KAHARI

by Dean Kutzler

  “How long will ye let this go on, Commander,” Ensign Brody said, with an expression of humor.

  “I should let them kill each other.”

  Saren thought about Daxton’s first reaction of pulling the blade back when the beast has surprised him, which told her something about his true character. He was a cunning opponent from her observations. One that would be very useful on her side.

  “Mr. Brody, do you know anything about Kractorians? Do they speak or just smash everything?”

  “Aye, Commander. I think they speak our language. Like I said. I never seen one in person, only heard about them.”

  The Kractorian managed to get on top of Daxton, pinning him to the ground. It was leaning forward, getting ready to grab a large sphere sitting on top of a pile of geometric-shaped rocks as Daxton struggled beneath. If the beast got hold of the rock, it would smash his head in like a melon.

  She wanted to see if and how Daxton got himself out of the situation.

  The beast, letting go of Daxton’s arms and stretching its fingertips toward the sphere, barely touched the edge of the rock with its claws.

  With his arms free, Daxton pummeled the beast in the stomach with both fists. It lurched forward from the pain of the blows, finally reaching the rock and tipping it from the pile. The sphere rolled between the beast’s hands, and it snatched the stone up, raising it over Daxton’s head.

  “Kractorian!” Saren shouted, firing off a blast near the beast’s leg. “Stand down and get off him!”

  The beast had saved her, but she knew its intention was only to rip Daxton apart. If she played this right, she might be able to get both of them on her side and get the fuck off the planet.

  The beast was enraged with bloodlust and barely glanced at Saren, raising the stone higher. If she shot it while it was on top of Daxton, the stun-setting needed to knock it out would kill him.

  Saren quickly adjusted the frequency of the wristcom and blasted the sphere, sending dust down over the both of them.

  The Kractorian let out a terrifying roar, louder and more threatening than when it had charged Daxton from behind.

  It hopped to its feet, fixing her with an icy stare.

  That got its attention.

  Daxton rolled onto his back and hopped up into a standing position, backing away from the Kractorian as it stalked Saren.

  She reset the wristcom again, raising the power a bit over stun and blasted it in the chest.

  The Kractorian’s face scrunched up in pain as it sailed across the terrain, landing on a pile of rocks, skittering across the ground until it hit the table.

  “You might a dialed it up a bit too much unless you were tryin’ to off him,” Daxton said, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. “Thank you, by the way.”

  “Mr. Brody. Go check on him.”

  The ensign ran over to the beast and squatted down, looking it in the face. He carefully plunged his fingers into the fur around its neck, checking for a pulse.

  “Still alive, Commander,” he said, returning to Saren’s side and training the gun on Daxton.

  “I’ll ask you again.” She turned and stared at Daxton, a lock of black hair falling in front of her face. “What is it?”

  “Seriously—” He shrugged, moving closer to the black box. “I don’t know. I don’t see anything else for miles around. So it’s gotta be something important, right? They gotta be somewhere.”

  He took another step toward the box.

  “Who are ye talking about?” Ensign Brody asked, waving the gun.

  “The bad people.”

  Another step.

  Saren rolled her eyes.

  “You can't tell me you truly believe that old fairytale?”

  Ensign Brody frowned. “What fairytale?”

  “He thinks this is the legendary planet of Kahari.”

  “Kahari?” he said, eyes roaming the sky, thinking back to his childhood. “You mean that story told to wee-ones?”

  Saren nodded, relaxing her arm from fatigue.

  Daxton noticed her aim wavered and the Irishman was distracted, pondering the reality of the fairytale.

  Now or never, he thought.

  In one fluid-move, Daxton dove for the black box in front of the table, planting his hands on the ground and snatching it up as he rose to a handstand. His body flipped over the top and slid across to the cover of the other side of the table.

  What is the guy? A fucking acrobat?

  Saren spent most of her time on the bridge, and she’d grown a little rusty but should’ve anticipated the move.

  Fool me once…

  “Well played, Daxton.”

  He popped up from behind the table giving her a curt bow, keeping the black box pointed at her with his finger hovering over the button.

  “Oh—now you wanna be friends? Mr. Brody? Be kind enough to place my pistol on the table here, and step back next to the Commander.”

  Ensign Brody looked at Saren.

  “Do it!” Daxton shouted. “I make it a habit not to repeat myself.”

  Saren smiled, eyes locked on Daxton and said, “It’s okay. Do as he says.”

  Ensign Brody stalked over placing the pistol on the table, grumbling Irish obscenities. He looked over at Daxton, who never took his eyes off Saren, then returned to her side.

  “Be the luck ‘o the Irish. He can follow orders!” Daxton mimicked Ensign Brody.

  He snatched the pistol off the table and pointed to an indentation on the side.

  “During my little dance with old furry over there, I put the safety back on. Just so you know,” Daxton said, wiggling his eyebrows like Groucho Marx.

  He clicked the indentation, nodding to the gun and holstered the pistol.

  Ensign Brody’s face flushed red as he clenched his fists.

  “Gimme a chance, and I’ll pound ye head in, wise guy,” he snorted.

  “Ahhh, so the old cliché about the Irish temper is true. Big words for such a little guy.”

  Ensign Brody moved toward the table.

  “Easy—” Saren grabbed his arm. “Stand down, Ensign.”

  The muscle in his arm flexed, and she said, “That’s an order.”

  The tension eased, and his face lightened to pink.

  Best as it’s going to get.

  Daxton watched the exchange, amusement crinkling in the corners of his eyes. Pissing off his opponents was always the best way to unnerve them, catch them off guard.

  “Now that you got your little Irish Terrier in check,” he said, aiming the black box back and forth between Saren and Ensign Brody. “Why don’t we see what this thing does?”

  “You wouldn’t!” Saren glared at him. “Even after I saved your sorry ass?”

  “Twice,” Ensign Brody spat.

  He looked at Ensign Brody, aiming the box at his face and said, “Hmmm? What’s that old saying? Third time’s the charm? Is that from the Irish? Oh—nevermind. What’s the difference anyway?”

  Daxton straightened his arm and squeezed the button on the black box.

  THE FAIL

  “YOU Gobshite!” Ensign Brody stepped back, reaching for Saren to push her out of the line of fire and the heel of his shoe slipped on a rock. His hand flailed in the air, missing Saren by inches and he fell backward. “Noooo!”

  Saren stepped in front of Ensign Brody, squaring off her shoulders and raising her arms in front of her face. The lonsdaleite in her body armor was her best chance against the unknown technology. She didn’t have time to active the forcefield in her wristcom.

  At least Ensign Brody should be safe.

  The black box sprang from Daxton’s hand and landed on the stone table.

  The alien symbols etched all over the stone began glowing yellow with a humming sound pulsing in time with the light.

  All six sides of the black box unfolded at an alarming rate. When it was completely flat, the process instantly repeated with new pieces springing from the existing ones, flipping over and creating an
unnerving clattering sound as it kept unfolding.

  Daxton’s started backing away from the table, but there wasn’t enough time. Even at a full sprint, he couldn’t outrun it. It was incredibly fast and expanding by the second.

  Saren peered between the lonsdaleite panels on her arms when something made contact with her body armor. A large object was over her head and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the worst to happen.

  They couldn’t leave me the fucking helmet—could they?

  When nothing came crashing down on her head, she opened her eyes and saw the black box rapidly expanding above her head in the air.

  The thing that hit her body armor was the stone table. It had sunk into the ground creating a platform that quickly spread beneath her feet.

  Ensign Brody pushed off the ground and jumped to his feet, running for Saren.

  The platform was shrinking fast, pulling her and Daxton closer together like a conveyor belt.

  Daxton turned, and he ran for the receding ground.

  The black wall hovering above their heads shot out on all sides and dropped down around them, trapping the both of them inside the box.

  Daxton stopped short, smacking into the wall.

  The symbols previously glowing on the stone table now pulsated a deep blue color on the inside of the box.

  Daxton slowly turned around, and Saren glowered at him from the other side of the small space.

  “You’re gonna kick my ass, aren’t you?” He slowly reached for the pistol keeping his eyes on hers.

  Saren raised the wristcom, shaking her head and his hand slowly dropped away.

  Fool me twice—I don’t think so bitch.

  “I was seriously thinking about it, Daxton.”

  “What?” he said, shrugging. “You’d have done the same thing.”

  He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

  “No—I would not have. I have this thing called morals. Something you lack. You had no idea what that thing was going to do.”

  She glanced at the glowing walls of the box.

  “Oh, come on,” he said, grinning. “I was pretty sure it wasn’t a weapon.”

  “Pretty sure?”

  “Well—ninety-nine-point-nine percent sure.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  But—he had a good point.

  There was nothing else in sight for miles around on the planet—including dead bodies.

  If the purpose of the box was to kill, it could’ve been accomplished with a lot less trouble by leaving them to perish.

  “It was highly irresponsible. As far as I can tell, this isn’t a game, and if it is, I’m not playing.”

  She wasn’t sure she could trust him enough to work together; his special skill-set aside.

  It may be what fucks me in the end.

  He uncrossed his arms and held a hand out. “I’m sorry. You’re right. It was a little dumb of me. Can we be friends and work together?”

  He looked around the inside of the glowing box and added, “I don’t think we have much of choice.”

  My thoughts—exactly.

  She flipped the hand with the wristcom and shook his hand.

  “Okay. We’ll call it a truce.”

  Before Saren let go of his hand, she stepped forward, spinning around and twisting his arm painfully behind his back, pinning him against the wall and snatching the gun from his holster.

  She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Just so you understand, Daxton, I’m in charge. You pull any shit, and I’ll do worse than kick your ass.”

  When he didn’t respond, she twisted harder.

  “Okay! Okay! You’re the Boss Lady, now let go before you break it!” he pleaded, wincing in pain.

  She twisted his arm a little harder before releasing it and stepping back.

  Daxton spun around rubbing his arm.

  “Owww—I bet you were a bully in school, too. Didn’t your Momma ever teach you the boys like it rough, not the girls!”

  “I grew up in an orphanage,” she said flatly. “Don’t test me again.”

  “No.” He nodded, still rubbing his arm. “I’m good. I mean—no, I’ll be good.”

  “Is there ever a time you stop cracking jokes?”

  “Yeah, when I’m sleeping. Looks like I was right, though, after all.”

  “About what? Kahari?” she said, shaking her head. “Pfft! Get serious. We gotta figure this out.”

  She slapped her hand against the wall, yelling, “Mr. Brody! Can you hear me? Mr. Brody!”

  Saren turned back around, and said, “Solid.”

  Daxton walked around the inside of the box, his face flashing blue as he felt around the walls.

  “If this doesn’t look like prison to you, what does? Wait!” he said, quickly holding up a hand, rubbing his shoulder. “Forget it! I don’t think I wanna know.”

  He faced the corner, pretending to look at one of the glowing symbols and pulled an object from his vest. He held it in the palm of his hand for a second before shoving it back in.

  She saw the sneaky move but didn’t see what he pulled out.

  His biz, she thought, shrugging to herself.

  Saren examined the symbols for a moment then stepped back.

  She tapped the wristcom a few times and aimed it at the wall. A beam emitted from the device and spread over the wall like a projector. The light slowly shrunk to a flat, concentrated ray that stretched across the center of the wall and began moving up and down.

  “Damn! It can’t read these symbols or identify the elements constructing this box. What do you think these symbols mean?” she asked.

  “Welcome to the slammer?”

  She ignored the joke and continued searching the walls for a clue or way out.

  “Looking for something like—this?”

  Daxton stepped aside.

  One of the symbols had raised from the wall like a button.

  She scowled, and said, “Was that there before?”

  “No—well—yes.”

  “Which is it?”

  “Umm—yes, it was there before, and no, it wasn’t raised. It just happened.”

  She shoved him aside and kneeled before the symbol for a closer look.

  “It looks so familiar.”

  “What is it?” he asked, leaning in near her face.

  She slowly gave him the side-eye, and he slowly stood back up.

  “That’s the thing,” she said, standing. “I know I’ve never seen it before, yet it still looks familiar. I guess we don’t have any choice but—“

  Daxton reached out and tapped the button before Saren finish her sentence.

  The button slowly retracted into the wall, the symbol blinking faster than the rest.

  “Do you ever stop and think—before you do anything?”

  He looked at her from the corner of his eye, and in a small voice, said, “Maybe.”

  His humor was infectious, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.

  She playfully punched him in the gut and noticed him flinch, slightly.

  Good—maybe that fear will keep you on your toes.

  With no other choice but pushing the button—he’d just reacted.

  Life-saving moments often came down to quick, gut reactions, but, with him—she wasn’t sure if he reacted out of necessity or humor.

  The button finished retracting into the wall, and the humming stopped as the lights changed from pulsating blue to solid red.

  Both heads swiveled in each other’s direction with the same look of surprise.

  Daxton said, “That can’t be—”

  The box began falling—very fast—and causing that sinking feeling in their stomachs.

  Saren stumbled forward into Daxton’s chest.

  She looked into his face between the locks of hair that had fallen forward, and they were nose-to-nose.

  Saren and Daxton exchanged an uncomfortable moment, staring into each other’s eyes before he gently helped her back on her feet.

&n
bsp; What—no jokes?

  “Thank you,” she said, bracing herself, tucking the fallen hair behind her ear and glancing at him.

  The box was dropping faster, and Saren felt herself being lifted inches off her feet like she was riding the Gravitytron from the old Galaxy Fair. If not for the little extra weight of the body armor, she would be on the ceiling.

  Daxton widened his stance and extended his hands between the corner of the walls, bracing himself.

  “I sure hope this thing has brakes,” he shouted, eyeing the pattern on the floor. “Or we’ll be one of those symbols!”

  The sound of wind soaring up and over the outside of the box, penetrated the walls, making it difficult for them to hear each other.

  Saren struggled to keep from floating to the ceiling.

  “I think it’s going faster! Can you feel it?”

  Once the box impacted with its destination, the body armor would protect her body, but not her head.

  Really wish I had that helmet!

  She fought to cross her arm over her body to activate the gravity stabilization system in the wristcom.

  Daxton saw Saren start to float further up the wall when she lifted her arm, and he began inching his way over. If she hit the ceiling, she’d hurt her head on the way down if the box ever stopped.

  He was half an arm’s length away and started reaching for her when the box hitched, picking up more speed. The sudden jerk threw him forward, and he was thrown face-first into the ceiling.

  “Ouffff,” he shouted around compressed lips.

  Saren glanced up, cringing at the sight of his body squished against the ceiling.

  “Are you hurt?” she shouted.

  “Noufff, urmf kay,” was all he could manage to eek out.

  Just another inch toward the wristcom and she could activate the system.

  Before she could press the button, the box abruptly stopped, and the red light illuminating the symbols shut off.

  No crash.

  No inertia smash.

  Nothing—the ride was over.

  Saren’s eyes followed Daxton falling back down to the floor on his back.

  Ouch!

  She touched back down on her feet, losing her balance and toppling on top of him.

  “Oh—sweet Jesus, now that hurt!”

  She carefully rolled off him, her armor clanking on the floor and sat back against the wall.