by Darko, Luke
She knew that Kellenar Ragen would most likely kill her long before they ever reached Lathos if she set foot back on his ship, but she was willing to risk it if it meant saving Matt’s life. The thought of him spending the next twenty or thirty years in prison here on his home planet wasn’t a comforting one, but it was better than having him killed by Ragen. She would gladly return to Lathos if the general would agree to let Matt stay on Earth.
It wasn’t that Xandra wanted to die. She was no martyr. She couldn’t care less about the politics of Earth or Lathos. The two worlds could tear themselves apart for all she cared, as long as she and Matt could be together.
That wasn’t entirely true, of course. The thought of General Ragen starting a war was all the more reason for her to agree to go with him. The thought of Earth’s PDF destroying him in a fiery battle had some appeal, but Xandra didn’t think she could live with the thought of innocent lives being lost in a fight that she had the power to prevent, even if it meant her own life would be forfeit. Besides, she had a hard time believing that Earth’s governing body, this General Assembly she had been told about, would allow her to remain there anyway. Not with General Ragen pointing all of his weapons at their planet. She would gladly do as General Weathers had suggested and request asylum if she thought it would solve anything, but she knew it wouldn’t. No matter which way she looked at it, Ragen was going to win. The best she could hope to do was make sure Matt’s life was spared.
She moved away from the window to look at her reflection in the mirror. The color was starting to return to her skin. She brushed her blonde hair away from her sad gray eyes and wondered if she would ever see Matt again. She went back to the table and took another bite of the apple. It really was quite good.
A buzzer sounded to let her know someone was at the door. The apartment that had been arranged for her was simple, yet comfortable. She had a lovely view of Earth’s capital, a city called Paris. She had a soft couch to sit on and a view screen that provided access to entertainment and news. The latter had been mostly about her, Matt, and the Lathonian Armada bearing down on Earth, so she mostly left the view screen off. She had a comfortable bed and a food dispenser that provided anything she wanted. The only thing she was lacking was Matt. She knew it wasn’t him that was at the door now, and the video sensor next to it showed that General Weathers was waiting. She touched the panel below the monitor and the door slid open to admit him.
“Hello, General,” she said as she showed him to the couch and forced a smile. “How nice to see you again.”
“It’s nice to see you too, Miss Torin,” he said. Xandra genuinely liked the ebony-skinned man. In many ways, he reminded her of her grandfather. She just wished they could have met under better circumstances. “Are you getting everything you need?”
“At the risk of sounding ungrateful, no, I’m not,” she admitted. “What I need most is to have all the charges against Matt dropped so that the two of us can leave. That would solve Earth’s problem. General Ragen would come after us and forget all about you.”
“Miss Torin, we’ve been through this,” said the general with a slight sigh and a soft smile. Xandra’s grandfather used to give her the same expression when he was about to explain to her why she couldn’t have her way about something. “Matt Britton is a criminal. There are men and women coming in from at least a dozen worlds who want to testify at his trial. The only way he won’t stand trial here is if the General Assembly decides to give him over to your people.”
“It would be as good as a death sentence for him if they do.”
“Miss Torin, I know you say you’re in love with Matt,” said the general, sounding exasperated, “but I’ve known Matt his whole life. He’s a liar and a thief. His life hasn’t amounted to much of anything. His actions are why all of us, including you, are in this mess in the first place. He says he’s willing to give up his life for yours. I say let him do it. I’ll go before the General Assembly and insist my soldiers be allowed to escort you back to Lathos. Once you’ve arrived safely you can explain everything to your father.”
“General Ragen would never agree to that,” Xandra said. “Once we left Earth, he would just attack your fleet and kill me anyway.”
“He might find that harder than he thinks.”
“Even so, it would still cause a war. Unless you can come up with a solution that keeps me here, gets Matt out of that cell, and guarantees no loss of life for your people or mine, I’m afraid I’m going to have to get on Ragen’s ship. Whether you care to see it or not, my actions are just as much to blame for everything that has happened as Matt’s. I can’t allow any further loss of innocent life if I can avoid it.”
“I guess you leave me with no choice,” the general said, shaking his head. “I’m going to have to go to the General Assembly and demand they not turn Matt over to Ragen and that you be held here until we can verify that you are indeed the daughter of the Lathonian Chancellor. That will keep you alive for at least another week or two.”
“General, did you not hear anything I just said?”
“I heard it all, Miss Torin, if that really is your name,” he said with a broad smile. “With Lathos being so far across the galaxy, I have no way to contact them from Earth directly to find out if either you or this Kellenar Ragen is telling the truth. Knowing Matt Britton, he paid you off to tell this story and get him out of some trouble he found himself in.”
“General Weathers, that is the most ridiculous story I have ever heard,” said Xandra, pressing her fists against her hips as she regarded the man.
“Yes, well, as much as I hate to say so, I know a thing or two about politicians and the way their minds work. There’s a pretty good chance the General Assembly will be confused by my tale just long enough for me to figure a way out of this mess.”
“You say you don’t think much of Matt, but this makes me wonder how sincere you are about that.”
“I thought the world of Matt’s father, and as saddened as I believe he would be over what his son has become, I know he wouldn’t want to see his son’s fate be placed in the hands of an alien general of questionable integrity, but that isn’t the reason I’m doing this.”
“Then why?” asked Xandra.
“Let’s just say that I’ve seen enough in our brief time together to understand why, after everything he’s done, Matt Britton is willing to give up his life to save yours. Now come with me.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you to see Matt.”
Chapter Three
“Matt Britton, you have a visitor,” said the guard as he approached Matt’s cell. Matt had been lying on his cot and reading one of the books he was allowed to have. He had waived his right to an attorney, and General Weathers had left earlier in a huff, so Matt had no idea who could be coming to see him now. He looked up and was surprised to see the general coming towards his cell. He was even more surprised by who was with him. As soon as she entered, Matt jumped to his feet, ran to Xandra, and kissed her warmly.
“It’s so good to see you!” he said when their lips finally parted.
“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, wiping the tears from her eyes and then kissing him again.
“This is not a conjugal visit,” said General Weathers from the other side of the force field. “I’m standing right here.”
“Thank you for bringing me, General,” said Xandra.
“I still don’t know what you see in him,” the man said firmly. “Take as much time as you like. I’ll have someone waiting to take you back to your room when you’re done, but remember there are monitors in these cells. Try not to do anything that would be embarrassing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to talk to a room full of politicians.”
“What’s he talking about?” asked Matt as he watched the general walk away.
“He’s going to try and convince the General Assembly to keep me here on Earth while he sends a ship to contact Lathos and check on my story. He seems
to think that if they can be made to question my story, it might buy him some time to get rid of Ragen without either of us having to go back to Lathos with him.”
“Brian Weathers may be a pain in the ass, but he’s a smart man,” said Matt.
“He’s been nothing but nice to me,” Xandra scolded.
“Either way, I’m glad he found a way to keep you away from Ragen. If anyone can figure out how to keep you safe now, it’s him.”
“Even if he does, it still won’t get you out of this cell,” she pointed out. “At some point I’m going to have to go back to Lathos and convince my father to submit an official request that you be released. You wouldn’t be in this mess if you weren’t trying to save my life.”
“Your life wouldn’t have needed saving if you weren’t with me in the first place,” he reminded her.
“I was exactly where I wanted to be. My only regret is that now you’re in here and I can’t be with you.”
“Xandra, this was going to happen to me eventually anyway. You’re a smart, beautiful woman. Take the chance General Weathers is giving you. Let him find a way to get you away from Ragen once and for all and start a new life for yourself. The truth is that I would have gotten bored with you eventually anyway. You deserve better than a common smuggler.”
“Don’t do that, Matt,” said Xandra, and Matt could tell by her tone that she was hurt. “It won’t work. I know you’re trying to find a way to get me to distance myself from you because you think it’s for my own good. I told you back on your ship that your past doesn’t matter to me. Like it or not, I’m in love with you, and that means I’m going to do everything in my power to be with you, even if that means risking my life to get you out of there.”
“Okay, fine,” he said. “The truth is that I do love you and the thought of not getting to be with you is killing me, but there’s another thought that’s even worse. If you try to go back to Lathos as long as General Ragen is around, then you’re going to be killed. I can’t live with the thought of that happening just because you were trying to help me.”
“And I can’t live with the thought of you spending the next thirty years of your life in prison, or worse, knowing I could have tried to help you and didn’t.”
“Will you look at the two of us?” said Matt, rubbing his thin beard as he sat down on the cot. He turned his blue eyes on Xandra as she sat next to him. “All my life, all I cared about was myself. All I ever wanted was to make a quick buck, have some fun, or preferably both at the same time. That was my entire reason for being on Lathos and at that party where we met. You only cared about finding your own excitement and escaping your miserable existence. We both had selfishness down to an art form, and now here we both are, willing to sacrifice ourselves for the other one.”
“I’d say we’ve both come a long way in the past few weeks, but the truth is that I feel like I’m right back where I started. I selfishly want you in my life because you are exciting and you make me feel like I’ve found a part of me that’s missing.
“My father helped to start a revolution on Lathos, not because he wanted power but because he wanted a better life for his people. He hasn’t always made that happen, but he’s always tried to put their needs above his own. I want to believe I’m following his example by trying to help you, but in reality it’s all about me and wanting to be with you.”
“I guess I’m the same way,” said Matt. “My father spent his life in service to his people. His final act was ensuring the safety of others. I’m telling everyone that I’m willing to give up my life if it means you get to live yours, but the truth is that I’d let Weathers and Ragen blow each other to bits if it meant we could be together.”
“So where does all of this leave us?”
“I don’t know,” Matt admitted. “Just promise me you won’t do anything until Weathers has a chance to talk to the GA.”
“That’s an easy promise to make,” she said with a smile. “I don’t think I’ll be given the chance even if I wanted it. I just hope Ragen doesn’t decide that he’s going to do something foolish first.”
“I have this voice in my head that always tries to guide me when I’m confused or in trouble. As surprising as it sounds, that voice is telling me right now to be patient and that this isn’t over yet.”
“I hope your voice is right,” she said right before giving him one more kiss. “For now, I think I better leave before I rip that jumpsuit off of you and give the guards watching the monitor one hell of a show.”
“I love you, Xandra,” said Matt as he hugged her close.
“I love you too,” she whispered in his ear. She lingered for another few moments and then was gone.
Only a moment after she had left, the guard announced that Matt had another visitor. Assuming Xandra had forgotten something, he jumped to his feet but was disappointed when he looked and saw the towering form of Ilyea Kurt standing in front of his cell. The guard dropped the force field and the big man stepped inside.
“Is that any way to greet your best friend?” the man chided as he rubbed the scar on his face and grinned at Matt.
“Ilyea, what are you doing here?” asked Matt. The man was standing there with an amused look on his face eyeing Matt like he was an animal in a zoo.
“You’re something of a celebrity. Earth has put out a call throughout the galaxy asking for anyone with information about crimes you may have committed to come here and testify. The message even reached me in my humble outpost.”
“I’ve been there, remember?” said Matt. “It isn’t that humble.”
“My point is, when I heard what your General Assembly was looking for, I asked myself, who knows more about what you do than me?”
“How much is the GA paying you?” Matt asked in a deadpan.
“Not a cent,” said Ilyea as he casually began pulling small items out of his pockets and piecing them together. “I just needed a reason to come and see you. The authorities here think I’m a legitimate businessman.”
“Ilyea, I didn’t steal from you. I stole for you.”
“I know that,” said Ilyea as he continued connecting pieces from his pockets. “The guards don’t know that, though. They think I’m down here to make sure you’re the man I have information about.”
“What are you building?”
“The security on this planet is awfully trusting. They have devices that scan to make sure you aren’t bringing in a bomb, but they don’t take into account that you might be carrying the components to make a bomb, if they’re assembled correctly, of course.”
“There are security cameras that watch what we’re doing,” said Matt urgently.
“I know,” said Ilyea with a smile. “I’m counting on it.”
“Sir, step away from the doorway!” said a guard with a particle weapon pointed in the big man’s direction.
“Whatever you say, officer,” said Ilyea. Instead of moving away from the force field, however, he jammed the device he had been building against it. By now several guards had assembled in front of Matt’s cell. When the device made contact with the force field, it sent an energy pulse of some sort into the hallway and away from the door to Matt’s cell. All of the guards there were thrown backwards and rendered unconscious.
“Okay, so it wasn’t really a bomb,” said Ilyea as he stepped out of the cell. He picked up one of the guard’s weapons for himself and handed another to Matt. “I just didn’t think they would have come running like they did if they knew I was making a forced energy emitter that can focus existing energy waves. Those guys are going to have one hell of a headache when they wake up. Now come on, I’m sure more guards are on their way by now.”
Matt took the weapon Ilyea offered and stepped through the threshold. When he saw a guard round the corner he leveled the gun and fired a blast that sent the man instantly to the floor. Ilyea gave him a surprised look as they ran down the now-deserted hallway.
“These weapons are only designed to stun,” Matt explained. �
�Here on Earth we believe in treating our prisoners humanely.”
“What a foolish concept,” said Ilyea as the two of them hurried along. “I guess in this case it’s better than having to blast holes in the wall though.” Twice more they encountered guards they had to stun before Ilyea pulled Matt down a small side corridor. It was clear to Matt this hadn’t been a spontaneous decision, so he was happy to allow himself to be led.
The corridor twisted and turned until they came to an access panel that Ilyea slid back and entered. Once inside, there was barely enough light for Matt to see that his large companion barely fit in the passage. They moved along in silence for a few minutes until Ilyea opened another panel and they emerged outside the prison wall, where a two-person ground transport was waiting.
“If squeezing my big ass down that tunnel isn’t enough to prove we’re friends, then I don’t know what more I have to do,” said Ilyea as he worked the controls that allowed the transport to hover above the ground. In seconds they were moving away from the prison without any pursuit.
“How about telling me the real reason you risked your neck to break me out of a maximum security facility?”
“Please, if that’s Earth’s idea of “maximum security,” then I might as well move my base of operations here. The climate’s nicer and the women are better looking.”
“Stop avoiding the question,” said Matt. “What’s in all of this for you?”
“I need you to go back to Lathos and make sure that everyone there knows Kellenar Ragen is planning to assassinate Maxall Torin. With Torin in power, the sector runs smoothly. I can do business safely and in peace. If Ragen takes over, then he’s going to try and bring all of the other planets in the system under his rule as well. The war that would result would go on for years, and I won’t make any money.
“Torin knows what Ragen is up to, or at least he suspects, but he doesn’t have any proof. Without it he can’t risk moving against Ragen or the remainder of the military not loyal to him will rally to his side. You need to go and give him the proof he needs.”