by Jonah Wilson
He sat up. “So, you’re working for Mardlen. That figures.”
The armored hunter had his hand on Mykal’s neck before he could blink. “We would never work for Mardlen! After what he did to us…”
Mykal couldn’t have hoped for better. “Don’t you get it? You’re hunting me, so Mardlen can get at Ralon Orion. He may not even know you were in the gladiatorial pits. And if he does, it’s just delicious irony to him.”
“All he wants is to see Ralon Orion suffer: one of his most hated enemies, who has disrupted his slave trade on over a dozen worlds. I know for sure that he is the one who put that bounty on my head, because he’s the only one of Ralon’s enemies that has an inkling of what I am to her.”
“So whether you believe me or not, you are working for Mardlen.”
The hunter let go of Mykal’s neck. Then the third hunter grabbed Mykal and started walking off. The other hunter yelled.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting paid.”
The Wolven’s response was gruff, yet surprisingly feminine. Mykal watched as the other hunter balled his fist and then relaxed.
The Wolven that was carrying him began to stagger and then dropped to the floor. A few darts were sticking out of the back of her legs. The other hunters rushed over to undo Mykal’s bonds.
“You have to get out of here. Find somewhere to hide. We’ll take her to the authorities and then go change the terms of our contract with our client.”
The armored hunter almost spat out that last word as he shoved Mykal to get him going. Mykal, for his part, didn’t need any more prodding. In fact, he thought it might be time to check in with the doc.
Chapter VII
Hidden Treasure.
Mykal had used a DEC to locate the rooms that Doctor Larso had registered for himself. As he made his way there, Orion thought about what he would do when he saw Larso. And why he felt like he couldn’t ignore what was going on with the doc.
He was about to knock on the door, but stopped. What could he say? Hey Doc, wanted to annoy you some more. How about the science trials on Callica? Do you happen to be performing dangerous or illegal experiments? Yeah , that would go over just fine. At that moment Mykal heard giggling.
He looked down the hall and saw a peach colored Zervion hanging on to two rough looking men. She seemed to be enjoying herself and was spouting off stories as they led her to the door across the hall. As the men placed a small keycard on the door, she turned and winked at Mykal while still speaking to the other men.
“And boys, remind me to tell you why you never bet against a Dragof.”
She laughed as she placed her hands over their necks and followed them inside.
Mykal heard a beep and saw that Dr. Larso’s door had unlocked. He pressed the open button and it slid open to a short entry way. That’s weird. As he entered, Orion thought he heard two thuds from across the hall, but decided he’d rather not dwell on it.
Mykal crept along the entry way. The lights were flickering again. He peered around the corner into the room he had seen from the vents. As he was surveying the room, he heard a soft groaning.
Orion gasped as he saw the Anthonion strapped to a table in the center of the room. He ran over to it and began unstrapping it. The Anthonion blinked its eyes at him and began chittering slowly.
Mykal hushed him, asking “Who did this to you? Was it Dr. Larso?”
The Anthonion nodded.
“Where’d he go?”
The Anthonion bolted up and rushed over to a DEC, chittering wildly and pointing towards another exit.
Mykal looked at what the Anthonion was entering into the DEC.
Dr. Larso was preparing his experiments when he revealed that he was going to use what has been kept safe in my case to perform them. I resisted and sent the case into the station’s inner workings to get it away from him. Larso shocked me and strapped me down, so that he was able to get away.
Mykal steadied the shaky Anthonion. The Anthonion began to limp towards the exit that Dr. Larso had used.
“Whoa, hold it.” Mykal latched onto the Anthonion, holding it back. “Just what are you planning to do? Chase him down at a mile per hour? Think about it.” I opened my mouth and Ralon came out. I’m not sure if I should be comforted or scared by that.
The Anthonion leaned against a desk and looked down mournfully.
Something occurred to Orion, so he asked. “Is whatever’s in the case from your home world?”
The Anthonion nodded empathically.
Mykal knew that if he had something left from the colony and it was stolen from him… he balled his hand into a fist and looked into the Anthonion’s eyes.
“I’m going to help you get that case back.”
The Anthonion began chittering excitedly and began to spring around as best it could with its limp.
Mykal couldn’t resist smiling, “Now, I’m going to need to call you something.”
The Anthonion paused and tilted its head at him. Orion thought about it and then a memory came to him.
“How about, La’th?”
The same name Ralon had called him when he was found in the rubble of his colony. La’th seemed to think it was a good fit because he was back to his jumping around.
Mykal tried to settle him down. “Okay, you said the case was in the works. Is that through that door?”
La’th nodded and opened the door. Orion peered down the dark hallway as he followed La’th. He heard the sounds of whirring coming from the end of the hallway, where dull brown light illuminated a couple feet in front of the exit.
They reached the end and Mykal gaped at the conveyor belts and gears that occupied the space. Where were they going to find a case in all of this?
La’th began chittering excitedly and pointed at something. Okay, finding it was easy. The very large case was on a conveyor belt headed in their direction. Unfortunately, it was at least three belts away from them. Mykal and La’th began hopping over the conveyors, dodging the other items on the belts.
They made it to the case and La’th started dragging it off the conveyor belt, with Orion pushing it from the other side. They had just started tilting it over the edge, when La’th started chittering and pointing behind Mykal.
He turned to look, just in time to get zapped in the face. Feeling numb around his eye, Orion looked up at Dr. Larso holding a shock rod.
“Did you really think that I would just let you have the case? I have one of the highest I.Q.’s in the civilized universe. To think that I could be outmaneuvered, would require idiocy of the highest order.”
“Now, after I remove you two from the equation, I will be free to complete my experiment. If you will excuse the rush, I’m going to be getting back to changing the face of the Accord’s enforcement of the peace.”
Wow. Dr. Larso is definitely full of himself. And the lighting is going haywire again. I’ll need to think fast to get out of this one.
Chapter VIII
Rumble in the Station.
Mykal had an idea. “So, how are you going to change the face of the Accord?” Got to keep him talking.
“Hmm, I guess since you got this far, you should get to hear about my genius. You see, the Anthonions had natural durability and strength. Unfortunately, the Accords, and the Alliance, for that matter, have outlawed genetic manipulation on sentients, so there was no way to combine those abilities with a species of higher intellect.”
La’th started chittering at the Doc in protest. Mykal received a shock to his leg in response. La’th became quiet.
“I’ll be continuing. When the Anthonion homeworld was rendered uninhabitable and the Anthonions rendered extinct, I feared that the secrets of their race were lost forever. Then I found what is probably the only survivor of their race, and he gave me everything I needed and more.”
“As soon as I have the contents of this case, I will finally be able to finish my project. I shall have created the ultimate soldiers. Ones that are beyond anyth
ing the Accord or the Alliance has ever seen. And when they behold my genius, I will be able to experiment with anything I want.”
A wicked smile crossed the doctor’s face. “And now that I have told you my plan, it’s time to prevent you from doing anything about it.”
Mykal watched as the doctor increased the voltage on his shock rod. Time seemed to stand still as thoughts rushed through his head. This is going to hurt. No idea how I can get out of this. Leg’s numb. So’s my face. What would Ralon say? I know she would say I should pray. Well, since it looks like my number’s up, might as well. O, God…
A bolt struck Larso in the hand, causing him to drop the rod as he howled in pain. Mykal looked to see the Spec Ops commander leaping to the conveyor belt they were on. She landed on the opposite side of the scientist. She pointed a side bolter at him as the conveyor belts screeched to a halt.
“Doctor Larso, you are under arrest!”
“That’s almost cute. Thinking you could get a conviction. Once the Accord sees my work, I’ll be untouchable.” Larso replied.
A loud thud sounded on the other side of the case. Mykal looked over it to see Nuri. The Dragof spoke with an authoritative tone.
“The Accord is quite clear on the rights of sentients, and you have been caught on attempted murder. You will not be getting away from this.”
Mykal heard Andrei’s voice in the direction from where the shot had been fired.
“When you try to act above the law, it has a habit of pulling you back down. So, hands in the air.” He pointed a sniper rifle at Larso.
Larso gasped. “You can’t be serious. I am on the verge of a revolution in genetic engineering and you want to stop me? Who do you think you are that you can stop the progress of science?”
Nuri shook his head and spoke, almost mournfully.
“Sometimes, it seems that when I get to witness a human that finally gets it, I meet another that doesn’t.”
Larso glared at him.
“What are you implying?”
“I am not implying anything. I am merely stating what I see. Many of you humans become so obsessed with your causes and your viewpoints that you fail to ever look at it from another’s perspective.”
“Dr. Larso, you have failed your brothers, your fellow living and breathing beings. Your pursuit of this path has made you blind to their suffering. Please, turn back while it is not too late.”
Mykal could see that Andrei was in as much disbelief as he was with Nuri’s plea. Dr. Larso however began to laugh.
“I once thought that you Dragofs would be logical, but now I see that you don’t have an ounce of cold blood in your body. You could never overcome the pitfalls of morality and sentimentality. You are just as weak and soft as any child.” Larso spat out the last words.
Nuri responded. “There is a strength in compassion that you have failed to comprehend. I feel pity for you, Dr. Larso. You have lost so many chances that were right in front of you and have in the end gained… nothing.”
Rebekka gestured with her side bolter.
“Dr. Larso. You are going to put your hands in the air and come with us.” Mykal saw her make a small tap on her gauntlet.
“Actually, I think I will make the decisions from now on.”
In a swift motion, Larso grabbed his shock rod and hoisted Mykal up to shield him.
“Hands off the civilian!” Andrei shouted.
“It will be okay, Mykal,” said Nuri.
For some reason, Mykal didn’t agree with Nuri’s assessment. He had to think of some way out of this.
Orion saw Rebekka make another almost undetectable tap on her gauntlet. Mykal felt something slam against Dr. Larso allowing him to break free from the scientist. On instinct, he kicked back at Dr. Larso as he tumbled away from the doctor.
La’th and Nuri were over Mykal in an instant. La’th was chittering and Nuri seemed to be checking for any injuries.
Rebekka came over and knelt next to Mykal.
“Can you stand?”
“I think so.”
She helped him to his feet and steadied him alongside La’th. She looked at Nuri.
“Dr. Larso?”
Nuri shuffled over to the edge of the conveyer belt and looked down. He sighed.
“It appears he fell on his own shock rod.”
He spoke in another language that Mykal assumed was the Dragof’s native tongue. When he finished, Nuri turned back to the rest of them, blinking heavily.
“Such a wasted life. It is a tragedy that it ends here.”
At that moment, there was a loud noise as all the other belts came to a stop and the lights went out.
“What was that sound?” Mykal asked even though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
Rebekka tapped on her gauntlet, bringing a lighted hover drone to her.
“Team, what’s your status?”
A voice Mykal recognized responded.
“We are being pursued by the Supfor Cartel. They don’t seem to be wanting to invite us to a party though, so a little firepower would be great.”
The Zervion from the hall? If she was with Spec Ops then that explained that whole interaction --well, kinda.
“Did anyone find any evidence of a power drain on the station?” Rebekka asked.
She furrowed her brow in response to the chorus of negatives and then looked at Nuri.
“Unfortunately,” she paused briefly and sighed, “it looks like your second theory might be correct, my friend.” She looked up. “God help us all.”
Chapter IX
Heart of the Matter
“Okay, so is there anything we can do?” Mykal asked.
The commander turned to him and La’th, “Find somewhere to hide. There is likely panic in the main living areas, so just pick an unoccupied section of the station and pray.”
“Permission to offer an alternative, Commander Rebekka?” Nuri spoke up.
“Permission granted.” She answered while crossing her arms.
“Since our team has requested support, I propose that while we reinforce them, we also enlist the help of these two civilians. I could not fit in the maintenance tunnels, so it would be either you or Andrei, unless you want to spend hours trying to cut though bulkheads.”
“You want to trust the station to civilians?” Andrei blurted out.
Rebecca shut him up with a look. “If Nuri thinks they can do it, I’ll trust his judgement.”
“Excuse me, but how are we actually supposed to stop the Quarzin from dying?” Mykal asked.
Nuri came over and handed him what looked like an organically styled PAD.
“When you reach the core, open the compartment on the back. He is willing to do what must be done.”
“Wait a minute. He?” Orion asked.
“Bringing a Quarzin back from the brink requires another Quarzin to show the way.” Nuri replied. “This Quarzin is from Dracof and free from the taint that is killing the station’s Quarzin. Now go! You must act quickly if you are to save the station.”
La’th chittered at the Dragof.
“I will protect the case and provide cover fire in case the Cartel makes it this far. Now no more excuses. There is a maintenance tunnel about thirty meters that way.” Nuri gestured with his head.
“On our way!”
Mykal led La’th towards the maintenance tunnels, their progress somewhat hindered by the injuries they had sustained and their reliance on Mykal’s gauntlet light.
La’th started chittering when he saw the maintenance tunnels.
“Good work.” Orion praised the Anthonion.
They plied open the entrance and slipped inside. As they crawled through the tunnels, Mykal decided to try to communicate with his new found friend.
“So, what do you think of the Spec Ops team?”
La’th chittered in reply.
And I expected what, exactly? “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Orion proceeded a couple of meters, before realizing that La�
�th wasn’t behind him anymore. He looked behind and saw the Anthonion with a confused look on his face. Mykal stopped.
“Sorry about that. It seems you can understand me, but I can’t understand you.”
La’th crossed the distance and patted him on the shoulder as a sign of forgiveness… or pity. Mykal wasn’t sure at the moment.
They proceeded till they came to a hatch. They kicked it open and dropped a couple of feet to the floor on the other side. Mykal scanned the room.
The energy still emanated from the solar converter, but… he blinked to make sure it was true. It was. The Quarzin being used for resonance had turned almost completely black.
The crystalline structure had grown to take up most of the apparatus. Energy seemed to crackle in the Quarzin’s points, but the energy apparently didn’t flow into the receptacle. It appeared like the power was building up inside the Quarzin and Mykal worried that it wouldn’t last much longer.
He popped open the PAD Nuri had given him, revealing a translucent white Quarzin. It was gleaming even in the dark. Orion had never seen one as clear as this. La’th stared over his shoulder, his voice thrumming in awe.
Okay, I opened it. Now what? He grabbed the small Quarzin and pulled it out of its resonance apparatus. Mykal started inching along the catwalk towards the dark Quarzin, holding out the small one in his hand.
When he got within a meter of it, the Quarzin in his hand started moving. Orion gingerly turned it towards him. It seemed to have developed limbs and was pushing against his fingers frantically. Mykal lowered it to the catwalk to see what it would do.
When he let go, the Quarzin steadied itself and then took off in a run, well a sort of cute run. It leapt at the dark Quarzin and slammed against its surface.
Mykal went back to stand with La’th, wondering why it looked like nothing was happening. Then he saw it. The larger Quarzin was enveloping the smaller and as it did, the smaller one shone brightly and arcs of energy danced out of it.
Orion and La’th jumped back to avoid the energy and then gazed in wonderment as a new color emerged on the Quarzins.