by Jack Archer
“The Visili family themselves,” he replied, taking a step forward as the queue moved. A shuttle appeared, and the crowd began to move towards it.
“So, we can’t take him back. They still think he did it,” Rystar responded.
“Telï, we have to take him to Firehawk,” Cobalt agreed.
They boarded the shuttle, ten times more twitchy than when they set out, and began the long ride back to Sluirossi. When they arrived, Cobalt exited first, watching for any signs of the Visili family he had received the bounty from. When he found none, he turned around and flicked his head forward for Rystar and Darniel to follow him near the outskirts of the corridor to the causeway.
They didn’t run into any trouble as they approached the Firehawk and opened the airlock, stumbling inside and shutting the door behind them. Rystar let out a sigh of relief and tore her jacket off, watching Cobalt do the same. He faced Darniel and held up a key.
“I will release you now,” Cobalt said, eyebrow raised. “It would best serve you to stay with us.”
Darniel gulped and nodded, holding his hands out to Cobalt, who took his cuffs off and stowed them away in his locker. Rystar beckoned for Darniel to follow him down the hall and towards the bridge, where no one but Lupe sat. Rystar waved to them and called. “Seen Kyran anywhere?”
“Lë yäk am yarno chu Shea,” they replied and flicked their head up to Darniel. “Ni is rïr?”
“Our bounty,” Cobalt grumbled, pushing him towards the elevators and entering and speaking to Rystar. “They’re up in the kitchen.” Rystar followed and hit the button to take them there.
When the elevator doors opened, she spotted the two immediately and headed over. Kyran stood up but focused his attention on the newcomer, his brow furrowing. “Please don’t tell me this is your bounty.”
“It is, but listen,” Rystar started, holding a hand up to quell Kyran’s protests. “We think he’s innocent.”
“Well, that doesn’t damn matter. You give him back, and they give you the money. That’s how it works, sugar,” Kyran scoffed, folding his arms.
“Starshine,” Cobalt grunted, sitting down in a seat across from Shea and folding his arms across his broad chest. Kyran stopped and looked over to him, mouth half-open.
“What’s this guy got to do with Starshine?” Kyran asked.
“I was framed for the Ritual Center bombing by someone using this program called Starshine,” Darniel explained, leaning against a center column. Kyran shook his head and focused on Cobalt.
“Why would Enzo do that?” he asked, breathing heavy and turning to face Cobalt. “Why would he frame a Sustri for a bombing?”
“Ruwe,” Cobalt said, tapping a finger to his temple. Kyran stopped, letting his hands fall to his sides.
“The Sustri have never been responsible for bombing Sluirossi,” he breathed, turning to face Darniel. “It’s always been the Horoths, framing Sustris for shit they didn’t do.”
Cobalt nodded and turned to Darniel, whose eyes had gone wide. “You mean… even the Patros?”
“I can only assume,” Kyran said, placing one hand on his hip and scratching the back of his head with the other. “Sipe. Why would Enzo be helping the Horoth do such things?”
“He probably has no choice,” Rystar said with a shrug, crossing the room to grab a drink.
“Everyone has a choice, Umara,” Kyran said, turning to face her with deadly eyes.
“Sometimes you really don’t,” Rystar repeated, opening the bottle of Charlom and pouring herself a drink. “He might be doing the lesser of two evils.”
“Still evil,” Kyran muttered, approaching her to take the bottle and pour a drink of his own.
“I wouldn’t blame him,” Rystar said, fixing him with a look of her own and taking a sip of her drink.
“So what are we going to do?” Darniel asked, spreading his hands. He had amber eyes like Enzo’s that glowed when he spoke. A dark mop of hair that fell in his face, and Rystar regarded him as she sat down to nurse her drink.
“We tell the Wings,” she said, turning to her crewmates in turn and receiving affirmative nods. She stopped on Shea. “You’ve been quiet this whole time. What’s up?”
Shea took a moment, staring down at his tablet for a while before speaking. “I think Enzo’s in trouble. I know we thought he was just having a rough time up there on Tahi, but I truly believe the Horoths have got him caught up in some terrible things. We have to save him, and soon.”
“We don’t have the money,” Cobalt said from across the table, and Rystar nodded, fiddling with her Cortijet before taking a drag.
“We might have to look at other options that don’t involve bail and do involve a more aggressive approach,” she said, tilting her head. Cobalt sighed and nodded.
“Two of us could take the Krimson Princess up there and try to break in,” Shea suggested, and Rystar shook her head.
“Those things can barely make it into space, much less a damn moon, especially one so old,” she said. Sure, the Mach II’s were the humans’ first attempt at a spacefaring craft, and they had done their job well, but after 60 years, they began to break down, and border gate rides became rather rough.
“We could do a stealth fly by with the Firehawk,” Kyran said, plopping down in a chair and swirling his drink around. “Quick in and out.”
“We don’t even know where he’s being held,” Rystar said with a sigh. “I don’t know how good my hacking skills are, but I can sure as shit social engineer my way into the prison and say he needs to be transferred.”
“They wouldn’t let him go with anyone who isn’t a Horoth,” Kyran said. They lapsed into silence for a moment, running out of ideas, until Lupe’s voice came over the speakers and addressed them all.
“Captain, we have visitors. They’re Horoth.”
Chapter Eight
Rystar Umara: Sluirossi, Yimesotwa
“Horoth?” Kyran said, jumping up from his chair like it shocked him.
Rystar’s heart skipped a beat as she downed her drink and stood up. No sense wasting it if the Horoths had found them. Kyran stalked to the wall and pressed a button to summon Lupe.
“Ask them what they want,” Kyran whispered into the receiver, and Rystar couldn’t help but snort.
“Give me a second, antsuo,” Lupe replied and went silent for a moment. When they came back, their voice was hushed. “They said, ‘te itek lïch yal lowï si sitsïch , i nye wehu näp nachíffip lïch yal tsër tsiny ru tsichíffip iyal.”
Kyran went pale and let his hand drop from the wall as he rushed to the other side of the room and towards the airlock. Rystar bolted after him, cursing under her breath. When they reached the airlock, Kyran fumbled with the buttons until it opened. They were met with three Horoth, standing tall with their wings huddled up around them in the cold.
“Where is he?” Kyran said, catching his breath.
“He is safe, for now, but I don’t know for how long,” the Horoth in the middle replied. “My name is Makeer. I have come at great risk to myself to assist you.”
Kyran narrowed his eyes but stepped aside, allowing them through the airlock and into the ship. He walked them back to the elevator and to the bridge where Lupe stood at the console, hands on their hips.
“Kyran, what the hell is going on? Why are there Horoths on our ship?” they asked, throwing a hand out towards the offending party. Shea and Cobalt appeared, circling them. Kyran sighed and walked down the steps.
“They know Enzo, and Enzo trusts them,” Kyran said, sighing.
“Because of what they said?” Lupe asked.
“Yes,” Kyran replied, nodding. “Enzo wouldn’t tell anyone that unless he was desperate.”
“If you say so,” Lupe said with a shrug and sat down. Rystar, on the other hand, wasn’t having it.
“So what, we trust these guys now?” she blurted out, waving at the three Horoth who stood near the elevator, shuffling their feet. “After what they did?”
<
br /> “We are not the Unaton,” Makeer spat out, holding her head high and placing her clawed hands on her hips.
“What?” Rystar asked, shaking her head.
“The Ascendants,” Kyran explained with a wave of his hand. “The Horoth that chose to go with the Terrans into space and fight everyone. These guys must be hidden Bedanah. Horoth who refuse to participate in the Horoth’s conquests.” He added at Rystar’s questioning look.
“How the hell do you know all this stuff?” she asked.
“You’d do well to know it, too,” he said, pointing a finger at her and approaching Makeer. “It’s important. Where is Enzo?”
“In the Tahi Prison,” she said, towering over him. Her wings were bright red and gold, almost the same color as Kyran’s eyes, and her skin was shiny and gold-dusted, with hints of orange and red. She radiated beauty, and Rystar couldn’t keep her eyes off of her. “But they will not let anyone transport him.”
“What about you all?” Kyran asked, flicking his head to the Horoth party.
“We are too low in status to move prisoners, especially one as important as Enzo,” she said, hanging her head and shaking it, making the bangles in her ears jingle.
“Important?” Rystar repeated.
“They are using his talents to their advantage,” Makeer replied with sorrow in her gold eyes.
“Shit,” Rystar hissed, glancing over at Cobalt. “They must have him covering their tracks when doing the bombings. That’s what Darniel was framed for.”
“Tsesulï,” Cobalt grunted, cracking his knuckles.
“Exactly,” Makeer said, nodding. “Enzo is a genius. They will not want to let him go without some convincing.”
Rystar pondered for a moment, putting her hand over her mouth and tapping her foot. No one on the ship was near Enzo’s level of programming or cyber skill, but with all of their heads together, they might just be able to pull it off.
“What if we fabricated our own message?” she began, turning to face Kyran. “From a higher up Horoth back on Sluirossi. We say we need his talents to perform some complicated thing and have him transported to the Wing’s headquarters instead.”
Kyran rubbed his chin and flicked his eyes up to Makeer, who had raised her eyebrows. “That might actually work… do you think we’d be able to create something like that, something that’s believable?”
“We have Makeer,” Rystar said and pointed. “All we’d need is a different ship to transport him, one with a Horoth signature.”
“I’m afraid we cannot help you with that,” Makeer said, “but we can help you with the Horoth message. I am in touch with several higher-ups in the Sluirossi government and can use one of their names to fabricate a message. Be aware, they will eventually catch on. We will need to be quick.”
“Of course,” Rystar said with a curt nod. “Kyran, Cobalt, come with me to meet with Ji’lan. We have to tell him about the Sustri being framed. We’ll bring Darniel with us.” They affirmed and headed to the elevator while Rystar turned to Shea. “Shea and Lupe, stay here and work with Makeer to get that message out.”
“What about the ship?” Lupe asked. Rystar frowned in thought.
“Look around and see if you can find one,” she replied with a shrug. “Don’t you have ship contacts or something?”
“Just because I’m a pilot doesn’t mean I know where every ship on sale is,” Lupe chuckled and spread their hands, “but I’ll definitely start looking around. There’s got to be one that used to be Horoth around this place.”
Rystar thanked him and took Makeer’s hand in hers. “You’ve given us hope, and for that, I can’t thank you enough.”
Makeer bowed her head and smiled, her beaked nose partially hiding it. “We will do whatever is necessary to liberate this planet for our Ya’ados and Sustri chik’i.”
Rystar gave her a warm smile and headed to the elevator that would take her to the airlock.
“I’m sorry, but Ji’lan is busy.”
Rystar rolled her eyes. Lo’varth had become her biggest pain in the ass on Yimesotwa, even more so than the Horoth at times. She stomped a foot and craned her neck around to see Ji’lan’s door stuck shut and huffed.
“This is important,” Rystar insisted, placing a hand on her hip while Kyran and Cobalt stewed behind her. Darniel lingered to the side of them, and while Lo’varth didn’t seem to be very afraid of Kyran, he gulped when Cobalt growled and cracked his knuckles.
“If you tell me what it’s about, I’ll let Ji’lan decide if it’s important or not,” Lo’varth said, raising his eyebrows and crossing his arms.
“It’s about the Ritual Center bombing,” Rystar said and pointed to Darniel, “and this is the Vasili member who was framed.”
“This is a Vasili?” Lo’varth asked, his eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Rystar rolled her eyes and groaned.
“Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” she huffed. “We need to get him to Ji’lan immediately.”
“Fine, fine,” Lo’varth said, finally caving and motioning for the party to follow him to Ji’lan’s door. He knocked several times and waited until Ji’lan called for them to come in. He was sat in his chair, drink in hand, and staring at his tablet.
“I asked you specifically to let me have a day of rest, Lo’varth,” he sighed, setting his tablet down and glaring at the encroaching party. When they all entered, Ji’lan’s eyes fell on Darniel, and he bolted from his chair, drink spilling over the floor. “How dare you show your face here. How dare you bring him here!”
Rystar blanched but held her ground, putting herself in front of Darniel and holding up a hand. “Please, wait and listen, Ji’lan.”
“You better have a damn good explanation for bringing that… that murderer to our doorstep, Umara,” Ji’lan hissed, his eyes darkening with storm clouds.
“The Horoths framed him for the bombing,” she explained as she quick as she could before Ji’lan exploded. “Just like they’ve been framing the Sustri for every bombing since the Horoth’s arrival and takeover on Yimesotwa.”
“And what is your evidence of this?” Ji’lan asked, his eyes losing some of their ferocity but remaining clouded over.
“Enzo,” Kyran said, taking a step towards him. Ji’lan’s eyes turned to Kyran, and he softened.
“How do you know it was your friend?” Ji’lan said.
“The Horoth have been forcing him to cover up their tracks with the bombings,” Kyran explained, “and we were visited by some Bedanah.”
“The Bedanah are here?” Ji’lan asked, raising an eyebrow.
“They said Enzo has fallen into the Horoth’s hands, and they will use him to keep covering up the bombings,” Kyran said, pleading with Ji’lan now. Rystar’s heart broke at how much he missed having Enzo on the ship and in his life. It had been over a month now. They were all feeling the hole where Enzo used to be.
“Do you have a plan to get him back?” Ji’lan continued, turning to pick up his tablet and swiping through it.
“They won’t let anyone but Horoths transport him,” Rystar said, “but Makeer said she would try and fabricate a message from some higher up Horoth to send to the Tahi prison and convince them to transport Enzo down here.”
“Makeer?” Ji’lan blurted, his eyes whipping up to focus on Rystar.
“Yes, she’s one of the Horoths that came to us,” Rystar replied, narrowing her eyes. “Do you know her?”
“I don’t know a Makeer,” he mumbled, focusing back on the tablet. Rystar turned to Kyran, who merely shrugged.
“Anyways,” Rystar went on, “all we need now is a Horoth ship to transport him in, and we’ll be all set.”
“Just a Horoth ship?” Ji’lan chuckled.
“Easy, right?” Rystar said, rolling her eyes. Ji’lan hummed, placing a finger to his lips in thought.
“It might be,” he said, “if you know how to hotwire LASSOs.”
“I said a Horoth ship, not a LASSO,” Rystar rep
eated.
“Yes, but lately, the Horoth have been using a new human ship, made especially for Horoths,” Ji’lan explained, opening a new window on his tablet and searching for something. When he found it, he pushed the tablet to Rystar, and she gasped.
“This is the ship that killed my Mach III,” she breathed. On the screen sat a Mach IV, but much smaller and more aerodynamic, its guns the main feature. She looked up to Ji’lan. “What is this called?”
“It is the Mach 4.5 Ocelot,” he said.
“It’s so small,” she said, tilting her head. “How is it made for Horoth?”
“Ceilings are taller to accommodate wings,” he said, pointing to the picture. “It’s also wider. It only allows for two Horoths, but I bet three Terrans or three Sustri could easily fit.”
He quirked up the corner of his mouth at the three of them and took his tablet back.
“So where do we find one of these?” Rystar asked, shaking her head.
“We were able to see one driving outside a week ago,” he said, sitting back down in his chair. “My guess is it patrols the Sluirossi bubble. Two Horoths shouldn’t be too hard to handle for the three of you, correct?”
Rystar gulped and turned to Kyran and Cobalt, both wearing deadly grins.
It didn’t take too long for them to change into their snow and space suits and head out of the hidden door that led to the outside of the bubble. The snowstorm wasn’t nearly as bad today as it had been, but the cold still chilled them to the bone as they began to walk the perimeter of the bubble.
“Ocelot will need a station to fuel up at,” Cobalt said in her ear, and she nodded, squinting through the grayness of the storm.
“Do you think it’ll be near the bubble or out a ways?” Rystar asked.
“Near bubble,” Cobalt replied. “Don’t want to stray too far in case they get stranded.”
“Alright,” Rystar said and clapped her hands together, “let’s find this thing and get out of the cold.”