by S. K. Holder
Erard had sat up with eyes like golf balls on seeing Connor heading in his direction with an alien in tow. He staggered to his feet and pulled out his laser gun. One shot shattered the base of the Varipod, sending Connor flying and the other found its mark on the alien’s tentacle sending it crashing to the ground with a screech. The Varipod exploded, blowing a crater in the doomed alien’s stomach.
Connor landed on his side. He forced himself to his knees, wincing at the jarring pain in his ribs and shoulders.
‘Now look what you’ve made me do,’ said Erard. He snatched his transcom from his ear and tossed it to the ground. ‘How am I supposed to explain this to my father?’ He looked back to see where his Varipod had landed. He found it stuck in the branches of a tree. ‘You shouldn’t have come back for me. I had it covered.’
‘It’s not my fault you’re a lousy shot. You should have given me the chance to get off.’
Connor stared up at the tree. They had one Varipod between them − if they could get it down.
Erard fired his laser gun at the trunk’s mid-section until the tree gave way. As it landed the Varipod rolled free, hovering from the ground. Erard hopped back on it again without hesitation. He motioned Connor over.
Connor clambered onto the Varipod and gripped Erard’s waist. Erard knocked Connor’s feet from the footrest with his own, leaving Connor’s feet outside the marked grooves.
‘I don’t think it can take the two of us,’ said Connor keeping the fear from his voice. He wondered how long it would be before he slipped from the vehicle, or their combined weight caused the Varipod to crash into the rocks with them still on it.
Erard grunted and twisted as if trying to ease himself out of Connor’s grasp. He was just as uncomfortable as Connor. ‘And what would you suggest?’ he said, ‘you walk? I should make you, for all the trouble you’ve caused, but my father wouldn’t have it, though he can’t blame me if you fall. This is not a two person vehicle.’
Erard started the Varipod. Connor felt it straining upwards to take the extra weight. Every muscle in his body tensed and he planted his feet firmly on the base of the bike. They took off. Erard had the sense to keep their speed moderate.
Connor’s heart gave a jolt each time Erard banked left or right. He struggled to match his movements. He dug his fingers into Erard’s belly hard enough to feel his ribs through his taut stomach muscles. Erard made a series of grunting complaints.
They rose to the line of the horizon. Erard stopped the Varipod at a peak marked in white sandstone. Even before he glanced up, Connor could feel the weight of the carrier bearing down on them. He heard its soft humming and relief washed over him. He tried not to think about what would become of him now that they had learned his real identity. For now, he considered himself out of danger
A light hit his eyes, forcing him to slam them shut. The light shifted under his eyelids and when he opened them again, Erard and the Varipod were gone.
He was on a different carrier. He stood on the upper deck of the cargo hold, a few feet away from the senior officer he had seen outside the armoury, the one with the white hair and the many insignias decorating his uniform.
The officer showed him the palm of his right hand. He had a First Status Mark. ‘You are Connor, House of Brailey, are you not?’ he asked.
Connor didn’t answer. He suspected the senior officer knew who he was when he had spotted him on the bridge.
‘I knew your family,’ said the officer. ‘Your father was a great Citizen.’ He gave Connor a strained smile. ‘How is your family?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ He waited for the Authoritative Voice to make a comment, or give him a warning. None came.
‘You’re Eron’s youngest son. You have an older brother Luke, and your mother’s name is Celeste.’
Connor hadn’t heard his mother’s first name spoken in so long, he had almost forgotten it himself. It sounded weird to have a stranger say it. He had only ever called her mum. Luke had reminded him of his dad’s name shortly after they returned from Narrigh. He had not remembered hearing the name uttered until then. The worlds are real and I’m an alien, he thought, accepting it for the first time. He had buried the notion in the recesses of his brain and now it made perfect sense to him. He wasn’t from Earth. His real home was in a planet somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy. ‘Who are you?’
‘Garis Kyson, commander of the Octane Resistance. First Division.’
‘What do the Octane Resistance do?’ He realised Lin had never told him.
‘We specialise in alien containment and defence, human or otherwise. Lin Aroda told me of your arrival shortly before her deployment to Caradin. I would have preferred it if she had told me sooner. I have been searching for you ever since. The female civilian with whom you were detained also arrived from another planet not too long ago. She came from a facility known as Tridan Entertainment. Do you know it?’
‘No.’ He had to be mindful. He still didn’t know who he could trust and Lin wasn’t around to corroborate Garis’s story. She had told him that the existence of Earth was only known to a few Citizens even within the Octane Resistance. Presuming Lin was telling the truth, he didn’t know if Garis was among them. The commander had seen him on the bridge. Why hadn’t he come to him then or sent someone else to help him?
Garis gripped the railing and stared into the empty cargo deck below. ‘I’d ask the civilian but she’s dead. She wasn’t a Citizen, so her death has no real bearing. What concerns me is how a Citizen who has been banished from the Andromeda galaxy manages to find their way back in. Are the rest of your family here or any more from this Tridan Entertainment organisation?’
‘No. I came alone and there is no Tridan Entertainment organisation.’ He blurted it out without thinking. He had given himself away with those few words. Beth must have died after he left the compound. As an Unmarked One, she never really stood a chance. She should have received medical attention straightaway, but the Citizens and the Peltarcks hadn’t cared enough about her to get her immediate help…and neither had he. He had been too busy with his inept escape to give Beth much thought.
The polygonal hatch close to where they were standing burst open. Connor planted his hands on the railings and looked out. The scene made his mouth fall open. In an area surrounded by rock peaks, a battle raged between two of the alien species and the Citizen fleet. Ships and Varipods looped and darted through the air. He saw wounded and dead soldiers lying on the ground, burned and bloody. Some jerked back to life. Others writhed in pain. Some did not rise at all. Aliens disintegrated to ash or were turned to pulp under the arsenal of weapons wielded by the fighters. Blasts scorched the air red. Plumes of smoke billowed up through the trees and shrubs. Through the din, Connor heard screaming and soldiers roaring commands. He caught sight of several droids walking stiffly over the terrain and blasting through the enemy. He drew back from the hatch and clung to a handrail. He knew Garis was responsible for opening the hatch even though he hadn’t seen him do it. If he was trying to scare him, it had worked.
‘Not what you signed on for was it?’ said Garis. ‘I have worked in the Pyridian fleet for eighteen years and spent most of it fighting aliens. I prefer it to Odisiris. The life is too easy for the Higher Status Citizens. Some of us join the fleet in pursuit of adventure. Pyridian is a challenge in itself. Are you trained for combat?’
Connor shook his head. He turned to look at the commander. ‘You said my father was a great man.’ He pictured the man he thought was his father lying on the granite slab. He knew what it meant. Hearing it would make the past-telling real. He needed to hear the words. He had finally found someone willing to tell him the truth, to dispel his childish notion that his dad had lost his way in life and was out there somewhere trying to get back on his feet so he could see his sons again.
‘His death was unfortunate I know. Naturally, you will remember little of it. You were too young. Still, it must have been difficult for you and
your brother, and then to make a new life on another planet, that could not have been easy.’
‘Why were we exiled?’
Garis gave a deep sigh and released his hands from the railings. ‘Your father was once the Lord Chancellor of Odisiris. There were others who thought they deserved to rule in his place as there always are. They murdered him. They never found his assassin. It is my understanding that you were exiled from the Andromeda galaxy for your own protection. A vice-chancellor now rules in your father’s place.’
Connor couldn’t believe his dad had once ruled an entire planet. From what he remembered from his past-telling his father’s body had been intact. He pondered over how he had died, why his body had failed to heal itself.
‘You look puzzled. Is there anything else you wish to know?’
There was plenty he wanted to know and one thing he needed to know for certain. ‘Does my family have enemies on Pyridian?’
‘I think you know the answer to that question Connor. Even I have enemies on Pyridian. The majority of Peltarcks accept that we’re the superior race. An anonymous number despise us. They think we’re arrogant. They think we entice the aliens here for our amusement. Do you know they once tried to mount a rebellion against us? Your father was Lord Chancellor then. We are the most powerful race in the Andromeda galaxy. Our superiority has nothing to do with our abilities. It is our intellect and our ability to expand to other realms, where other races have not dared to tread, which makes us superior.’
The hatch closed and the carrier moved west, away from the carnage. The aliens and fighters became fewer. Connor relaxed, glad they were not landing in Caradin. He let go of the railings.
‘Whatever the reasons for your exile,’ Garis continued, ‘you must adhere to exile law. You can and never will return to Odisiris or any other planet within this galaxy. If you do your life is forfeited, regardless of the reasons for your banishment. You have broken out of isolation and parade in a fleet uniform. It is only natural, I will have questions. I have to do what is right for this planet. I have taken the oath as a Citizen fleet commander. I ask you again, who sent you here? What is Tridan Entertainment?’
‘I don’t know who sent me here okay and Tridan Entertainment is−’
‘Don’t say it,’ said the Authoritative Voice. ‘You don’t know who else may be listening.’
Connor hesitated. He had already said too much.
‘I’m getting the feeling you’d be more comfortable talking to Lin,’ said Garis. ‘We shall return to Swordul city and resume our talk then.’
Connor sensed a subtle shift in the air. The gruesome form of an Echo emerged behind the commander.
Connor yelled a warning, and then he reacted, drawing his laser gun from his belt. He fired. He missed the alien and hit the railing.
Garis jumped clear and drew his own laser gun. He fired at the alien. A hole appeared in Echo’s chest, and then it slowly closed, absorbed in its semi-transparent ridges. The alien continued advancing on him. The commander leapt from the railings into the cargo’s base.
Garis motioned for Connor to jump. ‘Get down here,’ he roared.
Connor had slammed one foot up on the railings when the Echo shoved him with its arm, putting him on his back. He still held his laser gun. He fired it repeatedly as he drew himself up into a sitting position. He shuffled across the floor, using his feet and the heel of one hand to propel him backwards. The Echo had crossed an arm to its chest, but it remained standing.
A soldier dressed in black combat gear bounded up behind the alien and fired her laser gun into its back. As it reeled to fend off the bullets, Connor vaulted over the railings. He landed on the lower floor of the cargo hold on his side. He drew a deep breath. A sharp pain shot up his back. Groaning, he snatched the gun from the floor and jerked to his feet.
Garis had abandoned his gun and used his fists to hammer the alien. He battered its chest, sent his fist under the creature’s chin and then jogged backwards. The alien charged and Garis vaulted over it and dealt it two blows to its back. It fell forward, and then dissolved in a pool of liquid. The liquid dripped over the side of the railings. Garis attempted to catch it. It slipped through his fingers and reformed at Connor’s feet.
Another soldier appeared in the cargo hold, his eyes wild with rage. Connor saw he was unarmed. He rushed at the alien, roaring as he went. The Echo slammed him with its fist, sending the soldier flying backwards.
Garis reappeared. He spoke into a transcom attached to his wrist. ‘We have an Echo on board. I need you to teleport it into containment. Give us five minutes to clear the cargo hold. Do you copy?’
The alien had become a pool again, slithering through the ridges in the metal floor.
The fallen soldier had risen.
‘Go to the control and teleport us out of here,’ Garis yelled at him.
He darted through the door he had come through. Connor knew he would have to cover a fair distance to make it through the same door. So he went up, crashing back onto the upper deck in a single bound.
Garis seized his arm. ‘We’ve lost sight of it. This way.’ He turned to open a hatch. An Echo came up behind him. It seized him by the neck, lifted him up, and then threw him over the railings like a rag doll.
Connor jerked out of the way. He looked down to where Garis had fallen and watched him vanish in a tube of light. Someone or something had teleported him off the carrier.
A second Echo came through the door. It punched him in the stomach. He fell to his knees, gasping. The laser gun slid from his fingers.
‘This is our ship now,’ said the Echo. It kicked him in the back. Connor howled as pain erupted in his chest and spine. The Echo dragged him across the floor by his leg.
His struggles were futile. There was nothing more he could do.
The alien sent him spinning out of the open hatch. A scream died in Connor’s throat.
TWENTY-NINE
As Luke led him out of the door and down the grimy corridor further away from the safety of the main doors and the lifts, Ted felt as if he were entering the abyss. The lights were not as bright and the sounds of their footsteps seemed to echo from floor to ceiling.
He cast Luke a sidelong glance. He didn’t much care for the kid’s smug swagger. It was hardly appropriate for the predicament they were in. Luke was remarkably confident and plucky for a kid his age. Ted held no resentment. For what he lacked in bravery he made up for in gumption. He tried to think if Luke had a good reason to do away with him and decided there was no logic in it. But he couldn’t shrug off the feeling that aligning himself with Luke was more dangerous than being at Steve Lepton’s beck and call.
They turned into a corridor and met a wall of steel.
Ted stared at it, perplexed. It sure as hell wasn’t a lift. Who would dump a great steel box in the middle of a corridor?
‘It’s a vault,’ said Luke. ‘Can you get me in?’
‘No I can’t get you in,’ snapped Ted on impulse. It had to be rigged with explosives or one of those alarms that auto-locked all the doors and windows as soon as you slapped your hand on it so you couldn’t leave. ‘If you want to dice with danger, you can do it on your own.’ He couldn’t begin to imagine what was in there: paper bills, gold bullion, secret government files…dead bodies.
‘I can’t get it open without your help.’
‘Why don’t you ask your uncle,’ he spat. The guilt he felt over Connor’s disappearance dissolved like sugar in boiling water. What the heck had he been thinking? He couldn’t trust Luke any more than he could trust Steve. ‘You got his money and his key card. Getting the code for the vault should be no problem for the CEO’s nephew.’
The kid’s face turned as cold and impassive as a corpse and Ted shuffled away from him and nearer to the vault for his own safety.
‘I thought you wanted money.’ Luke’s lips hardly moved, but his words rung loud and clear in Ted’s head and he wouldn’t be cajoled. Blackmail was one thing, vault heists
was another. And there was no guarantee the vault held anything of value.
‘I changed my mind,’ said Ted.
‘If I told my uncle you blackmailed me, would you change it back again? The missing laptops could be in there.’
‘Who cares!’ He had an icky feeling in his gut about the vault. He wished he had never seen it. It was another reason for Steve to bump him off − as if he hadn’t already given him enough ammunition. He shrugged. ‘You don’t want Kane Brailey to know that you’ve been sneaking around the building. We both know you’re not after the missing laptops, so what do you really think is in there?’
‘I’ve no idea,’ said Luke, ‘but my brother’s life may depend on it and yours too. If you’re in as deep as I think you are.’
He had to give it to the kid, he was persistent. If he shared a bit of information with Luke, he might get something back. ‘I overheard a conversation earlier today between Kane and your mum.’
Luke’s eyes went wide at Ted’s news. ‘Where?’
Ted paused, his brain in overdrive. If Luke knew he had followed Kane at Steve’s instructions he would never get anything out of him. ‘In the Tridan Entertainment lobby.’
‘What was said?’
‘Not much that I could make sense of. She said she was worried about you and Connor. She hadn’t gone to the police. Kane told her not to worry. Your mum asked him if you had been in contact with them. Who’s them?’
Luke gave a lazy smile and shook his head. He took his phone from his pocket. After a short pause, he spoke into the device. ‘Mum…. sorry…I know…he’s with me…at a friend’s…yeah later…mum…stop it…just stop…we’re okay…I am responsible…you’re not helping…I’ll explain later. Gotta go.’ He ended the call and stuffed the phone back in his pocket.
Bloody waste of time that was, thought Ted. Luke would have a steel guard up no matter what he said. He even put one up to deal with his own mother. They must be in deep. Probably something gang related, he concluded. Kane had said something about benefactors, which would suggest they were in a witness protection programme of sorts.