From the Ashes

by A B Lucian

  Confusion spread across her face as she looked straight at Yosh and shook her head. “Yosh, why? What…?”

  “Let her go,” Yosh said, and placed a hand on Kagos’s shoulder. “Let her go. Please.”

  The muscles behind the scales on Kagos’s face twitched as he growled and turned to Yosh. Yosh’s hand edged toward the holster of his gun. Kagos might forget all about their mighty collaboration considering this latest development. He didn’t seem the forgiving type.

  “Yosh? Yosh, are you all right?” Captain Dupont’s voice buzzed over the comm. “I heard gunshots, is everything okay? Yosh, respond. I’m opening the doors.”

  Kagos’s face relaxed, or perhaps he controlled his rage better at the sound of the captain’s voice. Open doors meant hundreds of vengeful dogs out for arkanian blood. The very reason the captain stayed behind.

  Kagos snarled. “Let her go.” He waved to the five Enforcers holding Sabina.

  Yosh nodded and replied to the captain. “It’s okay. Keep the doors closed.”

  “Commander, it must be blood for blood,” the arkanian holding the hefty knife to Sabina’s throat replied. “The human killed Araistos and Manila. The human cut me! I should cut its face off for everything it did!”

  Sabina spat in the arkanian’s face. “You just try it, fishface.”

  The Enforcer’s fist slammed into Sabina’s belly and she doubled over in pain. The hunting knife moved swiftly to the nape of her neck as she struggled to breathe. Something stirred inside Yosh. There was very little to keep his rage buried these days. He pointed his gun at the Enforcer and yelled at him to back the hell away. The Enforcer snarled, doubt seeming to creep into his mind, but in a heartbeat, Kagos’s bulk moved between Yosh’s gun and its target.

  For a moment panic pulled at Yosh’s mind and several scenarios flashed through his mind of how he might fight all the arkanians in the hallway, save his sister, and get back inside the engineering bay. But Kagos had his back to Yosh. He lurched toward the Enforcer holding Sabina, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and single-handedly swung him across the corridor. The Enforcer slammed against the wall, his bloodied face a mask of disbelief and confusion.

  Yosh put the gun away and hurried to Sabina and pulled her to her feet by the arm. Her black curls were slick with blood, as was the rest of her, but thankfully beside the shallow cut across her neck and some bruises, she seemed fine. It took her a moment to recover from the savage blow and breathe normally.

  “Yosh… It was a mistake…” she said, shaking her head and struggling to breathe. “You can’t trust them…”

  Yosh pursed his lips and walked her to the doors leading to the engineering bay. Can I trust them to keep their word? Yosh thought and peeked at Kagos as he berated the Enforcer. Do I have a choice? After they defeated Mikail, what would Kagos do? Surely he would turn on Yosh. But Yosh didn’t think he’d mind. He looked forward to that reckoning. Arkanians and humans were still enemies, especially now that Yosh was a Protector. The arkanians wouldn’t give humans their freedom back without a fight, that was undeniable. Their temporary arrangement was just that—temporary.

  Sabina recovered enough to stop leaning against Yosh. She still held a hand tight against her stomach, but with the other she yanked Yosh’s gun from its holster. “I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said, keeping the gun limp by her side. She could empty the magazine into the arkanians in a matter of seconds if something happened. He urged her with his hand to take it easy. For now, things seemed to settle down. Kagos’s plan still had a chance of working.

  “Do not question my orders again,” Kagos said, as he finished his disciplinary speech. “There is a chain of command in place, and there’s a reason I’m above you in it. Do you understand?”

  The Enforcer rose to his full height and stared down into Kagos’s burning eyes. “The same chain of command says Lord Munov is above all of us and that we should follow his orders,” he said, his teeth flashing as he spoke. “Yet here we are trying to break that chain.”

  “You know why we’re doing this,” Kagos said, his voice turning into a threatening whisper. “Lord Munov plays his games with arkanian lives. He throws them away with carelessness and none of us should stand for it.” He pointed a crooked finger in the Enforcer’s face. “You were there during the assault when I told him we detected massive amounts of explosives in the approaching vehicles. All of you were there!” His arm traced an awkward circle to encompass all the Enforcers in the corridor. “You all heard me pleading with him to pull back, but he refused. He sacrificed fifty of our brothers. Fifty! Just so we wouldn’t frighten his precious humans away.” The Enforcers in the hallway nodded vigorously and their eyes lit. “We have a chance to put an end to him. The Arkanian Empire doesn’t need him! He’s a relic, an abomination, and he will turn us into abominations as well unless we stop him.”

  Kagos’s communicator buzzed to life. “Commander, you should—”

  “I know! We’re out of time. We’ll move to the upper deck now,” Kagos replied and switched off the communicator with one smooth motion of his hand. Then he turned his attention back to his men. “We can’t do it ourselves. Space knows there were those among us who tried and are no longer with us. We can’t pull the trigger. He made sure of that.” Kagos approached Yosh and Sabina and pointed a thick finger at them. “But they can. They can shoot him dead as dead can be, and all they need is a little help from us.”

  Kagos’s communicator buzzed again. “Commander please listen—”

  “I said we’re on our way. What is it? We should still have two minutes until Munov gets here!”

  “That’s just it, commander, I don’t know how long you have,” the voice buzzed. “Lord Munov dropped off the scanners a minute ago and I can’t find him anywhere. I can’t explain it, it’s like he’s not even on the ship.”

  Kagos’s face paled, and the moist wound across his jaw turned bright blue. From the other end of the corridor the sound of someone clapping echoed off the still, gray walls. The Enforcers, Kagos, Yosh, and Sabina turned and searched for the source. A few feet past the last two Enforcers in the corridor, the air shimmered and blurred, like an image reflected in a pool after a stone plops through the surface of the water. The air settled, and the image cleared. Someone in a black assault suit with crisp white plates of reactive armor, and the sigil of the Protectors of the Earth stamped on the breast plate, appeared.

  “A charming speech, commander,” the man in the suit said. Although the suit’s white helmet and black visor altered his voice, everybody realized he was Mikail Munov, former Protector of the Earth, a traitor to humankind, Head of the Arkanian Secret Police, and right hand of the Arkanian Emperor.

  Kagos’s plan failed before it even started.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Once again you disappoint me, Kagos,” Mikail said, the Protector helmet giving his voice a metallic tinge. The overall effect made every word sound ominous. It sickened Yosh to see Mikail in that suit. Sabina hefted Yosh’s pulse gun, aiming at Mikail’s head, her face strained and contorted in a rictus of anger. Her hand shook as she scowled at him through the gun’s sights. Yosh knew exactly how she felt.

  Mikail held both hands behind his back as he strode toward them at an agonizingly slow pace. Yosh imagined his sickening smile behind the matted black visor of the helmet. It was an affront to Yosh and Sabina, him coming here wearing their grandfather’s suit—unforgivable! Yosh unsheathed the kohiri sword Assai had given him. The blade shrieked against its metallic scabbard, mirroring Yosh and Sabina’s fury. He felt steadier, safer, with the familiar hilt in his hands.

  The Enforcers lowered their rifles and lined along either side of the corridor as Mikail walked passed them. “You’re a tricky one, Kagos. On the one hand, you corner my two prizes,” Mikail said, gesturing toward Yosh and Sabina. “But on the other, you speak treason. Must I remind you treason against me equates to treason against the Emperor himself? It seems taking y
our tail wasn’t enough punishment.” He stopped ten feet from the crooked-shouldered Kagos.

  The scales on Kagos’s face bristled, and he growled at his commander and master. The hunting knife from his hip was in his hand now and Kagos’s stooped shoulders shook as he battled with himself to raise the blade against Mikail. His chest heaved and his eyes bulged with the effort. Kagos’s eyes were watery and the patches of thin skin under them trembled. Was Kagos actually crying? Yosh couldn’t believe it.

  “A commendable effort,” Mikail said, not hiding the sarcasm in his tone. “I am dazzled by your strength of will.” He chuckled. “But, I’m afraid it’s misplaced and you, commander, are a very confused arkanian.” He shook his head in mock pity. “You cannot fight your instincts. Your very blood tells you to be a good little arkanian soldier and obey me. And I fear your companions are not as strong of will as you are.” Mikail gestured toward a group Enforcers that had rallied behind him. They lifted their rifles and aimed at the struggling Kagos. Kagos looked at his formerly loyal Enforcers, his face despondent.

  “Enough, die already, scum!” Sabina fired at Mikail’s head. The five bright blue streaks zipped across the hallway and encountered an invisible barrier inches away from Mikail’s face. They whizzed and crackled against the energy shield, but did no harm.

  Mikail signaled the Enforcers to hold fire and turned so he faced Sabina. “Care to try again?”

  Sabina’s eyes bulged with anger and she emptied the pulse gun at Mikail. Every shot dashed against the Protector suit’s shielding, either wobbling off to the sides or disappearing in a sudden yellow flash.

  Mikail sniggered at her efforts. “I thought you were the smart one. Haven’t you figured out you can’t touch me in this suit? Why—”

  Sabina screamed in frustration and hurled the pulse gun at Mikail’s head. The L-shaped piece of metal alloy swirled round and round through the air and bounced off Mikail’s visor with a sharp crack. It wasn’t heavy enough to do any damage, but it made Mikail’s head fling back violently. A piece of metal the size of a man’s palm had staggered the man that stood among them like an invulnerable giant, and he didn’t seem to enjoy the feeling much.

  Sabina grinned. “How’s that for a touch, you space twat?”

  Mikail shook his head and growled in annoyance. Kagos chortled and even the Enforcers had a slim smile on their faces. Mikail didn’t seem so invulnerable anymore.

  “Pass me the blade,” Sabina whispered to Yosh. “The shield is only for energy-based attacks. I can take him.”

  “No, you cannot, you maggot,” Mikail said, cradling his head in one hand. He gestured to the Enforcers behind him. “Stun them, bind them, and take them to my laboratory. I’ve had enough of this game.”

  The Enforcers switched their rifles to stun and Kagos took advantage. He sprang from his position, knife raised above his head and charged Mikail. He was too slow. Several of his own men opened fire and one of the stun pulses caught him in the shoulder. His arm swung the dagger feebly and Mikail caught it with little effort. He squeezed Kagos’s forearm until the hunting knife dropped to the floor, grabbed the communicator from his belt, and kicked him hard in the chest. The bulky arkanian commander flew across the corridor and slammed into the bay doors, narrowly missing Yosh and Sabina.

  Yosh cursed himself. He wanted to do something, but the pulse rifles aimed at him narrowed his options. He used the moments Mikail spent investigating Kagos’s communicator to whisper into his own communicator hanging on the breast of his assault suit. “Captain… we’re in trouble. Open the doors. Now.”

  The captain’s hushed response came a second later. “I have been trying to. They have overridden the commands. I need more time.”

  “Oh, tell the good Captain Dupont not to bother,” Mikail said. He quit trying to figure out the frequency Kagos used and threw the communicator away. “My Enforcers have already secured Commander Kagos’s little headquarters one deck above us. They also sealed those doors behind you.”

  Again Yosh imagined his smile behind the visor, just like on Mandessa when they maimed Assai. Yosh straightened his back and thrust his chin forward. His heart boomed in his chest, his hands were soaked inside the black gloves of his assault suit and strands of wet hair stuck to his forehead. He stepped in front of his sister and lifted the kohiri sword in front of him with both hands, and adopted a defensive stance. Opponents expected you to defend yourself, but Assai had taught him a technique of hers that launched into a lighting attack from this position. It was hard to pull off, Yosh had never quite gotten the hang of it, but enemies never expected this move and he needed an edge right about now.

  “What are you doing?” Sabina said through gritted teeth. “I’m better with a sword and I don’t need your protection. Give it to me and get out of my way.” She tried to nudge him aside and step in front but Yosh had become unmovable. He half-turned, lowered his elbow, put it against her stomach where she had been hurt, and pushed her away. Pain racked her—Yosh saw it on her face. Sabina stumbled back against the steel doors, holding her chest and gasping.

  “I’ll buy you the time,” Yosh said. “You know what to do once those doors open.” Then he shouted at his communicator. “Captain, faster!”

  The Enforcers marched closer and aligned themselves behind Mikail, rifles aimed and ready.

  “Space take you and your cheap Protector heroism,” Mikail said, spitting the words. “It’s always the same. How can you be willing to die like this? Don’t you have any self respect? Where are your survival instincts?”

  Yosh’s head pounded; it felt ready to explode. “I have survival instincts. I assure you,” he said as he tried to steady his grip on the sword. “But we, all of us, are more than the sum of our instincts. Genetics alone can never control us. Being able to grow beyond what your genes program you to be is what makes us different from animals.” He took a step forward, still in his defensive posture, and spoke toward the arkanians. “You can fight against your instincts. Don’t let him control you. He would turn you into mindless beasts to do his bidding without thinking for themselves. You know this. It’s why you followed Commander Kagos.”

  Was there a spark of the old fire and hope in the Enforcers’s eyes or was it wishful thinking on Yosh’s part? “My grandfather went against his instincts eighty years ago. There was nothing to gain by staying in the battle for Earth. It would have meant death, or worse, so he fled. Commander Kagos went against his instincts when he approached me with his plan, and even you, Mikail Munov, went against your instincts when you betrayed the Protectors and Earth.”

  That seemed to strike a chord with the Enforcers. They looked at each other and seemed to waver, some lowering their rifles, but Mikail only chuckled. “Of course I did! Instincts that tell you to fight for the very organization responsible for your repeated humiliation, an organization that shunned you and mistreated you, are worth less than nothing.” Mikail waved his hand. “They toyed with me and turned me away while times were good. It took the sharp edge of desperation to drive them crawling back to me, begging. Even after they accepted me, they treated me like a nobody. I didn’t receive a ship, not even a battle suit.” He rapped his knuckles against the plate of reactive armor on his chest. “They just needed more cannon fodder.”

  Yosh took the opportunity offered by Mikail’s rant to take two more steps forward. He ran the calculations over and over in his head. He had only a shadow of a chance to make it. Fifteen feet separated him from Mikail, but it would take three seconds to charge across the distance and another two to swing his sword with enough force to pierce the suit. His assault suit could soak up one stun blast, perhaps two if it didn’t hit vital areas. He’d already found out his body could withstand another stun pulse, so if he didn’t get hit too many times, his sword and the Protector suit would meet. Yosh needed five to six seconds, a ton of luck, and Mikail to stay put—it was a bad plan, but he couldn’t think of another. All he needed now was an opening, preferably before M
ikail decided he’d talked enough and shot him.

  Mikail growled surveying his Enforcers. He seemed to notice his words had done more to sway them to Yosh’s side. Perhaps the situation wasn’t as bleak as Yosh thought. One by one, the Enforcers turned against Mikail, their faces contorted by internal strife.

  “Space take you,” Mikail cursed. He pressed a button on his wrist and spoke into it. “Strike team, move in now!”

  Boots clanged against the steel floor and a dozen Enforcers poured into the corridor from the far side. Mikail’s strike team opened fire on the arkanians loyal to Kagos, hitting over half in the first volley. Kagos’s Enforcers crouched, took what cover they could find and returned fire. Ruthless blue pulse blasts blazed through the air crisscrossing and bouncing off the walls.

  Yosh’s entire body tensed. Mikail turned and exposed his flank. This was his chance. Yosh switched from his defensive stance, his legs moving as if he’d done this a thousand times before, and dashed toward Mikail. He had miscalculated. Yosh closed the distance in a little over two seconds. Time seemed to move slower. The pulse blasts danced like leaves swaying in the lazy mandessan wind. A hazy blue pulse shot from the far side of the corridor toward him. It struck the reactive armor on his shoulder, shattering it. It didn’t matter. More blue streaks buzzed around his head but missed. Almost there. He leaped at Mikail, swinging his sword in mid-air from behind and above, using the momentum of his jump to strengthen his blow. Mikail was completely open. He made the mistake of glancing toward his strike team. A mistake spanning half a heartbeat, but it gave Yosh his chance. Yosh’s eyes widened as his blade came down. He could already see his blade splitting the black and white helmet in two.

  Thunder rang through the corridor and the entire structure of the ship jolted as if a giant hand had slapped it.