Starblazer

by Spencer Maxwell

  “Then she’ll shoot you,” Ryze added as he pointed. “Right, Wylow? You still there?”

  “I’m here,” she answered.

  Ty laughed again, this one louder than before. “She won’t shoot me, Ryze.” He flashed his large eyes at her, amusement swirling within. “Because I have a dozen men outside this ship right now, all of them armed. And if I don’t come out with you and your friends in tow, they’re going to blow us all up.”

  Twenty-Four

  The bugs stunk up Ryze’s ship worse than elanty crap ever could. Grimacing, he went forward down the ramp with a blaster jabbing his neck. He thought of putting up a fight, he was pretty good at that, but he was also pretty good at making poor decisions. That, he surmised, would be a poor decision.

  Once in the hangar, he realized Ty wasn’t lying. There certainly were a dozen armed bugs outside. Some of them held crappy excuses for weapons, but others didn’t. One brandished a proton cannon, the bug using all four arms to keep the large weapon up, and he still struggled.

  “Ty, I’m going to pay you,” Ryze said.

  Two other bugs shuffled by, pushing Jade and Wylow forward, guns pressed into the smalls of their backs. Wylow mouthed I’m sorry to Ryze as she passed. The pain and disappointment on her face stabbed him in the heart. He suddenly wanted to put his arms around her, bring her close, and tell her it was okay, but he couldn’t.

  Looks like the end of the line, Ryze ol’ pal, he thought bitterly. And to a fat gangster like Ty on top of that. No, actually, he’ll probably send me to the Hunil. I guess that’s a little better than getting killed by a bug like Ty.

  Ty pushed him forward. “To the left,” he said. “We’ve got important matters to discuss.”

  “You know, Ty, if you’re gonna kill us, you really shouldn’t make a big show of it. That never ends well for the bad guys,” Ryze said. “Haven’t you ever watched a movie, or do they not have those on this sorry excuse of a planet?”

  Ty laughed—well, more like croaked. “Funny how you think I’m the bad guy. Even more funny how you think I’m going to kill you. Starlo, if I was going to do that, I would’ve done so by now.”

  Ryze said nothing. He didn’t have time to question his moral compass or the logic of a bug. He had to figure a way out of this—not for him, but for Jade and Wylow.

  If they died, it was on him, and if there was a hell, having their blood on his hands would certainly get him a first-class ticket downward.

  You can’t think like that. It doesn’t end here. You’re gonna get out of this. You always do…right?

  But he usually had his helmet and flayzer…and a working starcraft, too. Without the helmet, he couldn’t trigger any of the tricks his suit possessed, and with a dead ship, that meant no Spex, either.

  They entered Ty’s office, a large area with a vaulted ceiling, glass windows all around so he could look out at his mechanics. They didn’t stay here for long. Crossing the room and down a hallway, they came to a wall. It was a dead end…until Ty pressed a button on a watch around his bottom left hand. The wall opened horizontally onto a freight elevator. The bugs ushered the three prisoners inside, never taking their weapons off of them.

  Jade’s hand came up to the crystal at her throat—apparently the most sought-after artifact in the galaxy—and Ryze glared at her, trying to mentally tell her to stop. If Ty got a hold of that…Ryze didn’t want to think of what would happen.

  One of the bugs hit another button and the elevator descended, the sounds of pumping hydraulics loud in the air.

  “Have you guys ever heard of showers?” Ryze asked. “I mean, you guys have got to smell yourselves, right? How could you not?”

  “Shut up,” Jade hissed.

  “Yes, shut up, Starlo,” Ty echoed.

  The elevator doors opened, and they were herded out. Ryze found himself in awe of the underground building. It was huge, the ceiling seemingly stretching endlessly above. Bigger than the hangar. There were ships lined up with swarms of bugs working on them. Sparks flew, flames jetted.

  “Is that a—” Ryze began, pointing.

  “Yes, a Diamond vessel,” Ty answered. Ryze could hear the cockiness in his voice.

  “But those are—”

  “Priceless, I know. I have quite a collection down here.” He motioned to the right, where three Dominion invaders were lined up on a platform next to a Battler transport pod. All were in pristine condition, their dark hulls gleaming like a monster’s hungry eyes. If the Dominion found Ty with these ships, they’d behead him on the spot. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Starlo. Now come on. Like I said, we have much to discuss.” He lowered his weapon and got in front of Ryze.

  Ryze turned to the women, his eyes wide in shock and confusion. They apparently didn’t realize how big of a deal this was.

  Jade mouthed: What’s going on?

  He didn’t know, but he did know the bugs were no longer pressing their weapons against them. He wondered if he should fight, determined that would be a bad idea, and kept following Ty, flanked by the other two bugs. Curiosity was a large part of the decision, too.

  It seemed they traveled this underground hangar for an hour, passing rare ship after rare ship. Ty placed a hand on a scanner, and another door opened in front of them.

  A blast of cold air puffed out. Inside was sterile white light. The far wall of the room held a viewscreen showing a nice summer’s day—blue sky, a few white clouds, and birds soaring by. Not exactly the type of display one would expect in a bug’s office. The middle of the room was taken up by a long table.

  Maybe I’ve underestimated Ty. I always thought he was nothing but a low-down thug employing a bunch of even lower-down thugs, but I may have jumped the gun here, he thought.

  “That’s really pretty,” Jade said, speaking like Ty and the other bugs had been her friends for years. “It reminds me of home.”

  “Xovia, right?” Ty said.

  Jade’s face immediately blanched. “No,” she answered, but her voice wasn’t convincing. The jig was up. Ty brought them here to give them an ultimatum: do something for him or get turned over to the Gedix Hunil, maybe even the Dominion. Whoever it was would torture and kill them.

  Ryze looked around. No weapons, but maybe I can talk my way outta this.

  Ty pulled out the chair at the head of the table, his back to the viewscreen; the others followed suit. Even sitting, the bugs’ wings didn’t stop their whirring. “Have a seat, please,” Ty offered. “Like I said, we have much to discuss.”

  Ryze side-eyed the bug. What are you up to, Ty? Though their weapons weren’t currently trained on him and the women, the cronies still had them. All it would take was a sudden jerk upward, a squeeze of the trigger with their talons, and their journey would end.

  When he didn’t immediately sit down, Ty motioned again to a nearby chair. “Please, Starlo. I promise we aren’t gonna shoot you.”

  Not much of a choice anyway. Jade and Wylow had already sat. Now Ryze did, too.

  “Thank you,” Ty said. “Let’s get started.”

  “What in the hell is going on here?” Ryze interjected. “Listen, Ty, I know I owe you…money? A ship? Something.”

  Jade rolled her eyes.

  To her, Ryze said, “I told you, a lot of people want me dead,” and shrugged.

  “Not something to be proud of.”

  “The fact that I’m still alive is something to be proud of, considering.”

  Jade shook her head, but Wylow smiled. Before he could stop himself, Ryze winked at her, instantly regretting it…

  Until the queensguard’s smile widened.

  “Enough, enough,” Ty said. He waved his hands, all four of them. “You owe me money, Starlo. A good amount of frags for a bounty job you botched a few years back—”

  “Oh!” Ryze said, nodding. “I remember. I told you, Ty, that wasn’t my fault. A damn hodder sabotaged the Starblazer, crawled right up into the exhaust port and laid a bunch of eggs.”
/>   The bug looked unfazed, as if he had heard this explanation a thousand times before. “Regardless, Ryze, I’m willing to move on and look past it. I’m doing quite well for myself, if you can’t already tell. A measly few thousand frags isn’t anything in the grand scheme of things.” He tilted forward, bringing his top two hands together and lacing the talons. He rested his elongated head atop of them.

  “Why would you do that?” Ryze asked. “Why would you just move on?”

  “Don’t question him!” Jade interrupted. “The man’s going to let us go, so let him!”

  Ryze squinted at her. He hoped the look would convey that she should let him do the talking. It didn’t, so he leaned across the table and whispered, “Listen queenie, you’ve got experience talking to politicians, sure, but you don’t know thugs.”

  “I heard that,” Ty said.

  Ryze raised his brows as he met Ty’s eyes. “No offense.”

  The bug waved a hand. “I’ve been called worse.”

  Back to Jade, Ryze said, “Just sit back, relax, and let me get us out of this.”

  “Yes, because that’s worked so well for us before,” Jade argued.

  Wylow put a hand on the queen’s forearm, gave a slight squeeze. “Trust him, Jade. He means well.” She winked at Ryze.

  Jade said nothing but remained scowling.

  Is Wylow flirting with me? Oh Gods, now I really have to get out of this, he thought. Refocusing on the situation, he said to Ty, “So why?”

  “Because you two,” he pointed at Jade and Wylow, “are two of the most famous people in the galaxy right now.”

  Ryze twirled a finger. “Okay, okay, I get it. You’re gonna hold us hostage until the God-King pays you a ransom. A few thousand frags ain’t nothing compared to what the Dominion will give you, right?”

  The bug barked laughter. “Gods, no! I hate the Dumb-minion as much as anyone. Perhaps even more than I hate you, Starlo.”

  Ryze laughed. “Dumb-minion. I haven’t heard that one. That’s a good—wait, more than you hate me? Geesh, thanks, pal.”

  The bug winked. Understandably, it wasn’t as pleasant as Wylow’s.

  Ty continued, “When I saw the two of you on the Holo Net, I nearly jumped with joy! Didn’t I, Sixeg?”

  The bug to Ryze’s right nodded. “You did, sir.”

  “The Dominion is making quite a ruckus over you all, which can only mean you’re dangerous to the God-King.” He paused for a response. Ryze gave none; neither did Wylow or Jade. “Finally someone has decided to stick it to that asshole, him and Silver both!” Ty’s face turned serious. “Though I’m awfully sorry to hear about your home world, Queen Jade.”

  Ryze leaned back, almost breathless. Ty, a Dominion detractor? He would’ve never guessed that in a million years. If anything, he would’ve bet the bug worshipped the ground the God-King walked on. Evil attracts evil, right? Maybe Ty wasn’t so evil after all.

  “Thank you,” Jade said diplomatically, though there was some sadness in her voice. “That means a lot.”

  The bug nodded, looking somber. After a few seconds, he clapped his top two hands together. “Ah, no matter. There’s enough sadness in this world. Let us celebrate your safe passage and eventual takedown of the Dominion! Sixeg, please bring in the feast.”

  Sixeg nodded, “Yes, sir,” and him and the other bugs left.

  I can take Ty right now, Ryze thought. I can take damn near anyone, but he’s alone and fat and I’m not…for the most part. Age is catching up to me, I’ll admit—no, stop! Don’t get sidetracked. His stomach had grumbled at the mere mention of a feast. He’d do nearly anything for something other than a meatbrik, plus Cryton IV was famous for its stir fry. The meat they used was quite a galactic delicacy. I can hear him out, can’t I? Ryze reasoned. What’s the harm in that? It’s not like I’m going anywhere if I overtake him. His heart ached with the thought of his ship sitting in the hangar, dead. No freedom, no annoying AI voice talking in his earpiece. It was sad.

  “Now,” Ty said, “care to let me in on the secret? The God-King is after you for something majorly important, I presume. Not often does the Dominion broadcast wanted men and women over the Net, and they never offer a million frags for a bounty, either.”

  Ryze’s jaw dropped. “A million?” he repeated. “For all of us, or—”

  “Each,” Ty confirmed. He tapped a button on the table and a holoboard, blue and white and twinkling, appeared out of thin air. The bug typed with amazing speed—having four hands certainly helped—and the viewscreen changed to the Net’s front page.

  A video showed the Starblazer’s final escape from Xovia, Ryze maneuvering and shooting down Dominion fighters, and the sky alight with explosions. He smiled smugly, but when the video ended and their pictures took up the screen, that smile vanished as fast as the fighters had.

  “Gods,” Ryze said, “couldn’t they have used a better picture of me?”

  In the photo, he'd suffered from a bad case of helmet hair, the scars raking down his face were a too-bright crimson and not faded like they were now, and his forehead shone with sweat. Where the hell did they even get that photo?

  Wylow and Jade, on the other hand, looked perfect.

  “I don’t know,” Jade said, smiling at the screen, “but I think we look kind of good.”

  “You guys do. I look like an old homeless man. Do I always look like that?” Unconsciously, he ran a hand through his hair and armed grease from his forehead.

  “Homeless isn’t far off…” Jade added. “I mean, you pretty much just fly around in your ship all the time, right?”

  Ryze shrugged. “Yeah, you’re right. Still, they could’ve used a better pic, like my Xovian service portrait.”

  “That was twenty-plus years ago,” Wylow said, and when Ryze glared at her, she added with a smile, “And I’m sure you don’t look any different.”

  “How’d they even know it was me?” Damn it, I should’ve shelled out for that cloaking device, Ryze thought.

  “The Starblazer isn’t exactly inconspicuous,” Ty said. “I’m sure you know that your ship is one of the last of its kind.”

  “And the best,” Ryze added.

  “Not much competition if it’s the last of its kind, so don’t get ahead of yourself,” Jade said.

  “You all are quite a trio,” Ty laughed. “Starlo, you act much better with other humans in your company than you do by yourself. You’re less of a dickhead.”

  He ignored that. “Whatever. Forget the unflattering picture of me. Let me sort this out. Ty, are we supposed to believe you’re not planning on selling us out to the Dominion? You literally have three million frags sitting right in front of you. Hell, I’m tempted to turn myself in just for the reward.”

  Ty raised both right hands. “On my mother’s grave.”

  “That doesn’t exactly mean much coming from you,” Ryze said.

  “Ryze Starlo!” Jade barked, sounding a lot like his own mother might have. “How dare you! Apologize right now!”

  Sighing, he did, and Wylow chuckled.

  “No harm done. I understand,” Ty said, smiling toward the queen and her guard. He focused on Ryze. “To prove it to you, Starlo, we’re already fixing your ship. Free of charge, of course.”

  “Liar,” Ryze said.

  “Ryze, don’t be such a jerk!” Jade said. “This man wants to help us, so we should let him help!”

  Ty tapped the holoboard again, talons lightning-quick. The viewscreen changed from their wanted photos to a security camera feed of the upstairs hangar.

  Sure enough, about half a dozen bugs were working on the ship. Ryze stood and moved closer. She was gutted, two of the thrusters removed and wires sticking out of the reactor drive. It hurt to see her like that.

  “When they’re done, which will only be in a few hours, the Starblazer’ll look brand new.” Ty spun in his chair. “When was the last time you got that thing washed, Starlo?”

  He had to think about it. “Actually…i
t’s been awhile.”

  “Well, we’ll take care of that for you, too, no problem.”

  “And no cost?” Ryze was cautious. “Sounds too good to be true.”

  “Let me put it this way, Starlo. The Dominion makes it…difficult for me to bring in more profit. Their sanctions and tariffs and crackdown on the smuggling trade has put my crew and me in a tough spot. In fact, I’ve lost over fifty pilots in the last two Common years. Fifty. Good men and women gone because the greed of the Dominion prevails. I support your cause. And my queen, if you don’t want to tell me the reason the God-King wants your head, I understand. It’s probably best I stay ignorant, but I can assume it has something to do with the Brink planets. Why else would you be out here?”

  Jade didn’t balk at the mention of the Brink.

  “I want to help you get to your destination. There’s an entire rebellion rising in the far reaches of the galaxy. I’m a strong supporter of them, and have contributed much to their cause. Perhaps I can put you in touch?” Ty said.

  Jade shook her head. “For now, the less people on this mission, the better. Thank you, though. Your kindness is duly noted.”

  “I understand. I will transmit the coordinates to the Starblazer’s nav-comp, in case you change your mind. They are a great group of people, tight-knit, and growing as more and more speak out against the injustices of the Dominion.”

  Ryze butted in. “You sound convincing enough, Ty, but why didn’t you just open with this? Why’d you have to put on the whole hostage show? I mean, I would’ve liked it a lot better without a gun pressed to my neck.” He absentmindedly rubbed the spot the pistol had been jammed against, almost as if he could still feel it there.

  “Simple explanation, Starlo. Well, explanations. One, I knew you wouldn’t believe what I had to say. You would’ve shot me before any words came out of my mouth. I know you’ve always been a cautious man—”

  “Which is why I’m still alive.”

  Rolling her eyes, Jade said, “Somehow.”