostiles down there.’
‘Don’t forget about this drone I’ve got here,’ said Saleek as he held up the brown, flashing disc. ‘This’ll distract them and help us to get inside without being seen.’
‘I’d take a platoon of warriors over drones, robots and tricks any day,’ said Kracht.
‘Well, right now it’s just us so I’ll take any help I can get,’ replied Saleek.
‘Zeeree to Saleek. We are approaching the target destination. You must hold on tightly. I am beginning fly-past....now!’ informed Zeeree, her digital voice echoing around the empty cargo bay.
Saleek and Kracht barely had time to strengthen their grasps on the hand-grips before they felt the ship lurch forwards, propelled by a combination of thrusters and the main engines on a low setting. The craft cut through the thin atmosphere of the desert planet with ease – the engines making a distinctive rumbling sound as the ship zipped past their intended target.
‘That’s the first pass,’ said Ellu over the com, her voice filling the otherwise empty cargo hold. ‘Brace for two more. Hang on guys,’ she added moments later.
‘You all right, Kracht?’ asked Saleek as he looked across at the big alien clad in heavy armour.
Kracht looked decidedly uncomfortable as he held onto the hand-grip for dear life, his clenched fingers almost warping the thin metal rod such was his strength.
‘I’ll be OK when I’m on the ground,’ he ground out through gritted teeth and squinted eyes.
The spiky lyan could do nothing more than hope everything was going to be all right as he tightened his own grasp on the hand-grip.
‘Here we go again,’ warned Ellu over the com.
The ship turned around one hundred and eighty degrees before rocketing back the way it had just come, shooting past the structure built into the side of the large sand dune. The ship passed so low that it almost touched the tip of the sand dune and the resulting air pressure caused a large quantity of sand to erupt upwards before being carried off by the wind to land somewhere nearby. The ship travelled a kilometre or two in seconds before turning around once more. As they approached for a third pass over the structure, Ellu could see on the sensor read-outs that a dozen aliens had come out of the structure to see what was going on.
‘Twelve hostiles now outside the structure, Ellu,’ informed Zeeree.
‘I see them,’ replied Ellu as she simultaneously checked the read-outs and frantically typed commands into a nearby console. ‘Let’s make sure we get their full attention, shall we?’ she said as she flicked a switch with her right index finger.
On the dorsal section of the main body of the craft, a hatch retracted. A metal sphere rose up into view and a thin barrel extended about a metre and a half from its centre.
‘Dorsal laser cannon activated,’ announced Zeeree somewhat unnecessarily.
Ellu wrapped her delicate fingers around a nearby joystick on her station’s control panel.
‘Firing,’ she declared calmly as she pressed the trigger.
A beam of greenish-white energy lanced through the air and struck an area of sand about ten metres away from the aliens. The impact caused an explosion which rattled the nearby supports of the structure, as well as the aliens’ teeth, and sent sand flying in all directions. The sand glided to the ground like orange rain and reddish smoke began to billow upwards from the impact crater. The aliens scattered to look for cover as the ship shot past one more time.
‘You missed,’ observed Zeeree.
Ellu ignored this comment and said over the com, ‘All right guys, get ready. I’m going to open the hatch any second now.’
Down in the cargo hold, Saleek said, ‘OK, this is it. Get ready to jump.’
Kracht nodded an affirmative but said nothing as his jaw was clenched shut. The ship turned around one hundred and eighty degrees again and slowed down considerably on its return approach. The craft dropped in altitude until it was barely two or three metres above the sandy ground. Without any further warning, the main hatch to the cargo bay opened and the dry desert air rushed in.
‘OK, follow me! Go, go, go!’ shouted Saleek as he let go of the hand-grip and jumped through the open hatch.
He landed on the soft ground, rolled three times and came to a stop. A second later, Kracht joined him.
‘They are both on the ground. Retracting hatch,’ reported Zeeree.
‘Taking her up,’ said Ellu as she typed in more commands on the console.
The nose of the ship pointed towards the sky and the ship gained altitude as it flew past the structure again, this time missing by a good ten metres. However, by now the aliens had had enough of this commotion. Whilst some ran back inside to warn the others what was happening, a handful stayed outside the structure and began to move a mobile cannon into position.
‘Ellu, I believe those hostiles are now attempting to ready that weapon and fire at us,’ said Zeeree. ‘We should destroy them before they can do so.’
‘I see them on sensors,’ replied Ellu as her fingers danced fluidly over the controls like she was playing a musical instrument. ‘I’ll take care of it.’
The aliens pushed and heaved until they had moved the heavy cannon from right behind a load of crates near the entrance of the structure to about twenty metres away from the sand dune. Now clear of any obstructions, they started to aim the long, thick barrel of the mobile weapon, searching for Saleek’s ship in the bright blue sky.
Ellu’s fingers hovered over the joystick but did not touch it.
As the seconds passed, Zeeree eventually said, ‘Do you intend to fire any time soon, or should I just tell Saleek that we won’t be able to pick him up as we’ve been blow apart by that cannon?’
‘Enough with the attitude or I’ll do as I promised and transfer you to the engine room computer,’ replied Ellu before squeezing the joystick trigger moments later.
Once more a lance of bright green energy streaked through the sky and struck the sand a couple of metres away from the mobile cannon. For a split-second the cannon, the ground and the nearby aliens were all bathed in an eerie green glow before the beam made the sand explode with a loud roar. The aliens ran away from the cannon and tried to scramble back behind cover near the entrance to the structure as reddish smoke rose steadily into the sky from the second impact crater. The ship hovered just above the sandy ground about two hundred metres away
from the structure and the aliens surrounding it.
‘It seems you missed again,’ said Zeeree, attempting to speak without sounding too sarcastic or irritated by Ellu’s behaviour.
She only partially managed to do so and Ellu, sensing the hostility, began to get fed up with her. The blue-haired alien took in a deep breath and let it out gradually. She slowly but surely got her emotions under control thanks to some mental techniques she had learned back on her home planet when she was a child.
The aliens poked their heads out from behind cover and upon seeing that the ship had stopped firing decided to make a break for the cannon again. Ellu squeezed the trigger one more time, sending a green pulse of energy into the ground. It exploded in a fountain of sparks, sending sand flying in all directions and the nearby aliens scurrying away once more.
‘If I may offer an observation, Ellu,’ said Zeeree. ‘You do not appear to be trying to hit them.’
‘That’s right, Zeeree,’ replied Ellu.
The blue-haired girl did not notice, but Zeeree rolled her eyes at this.
‘If I may ask a rather obvious question...why? Would it not be more prudent to permanently immobilise them and remove them as a potential threat to the ship?’
Ellu smiled as she said, ‘It’s not that simple, Zeeree. I don’t want to kill anyone unless I absolutely have to. Preventing them from regrouping and reaching their weapons is good enough for now.’
Zeeree was confused and this was reflected in her facial expression.
‘Curious,’ she commented. ‘I have also heard Saleek espouse the same concept many times, even in the middle of an escape from a hostile situation. What difference does it make?’
‘Because if we just disregard the law any time we want to and start murdering anyone who gets in our way, then we’re no better than savages. There are some nasty people in this galaxy and someone has to stand up for what is right and be the good guys.’
‘If your generosity results in those people retaliating at a later time and hurting you, I am not sure I understand your reasoning for being so lenient with them,’ admitted Zeeree.
Ellu simply smiled again. ‘Maybe one day you will,’ she said as she squeezed the trigger one more time.
The Hidden Treasure of Darfor Page 41