by Sarah Noffke
“Good idea,” said Kal. “It’s good to see you aren’t a complete idiot sometimes.”
“Right,” said Lars, leaving it at that. He marched away from them and into a separate hallway. It was empty, giving him a moment to think. He wanted to find out more about these prisoners and their accusations.
Lars shot a glance in the direction of the brig. If those humans were right, then the Brotherhood had killed hundreds, maybe even thousands of civilians. There was a good chance that they might even incite a war with the Federation. If that happened, Lars’ family would be in serious danger.
He felt panic rising in his chest. He’d gone and volunteered for this job with the hopes of protecting his brother, but what if it was all for nothing? What if a fleet of ships showed up next month and destroyed Kezza and all its colonies? All of Lars’ sacrifices would have been for nothing.
Did Orsa understand any of this? Did the rest of the Brotherhood? Or were they more concerned with vengeance and land than the lives of innocent Kezzin families? Knowing the people in this base, Lars was certain he knew the answer to that question.
***
Eddie kicked the hard-light cell door with his foot. He hated small spaces. Specifically, cages like this one. Just wait until I get out of here, thought Eddie, staring at the door to the outer hall, like he was trying to burn a hole in it. I’ll kick that Orsa guy’s ass. He shook his head. No, I need to focus on getting the hell out of here first. Think, Eddie.
Just then, the door opened and in walked the same Kezzin guard that who originally captured them. The same one who had also questioned them about their mission.
“What the hell do you want now?” asked Eddie. “We already told you, we’re not talking.”
“I just want to know something,” said the alien.
Eddie crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
“Were you telling the truth about those colonies?”
“What do you mean?” asked Eddie.
“About how they’ve been attacked by Kezzin soldiers?”
“Of course,” said Eddie. “What kind of question is that?”
“You have to understand,” said the alien. “I’ve never heard of such attacks. I had to confirm with my superior.”
“You mean the guy we just talked to?” asked Eddie.
“Correct. That would be Commander Orsa. He runs this outpost.”
“Friendly guy,” said Julianna.
“Not really,” said the alien, apparently oblivious to the sarcasm. “So, will you tell me who sent you here?”
“You know we can’t tell you that,” said Eddie, conversationally.
“Then, at least answer this, please. If our attacks continue, what will happen? What will your people do?”
“You mean, if you continue to slaughter innocent people across dozens of worlds?” asked Eddie.
“Yes,” said the alien.
“We’ll respond with due force,” said Julianna.
“Due force?” asked the Kezzin.
“That’s the polite way of saying we’ll destroy every last one of you,” answered Eddie. “You got that?”
The alien stood there, quietly, contemplating the message. He didn’t respond right away. After several seconds, just before Eddie was about to make another joke, the alien stepped toward him. Here we go, thought Eddie, expecting the worst. I finally went too far, didn’t I?
The Kezzin touched the side of the hard-light cell wall, spoke a word in his native tongue, and suddenly the door dissolved.
Eddie blinked, staring at the empty space where the wall had been. He reached through with his arm, surprised to find it gone. He looked at the alien, raising his brow. “What’s this about?”
“You’re free to go,” said the Kezzin. “Please, leave as fast as you can, before the guards notice you.”
“What are you doing this for?” asked Julianna.
“I have no loyalty to the Brotherhood,” said the guard.
“Is that what you call yourselves?” asked Eddie.
The alien nodded. “The Brotherhood of Kezza. It is a collection of militia, many of which were conscripted and forced to join. I am here because I chose to take my brother’s place. It is for his sake, and his children’s sake, that I release you now. Please, return to your people and tell them that the attacks are not of Kezza. They are only the Brotherhood.”
“I understand,” said Eddie. He took a step out of the cell. “Thanks for your help, uh…what’s your name again?”
“Lars Malseen,” he answered.
“Nice to meet you,” said Eddie. “And thanks for the rescue, even though you were the one who brought us in.”
Lars started to walk to Julianna’s cell when the hard-light wall dropped, a little before he could reach it. Lars stared at it, tilting his head. “That’s odd.”
“Is it?” asked Julianna, stepping out. “Sorry to tell you, but we were already planning on busting out.”
“How did you do that?” asked Lars.
“Yeah,” agreed Eddie. “What the fuck did you do?”
“It wasn’t me,” said Julianna. “It was Pip.”
“Pip got you out? How? Didn’t they take your gear? How did you even communicate with him?” asked Eddie.
“I don’t use the pad to talk to him,” she explained, tapping her head. “He’s tied directly into me.”
“Then what the hell is your pad for?”
“Online poker, obviously. I’m addicted to the stuff.”
Eddie’s mouth dropped slightly. “Are you kidding me?”
Julianna grinned. “Maybe next time you’ll ask before you make assumptions. Oh, and Lars, was it? You may want to run the fuck out of here, because we still have orders to blow this facility to hell. I hope you understand.”
“Is that necessary?” asked Lars. “Not every soldier here is the same.”
“That might be true, but this is war. Sometimes that means making the hard choices. In this case, this facility has a stockpile of weapons large enough to take out a dozen colonies. We blow it up, maybe we delay that.”
“Sorry, Lars,” said Eddie. “She’s right, but you still have time to leave.”
“If you’re after the weapons cache, setting charges around the outer walls won’t do much. The storage rooms are underground. You can bring down those walls, but it would not eliminate the weapons or their holding areas.”
“Do you have a better suggestion?” asked Eddie.
Lars thought for a moment before he answered. “Flood it,” he finally said.
“What?” asked Eddie.
“Activate the emergency system and flood the compartment,” said Lars. “Can your Pip do that?”
Julianna was quiet for a second, her eyes distant, and then she blinked. “He says he can, but we’d have to get to the control center. That area of the base has its own network.”
“How do we do that?” asked Eddie.
“I can take you,” said Lars. “It’s not far.”
“You?” asked Julianna. “I’m not sure we can trust you. No offense.”
“Your response is understandable, but I’m already committed,” said Lars, motioning at the cell. “I just freed you, after all.”
“You freed Captain Teach,” Julianna corrected.
“Funny,” said Eddie. “Okay, Lars, if you can get us to this control room and help us flood the weapons cache, we’ll promise not to kill everyone in this outpost. How’s that?”
“A fair compromise,” said the Kezzin.
“Before we go running off into the belly of this beast, I suggest we grab our gear,” said Julianna.
“They have your things in another section. I tried to get all your gear, but they would have noticed. I was able to retrieve this without them spying me. It looked important.” Lars unfastened the cloaking belt from his waist and tossed it through the air. Eddie had been too overwhelmed and hadn’t even noticed it.
He grabbed the belt in the air and fastened it around his w
aist. “Oh for fucksake. You just saved my ass.” Hatch would have killed him if he left this behind. Slowly. Painfully.
“We still need weapons. How do we get to our gear?” asked Julianna.
“You don’t. It’s too heavyily guarded. But there’s another option.” Lars walked over to the side wall and opened a storage locker. He took out a rifle with a strap and held it out. “How is this?”
Eddie took a few steps towards him and took the weapon, examining the rifle. He’d handled his share of Kezzin weaponry over the last few years, so this wouldn’t be too difficult to adjust to. “This’ll work, but aren’t you worried about killing your own kind?”
“These rifles have a stun option.” Lars flipped a switch near the trigger. “It will knock the target out for over two hours.”
Eddie scratched his head. “I gotta say, I’m not used to using a soft touch, but if that’s what we have to do, I’m game.”
“Thank you,” said Lars.
Julianna took a rifle and cocked it, squeezing the grip with her fingers. It had a different feel to it than her typical rifle, but she’d manage well enough. “If the two of you are ready, I’d like to get this over with.”
“Of course,” said Lars with a quick nod. “Please, follow me.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Kezzin Battlebase 44, Planet Exa, Seolus system.
Eddie and Julianna followed Lars as the alien led them through the inner halls of the facility. Eddie knew he should be wary of Lars, but something about him felt genuine, like he’d known him for years. Maybe it was only because the alien had opened the cage or perhaps it was the story about Lars’ brother, but Eddie trusted him.
He hoped his trust wasn’t misplaced, but he was ready to kill the Kezzin, just in case. Trust but verify, he’d heard someone once say.
With their weapons at the ready, the group moved quickly through the corridors. Julianna spotted a few guards as they approached, and she sprinted to meet them, blasting each in the chest with a stun shot. The two aliens flopped to the floor like ragdolls, still alive but unconscious.
Lars motioned for Eddie and Julianna to keep going, and he led them to a small stairwell. They descended into a lower deck that smelled older than the rest of the building. It probably was, Eddie decided, given how the walls were made of another kind of stone.
Not far from the stairs, another set of guards appeared, mumbling to each other about dinner. One of them looked in the group’s direction, a surprised expression overcoming him. He started to open his mouth, probably to call for help, when Lars charged at him, firing his weapon at the soldier and slamming his fist into the second one’s face. The first guard fell instantly, but the other only stumbled, surprised by the sudden attack. Lars went to hit him again, but Eddie raised his own gun and shot the soldier instead, knocking him out.
Lars turned to see Eddie, giving him a nod of gratitude, to which he returned.
They pressed forward. “Not far now,” whispered Lars, motioning to the end of the hall.
But before they could reach it, a scream rang out, coming from nearby. Eddie looked to see a female Kezzin there, pointing at the three of them. “Help!” she cried with an ear-piercing voice. Julianna responded with a shot to the woman’s neck, instantly knocking her out.
Eddie blinked, surprised by his partner’s lack of hesitation. Glad she’s on our side, he thought, not for the first time.
A door opened nearby, and a Kezzin male appeared, surprised and confused by the arrival of a couple of humans. Before he could act, Eddie dashed towards him, almost instinctively, bashing him with the butt of his rifle, square in the face. The Kezzin stumbled back, completely taken by surprise. Eddie flipped his rifle back around and fired, disabling him.
“Let’s go!” snapped Eddie, looking at Lars. “Quick, there’ll be more soon.”
“Follow me,” responded Lars as he began to move.
Eddie did as his new friend suggested and, with Julianna beside him, started running. The three of them moved through the corridor as fast as their feet could carry them, bringing them close to several open rooms.
As they went, several more guards appeared, but the moment they did, the two soldiers had their rifles ready. Body after body hit the floor, limp and unconscious. Before long, there was a trail of Kezzin dispersed throughout the halls, each of them left in the wake of the intruders’ charge. By the time they reached the control room, Eddie and Julianna had stunned at least two dozen Kezzin.
Lars swung open the door and motioned for the two of them to enter. Three guards were inside, waiting with their weapons at the ready, apparently anticipating this encounter.
Julianna slid inside, blasting one of them in the forehead. The blast threw the alien into the air and down on a nearby workstation.
Eddie took another, shooting him in the stomach as he entered.
The last remaining guard went for Lars, and the two Kezzin clashed like bulls. Lars headbutted the guard, who seemed unphased. “Traitor!” yelled the soldier, but Lars gave no response.
Instead, Lars reached for the Kezzin’s neck, gripping him tightly and pushing him back. The alien attempted to punch Lars in the side of his head, but Lars blocked the blow with his other hand. The guard struggled to try again, but he was losing strength as Lars’ fingers tightened around his throat. He could barely breathe now, so instead he tried to pry the hand from his throat, but Lars wouldn’t release him.
A few seconds later and the alien dropped to the floor, completely unconscious.
“Holy shit,” said Eddie. “Is he dead?”
“A Kezzin is not so easily killed,” remarked Lars. “His lungs closed to preserve his oxygen. He’ll wake up soon.”
Julianna stood beside the unconscious alien, aimed her weapon, and shot him. “That’ll keep him down.”
“Ruthless,” said Eddie.
Julianna raised her brow at him. “Would you rather I be soft?”
Eddie grinned. “You know I wouldn’t.”
“The controls are here,” said Lars, motioning to the centermost console.
“Pip says he can access them now,” said Julianna. “It should only take a few—”
Before she could get the sentence out, an alarm sounded overhead. “Intruders detected in section sixteen, sub-basement three!”
Eddie twisted his lips. “You were saying?”
***
The soldiers came running through the far opening, weapons in hand, searching for the intruders and shouting.
Eddie and Julianna took spots against the doorway to the control room, preparing to fire. As the wave of guards barreled down the hall, the two humans unleashed a barrage of firepower, stunning them en masse.
“This isn’t good!” snapped Eddie, taking aim with his rifle and firing. He hit three men within four seconds, downing them.
“Keep firing,” said Lars, behind them. “I believe I have a solution.”
“What’s that, exactly?” asked Julianna. She ducked behind the wall as two shots flew beside her.
Lars fiddled with the console, tapping the screen to bring up another set of controls. “Here!”
Just then, the door behind the invading soldiers slammed shut, blocking out the rest. Only a few remained inside the hall. “That’s a start, but what’s next?” asked Eddie, shooting one of the still-standing soldiers.
Lars typed in a command on the screen. “There’s another way out of this level. A sewage drain.”
“A what?” asked Eddie, hoping he’d misheard him.
“A sewage drain,” repeated Lars. “It’s behind this control room, down one of the other corridors. It should take us outside, some distance away.”
“Sewage?” balked Julianna. “If you think I’m crawling through a bunch of alien shit, you’ve got another thing coming.”
“It’s not like that,” Lars assured them. “There’s a walkway along the side, adjacent to the pipes. The smell won’t be the best, but you won’t get anything on you.”
“Unless you would rather fight your way out,” said Lars.
“I’m not opposed to that,” said Eddie.
“Then you should know, there are roughly six hundred soldiers here, and I would wager each of them is on their way to kill us.”
Eddie hesitated, thumbing his chin.
“Well?” asked Lars.
“Fine!” snapped Eddie, firing one last blast and hitting the final soldier square in the chest. “Let’s take the shit path.”
They raced through the corridor, leaving three dozen unconscious bodies in the hall behind them.
***
Eddie never thought he’d have to wade through a river of shit, no matter the mission or circumstance. In fact, if General Reynolds had told him this was going to happen, Eddie wasn’t quite sure whether he would have still taken the assignment.
He wrinkled his nose at the overwhelming smell, which seemed to come in waves. Sometimes overpowering, sometimes light enough to breathe. But who would want to breathe right now?
“We’re nearly there,” said Lars, who didn’t seem to be affected by any of it.
Eddie crawled behind Julianna and Lars, trying not to touch the grime on the walls inside this tunnel. “How can you—” Edward paused, nearly gagging. “—talk right now.”
“I have the ability to stop my breathing for extended periods of time, which keeps the smells out,” explained the alien. “Were you unaware?”
“Must be…nice,” muttered Eddie.
“It’s common to several species on my homeworld,” said Lars. “It’s convenient at times, but my nose isn’t as acute as yours, from what I understand. I find it difficult to differentiate between certain scents.”
Eddie didn’t answer. He’d rather avoid opening his mouth if he could help it right now.
Julianna seemed unaffected by everything, although she might simply have been too focused to say anything.
In either case, Eddie could already see an opening ahead of them—a larger room that was tall enough to stand in, with what appeared to be natural light coming in, perhaps through a window.
As they entered, one-at-a-time, Eddie stood and stepped a few meters away from the hatch. “God, let’s never do that again,” he finally said.