A New Reason To Fight: An Intergalactic Romance

by T. J. Brandow

  “Donna, calm down. We are going to find them, I promise,” Dedron reassured her. Seeing that she was about to erupt into tears, he embraced her tightly.

  “We won’t let anything happen to her, I swear.”

  Dedron got out his communicator and began to try and establish contact with the police department in the Nashville area to see if they had any leads on the location of the Remoir.

  “Officer Hamilton here.”

  “Hi officer, this is Captain Fildred of the Intergalactic Defense Squad. We are trying to track down some enemy Remoir invaders that have just abducted a family member of one of our soldiers, Mrs. Stevens. Do you have any information that could help us track them down?”

  “Well sir, we don’t know about the abduction, but we did spot a Remoir fighter ship leaving the Nashville heading north.”

  “North? I wonder where they’re headed,” Dedron said as they climbed into the hover car and began to head in that direction.

  “Wait a sec. I think I know where they’re headed. Laura once told me her parents lived in Chicago, Illinois. I bet they are headed that way in order to kidnap them,” Donna said.

  “Sounds like a good lead to go on,” Dedron said, speaking away from the communicator. Then, he spoke into it again.

  “Officer, we have reason to believe that the Remoir invaders may be headed for Chicago Illinois. Can you contact the police department there and tell them to keep a look out?”

  “Will do, Captain. Good luck to you,” the officer said.

  Dedron switched on the turbo boost in order to get to Chicago as quickly as possible.

  “I don’t suppose you know what Laura’s parents’ address is?” Dedron said.

  “No, but I can try and get in touch with her to find out. Let me get out my communicator,” she said. She took out her device and turned it on. It was also glowing red from the amount of messages that General Barron had left for her. She ignored this and called Laura.

  “Donna where are you? The General is furious with you and Dedron. I heard him say something about insubordination and dishonorable discharges,” Laura said.

  “Laura, we are trying to save our loved ones from being kidnapped by the Remoirs. They already have my mother and they are heading to Chicago now for your parents.”

  “What?” she said.

  “Yes, so I need your parents’ address right now so that we can try and head them off,” Donna said.

  “Sure, it’s 1879 Crescent Street in Algonquin. It’s a suburb. Please hurry and good luck to you. I wish I could be there to help you.”

  “Are you about to leave for Planet Gargoun?” Donna asked.

  “Yes, we are leaving this afternoon. Now I can see that you were right.”

  Suddenly, a voice could be heard yelling something in the background.

  “It’s the General. I have to go. Please let me know what happens,” Laura said. The worry in her voice was clearly evident.

  “Don’t worry, I will,” Donna answered.

  “Put the coordinates in for 1879 Crescent Street, Algonquin, Illinois. I hope we’re not too late!” Donna said. Dedron put the pedal of the hover car to the floor and activated the hyper drive to make the car go even faster.

  “Hold on tight!” Dedron said as they began to make their way towards the north.

  After what seemed like an eternity, they came to the address that Laura had given them. The door had been ripped from the hinges of the spacious hover house, and the police were already there.

  “We’re too late!” Donna said as they pulled up. They both got out of the car and ran up to the officer who was making notes about the scene.

  “Officer, we’re soldiers in the Defense Squad. Do you have any idea where the Remoir that did this are located?”

  “Yes, actually they are headed east towards the Indiana border. We have two of our high-speed vehicles in pursuit of them now,” he said.

  “Thank you. Let’s go!” Dedron said. Both of them were thrown back in the seats because Dedron was driving the hover car as fast as it could possibly go. It wasn’t long before they spotted the two sleek police cruiser vehicles pursuing the long, red Remoir fighter ship. The sirens were blaring and the glare from the flashing lights on the police cruisers tore through the darkening sky.

  “There they are! We are closing in on them!” Donna said, excitedly. They watched as the Remoir fighter outmaneuvered the police cruisers. First, it made a quick turn to the right and then went straight up into the air. The confused police cruisers attempted to follow the fighter, but one crashed into the ground in the process. The other continued to follow, but was further behind than it had been before.

  Aghast, Dedron and Donna watched as the Remoir fighter began to fire lasers at the pursuing police cruiser. The first shot missed its mark as the cruiser turned to one side. However, the second one hit the hood of the cruiser causing it to burst into flames and crash into the ground.

  “Oh no!” Donna cried out.

  “Dedron activated the hyper drive again so that they could close the gap between them and the Remoir. The Remoir had spotted them by now and realized that the hover car was following. In the rear view mirror, Dedron could also see that more police cruiser ships were approaching the scene. In a flash, a laser shot at the hover car.

  “Hang on!” Dedron yelled as he turned quickly to the left. They managed to avoid being shot by the blast, but another one was soon to follow. This one hit the rear thruster of the hover car.

  “We’re hit!” Dedron yelled as he reached for the eject button.

  Chapter 4:

  In a flash, the ejector seats activated and Dedron and Donna sailed straight up into the air as the thrusters on the seat’s bottom fired. The hover car headed straight for the ground as the fire from the thrusters spread across the body of the vehicle. With an earth-shattering explosion, it burst into a singular ball of flame, setting the field it landed in on fire. Donna and Dedron watched the explosion from above, stunned into silence. Quickly, the Remoir fighter faded into the distance and with it their hopes of rescuing Laura’s parents. After a minute, they began to try and maneuver their ejector packs.

  “Oh, it’s like a jet pack,” Donna shouted.

  “What?” Dedron asked, not able to hear what she was saying over the firing of the thrusters. Donna realized that she could control her thruster seat like a jet pack and staring going in the direction the Remoir were moving in.

  “Stop Donna! What are we going to follow them to Indiana using these? We’ll never catch up. We need to find a ship that we can use to track them down. There’s nothing more we can do at the moment. Despondently, Donna turned her jet pack away from Dedron and headed towards the ground. She landed softly in the grass and turned off the thrusters.

  “This will come in handy again, I’ll bet,” She said as she folded it back into a simple seat cushion and put it in her bag. Dedron followed behind her.

  “Don’t be so upset, Donna. We did everything we could to follow them,” Dedron said as he put his hand on her shoulder and gently rubbed it.

  “That’s pretty easy for you to say. My mother has been captured by those Remoir scum and I’m helpless at the moment to help her,” she said in a harsh tone that made Dedron cast his eyes downward and sigh. Donna began to realize that she was being too harsh on him.

  “I’m sorry dear. I’m just taking out my frustration on you, and that’s not fair of me to do that. I know you’re right. I just can’t let anything happen to any of our relatives.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get to them before there’s any harm to them, I promise you.”

  “Dedron, I know you mean well, but don’t make promises you may not be able to keep.”

  “Well I’m going to do my best to see it through,” he said.

  Donna drew closer to him until her lips were barely touching his.

  “That’s why I love you, baby,” she whispered before giving him a full-fledged kiss. Just as they were about to indulge in a
longer kissing session a short man appeared before them.

  “Did I hear you say you needed a ship?” the man said. Donna and Dedron both jumped backwards, they were so taken by surprise at the appearance of the short, balding man in a grey suit with a blue tie.

  “Where did you come from?” Dedron asked?

  “Well my shop is nearby and I couldn’t help but notice your little predicament over there,” he said, nodding towards the crashed hover car.

  “Oh that?” Donna said. “So, do you always happen to appear on the scene of an accident? Seems like quite an odd coincidence that a hover car salesman would appear this way right after an accident. Besides, where is your shop? We are in the middle of a field?”

  “It’s a couple of blocks from here. I didn’t remember saying that I was a hover car salesman,” he insisted.

  “Well it was kind of implied,” Donna shot back.

  The man acted as if she hadn’t spoken. “I deal in all kinds of things besides hover cars, which I can get you if you should want one. However, I couldn’t help but overhear that you are looking for a ship, and I don’t mean the nautical variety,” he said, trying to make a joke. Dedron and Donna looked at each other, both shaking their heads.

  “If you do indeed sell ships than we would be interested to see what you have. However, I should warn you that I will not be sold what you Earthlings refer to as a lemon. We have had ship salesman try to con us before,” Dedron said.

  “My good man, I mean Barringe, I am not that sort of dealer but how would you know that. We have only just met. Of course you are skeptical. Allow me to dispel your doubts if you would follow me please,” he said as they came to the edge of the field and walked onto the concrete. Just ahead at the end of the street was a large lot full of hover cars and a huge, oval-shaped hover building with multiple moving walkways leading up to its entrance.

  As they made their way up to the building, both Dedron and Donna were impressed at the modern, well-maintained facility.

  “This beats the heck out of the last place we bought a ship,” Donna said.

  The issue of how they were going to pay for the ship was a big one. Between them, they didn’t have enough money to put anything but a meager down payment on it. They were going to have to do their best to negotiate a deal.

  They followed the short man up the main walkway into the glistening dome of a building. Inside was a showroom where several people were looking around at the latest models of hover cars.

  “I don’t see any ships around here, only hover cars,” Donna said.

  “You gotta hand it to this one. She’s observant and tenacious. The ships are in the back. Most of our sales are in hover cars. It’s not everyone that can afford a space cruiser,” the man said. Donna and Dedron looked at each other, knowing full well they were in the same boat.

  In the back of the main showroom was a doorway into a large, hangar-like building with a fifty-foot high ceiling. There were only about six ships in the cavernous room, a couple of which were worse for the wear.

  “This is it?” Donna asked.

  “I always like to say it’s the quality of ships you have not the quantity,” he joked. “Come take a look. I think you’re going to like this Canadian SG-T Cruiser. It’s a two-year-old model, but it’s only got 98 million miles on it. I believe some geezer took it for one trip just past the moon.”

  The ship had been a shining silver color that now looked more like grey. It was shaped like a large, metal swan with a pointed nose and had red and blue stripes on its wings. Dedron, being the expert ship inspector, pushed the loading button and watched as the loading ramp lowered from the doorway of the ship. Donna and the salesman followed behind him.

  “She’s a beaut, isn’t she? By the way, the name is Frederick Barnes. I’m the fairest salesman you’ll find in all of Illinois or the whole US for that matter.”

  Dedron examined the controls, the fuel levels, and computer readouts on the main screen above the controls. He was surprised by the good condition it was in.

  “Is this the fastest ship you’ve got?” Donna asked as she sat down in a passenger seat.

  “You betcha. I know you want to get where you’re going as fast as you can,” he said.

  “Yes we need to get out of here so that we can catch up with the Remoir fighter. They have kidnapped members of our families as an act of retribution.

  “That’s why the Remoir were here,” Frederick said.

  “What do you know about them?” Dedron asked, turning towards Frederick.

  “They stopped in here asking questions and re-fueled their ship,” he answered.

  “Anything else?” Donna asked.

  “They said they needed enough fuel to get to Barringe, in fact. Isn’t that your home planet, Mr. Dedron?” he answered.

  “We’ve got to get going immediately. What do we owe you?” Dedron asked.

  “$245,000, but I’ll knock off a thousand because I can tell you are good people,” he said with a grin.

  “Um, eh, we’re going to have to get the government to reimburse you later on. You see, we are members of the Defense Squad and…”

  He cut Donna off. “I know what the Defense Squad is and no, you can’t pay me retroactively. I will at least need a down payment of fifty thousand and all of the required financing. Donna and Dedron looked at each other again.

  “How about two thousand and the promise to get you the rest further down the line; once all of this is resolved.”

  “And how long will that be?” Frederick said, folding his arms.

  “Not long if I have anything to say about it,” Dedron answered.

  Frederick turned as if he were done dealing with them. Donna walked up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder. He turned to face her.

  “Just know that you will have helped save the lives of our relatives. Right now, the Remoir have at least three of our loved ones and are as we speak moving towards kidnapping more of them. Please help us,”

  “Just don’t say, ‘you’re my only hope’. This aint Star Wars,” he said.

  “In a sense it is,” Donna said.

  “What’s Star Wars?” Dedron asked.

  “American popular culture reference. Never mind,” Donna said.

  Frederick looked back and forth at them, sighed deeply, and looked at the ground.

  “Alright, but you’re sure the government will get me the rest?”

  “With interest, if it takes them too long,” Donna said, not really knowing if the government would pay for such a thing.

  “We will see to it,” Dedron reassured the man.

  “Alright,” he said. Dedron and Donna put together the last of their money and handed it to Frederick. He had one of his office personnel draft a binding agreement for the remainder of the payment and walked off of the ship.

  “Enjoy your new ship, and take care of her, will ya?” he said.

  “Thank you, Mr. Barnes. You really are the fairest salesman in Illinois,” Donna said.

  “Yeah, I’m also going to be the brokest if I keep making deals like this,” he said, shaking his head.

  Just as soon as Frederick got off of the ship, Dedron began to enter the coordinates for Barringe. Donna sat down in the plush passenger seat and pulled the restraint straps across her shoulders.

  Once the launch sequence was engaged, Dedron sat back in his seat and strapped himself in. The ship turned vertically and then took off so quickly and smooth, the two passengers could hardly believe they were already airborne. In a matter of minutes they had passed through all of the layers of the atmosphere and were gazing down on the tranquil, cloud-covered Earth.

  “Let’s hope we’re not too late,” Dedron said. Donna put her arm through his and set her head on his shoulder. “You know, ordinarily I would be excited about showing you my home planet for the first time. Instead, I can only feel dread at the thought of my parents being captured by the Remoir,” he said.

  “Now you know how Laura and I feel,”
she remarked as her eyes traced a comet with its bright blue tail streaking across the stars.

  “We are going to make sure nothing happens to our loved ones. Besides, I don’t think their plan is to immediately torture or kill them. I believe they intend to use our relatives to draw us in so that they can exact their revenge on us for their defeat at Guanthan,” he replied. As soon as he finished his sentence, an image appeared on the communication screen just above the main window of the ship. It was the menacing eyes of Perbron beneath his grey hood. Although she couldn’t see the lower part of his face, Donna imagined Perbron was smiling.

  Chapter 5:

  Donna gripped the side of the chair with all her might; such was her anger at the sight of Perbron.

  “You had better tell me where my mother is you red-eyed creep!” she threatened. Dedron made a hand motion to indicate that she should stop talking to him in this way.

  Perbron began to cackle softly at first, but it grew into a diabolical laugh that made both Dedron and Donna’s flesh crawl.

  “I have to tell you Donna, I admire your spirit. It’s too bad I’m going to have to eliminate you. You could have made a valuable asset. Ah, no matter. Things have gone way too far for me to consider that alternative now,” he responded as if he were in no hurry to offer any reassurances or specifics.

  “Cut the crap, Perbron. Where are our relatives? What have you done with them?” Donna shouted as she came out of her seat. This only seemed to amuse Perbron.

  “That is the burning question on your mind, isn’t it?” he said. “Well, I’m going to give you the opportunity to save them all just to show you that I’m not completely unreasonable. You see, I have had every opportunity to execute them but I have exercised my patience in order to get what I really want.”

  “Which is?” Donna asked.

  “Oh, I think you know. No one knows better than you do about what it’s like to lose one’s father.”

  “Doesn’t that make us even now?” Donna asked.

  Perbron began his evil laughter all over again.