“Kanook, still there?”
“We still have you, Commander.”
“Where’s Aviore?”
He positioned the Queen in front of a docking bay, but the doors refused to open.
“Standby, Commander. Disengaging dock locks.”
“Nevermind that, do you have a location for Aviore?”
“Sorry, Commander, we don’t know where she is.”
The massive bay doors crawled open. He guided the ship in, noting the bay was filled with thick black smoke.
“We’ve a number of serious fires…”
“I’ll find her. Just save this ship.”
Ryan ran a tracing image to get him as close to the airlock as possible. As the Queen settled on the floor, he threw on his combat suit but skipped the helmet. He was on the Freedom's deck plating in a minute, impulse rifle in hand and disrupter sword slung on his back.
He sprinted across the open space, relieved there was no one waiting in ambush to cut him down. At the main corridor, he came face to face with five Xilozaks. One reacted with deadly efficiency, swinging a massive disrupter at his head. Ryan ducked, blasting the whole group with a wide dispersal shot at gut level. They went down, coughing up blood and cursing. The sword yielding Xilozak staggered back up only to receive a savage smash to the head by the butt end of Ryan's rifle.
He pressed himself against the wall as two more Xilozaks appeared down the far end of the corridor, but they saw him. A shot grazed him in the arm. They had him pinned. He retreated back to the next corridor, then jumped down a service pole to the adjacent level and doubled back.
He came upon a Xilozak pulling a woman down the corridor by her leg. The big alien reacted in time to see the edge of Ryan's sword. The woman struggled back to her feet, then turned and ran down the corridor into the smoke.
A noise down the hall made him instinctively dive into the nearest room, narrowly avoiding a volley of blaster fire that blew the door assembly apart behind him. He ran through into the next room then blasted a hole in the wall, allowing him access into the next corridor. He pressed himself against the wall and waited. His pursuers jumped through the charred hole, expecting him to be retreating down the corridor. They didn't have time to show their surprise. His sword dripped of blood and vibrated heatedly in his hands. He swung it back into its scabbard, it sunk down with a satisfying hiss as a low energy field cleaned the blade of all foreign matter.
Where? He had to find her.
Lower. Have to get lower.
He slipped down a maintenance tube, sliding four levels and landing softly. There was no power on this level. He heard a scream, a shot from a blaster. The flash lit up the corridors enough to make out an image. Ryan swung his rifle onto his back by the strap and carried his sword with both hands. A blaster would attract fire in the darkness.
He heard the footsteps of two approaching Xilozaks. Soundlessly he hugged the wall as they passed, then stepped out and swung. The disrupter sliced through them with ease. He sprinted further into the darkness.
An explosion sounded behind him. The decking pitched beneath his feet and he was thrown further down the corridor. He hit hard, his head crunching against the corridor wall. Darkness passed over him.
He came to a minute later. Emergency lights had come on. Dots of white emanated from the ceiling, barely piercing through drifting black smoke. He went to push himself up, but a sharp pain rushed through his left arm.
His forearm was broke. No, he can’t let this stop him.
He pushed up with his knees and glanced up and down the corridor.
Nothing.
Favoring his left forearm, he slung the rifle over to the left shoulder and limped down the corridor. He turned at the next intersection and peered down its length, staying low under the churning darkness of smoke. No more than 10 meters away a woman lay in the middle of the corridor on her side, her legs limp, shirt stained red. She saw him and raised her hand.
"Aviore!" He started towards her in a hobbled run.
"Ryan! Wai..."
A dark shape stepped out into the dim light. A sharp red beam leapt from its arm. Ryan felt a burning sensation go through his side and he went down on his bad arm.
The pain burned into him.
Fight it damn you!
Years of memories flooding him. The whips. The beatings.
Turn it off.
He looked up through the billowing smoke at a familiar evil face - the toothy grin of Zorlog.
"Aviore!"
She struggled to turn, as tears dropped to the floor. She couldn't move. She didn't have the strength.
"Broken spine I think," Zorlog commented. “Had to blast her to slow her down.” He walked over and kicked her broadside. She screamed in agony.
"Leave her alone you bastard!"
He inched up his sword, freeing it from underneath him.
A voice came from the back of his mind – it was Gem.
"Stay down, make him think you are weak, draw him closer."
Zorlog laughed. "Think we’ve been before, slave, remember? So weak you are. How did you get here, now? What is it they call you – Commander?”
He ambled in closer, glaring down at him, his muscled legs flexing in boots stained in blood. “Tell me, what is a Commander?" He howled at his own joke holstering his hand blaster to grab his favorite disrupter bar.
“Yes, slave, you remember this don’t you?”
He flipped the switch with an audible click. The bar began to hum. He scraped it along the wall, bright blue sparks danced out in jagged paths, leaping to ground in a mist of ozone.
"Well, maybe not. You see, I did not have this on back then. If it had been, let’s just say you wouldn’t be here with me now." He howled again. It echoed eerily down the corridor, fading into the dark smoke, which seemed to be growing thicker.
Another step nearer. Two steps away.
Aviore moaned in pain, distracting him for a second.
"Yes, too bad I had to break her. Some Xilozaks develop a taste for certain females. Tends to raise their value some. But not that one. That one is broken, just like you are now. Not worth a single credit.”
He stopped swinging the bar. "But to me, I think your skull would make a fine addition to my collection."
He raised his arm and swung. Ryan rolled over, sword in hand. The bar missed, burying itself deep into the floor plating. It gave Ryan time to swing, but the sword only managed to cut a deep gouge in Zorlog's forehead. Zorlog moved back like a cat, then laughed. He flicked his forked tongue out and licked the blood, now oozing down his cheek.
"Ah, the taste of blood. It is so sweet." He reached up and felt the gouge on his forehead.
"Now we're even."
He lunged. Ryan was up and ready, responding with a block. The bar glanced harmlessly to his left. Ryan kicked full force with his right leg, and Zorlog crashed up against the opposite corridor wall.
"You've grown stronger, slave."
"Too many years in the mines," Ryan growled back. He swung again. Zorlog caught it with the bar, throwing a shower of blue sparks. He did a half turn and pushed Ryan up against the wall.
Ryan could smell his rancid breath. He looked into Zorlog's yellow reptilian eyes. They were cold, glaring, and insane.
"You're going to die, slave."
"Then you're coming with me, lizard."
Ryan caught his leg behind Zorlog's and pushed. The big alien fell solidly on his back. He swung down, and Zorlog caught it again with his bar. He kicked Ryan's feet out from under him making it his turn to hit the deck. Zorlog was up in a blur of motion, with his bar bearing down upon Ryan's head in a wild swing. Ryan rolled over and up onto his feet in a single motion. Again, Zorlog missed, and he screamed a blood-curdling yell of frustration.
Ryan could feel the strength ebbing from him now. The effects of the drugs were beginning to wear off and he was losing a lot of blood from the blaster wound. He caught a glance at Aviore. Her eyes were wide with terror, her
face pale, her body motionless.
With a growl, Zorlog worked his bar loose from the decking.
“I grow tired of this game, Earth thing.”
He rushed in and swung. Ryan ducked and jabbed upwards, driving his sword through Zorlog's bar-yielding forearm. He shoved with all his strength, smashing the alien into the wall with such intensity that the sword buried itself into the thick plating of the bulkhead. Ryan grabbed its hilt and switched off the disrupter switch, effectively freezing the sword within the wall and pinning Zorlog's left arm. But the alien pulled a long-bladed boot knife with his free hand. Ryan powered his shoulder into the big alien, knocking the wind from him in time to slow his strike, and catch the knife in a half-turn with his good hand.
They stood there, arms locked, each straining to gain the advantage. It was a battle of will and strength. Ryan twisted, bringing the knife between them. He could feel the muscles in his arm trembling under the strain, but he would not give, he could not. He could feel the iron of the Xilozak's muscle, like an impenetrable wall of concrete.
He had to win.
He forced himself to remember the whippings, the executions, the face of the boy hanging on the fence, and Bosn, his old friend Bosn. He remembered him like it was just yesterday. A new surge of energy fuelled his exhausted muscles for one last twist and shove.
The knife, in between them, crept up under the Xilozak's chin. He watched as Zorlog's eyes turned wide and desperate, darting from side-to-side. The knife edged its way into his flesh, letting loose a stream of green blood. Zorlog twisted and pushed, eyes wide with realization and fear.
He started laughing crazily. Despite the Xilozak’s frantic efforts, Ryan continued, fueled by the hate and revenge. He heaved, this time raising the heavy alien's feet clear off the floor.
"Goodbye, you worthless piece of shit!"
The alien's grip finally started to fade. Ryan held him there and watched as the life slowly drained out of him, staring into those dancing snake eyes until they turned glassy and lifeless.
Zorlog was dead.
Realization hit him like an electric shock. He stepped back feeling shaky, the corpse slid partially down the wall and hung, suspended by the sword embedded in its arm, like some grotesque trophy.
He turned and staggered over to his wife. She was pale. He lowered down on the floor to caress her.
"I want to go home," she whispered, tears flowing down her cheek.
“I’ll get you there. You’re going to be OK. I’ve got to find a brace for you.” He searched the nearest room, found something that would work and tied her to it. She passed out from the pain.
His strength was gone from him now. His left arm was useless, his right felt spongy and weak. His wound was bleeding badly, and his chest afire. But he had to bring her to the Queen, to safety.
He called for Gem.
He moved as fast as he could, half dragging, half carrying her, his body fighting to let go, but he wouldn't let it. More than once he reversed his tracks to avoid a Xilozak-occupied corridor.
Somewhere along the way, Ziggy met up with him, charred and hot from navigating through a recent fire. The robot swung its arms under Aviore. As the weight lifted from Ryan’s arms, his strength faded, and he sunk down onto the floor. In a background voice Gem sounded off stating the fleet was on its way. His chest was afire, and his body was drained. He watched as Ziggy’s shadow disappeared down the corridor.
He’d get her to safety. She’d be OK.
He just needed a short rest – to lie down.
Ziggy wasted no time with his precious cargo. The auto-surgeon was prepped and ready to receive her. He was not just a creature of logic, he was more than that, Gem had seen to it with her initial programming of him. He watched as the auto-surgeon began its intricate work, lost in unfamiliar emotions careening within his artificial mind.
He turned with some reluctance but knew he had to get back to Ryan. He found him where he had left him, slumped over and nearing death. He had the medicine Gem had instructed him to administer. A few moments later the man shifted, returning to partial consciousness.
“Is the surgeon working on her?”
Ziggy nodded, pulling the big man up to his feet with minimal effort.
Ryan leaned up against him, weak and disoriented.
“Get me to the ship, buddy. We need to go home. Bring us home. She wanted us to go home."
He slumped back, unconscious, but Ziggy had already anticipated that. He hoisted the man in his arms and began the trek back.
He would bring him home.
To Ryan the darkness was no longer cold, but warm, inviting. Peaceful. It was so very peaceful.
* * *
Kanook coordinated his troops throughout the kilometers of corridors. They had successfully exterminated most of the Xilozaks with only a few left marauding throughout. Because of this, he assembled multiple extermination teams to sweep the massive vessel from stern to aft. He had given only one order: no prisoners were to be taken.
He personally led the team that included the Commander's quarters. His first responsibility was the ship, his second, the life of Aviore. But when he arrived, there was no sign of her. He had to find her. He would not fail his friend, nor himself. He ordered his men onward down the corridors. They secured section after section, finding many wounded, many dead, but still no sign of the Signite woman.
One of Kanook's lieutenants hailed him on the intercom.
"Captain, I'm one level up. I have something here I think you should see."
Kanook sprinted through the corridors, impulse rifle in hand. When he arrived at the lieutenant's location, a small group had filled the corridor, gawking at the spectacle.
Kanook's heart went to his throat. Don't let it be Aviore.
He pushed his way through the small crowd and saw it for himself. It was a Xilozak. Dead, hanging by a sword impregnated through its thick arm, pushed clear through into the solid alloy plating of the bulkhead wall. It took tremendous strength to do that.
The lieutenant was standing near the body. "We found it here. No sign of who killed this one, but over here we have a number of bloodstains. We think there were two other people involved."
Kanook glanced over to the Sargent. "Get these men moving! Looks like we have a trail, follow it. I want this ship secured!"
The crowd dissipated.
He walked over to inspect the blood, a dark crimson pool spread over a portion of the corridor.
"Can you run samples down to the lab?"
"Already did, we should hear back soon, but they have a number of medical situations that take higher priority."
Kanook nodded. He knew this man and liked him. He was intelligent and quick. He trusted his opinion. “What do you think happened here?”
"We believe this Xilozak was responsible for a number of attacks leading up to this point. You may notice he has some mark on his forehead, and if you look past all the blood, it has some sort of crest on its clothing. I think this one was particularly high-ranking. I’m pretty sure of this because of this weapon.”
He pulled out a sterile cloth and bent down to pick up a large bar on the floor and hoisted it to eye-level for inspection. It was clearly heavy, and its one edge was sharpened, although bluntly. The end of the weapon was bulbous, covered with ornate carvings and embedded with crystals.
“Imagine being hit by this thing. You won’t be getting up after that.”
Kanook nodded agreement.
“So this Xilozak attacked the first person, a human, and left the victim in the corridor, over there.” He pointed. “See the footprints in blood? It then stepped over the body and, I think, encountered someone else coming down the corridor. Looks like he must have shot him, right where you are standing. As you can see, there’s smeared blood at your feet there, so this thing hurt him alright. But it obviously didn’t take him down for long. Whoever he was, we know he was human and damn strong – so that’s why I think it’s a male. He took this thi
ng on and somehow won. Gauging the look of that Xilozak that was no easy task.
They moved closer to the dead alien.
“Take a look down the corridor floor, you can see the evidence that he dragged the other victim away. I would imagine that both of them, by that time, required immediate medical attention. If they have not received it by now, well, we’ll probably find their bodies."
Kanook stepped in close and grabbed at the sword. He flipped the disrupter switch on and pulled. It took all of his strength as it didn't come out easily. The Xilozak's body slumped onto the floor.
Kanook held up the handle to the lieutenant's view. "Do you recognize this?"
The officer gave shook his head. "Never seen it before.”
"It’s the Commander’s. I'm sure of it."
He kicked the Xilozak’s body over to see its face.
"And I think I've seen this one before, though they all seem to look alike. It was on the base we attacked. This was the one in charge. The Commander called him Zorlog, I think."
An excited voice came on the intercom.
"Captain! We have long-range tracing up. We've isolated a signature. It’s the Dancing Queen. Should I hail it?"
"Yes, plug me through, direct!" ordered Kanook. He waited for the relay to give its tell-tale confirming beep.
"Commander, this is Kanook."
"Commander, do you hear me?"
No response.
Kanook glanced over to his lieutenant. "Something's wrong."
"Commander, this is the Freedom. What is your destination?"
"Commander, this is Kanook."
Suddenly the link was dropped, replaced with slight static. The com officer came back on. "She's out of range, Sir. Moving at an unbelievable clip. We’d never catch her."
"Can you extrapolate her course?"
"The tactical system's still offline. We need that operational to figure out the vectors. We might be able to sort it out later, but wait a minute... "
"We've got another signal coming in on the port side at about 60 degrees relative. It’s long-range, but they are coming in on an intercept. I think... yes it is. It's our fleet!"
"Hail them. Fill them in on the details. Have them send a ship after the Dancing Queen and keep me posted."
A Bellicose Dance Page 65