by N. I. Snow
The first human to reach Kahluna landed unconscious on the ground compliments of the former Seeker's tail. Two more rushed at her swinging their weapons. She ducked one and disarmed the other in a single fluid motion. Three more picked up the fight as the unarmed human backed off. Kahluna blocked a swing from one of the humans with the lower half of her scaled arm. A single blow to the human's gut caused him to fall to his knees gasping for air.
Jonah watched the fight with amazement. Men and women fell away, not seriously harmed, for the most part. The restraint Kahluna showed was astounding. One lighting move after another could have killed each human if Kahluna had wished it. After a good pummeling, the mob regrouped and rushed at Kahluna all at once. The Tazalian traitor was a blur of blocks, disarms, and strikes. She could have defeated them all with ease; however, the mob froze when gunshots rang out from behind them.
Kahluna, too, paused holding one of the female humans by the collar of her shirt. A military man in his thirties walked towards the group. He was dressed in a suit that changed textures to match his surroundings and in thick boots to protect his feet. He held a large rifle in both hands, although Kahluna could tell by how he held it that one of his shoulders had recently been injured.
The soldier’s auburn eyes scanned Kahluna, while he spoke with authority to the mob, “Back away, all of you!”
The group backed away while throwing dark looks towards the man. Kahluna released the woman, who quickly darted away. The humans parted their group for the man as he walked towards Kahluna. Jonah hurried to place himself between the soldier and the former Seeker.
The man stopped, examining Jonah closely, “Back away, boy.”
Jonah stood his ground, unafraid of him, “No, I'm not giving you the opportunity to gun Kahluna down.”
The man pushed Jonah away, “If I wanted to kill her I would have no problem shooting you to do so.” Jonah looked at the man with confusion as he spoke to the narrowed-eyed Tazalian, “That was amazing fighting. I had a run in with another of your kind that fought similarly, though more deadly.”
“Zaharak?” Kahluna asked sternly.
The man nodded and motioned to his wounded arm. “If that is his name, then, yes. He killed my squad and gave me a little souvenir.”
“You were fortunate, then. Zaharak never leaves any survivors.”
“I can tell you used to be the same way,” the man said as he began to examine his rifle. “You are like him, aren't you? A Seeker?”
Kahluna nodded, “I was once, long ago.”
The man looked back into Kahluna's red eyes. “Must have taken sometime to train yourself to suppress your attacks like that,” he jutted a thumb back at the mob. “After what I saw from that Zaharak, I know you could have killed all of them in a blink of an eye.”
“I have had enough death in my lifetime.” Kahluna shook her head. “I am tired of taking another life.”
“I have a feeling I can believe you,” he held out a hand to Kahluna, “My name is Lieutenant William Connell.”
Kahluna's clawed hand enveloped Connell's as she shook it gently. “Kahluna.”
The man let go of Kahluna's hand and turned back to the group of survivors. “All of you leave this area. You are not to bother these two any longer.” He ignored the rise of angry voices. “Should my men or I find any one of you near this area, we will use force if necessary.” The voices grew even louder but fell silent as Connell discharged several rounds into the air. “Next shots will be in shoulders unless you move out.”
The voices dropped into angry murmurs as the mob dispersed. The man with the broken arm threw Kahluna an especially cold look before leaving. As the group disappeared, Connell made various gestures with one of his hands. Several armed soldiers appeared from nearby buildings and streets. Though they were wary of Kahluna, none of them made any move to draw their weapons. Jonah looked from one soldier to another. If the soldiers planned to attack them, even Kahluna wouldn't be able to take on all of them without being injured or killed.
Connell looked back at Kahluna, “My men can watch over your ship. I will help you and the boy gather any parts you need for repairs.”
“Why are you helping us?” Jonah asked.
“You want to save your sister, and I want answers. Way I see it we can help each other out.”
Jonah looked at him confused, “How did you know about my sister?”
Connell tapped at a small transmitter in his ear. “I was able to listen to your conversation by honing in on the implants of the people you were fighting against. I would not have jumped in had I not overheard that Kahluna was helping you. Now what do you need in order to repair your ship?”
Kahluna pointed towards the engines, “The distributors in one of the engines needs to be replaced. I can pull them out of a Tazalian dropship or modify ones from your shuttles.
“Well, then you are in luck. I know where to find a Tazalian dropship; it'll save you some time not having to modify our technology. I have a chopper we can take to it. Follow me.”
Connell turned and began walking away with Kahluna following. Jonah paused briefly, still unsure of Connell and his men; but after a moment he hurried to catch up with the soldier and the Tazalian. With the unexpected help, they would be able to repair the ship much sooner; this gave Jonah more hope of seeing his little sister once more.
Eight
The Raven was smaller than most dualcopters, so Connell could transport Kahluna and Jonah to the Tazalian ship without alerting any enemy forces. The craft had been designed for speed and stealth. The tilt rotors gave the craft the agility of a fighter jet. Should the craft fall under attack, the pilot could maneuver through the city or land in a hurry. For the lieutenant and Jonah, the dualcopter's compact interior was a snug fit, their heads nearly touching the roof. Kahluna on the other hand had to crouch in order to fit. Jonah frowned; that meant she was unable to move about. If Connell was leading them into a trap, Kahluna would have no choice but to surrender.
As Connell piloted the craft, Jonah sat next to the stooped Tazalian. In the dark hull he was unable to tell if she acknowledged his presence. When his eyes did adjust to the darkness, he was able to see the glint of Kahluna's red eyes, but he could only wonder what thoughts were going through her mind. Surely she wasn't that easily convinced that Connell was trustworthy. She had to have a plan already thought out if things went downhill. Stars knew he didn't have even the slightest hope of creating an escape plan. He was a pilot not a soldier.
Minutes passed before Jonah felt the dualcopter shutter as it landed. Connell's voice could be heard from the front, “Stay inside, I will let you both out shortly.”
Jonah felt Kahluna stiffen as Connell opened the front hatch and stepped out of the craft. The look in her narrowed eyes made him shudder. Outside he could hear muffled voices. Kahluna must have been able to understand them because the former Seeker did her best to turn towards the hatch at the back of the craft. She was putting herself between Jonah and whoever waited outside the dualcopter. She was combining the chopper and her body as a cover for him.
When the hatch did open Jonah clutched the strap of the shoulder bag and blinked heavily as light filled the hull. Kahluna never blinked nor moved. Connell appeared at the hatchway and motioned them to slowly exit. Kahluna cautiously stepped out of the craft her eyes flicking from side to side. As Jonah followed her, he paused at what he saw. They were in a military base. Most of the buildings had been destroyed, some were still smoldering from fires. All around the chopper armed men stood with their rifles pointed at Kahluna. Connell stood facing the men with his arms out.
Jonah ran past Kahluna even though the former Seeker tried to stop him. The young man pointed accusingly at Connell, “I knew you couldn't be trusted. Couldn't miss your chance to torture a Tazalian, could you?”
Connell turned his head, “No, I never lied about helping you.”
“However, he was given orders to gather any information he could about the Taza
lians,” came a deep voice from behind the soldiers. Two men walked forward. One was a tall, dark-skinned man with a short beard on his thin face; the other was an elderly man with hardly any hair at all on his head. The dark skinned man looked over at Kahluna, “We were bewildered when Connell told us you were not on their side.”
Jonah looked at the man with shock. “President Monale?”
Monale nodded to the boy. “Don't be so surprised, kid. I was a soldier myself before becoming president.” He nodded to the elderly man. “President Hamen was my Sergeant.”
Hamen nodded wearily. “After the Tazalians destroyed each quadrant's offices, we came here to aid our fellow soldiers.”
“Very noble of you,” Kahluna said gazing at both men, “Not many leaders join their warriors.”
Monale looked back at Kahluna, “Good to see you can talk.”
Connell retorted, “As I reported earlier sir, Kahluna was not reluctant to speak to me.”
“I was not addressing you, Lieutenant!” Monale shouted at Connell before beckoning to the soldiers around him, “Restrain her and bring her into hangar fifty-one.”
Jonah looked at the presidents in dismay as they turned around and walked back through the group of men, “You can't do this! She isn't here to hurt anyone!”
He ducked quickly as one of the men fired a binder at Kahluna. The young man could only watch in horror as the end of a long thick line of cable whipped around Kahluna's left arm. He ran towards the taunt cord and tried to tug the binder out of the man's hands as another soldier fired another binder at Kahluna's other arm. Despite Jonah's tug of war with the man, the soldiers weaved their lines around Kahluna's body until her arms were bound tightly behind her back. Another line shot out around her thick neck to restrain her head movements. Jonah let go of the line when the blue-green Tazalian's kind voice ordered him to. Tears of rage filled his eyes as he walked over to her.
With the lines taunt and Kahluna restrained, the group trudged after the presidents. Connell followed behind Jonah and Kahluna, his eyes on the ground. Jonah threw the lieutenant a cold look. The boy had no sympathy for the man. This was his doing. All Kahluna wanted was to repair the ship and help Jonah rescue his sister. Now any hope he did have of saving Emma had been dashed away.
The group of soldiers led the two prisoners into one of the remaining intact hangars. The interior of the building was large enough to house an entire warship if needed. Instead the only shuttle inside was a small Tazalian dropship. The two presidents waited at the front of the vessel; both pairs of eyes were on Kahluna. They were testing her, seeing if she would try to break free and take the ship. She did not react to the ship, she kept her red eyes level with the men. They frowned; they were expecting her to show some signs of deception. They were hard pressed to see she was an enemy.
When the group stopped in front of the dropship, the soldiers set the binder guns on the ground. All three pressed a button on their gun handles causing spikes to shoot out from the handles and bury themselves deep into the ground. With Kahluna now secured to the ground, the presidents walked toward her. Jonah held his breath; they couldn't honestly believe Kahluna would be unable to break free. He had seen how strong the former Seeker was. If she wanted, she could rip each binder out of the ground and dismember everyone in the hangar. Kahluna never moved.
Monale stopped nearly a meter and a half from the Seeker, “We have tried several times to capture live Tazalian soldiers. Unfortunately they have this uncanny ability to off themselves when captured. I assume this is part of your training.”
“Their training,” Kahluna retorted. “It keeps them from bringing dishonor to the other warriors as well as preventing them from disclosing plans or secrets to an enemy race.”
“And if they failed to do so?” asked Hamen.
“Each soldier has a device implanted beneath their scales detailing their current status. Their vitals, location, and whether they have been captured or not is all recorded. If they were found to be captured and still alive, they would be tracked down and die a more slow and torturous death.” Kahluna's voice was oddly pleasant, making Jonah wonder if she was remembering slaying a defected Tazalian.
Jonah was glad he wasn't the only one to shiver at Kahluna's tone. Even the stout-hearted Monale was daunted at what Kahluna implied. His voice seemed to waver as he continued, “I have a feeling you have hunted such soldiers.”
Kahluna nodded her head the best she could without breaking the lines. “It is one of the duties a Seeker must carry out. No other Tazalian save the Elders has the authority. It reminds the citizens of Tazal that the Elders will take action should their laws be broken and emphasize the superiority of the Seekers.” Kahluna's eyes saddened. “And, moreover to instill fear in their hearts should they ever catch sight of a Seeker.”
Hamen ignored her grieving as he stated, “There's that word again, Seeker. What are they exactly?”
Kahluna eyed him cautiously, “An elite covenant of Tazalians I was once a part of. We are chosen from birth to follow without question the laws of the Elders. Whatever the aged ones ordered us to do we did without another thought. Our main priorities, however, were to recover relics our ancestors, the Ancients, left scattered across the universe.”
“Relics? That's all?” asked Monale puzzled, “What is so important about a bunch of old relics?”
“I would explain fully; however, you are running out of time,” Kahluna's voice took an ominous tone.
Hamen's eyes narrowed, “Is that a threat, Tazalian?”
Kahluna shook her head nearly snapping the cord around her neck, “Not by me. The relic isn't the only thing being hunted.”
Salianos flew the sharp-edged Tazalian fighter to the surface of Neapolthia. He had located Kahluna's ship. His violet eyes barely contained the fervor coursing through his blue scales. The tuft of green hair on the back of his head stood up. He would dispatch Kahluna on Earth before she would even have a chance of rescuing the human fledgling. The High Elder would be more than victorious with Kahluna dead, with Earth under his claw, and with the human girl’s translations locating the Gaia for him. The whole of the galaxy would hear his name and tremble.
Drawing closer he saw he’d have to dispatch some annoyances. The blue-scaled Tazalian circled his fighter around Kahluna’s guarded Lydonian frigate. He ignored the barrage of projectiles from the human soldiers' rifles; they wouldn't be able to pierce his fighter's thick armor. He made another pass as he fired a single missile at the frigate. The Lydonian craft erupted in a ball of green electricity and the soldiers dove for cover as the flames seared their backs.
Chuckling cruelly, Salianos landed the jet at the edge of the wreckage. The hatch above his head had barely opened when he leapt out grabbing a machine gun-looking weapon that rested beside his seat in both clawed hands ready for action. His long red robes never once hindered his movements as he bounded towards the armed men and women. The last thing the first soldier saw before his body erupted was a large proton beam rushing towards him. The other soldiers quickly turned and unloaded a useless volley of gunfire at the High Elder. Salianos countered with a barrage of his own, leaving men and women screaming in agony before their bodies burst apart.
Salianos threw the weapon at one of the men, nearly knocking him to the ground. Before the man had time to steady himself, the faded-blue Tazalian had his fangs buried in the man's throat. The man screamed and tried to push the High Elder away. A sickening crunching noise rent the air as Salianos's jaws snapped shut crushing bone and muscle. Jerking his neck back, Salianos ripped his fangs out of the man's neck; flesh hung from his jaws as he rushed towards a group of four soldiers.
The soldiers continued their assault on the blue demon. One bullet grazed the right side of his torso, tearing a hole through his robe. Another passed through his tuft of hair as he threw himself into the group. His right clawed hand sliced through the chest and stomach of one man as he impaled a female with the spikes on his back. He used his
long tail to pull a second female soldier to the ground while he shattered the last soldier's chest with the bone collapsing around his clawed fist. There would be no stopping his hunt.
Kahluna gazed coolly at the two presidents standing before her. Her arms and neck still bound by the thick cords planted in the ground. She made sure they would understand just how delicate her and their own situation was. “High Elder Salianos will stop at nothing to kill me. He will even abandon his warriors to pursue me. Once he has discovered my location, there will be no deterring him. Any that get in his way will be killed.”
“He sounds like that Zaharak,” noted Connell.
Kahluna shook her head, “Cruel as Zaharak may be, he does show some restraint when it comes to needless killing,” Kahluna's eyes burned like coals. “Salianos has no mercy in his black heart, not even for his mate. He murdered her to keep his own reputation intact. I defected after learning how corrupt he truly was. All his talk of following the ways of the Ancients or bringing peace through Tazalian rule are a cover for his own desires.”
“You must have ticked him off royally before you left, right? Other Seekers must have deffected before you. Why not send others to hunt you down? Why waste his time?” asked Monale.
“I was the first Seeker to have deserted the covenant.” Kahluna closed her eyes. “But you are right. Normally he would have sent the other Seekers to hunt me down; however due to my birthright, circumstances are far from normal.”
“Your birthright?” asked Hamen skeptically.
Kahluna's eyes remained shut. “When I hatched from the safety of my egg, I was thrust into a world of misery and pain. More than any other Seeker, save for Zaharak. Every training session was more intense than needed, and all because my sire saw the opportunity to have an heir at his side. An heir to follow in his footsteps, to lead Tazal as his second in command. When I deserted, he made it his mission to end what he created.”