Every single soldier on the bridge froze in place in a universal shared experience of shock. Alpha Leader Sslolg had never given them praise before. At first, they did not know how to take it.
Sslolg continued, “There are many on our home worlds who do not understand what we do here today. They cannot. Six centuries of peace have made many of our people as soft, pliant and complacent as the mewling inferior races who call themselves the Trade Union. These weak, docile creatures identify themselves by how well they count money. They breed free of the natural laws they replaced by a things they call ‘commerce’ and ‘technology.’”
Before their pestilent rule, our people had no need for ‘money.’ In fact, we had no word for it! But this thing called ‘commerce’ allowed us to survive, so we played along with their silly games. What choice had we? Given a decision between survival and contact with inferior filth, what else could we choose? So we used them to gain strength.
Many of our clans wallowed in petty gratitude, thankful for mere survival. But other families stayed true to the Reptilian nature and retained our warrior spirits! We are not ‘traders,’ we are conquerors!
Today you will realize the long dormant dream of your proud families! Though your bodies cannot be with them, your deeds will sustain them forever!”
Officers and crew alike shrieked in a ululating chorus of unbridled lust for battle. Sslolg tasted venom in the air from those species who could produce such toxins. He made a mental note to make certain his first officer gave the venom-producers leave, lest their violent instincts take over. Sslolg stoked them, now it fell to the First Officer to channel that rage.
***
Senator Abhay Nautiyal once again strode on weary legs into the resplendent chambers of his Royal Apartments. The sun of his world had abandoned this side of the planet while he traveled home. Twin moons shone through the elaborate stained glass dome that capped the living room. Instead of removing his ceremonial coat, he left it on as he sank down into the cushions that made a ring below the dome. Abhay was too exhausted to do anything else.
Shame was not a feeling to which he was accustomed, especially not shame born from failure. His flight home transformed him from a Colonel Senator, to a mere politician. His failure to keep the Keystone Ship operation a secret cost him a thirty-year military career. For the first time since he was fifteen years old, Abhay was no longer a soldier.
A change in military status meant that he no longer commanded a palace guard. Malik, Jabir and Madhuk received immediate orders for re-deployment the instant Abhay ended his comm link with General Blevins. The Senator could not even bring himself to address the new civilian guard. He ordered them to secure the apartments from the hallways. He did not want them near. They had the temerity to object, so he dressed them down severely. Abhay felt even more shame that scolding those underlings somehow made him feel better.
Being a Senator had always been secondary to being a soldier. He always regarded his political career as a means to serve the Military, and not the other way around. Now he was only a politician, and even that status was in jeopardy. Abhay could not find the leak that brought him so low. His operative failed to report, and Abhay figured that his private spy abandoned him as well. The spy could do that, and the now toothless former Colonel could do little about it.
Shadows moving beyond the archway to the apartment gardens drew his eye. Abhay followed the movement, expecting to find his faithful wife. Instead, two shadows pooled there, moving with silent purpose.
Abhay shot to his feet with a violence that cast several pillows into the living room. The small rail pistol appeared in his hand without conscious thought. He was about to fire on the intruders when a familiar voice came low and soft, “Colonel.”
Realizing the voice belonged to Madhuk, Abhay lowered the pistol slightly. There was still the matter of the other unidentified form for which his weapon still might be necessary.
“Colonel, It’s me, Madhuk.”
“I am no longer a Colonel. I know you mean respect, but the address feels like mockery now.”
“Forgive me, dear friend,” Madhuk said. When he stepped out of the shadows, the other form remained in the dark, shifting nervously.
“Why do you come to me this way, Madhuk?” Abhay asked.
“There was no other way. I have found the leak.”
“Is this Dario?” Abhay asked, trying to peer into the shadows. “Come out, man.”
Dario stepped forward. His Roman features sagged in the pale light. The picture of smug confidence Dario usually presented was gone. The man looked scared and beaten. Whatever news Madhuk brought, Abhay understood how bad it must be to bring it this way.
“I think the courtyard is still secure,” Abhay said, leading both men that way.
A quick check of the equipment hidden in a potted palm told Abhay they were in luck. The dampening system appeared to be intact. Nobody could monitor them here.
“Now tell me your news,” Abhay demanded, pistol by his side.
“Malik betrayed us. He is the leak.” Madhuk said.
Moonlight bathing the uncovered courtyard became a blazing sun. The cooling desert breeze seemed like a blizzard wind. Abhay wanted the new to be wrong, he wanted Madhuk to be a liar. The problem was that Madhuk never lied, and his news made too much sense.
“Just as I said,” Dario added, “I burned every contact I had getting this information. Congratulations, you found the leak.”
The sarcasm barely made a dent in the numb membrane that was Abhay’s skin. He still reeled from the news, and simply could not process it.
“Abhay,” Madhuk said gently. The use of his former commander’s name came awkwardly from his tongue.
“I don’t want this to be true.”
“But you know it is.”
“And now,” Dario added, “You burned your last operative. When the other agencies find out how you got the information, you’ll never be able to hire another spy.”
Abhay thought about the pistol in his hand. Dario was correct, but a single clause in his statement had the capacity to make his conclusion invalid. With Dario dead, who would be alive to reveal how Abhay found out? Dario would not say anything directly to reveal their secrets, but deduction was a powerful force that ended up revealing most secrets over time. Killing Dario now seemed like a decent strategy. His finger twitched against the trigger guard.
“I have a plan,” Madhuk said. He knew Abhay well enough to know that Dario’s fate was in question. “We go off grid. If Malik doesn’t already know his secret is out, but he will very soon. I say we take that off the table and let it be known that we know he is the betrayer.”
“What will that do?” Dario snapped.
“For one thing,” Abhay said with an icy voice. “It will keep you alive.”
Madhuk continued quickly. Dario could only be pushed so far. Everyone knew the spy probably carried a weapon. The last thing they needed was a fight to the death in the palace complex. “It takes one more variable off the table. Dario gets burned along with me, then we go dark and work for you off planet.”
“There are so many problems with that,” Abhay said.
Madhuk took a deep breath and didn’t bother to hide his impatience, “Look, I told you before and I’m not telling you again after this. I serve you and the purpose we both understand. Right now, you’re in shock, otherwise you wouldn’t be talking this way. You need to trust me now or never. Right now, we have one chance. Of course, we are taking a huge risk. We can only trade one set of problems for another.”
“What do you propose””
“We form a covert cell and continue. Dario and I run the mission off book.”
“Yes. I heard Government burned our team.” Abhay said.
“Couldn’t be helped,” Madhuk replied, shrugging his shoulders. “But now they are still an asset.”
“If they’re still alive and willing to work for us.”
“Lucky for us, I picked that team. I
know Darzi and the rest. They are true soldiers.”
For the first time in many hours, Abhay smiled. Apparently, it took this crisis for Madhuk to find his full confidence. Never before had Abhay heard his former junior officer speak with such bravado. Abhay’s shoulders rose with the lifting of a weight that seemed impossible to bear.
The Senator turned to Dario, said, “So, it looks like you’re not out of a job after all.”
Dario folded his arms across his chest. “You assume too much. I doubt you can afford me, for what you’re asking.”
“You might be surprised, sir.” Abhay replied. “Don’t make a decision until you meet my accountant.”
Dario cocked his head and harrumphed, obviously nonplussed.
“So, It’s on, then.” Madhuk asked in the form of a statement.
“Of course,” Abhay replied. “We need to get you off planet as quickly as possible. Lucky for us all, I am not without resources. My mud fund should cover this operation quite nicely.”
What Abhay did not mention, was that the operation would likely cost his family's fortune as well. He resolved to table that fear for later. The lives of billions of sentient creatures would have to be weighed against more temporal affairs, but not in this moment.
Madhuk and Dario filed out of the courtyard, through the apartments and disappeared into the sprawling Palace Complex. The infant, illegal spy cell left its nest, and left Abhay with a scrap of hope. At the very least, the covert defense fleet might be activated to meet the Reptilian threat. That left open the question of who would command it. He only hoped the Reptilians would not spring their attack before then.
Another shadow crept out of the dark apartment when Abhay stepped from the courtyard. Margaret stood in a pool of moonlight in her billowy white nightgown. Abhay deflated once again. Being aware of his failure once more, he could not bring himself to meet her eyes. Margaret rushed to him and clamped her slender arms around his ribs, buried her face in his chest. She squeezed impossibly hard and looked up at him with a smile brighter than the moonlight.
“Got your ass kicked today, did you?” She said, giving him a shake.
Tears and gales of laughter flowed from Abhay at once. Both came from the deep well of gratitude he felt for the love in his life. In that moment, he realized that the points of honor Madhuk outlined earlier that day were equally important. Family was just as important as dedication to his career, because he could not have one without the other. Alone, Abhay realized he was not that strong. He admired Madhuk for his strength in deriving his purpose from the single point of his career. Abhay rested his chin on the top of Margaret’s head and breathed in her sweetness.
“I sure did, love. I sure did,” he said, “but I won’t stay down for long.”
21
“Do they see us?” Darzi shouted her question into her EV helmet and her words echoed in the helmets of the entire team. Three Humans and two Insectoids stood on nervous legs in the forward shuttle airlock beneath the passenger compartment. Space was tight.
“No,” Reggie 1 replied, “but they will soon.” Both shuttles flew so close they bumped hulls occasionally. At speeds approaching fractions of the speed of light, the forces involved were terrifying to any professional astronaut who knew anything about space flight. Reggie 1 read the bio signs of anxiety from his Human charges. “I’m sorry, but the ride will only get rougher. It can’t be helped.”
“Don’t worry about us, Reggie,” Drexler said. “You just focus on getting us inside that ship.”
“No!” Gajrup shouted back, as the promised rough ride arrived. “Do worry about us!”
“We’re inside the particle envelope,” Reggie 2 announced. “Preparing to split off. When I do, Reggie 1 will blast a hole in the aft cargo section and land you inside. Wish me luck!”
A moment later, Reggie 1 counted down from ten. None of the biological creatures were prepared for the shock when Reggie 1 projected a coherent beam of photons from his bow and punched a shuttle-sized hole in the Reptilian ship. When Reggie 2 broke free from the shared gravity field, a moment of weightlessness tossed the airlock occupants around like leafy greens. Reggie 1 did his best to adjust the inertia field, but it was not enough to keep everyone on their feet.
Tara reached down to pull Gajrup off the deck, and Darzi did the same for First Sergeant Kaur. The shuttle gouged out hunks of metal from the deck as it burned into the ruptured cargo bay. The shuttle came to rest with a boom and a lurch as its bow punched through an interior bulkhead. When Reggie blew the hatch, Tara and Huey burst forth into a wide, smoke-filled corridor filled with bewildered Reptilian engineers. The Insectoids shot them all in brisk fashion.
When the Reptiles hit the deck, Drexler rushed up to them and had Reggie 1 check their vitals.
“I can read their suits. They’re still alive,” Reggie said. “Oddly enough, they are still running Trade Union protocols on their space gear.”
“Yeah, that’s interesting,” Drexler replied. “But what about their life support?”
“Shutting it down section by section. I’m herding them to an intact cargo bay below their main bridge.”
“Did they take the bait?” Darzi asked as she and Kaur trussed up the Lizards with restraining cords. Tara and Huey moved down the hallway a few paces to cover them.
“Yes. The ship changed course. Fleetfoot I is getting away. I may not be so lucky,” Reggie 2 replied.
“What do you mean?” Reggie 1 asked with dismay.
“You know what I mean, and it’s going to hurt.”
The team moved down the hallway to a “T” junction. They met no resistance. As luck would have it, half the crew was deployed to the planet in an effort to hunt down Drexler and the crew that now stormed their ship.
“We need to split up from here,” Drexler announced. “Gajrup needs to get to engineering and someone needs to get to the bridge.”
“Kaur and Asan!” Darzi barked. “Escort Gajrup to engineering.”
“Great,” Gajrup said. “Which way is engineering?” A map appeared on his helmet display in response. “Got it! Thanks, Reggie.”
The team split in two, each with its own mission. Reggie guided each team with information piped directly to their helmets.
“We’re not seeing anyone,” Darzi said warily.
“Don’t jinx us,” Reggie said.
“What is a jinx?” Tara asked, while she crouched low, rifle leading the way.
“Never mind,” Drexler said.
“It’s a superstition,” Darzi replied. “Basically, bullshit.”
The group fell silent as they made their way down gleaming white tubular hallways that stood in stark contrast to the mottled gray passages of Reggie’s interior. The clean look of the place also contradicted the utter chaos that roiled through the ship. The group encountered some of that chaos in the form of six Lizards writhing on the floor gasping for air. They all carried weapons. One of them tried to aim a sidearm at the group, but was too weak from lack of oxygen. Kaur was about to shoot him, but Darzi stayed her hand. The Lizard tried to rise, but his head dropped to the floor. Drexler was surprised to hear that Lizards snored when they slept, much like Humans. The group stepped over unconscious bodies.
“You need to take emergency ladders from here,” Reggie announced.
The AI opened the iris portal that spiraled open down the hallway to the right. The group dutifully filed through it and began their climb.
“This is the worst part. If we get spotted now, we are so screwed. No way to fire up this ladder.” Darzi remarked as they climbed.
“Only so for those with no wings,” Tara replied.
“I am glad you are with us,” Darzi said. It was the first time she addressed one of the Insectoid directly.
“I’ve felt that way for quite some time,” Drexler said, surprising himself. It was true. The Insectoids were turning out to be the best decision he’d ever made.
They reached the bridge unopposed, but Darzi and her c
rew ran out of restraining straps. They improvised by producing very frightening-looking curved knives that they used to cut parts of Reptilian uniforms away to create cordage.
“I hope that holds these things,” Asan remarked, surveying his handiwork.
“Is there some place we can lock them up here?” Drexler asked, looking around the circular bridge. Its surfaces were as pristine and gleaming as the rest of the ship.
Reggie responded by opening a pocket door to the right of the main transparent bulkhead. “This is a storage compartment. Empty it, and you can lock them in here.”
The team wasted no time pulling boxes of various sizes from the closet and violating the orderly bridge with the clutter. Nobody could identify the items they tossed with haste onto the deck. Some looked like standard containers, while other things looked like tools or weapons. When they were satisfied the storage compartment was devoid of anything the Reptilians could use as a weapon or escape device, they dragged the Reptiles inside and Reggie sealed the door.
“So, what’s next?” Drexler asked. He still breathed heavily from the long climb through the emergency passages.
“Almost done,” Gajrup replied. “I’m in the engine room. We met a few Lizards down here, but these guys here care of them.”
“Excellent,” Drexler said. “Reggie, where are the rest of the Lizards?
“According to the crew manifest and the logs, you detained eighteen, including the ones on the bridge. I have eighty locked up and unconscious in a cargo bay. That leaves eleven unaccounted for.”
“Shit,” Drexler said. “Do you know where they are?”
“No, Captain. It’s a big ship and the internal sensor network is far from comprehensive.”
“Tara, Huey. I need you to search the rest of the ship.” Drexler said. “Reggie, how long have the Lizards been unconscious?”
“Nearly 20 minutes.”
Fleetfoot Interstellar: Fleetfoot Interstellar Series, Book 1 Page 18