From the Ashes

by A B Lucian

  With a slowness and delicacy Yosh hadn’t thought him capable of, Miles raised his muscular arm, straightened his shoulders, and pointed a thick, crooked finger at the captain. “I joined this crew to kill arkanians,” he said in the deathly silence. “This ship had a reputation. One that reached the resistance on Earth. That’s why I ran, that’s why I found you, and that’s why I joined you. There was no way I could win freedom for Earth by fighting in the mountains or between the remains of skyscrapers. Freedom has to come from up here.” He cracked his knuckles. “Isn’t this the ship that wiped out the entire crew of an arkanian heavy frigate? Were the stories I heard wrong? Aren’t you the same Alain Arkan Dupont of the fearless Archibald? Where the fuck did that guy go? I came here to kill arkanians and to free Earth. Now I demand that the infamous Captain Dupont I heard so many stories about lead me through it. So get him up here. Where is he?”

  For a moment, it seemed Captain Dupont would jump across the table and crack Miles in the jaw. He didn’t. His eyes lost their fiery anger and Yosh saw sadness spread across his broad face. “Miles, on that day you speak of, the Alain Arkan Dupont you want got half his crew, half his friends and the only man in the galaxy he could call ‘father’, killed. And for what? One meagre frigate…” His shook his head. “I lost thirty friends and a father that day because I was too proud to back down.” He spread his arms toward the surrounding crew. “I will not lose twenty-three sons and daughters today because pride or bloodlust did not allow me to hide.”

  Miles seemed taken aback by that. “It wasn’t…” he said in a weak voice. He cleared his throat. “It wasn’t for nothing. You got to know that. The arkanians tried to cover up the incident, but they couldn’t. Not this time. When word of what you did reached the resistance on Earth, morale soared. We had been alone for over a century—a century of fighting a never ending guerilla war. You can’t imagine how people in the resistance live, what they face every day. And they do it their entire lives. But the food shortage isn’t their real problem, the sleepless nights aren’t what worry them; the constant threat of death isn’t what they’re most frightened of. What scares them most is the possibility they might be alone in this fight. That it’s futile, that they’re fighting for nothing, and that humans all across the Galaxy have settled and are playing nice with the arkanians.

  “What you did captain… it showed them they weren’t alone. It showed them they weren’t the only ones kicking the arkanians in the teeth every chance they got. You lost thirty friends and a father that day, and I’m sorry. I know what it’s like, I swear to you. But on that same day, you also won fifty thousand brothers and sisters back on Earth. And they expect great things of us.”

  Sabina was waiting by the door when Miles finished talking. Yosh felt this was the right moment, the turning point, so he walked to her side. He looked at everyone in the mess hall and spoke to the captain. “You told me my grandfather was the last Protector, captain, but that he isn’t anymore. That he has me now. And you were right. I cannot leave him in the hands of the arkanians. I will save him. And I will kill Mikail for everything he’s done. Come with me and we’ll turn this potential disaster into the greatest victory against the arkanians the stars have ever seen.”

  Yosh waited. The words he’d used surprised him, but he let nothing show on the outside. He had used many expressions from the books about Earth and the Protectors, but it didn’t matter. The atmosphere in the mess hall had changed, and along with it the expression on the captain’s face.

  The captain was like Assai’s father, and Yosh would understand if she didn’t want to go against his wishes. But Assai rose and strolled over to the captain. He hunched over the table, head sagging and shoulders slumped. She kissed him on the cheek, thanked him for everything, and turned to walk over to Yosh. The captain’s massive hand shot out and clutched her thin arm, stopping her. A knot caught in Yosh’s throat. He wasn’t going to let her come.

  His gaze rose from the table, studied Assai. Assai stood firm, returning the hard gaze. The captain’s eyes washed over the rest of the crew. He sighed. “By the Great Void,” he said, “I have grown soft. I have taken quite the liking to you children.” He let go of Assai’s arm. “But you are not children are you? No, no you are not. If you all plan on strolling into hell, then I cannot let you do it by yourselves.” He paused a few seconds for his meaning to sink in and smiles spread through the room like wildfire. The captain hurried to add more. “If any of you have doubts about this rescue attempt or do not wish to join us—”

  The joyful cry of twenty-odd voices swallowed the rest of his words as the crew scurried to Yosh’s side. The captain stopped talking and just smiled at them. They patted Yosh on the back as if it were him that swayed the captain. Three people talked to Yosh at the same time, but he still heard the captain mumble to himself. “Great Void help us all, we’re going to war with the arkanians again.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  There were twenty-six of them gathered around a large, rusty table in the armory. Although the Archibald was supposed to be just a smuggler ship, Captain Dupont came up with top-of-the-line military equipment for everyone soon after he agreed to the rescue plan they had brainstormed. He’d given Yosh a dark blue assault suit with red patches of reactive armor. Yosh flexed his arms and his legs to test his mobility, and he found the suit comfortable as if it were custom made. The armor patches looked bulky, but were very light, and his mobility wasn’t hindered in the slightest. Assai stood next to him, donning her own assault suit—black with black patches of armor. Her fondness for black garments seemed strange and quirky to Yosh, but it was part of why he liked her.

  Assai had gifted him the kohiri sword he used in their duel, after mending the edge of course. She said he earned it. Yosh thanked her, grinned like a dope at her, and strapped the scabbard across his back, the way he saw Assai do it. Miles offered him a heavy double-barreled pulse rifle, but Yosh’s part in the plan involved more stealth than actual fighting, so he took two regular pistols instead. One was white with two barrels, of lorran fabrication and design. Yosh had practiced with it often during the past four years and was comfortable using it. It fired crude bullets meant to bleed the victim to death, a cruel weapon, but Yosh couldn’t be picky. The other gun was twice as small, red, and pulse-based. Miles told him it was silent and deadly. He would need it for what lay ahead.

  Everyone donned their assault suits. Most were black and red and green, but there was a yellow one—the lorran woman who couldn’t stand him. A good thing she isn’t in the infiltration team, Yosh thought. What have I ever done to her I wonder?

  “Attention everyone,” Captain Dupont said, and in a few seconds the tumult died out. The captain’s suit was as black as his skin, and he held Miles’s double-barreled pulse rifle over one shoulder. “Gather around the map. We will go over the plan.”

  The table was fifteen feet long and seven feet wide. A crude, bright-blue holo-map of Shacktown sprawled before them. The landing pad in the center, the shacks, the surrounding farms and herd pens, and the Pitts, all spun gently on the tabletop.

  “Mikail is no fool,” Captain Dupont started. “If his plan is to lure Yosh to him, he has surely brought more Enforcers from the cruiser. We might face anywhere up to a hundred Enforcers.” He paused a moment and everyone whispered and mumbled to one another. “However, our objective is not to kill them all, or free Shacktown from them. They have over eighty prisoners. We will do our best to save them, but our primary aim is Olexander Farmer. We must bring him back alive, or our rebellion will fail before it starts and Earth will remain in arkanian hands.”

  “So how do we get him out?” Sunny asked from next to the captain. He had a green assault suit on, and his eyes seemed dark brown in the dim light. “We don’t even know where they’re keeping him.”

  The captain looked up from the map and pointed toward Yosh. “I’ll let our resident Protector explain the plan since he came up with most of it.”

  Y
osh’s heart boomed, and he bit his lip hard. What was the best way to start? The plan was crude, cobbled together in the spur of the moment. Huge problems became more and more obvious as he thought about it. How come the captain had accepted it? Did he not see? His breathing became ragged. Everyone was staring at him. They know, he thought. They know I have no idea what I’m doing. Would the plan work or where they all marching to their deaths?

  Assai’s tail whipped him across the buttocks and he jolted forward in front of the holo-map. “Right, the plan,” he said, rubbing his bottom. “As the captain said, Mikail is no fool and we can expect heavy resistance…” Yosh hesitated. The faces of the crew soured as he spoke. They didn’t seem to enjoy having a seventeen-year-old present their plan of action.

  “Go on Yosh, tell them what you told me,” Captain Dupont’s voice urged him.

  Yosh inhaled. “When I snuck through Shacktown, they kept the slaves in the mess hall.” He circled a building west of the landing pad with his finger. “It’s a safe bet they will hold my grandfather there.”

  Miles smacked a meaty fist in his palm. “That’s where most Mikail’s forces will be.”

  Yosh nodded. “Mikail must know we’ll attempt a rescue. He won’t be expecting so many of us though. He’ll try to cover a large area of Shacktown to prevent us from sneaking in and he’ll likely stick close to grandfather.” A few heads nodded around him and there were murmurs of approval. He breathed in between his teeth and continued. “We’ll split into three teams. Two will cause distractions and lure the bulk of Enforcers away. The third team, which I will lead,” he said and looked at Sabina, but saw no emotion flash across her face, “will circle Shacktown after our snipers take care of the perimeter guards, and sneak inside the mess hall from the west. Sunny, Matthews, Sabina, Assai and I will form the third team. We’ll get in, grab my grandfather, release the slaves, cause as much damage and confusion as we can, and get out. If you see any opportunity to save the slaves, please don’t hesitate. We’re fighting for their freedom as much as Earth’s.” He paused. Where had that come from? The slaves have been strangers and bullies to me all my life.

  “Mikail will be wearing a Protector suit,” Sabina said as she clasped her curly hair in a pony tail. “A suit he stole. I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories. You’ll know it when you see it. It’s black with white patches of reactive armor and the Protector sigil across the breast. If you spot him, don’t hesitate, shoot. Shoot to kill and don’t miss.”

  “Killing Mikail would help our cause greatly, but don’t take any foolish risks,” Captain Dupont added. “Continue, Yosh Farmer.”

  Everything was going well, but Yosh’s heart still fluttered and his hands were wet inside the thick gloves of his assault suit. “Right, we have to make the arkanians think the landing pad is our main objective. We have the element of surprise, but Mikail will adapt to the situation fast, so we need to keep him off balance. Mister Headly?”

  Headly emerged from between the ranks, belly first. “Aye, I may be too old and too fat to fight with you young bastards, but old Headly isn’t out of the game yet. Marissa and Tabitha are fitted and ready for action. They’ll be representing me in the fight.” Big Belly Headly winked at them.

  The captain continued from there. “We’ve fitted two rovers with explosives. We will split into two teams as Yosh suggested. A smaller team will hit the landing pad hard to draw attention. Mikail probably won’t fall for that, but the rest of us will assault the supply warehouses on the other side of Shacktown. He must react to that. The Enforcers have the numbers to protect both objectives. Mister Headly will wait for our signal, and wherever the arkanians come in force, he will remotely guide Marissa and Tabitha in their midst and detonate. It will probably not do much damage to their ranks, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to create confusion and buy time for Yosh and his team to rescue Olexander. If we’re lucky, the blasts will even pull in Mikail. If all else fails, we back away from Shacktown and draw the Enforcers in range of our snipers. Understood?”

  A loud and unanimous “Yes sir!” rang out throughout the armory.

  “Good,” he said, and clasped his hands behind his back. “Sunny, Matthews, Assai, you’ll be under Yosh’s direct command starting now.”

  “Yes captain!” The two said, saluting, and moved to Yosh’s side.

  Assai only nodded and smiled. Yosh didn’t want to put her in danger, and he thought she would be safer if she remained close to him, but most likely it was the other way around. Yosh was the one who was a lot safer with her. It was funny and eerie at the same time that the haphazard smugglers he’d known for years suddenly acted like disciplined soldiers.

  “You all know what you have to do. Let’s move out,” the captain said, gesturing forward with his heavy rifle. The Archibald’s ramp lowered, and the crew poured out into the canyon. Yosh saw the determination on their faces and he hoped all of them would come out of this alive. He still found it hard to believe what was happening. A few days ago his greatest worry had been Skrill’s bullying, and now… Skrill, he thought. The Pitts!

  “Yosh?” a small voice came from behind.

  Yosh turned. “Ara?”

  Ara stared at him with wide, scared eyes. “I want to come with you,” she said, clutching the shock stick Yosh had pried from Mazak’s corpse. “My mama and papa are there. If Yosh will go free them, I’m coming to help Yosh.”

  Yosh gulped. Suddenly, the slaves weren’t such a low priority anymore. “I’ll free your parents,” he said. “I’ll free them all, I promise.”

  Ara beamed at his words and her thin fish lips curled into a smile.

  “She can’t go with you, Yosh,” the captain stepped in with his forbidding tone. “Ara, girl, you will be safe here on the ship with mister Headly and Doc Murdoc. So stay put, all right?”

  Ara’s smile twisted into a snarl. “But I—”

  “Captain,” Yosh interrupted, still grinning. “Let her come with me. I think she just might be the key to increasing our odds of success. If only by just a little. I’ll send her back soon.”

  ◆◆◆

  “Why did you promise that girl you’d save the slaves?” Sabina whispered to Yosh. “And why is she coming with us? She’s slowing us down and we won’t be able to look after her once we infiltrate the arkanian base.”

  Yosh’s forehead creased. “I know, but trust me. And don’t speak so loud.” He squeezed Ara’s shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. Ara looked up, her small face set with determination.

  They were on the fringes of Shacktown. Sunny and Matthews had done an excellent job taking out the perimeter guards they encountered so far. The Pitts were close, halfway up a small hill. It was more a bunker than anything else, but people called it the Pitts because it was underground. The only part of it above the surface was a small cabin with rusty iron walls. They took positions a hundred feet from the entrance. Only one Enforcer guarding it, tall, scaly, and armed to the teeth, paced around the cabin.

  “Should I take him out?” Sunny asked, his rifle aimed at the guard.

  Yosh nodded without thinking, and Sunny’s finger slipped across the trigger twice in the course of a second. Both shots hit the arkanian in the head in quick succession. Something slimy coiled inside Yosh’s stomach at seeing someone die on his order. He hadn’t taken the arkanian’s life himself, but something still felt wrong. It made him remember the arkanians who died in the transport ship’s self-destruct and the other one who died torn apart by dogs—Rastos. Yosh knew his name, remembered his face. Great Void! When would he forget? What kind of person was he?

  Sabina brushed past his shoulder as she darted forward. “Hide the body,” she told Matthews.

  “Yosh,” Captain Dupont’s voice came through the communicator strapped to his chest. “Our teams are in position. The arkanians will notice they’ve lost contact with their perimeter guards soon. We cannot afford to delay long.”

  “We’re at the Pitts, captain. I onl
y need five minutes.”

  “Five minutes, then team one will hit the landing pad. Good hunting!”

  Yosh inhaled. He waved Assai and Ara inside the metal shack and followed them. Matthews dragged the arkanian’s body inside and closed the door behind him. Assai pulled Ara to the side and told her not to look, but her wide eyes had already seen worse.

  “We’ll need someone to stay here,” Sabina said, her hands exploring the trap door beneath their feet.

  Yosh nodded. “Sunny, watch our backs please.”

  Sunny winked at them and took position near the only window in the dimly lit bunker. The rest of them pulled the trap door open. Cool air stinking of rotting steel and alien urine hit them in the face. Yosh and Ara coughed, covering their faces. The others didn’t seem to react much. They descended the damp steps and exited into a hallway stretching out fifty feet in front of them. There were thick, steel doors every ten feet along the hallway walls. The only source of light was one lonely, yellow bulb hanging from the ceiling. It swung imperceptibly from side to side and flickered every few seconds.

  “Which one?” Matthews said as they looked at the ten doors with no windows and no markings.

  Yosh thought about it. “There’s only one cell Mazaq and Lorzaq use: the closest one. They’re too lazy to drag prisoners all the way to the end.” He nodded toward the rusty door on his right. Matthews took aim and blasted the lock. The echo rang through the hallway and the door swung inward a few inches. A low growl came from the hungry darkness inside.

  “Skrill?” Yosh said, nudging the heavy door. The lightbulb flickered and something large shuffled in the receding darkness. “Skrill? Dammit…” Yosh stepped inside. “It’s me, Yosh—”

  Skrill’s bulk dashed into the light. A furry hand clasped Yosh by the throat as Skrill rushed him. Momentum carried them across the hallway, and Skrill slammed Yosh against the opposite cell door. Yosh’s head rang with pain and his vision darkened. He tried to say something, but Skrill’s grip was too tight. Yosh heard sounds, screams and threats, and Skrill loosened his grip somewhat. Air flowed into Yosh’s lungs and his vision returned. Skrill still held him against the door by his suit collar. Two Kohiri blades pressed against Skrill’s throat, one Assai’s and the other Sabina’s.