by B R Flores
“No problem Azha. Belton and Choan can train the Quizan soldiers on the Neco Lasers.”
Choan had no desire to remain on Palatu either. But being a disciplined Special-Ops Sgt., he knew better than to ask Victis for anything personal or self-serving. Plus, training soldiers with Belton was an important assignment.
It was settled, Belton, Phera, and Deneb turned into energy and flew out of the Caverns with Victis trailing close behind.
Outside the massive Ryquat battleship the three lights waited until Victis was inside the docking bay. From there, they followed him down the maze of corridors into a lounge. It was anyone’s guess who was more frightened, the Ryquats or the Quizans. The tiny orbs of light flashed into silver fireflies buzzing a delightful dance around their hosts. Victis raised his arms, then lowered them, orchestrating the beginning of new lives with two souls and one voice.
Victis watched the Ryquat lives fade from their eyes and their bodies stiffen as they fell into a deep trance, no longer in control. The moments between the death and the creation of the Trekachaws were frightening to behold. Victis wasn’t sure if a mortal was worthy of witnessing such a miracle. But unable to look away, he saw the tiny spark of light from their dead eyes reveal the first sign of life. Brighter and brighter the silver light grew, consuming their faces until the light exploded into bolts of silver. Victis tried not to stare, warning himself to look away. He’d lost his will; euphoria was consuming his soul. Screaming in his head, he told himself to move, run away, get out of the room.
Somehow, he found the strength to stagger out of the lounge and slam the door shut to cut off the burning desire to submit. Terrified, he slumped against the corridor wall to steady his trembling body and weak legs. Was it possible to join three souls or had he touched death and survived? A second later would have been forever one way or the other. Rubbing his burning face, Victis shook off his fears and lingering euphoria. Now more than ever, he understood the unspoken revelation and desperately wanted to become a Trekachaw.
Victis heard the lounge door open, but his burning eyes were still unable to focus. He blinked again and again, then squinted. A blurry silhouette came into view.
“Can you hear me, Captain?”
Victis could not discern who was talking. Was it Belton? If it were, his squeaky voice had transformed into a deep baritone.
“Shall I return to Palatu?”
Still fuzzy, Victis questioned everything including himself.
“Ah, yeah Belton? Yes, Palatu. Help with the Neco Weapons AFAP. There are only twelve, so be selective. One more thing, remind Azha that I need him on ship.”
He must have sounded drunk. It would’ve been nice to have had a few more minutes to clear his head. Of course, that would be asking too much. Little did he know, Phera and Deneb had been standing in the corridor watching him the entire time. Rubbing his eyes again, Victis decided he could see well enough to walk down the corridor. Wowzers, was he caught off guard! Two female Trekachaws were standing right in front him! They were spectacular. Victis had always fancied himself a Casanova, a smooth operator. All that was about to change. When he opened his mouth, it was as if his tongue was tied, fat and dumb, “Blah-ah, blah ay-ya.” What the hell was he saying? This was incredibly embarrassing. His crude thoughts were disturbing, even to him. Damn, the more he tried to stop thinking about it, the worse they got. Such inappropriate raunchy acts that he’d love to do to them. Shit, could they read his mind? No, Azha couldn’t read minds, so neither can they. Holy-Toledo their bodies were perfect, and they were naked, completely naked.
Before anyone caught him gawking at them, Victis directed his eyes upwards gazing at the ceiling. Well that looked stupid, so he looked down focusing on the patterns in the floor design. Damn it, he could still see them from his peripheral vision. Next impossible feat, how was he going to communicate with them? His heart was racing, and he could feel his face turning bright red.
This was out of control; he was out of control. Shit, I can’t stop myself, don’t think about it. Not now, are you kidding, this was bad. He was aroused, and it wasn’t going away anytime soon. Seeing no other option, Victis quickly and awkwardly walked away.
Phera and Deneb were concerned about the Captain’s bizarre behavior. They figured he was under a lot of stress and it would be best not to ask him to explain whatever it was he was saying. Instead, they waited until Victis disappeared around the corner to explore the ship. Deneb suggested they look for Azha first, believing Phera would jump at the chance. Her response surprised Deneb. Phera was flippant and declined the offer.
“Nope, let’s find Roon. I’ll run into Azha soon enough.”
Towering above the crewmen, they gracefully strolled down the corridors, unaware of the commotion they were causing. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to watch the magnificent female Trekachaws pass by.
Determined to resolve the naked female Trekachaw problem, Victis walked as fast as he could to his office. He requested the first available nurse. Exactly four minutes and eight seconds later, nurse Anna knocked on his door. Not that Victis was counting every second.
“Come in and close the door behind you.”
Anna felt her hands trembling and hid them behind her back. Since the first day she was assigned to his battleship, she’d had a crush on the Captain. Anna kept her feelings to herself because the Captain never showed any interest and because of the strict rules regarding superiors fraternizing with subordinates.
“Sit down,” Victis barked, pointing to a large leather chair across from his desk.
She promptly sat down and waited for the Captain to continue. Victis bit the inside of his lip trying to decide how he was going to phrase this unusual request. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “Do you know about the Quizans and Ryquats merging?” Victis asked.
“Yes, they’re scheduled for physical exams.”
“That’s perfect. Have you seen the females yet?”
Anna admitted that she had not seen them, but assumed they were somewhat like Pax. ‘Good, he thought. She knew about the males being naked.’
“I need a discreet favor from you.”
Direct orders or favors from a Captain were unorthodox. Confused, she told him absolutely and thanked him for the opportunity. Victis leaned back in his chair and smiled.
“All right then. Your assignment is to locate the two female Trekachaws, Phera and Deneb. Phera is the taller, prettier one. I want you to instruct them on how to wear clothes. If none of the garments fit, escort them to the couturier. Be discreet and stay with them until they’re acclimated. Can you do this?”
Anna was disappointed. As always, the Captain showed no interest in her.
“Yes Sir, I promise to be discreet and make it my priority.”
“Okay, keep me posted on their progress.”
Victis was relieved to have that problem behind him. Communications squawked a transmission, interrupting his thoughts.
“Captain respond to the bridge, Crozin battleships detected.”
On his way to the bridge, Victis mulled over in his head the strategy he’d been considering, “I’ll use Pify’s Umdul ship as bait and camouflage my ship for an ambush. The Crozins still think I’m en route to Europa. Two to five aren’t good odds, although the element of surprise could give us a fighting chance. Our battleships are far superior, polished from stem to stern. Crozin ships are neglected junk. Calculating the Crozins’ speed and coordinates, their estimated arrival time should be in about three hours.”
Victis briskly walked onto the bridge and sat down in the Captain’s chair. The crewmen were at their posts prepared for battle.
“The Crozins underestimate our resilience. Power up solar thrusters, check monitor codes, and ready the weapon systems. Akio… match the Crozin lead battleships’ speed as they approach. Once we’re in orbit, mirror its rotation around Palatu. To conceal our ship, I want the Crozin’s sensors to think we are a reflection off the planet or a glitch on
their radar.”
“Yes Sir, no problem.”
On a closed frequency, Captain Pify confirmed he was in position and prepared for battle.
fourteen
DIES IRAE
“A FOOL… IS TO NEVER RIGHT WHAT YOU KNOW IS WRONG”
ATUE and Vopar floated down the corridor towards the bridge. This Crozin ship was the exact same design as the older Ryquat X1-R Model Battleship, phased out over a decade ago. Somewhere along the way Atue’s thoughts drifted off visualizing the days when his Human-half, Einstein, attended the United Achates Space Academy. Upon graduation, he received the distinguished award for Engineering and Aero-Space Technology because of numerous technical upgrades he invented for the X1-R. This solid old ship was familiar and steadfast, except for the antiquated weapon systems. He was confident the primary apparatus could be modified, thus increasing solar assimilation of geodesic and chiral molecules. With a couple of minor adjustments, he could boost propulsion and dramatically improve the weapon systems.
Vopar had taken a detour inside an armory. The temptation to snoop paid off. He’d discovered a cache of Laser Neco weapons stowed inside an unlocked cabinet. Vopar slipped a glove over his hand and waved at Atue floating above. After testing the laser indicators for efficiency, Vopar closed his fingers into a tight fist. The Neco glove was a perfect fit. Atue morphed into body form to search for his own glove. Faint sounds of approaching footsteps alerted them. Atue and Vopar ducked behind a cabinet and waited. Outside the doorway the footsteps grew louder then stopped. Whoever was standing outside rattled the locked doorknob before walking away. That was a close call. From now on they’d be more careful.
Discussing the pros and cons, they decided it best to leave their Neco Weapons behind. Carrying the weapons would make it impossible to scout the ship while in energy. For now, they needed to avoid detection. Taking a quick tour of the ship, they counted twenty-six Crozins, plus four still trying to figure out what caused the failure in the solar grid station, and an Ukaru sitting in his office adjacent to the bridge. Commandeering the ship was going to be easy. Fired up, Vopar and Atue streaked through the thick metal walls into the armory and morphed into body form. They slid their Neco gloves on and unlocked the door to step out into the corridor. Intruder alarms instantly sounded throughout the battleship. A bridge monitor displayed two armed aliens walking down the corridor leading to the bridge. Atue fired his Neco at a control box on the wall. The relays melted, freezing the last images of Vopar and Atue onto the screen of the bridge monitor. The Crozin Ukaru stormed out his office and sat at the helm. “Car-duc. Gen!”
A crewman secured the doors from the control station and awaited the Ukaru’s next command. The bridge was alive with flashing lights blinking on and off. It was no wonder the two Trekachaws floating in energy above were unnoticed. Vious understood the Crozins enough to know that it was time to attack. Silently, their lights descended behind the helm where they morphed into body form. A muffled belch escaped from the Ukaru’s mouth as Duro broke his neck.
A crewman watching a monitor was requesting instructions and clarification from his dead Ukaru.
“Do you want the decks eradicated? What are your orders?”
Vious crept over to the door and unlocked it, allowing Atue and Vopar access to the bridge with their Necos. The four Trekachaws rallied to the center of the room and waited for the crew to notice. Not one Crozin turned around. They were so glued to the monitors, they didn’t notice that the aliens they were searching for were standing behind them. Atue found it strange how the Ukaru appeared tranquil sitting at the helm. His death came swiftly, leaving the smug grin on his repulsive face forever.
Exasperated by how oblivious the crewmen were, Vopar clapped his hands a couple of times to get their attention. And still they were clueless. No longer amused by their stupidity, Vopar pointed his Neco at the Crozin’s head standing at the far-left side of the bridge. A thin, red, laser beam sliced through its skull and continued across the skulls of six more Crozins. It seemed much longer than expected before their bodies slumped to the floor. As they fell, the top half of their skulls slid off exposing the laser’s clean slice and their brains. The Crozins’ battleship was theirs.
fifteen
PALATU EXPOSED
AZHA and Choan gave up on the twelve modified Neco Lasers. They were never going to fit the soldiers’ hands. How ludicrous, no one asked how many fingers they had? The Necos were worthless unless they fit properly. Worse case, the extra finger could cause a mal-function resulting in serious injuries or death. Back to the frickin rocks and spears for the Quizan soldiers.
Choan worked alongside the soldiers stacking rocks into neat pyramids, while Azha finished filling the last two vine totes. Racking his brain, he tried to think of anything else that could help prepare them for the invasion.
“Choan, what else can we do to get ready?”
Choan pretended not to hear Azha.
“Should we make more spears? Do you know what a Crozin looks like?”
Choan glared at Azha, irritated.
“What did I do? You’ve been like this all day. If you’ve got a problem with me, spit it out.”
Tight-mouthed, Choan chucked the rock he was holding onto the ground and his stripes glowed bright red with a tinge of purple. Every soldier in sight flashed into energy and disappeared.
“What was that for? What’s your problem?” Azha shouted.
“You’re my problem. Why did you have us call rocks… Frickin Rocks? And making Roon the Rangemaster of rocks and spears? Big joke on the stupid Quizans. Well, it’s not funny, Azha.”
“Whoa, I did not name rocks frickin rocks as a joke. When I returned from Earth, everything was confusing. My merge was not easy like yours. I stole Cole’s body. I sincerely regret what I did, but I’m paying for it dearly. He constantly resists, and I can feel his wrath burning inside of me. And about the frickin rocks, I’m not the one who named them. If you remember, it started when I tried to explain how to bury the two Gystfins. You were there. They reeked, stinking up the whole village. None of you knew what bury was, or how to dig a hole. I came up with the ditch, remember? Zith led us to a ditch where we threw them in. All of us where throwing rocks into the ditch to cover them up. Roon asked me what kind of rocks to use. I said any damn frickin-rocks will do. Frickin came from Cole, I never heard of the word frickin until then. That’s when Roon started calling any rock used for a weapon, a damn, frickin rock. Rather than correcting him, I figured at least everyone would know which rocks were being used for weapons.”
BELTON FLEW INTO THE VILLAGE adjacent to the tree line. Choan and Azha didn’t notice. They were in a heated discussion about frickin rocks. Determined to get their attention, he flew across the courtyard and landed in front of them. Since they were being rude, why not interrupt them? “Why are you arguing about frickin rocks?”
Azha stopped mid-sentence, “Is that you, Belton?”
Belton’s stripes beamed brilliant green with pride, “Yep, it’s me.”
Curious Quizans buzzed in circles around the new Trekachaw. A few soldiers crept up to inspect the area where his leg had been injured. Belton squatted up and down, demonstrating his resilience. “Before I forget Azha, Cpt. Victis gave me orders for us to swap places.”
For Azha, this was good news even though backstabber Victis had sided with Phera. He tried to imagine her as a Trekachaw and wondered if her personality had changed.
Choan refused to join in on the conversation and continued to stack rocks. Geez, Azha was in a bad mood and Choan was red. Belton was beginning to wish he’d stayed on board. Perhaps saying something positive would help?
“I can help train the soldiers on the Neco weapons.”
Wham. Choan chucked the rock he was holding into the soft red dirt. And once again, frightened Quizans flashed into energy and scattered throughout the forest. Azha was fed up with Choan’s constant grumbling and foul mood.
“Knock it off, you’re
scaring the soldiers. We’re all worried.”
Choan’s fists were clenched and his stripes glowed purple. Azha stiffened and his yellow eyes narrowed. “That’s it, you want to fight? Come on, one of us will die.”
Choan squared off for a moment, then relaxed his hands. He looked defeated and sad, calling out to those hiding in fear, “Forgive me, I would never hurt any of you.”
The tree tops sparkled with little bursts of light. One after another, the soldiers buzzed to the ground and morphed into body form.
Haunted by what he was about to reveal, Choan’s stripes had faded to a pale tan. Azha felt bad for chastising him so severely, but maybe now he would talk about it. Choan sat on a tree stump and let the rock he was holding roll from his hand onto the ground.
“Do you remember why Duro and I came to Cavern Village?”
Azha nodded, yes.
“Remember how my Silwat Tribe was massacred by the bad Ryquat?”
“Yes, I remember.”
Fighting his emotions, Choan closed his eyes. Azha assured him that whatever it was, he could be trusted. Choan opened his eyes filled with tears.
“The bad Ryquat who killed my entire village, Duro’s family, my mom, dad, my wife and little quiey,” He paused then spoke in a whisper, “He’s my Ryquat uncle. You struggle with Cole’s soul because you stole his body. My souls are ripping me apart.”
Azha was truly speechless.
“My Ryquat-half loves and admires my Uncle Doug. My mom worships him. She believes he’s a hero. After my father died in the war, he raised me like a son. That monster taught me everything since I was ten years old, and he was a key part in my acceptance at the Fidus Achates. He’s a distinguished commander with formidable power and the fifth generation of a spotless military history. How can I tell Duro that I’m half-monster? No matter how much my Ryquat half fights me, if I get the chance, I’ll kill him.”