The Slave Planet

by Seven Steps

  “In here.”

  “Stop!” And Enforcer cried from the end of the hall.

  Baleen crouched down, moved the cot aside, picked up a small ring, and pulled, revealing a dark hole in the floor.

  “I said stop!” The sound of a Venian Blaster echoed down the hallway.

  “Down here!” Baleen said, lowering herself into the hole.

  The blaster fired, shattering the glass of several nearby cells.

  Kiln handed Marie down to Baleen, and Nadira followed.

  The blaster booted up again, fired.

  Glass breaking.

  Kiln jumped down the hole, and Baleen pressed a button on the wall.

  Something slid overhead. Heavy steps came from above.

  Baleen pressed another button, and lights snapped on, revealing a hallway.

  “What is this place?” Nadira asked.

  “This place is how we get our people out.”

  “Our people?”

  “Women who are too important to be executed or detained. They go into this cell, and then they disappear.”

  “How? Doesn’t anyone check?”

  “Nope. We always use the same story. We say that she struggled and Enforcers had to put her down. Arees thinks that she owns all of the Enforcers. The truth is, Beta’s got some of our own.”

  The hallway ended at a set of stairs. They ascended the stairs, opened a door, and were thrust into a set of bushes next to High Council building.

  “We’re here,” Baleen said. She raced around the bushes and up the stairs, disappearing into the lobby.

  “Should we follow her?” Kiln asked.

  “Yes,” Nadira said.

  She wouldn’t miss the look on Arees face for the world.

  Chapter 38

  Max popped his touch screen into the holder in the center of the front window as the ship flew over Habitat Alpha.

  The ship was no hovercraft. It was sleek, in a shade of blue that reminded Eva of the reservoirs. Though there were no side wings, the back did possess a sharp tail with four fins set at ninety-degree angles.

  Three rows of two seats were comfortably spaced out. The padded cushions were an appealing shade of blue. Pale yellow covered the walls and carpet.

  On the right side, behind the rows of seats, was a storage closet. In front of it were eight backpacks, and other scattered supplies. On the left side, was the med room.

  Eva sat next to Max in the front of the ship. In front of each of them was a midsized wheel, a lever next to her right leg, and a consol lit with buttons in various shades of red, yellow and orange. At the top of the console on a black screen was a series of red numbers.

  The ship smelled of lavender.

  What kind of ship is this? It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before.

  A picture of a split screen comm between Bragnia and Arees began to play.

  Eva gasped. “It’s Nadira’s feed. How did this happen?”

  Maxwell grinned.

  “It was you? By Venus, how did you get the feed?”

  “Nadira.”

  They landed just outside the Hall of Judgment.

  He jumped up, and pressed a red button marked DOOR RELEASE. A small set of stairs popped out beneath the door, and, when they hit the ground, he jogged down them.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’ll be back. Don’t move.”

  He slammed the door, and was off.

  She heard a compartment under the hovercraft open, slam shut again.

  Eva put her hands to the windows. She watched Maxwell slink through the shadows.

  In front of her, the front of the ship seemed to disappear, only visible by the faintest of grey outlines.

  The ship cloaks too?

  To their left, Enforcers were unloading men from a ship. She recognized the colors of their torn clothes. They were the same brilliant colors she saw in Mahala.

  Lex.

  The men were lined up at the front door, but were not going in. Something was going on inside of the building.

  Enforcers burst through the doors of the Hall of Judgment, running to the right, and left.

  Another Enforcer came out, pointing inside, screaming something Eva couldn’t here.

  Then, shots fired.

  The prisoners ducked down.

  The Enforcers turned away, returning fire.

  She spied Lex in the back of the line.

  “Lex!” she called.

  He couldn’t hear her through the glass.

  Maxwell reached the line undetected, blended in with the men.

  He made his way to the back as the battle raged between the Enforcers and the unseen gunman.

  He grabbed Lex’s shoulder and pointed at the ship.

  Eva’s heart pounded, as Maxwell, still crouched, led Lex back to her.

  The gunfire ended.

  Max cried something.

  Him and Lex stood, ran.

  One Enforcer turned, then another, and another.

  The fire turned in their direction.

  Eva opened the door,

  “Hurry!”

  Maxwell and Lex reached the ship, throwing themselves inside.

  In seconds, the ship was in the air, jerking against the sprays of the Enforcers blasters.

  Maxwell turned to the back of the building, dropped the ship, and pulled into a service tunnel.

  “What do we do now?” Eva demanded.

  “We wait,” he said.

  Chapter 39

  Arees tried not to shuffle in her seat as she sat on the podium of High Council Hall, Hi-Rock of Omega on her left, and the young Maharani and Princess on her right. Baleen’s seat was empty at the end.

  Twenty Seconds, she thought. Twenty Seconds and Venus is mine.

  The Hall was packed with nearly every woman on High Council.

  She looked at Jun-Su, typing something on her touch screen. She turned back to the podium.

  “Councilwomen, it’s time to vote.”

  “Wait!”

  All heads turned as Baleen burst through the door that led to the hall.

  “I’m here!” She announced.

  Arees heart raced, her breath coming in quick spurts.

  “Baleen,” she said, steadying her voice in the microphone. “I see that you have decided to join us.”

  “Yes I have Arees, despite you trying to have me killed.”

  Murmurs.

  Shouts.

  All eyes turned to Arees.

  “That’s ridiculous. Why would I do that?”

  “For the same reason you had those fifteen women killed.” Nadira followed in Baleen. Behind her, Grand Empress Marie was being carried in by Nadira’s slave.

  How did they get out?

  “You tried to steal the vote,” Nadira said. “Everyone, turn on the news feed. They’ve already began reporting on it. Arees is a murderer! She staged the slave riots so that she could kill everyone who ran against her.”

  “She’s right,” Empress Star stood, held up her touch screen. “It’s all over the news feeds.”

  The women began to scream, stand, shout their fury.

  “Surely you can’t believe these lies.”

  Hi-Roc cleared her throat, pointed at her touch screen.

  “An accident, huh?” She asked, her voice sharp, lethal. “You were going to get rid of me in an accident. I thought that we were partners in this.”

  Arees took a step back, then another, and another, until she had tripped over her chair, fell backwards.

  I’ve come too far. I can’t let her win now.

  Snatching the Blaster off Hi-Roc’s hip, she aimed it at Baleen, and fired.

  The beam hit Baleen between her eyes, exploding her head while, at the same time, flinging her body backwards.

  The crowd silenced.

  “Now that I have your attention,” Arees said, her voice husky. “With Baleen out of the running, all votes will default to the one candidate left. I’ve already won. And as my first act as your
new leader,” she turned, fired on Hi-Roc, killed her. “I am appointing a new leader of Omega. Officer Bragnia. Empress Jun-Su will be my second in command. Now, I advise you to return to your homes. A new regime is about to begin.”

  The crowd was stunned to silence. All except one.

  “Wait,” the woman stood. “There is one more candidate on the ballot.”

  “What?” Arees roared. She grabbed the touch screen from Hi-Roc’s dead hand, stared in amazement.

  Countess Jun-Su.

  She looked at her friend, unable to breathe, unable to think.

  “You betrayed me,” she whispered. “You betrayed me!”

  She swung her arm around, blaster in hand. Aiming her shaking arm at Jun-Su, she fired, missed.

  The women of High Council rushed forward. The women of Habitat Omega ran to Arees, dodging her blaster fire to tackle her to the ground. The rest of the women went to surround Jun-Su, protecting her.

  “I should have won!” Arees screamed from beneath her attackers. “I should have won!”

  Jun-Su broke from her protectors as Arees was lifted from the ground, arms behind her back. She walked up the steps to the podium, arms open in triumph.

  “You betrayer!” Arees cried at her. She threw herself forward at Jun-Su, only to be yanked back by the Omega councilwoman.

  Jun-Su stood behind the microphone.

  “Members of High Council, thank you for your confidence.”

  The women cheered their reply, even as Arees screamed in rage.

  “As my first act as the Leader of High Council, I am instituting the First Law. The High Council is hereby disbanded.”

  The crowd stilled, stared at their leader.

  “You can’t do that!” Someone screamed. “The First Law must be ratified by all members of High Council.”

  “Guards,” Jun-Su said. “Close the doors.”

  The doors to High Council Hall slammed shut.

  Murmurs.

  Whimpers.

  “By the end of the night, there will only be one member of High Council left. Me.”

  Enforcers marched from behind the podium, forming a line around it.

  “Release her,” Jun-Su commanded. The councilwomen from Omega released Arees, backed away.

  “What are you doing?” Arees asked, glaring at her former friend.

  “I am second to no one.”

  “We had a deal. I help you get rid of all the slaves, and you help me win the election.” Arees’ voice turned pleading. “That can still be the plan.”

  “Sorry Arees. The plan was voided when you tried to blackmail me with my own children. It looks like I’ll be going the rest of the way alone.”

  She turned to the Enforcers around the stage. “Enforcers, fire at will.”

  The Enforcers opened fire on the crowd.

  Jun-Su turned back to Arees.

  She was gone.

  Chapter 40

  Nadira’s boots pounded against the pavement, her lungs pumping acid as she desperately tried to outrun the Enforcers.

  “At the end of this tunnel,” her mother called from behind her.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To set you free.”

  The Enforcers, led by Bragnia, rounded the corner, and were closing in fast.

  A shot hit the wall somewhere in the darkness, its ring echoing through the tunnel.

  She heard Bragnia swear behind her.

  They were close. Too close.

  We have to make it. We just have to.

  Fear pumped through Nadira’s legs.

  We have to escape.

  Just ahead, the sleek body of a blue spaceship peeked out from the end of the tunnel, it’s cabin lights illuminating the darkness.

  “There it is!” Marie cried. “Put me down!”

  “Not until we get to the ship,” Kiln said.

  The top of the ship opened, and Eva’s worried eyes peeked up.

  “Hurry!” Eva screamed.

  Lex’s redhead appeared next to Eva’s.

  “We don’t have much time!” Lex called.

  Maxwell jumped from the ship and ran around the side, his large, black blaster hanging from a strap on his shoulder. He grabbed Marie out of Kiln’s arms, joining the escape.

  “What happened?” He demanded.

  A shot hit the ground to their left, turning the stone red.

  “Max, you have to leave me!” Marie cried.

  “Never!” Maxwell replied.

  They reached the ship, and Max set her down in the center of the tunnel, facing their pursuers.

  He handed her a gun that’d been strapped to his hip.

  Nadira halted her climb into the ship, turned back to her mother, eyes wide.

  “What are you doing?”

  Marie turned to her daughter.

  “Go!” she said. “Be free!”

  Nadira climbed back down the ladder, crouched next to her mother.

  “No, I won’t leave you!”

  Another shot.

  Maxwell lowered his weapon to his hands, firing off several rounds at the Enforcers.

  “Kiln, get her out of here!”

  “No,” Nadira said. “I’m not leaving my mother!”

  Strong arms picked Nadira up, pulled her against a strong chest, and carried her, kicking and screaming, to the ship.

  “No! I won’t leave her! Mother!”

  The ship roared to life.

  Nadira struggled, her vicious kicks met with only air as Kiln shifted her to his hip, and climbed the stairs to the ship.

  “No, Kiln put me down!”

  The door slid open. He dropped her inside.

  “Kiln, don’t do this, please!”

  “I have to,” he said. “I promised them I’d keep you safe, no matter what.”

  The door slammed shut.

  Nadira rushed to the window.

  Her mother’s thin body, still on the ground, shook with each fire of her weapon.

  “Mother!” Nadira cried, slamming her hands on the window, tears streaming down her face.

  A blast hit Maxwell in the chest, sending him sprawling back in a splash of blood.

  Marie dragged her tired body over the dirty ground towards Max.

  Her weapon disappeared, shot of her hand.

  The Enforcers surrounded her.

  Marie’s desperate eyes found Nadira, her mouth forming her last words.

  And then, she was gone.

  “No! Mother!”

  This can’t be happening!

  Even as the ship rose in the night, Marie’s words lingered, as if she’d said them in Nadira’s ear, as if she spoke them even now.

  “Be free.”An explosion to their left lit the sky.

  She used to tell me stories.

  Lex and Kiln took the two wheels in the front seat.

  “Hold on!” He cried.

  The ship went vertical.

  She always held my hand when we walked.

  Another explosion, closer this time.

  “There’s an Enforcer ship right on our tail,” Kiln cried.

  “Not for long.”

  She smelled like flowers.

  They straightened, banked right, then left, then right again.

  The engine revved under Nadira’s feet.

  “There it is!” Kiln cried.

  The ship powered forward.

  I had her eyes.

  “You got the codes?” Kiln asked.

  “Uploaded and ready to go,” Lex replied.

  A large tube stood before them, one end within Alpha Habitat, the other beyond the orange cloud. The Porticos.

  “Where are we going?” Eva asked.

  “Out,” Lex replied.

  The tube opened, and they flew into the tight space.

  Thick orange clouds swirled and danced outside of the tube.

  “Ten seconds,” Kiln said.

  The clouds seemed to thicken, to press in on them.

  “Five seconds.”

  Th
e ship jerked, shook.

  “Two seconds.”

  I miss the way she held me.

  And then, the clouds were gone, and they were surrounded by the blackness of space.

  THE FALL OF AREES

  CHAPTER 1

  Pain exploded through Eva, violently waking her.

  She groaned as the throbbing sluggishly worked its way into the back of her eyes.

  Beneath her, the freezing stone floor trembled. Above her, a dying bulb hummed.

  Where am I? She wondered.

  She opened her eyes. White ceilings greeted her. In the middle of the ceiling sat a circular encasement that held the single, humming bulb.

  When she pushed up onto her elbows, her lower back screamed in pain. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.

  What is this place? The last thing I remember is leaving Venus through the porticos. Then we set the ship’s coordinates to Zenith and went into hyper sleep. What happened since then?

  She touched her brown, curly hair. It was neatly tied back from her face. Her hands brushed against the fabric of a clean, high collared white dress. Its material was soft against her skin.

  The high collar of the dress was a dead giveaway. Only one group of women she knew wore such collars.

  This is a prison. A Venian prison. How did I get here?

  Fighting to stay calm, her gaze darted around the small cell.

  Where is Lex?

  Her shadow danced on the stark white walls as she rose to her feet and moved around the cell.

  Where are Nadira and Kiln? Are they all dead? The very idea weakened her knees. She leaned onto the hard, stone walls for support and tried to catch her breath.

  They can’t be gone. They have to be alive somewhere. Just stay calm. Try to think. Think, Eva.

  A picture of Nadira, her body bloodied and motionless on a cell floor flashed across Eva’s mind. She violently pushed it away, blinking back the tears that tore up her throat.

  No. They’re alive. They have to be. And once I get out of here I’ll-

  Her eyes landed on an open door.

  An escape.

  Taking a deep breath to calm her jittery nerves, she tip toed to the door and peeked out.

  She heard no voices. No stomping of enforcer boots. No flashing lights or sirens. There didn’t seem to be anyone else around.

  To her left, the hallway continued on, bending out of sight. To her right, a golden door twinkled in the low light. Familiarity rang through her. She had seen that door before.