by Jade Waltz
Jaiya sat up and quickly removed her hands from her shirt, hoping to keep that small part of Idris a secret for a little longer.
The metal door banged open, revealing an unexpected figure.
“Evenin’, Cap. Ready to kick some ass?”
“What? How?” Jaiya wrapped her arms around the woman who always had her back, feeling a sense of both relief and worry flood her. “I should kiss you just to make sure you’re real.”
Zaera released her from her embrace and stepped back with her nose scrunched up. “Let’s not, and say you did.” She stuck her head out the door, looking both ways. “It’s nice to see you alive. We were worried we wouldn’t make it on time. We can chat later, but right now, I need to get you out of here, and fast.”
“What’s going on?”
“No time to explain,” Zaera said, shooting her a glance. “Will you be able to make a run for it?”
Jaiya bounced on the soles of her feet, testing her body’s condition. Other than being slightly malnourished and dirty, all seemed well. Her scaled side and chest felt tight but hopefully wouldn’t give her any problems.
Satisfied, she nodded. “Things could be better, but whatever you have planned for us, I’m with you.”
“We’ve taken over the penitentiary and the transport they were going to use to transfer the tributes in.” She tossed Jaiya her beamblade, who caught it without question. “It’s yours. You were the last prisoner to be found, and thank the Stars I did.”
“I’ll follow your lead,” Jaiya said, testing the saber’s weight. “Let’s go.”
The two of them rushed through the halls, dodging a few dead bodies that lay along the way. Fresh heat marks from blaster shots and energy weapons decorated the walls, along with the occasional bloodstain. Zaera didn’t bother to check around corners as they worked their way to the lift.
Once at the ground level, she understood why.
The hangar bay was destroyed. Ships and cargo were on fire; explosions had scattered corpses everywhere. Thick smoke floated into the night’s sky, dimming the twin moons’ glow.
A short distance outside the hangar bay, on a flat grassy field, was a transport circled by a group of fighters—enough to make up a wing. A group of people were loading belongings into the vessels.
Jaiya jerked her head to her Rear Wing Captain. “Is that . . .”
“Your wing?” Zaera smiled. “Yes. We decided to desert the military in hopes of rescuing you and the rest of the tributes.”
She started toward the open field, Jaiya hot on her heels. “But why?”
“It’s bad, Cap.” Zaera sighed.
“How bad?” Jaiya asked. “What happened while I was gone?”
“Those fuckin’ bastards sold us out,” she hissed. “I knew something was up as soon as you left for your mission. Our leaders told us that we forged an alliance with the Vresqoxk in order to defeat the Daextru. To fulfill our part of the deal, we were to hand over control of Terra and provide them with female tributes monthly until the war is won.”
“What? How are people taking the news?”
“Oh, it gets worse,” she growled. “There’s a draft. Each family must send either a son to military service or a daughter as a tribute to the Vresqoxk. They are making an example of anyone who refuses; all resistance is punished by public execution, broadcasted system-wide. ”
“So why even send me on the peace mission if this was their plan all along?” Jaiya asked, confused. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“Because they hoped that by having you there, you would keep the Daextru distracted,” Zaera explained. “Our main fleet was sent to join the Vresqoxk. They left us behind to guard the moon base and prevent any rebellion since our captain—” she glanced at Jaiya pointedly— “was on an important mission. As soon as you returned and were imprisoned here on Gaia, we took a vote and decided to rescue you. We’d rather die saving you than fighting a war we never wanted any part of.”
“So, where is the fleet now?”
“Our last update from Admiral Dias said they were stopping at a Vresqoxk starbase to recharge before the final push—”
“I need to warn Prince Idris.”
“We were hoping you’d say that.”
It was nice to be reunited with her wing, even though she was surprised that they had come to rescue her.
Their reunion was cut short by their rush to take off into open space—out of reach of any CTA bases. Jaiya knew of a route; she just needed to be able to guide the wing. Without her ID, she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to pilot her ship, but that turned out not to matter. Zaera had swiped a few IDs off the dead guards in case one of them worked.
Either by the Stars’ will or a crazy stroke of luck, the last ID she tried worked.
Jaiya’s nerves were fried, fearfully anticipating how the Daextru would react to her showing up with a wing and a transport filled with human women.
“What’s the plan if they deny us entry?” Jaiya asked her wing over the comms. “Is there a plan B?”
“I don’t know; you’re the Captain,” Edam replied.
“You never come up with ideas. Who do you think you’re foolin’?” Nix teased.
“To be honest, we didn’t think we’d get this far with the rescue,” Zaera shared. “We were prepared to lose the fight. If we died, we wanted to die with honor.”
A chorus of agreement filled the comms, bringing tears to Jaiya’s eyes.
She quickly wiped them away, knowing this wasn’t the right time for sentimentality.
“Okay, if we do this, you must follow my lead. The Daextru will probably turn us away, especially after the recent attack on the prince’s life.” Jaiya scanned her control panel and readings. “If all else fails, we can try to find a planet to settle on until this blows over. There are a few beyond the CTA’s reach that were declared habitable, but too small to support a colonial population.”
“Does anyone have a map of these planets?” Zaera asked.
“It should be somewhere in our system’s archive. These ships were created before we went to war, when the CTA was still exploring new locations to settle and found Terra.”
“I can try hacking into my ship’s system while we’re on autopilot,” Aera suggested. “How much time do we have until arrival?”
Jaiya glanced at her route plan and double-checked its accuracy. “We should arrive in a few hours, I estimate at five in the morning, their time.”
“Then whoever isn’t currently working, take a nap if you can,” Zaera ordered. “We may not have any time to rest once we land.”
Jaiya opened all of her communication channels as soon as they warped into the Azophi star system. The Daextru starbase loomed before them like an eerie jade fortress, daring anyone to mount an attack.
Taking a deep breath, she hailed the base, knowing it was crucial that she be the first one to attempt communication.
A familiar obsidian-scaled male greeted her, his sapphire eyes glaring through the screen.
“I see you came with reinforcements.”
“Starbase Commander Ajexk, I need to speak with Prince Idris or Royal Assistant Erlyn. It is urgent,” she demanded in his native tongue.
“You aren’t welcomed here,” he hissed. “My turrets are loaded and aimed at your party. Come any closer, and you and your wing will be blown apart.”
“For Stars’ sake, Commander! We won’t advance, but I must speak to your prince.” She pulled down her shirt’s collar, exposing the line of golden scales nestled between her breasts. “I risked my life for him. I care for him. Why else would I return?”
The Daextru behind the commander stopped what they were doing and stared at her with a mixture of shock and awe covering their faces. News about how she had been healed must not have spread. No matter, she would flash the entire starbase if it gained her an audience with the prince.
“Get Prince Idris,” she snarled. “Let him decide whether or not he wants to listen to what I have to s
ay. But know this: if you turn me away, the bloody consequences are on your hands, not mine.”
Ajexk gestured to his communications staff. “Page the prince. Tell him Jaiya Lian has returned.”
The screen went black.
Jaiya punched her steering wheel as she growled in frustration.
Why must things be so difficult?
She took a few calming breaths and sent a prayer to the Stars that the prince would respond.
“Halt your positions! Don’t move until I say so. We are idling until I hear word from the prince or his assistant.”
“Since when do you know Dzexet?” Zaera asked, the shock in her voice traveling over the comms.
“What, none of you guys do?”
A chorus of no’s answered her.
“How did you guys communicate with them on the battlefield?”
“I always ignored them,” Edam replied.
“I could tell when they were mocking me by the tone of their voices, so I just cursed back at them in Common,” Nix chuckled. “It was fun to give them a dose of their medicine by shooting back whatever crazy shit I could think of. I’ve called them ‘dumb as nails’ and ‘a bunch of space rats’ and various other colorful things.”
At that moment, Jaiya wanted to smack the kid so hard. Nix was the youngest in their crew and had only gotten in because he was Edam’s younger brother. The guy was a fine pilot, but his lack of tact would get him in trouble, or worse, killed someday.
“Edam, you are in charge of making sure Nix doesn’t say anything foolish,” she announced. “I don’t need him to piss off the Daextru any more than we already have.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“That goes for the rest of you, too.” Jaiya checked her controls to make sure the transport and all of her wing’s comms were open and connected to her system. “We don’t have a foolproof backup plan if this fails.”
Her comms dinged, signaling she was being hailed. A split second later, she answered, not wanting to make them wait.
Prince Idris greeted her, with Erlyn and Ajexk positioned behind him.
A flash of worry crossed his teal eyes before they hardened into those of a man on a mission.
“What can I do for you, Jaiya Lian?” Idris asked, his voice cold as ice.
“I am here to warn your people about an imminent attack. My Rear Wing Pilot has urgent information to send you; I hope we aren’t too late,” she sighed. “I know you may not have the fondest of feelings towards me—or my people—at the moment, but I am hoping you can look past that. The fates of many of your own people’s lives are in your hands. It is up to you whether or not you are willing to trust me and allow me to help.”
“Why should I trust you?”
She flicked her gaze at Erlyn, who stared at Idris in disbelief.
“You once gave me my beamblade and asked me to show you how it was used. I could have stabbed you then, but I didn’t. If it wasn’t for your assistant’s trust in me, if he hadn’t returned my beamblade after you attacked me in the arena, I wouldn’t have had the means to save your life the very next day.”
Idris stared at her, his face devoid of any emotion, as if testing her—or deciding her fate.
“You and your team will be escorted to the hangar bay, where you will dock and undergo a full inspection. Only after you pass will we speak.”
“Thank you, Prince Idris.”
“Don’t thank me yet.”
Jaiya waited quietly until the tractor beams parked her fighter in its assigned location. Her wing and transport were stationed nearby, waiting to follow her lead.
Jaiya wasn’t foolish. She knew the only reason she hadn’t been shot down was that Idris wouldn’t be able to live with himself, knowing he could have saved more innocent lives. That was why she’d mentioned the attack rather than the sanctuary they sought from their own people. She hoped she could convince him to allow them to stay—even if it meant siding with the Daextru in the fight against the CTA.
She cut her engines, going through the motions without conscious thought. She would need all the energy she could get if they refused.
She unlatched her harnesses and climbed out of the cockpit, refusing to delay the inevitable. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she reached for her sheathed beamblade and tossed it to Raizxl, trusting he would catch it.
Shock crossed his face as he looked between her and the weapon in his hands. The reasoning behind her action dawned on him, and he nodded respectfully back at her.
As she turned to face the male who haunted her every thought, she scanned the hangar bay.
The lack of fighters in the bay and command ships docked outside told her that the fleet was gone. The hangar bay was instead filled with the Daextru crew that had been left behind.
A sea of tall metallically horned aliens surrounded them, armed and ready to protect their prince. Their serious expressions and blank stares met her gaze as she passed them.
Prince Idris was surrounded by his entourage, poised to hear what she had to say. Erlyn and Ajexk flanked him, together with Raizxl and an older purple-scaled male she didn’t recognize.
When their eyes met, Idris sucked in a breath as he took in her horrible condition.
There was no time to be ashamed or worried about offending him with her rough appearance. He knew who she was underneath the grime.
Jaiya dropped to the ground, her knees buckling underneath her as she pressed her forehead to the floor. The sounds of her crew following suit broke the silence in the hangar bay.
“Prince Idris, pardon my unpleasant appearance. I’ve come a long way to see you, so I hope you will listen to what I have to say,” she told the ground in Dzexet. Even though her crew didn’t understand her words, the Daextru around her would. “After I left the starbase, I was captured and thrown in prison. My crew rescued me, along with a group of female citizens about to be sent as breeding tributes for the Vresqoxk.” Snarls erupted around her, giving her the confidence to continue. “The CTA sold out to the Vresqoxk. They hoped that your assassination would serve as a declaration of their commitment to the alliance. I spoiled their plans, so I was to be offered as first tribute, my punishment broadcasted across the galaxy to deter future rebels. I am here to let you know that your sister’s fleet is in trouble. The CTA have drafted an enormous army and is on their way to join forces with the Vresqoxk front.”
Chatter erupted in the room, but Jaiya didn’t dare lift her head. Bowing wasn’t a Daextru custom, yet the gesture was universal—complete submission to the one in charge.
She knew her place. Outside of her fighter, stolen from the CTA, she owned nothing.
“Silence!”
Instantly, the room fell silent, waiting for the prince to speak. The anticipation was starting to eat away at her.
Did I read him wrong all along?
A gentle hand grasped her shoulder, but still, she dared not look up.
“Do you speak the truth?” Idris whispered as if they were alone. “Jaiya, please don’t let this be another—”
“I’ve explained myself to you. Is that not enough?” Jaiya sighed and looked up, throwing etiquette out the window. “I risked my life, along with my crew’s—again—to warn you about an ambush. Don’t disregard my warning because you judge me based on a lie I told to protect myself. I hoped my actions since then would prove my honor to you; male or female, I am still the same person on the inside. Do you truly only care about what’s reflected on the outside?”
He flinched as if she had smacked him and dropped his hand, looking away.
She switched to CTA Common to allow her crew to understand. “I demand sanctuary for my crew and me.”
His teal eyes met hers, no longer slit in shock. “Search my crew and our ships. My Rear Wing Captain, Zaera, can provide you with all the details on the incoming army. In return, I request adequate quarters. We can work for our keep. Our government has abandoned our people to the Vresqoxk, so we refuse to fight for them—or al
low them to sacrifice innocents for their own gain.”
“I can’t make this decision by myself,” he replied, matching her change in language. “I need to contact Ushyaz and relay your warning. The best I can do is provide you with a safe place to rest until a verdict is reached.” He scanned the pilots behind her. “I hope that is enough for now.”
“And if you decline us sanctuary?” Zaera asked. Jaiya would have winced at the bold interruption if she herself hadn’t breached etiquette just a few seconds ago. “What will you do with us then?”
Idris and his team followed the direction of Zaera’s voice. She knew most of the Daextru understood basic CTA Common, but she wondered how much they actually picked up. From their reactions, it was enough.
“We will trade your information for supplies and charge for your ships—”
“That won’t do, Prince Idris,” Jaiya declared, as she stood up, chin high, daring him to disagree. “A life for a life. You owe me a life debt. Now I am here to save both you and your people, and you refuse to grant quarter to my crew? The least you can do is treat us honorably, regardless of how you feel about me.”
“What she says is true, Sire,” Erlyn admitted in his native tongue. “It would be wrong to turn away a plea for sanctuary, especially considering the risk they took to warn us. It is the least we can do until a decision is made about their future. We have enough work in the empire for the refugees to make themselves useful. That would be up to your family to decide.”
“See to it,” Idris replied in CTA Common, glaring over his shoulder at his assistant. “Send them to the lounge and tell the Galley to provide them with some refreshments after they have been inspected and vetted.” He turned and faced Jaiya, scanning her body once again. “And find a place for the Wing Captain to freshen up with something clean to wear.”
“All due respect, I would rather stay with my crew until our fate has been determined.”
“So be it.”
“Does their story check out?”