by Tristan Vick
“Leave it. It’s probably bugged anyway,” Jegra said as she and Danica rushed into the lobby and passed the girl at the front desk.
As they scurried by, Jegra set the glass of champagne down on the edge of the counter next to the girl and said, “Thanks, again. It was amazing!”
“Pleasure was all ours,” the girl replied in a less than enthused drawl. “Come again.”
Jegra and Danica swiftly exited the shop, the bell above the entrance jangling. When the shop girl heard the door bells, she looked up to find the two customers had vanished without a trace.
She shrugged and then was about to go back to doing her nails when she eyed the drink sitting next to her. A smile came onto her face and, looking around to make sure nobody was watching, she took a long swig of the bubbly beverage and gulped it all down.
Placing the glass back on the counter, she smiled. Almost as soon as she’d finished the drink, however, her eyes turned blurry and her upturned lips sunk into a woozy grin, and she abruptly passed out and fell out of her chair, disappearing behind the counter.
“This way,” Jegra said, hooking a sharp right around the corner of the shop and turning down an alleyway. She ducked under some oriental style lanterns and dodged some food vendor selling what looked like soba noodles, except for the fact that they were squirming about in the bowls of soup and hissing.
“I’m trying to keep up,” Danica panted. “But it’s a bit difficult to run with these things.” She pointed at her oversized chest. “Did you really need to make them so awfully big?”
“Oh, come on, Dani. Look what I’m dealing with,” she said, pressing an extended finger into her voluptuous chest. “You don’t hear me whining about it. Anyway, the whole idea was to completely transform you and throw Dakroth off our scent. And nothing diverts a guy’s gaze like a pair of righteous boobs.”
“Yeah, but my back doesn’t have super-serum enhanced muscles to stop from aching all day long because of my stupidly enormous chest like some people,” she said, eyeballing Jegra’s equally enormous chest.
“Stop your griping. You’ll be fine.”
“Easy for you to say,” Danica whispered, getting the last word in edgewise.
They shot out of the narrow alley at the corner of a dry cleaners which sat in front of a large open square. Looking up, Jegra spotted the Skywend perched upon a landing platform directly above them–about sixty meters up.
“There it is,” Jegra said, pointing up at the ship.
“Um, Jegra?” Danica said, looking around them as she scanned their surroundings. All of a sudden, they were no longer alone.
Several dark figures emerged from the shadows and were now making their way through the crowded street towards them. They all moved and walked just as rigidly as soldiers, tipping Danica off that they were mercenaries for hire.
“If we could somehow find an elevator or…”
“Jegra,” Danica barked in a hushed tone.
“What is it?” she asked, finally paying attention to what Danica had to say.
“I’m afraid we have company. And not the friendly kind.”
Jegra looked around to see several cloaked figures honing in on their position from all sides. “Oh, shit,” Jegra said, realizing the precariousness of their situation.
Three of the figures gathered at the center of the square while three others held back and set up a perimeter, probably to cut them off if they should try to escape. It was all by-the-book military tactics.
The lead figure stepped forward and, taking ahold of its hood, slowly pulled it away, revealing itself. A red skinned woman stared back at Jegra with a malicious grin.
“You,” Jegra growled. Her eyes smoldered with rage as she greeted the familiar face with an equally menacing glare.
“Long time, no see, Jegra,” Ishtar Bantu said. Raising her blaster, she pointed it right at Jegra and her companion. “Now, if you don’t mind coming with me, I have a rather handsome bounty to collect.”
31
Laser blasts crisscrossed the alleyway as red and green disruptor fire was exchanged. Just before Ishtar Bantu could apprehend her targets, Skuld and Gyllek appeared out of nowhere with the Bre’lal woman who had a striking dark, emerald skin. Taking cover behind some crates, they started laying down cover fire and helped draw Ishtar and her goon’s attention away from Jegra and Danica, giving them time to find cover.
“What now?” Jegra asked, shooting Danica a worried look. Although she was willing to fight, she deferred to Danica’s strategic experience to find them another way out.
Danica looked around. “Over there,” she said, pointing at a possible exit that was through a jeweler’s shop across the street from them.
“Right,” Jegra said. “You go first, I’ll cover you.”
Without warning, a glass jar of candies exploded above their heads as a poorly aimed disruptor blast hit it. Jegra threw her arms up to deflect the spray of glass and pushed Danica toward the street.
Danica leapt up and flew across the street, laser blasts streaking behind her. Jegra stood up and laid down a spread of cover fire and quickly followed after her. They raced through the shop as the owner, a Brilaxian catfish-looking gentlemen, screamed at them as his merchandise got shot up behind them.
“Sorry!” Jegra called back.
Ducking out the back door, they ran up the street and hooked a sharp left where they practically ran into Skuld, Gyllek, and the girl, who were in full retreat.
“This way,” Skuld said, pointing in the opposite direction Jegra and Danica were headed.
“Right,” Jegra said, spinning on her heels and following after them.
As they raced up the street, Skuld handed his blaster off to Danica. “Keep them occupied,” he said, whipping out a communicator, “while I call on ahead. We’re going to need a quick dust off.”
Danica looked back and started blasting away at the mercenaries who pursued them up and down the back alleys of the merchant district.
“Raven, this is Skuld. Do you read me?”
Raven’s voice came in loud and clear. “I read you, Skuld. What’s up?”
“We’re being pursued by hostiles. If you could have the ship’s engines primed and ready to get off this rock by the time we get there, it would be much appreciated.”
“I would, but I’m currently not aboard the ship,” she replied apologetically.
Jegra shot Skuld a WTF look and he shrugged. Just then another voice came onto the comm. “This is Kregor, I’ll reach the ship in two minutes. I’ll have her ready for a prompt departure.”
“My hero!” Jegra said, leaning closer to Skuld and speaking into the comm as they scurried up the street.
Skuld flicked the comm off and tucked it back into his belt. “Righteo, people! Let’s double time it.”
By the time they got to the ship, its engines were already purring. But to their dismay, Ishtar Bantu was waiting for them.
She stood between them and the ship’s loading platform and held out a glowing plasma sword, the kind Knights used. The sword glowed hot white with a purple halo and crackled viciously on the cool air. The corners of Ishtar’s mouth curled upward into a sadistic smile.
“And you all came so very far.”
Jegra threw her arm up and gestured for everyone to stay back. “I’ve got this,” she said.
“You’ve got this?” Ishtar balked. “Just like you did in your quarters when I snapped your green-skinned lover’s neck? Or, do you mean that time aboard your ship when I gutted you and slit your sweet little servant girl’s throat?”
Jegra didn’t dignify Ishtar with a response. She merely cracked her knuckles and grinned menacingly.
“What are you going to do?” Ishtar taunted. “Punch your way through a flaming sword?”
“Something like that,” Jegra said. Spitting on her knuckles, she raced forward, feigning an attack.
Ishtar swung the humming blade in a large swooping arc, hoping to meet Jegra’s charge and cut
her in two. But Jegra skidded to a stop just beyond the swords reach and shot Ishtar a look that said big mistake.
Jegra brought her fists down onto the pavement with such fury it unleashed a sizable tremblor. The ground quaked and fracture lines spread across the pavement as it crumbled beneath her powerful fists. The broken fragments of concrete rocked violently beneath Ishtar’s feet, causing her to lose her footing and stumble backward.
Being so close to the Skywend, however, Ishtar stumbled right into the ship, smacking her head against its korridium reinforced hull. She rebounded off the ship’s underbelly and fell to the ground, the harsh blow to her head rendering her unconscious.
The plasma sword fell to the ground beside her and automatically turned off, a safety feature which all plasma swords had. Lying on the ground, unconscious, Ishtar was no longer a threat to them. But her hired goons would be arriving shortly.
“All aboard?” Jegra said, gesturing for her friends to board the ship.
As her friends boarded, Jegra bent down and picked up Ishtar’s unconscious body and strolled over to the ledge of the landing platform.
“What are you going to do?” Danica asked.
“I’m going to throw out the trash,” Jegra replied. And with a heave-ho, she tossed Ishtar’s limp body over the edge.
Jegra dusted her hands off and returned to the loading ramp of the Skywend. Just as she arrived, so did Raven.
“What’d I miss?” Raven asked.
“Nothing much,” Jegra replied.
Raven looked at Danica and said, “You look nice.”
“Thanks,” Danica replied.
Raven then slapped Jegra’s arm, as if to say well done, and hurried aboard her ship. Jegra and Danica quickly followed after her, just as the ramp began to close.
“Everyone strap in,” Raven shouted above the whine of the engines as she raced up the hallway toward the bridge.
Everybody found their seats and buckled up tight.
The Skywend rose off the platform, kicking up a maelstrom of garbage and loose debris and, using its guidance thrusters, slowly turned toward the mouth of the subterranean cave of the giant asteroid. Leaving The Cove, she exited the tunnel and came out just in time to find Dakroth’s ship, the Subjugator, waiting for them.
“For fuck’s sake,” Raven growled. “Can’t a girl get a break?” Slamming her fist down on the comm, she called Jegra to the bridge.
“Jegra, get your hot ass up here. We’ve got company.”
By the time Jegra arrived on the bridge, Raven already had the emperor on the holovid. He gripped one arm, which was bleeding profusely, and turned toward Jegra and glared at her with his red eyes and all the hatred he could muster.
“I just wanted you to know, sweetheart, your Knights failed. You failed. And now, you will be punished.”
The holovid pulled back to show a badly beaten Galahad sitting on his knees before the emperor. He was stripped of his armor and it looked as though Dakroth had taken out some of his frustration on Galahad.
Dakroth’s finger started to glow and he pressed it against the temple of Galahad’s head. “Say goodbye to your precious Knight,” he snarled.
“Wait, no!” Jegra screamed. But it was too late. The emperor had already discharged the condensed energy blast.
Galahad’s face exploded right before Jegra’s eyes. His right eyeball flew one way and the lower half of his jaw and teeth careened off the opposite way. His body tottered momentarily and then fell forward, the stump of his neck landing at Dakroth’s feet with a thud.
The emperor bent over the dead Knight and grinned maniacally into the holovid camera. “I’m coming for you, my dear wife. Run all you like. But you can never hide from me. I’ll always find you. And, one more thing. If you so much as think you can—”
Raven flicked off the holovid and leaned back in her chair. After a second, she realized Kregor, who sat in the co-pilot’s seat next to her, was staring at her with a stunned expression plastered across his face. It was clear that he was surprised by the fact that she’d just hung up on the blood thirstiest psychopath in the galaxy.
She shrugged. “It was a boring conversation anyway.”
Kregor swiveled around in the chair and looked at Jegra who was doing her best to keep it together. “I’m sorry about your Knight,” he said.
“He was my friend,” she replied in a hushed voice full of sadness. She knew Dakroth was ruthless, but now he’d gone and made things personal.
The Subjugator opened fire on the Skywend and Raven took evasive action. Kregor spun back into position and helped bring up the deflector shields. It was just in time, too, as a disruptor blast from Dakroth’s ship jolted the Skywend.
The bulkheads of the ship shuddered violently and Kregor huffed anxiously. “We won’t be able to take many more of those,” he said.
“We won’t have to,” Raven replied, flipping a switch. “Spooling up the FTL now. Let’s see him try to out fly one of his fastest ships.”
“I’ve put you all in danger,” Jegra whispered. “It’s all my fault that this is happening.”
Unable to contain her emotions any longer, tears began to stream out of Jegra’s eyes. Wiping her cheek with the back of her hand, she apologized and fled the bridge. “I’m sorry,” Jegra said, ducking under the archway of the door and disappearing around the corner as she entered the corridor.
“Jegra!” Kregor beckoned after her, spinning around in his chair, preparing to go after her. But a hand quickly landed on his shoulder and firmly pressed him back into his seat.
Raven shook her head and then whispered, “Let her go.”
As she ambled down the corridor, Jegra felt the ship jump to FTL. When she arrived at her quarters, Danica was already waiting for her, arms open wide. Embracing Jegra, they sank down to the edge of the bed and sat there together.
Danica stroked her partner’s hair and consoled Jegra the best she could. “What’d he do this time?”
“He killed Galahad,” she sniffled.
“You’ll get your revenge,” Danica said.
“But how long will it go on like this?” Jegra asked. “I take something important from him, then he takes something important from me. It’s a game to him. A vicious, never ending game where he gets to torture me and I can never hurt him back as much as he hurts me.”
“That’s what he does,” Danica said. “He revels in hurting others. In dominating them. Breaking them. Especially those he views as a threat.”
“But he’s right,” Jegra lamented. “There isn’t anywhere I can go or hide that he won’t find me. That he won’t find a way to bring me back into his manipulative grasp.”
“There is one place,” Danica replied.
Jegra shot her an intrigued look.
Danica took Jegra’s hand and placed it over her right breast, just above her heart. “He can’t get you here.”
Leaning in, Danica kissed Jegra’s soft pink lips and drew back just enough to gauge her reaction. Although Jegra’s tears still trickled down her face, she gave an attempt at a smile.
“I need to ask you a favor,” she said, looking deep into Danica’s eyes.
“Anything for you,” Danica replied.
“I want you to weaponize my DNA like Dakroth wanted.”
“What?” Danica gasped. “Why would you have me do such a thing?”
“Because, it’s my choice. And because, if he wants my genetic code so bad, I plan on giving it to him. All of it.”
“You want to use it against him?” Danica said, finally getting in tune with what Jegra had in mind.
“Once he’s rendered powerless, then he’s no longer a threat. Not to you. Not to me. Not to anybody. He’ll just be an impotent, sniveling, weakling.”
Danica fell back onto the bed and pulled Jegra on top of her. “I think I can help you with that.”
After a vigorous round of love making, Jegra went over to the window and stood looking out at the stars streak by. The sweat on her bod
y cooled in the recycled air of the ship and she let out a lengthy sigh.
“What are you doing?” Danica asked in a sleepy voice as she raised her head off the pillow to try and see what her girlfriend was up to.
“Nothing. Just thinking,” replied Jegra.
“Well, get your cute butt back to bed. I’m cold and I miss you.” Danica held up her arm and showed Jegra the prickling of her skin. “Look, I have goosebumps.”
Jegra turned and looked at Dani. She smiled and then complied with her request. Sinking into bed, she slipped under the sheets and wrapped her arms around Danica who was already trailing off to sleep in the warmth of her lover’s arms.
Jegra leaned in and kissed the side of Dani’s cheek and then laid her head down on the pillow close to hers and watched her sleep. She stared at Dani’s beautiful complexion until she, too, drifted off.
The crack of the ship coming out of hyperspace roused Jegra from her sleep. As the ship lurched back into regular space, and the brief feeling of disorientation dissipated, she shot up in bed when she realized Dani wasn’t lying next to her.
Danica appeared from the bathroom, and was fastening a thigh-high red armor over her boot in an outfit that was part dominatrix and part gladiator. In fact, like Jegra’s old gladiatorial garb, it showed more skin than was necessary.
“What in the galaxy are you wearing?” Jegra asked.
“You like it?” she said, spinning around for Jegra to see every soft rolling curve of her exposed body.
“I do, but it’s so unlike anything I’d ever expect you to wear.”
“You said it yourself. I have to be convincing enough not to be recognized as Cassera Van Danica. So, I figured, why not go for broke?”
“You must feel so ridiculous right now,” Jegra laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
“I feel like a prostitute with a license to kill,” she replied, a mischievous grin spreading across her lips. “And,” she added at the last moment, rubbing her arms, “A freezing cold one, at that.”
Jegra laughed again and slowly swung her legs over the edge of bed. Her feet hit the cold floor with a soft smack and she grimaced. “You’re right. It’s a bit chilly in here.”