by Jerry Aubin
They finally reached the hatch for Engineering Control, and the Marine lifted his visor. His face was as red as it had been when Zax last saw it, but now it was from the pain and exertion of their journey rather than rage.
“I need a min, cadet.”
Any additional time to think about the fate which lay on the other side of that hatch was the absolute last thing Zax needed, but he nodded at the sergeant nonetheless. He placed his ear upon the hatch and, for the first time since they had returned to Engineering, did not hear a cacophony of voices down below. There was plenty of discussion, but the volume level suggested the compartment held a similar number of occupants as when they last visited.
Zax closed his eyes and focused on deep breathing. He visualized dropping into compartment, spotting the Boss, and lifting his blaster to fire all in one smooth motion. He would not only take the shot, but he would also make the shot. Take the shot—make the shot—take the shot—make the shot. The silent mantra combined with the breathing exercises dropped Zax’s pulse just low enough that he no longer felt as if his heart would burst from his chest. He never would have imagined spending the last moments of his life crouched in a maintenance tunnel with a mostly invisible Marine, but he found solace in the realization his impending sacrifice would have meaning.
He opened his eyes and saw the sergeant’s color had returned to normal. A moment later the Marine turned to Zax and whispered.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, Sergeant.”
“Will you actually shoot this time?”
“Yes, Sergeant.”
“Damn straight you will. Here’s the plan. Open the hatch. I’m guessing they might start firing wildly, so be sure to stay back for a few secs. If they do shoot, eventually they’ll stop. As soon as you have the chance, you should call out that you want to surrender. Jump down and be sure to get out of the way immediately because I will need to follow right behind before they have a chance to shut the hatch. If the Boss is in the compartment, cough twice and then give me a count of ten to prepare before you take your shot. I’ll be ready to shoot at the same time as you. If he’s not there, but eventually arrives, then use the same signal and countdown. Is all that clear?”
“Yes, Sergeant.”
“Repeat it back to me.”
“Hold back to avoid any fire when I open the hatch. When I get down, I need to move aside so you can follow behind me. When I see the Boss, cough twice and then count to ten before shooting.”
“OK. Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Show your hands!
A cacophony of blaster fire echoed below the instant the hatch was cracked. Zax flung it open and held his body away from the opening to be sure that no stray fire reached him. There were short gaps in the shooting, but every time he went to open his mouth and speak someone would fire again and be joined by a number of others. Finally, someone below screamed for the shooting to halt and Zax hollered into the resulting silence.
“Please stop shooting. I want to surrender!”
“How many of you are up there?”
“Only me!”
“Show your hands! Slowly!”
Zax took one last deep breath of freedom and then slid his hands into view. The mini blaster ensconced in his right hand was hidden in plain sight thanks to its chameleon technology. There was no turning back.
“OK—drop down. You’ve got a half-dozen blasters pointed at you, so don’t do anything stupid.”
Zax maneuvered his body so his legs dangled through the hatch opening and then sprang down to the deck. He nailed the landing but made a show of sprawling forwards in a tangle of arms and legs while cursing theatrically. This not only allowed him to clear the space directly below the hatch for Bailee to land but also provided a distraction to ensure no one noticed the Marine’s arrival. An invisible hand squeezed his calf for a moment, and Zax breathed a little easier with the knowledge he was not alone among the civilians.
He slowly stood and raised his hands into the air while glancing around the compartment. There were ten civilians present, but none of the Crew from Engineering. The Flight Boss was not in sight and neither was the small guy with the greasy black hair who had been in charge when the civilians commandeered the compartment. Zax recognized the civilian who appeared to be in charge now, but all of the others were new faces. A woman raced forwards with a chair which she used to reach and close the overhead hatch. Zax heard it automatically lock shut and knew his fate was sealed. He was going to die in the compartment with the only uncertainty being whether he managed to save the Ship in the process.
“Keep your hands up! Frisk him!”
The civilian who closed the hatch jumped down from the chair and searched Zax’s body. He held his breath as she started at the cuffs of his sleeves and tightly squeezed every centimeter of both arms. Next, she tousled his hair as if there could be meaningful items hidden in his regulation short cut. The civilian’s thorough search of his torso and lower body included a groping of his testicles that made him blush. When she reached his boots, she extracted the blade he had carried since taking it off the dead civilian earlier in the day. She tossed it to the civilian in charge who looked closely at the knife before he tucked it into his waistband.
Once the civilian completed her search, she backed away. The only parts of his body she had left untouched were his “empty” hands. Zax lowered them tentatively and no one stopped him. He breathed deeply to celebrate accomplishing the first critical step of his mission—he had smuggled both his own weapon and a fully-armed Marine into a heavily guarded stronghold of the civilian rebellion. The civilian in charge approached and spoke.
“What were you doing up there?”
Zax calibrated his tone for what he hoped was the right mix of emotions. He wanted to come across as being a young, scared kid without overdoing it too much. The civilian likely recognized him from earlier and probably was aware he had been on the loose for hours. If Zax tried to portray himself as being too helpless and afraid, the civilian might smell a rat.
“I got separated from the group I was with and couldn’t find them. I was trying to get somewhere safe but kept running into groups of armed civilians. I finally decided to give up and hand myself over, but I didn’t want to do it to some random group and risk them shooting me on sight.”
The civilian grinned. “What makes you think we won’t just shoot you?”
Zax gulped—primarily for show, but with more than a trace of concern. “Well...I was banking on the fact you didn’t do it earlier when you first took over the compartment.”
“Who were you running around with before you lost them?”
A story very close to truth struck Zax as being the best option. Any tales he might fabricate could easily bite him on the ass if Imair showed up and contradicted them. “The Marine sergeant and two other cadets who were here earlier. The sergeant is extremely injured, and we were trying to find some pain meds when a huge group of civilians showed up and we got separated. I tried to find them for a while but decided it was hopeless.”
The civilian pondered Zax’s story then spoke. “Let’s see what Rege thinks. Get him in here.”
One of the civilians near the hatch opened it and walked out. His steps echoed down the passageway until they were replaced with the babble of voices emanating from another compartment. Zax looked around as he waited. A giant pool of blood remained where the Crew bodies had been stacked earlier, but the corpses themselves were gone. The boxes Zax assumed contained explosives were still arrayed around the room, though they had been joined by a pile of similar ones which were stacked next to a closed hatch.
Two sets of footsteps eventually approached the open hatch and Zax looked back in that direction. He fought to maintain a neutral expression as Rege walked in—the man with the greasy hair who had done all of the speaking when the civilians took over the compartment. He carried a device in one hand which he lifted up as he smirked at Zax.
“I’m pleased to see you again, cadet. I’m dying to chat about what transpired after you left us earlier. First, though, I need to make sure you’re really alone. Blasters ready everyone.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Look who we have here.
Rege pressed a button on top of his device and there was bright flash accompanied by a loud bang. The air was filled with a fine mist and the civilians started to scan the room frantically. Zax was dumbfounded about what was happening until he noticed how the mist clung to the blaster in his hand and made its outline clearly visible. As nonchalantly as possible, he crossed his arms and hid the mini blaster in his armpit.
The good news for Zax was the civilians had their attention focused elsewhere and no one noticed his blaster before it was hidden. The bad news was that Sergeant Bailee’s outline had become as clear as the weapon in Zax’s hand. Two civilians grabbed the Marine’s arms while two others sprinted forward with their blasters pointed at his head. Rege issued his orders.
“Look who we have here. Rip that helmet off and get his arms and legs tied up!”
A min later the mist which had outlined the Marine’s ChamWare dissipated and his body once again faded away. His unhelmeted head remained visible, though, along with the bindings the civilians used to secure him. Zax looked down and pretended to itch his armpit and verified his blaster was again invisible. He dropped his arms into a more natural pose.
Rege strode towards the bound Marine and without saying a word punched him in the face. The sergeant swung his head back towards the civilian and defiantly spat a mouthful of blood onto the deck at his feet. Rege turned and walked towards Zax. He grabbed the chair the woman had used to close the hatch, spun it around, and sat with his arms perched on the back as he stared at Zax for a min. Finally, he spoke.
“Bring me the blade I heard this one was carrying.”
The civilian who was holding it ran over and handed Rege the knife which had been taken from Zax. He unsheathed the blade and examined it closely. He focused on wiping a spot near the hilt with his sleeve as he spoke.
“You missed a little bit of blood here.” Rege looked up and locked his gaze with Zax. “Tell me about how you came to be in possession of this knife.”
Zax considered what to say. He was positive that he hadn’t discussed their earlier escape within earshot of Imair, but he couldn’t be absolutely certain that she hadn’t overheard anything said by Kalare or Aleron. The potential for the civilian woman he once trusted to show up and contradict any lies prompted him to choose the truth once again. He sucked in a deep breath and launched into the story with as neutral a tone as he could manage.
“That huge civilian was about to leave us in a compartment when one of the other cadets said she needed to use the head. He gave her a bucket, and removed the bindings on her hands, but then she asked him to cut everyone else loose as well. She was worried one of us might need to use the bucket and she’d be force to help if we were still bound. The FTL jump occurred right then, and when I woke up I saw the his blaster had floated free and he was still unconscious. I tried to grab it, but he woke up. We were still wrestling over the weapon when gravity returned. He had almost strangled me to death when one of the other cadets stabbed him in order to save me.”
“Which of the other two cadets actually killed him?”
Zax flashed back to Kalare holding the bloody knife over the dead civilian’s body. His instinct to protect his friend at all costs kicked in and overrode the previous decision to share the truth with Rege. He held his eyes steady with the civilian’s and answered his question without a moment’s hesitation.
“I had blacked out by the end, and the knife was just sitting on the deck when I came to. I didn’t care who did it and didn’t bother to ask since I was just grateful to be alive.”
Rege turned his gaze to the knife as he twirled it over and over in his hand. His expression was oddly wistful until he finally sighed and then spoke. “I’ve always loved this knife. I remember how jealous I was when my father gave it to my brother. We were young and the old man had pitted us against each other in another one of his crazy contests. That was the last time I lost to him, but there was never another prize I wanted as much as I had wanted this knife. I tried and tried to get my brother to swap it for something else—even stuff that was way more valuable—but he never budged. Once he realized how much I wanted it, I think he decided to keep it simply as payback for losing to me so much. It positively killed him that I was so much smaller than he was and yet managed to win all the time.”
Zax was dismayed to learn the civilian who Kalare had stabbed was actually Rege’s brother. They barely seemed like they had come from the same species much less the same parents. Zax became increasingly anxious about how Rege might react to his role in the giant’s death and decided his only option was to try to justify it to the civilian.
“I’m sorry to hear he was your brother, but what were those other cadets supposed to do—let him kill me? We were only in that damn situation because the two of you showed up here with the rest of your friends and started murdering people for no reason.”
Rege stared at Zax for a few beats until a grin broke out on his face.
“No reason? That’s funny, cadet, painfully funny. Let me share a story and maybe you’ll decide to rethink that assessment.”
Rege stood up from the chair and paced back and forth around Zax as he calmly spoke.
“I was saying before how I always wanted this knife, but it was just as well my brother held on to it. I don’t know what would have happened otherwise the day my father snapped. You see—our little sister got real sick. Dene was always my father’s favorite. Our mother died during her birth and I guess that leaves a man with two choices. He can blame and shun the baby or love on it like crazy as the last echo of the woman he lost. My father chose the latter and doted on Dene. The two of us boys were forced to fight for scraps while she always got the best of whatever meager rations he scraped together. Sometimes I hated her for it, but usually understood it wasn’t her fault. She was a good kid.
“So Dene gets sick and my father goes for meds. She didn’t need anything exotic, just basic antivirals. There were shortages at the time, so the medics wouldn’t give him anything. They told him they needed to save it all for the Crew. He tried everything he could to score some from unofficial sources, but everyone demanded far more in return than he had to give. I watched him cradle Dene as she burned up from the fever. She had a bunch of intense seizures at the end. Real gruesome stuff to watch.
“She finally stopped seizing and went still and my father wailed. I put my hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him, and he spun around looking crazy. Something must have broken inside him after watching both his wife and then his little girl die in his arms. He was looking right at me, but his eyes were empty.
“He threw me around the compartment and pounded me nearly senseless. My brother heard the commotion and somehow got him off me. The old man wasn’t done though and went after him too. He had beaten me so badly I could barely lift my head off the deck, so all I could do was watch as they grappled. Finally, my father backed away and I saw this knife sticking out of his chest. The pain must have shocked him into realizing what he had done. He looked over and told me he was sorry before he keeled over dead.”
Rege stopped pacing and instead moved towards Zax with the knife extended. Zax tensed but didn’t flinch as the blade came within milimeters of his left eye and the civilian spoke again.
“So that’s what pushed my brother and I to get involved with the group who planned all of this. Some bureaucrat decided that keeping meds available just in case a member of the Crew needed them was a better use of resources than saving my sister who was sick at that very moment and could have been easily saved. Does that bureaucrat’s decision seem reasonable to you, cadet?”
Zax was at a loss for words. A million potential replies came to mind, but none seemed more likely than the others to
prevent the furious civilian from driving the blade into his skull. He was about to voice one when Sergeant Bailee spoke instead.
“It seems perfectly reasonable to me. Your sister died, but what’s more important—saving one little girl or making sure the Ship has whatever we need to treat the fighter pilots who protect us from aliens? And what about the Marines who ensure safe planets for our colonists. Isn’t it important to make sure the Ship has the drugs necessary to keep them healthy? Do you consider either of those factors when you decide what’s reasonable, or can you not see past your sister to look at the big picture? The universe is trying to kill all of us as fast as it possibly can. Better we lose one girl than have the Mission fail. Right?”
Rege spun around to face the Marine and the two locked glares. Zax held his breath and feared for what would happen next—especially the possibility of the civilian pulling out the collar controller for some torture. Rege charged towards Bailee but halted when another civilian ran up and called out.
“Rege—someone’s calling in about a Marine and a couple of cadets they’ve captured. They want to know what to do with them.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
There’s nothing you can do, Zax!
It took all of Zax’s self-control to remain impassive at the civilian’s words. He held his breath as the man approached and handed over some sort of wireless communicator.
“Report!” barked Rege into the device.
“We found a Marine and two cadets trying to reach the garrison near us. The Marine got hurt in the firefight and the two cadets surrendered. We weren’t sure what to do with the prisoners after we heard things are going to be over soon.”
Rege turned and stared at Zax while he posed a question to the person on the other end of the comm. “What are the names on their uniforms?”
“The Marine is only wearing an undershirt which does not have a name. The male cadet is wearing an Engineering uniform and the name on it is Aleron. The female cadet is wearing a Flight uniform and the name reads Kalare.”