by A B Lucian
Matthews’s rifle prodded the back of Skrill’s hairy head. “Drop him! Drop him now and back down. Do it!”
Skrill let go. Yosh coughed as his feet slapped the ground. He massaged his raw throat. “It’s okay,” he croaked. “Put your weapons away.”
“Yosh human…” Skrill said. He sounded disappointed. “Why you bring more humans here?” The sylosian eyed Sabina and Matthews suspiciously, but lost interest soon enough. “You get in trouble… Beat it.” He waved Yosh away and turned toward his cell, ignoring the blades and the guns. “Skrill won’t tell lizards you came.”
“Papa!” Ara yelled from atop the stairs and jumped toward the frail blue shape stalking out of the cell.
Merril dropped to his knees and clasped Ara in his long blue arms. “Sweet, my sweet,” he sobbed. “I wanted to take you away, I wanted—” Merril’s wet eyes studied them and he shook his blue scaly head. “What are you doing here? You’ll get my daughter in trouble. They’ll know… They always know.”
“They got mama, they’re holding her and the rest,” Ara said, not pausing to breathe. “And they killed Ghett, I saw them do it. They were going to kill me too—”
“Yosh,” Captain Dupont’s voice crackled through the communicator. “We can’t wait any longer. Guards are investigating the perimeter. I’m sending the first team. Do what you must, then resume your mission. Fast.”
Yosh gulped. He couldn’t waste any time or people would die. “We need your help, Skrill.”
“What going on? Who you talking to? Where you get guns?”
“What is my daughter talking about?” Merril said, rising but still holding his daughter tight against him.
“The Arkanian Secret Police have taken over Shacktown and they’re holding everyone hostage.” Yosh pulled a gun out of Matthews’s backpack and offered it to Skrill. “Help me save them—help us save them—we’re their only hope.”
Skrill yanked the gun from Yosh’s hand. “You think we stupid? Why Arkanians take everyone hostage? We slaves! Arkanians own us!” He shook his head. “I keep gun. Point Skrill to Mazaq. Skrill owe him.”
“Mazaq and Lorzaq are dead. The Secret Police killed them and they killed at least a dozen others in Shacktown.”
“Why does Yosh care? Arkanians killing Arkanians sounds like a lie. We’re not your friends. Why do you want to save us?” Merril said as he accepted another gun from Matthews.
“I want to save my grandfather, and I want to save everyone I can from Shacktown, but we are too few and the arkanians too many.” Yosh approached Merril and put a hand on his shoulder, as captain Dupont often did with him. “If the two of you come with us, we can convince everyone in the mess hall to join us in the fight and push the arkanians out of Shacktown.”
Merril slapped Yosh’s hand away. “Are you mad? We will die!”
“No, we have weapons. There are others. We can do this.”
Merril shook his head. “You are a human. Why would we trust you? Your entire species is a plague! If you ask me, the arkanians did us a favor taking the humans out.”
“And then they turned around and took out the lorrans,” Matthews put in. “And the sylosians, and the myrllo, and countless others. You were their allies, weren’t you?” He scoffed.
Merril blinked awkwardly as he searched for a retort.
“Breaking arkanian skulls sound good to Skrill,” Skrill said in his heavy voice. “Mazaq and Lorzaq dead. I no can kill them, but blood pay for blood and Sarla demand an ocean of arkanian blood!”
The dim sounds of gunshots floated down the stairs.
“My friends have started the assault. Help us rescue the others. We’ll sneak into the mess hall, give them weapons, and drive the arkanians back.”
“No.” Merril waved the gun through the air. “You do as humans always do. Use us for your own purposes then discard us. You’ll leave us to die there while you take the old human and run. Skrill, we must leave, he’s trying to trick us.”
Skrill had been the leader before Sarla died, but now he seemed not to care anymore. He shrugged. “Want to kill arkanians.”
“And you will, but we cannot trust humans,” Merril said, dragging Ara toward the stairs.
“But mommy is there,” Ara said, tugging at her father’s arm. “Yosh said he would save her, and all the rest!”
“Yosh is a human,” Merril yanked Ara’s arms. “He lies, it’s what they do.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Sabina whispered to Yosh. “These two aren’t worth it.”
Skrill looked twice at Yosh and Merril, then went with the lorran. Yosh clenched his teeth. What should he say? What would bring them to his side? He had been so sure bringing Ara along would sway Merril. “I can save them, I promise you, but I need your help.”
“If you won’t help us, give back the weapons,” Sabina said, taking out her gun and aiming at them.
Merril and Skrill stopped at the bottom of the staircase and raised their guns. Matthews and Assai aimed their own weapons back at the two.
“No,” Yosh said, his hands flailing in the air. “Enough. Let them go.”
Skrill left first, then Merril, dragging a wide eyed Ara behind him. Her eyes lingered on Yosh until they were out of sight.
“Let’s go,” said Yosh. “Radio Sunny to let them pass.”
Chapter Fourteen
“It was a good idea Yosh, but there wasn’t enough time to convince them,” Assai said and squeezed his arm. “It’s better this way. We’ll stick to our original plan. It will work. It has to. Captain Dupont believes in you and our plan, and so do I.”
Yosh shook his head. “Skrill’s going to do something stupid. I shouldn’t have let them take Ara.”
“Ara’s with her father now. I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Yosh wasn’t so sure. “Her father and Skrill tried to steal Obelyn’s ship. That’s what got them thrown in the Pitts. With the guards dead and everything else going on, they would have starved to death in there. I just hope they run as far away as they can.”
“What about Ara’s mother?”
Yosh’s lips twisted. “I’ll have to save her before they do anything stupid.” Yosh wanted to save them all, but as things stood, he wasn’t even sure he could save his grandfather. They were stuck behind a cluster of shacks a mere hundred yards from the mess hall. The area was still crawling with guards. Matthews sat on his stomach atop the shack they hid behind, checking the surroundings, and counted over twenty Enforcers on patrol. There were probably a lot more inside. Yosh had ordered Sunny to stay behind between the Pitts and their current position to make sure no Enforcers cut them off. They needed a clear path to retreat if all went well.
Yosh studied Sabina. My half-sister, he thought. She looks nothing like me. She crouched by the corner, taking furtive looks toward the mess hall now and then. A cluster of drab clouds hid Essa, so it was too dark to see her eyes, but Yosh remembered they were black like his, and her hair was curly and dark, like his again. He touched his face and wondered if they actually looked alike. Sabina was as small as Assai and her movements were quick and precise. She obviously had some form of training, but Yosh couldn’t tell what kind. There was more. Something in her eyes Yosh couldn’t place—malice? No, she didn’t seem evil. It was something cold, painful, and uncaring.
“Our father,” he said toward Sabina. “How did he die? I mean the real story, not what grandfather told me.”
Sabina looked at him. “I don’t know what he told you, but I suppose there’s no harm in you knowing the truth. I don’t know why grandfather hid things from you, but perhaps he knew what he was doing. Are you sure you want find out?”
“I’ve been lied to all my life. I already know father didn’t die in an agricultural equipment accident. I always found that story strange. So, yes, I’m sure. Please tell me.”
Sabina’s eyes drifted away into the darkness. “Do you remember him?”
“I remember his smile. Bits of what he said… but it�
��s fading, fast.” Yosh punched the ground. “I don’t remember what he looked like anymore. When I dream about him, he just looks like an old picture of Jack Darkheart.”
Sabina smiled sourly and nodded. “Happens to me too, but I was older when it happened so it’s more vivid in my mind. But I think he…” She sighed and closed her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to think better of it. “He died on a space station far away from here. He was there to hire mercenaries for the rebellion. Mikail found out and destroyed the entire station, along with everyone on board.”
Deep silence engulfed them, interrupted only by the distant gunfire. “After the station was destroyed,” Sabina continued, “me and my mother were stranded in the slums on Luna. Times were hard. I did my best to help, but what could a twelve-year-old girl do in those slums? The money we had saved quickly ran out.” Sabina pulled out her gun and studied it, turning it on all sides. “Mother had to… well, do certain things to keep a roof over our heads and put food on the table.”
“What kind of things?”
Sabina frowned. “Favors mostly, for men… mostly.”
They stared at each other. Sabina’s eyebrow rose in an expression that said ‘You’ve got to be kidding. Do I need to spell it out?’ Yosh’s stomach shriveled and his ears burned when he realized what Sabina was talking about. He looked away fast and fixed his eyes on the ground. “That’s awful. Why didn’t grandfather help? How could he leave you like that?”
“He didn’t know where we were. He found us two years later, so it turned out fine.” She pushed her gun back in the holster. “He didn’t tell me what happened to father at first. Only that he was dead. He made up some ridiculous story, just like he did for you. After mother died, and I took my survival into my own hands, he eventually told me the truth.”
“I’m sorry. How did your mother die?”
She clenched her teeth. “It doesn’t matter. She died and grandfather told me the truth after I made a reputation for myself on Luna.”
“Wait, the Luna?” Yosh skittered closer to her and leaned against the shack. “I’ve read so much about it. Is it true you can look out the window and see Earth in the sky?”
Sabina chuckled. “Sure, if you can afford to live aboveground. Most of Luna is deep underground. The slums where I grew up are three miles deep. I never saw the sky, nor Earth until I was twenty.”
Yosh felt sad and guilty to hear how rough her life had been. He himself had had a comfortable life, even though he was a slave on Mandessa. “Is Earth as wonderful as grandfather says?” He grinned. “I mean, I’ve seen pictures, but—”
Sabina’s eyes sparkled as Essa peeked from behind the clouds. “It’s everything you imagined and more. So much more.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I wonder if this fascination with Earth is solely because of these Protector genes, even though they’re dormant inside me.”
Yosh nodded eagerly. “That’s exactly what I thought after I found out. I mean, if the scientists back in the old days could give Protectors accelerated healing, enhanced reflexes, strength, speed, and all the other nonsense, what stopped them from giving them a subtle push in their minds? They might have implanted a fascination and love of Earth in our genes. Why else would I feel like this every time someone even mentions Earth? I’ve never even seen the place. I was born decades after Earthfall, and even if I don’t die before I get there, it probably won’t be anything like I what imagined.”
“You catch on quick,” Sabina said, smiling.
The communicator buzzed to life. “First team has encountered minimal resistance,” Captain Dupont said. “They’ve taken the landing pad, but I don’t think Mikail took the bait. I’m committing the second team.”
“We’re in position,” Assai answered. “Security around the main hall is still tight.”
“All right, keep looking for an opening,” Captain Dupont replied. “We’ll hit them hard at the warehouse and hope Mikail bites.”
The gunfire intensified. It came from the other side of Shacktown, barely audible at first, like distant dying thunder, but then became sharp and brutal. Yosh wondered how many of the smugglers would die. How many had died already?
Sabina stirred. “I guess grandfather didn’t want me to be just another hired killer. He wanted to give me a direction, so he told me everything: about father, you, himself, and the rebellion to come.”
Yosh frowned. “Hired killer?”
Sabina chuckled again. “I take it you don’t approve either. Well neither does grandfather, but you can both go space yourselves after we rescue him.”
Yosh fumbled around for the right words. “I… I didn’t mean to imply... I’m not judging you, I’m sure there was no other choice—”
“Oh, there was. There were plenty of other choices. But you know what? I like my choice.”
“You like killing for money?”
“The men I kill deserve no less, trust me. I do my homework, and I make each of them pay for everything they’ve done.”
“You enjoy it,” Yosh said in an accusing tone. “You enjoy taking people’s lives.”
Sabina raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to judge me after all? Then tell me, how many will die tonight because of you and your plan?”
Yosh cocked his head back. “That’s not fair. It’s our plan, not just mine.”
“I know what Mikail is capable of,” she continued. “He desperately wants to capture us, he’s a sadist. He’ll torture the slaves even though he knows they don’t know our whereabouts. Many slaves will die tonight just so we will see he can do it.”
“That’s not my fault.”
“And whose fault is it then?”
Assai came next to them. “Stop. You are intentionally prodding Yosh and I will not allow it.”
Sabina stood and faced her. “Well, well, my brother’s little pet cat has a voice. You’ve been eyeing me since I woke up, kohiri. I don’t like it.”
“My name is Assai Virgen, Slasher.”
Sabina crossed her arms over her chest and raised her chin. “So you’ve heard of me.”
Assai nodded and for a second Yosh thought he heard the familiar low growl coming from her throat. “Sabina the Slasher, I dislike you. Be warned, if you hurt Yosh in any way I will hurt you back,” Assai said, gazed into Sabina’s eyes a few moments more, and strolled to the other edge of the shack.
Sabina put two hands on her hips. “And here I thought kohiri were peaceful traders. I don’t like her either, Yosh. Keep her on a leash and we won’t have trouble.”
“All right, enough,” Yosh said. “We’re in this together, so stop fighting. What did she mean ‘Sabina the Slasher’?”
Sabina shrugged and peered around the corner of the shack. “It’s just a name they gave me because of the way I kill my targets. No big deal.”
Yosh opened his mouth but stopped in time. He didn’t want to know how she killed. Several scenarios flew through his mind, but Yosh wanted none of them confirmed.
The communicator buzzed to life again. “Heavy resistance at the depots. We’re getting more and more Enforcers here,” Captain Dupont said over the sound of gunfire.
“Most of the guards have left the vicinity of the mess hall,” Matthews reported.
Sabina and Yosh grinned.
“How many left?” Yosh asked.
Matthews hesitated. “Well, five I can see. But I’m sure there are others lurking around.”
“This is perfect,” Sabina said. “Five won’t be a problem. We’ll take them out before they can raise their rifles.”
Yosh hesitated. The plan was progressing well, but it seemed a bit too easy. He had that feeling in his stomach, the one telling him the other shoe would drop any minute now. Despite it, they had to hurry. He nodded toward Sabina and Assai. “Let’s move.”
◆◆◆
The five Enforcers went down in less than thirty seconds and, just as Sabina promised, none of them got the chance to raise their rifle. Sabina herself took out
two with her kohiri sword. She was precise in her cuts and her blade had been near invisible as she took the heads off the guards. Matthews shot two others with his silent and deadly sniper rifle and Assai killed the last one. Yosh barely had time to raise his gun before it was over. Killing didn’t come as easy for him as it seemed to for the friends he’d known for years or his newfound half-sister. It was a disturbing thought, even though their victims were arkanians who would have shot them without hesitation.
They dragged the corpses inside a nearby shack just in case other guards came. It wouldn’t take much for them to notice the pools of blood caking the dust, but at least it bought some time. The arkanians were heavy and Yosh’s back ached as he dragged one of the headless ones inside the stinking shack. It amazed him how effective swords were against the arkanians’ top of the line suits. Even if the material was thin, it was still tougher than steel. The Arkanian Secret Police seemed to spare no expense for its Enforcers. Kohiri blades were among the few still existing able to take someone’s head off in one blow through the protection of an assault suit. It still took great strength to deliver such a blow. It occurred to him his sister was very dangerous. She was even more dangerous because she didn’t look so capable.
“Okay, so far so good,” Yosh said. “This is where we split up. The building has two storeys. Matthews and Sabina will climb to the top using the iron rungs we saw on the corner. Make your way through the top level and clear any guards you meet. Please do your best to save any slaves you find.” Matthews nodded vigorously, but Sabina said nothing. “Me and Assai will use the old kitchen entrance. It leads straight into the main hall where they’re keeping the slaves. There are stairs leading from the first floor to the main hall. We’ll wait until you get there before striking, but hurry.”