The Key

by Brian Fisher

  Chapter 10

  Screams pierced the smoke filled air. A hundred voices cried out as one with a single message. Help us, please help us. T'Sula ran through the streets frantically searching for the people connected to the screams.

  Buildings erupted in flame and debris as she ran. The beautiful craftsmanship of the ancient buildings was reduced to embers and rubble in moments. Her lungs burned from the smoke and heat, but T'Sula pushed on relentlessly. Innocent people were dying and it was her call to save them.

  A large sandstone home on her right exploded in flame. The door flew out into the street, barely missing T'Sula. From inside the burning house came a wail, a desperate cry for help. T'Sula froze in her tracks. The cry was distinct, much too desperate for an adult. The cry was a child’s. The cry was a baby's.

  T'Sula bolted for the door. Flames licked at her clothes and skin as she dove to the floor. The heat blistered her skin instantly. She could barely see as she crawled towards the crying. Sweat and tears mixed with smoke and grime as it ran into T'Sula's eyes. The crying was growing gradually closer until her fingertips brushed something soft and warm. It was much too large to be a child. Soft fabric became damp and sticky with cooling blood.

  T'Sula quickly searched the body for a pulse, but found none, only a bloody mass instead of a woman's chest. T'Sula forced herself not to pull away, but to continue to search for the screaming child.

  Tucked protectively against the woman's side was the reason for her life, and her last act as a mother. Wrapped in a damp cloth lay a screaming child. T'Sula grabbed the baby and crawled for the door. She kept below the smoke where she could breathe and see. She crawled out the door and tumbled, coughing into the street. The wind picked up to nearly a howl, blowing dust, smoke and debris in all directions. T'Sula glanced up and saw a ship hovering a meter above the ground.

  It was a small ship, barely large enough to hold the fifty people onboard. The hatch was open with a familiar figure standing inside. Raul held tight to the ship with one hand, and reached for her with the other.

  T'Sula picked herself up off the ground, making sure to keep the baby tight against her chest, and ran for the ship.

  "Hurry. We can't set down." Raul called over the whine of the ship's engines. He grabbed T'Sula's hand and pulled her onboard as the ship started to rise into the air.

  "Who's this?" Raul asked, pointing to the baby.

  "Her name is Mekala." a baritone voice came into the airlock. "Unfortunately, she's my spawn."

  "Hello Nom." T'Sula turned to look at the man coming towards them. He was slight of build, and decidedly shifty looking.

  "I see that you found my wife." a sneer crossed his face. "Each time that I think of her, it gets me right here." he patted his chest then produced a pistol. "It's too bad the spawn survived."

  "No need to act rash." Raul stepped forward slowly, making no quick movements.

  "Shut up." Nom looked at Raul, then shot him in the chest. Raul's chest exploded in a mist of blood as he fell to the deck.

  "No!" T'Sula screamed. Rage filled her being, threatening to burn through her and incinerate anything that she touched. T'Sula held Mekala tightly, and focused on Nom. She spun quickly and placed a powerful roundhouse kick on the right side of his head, sending him crashing into the bulkhead and the pistol flying out into the sky.

  "You bastard. Raul was a good man." she fought to keep the tears out of her eyes. Stepping behind Nom, she kicked him towards the open hatch. "Now, Mekala will never know her mother or you." she spun on her back foot for power and placed a side kick into Nom's chest, breaking a number of ribs. Screaming in agony, he fell backward grasping for a handhold, and through the hatch into the open air.

  T'Sula knelt next to Raul. She gently touched his face and cried. He reached up, and grasped her shoulder.

  "Wake up." Raul shook her hard. "T'Sula, you need to wake up." Kamira's voice came from Raul's lips. T'Sula opened her eyes to see her cousin sitting in the darkness, on a cot next to her.

  T'Sula ran her fingers through her disheveled hair as she sat up. Blood and grime covered her clothes. She sighed, and stood up to stretch.

  "I'm sorry Kam." a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

  "Bad dream?" Kamira asked, not wanting to pry.

  "It was like reliving Raul's death all over again." T'Sula sighed. "I was hoping that I would be able to accept it and move on, but it's so hard."

  "I can't tell you how to deal with loss like this." Kamira took T'Sula's hand in hers. "What I can tell you is that I love you, and you are always welcome on Redemption."

  "Thank you Kam." T'Sula pulled her cousin into an embrace and held her tightly for a moment. "Let's get this attack figured out so that we can get on with our lives."

  "Alright." Kamira replied before she stood up and walked to the work station. "Let's do this."

  "Kam, can you go over the sensor data from the restaurant?" T'Sula stood and walked over to the small work station.

  "I don't know how much there is, but I'll go over everything I can find." Kamira sipped her cup of coffee. It was starting to get cold, but it was wet, and that's all that mattered.

  "Make sure you look at everything, including any data coming from outside." T'Sula started to pace around the small room. It was dimly lit, and sparsely furnished. A small square window high on the back wall let in a trickle of light. Overall, it was barely sufficient for two people to work in. "Where's your ship?"

  "In orbit. Why?" Kamira looked puzzled. The dim light gave her features a haunting glow. Her confusion gave way to anxiety. "I haven't been in contact since before the bombing." panic crept into her eyes.

  "Relax. We'll establish contact, you can report in, and we'll find out if they have any information from their sensors." T'Sula calmly told her cousin. She hoped that they would find something useful, but refused to get her hopes up. It seemed to her that every time something happened to her, things just went from bad to worse. Especially when the Ta'Reeth were involved.

  A knock at the door echoed through the tiny room, startling the two women.

  "Come in." Kamira said almost without thinking, and went back to work studying data.

  A small, tired looking Olcai entered the room. It wore the same basic uniform that Commissioner Valche had worn, except that this one had obviously been worn for a while.

  "Commanders, I apologize for disturbing you, but we have uncovered something that you should see." it shuffled its bare, webbed feet. "If you would please come with me, I will be most happy to escort you to the crime scene."

  T'Sula stopped pacing the room, and stood in front of the officer. "You look familiar. Have we met before?" she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

  "No Commander. We have never met." the little alien hung its head.

  "What's your name?" T'Sula tapped her chin with her right index finger.

  "Lieutenant Valche, Commander." the Lieutenant shuffled its feet as it backed away from T'Sula.

  "Lieutenant Valche, as in Commissioner Valche?" T'Sula arched an eyebrow. "It's no wonder you look familiar. The Family resemblance is remarkable."

  "No, Commander, there is no 'family resemblance.'" the Lieutenant sighed, and looked up for the first time. "Commissioner Valche and I are from the same Origin. The only difference between us is age. We are exact duplicates of Valche, the Survivor."

  "No wonder everyone looks so much alike." Kamira looked up from her terminal. "You're all clones of the Olcaina survivors."

  "Yes, Commander, there are only six different Olcai, not the thousands that you see." Lieutenant Valche looked at Kamira. "It has been this way since we built Olcai." The Lieutenant smiled slightly. "Will you please come with me Commanders? I believe that what we have found could be quite important."

  T'Sula looked at Kamira, and shrugged her shoulders. "Lead the way Lieutenant." she said, turning to follow the security officer out the door.

  Twilight had come swiftly, casting a dim, pink light over the
cloudless horizon. Lamps started to flicker on as the trio walked through the deserted streets. The police had enacted a curfew, claiming that it was for the protection of everyone that they stay indoors, until all matters pertaining to the bombing were concluded.

  They were nearly to the bombsite, before the silence finally overwhelmed Kamira.

  "Lieutenant Valche, how was Olcai built?" she asked. "I mean, how is it that a race could build an entire planet, but not save the one that they lived on? It doesn't seem possible that anyone could have the technology to construct a planet. It's hard enough to build a space station." Kamira wrung her hands as she talked. "How long did it take? How did you choose the location? Why this location? Why not just move to another planet?"

  T'Sula shook her head and smirked. "Kam, I think you'll have time later to ask all of your questions."

  "Commander Nor, have you ever asked why Olcai is neutral?" the lieutenant stopped and fixed Kamira with a penetrating look. "Olcaina was destroyed in a civil war that engulfed my people for over a hundred years. The Technologist and Deist factions ruled the planet and never stopped fighting each other. Eventually only six of us remained." Valche sighed. "The six survivors were able to convert an old space station into the basis of a new, peaceful world. Now we are neutral in all disputes. My people died once, and will not do so again."

  "That is fascinating." Kamira stood and stared at the lieutenant for a moment, then regained her composure.

  "Lieutenant, it’s been my experience that the neutral parties are usually the first to die." T'Sula told the lieutenant bluntly.

  Lieutenant Valche grimaced. "Commander Nor, Commander Mir, if you will please put these on, we may proceed." Lieutenant Valche produced two apparatuses. Each one had a belt, gloves, and a re-breathing mask.

  T'Sula took one of the proffered protective suits, and quickly adjusted the mask to fit. She put the belt and gloves on before she pushed the small green button on the belt. A flexible forcefield hummed to life around her. She looked over at Kamira and watched as she helped the Lieutenant adjust its mask.

  "Thank you for your help Commander." Lieutenant Valche looked uncomfortable with anything close to its face. "Please follow me, and be careful. Due to structural stresses, this section of the city is no longer stable."