by Ron Schrader
“I need her to break,” were the words of anger that gradually slipped from his mind to his lips, filling the bridge with the echoing sound of his rage.
“You wanted to see me, sir?” came a welcome interruption as the general quickly turned to face Dr. Carter who now stood sheepishly before him. “I heard over the interco—”
“Yes, Doctor. We need to have a chat,” said the general, his tone more controlled and calm now. “Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.” With that, the general turned and walked mechanically toward the main door of the bridge. The door opened to reveal a large hallway that abruptly split in two, spanning the length of the massive ship. “Please, Dr. Carter, follow me to my quarters,” he said as he headed down the right hallway toward the first door outside the bridge.
The two men entered General Quinn’s private quarters, where the general planned on motivating Carter into compliance with his request.
“Please, Doctor, have a seat,” the general said politely.
Carter quickly obeyed while the general disappeared into another room for a moment.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he called out from the room. “I’ll be back out in a few minutes.”
From his room, the general waited, briefly watching Carter through a monitor fed by a hidden camera in his quarters. He watched as Carter looked around the room, quickly becoming fixated on a trophy wall where various animal heads were mounted.
“Some great memories there,” said the general as he entered the room and startled Carter.
“Yes, I imagine they are, sir,” replied the doctor.
Still watching him closely, the general could see that Carter’s fixation was not on the trophies but on a framed picture that sat in the middle. The picture showed a slightly younger General in a hunting pose, standing over the dead bodies of what appeared to be two men. This single image appeared to cause the doctor a great deal of discomfort as he began to squirm where he sat.
“Dr. Carter, please tell me we’re making some semblance of progress with our special guest.” The sentence was delivered in a very calm and patient tone. “I wouldn’t want to have to replace you, now would I?” He watched as Carter’s eyes focused once again on the picture.
“I’m doing everything I know how s-sir,” replied Carter, looking everywhere but directly at the general. “She’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”
“Tell me something I don’t already know!” yelled the general, now becoming tense, hoping to obtain what he wanted through intimidation alone. “It seems to me that you’re running out of time!” His tone was forceful and precise, which meant only one thing: he was telling Dr. Carter the simple truth. When the drugs no longer worked, she would wake up, and with Carter’s research incomplete—well, General Quinn was not prepared to let that happen. He needed an army with her capabilities, and he expected Dr. Carter’s research to make that possible.
“I’ve collected numerous blood samples,” Carter asserted, “but my findings have been limited.”
“And what about your dream research? You assured me you could learn what you needed from her mind. Have you made any progress there?”
“Very little,” replied Carter. “I don’t think she believes the story I’ve implanted in her mind. She’s . . .”
“She’s what?” demanded the general.
“She’s fighting it, sir. I can’t get her to tell me much of anything.”
Swinging his arm across the table he now stood next to, the general connected with a ceramic mug that went flying across the room and shattered against the wall. “You’re time’s almost up!” he yelled.
The next several minutes were spent in silence as the general stood hunched over the table, his hands gripping the edges as if he meant to crush them flat. He took a deep breath, thinking about his first encounter with the girl, reliving in his mind the vision of that night when he’d witnessed her inhuman strength. They had to figure out how she’d gotten her power so he could have it too. But if she were to wake up too early, he knew she’d likely prove difficult to stop.
“I hope you understand, Doctor, that if she wakes up, you’re likely to be the first casualty of this little experiment of ours. Now get out of my room and do your job!”
With that welcome invitation, Dr. Carter quickly vanished from the general’s presence, leaving the general once more to his own thoughts as he began to formulate a backup plan in his mind. After what he’d done to her, keeping her sedated and using her as a lab rat, General Quinn knew very well that this innocent-looking girl would tear him limb from limb if she were to ever get the chance. All that stood between him and death were the sedatives that, even with regular increasing dosages, were becoming less effective with each and every use. He needed results and he needed them soon.
Now that Dr. Carter had a new motivation to solve their pressing issue, General Quinn had decided to check in on the mining process, his initial reason for coming to Esaria to begin with.
The general headed out of his room and toward the bridge. Just opposite the entrance to the bridge, he turned to face the doors of an elevator that opened promptly as he walked toward them. The lift took him down three levels to the belly of the ship, where the airlock and exit could be found.
Just outside the airlock, the general grabbed an assault rifle from one side of the room where several were neatly organized on wall mounts. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and headed to the airlock, making sure to grab a filter mask before entering.
The filter masks had been specifically designed to filter the mild toxins from the planet’s atmosphere. While the indigenous people of Esaria had the benefit of lungs that could tolerate the toxins that had gradually built up over time, anyone unaccustomed to the tainted oxygen would become asphyxiated over the course of several hours, leading to a rather slow and painful death.
The mask itself was a simple standalone design that covered the face of the wearer with a scratch-resistant plastic shield, curved and padded with a special foam substance to allow a tight fit without breach. A small section at the bottom near the chin contained the airflow and filtration unit that scrubbed the oxygen as it entered the mask. The filter was a carbon-ceramic hybrid that was self-cleaning and had a lifespan of several years, allowing the wearer to function like normal thanks to its simplistic tankless design.
With everything he needed, the general stepped into the airlock. As it began its rotation to allow the general to leave the ship, he casually placed the filter mask over his face.
Stepping out onto the dry soil, the general surveyed the area briefly as he always did. Aside from the toxic air, Esaria really posed no major threat to him or his soldiers, but it was in his very nature to be cautious regardless. Once satisfied, the general walked over to a line of air-to-ground vehicles, or AGVs, designed for low planetary flight.
AGVs were small three-to five-man vehicles with an open cage construction and four rotating thrusters, two on each side. They were equipped with the ability to enable an energy glass atmosphere system, or E-GLas, which created an energy field capable of maintaining an atmosphere inside the vehicle. Its design was limited to planetary travel as E-GLas was not designed for the pressures of space, but AGVs could fly high enough to cover most ground-based obstacles at a maximum speed of approximately 120 kph, making them an incredibly versatile vehicle for the terrain and conditions on Esaria.
Leaving the E-GLas off for his current errand, the general fired up the engine and positioned the air thrusters for takeoff. Seconds later he was several feet above the ground, soaring in the direction of the mining operation that was a major part of his plans and a pleasant break from his frustrations with the girl.
~
Upon leaving the general’s quarters, Dr. Carter went straight to the lab, which was situated in the middle of the ship, not far from the bridge. During his short walk, Dr. Carter spent the time racking his brain for anything he’d missed. He already knew how dangerous his patient could be if she woke u
p, but her body’s ability to fight off the sedative increased a little every day.
As he approached the doors to the lab, the security sensor above the entry ran its normal automated body scan, recognizing the doctor in a split second. Without even a pause in his stride, the doors slid open, allowing him entry into the lab, where he quickly made his way to the center of the room and sat in a chair next to the table where his subject lay strapped and sedated.
“She’s such a beautiful creature.” He spoke quietly as he stared at her, knowing full well what a ruse her beauty really was. Her smooth, tanned skin seemed almost perfect as he caressed her arm, trying to come up with the solution he’d been missing. If he couldn’t find another way to keep his specimen in this dreamlike state, her beauty may be the last thing he’d ever see.
Sitting here now, he found himself wondering whom he feared more, the girl or the general. It was a close contest, but he believed that with the girl, he might at least get a chance to explain if she did wake up. Maybe she would even let him go. The general, on the other hand, would most likely reward his failure with a bullet to the head. No explanation necessary.
His team had been assigned the task of researching her DNA with the intent of both removing as well as mass-producing her unique abilities. But even after numerous attempts to extract her DNA from the blood samples he’d taken, the doctor had met with failure after failure. It was extremely more complex than anything he’d ever seen before, and he just needed more time to understand it, time he was running out of.
With each dose, her body was building immunity to the strong sedative he’d been using to keep her in a dreamlike state. Chloromethoxidol, known as chloromex, was the only substance he’d found that kept her sedated. Only each day, a stronger dose was required to achieve the same effect.
While even the initial dose he’d started her on was enough to kill most ordinary men, her body worked differently and had been acclimating to the drug with each dose. If he didn’t achieve his objectives soon, he’d have no way to keep her sedated. And after seeing her in action just a few weeks earlier, he wasn’t about to put all his trust in the steel bars that held her securely against the thick metal table. But he just didn’t know enough about her—including why she even had these abilities to begin with. Without her help, which it was doubtful she’d ever give freely, he feared the worst would soon become reality. So for now, all he could do was to continue increasing the chloromex doses and hope the drug would keep her under long enough for him to find what he was after.
Carter stood and walked over to his workstation, returning to her bedside with a tray holding a syringe and several glass vials. After filling each of them with her blood, he carefully carried the tray back to his workstation and began to work methodically, running tests and experimenting with the samples. He was determined to solve the puzzle he’d been handed or die trying, which he knew would happen soon if he didn’t make progress.
Chapter 7
Not your typical young woman, Kalla Zar had led a life that forced her to literally fight her way to the top—if you could really even call it that. Abandoned at the age of five on Childus15, a small moon of Dar in the Tri Systems, she had learned to take care of herself amidst a population that consisted primarily of thugs, smugglers, and pirates. Growing up with those types and you either learned to survive and take care of yourself or you became someone’s slave. The third alternative was death.
Not only did she survive, but with the help of Aurelia Zar, her mentor, Kalla had learned to use looks and charm to her advantage; and it didn’t hurt that she was naturally athletic and strong for a girl.
When she was twenty-five, her acquired skills had helped her to procure a ship in a card game turned violent. It’s true she had cheated, hoping her girlish charm would soften the outcome, but her opponent—a mean old pirate by the name of Grivs—wasn’t having it and drew on her. Though to his surprise, she was the faster gun, and since no one but Kalla ever knew she had actually cheated, the incident was chalked up to self-defense. Being the lawless planet it was, she was awarded the dead captain’s ship, along with his crew, who didn’t seem to mind the change in leadership.
Alone now, her crew dead, she stood on the top of the cliffs, a feeling of solitude closing in on her. She looked out across the landscape, taking in the eerie beauty of the vision before her—the heavy fog that covered the lower valley as far as her eyes could see.
Panning the view below, she crouched down, holding her hand up to her forehead to shield her eyes from the bright sunlight that still burned, but only mildly now. As she tried to get a better look at her surroundings, Kalla did notice that the pain of the sunlight had gradually begun to fade. Jarek was right, she thought to herself. With each second she seemed to feel more comfortable under the piercing light, more at home, like she remembered before ever coming to this place.
After taking her fill of the view of the valley floor, Kalla turned in a clockwise direction, surveying the area on top of the cliffs, looking for any sign of life. Eventually she planned on getting off this barren rock, but she’d need to fix her ship first. Everything seemed to look the same as her eyes scanned the distance until finally, on another cliff that had to be at least twenty kilometers from where she stood, Kalla noticed a small patch of green with several reflective objects mingled with the unusual color. Everything else was either blue sky, red rock, or fog, allowing the green color of trees and bushes to stand out quite well with her exceptional vision. As she strained her eyes even more, she swore there was movement within the plant life off in the distance.
“Those are the people who are still, well, people,” said Jarek as Kalla jumped, startled by his presence.
“Where did you come fr—How long have you . . . ?”
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Jarek said. “I followed you up. Haven’t been here long, though.”
“Must be tough for them, living on this planet.”
“Yeah, I imagine so,” Jarek replied. “At least they’re relatively safe from the Vie up here. I watched them struggle for a few years, though, trying to grow things in this rock. But they figured it out. They seem to be doing all right, I guess.”
“So are they the ones that tried to kill you? . . . Left you for dead?” Kalla asked as she turned toward Jarek, looking him straight in the eye.
He broke eye contact and looked off into the distance toward the settlement, a hint of sadness crossing his face.
“I’m sorry, Jarek.” She spoke softly. “You don’t have to come with me, but I need their help—if they’re even able to help.”
“Look, my entire life I’ve been the outsider. Not really anything new for me,” he finally said after a moment of silence. “And after what happened . . .”
“I get it,” replied Kalla. “You leave them alone, they leave you alone. Not a bad arrangement, I suppose. Better than being shot at, right?” Kalla smiled in an effort to lighten the mood a little, but Jarek only gave a half smile in return.
“It’s not what I wanted—this life—but I’m better off on my own anyway.” He stood abruptly and began heading back toward the edge of the cliff.
“Wait,” Kalla begged as she stood up and faced Jarek. “Where are you going?” she asked, really hoping he’d come with her.
“Home,” Jarek said nothing else but smiled politely before jumping over the edge and disappearing from Kalla’s sight.
A little disappointed, Kalla sat down and looked at the ground as she felt a degree of sorrow for her new friend. How awful to live alone for most of your life, she thought, wishing she could do something to take away his pain, but in her own way, she understood. She’d lost everything, and although she felt a friendship growing between her and Jarek, she still felt very alone in what she was going through. These feelings seemed to be driving her to fix her ship, the one thing that still remained. She still intended to find a way off this rock whether Jarek wanted any part or not. Of course, that also meant she’d probabl
y have to face the Vie again if she wanted to retrieve her ship, but things would be different now.
She took off running toward the village off in the distance, noticing right away that she could run much faster now than she could before. In no time at all, she reached the edge of a tree line, the only thing that now stood between her and the village. Knowing the distance was over twenty kilometers, she was bewildered by the fact that she’d run the entire stretch in a matter of minutes.
Wondering what else she could do, Kalla pulled the dagger from her side and sliced into her hand, remembering Jarek’s demonstration. Gripping the dagger tightly in her fist, she sat down and found herself remembering Aurelia, remembering all of the good times they’d had together. She remembered when Aurelia had found her, how the two had bonded so quickly. She couldn’t help but notice the parallel with Jarek, how she felt strangely close to him in such a short time.
With Jarek on her mind again, she looked back at her hand to find it had completely healed, not even a trace of a scar. In that moment, she realized that Jarek needed to come with her. She couldn’t make logical sense of it. It just felt right. They were somehow connected now, and she couldn’t do this without him.
She ran back to the edge of the cliff, once more clearing the distance with ease. She paused and glanced back at the village. Not sure if they’d be able to help her or not, she figured that having the damaged stabilizer to show them might at least increase her chances.