The Mercenary's Dawn

by L P Peace

  ‘I suppose he liked you,’ Korren said. Deyuul was joined by Keral, and they set to unchaining him.

  ‘Too much,’ Thanesh growled.

  Alethia looked at him. He still wasn’t looking at her.

  ‘We need to decide what we are doing next,’ Keral said, ‘about the female.’

  Alethia turned to Keral. This being silent thing was seriously beginning to piss her off.

  ‘Do not be offended. But unless you are a fighter, you should stay somewhere safe until the fighting is over.’

  ‘Where safe?’ she croaked. Behind her, Dabin growled his disapproval.

  ‘I do not like the idea of leaving her behind,’ Thanesh said, still avoiding her gaze.

  ‘She’ll be vulnerable everywhere,’ Dairon called into the room from the corridor.

  Not him too!

  ‘I can keep people away from her,’ Deyuul said, releasing the last chain.

  ‘No, we need you concentrating on the soldiers,’ Keral said

  ‘Would this be a bad time to tell you that Kallis has made himself resistant to psychic ability?’ Korren was standing now.

  ‘Can you sense him?’ Thanesh looked at both Korren and Deyuul.

  Korren shook his head. ‘I never have, even when he’s standing next to me.’

  ‘Deyuul?’ Keral asked.

  Deyuul stood silently for a while, then shook his head.

  ‘Difficult to tell without having met him. I can sense thoughts, nudge minds, but I can’t remote detect who someone is unless they’re giving me that information or I already know them.’

  Thanesh shook his head and looked at Alethia. ‘I am not leaving you behind,’ he promised.

  She nodded and smiled at him. The guilty look was still there, but it softened at her smile.

  ‘She can stay with me,’ Dabin said. ‘Anyone comes near her and I’ll protect her.’

  ‘And I’ll stay next to her,’ Deyuul added. ‘If things get bad, I’ll remove her from the situation.’

  Thanesh frowned at him. ‘How are you better at that than I am?’

  Deyuul unfolded his legs and, restricted by the ceiling, stood to something close to his full height. ‘My limbs are designed for climbing sheer cliff walls,’ he said. ‘They are my people’s natural habitat.’

  Thanesh nodded and looked at Keral and Korren.

  ‘We need Uunda,’ he said, then looked back at Deyuul. ‘You will have to tell us who to get in touch with to negotiate membership in exchange for troops.’

  Deyuul looked shocked. ‘My people have been looking at joining for some time,’ he said. He lowered himself to his bipedal legs and folded his extra limbs away. It was strange to watch them shrink and change colour, darkening from the medium blue they were before, to a darker blue until they were folded into a hump on his back. ‘We never thought we might be the resource we had to offer you.’

  ‘After this rote, you definitely are,’ Thanesh said.

  All of the soldiers had been ‘nudged’ into believing they were attending a mass meeting. The scientists were in attendance, and anyone who questioned it suddenly found themselves bombarded with weird thoughts until submitting to the meeting was the only thing that made sense.

  The toll on Deyuul’s conscience was becoming visible. The more he was asked or made himself do, the less he spoke, and the grimmer the lines of his face became. He was, to his own mind, committing unspeakable acts. Alethia knew she couldn’t take the guilt away; all she could do was remind him of the lives he saved instead. She made him acknowledge each person as they unchained them and pointed out that the Cealin couldn’t want them for anything good. Still, his guilt weighed on him, but he took her hand and squeezed it in gratitude as she, Deyuul and Dabin manoeuvred to the back of their group. Four Protectorate followed, assigned to help keep her safe.

  Using the intelligence of a Cealin they’d come across outside, Deyuul led them to a weapons cache. They took every weapon and charge. There were hundreds of soldiers, but thousands of them. That wasn’t including the rooms full of thousands of humans Kallis was changing, men, women and even children. There were more he’d already changed before putting them into cryo-storage. He’d been buying up humans from across every system for years.

  Thanesh split his people into five groups. They would breach the hall from the five entry points, flanking the Cealin and taking the advantage from the beginning. Makios and Dairon were going into the room as well, and each had been assigned a group.

  When Alethia protested about Dairon, through Deyuul, Dairon made it clear that while he appreciated her concern, he was going into the hall and wasn’t looking for her permission. Alethia was pissed. She was hurt, but mostly she just wanted to protect her little brother. The idea of protecting someone a foot taller and much stronger than she was was ridiculous. Yet still, there was a part of Alethia that would always see the chubby toddler, the playful child, or the eight-year-old as she held him over their parents’ grave.

  She walked away. Thanesh blanked out everything but the image of her as she left, looking over her shoulder, smiling, encouraging, forgiving. He didn’t deserve her, but that didn’t mean he was going to give her back, she was his because he was hers; there was no other way for this to end.

  She stood in the back of the group, Deyuul at her back, Dabin, an armoured Zenin of all things, at her front and four of his brothers protecting her. When he was sure she would be out of the way, safe, then he turned to the doors in front of him and concentrated on the rage of finding himself back in this hell.

  Deyuul, we are ready to go. You call it. The Uunda was a find. He wanted more.

  On my mark, the males around him stiffened as the Uunda’s voice sounded inside their heads, go.

  Two Protectorate pulled the set of double doors open and Thanesh led the surge into the room.

  The Cealin turned, stunned faces, blank expressions. Males standing on a stage in front of them, too shocked to move.

  Thanesh and his brothers spread out.

  There were five entrances to the room, one on either side of the stage and one on each side and one at the back. Thanesh had them all.

  Death would only come if the Cealin tried to fight. Thanesh wanted witnesses to bring to the IGC. It would support his case for membership and they would sanction Cealis in return.

  Energy weapons and blades appeared. It was a foolish decision.

  ‘Fire,’ Thanesh called out. He heard Deyuul repeat the order and the room descended into chaos.

  It was hard to hear over the noise coming from the hall. It wasn’t just the noise of weapons fire. It was the cries and screams as well. The sounds were going through Alethia like the impact of ammunition. These people were her enemy. But listening to them die was horrible.

  ‘We have to get her out of here,’ Deyuul said.

  ‘Thanesh said to keep her here.’ One of the pale Protectorate answered. Though he was watching Alethia with concern.

  ‘Around the corner,’ Deyuul said, grabbing hold of her and carrying her. ‘Just to dim the sounds a bit, Thanesh will understand.’

  ‘Fine,’ the Protectorate snapped following them.

  They walked up the long hall, the sounds of slaughter dimming with each footstep.

  ‘Just another minute, little human,’ Deyuul murmured. ‘Most of them are surrendering.’

  They turned the corner and Kallis came into view, a sinister grin on his face.

  ‘Stop,’ Alethia called out, though she could tell it was already too late.

  A force hit them all at once, and everything went black.

  It was a bloodbath. It was a slaughter. The Cealin never stood a chance, yet they fought anyway. Thanesh almost admired them, except that every male and female here knew about the experiments and were here anyway.

  Such disregard for his people could not go unanswered.

  When the room they were in was thick with bodies, the last of the Cealin knelt to the floor and surrendered.

  ‘Cease
fire.’

  Thanesh would kill no one else unless they forced him to. He had killed enough people on this accursed planet. This place brought out a monster in him and he wanted to be the male Alethia needed him to be.

  ‘Korren.’ His second-in-command looked at him. ‘Secure them, I’ve had enough of this hellhole.’

  ‘Thanesh, I am going to check on the new test subjects,’ Keral called as he walked to one of the far doors.

  Thanesh looked at his friend and nodded.

  ‘Get to your female,’ Keral nodded towards the door. ‘She needs you.’

  Thanesh could feel the tension drain from him as soon as he turned to the door. It returned when he stepped into the hall and no one was there. He spotted a foot, toe upturned, at the end of the hall and ran towards it thoughtlessly shouting out for her as he approached.

  Deyuul, Dabin and his brothers lay on the floor unconscious. There was no sign of Alethia.

  ‘Korren,’ he yelled as loud as he could. He felt something, like cold oil trickling inside his brain.

  ‘On my way.’

  ‘Korren, what the—’

  ‘And it’s Kallis who has her,’ Korren’s voice poured into his mind.

  ‘Alethia—’

  ‘I know. Go, we’re coming.’

  Thanesh ran, heading to the docking bay far across the facility. How long a head start did Kallis have? How long ago did he take her? His lungs were burning by the time he reached the bay, Korren and more brothers right behind him.

  The ship had rolled out onto the launch lip beyond, the engines powering up. Thanesh ran, his powerful legs still not fast enough to reach them in time before it lifted off. He continued running until he came to the edge of the lip and stared after the exhaust lights as the ship carried Kallis and his Alethia into the atmosphere.

  Bright lights penetrated through her closed lids. She felt like the light would bleed her sight away with that thin, fragile layer of protection. Alethia lifted a heavy arm and threw it over her eyes, moaning.

  ‘Ah, you’re awake.’

  She opened her eyes and looked around. She was on the bridge of an unfamiliar ship surrounded by pale ice blues and silvers. Kallis almost blended into the aesthetic of it. He was sitting in the pilot’s chair, and Alethia was in the seat next to him, her hands strapped to the armrests. She moved her legs and felt resistance from a strap around her ankles.

  ‘I had planned on making you my empress,’ he said, pressing buttons and avoiding her eyes. ‘You’ll just have to settle for being my whore for a few solars.’ A fire lit in Kallis’s eyes. His lip curled into a sneer. ‘Thankfully, I have friends who will protect me during my inevitable exile.’ He looked at her. ‘The king does not take failure well, and we’re an awfully long-lived species.’

  ‘Why didn’t you sound the alarm?’

  Kallis scoffed. ‘Do you think I wouldn’t have had I known your friends were there?’ His whole body went tense. ‘I didn’t realise what was happening until I went to fetch you. You should be chained to my bed right now.’ He stood from his chair in a quick movement and leaned over her. His tone went from rage to heat. ‘I had such plans for you tonight. I still do. But they shall have to wait until we reach our destination.’ Kallis fell back into his seat. ‘Doubtless, Thanesh is following.’

  ‘Well, at least by the time my allies and I are ready to take control of Thanesh and his people, they’ll have a few more planets in their little Protectorate. All those lines of Protectorate space.’ Kallis laughed. ‘The fool’s building me my empire without realising it.’

  ‘What allies?’

  ‘Ah.’ Kallis grinned again. ‘My Bentari and Fedhith friends. You’ll meet them soon enough. They’re going to like you.’

  As soon as the ship was out of sight, Thanesh returned to the bay. The same bay he and his brothers left from three hundred solars earlier.

  Three Cealin ships stood on pads within the white bay. His males were already boarding one of them, Korren pre-empting his every move.

  Thanesh joined them on the ship, the doors sliding closed behind them. He made his way through and saw Dairon sitting in a seating area near the back of the vessel with Makios.

  ‘Thanesh?’ Dairon’s black eyes were wide with fear.

  ‘We are getting her back,’ he promised as he walked by them and onto the small bridge.

  ‘There’s a Cealin ship in orbit,’ Korren said from the navigator’s seat. His eyes were closed. ‘The captain’s trying to contact the surface, but…’

  ‘Can you do anything about them?’ This new ability was proving handy.

  Korren frowned. ‘I think so,’ he said. ‘Deyuul’s better. He’s soft, fingerprints. I’m more like blunt force trauma but…’ Korren licked his lips ‘…I think so.’

  Thanesh sat down and strapped himself in as Jarit taxied them out to the launch pad. A moment later they were taking off into the bright azure sky.

  The ship broke the atmosphere.

  ‘We are being contacted,’ Jarit said from the pilot’s seat. ‘They are demanding a security code.’

  ‘Korren?’

  ‘I…’ He licked his lips. ‘There’s nothing. I don’t know what I’m doing,’ he finally admitted.

  ‘Can you try contacting Deyuul?’

  ‘Erm,’ Korren swallowed. ‘I don’t…’ Korren opened his eyes. ‘I can’t. It was all Deyuul.’ Korren’s face was panic-stricken. ‘I don’t know enough about any of this. I’m sorry, sir.’

  ‘They are hailing us again,’ Jarit said, his voice had taken on a tone of urgency.

  Thanesh knelt in front of his second-in-command, taking deep breaths to calm the nerves that wanted to reach out across lightsolars and pull Alethia into the safety of his arms.

  ‘Can you try getting the code?’

  Korren’s eyes widened in surprise, and he nodded. ‘Put me on the comm,’ Korren said, getting up and crossing the bridge to Jarit. Jarit slipped his headset off and handed it to Korren.

  Thanesh heard an insistent voice as the headset traversed the small distance between the two males. As soon as it was in place, Korren closed his eyes. He stilled and listened for a few seconds before a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

  ‘Apologies, Admiral,’ he said. His voice was smoother than usual, and he had affected a slightly higher pitch. ‘There was a small technical glitch with the comm. The issue is repaired. The word you’re looking for is Inthaluvus.’

  The voice on the other end of the comm went silent for a moment before resuming talking.

  ‘Absolutely,’ Korren said with the same affectation. ‘As soon as we dock. You have my word.’

  Korren ripped the headset off and pressed a button on the control panel.

  ‘Get us to FTL,’ he said. ‘Deyuul’s woken up. I’ve explained the situation, and he’s going to take care of the ship.’

  Thanesh felt relief rush over him.

  ‘Can we track them?’ Thanesh slipped back into the co-pilot’s seat and strapped himself in.

  ‘Had them since I sat down,’ Jarit said. his hands danced over the panel, lights lit up in their wake. ‘It is a good job you implanted that tracker in her. Brace,’ he announced on the ships comm. A moment later the stars ripped across the viewscreen.

  That injection. That one injection he’d almost not given her because of the fear on her face. Thank vrok he’d ignored that impulse.

  ‘Give me the comm,’ Thanesh held out his hand. ‘I have calls to make.’

  ‘I should have stayed with her.’ Dairon felt the words leave his mouth. He had been keeping them back since Korren called out for him.

  ‘We both should have.’ Makios’s voice was shaky. ‘I was so angry at the vrokking Cealin—I didn’t think about Alethia and how vulnerable she is.’

  Makios turned and punched the bulkhead.

  ‘Vrokking piece of Cealin durv,’ he yelled.

  ‘Makios, for vrok’s sake, calm down.’ Dairon unstrapped himself and bent over Ma
kios. ‘Give me your vrokking hand, vashni.’

  ‘She was free,’ Makios whispered.

  Dairon frowned, not really taking in his words. ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Thanesh bought her and freed her,’ Makios said.

  Dairon froze as the words penetrated his anger and brought understanding. For the first time in her life, Alethia was a free woman.

  Many times, Dairon had considered contacting the Huan that owned his mother to find the male who had bought her and do the same thing. The genuine worry that he might refuse to sell her and instead use Dairon to track Alethia down had always prevented him. He had dreamed how happy his sister would be to read that document.

  ‘What if we don’t find her?’ Makios whispered.

  Seeing the Kathen without hope shook his own. Makios was a well-spring of hope. Whatever the Cealin had done to him had dimmed him somehow.

  Dairon shook the fear. He looked up into the Kathen’s eyes stricken with grief and guilt.

  ‘We’re going to find her,’ he promised.

  Makios watched him for a moment, waiting for doubt to break the façade of confidence Dairon had forced onto his face. Finally, he nodded, but the uncertainty, grief and guilt were still firmly in place.

  Dairon opened his mouth to speak.

  ‘Excuse me.’

  Dairon turned and saw the half-Kuyon Protectorate standing in front of him. He felt a tug, a reorienting as he looked into his black on black eyes.

  ‘You were there when I woke up?’ the half-Kuyon said.

  Dairon nodded and offered him his hand in his mother’s custom. ‘Yes, Dairon.’

  ‘Garen,’ the other male said, before holding his hand out. Dairon took it in his own and felt a spark jump between the two of them. His fathers had mentioned this when Dairon asked them how they met. The stronger the spark, the more compatible the bond. Dairon shook his hand out and was pleased to see Garen doing the same.

  ‘I wanted to thank you for helping rescue me.’ Garen swallowed. ‘My father told me of that place, I cannot believe I have experienced it myself.’