by K. L. Bone
The bar was a typical small town ‘lounge’, as they like to call the bars out in the Southwest United States. The half burnt-out flashing neon arrow blinked above the roofline of the Sportsman Lounge. There were various neon beer signs lit in the outside windows and a large tattered sign with the Pepsi logo plastered on the left side.
The door was open as I approached, propped by a small wooden chair that looked like it hadn’t been used for anything else in quite a while. Placing a smile on my face, I stepped through the small door into the smoke-filled room.
On my immediate right against the wall were two arcade games which no one was playing. In front of the games there were several tables with thirty or so people sitting in small groups talking amongst themselves. A song played in the background, drowning out a majority of the voices. It was a country song, though not one I could hope to identity being off the planet for over half my life. On my left, a row of eight stools stood beside the bar, of which only three were occupied. I slipped over to one of stools and sat down. A lady who appeared to be in her mid-thirties slid over from behind the bar, “Howdy. I’ve never seen you around here before.”
“Just passing through,” I replied.
“Well what can I get ya?”
I glanced behind her. The wooden shelves lining the wall behind the bar were filled with glasses. A dusty mirror hung between the shelves in desperate need of cleaning from all the smoke that filled the air. Nine fountains lined one shelf, each offering a different brand of beer. On the higher shelves, bottles of gin, rum, and hard liquors awaited just the right person to come and save them from their solitude. “How about a beam me up, Scotty?”
“Sure thing,” the waitress replied.
As she poured my drink I looked towards the far end of the bar. A new song was playing in the background, and as my eyes wandered, I found the small dance floor on the opposite side of the bar. Fifteen people danced in lines across the floor, all dressed in jeans and cowboy boots. I watched in fascination. Though I had been taught various forms of dance from countless planets across the Empire, this form proved unfamiliar. “Here you are,” the bartender said as she placed the prepared drink in front of me.
Seeming as no one else was ordering at that particular moment in time, I turned to her and offered a smile. “I don’t suppose you get many visitors here?”
She shrugged, “Small town, close neighbors, nothing really happening without everyone knowing about it.”
“Hm, then would I be safe to assume you know Ryan?” I asked, trying to make the question as casual as possible.
“Afraid not. What does he look like?” I described him.
“Oh wait, do you mean Brian? I must not have heard you right. Sure, I know Brian. He’s lived in these parts for about two years.” Since the start of the resistance, I thought to myself. “He’s nice enough, not disliked by anyone, but rather quiet; kind of keeps to his own company.”
“I’m sorry, what kind of company?”
“A small group of friends; he’s here with them tonight. I used to try to get him to go out with me, but after I saw the girl he was with, I knew it was hopeless. See,” she motioned over to one of the tables closest to the dance floor.
At the side of the table sat a tall woman with long blond hair wearing a white shirt. She had a slight tan which looked darker than it really was in the low level of light. She had a bottle of beer in front of her and was laughing at something the man beside her had said. As my gaze traveled to her grinning companion, my breath caught in my throat.
Her companion had sandy brown hair and matching eyes. I knew that standing, he would reach six foot one and that in the light of day his eyes would appear more gold than brown. Wearing a shirt as black as his companion’s was white, I knew who he was. It was the face I had seen every night before closing my eyes, his picture posted on my “most wanted” wall directly across from the bed.
The bartender sighed, “Handsome isn’t he?”
“You’re telling me.”
“Brian’s the one on the dance floor. He sure loves to dance.”
I picked up my drink and took a sip as I searched the floor. Ah, there he was, dancing near the front of the line. He looked like he was having the time of his life. I sat at the bar for several minutes slowly sipping my drink, suddenly glad I had taken a pill to keep the alcohol from affecting me.
When the song ended, Ryan took a seat while Kathleen and Darin took his place on the floor. I turned back to the bartender. “Does Mr. Brian have a usual drink?”
“Yep.”
“I’d like to buy him a round of whatever that is.”
She returned the smile I hadn’t realized was on my face. “Sure thing.”
A few minutes later I watched as a waitress delivered the drink and Ryan looked up surprised as she pointed me out among the crowd. He waved uncertainly as he accepted. I stood from the stool, my own drink in hand, and sauntered over to Ryan’s table. As I reached a chair beside him, I tossed a strand of hair back over my shoulder. “May I?”
“Please,” he answered as I took a seat beside him.
“How are you this fine night?” I asked.
“Pretty good,” he replied, still trying to figure out who I was. “And you?”
“Fantastic,” I said, drawing out the word.
Then he gave up. “I’m sorry, who are you?”
“Chrissa,” I replied. “I’m kind of new to these parts and couldn’t help but notice you alone over here while your friends were off on the floor. Thought I might introduce myself.”
“Well,” he said, taking a drink. “I certainly like your way of saying hello. I’m Brian.”
“Pleased to meet you,” at last, I added silently.
“So how long have you been here?” his speech was slightly slurred and the smell of alcohol clung to his breath.
“I’ve been coming and going,” I lied. “Kind of house-hunting at the moment.”
“Really, why here, if you don’t mind me asking.”
I shrugged, figuring out answers as I went. “It is kind of a long story, but to make it simple, I’m rather wealthy and have realized over the last few years that what I really want is to kind of disappear for a while. I just need to get away, you know? And besides,” I added, “It is so beautiful out here.”
“I don’t know,” Ryan said. “It’s hot; 105˚ yesterday.”
I tilted my head a little and took a breath of the smoke filled air. “I don’t mind the heat that much. It’s rather cold in…Chicago.” I had almost said space!
“Chicago, huh?” I nodded. We spent the next few songs talking about the weather, the area and any other thing that came to mind.
Then we were interrupted by a voice asking, “Who’s your friend?” I turned around, my heart beating way to fast, and looked up into Darin Hoyle’s face while Ryan gave a brief introduction.
“Chrissa, I’d like you to meet Kyle and Kathy,” I ignored the lie, and shook hands in turn with Darin and Kathleen.
“Glad to meet you,” I answered. If you only knew.
Darin and Kathleen, another face on the Empire’s most wanted list, sat down with us. I waved down a waiter again and ordered a round of drinks for everyone to a chorus of thank yous. A while later the drinks were still flowing and clearly affecting my companions. Then to my surprise, Darin said, “So, Chrissa, since you are planning to move here, what do you think about those Rockies?”
I looked at him for a moment, suddenly wondering if he was less intoxicated than I originally thought. The answer was something most Setians would not know. “Well, I would have to say I hate them since they are one of the chief rivals to the Diamondbacks.”
“You’re a baseball fan then?” Darin asked.
“No,” I replied, “but my brother was.”
“So,” Ryan asked, changing the subject as the waitress brought yet another round for everyone. “You said you were wealthy, huh? How wealthy?”
“Wealthy enough,” then an ide
a hit me. “Nothing extraordinary, but well, I’ve always been a kind of, collector of cars.”
“Really?” Ryan sat up straighter, suddenly extremely interested. “What kind of cars, exactly?”
“Well,” I replied with a smile, “my favorite is a vintage 1957 Corvette. White with red interior; only thing not original is the engine, which has been altered with a few…special upgrades.”
“No way!” Ryan said. “You’re playing with me.”
I shook my head. “No really, I absolutely love my car. In fact,” I added, “Do you want to see it?”
“Wait, you mean, it’s here?” he asked with a look of awe on his face.
“Of course,” I grinned, “wouldn’t drive anything else.” I sounded excited even to myself, “Do you want to see it?”
“Heck yeah!”
“I want to come to!” Darin sounded equally enthusiastic.
“Sure thing. I hate to admit this, but I love showing off my car. It’s parked on the left side of the building.” I bent my head down so that I was absolutely sure that my security detail would hear my voice in the microphone. “Want to come outside now?” I asked. Both men were on their feet before I was even finished with the question. “Guess so.”
Kathleen and I stood from the table and walked at a leisurely pace towards the door, the excited boys walking just in front of us. “A real 57,” I heard Ryan say, as if he were a kid being handed a new toy.
Darin cracked some joke a few seconds later, and we exited the building laughing amongst ourselves. “It’s over there,” I motioned, “just to the left.” It was dark outside, nearly 2 AM. I inhaled deeply several times, breathing smoke-free air for the first time in hours, though my lungs claimed it had been much longer. Coughing as we came around the corner Darin asked, “So where’s the…”
“Don’t move!” his question was cut off. Thirty men surrounded us. I put up my hands, so not to spook anyone in the surrounding darkness.
“What’s going on?” Darin demanded.
“My Lady,” Lord Kavra was suddenly there by the men. He grabbed me, jerking me away from the captives and out of the line of fire. My men moved in, physically seizing the captives and forcing them to the ground.
“No!” Kathleen screamed. “Help!”
Two men who had been in the front of the building came running at her call. “What the hell?” one of them asked when he took in the scene. Before I could answer, two men who were not usually listed among my guard stepped forward.
“FBI!” they said, flashing their badges at the locals.
“I took the liberty of calling some of our people working for the investigation division,” Lord Kavra informed me. “I thought it might make things go more smoothly.”
“Nice,” I replied.
As the two agents dealt with the locals, I turned back to the captives and surrounding guard. Darin was still demanding an explanation, hoping, I suppose, that he was wrong in assuming we were the Empire.
“Hello, Darin,” I said, cutting all pretense of not knowing who he was. “You know, it’s not nice to lie.” Then I turned to the other two, “Ryan, Kathleen, it really was great to finally meet you. In fact, the pleasure is all mine.”
“You’re the Empire?” Kathleen said, half asking, half knowing.
“Sorry guys,” I replied. “It would seem I forgot the car after all. But,” I added, “in the meantime, it would be my pleasure to offer you an extensive tour of the fastest and most technologically advanced ships of the Empire.”
“Ships?” Ryan asked, the alcohol clearly affecting him. “Space ships?”
“Yep,” I replied. “Lord Kasar’s, to be exact.”
The captives were bound hand and foot, and then gagged. Once bound, Darin, Ryan, and Kathleen were placed in transports and taken back to the ship. “They are not to be harmed,” I ordered. The affair had taken approximately six hours, and it was now early morning in standard Setian time. Half-way towards the ship, I received a transmission and was ordered to Lord Kasar’s ship. Lord Kavra was standing beside me. “What is that human expression,” he asked, “time to face the music?”
I smiled, “the only one who will be facing anything is Jetreal.”
We flew to Lord Kasar’s ship, where he was waiting for us on the main deck. My father stood in the center of the room. His dark hair was still long, tied back loosely with a golden clasp. It took several moments for my eyes to travel elsewhere in the room to where Lord Jetreal stood. In his crude Horde body, there was nothing pretty or cute about him. Physically he towered over my father, yet if a person were to take the time to be around him, as I had, one would notice that there was something missing where he was concerned. My father carried an aura about him that Jetreal just…didn’t seem to have. What he did have, on the other hand, was anger.
“My Lady,” Lord Kasar began, but was interrupted when Jetreal cut in.
“You deliberately disobeyed me!” he shouted. “Oh you are in trouble now; there is no getting out of this. I will see you demoted for it. Demoted and if I have anything to say about it, which I assure you I do, infested. Making you a member of this Empire was a mistake on the councils’ part and you will pay. You wil…,”
“Jetreal!” Lord Kasar commanded sharply. “You will cease these words!”
In response, Jetreal laughed. “Oh no, you don’t! You can’t protect her this time. She deliberately disobeyed a superior order, and it would seem that Lord Kavra did so as well. Wonders never cease. Two down, one to go.”
“Jetreal!” my father said again, anger flaring in his own voice. “If you do not be quiet then I shall have you punished for the same crime you now accuse Lady Dehartra.”
“And what is that?”
“Disobeying a superior commander!”
“My Lord Kasar,” I said calmly, “Pray, let me speak.” He nodded. I then told him about the information received from Lukare fifteen and my argument with Lord Jetreal. “He just dismissed the information,” I said. “But there was something about it, something so real, so tangible that ordering me back to bed was the wrong decision.”
“This does not change that fact that she violated a direct order,” Jetreal said.
“I found him,” I cut in.
A moment of silence then, “What?”
Pausing between each word, “I found him.”
“You found Ryan?” my father asked. “Ryan Shore.”
“Yes, but I also brought you a bigger prize.”
Silence followed. I stared at Lord Kasar. Then I smiled for his eyes alone. Slowly, he started to smile back.
“I have in the belly of your ship the number one leader of the resistance of Earth.”
“You captured Darin!” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, my Lord.”
The angered flush slowly drained from Lord Jetreal’s face. “D a r i n,” he said.
“Yes. Lord Kasar, I found him. I found Darin Hoyle. He is being transferred to a holding cell as we speak, along with two of his top commanders, Ryan Shore and Kathleen Law.”
I gave Lord Kasar the full weight of my gaze. “Now, I would like to inform the council that, I could have gone back to bed as ordered by Lord Jetreal, but instead I decided to capture the leaders of the Earth resistance.” I turned to Lord Jetreal and brought my hands up in a weighing jester. “So sorry my Lord, would you like me to take them back to Earth and return to bed?”
News of our adventure spread through the Empire. Lord Jetreal was executed by the Council for his insolence and failure, along with the council member who had recommended his appointment into one of the top ten positions. Three days later, I was summoned to appear before the Council. As I entered the familiar chambers, I gave a low bow. As usual, it was Lord Vektor who addressed me. “Greetings, my Lady Dehartra Kasar.”
“Greetings, Councilor Vektor.”
The Councilor paused and then said, “I assume you know why you have been summoned here today?”
“I assume nothing, my L
ord.”
Vektor nodded, “always the perfect answer.” He cleared his throat. “We here at the council find ourselves in a bit of a quandary, my Lady.”
“And what is that, Councilors?”
“That you are so very young.” He shook his head, then smiled. “Yet your record is so unrivaled, so majestic. I suppose there is only one thing to do.”
“Forgive me, my Lord. I don’t understand.”
“Fellow Lords and Councilors,” Vektor addressed the room. “At the age of fourteen, Lady Chrissalynn Dehartra Kasar devised a plan that won the Battle of Trests at which time we, as Councilors, began to pay special attention. At the age of seventeen, she won the Battle of Palta, for which she was granted the rank of a Setian Lady. At nineteen, she assisted in a major victory in the Seltas Galaxy, for which she was raised in rank to the third highest commander within the Empire. Now, at twenty-one, she has again proven her worth and leadership by successfully capturing the leaders of the Earth Resistance, something her superiors had proven unable to do.”
He drew a deep breath. “Now, it is the judgment of this Council and my personal honor to bestow upon Lady Dehartra the rank of Councilor, and grant her all rights and powers that come with such an esteemed title.”
“Councilor?” I was stunned. “Surely, Councilor Vektor, Lord Kasar is next in line.”
“The victory was yours, my Lady, not Kasar’s. As were all of the victories that I have just listed. You have earned the right to sit upon this governing body, my Lady.” He stood from his chair and turned back to those seated among the crowd. “I give you Councilor Dehartra Kasar.”
“Thank you,” was all I could manage.
The Emperor stood from the left side of the room and said, “You will return to Earth, my Lady, and assist Lord Kasar in the final conquest of Setian Colony 428. Then you will be in command of the impending attack on the Lorid home defenses.”
I gave a bow before him and said, “Yes, my Lord,” before turning and leaving the room. Lord Kavra also received a promotion for the capture, to second in command of the military behind Lord Kasar.
Meanwhile, the prisoners who had been captured that fateful day were transferred to Lord Kasar’s personal ship for containment until the end of the war, when they would be taken back to Earth to be held with the rest of the rebel forces.