“Tell me Seles, does the alien have any blood on it?” Daes asked.
“Yes, a lot of Grey blood.” Seles checked, finding red blood on his forehead. “It looks like the alien has red blood. It’s suffered a few minor wounds.”
“Keep your rifle ready, I’ll send Celi and the others to help you haul the alien survivor to the brig.”
The others came and placed the alien on a stretcher, clasping the restraints down tightly. Seles and her companions returned to the shuttle. Each of them stared at the alien, noting its size and apparent strength.
* * *
Was it all a dream? I remember their eyes, eyes of pure darkness that fill me with despair. Brian lay on the white floor of the Avoni‘s brig, half awake and confused. He heard voices, feminine and different speaking a language he’d never heard before. Opening his eyes, he saw white floor and walls, as well as a bed attached to the wall. Where am I? He turned his head and saw two short women talking. As he sat up and looked at them closely he noticed one had long blue hair and green eyes, while the other had long silver blue hair and purple eyes. The blue haired woman jumped when she saw Brian sit up, yelling something incomprehensible to him. The other pointed what looked like a gun at him and asked him a question he couldn’t understand.
Brian smiled dumbly, not understanding a word they spoke, and then asked, “Excuse me, but I can’t understand anything you just said. I don’t suppose either of you speak English?”
The woman with long blue hair giggled before ordering a command into the computer. A few seconds later a small mechanical arm came out of the wall next to Brian. When came close, a small needle came out of its front and stabbed him in the leg. After he screamed in pain the mechanical arm went back into the wall.
“What the hell was that for?” Brian asked.
“So that you could understand our language,” the blue haired woman said. “My name is Celi, chief medical officer of this ship.” Celi looked to the girl. “I have to go see the captain now that our alien friend is awake. Keep an eye on him.” She looked at him again, smiled and then left.
This is a lot better than the Grey ship. Brian stood up and looked around the tiny room he was in, noting there was only one entrance. He went to the opening, putting his hand up to find a solid field blocking him. Seles pointed her pulse rifle at him.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m trying to figure out where I am and what I’m doing here. The last thing I remember was being on a Grey ship. Then I fell unconscious. I don’t suppose you could tell me anything?”
Seles lowered her rifle. “I can’t tell you anything unless I receive orders to.”
He poked at the force field. “Can I ask you for your name then? My name’s Brian.”
“Seles,” she said.
“That’s a beautiful name. It’s obvious that your species is different from the Greys. So what are you Seles?”
“I told you before Brian, I am unable to speak of anything further with you until I get orders to.” She paused, feeling curiosity swell within her. “What you were doing on the Grey ship?”
Brian looked at the small alien girl. He looked down, sighing. “I was taken by them. I’ve been taken by them for experiments since I was a child. Somehow, I overcame their paralyzing technology.”
“Did you kill them?” Seles asked.
Brian shook his head, looking up with hollow eyes. “Yes. Despite the strange joy I felt when killing them at the time, I feel remorse now.” He smiled. “Thankfully, I’ve been taken prisoner by a much more beautiful race.” He turned and sat down on the bed.
“Where you were taken from?” Seles stepped closer to the cell.
“I don’t think you know it. My people don’t have the ability to travel between stars yet.”
“Even so, you seem to be familiar with our technology. Your species must be fairly advanced for you to not be surprised at force fields and such. Please, tell where you come from Brian?”
“Earth,” he answered.
She looked shocked and surprised. Brian stood up.
“Are you alright?” he asked.
Seles calmed herself. “Did you say Earth?”
“Yeah,” Brian said. “How do you know about Earth?”
Seles looked up as the ship began shaking. The lights began flickering. A shockwave passed through the room as the sound of explosions came from all around.
Chapter 3 – A Battle
Valis stood on the elevator when the first shockwave hit. The lights flickered as the door opened to the bridge. She saw half the bridge crew on their backs. She ran to seat, seeing Zae and Kivi return to their positions. Baed sat up, shook her head and took her seat a moment later.
“Kivi, what’s the situation?” Valis started running battle scenarios in her chair’s computer.
Kivi shook her head. “Something came out of nowhere and attacked the ship we were towing.”
Valis looked up. “Put it on the monitor.”
“Yes captain,” Zae said. A different Grey ship appeared on the screen.
I was hoping this wouldn’t happen. Valis thought to herself. “Zae, ready the weapons and shielding systems. Use attack pattern C-13. Baed, switch to manual control. Daes, give me a damage report.”
“Yes captain,” Baed and Zae said in unison.
Daes look up from her console. “The captured ship is their target. With the first blast they’ve destroyed 50% of the vessel. The Avoni has taken heavy damage, near the rear brig and secondary engineering. No casualties to report.”
“Should we scramble the Novas?” Kivi asked.
Valis looked at the attacking ship. “Our Novas couldn’t scratch a Grey ship Kivi. It looks like I’m going to have to improvise.”
* * *
Seles lost her balance and fell forward. At the same time the force field holding Brian disappeared and allowed him to catch her. She jumped away and aimed the pulse rifle at him.
“Stay right there Terran,” Seles said as she went over to the console near the door.
Brian stood with his hands up. “What’s going on?” The lights shut off, filling the room with darkness.
“The ship’s under attack,” Seles said. She found Brian in the dark and grabbed his arm. “There’s a hull breach near this sector. If we don’t get out soon we’ll be thrown into space.”
Brian looked down and saw her outline. She’s a lot smaller this close to me. He thought as she led him to the brig’s door. “Your ship has escape pods, right?”
The ship shook violently again. Seles looked up at Brian. “There’s an escape shuttle down the hall. But first, I have to blast the door down.”
“Go for it,” Brian said as she took aim. After shooting the door a number of times with energy blasts the door fell open. Outside the emergency lights were on. She led him down a hallway until they reached a small hexagonal door sitting in the wall.
“This is the escape shuttle,” Seles said as she accessed the adjacent computer panel.
Brian looked at it. “It’s a bit small.”
“Let’s go,” she said, jumping through the door.
Brian sighed. “Guess I don’t have a choice.” He squeezed his way through the door and into the back of the escape shuttle.
* * *
“What’s our status?” Valis asked.
“Shields have been reduced by 40%, propulsion is near red line,” Daes said.
“I really wish we were on even footing technologically,” Kivi said as she continued working the Avoni’s systems.
We can’t survive more than two more attacks. Valis thought to herself. She looked at her plan, frowning. At least we’ll leave with our lives. She looked up again. “Baed, full speed ahead for the Grey ship, when I give the command put the Avoni into a barrel roll. Zae, reroute all remaining power to the forward shields.”
“Planning something crazy?” Kivi asked.
“I hate to do this, but survival takes precedence over treasure. Grey ves
sels are as maneuverable as Original Five types. The only way we can compensate is to get as close as possible. That’s when we give them the ship we captured,” Valis explained.
“What about their telepathy?” Zae asked.
Valis grinned. “A long time ago I learned their telepathic powers are limited in range. By the time we get close enough for them to read us it’ll be too late for them to react.” Valis finished the adjustments to the ship and looked to Kivi, who nodded.
“Baed, Zae, let’s get this started,” Valis said.
* * *
Brian banged his head as he stood up in the shuttle pod, holding back a curse. In the front were two small chairs and a control panel. To the sides were storage lockers and extra seats, as well as more consoles. Seles sat in the front chair to the right and activated the small vessel’s systems.
“Good, it looks like everything’s working here,” she said as she flipped a pair of switches above her chair and started the engines.
Brian sat in the chair to the left. “I think I need a bigger seat.”
“You look ridiculous.” She glanced at him, smiling. “Make sure to use the safety belt. I’m sure you don’t want to crash into a wall once we get moving.”
Brian looked around, seeing the strap on the back. He slid it on; not bothering to lower the arm rests. He looked the console. Their language looks remarkably similar Greek. I can almost read it. He thought to himself, looking at Seles. I’m glad that their species is pretty. I’d hate to be stuck with the Greys any longer than I did. He looked down and noticed she still had her rifle trained on him.
“I’m not going to hurt you Seles,” Brian said.
Seles finished readying the shuttle’s systems. “Never trust the word of a Terran. Until I see otherwise Brian, my weapon will be ready.”
“What?” Brian asked.
Seles detached the shuttle from the Avoni’s hull right before the ship barreled into the attacking ship. As they began speeding away, the Avoni tossed the remains of the captured ship at the other, causing an explosion. The Avoni was thrown away, while the small shuttle was driven towards a large gas giant. Seles struggled to keep control of the craft, steering them into the orbit of a large, ice covered moon.
“That was one hell of an explosion,” he said.
“I hope the Avoni survived it.” Seles turned to Brian. “As for us, it looks like our engine systems were damaged. It’s going to be a struggle for me to just land the shuttle.”
“I hope you’re good at flying Seles,” he said as the shuttle dove into the moon’s atmosphere.
“I’m the best Nova pilot onboard,” Seles said, showing a small, silver button shaped like a star on her shirt. “My people only earn these when they become an ace. I’ve shot down my share of enemies in the past few years.”
Brian looked at the moon’s landscape as they descended. “Figures the first rock I’ll set foot on other than home is frozen to the core.”
Seles smiled. You wouldn’t think that he annihilated an entire Grey crew just a day or two ago. She thought to herself. “Brace yourself!”
The shuttle dove into an icy plateau, crashing softly into the ice and snow.
* * *
The crew of the Avoni braced for the explosion outside. Smoke filled the air as small fires erupted from the equipment on the bridge. Valis shook her head and looked around, seeing everyone was alright. She turned to Kivi. “Give me a damage report.”
Kivi coughed. “Defense shields down. The pulse cannons are operating at 20% output. The gravity drive is not functioning, engines at 10%. Five crew are confirmed dead, twelve missing.”
“Which sectors?” Valis asked.
“Novaguard hanger A,” Kivi answered.
Valis closed her eyes. “Where was Seles?”
Kivi checked. “She’s not among the casualties. It appears she took an emergency shuttle.”
“Are you sure?” Valis asked.
“I have the video here.” Kivi showed it to Valis.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing to a shadow entering the hatch behind Seles.
“That’s the alien we recovered,” Daes said.
“We need to get the Avoni moving as soon as possible. I don’t have to stress why recovering Seles is so important,” Valis said.
Chapter 4 – The Cave
Brian woke up after the crash and found himself lying on the floor next to Seles. The air was cold, getting colder by the minute. He looked around frantically for the emergency supplies before making his way to the back of the shuttle. There, he found the back hatch was bent open a little. After searching through a few containers, he found the sack full of emergency supplies. Next to it was an object that looked like a sword, about a meter in length, with a slight curve to the blade. The hilt was made of the same metal and wrapped tightly with leather. Brian picked it up and drew the blade from its metal sheath. He swung the blade, feeling it was perfectly balanced and light as a feather.
“What are you doing?” Seles asked as she got up and shook her head.
Brian looked at the blade. “Why would you have this in the emergency supplies? Isn’t a sword a bit behind the technological curve?”
Seles stood up and motioned for the blade. When Brian handed it to her she pressed a button and said, “Rakna bel de cou.” The sword started glowing and radiated heat.
“It’s not just a normal sword, it’s a rakna blade. The metal vibrates so quickly it can cut through most metals.” Seles repeated the words, “Rakna bel de cou.” The sword stopped glowing. She placed it back within its sheath and handed it to Brian. “Can you grab the rest of the supplies?”
He grabbed the sack and threw it over his back. Seles took her pulse rifle and a small scanning device, turning it on.
“Can that thing find us shelter?” Brian asked.
“Yes, why do you ask?”
He pointed at the back of the shuttle. “The back hatch is bent and the air from outside is leaking in fast.”
She checked the door, confirming the leak. She looked at her scanner and sighed with relief. “There’s a large cave about eight hundred vetres away. It’ll take us thirty minutes if we hurry.”
Brian grabbed the cold weather cloaks and handed one to Seles. “How big is a vetre?” he asked as he put the rakna blade on his belt.
She put her hand just below his waist. “That’s about what a vetre is. Let’s hurry to the cave; it looks like night will be falling soon.”
The two wrapped the thick white cloaks around themselves and left through the back hatch. Snow was blowing in all directions and the sky was near dusk. Visibility was next to nothing. Brian noticed the temperature was barely below freezing.
“Compared to what I was living in a few days ago this feels like summer,” Brian said as the two began walking. He let the hood of the thermal cloak down.
Seles was shivering. “How could anyone call this summer?” she asked, pulling the cloak tighter.
“Haven’t you ever seen winter Seles? This is quite normal from where I come from,” he said.
“What’s winter?” she chattered out.
“Winter’s the cold season, when the temperatures fall below freezing and it snows like this.” He looked at her. “What kind of world do you come from?”
Seles continued shivering. “Kalaidia is a land of lush tropical forests and swampland. It never snows or gets near the temperature of freezing. My people suffer hypothermia much quicker than a high warm blooded being like you. Even with nanomachines we can stand the cold for only a little while.”
“At least we found a moon with a breathable atmosphere. What’re the chances of that?”
“Not very good,” Seles answered.
Brian kept looking at Seles. She was shivering as the blowing snow and wind were getting worse. How could beings of such high technology be so frail? He thought to himself. I’d better keep her talking so she doesn’t fall unconscious.
“Why did you react so strongly when I told
you I was from Earth?” he asked. “How do your people even know about it?”
Trembling, Seles replied, “It’s because of your race’s love of war and adaptability. Are we wrong for believing what we’ve been told Brian?”
He shook his head. “No, that’s pretty accurate. Humans have adapted to live in all climates, from the coldest arctic to the hottest deserts. We’re also fascinated with war. But, we’re also explorers who love to conquer the unknown. What I still want to know is how you know about Earth.”
She turned and looked at him. “Long before Kalaidia joined the Confederation, many centuries ago, there was a lone Terran who came from space. It’s said he was the greatest of his people, rising above the base desires of your race. But the other races feared him, and because of their fear, killed him. Some believe he never died, or perhaps returned to Terra Prime with his memories erased. All records of who he was were destroyed. He’s known only as the Teacher.”
“So why not just destroy us and be done with it?” Brian asked.
Still shivering, Seles responded, “Because, we fear the Greys even more than Terrans. The Confederation believes there will be a war in the coming centuries.”
“What does that have to do with humans?” he asked.
“Terrans are a wild card in such a war. Your race’s fighting ability is one of your greatest strengths. There’s also your race’s ability to develop new technologies faster than us. Most Confederation members took several centuries to develop space flight after powered flight. Yours did the same in less than seventy years.”
Seles looked at the scanner, trembling. She pulled the thermal cloak tighter. Night was falling. With snow blowing, Brian and Seles saw the outline of a rocky outcrop. Near the center was a small entrance. As they neared the cave, Seles tumbled to the ground.
Brian ran over to her, “Seles! What’s wrong!?”
Heaven Saga 1: The Lost Hero Page 2