The Euclidian: Alien Hitman

by Jay Cannon

  Daloi selected a path toward the solitary figure that she felt would give them adequate cover from detection. As they came to within a few hundred meters, the figure disappeared on the far side of the ridge. They floated to the top of the ridge, and parked the speeder. Peering over the ridge, they could see the figure chasing four others across the snow.

  “What the hell is that?” asked Tatan, pointing at a large formation of beings.

  “Those are Alphas in prison uniforms. The guy with the weapon must be a guard,” said Daloi, “though I don’t recognize his species.”

  “Look over there,” said Dholi. “A bunch more prisoners are being loaded into a ship. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather take my chances mixing in with those prisoners than freezing to death in our ship. If they’re getting off this planet, it can’t be a bad thing.”

  “Agreed, sis,” said Daloi. “That’s a Euclidian ship. Look at the guards near the opening. I’ll bet the guard chasing the prisoners has never met a Cheoili before. Let’s go see if we can catch him by surprise and replace the prisoners he’s chasing.”

  ***

  Capt. Shisal sent Adar to the surface of the prison planet to monitor the prisoner exchange. Getting him off the ship will distance him from Pheebee and give him an opportunity to do something he enjoys, thought Shisal as he issued the order.

  On the ice planet, Adar positioned himself atop a ridge high above where other crewmembers loaded prisoners into mining ships. In the distance, he saw snowy mountain peaks, wisps of clouds and broad fields of snow. Weak rays from the sun reflected brightly on the cold, white landscape around them, but did little to diminish the brutal cold. Adar stood on his perch, unaffected by the cold. Windy gusts of frigid air beat against his exposed skin, making him feel alive.

  Adar looked down on the prisoners being loaded, unconcerned about any of them escaping. If any tried to flee, they would have to run in his direction because the prison wall, steep hills and mining ships blocked all other possible escape routes. After a couple of long hours of waiting, Adar finally got the excitement he craved.

  At last, four of you have the balls to make a run for it. This is going to be fun, he told himself, laughing out loud.

  Adar loped down from his perch at a leisurely pace to recover the four strays. He didn’t want to engage them too soon and spoil the fun. This might be his only action for a while.

  The prisoners moved quickly, as if they had a destination in mind, not understanding that the giant chunk of ice on which the prison is situated provided very little in the way of shelter and no way off the planet.

  Adar laughed to himself, just thinking of the fun awaiting him.

  “Argh!” Adar shouted, hoping to strike fear into the fleeing prisoners.

  “Someone’s chasing us!” yelled the prisoner at the rear.

  “So stop him!” shouted Rosda, who led the group. “He’s not that big.”

  Before the prisoner at the rear could react, Adar punched him in the back hard enough to send his body flying forward. As he fell, Adar leapt onto his shoulder using it as a springboard to pounce onto the next prisoner. He grabbed this one by the back of his coat, flipped him in the air, and easily tossed him into the fleeing forms of the two remaining prisoners.

  “Okay, line up right here,” Adar yelled, a bit groggy from the takedown. “We are going to march back to the loading area where you are going to peacefully get on board one of those ships. If you are not in agreement with that proposal, please raise your hand now, and I will pound your face until you do agree or you need a stretcher to carry your unconscious body onto the ship.”

  “He stopped to yell something at the prisoners,” said Tatan, watching Adar. “Although he is small, I don’t think we can take him. He certainly made light work of those four.”

  “Let’s just sneak up on him. I can stun him with my gun if we have to. Once we are close enough, we can use our special talents to force him to do our bidding,” Daloi proposed. “I’ll lead the way. Just stay behind me. He won’t even see us coming.”

  Daloi removed her gun from its holster and set the weapon to stun. The three Cheoili stealthily approached Adar from the rear as he admonished his captives. When Daloi drew within a few meters of Adar, he suddenly spun around, pulling his blaster and pointing it at her chest.

  Startled, Daloi wondered, What manner of creature is this. He’s obviously part of the Euclidian force, but I have never seen one quite like him. He’s almost animal-like.

  Like all Ossies, Adar’s skin was covered with orange and black stripes similar to those of a tiger. A black band on either side of his nose highlighted the area where one might expect to see eyes. Ossies have a horizontal optical slit across their face instead of separate eyeballs. This unique organ gave them extraordinary peripheral vision and a total visual field of nearly 300 degrees. It enabled Adar to see the Cheoili sneaking up behind him.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” he demanded.

  “What’s he saying?” asked Tatan, cowering in preparation to run.

  “It’s Euclidian. You took it in school, remember? Just stay put,” said Daloi in Cheoili.

  Turning back to Adar, she switched to Euclidian. “Forgive the intrusion. I’m Daloi,” she said, storing her gun and holding out a hand to Adar, which he ignored. “Our engines gave out, and we crash-landed about 50 klicks from here. We saw you from our landing site and thought you might be able to help us out.”

  “Is that why you had your gun pointed at me?” Adar growled, studying the strange creatures.

  “I misinterpreted your actions as robbery until I got close enough to see that you are one of the good guys,” Daloi replied smoothly.

  “Get in line with the prisoners,” said Adar, waving his rifle to point the way. “I’ll take you to our ship. Maybe someone there can help you.”

  “We’re not interested in being treated like prisoners. We are Cheoili, part of the Euclidian Alliance and—”

  “I never heard of you,” said Adar, cutting Daloi off. “Your Euclidian is good enough, so maybe you are telling the truth.”

  “I actually spent some time on Euclidia a few—” Daloi began, before Adar interrupted her again.

  “I don’t care. Join the prisoners, or I’ll kill you and leave your bodies here to rot. Toss me your gun, while you’re at it. Nice and slow-like,” he demanded.

  “You are going to be sorry you treated us like this,” said Dholi, feigning indignation to approach Adar, in hopes of helping her sister get close enough to strike.

  “I’m not familiar with that emotion. Maybe you can explain it to me on the walk back,” replied Adar, turning towards Dholi, disinterest on his face and his finger twitching on the trigger of his photon rifle.

  “Don’t shoot. I’m going, I’m going,” said Tatan, following his sister’s lead and throwing his hands up.

  Adar believed the strangers did not pose a significant threat and decided to holster his weapon.

  This is an odd-looking trio, he thought. They don’t seem to have any pigment in their skin. I can make out the flesh beneath. Ugh!

  “What’s that on your neck?” asked Daloi, using her siblings’ distractions to move close enough to grab Adar at the back of his neck. The Ossie flinched, struggling to free himself from Daloi’s grip.

  Daloi was a strong female, several centimeters taller than Adar. She succeeded in overwhelming him, using her strength and special enzymes secreted through her fingertips. “Relax, fellow, and stop resisting,” she urged, quietly. “What’s your name?”

  “Adar,” he answered, the stress of trying to resist making his voice waver.

  “Adar. That’s a nice name. Adar, give your weapon to my sister, Dholi.” Adar complied as the four prisoners cheered.

  “Kill him, kill him,” the Alpha prisoners chanted.

  “Oh, we’re definitely going to kill someone, gentlemen,” said Daloi, wrinkling her nose with smug humor. “Don’t damage their uniforms, we’ll need t
o wear them.”

  Taking her cue, Dholi quickly killed three of the prisoners with shots to their heads. Adar grunted angrily, causing Dholi to hesitate just long enough for Rosda to chime in.

  “I can help you survive on the ship,” the remaining Alpha begged, hoping to bargain for her life. “I’m a chemist. The food and drink on the ship will be tainted with a chemical that takes away your willpower.”

  “So why don’t I just kill you and take it off your dead body?” asked Dholi, pointing the weapon at Rosda’s face.

  “Because you don’t know what quantity to take or how long it lasts. Unless you want to spend your life as a lemming, I suggest you let me help you,” Rosda replied, slowly placing a finger on the tip of the weapon Dholi held and pressing it toward the ground.

  “Dholi, we’ll take her with us,” said Daloi. “Adar, my good friend, I want you to escort us to the loading area and then forget this incident ever happened. Nod to let me know you agree.” Adar nodded without resistance. “What is to be done with the prisoners you’re loading?”

  “They are being taken to our ship, which is orbiting the planet. They will eventually be sold off as laborers.”

  “Why don’t the prisoners try to overpower the guards?” asked Daloi. “There are only a few of them.”

  “Their food is drugged so they don’t resist commands,” Adar replied.

  “Just as I told you,” said Rosda, lifting her hands into the air.

  “Okay, so you can earn your keep. Don’t get cocky.” Daloi eyed Rosda suspiciously.

  Returning her attention to Adar, she asked, “How long before the prisoners are sold off, Adar?”

  “Probably another month or so. We need to perform a brief reconnaissance visit to another planet we plan to mine. Maybe some other stops. I don’t control the schedule,” he answered.

  “Oh, that’s right. I heard your government flies around the galaxy mining the life out of planets. You feel you have the moral high ground because you leave the planets habitable,” said Daloi, suddenly chatty.

  “Says the female who just murdered three innocents,” observed Adar, his voice thick with sarcasm.

  “At least we’re honest about our vices. You’re just government sanctioned pirates. As soon as a more powerful alien species comes along to put you in your place, you’ll be crying foul. Won’t you?” Daloi retorted.

  “No, I won’t be crying anything. I’ll survive as I always do. And once you release my neck, I’m going to take you out,” Adar promised, his strong will surfacing even with the Cheoili’s enzymes flooding his bloodstream.

  “Even when I’m not gripping your neck, I expect you to do what I say and forget what happened here,” Daloi continued. “If asked, simply tell people you captured the fleeing prisoners and escorted them back to the ship. That’s it. Understood?” she instructed, shoving him forward.

  “Yes, I understand,” said Adar, a moan escaping him as he twisted his head.

  “Give him his weapon back,” ordered Daloi. Dholi complained, but reluctantly handed the firearm to Adar. Adar grabbed the rifle, but didn’t attempt to shoot the trio.

  “You are a feisty one, aren’t you?” said Daloi.

  Adar did not respond.

  “Let’s get dressed and get out of here you two,” she told her siblings. “We should drag these dead bodies out of sight, so they are not easily found.”

  “Daloi, I remember you telling me our enzymes could bend people to our will,” said Dholi, “but I didn’t realize it worked so well or so quickly.”

  “To tell you the truth, neither did I. During my visit to Euclidia, I tried it on several people and got surprising results. We can send people into ecstasy or make them our slaves simply by touching them with our fingers and using a well-placed whisper,” she boasted.

  The three Cheoili changed their features to mimic the Alphas that Dholi killed. While they were taller than most Alphas, they hunched their bodies to blend in with the other prisoners.

  “Pretty neat trick,” said Rosda, who observed their transformation in awe.

  “That’s not all we’re capable of. So be careful how you behave,” said Daloi, hoping to intimidate Rosda.

  “You’ll need to get rid of your weapon,” Rosda observed, pointing at Daloi’s blaster. “They scan the prisoners before they board. There’s no way you will be able to sneak it on the ship.”

  Rosda smirked.

  Daloi ignored her, but tossed her weapon away.

  Daloi, Dholi and Tatan donned the dead prisoners’ uniforms and headed back to the loading area with the Alpha chemist, mixing in with the other prisoners. Adar returned to overseeing the transfer process, the incident forgotten.

  Eventually, the Cheoili climbed aboard one of the mining ships for the transfer to the Andrea. After the loading door closed, only portable lights illuminated the craft’s dark interior. The prisoners had to stand for the short trip, propping up each other to keep from falling onto the floor, which was covered in water from snow melting off prisoners’ boots.

  Once aboard the Andrea, the Euclidian guards escorted the prisoners into a holding cell. The Cheoili, unlike the other prisoners, viewed their captivity as a gateway to freedom.

  Chapter 2

  The Cheoili Escape the Andrea

  Several hours later, the guards herded the three Cheoili, along with a group of other prisoners, into one of the ship’s holding areas. The area’s fresh smell caught their attention as soon as they walked around. It just smells like “clean” in here, thought Dholi.

  “Have you ever seen or smelled such a clean place?” she asked her brother and sister.

  “They don’t want the merchandise to get sick in transit,” Tatan observed, heavy sarcasm in his tone.

  “Let’s not waste time focusing on how the place smells,” said Daloi, clearly a person on a mission. “I want you two to comb every inch of this place looking for an opening, weaknesses or tools we can use as weapons.”

  “What about me?” asked Rosda, inserting herself into the conversation. “Am I part of the team?”

  “For now. Give us the antidote, so we can get something to eat in this place,” Daloi replied. Once you’re no longer useful, we’ll discard you like yesterday’s news feed, she thought, her face betraying nothing.

  “Here,” said Rosda, handing each of them a pill. “This will block the effects for a week and then you will need to take another one.”

  “This little thing,” said Tatan, eyeing the tiny blue disc in disbelief.

  “Yes, sometimes amazing things come in small packages,” Rosda chuckled.

  “You’re not that amazing, and you came in a small package,” Dholi quipped, drawing laughs from Daloi and Tatan.

  “Enough with the chit chat.” Daloi broke up the levity. “Go check this place out. This corner of the room will be ours.” Daloi pointed to five beds and a table. “If anyone tries to move in, we’ll just throw them out. See what you can find, and we’ll meet back here in an hour or so. You, too, Rosda. For now, you are a new member of our gang.”

  “Thank you, Daloi. I’m honored to be part of the team,” Rosda said, bowing.

  “Just get to work and stay out of our way,” replied Daloi

  ***

  Daloi eyed the massive holding area. Beds were evenly spaced at different heights with mini partitions to provide a modicum of privacy. Food and beverage stations all along the wall kept people fed and tranquilized. Sanitary booths with curtains gave people some privacy, but not the ability to hide, while expelling waste. What an enormous and ingeniously designed place this is, she thought. Who could ask for more in a temporary prison?

  The Cheoili and their one disciple resumed strolling around the confinement area, looking for flaws and a better understanding of its layout. Before long, the smell of the Alpha prisoners permeated the space, which displeased the Cheoili.

  Why can’t they smell more like us? Dholi thought. Or at least take a shower. Too bad the drugged food doesn’t m
ake them bathe more often. Ugh!

  On the other hand, the Cheoili’s aromatic odor caught the attention of other prisoners as they passed, prompting them to raise their heads and sniff the air. The team ignored this, unconcerned that anyone might alert the authorities to their presence.

  “Aren’t these ceilings and upper walls interesting?” Dholi commented, walking up to Daloi. “It’s like looking out into space. They have even synchronized the movement of the sun to simulate a normal solar cycle. I can only guess it is based on their destroyed home planet of Alpha. Look how they praise the sunset.”

  “Yeah, they just can’t seem to let go,” Daloi said, but her attention remained focused on the task at hand. “Keep looking around. I have yet to find a door in this place.”

  Daloi knew there had to be a way in and out.

  Dholi was less optimistic. “They used transporters to deliver us here from the cargo bay,” she said. “Since then, the Euclidian have only communicated with us via the monitors on the wall. Like that repetitive, annoying ‘stay calm and relax’ message. Why would they ever need to have a way to enter here?” she reasoned.

  “We’ll have to figure that out,” said Daloi, continuing to study the wall.

  When they completed their individual tours, the siblings and Rosda regrouped in the corner they had staked out to compare notes.

  “Did either of you find anything worth talking about?” asked Daloi.

  “Not me,” said Tatan.

  “Other than odd-looking Alphas, no,” said Dholi.

  “I think I can use some of the food ingredients to make a fire if we need to,” said Rosda.

  “That’ll come in handy if we decide to have a barbecue,” joked Dholi. “So how are we supposed to get out of this place? If we are still in here after reaching Euclidia, our chances of escaping are greatly diminished. They may even discover that we are the Cheoili wanted by the Alphas. Our crashed ship won’t go unnoticed forever.”