“Upon delivery of the forswight, we would be happy to,” Pyrhinia said. “But you’ll notice that one of these is not of your people, but of the visitors. I see you have the other two of them with you. I trust they are well cared for.”
“We have not harmed them, no,” Retinda said. “What interest are they to you?”
“Not your business,” Pyrhinia said, “but it might interest you to know that we found you because of their unique biology.”
“Unique biology?” Retinda asked, suddenly suspicious of the presence of Blake and Michelle.
“Yes, unique biology,” Pyrhinia confirmed. “Because they are not of your species, we were able to find them on your planet, and I assure you, we can continue to do so. As such, we are happy to release this one and your own naran female into your custody in exchange for the forswi—”
Pyrhinia suddenly held her neck and dropped to her knees. Her troops were only momentarily confused before the same thing happened with them. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Blake turned to find Wilster stepping out of the storage room holding the glowing ball in his hands, the points of contact turning purple under his fingers, and the ball, as a whole, was pulsating in a rainbow of colors across its surface.
“You will not be making any demands, Kursas slime,” Wilster said. “You will release your prisoners to us at once.”
Without a word, they released the naran and Perry, who slowly walked away from their captors. Retinda directed them to Blake and Michelle in order to deal with their bonds which appeared to be some kind of metal handcuffs.
“Now, you will make your way to the surface,” Wilster commanded. “At once.”
The Kursas all rose to their feet and obediently walked away from them down the hallway. Wilster followed with Retinda and Darvin close behind.
“Well done, Wilster,” Darvin said. “Maybe this will get them off our planet entirely. Best case scenario.”
“This is remarkably unwise, regardless of the outcome,” Blake warned. “That thing is burning through his mind with every step. We’re so far from the Kursas ship that he may not live to see them gone, and if that happens, they won’t be happy.”
“I hope you’re wrong, Blake,” Retinda said. “Don’t think I wasn’t listening to you, and don’t believe that this was authorized.”
“I understand,” Blake said.
“Attend to them, if you would,” Retinda said, “and then join us as we see them out and pray that it works.”
Blake nodded and looked to the restraints of Perry and the naran female with him. Blake used his scanner to see how the restraints were locked, and he found that despite some of the advances on the Kursas ship, the bonds had a conventional electronic lock.
“What is going on, Blake?” Perry asked as Blake used his electronic lockpick to remove the handcuffs. “And it’s very good to see you both again.”
“Good to see you as well,” Blake said. “Basically, the narans, here, got hold of a world domination device outlawed centuries ago by most galactic governments. It was on that Kursas ship, so where they got it, no one can say. However, one of them has taken it upon himself to use it to remove the Kursas from the planet.”
“That’s a good thing, right?” The naran woman asked.
“Sorry, Blake, Halera, Halera, Blake,” Perry said, making a quick introduction.
“Good to meet you, Halera,” Blake said. “The answer is yes and no. It would be good for the Kursas to leave, but bad for Mr. Wilster, who will not likely live to see much past reaching the surface. That device kills whoever used it. Burns them up from the inside out, you might say.”
“That’s horrible,” Halera said.
“That’s one of the reasons it’s illegal,” Blake said. “Let’s follow them.”
Michelle introduced herself on the way, and they found the narans following the Kursas not too far down the tunnels. They were following a different path than they had when they entered, but this made some sense as they had noticed more than one way to enter the structure anyway.
“How are we getting out of this?” Blake asked Retinda.
“These old facilities always had a way to move large groups of people in and out of them,” she replied. “It’s usually a large elevator that will take us all the way to the surface, not unlike the one we took to get into Mr. Wilster’s house to begin with.”
“You took an elevator?” Perry asked.
“Yes, how’d you get in?” Michelle said.
“Well, let’s just say that I hope he is insured in case of catastrophic roof failure due to weapons fire,” Perry said.
“Blasted their way in, did they?” Darvin asked.
“To put it mildly,” Perry replied.
Meanwhile, Retinda had made her way to Halera. “Were you a prisoner on the ship?” she asked.
“Yes,” Halera replied. “I was taken in one of the first waves, but they had taken so many that I was able to slip away. I was never on the walls.”
“The walls?” Retinda said. “What kind of conditions are our people in in there?”
“It’s horrible,” Halera said. “We are all mounted to the walls like animals. They’re not going to let us go.”
“They said they would,” Retinda said.
“They won’t,” Halera affirmed. “They said their ship runs on biofuel. They attack planets and take what life they need to keep it running. When we are disintegrated—”
“Disintegrated!?” Retinda exclaimed.
“Yes,” Halera continued, “we are absorbed into their ship. The prisoners will not be released.”
Retinda appeared to be speechless at this point, but Blake and the others had been listening to the conversation as they walked.
“It’s true about the conditions,” Blake said. “We saw the room she spoke of.”
“We also saw them vaporize one of your people,” Michelle said. “It’s every bit as awful as she said.”
“What kind of people are these who would do such a thing?” Retinda asked rhetorically. “What kind of people would make such a machine to require the loss of life to function.”
“We learned they are technological thieves,” Blake said. “We told them we used a piece of technology they did not have, so they allowed us to live so they could get it.”
“But why use such a thing even if they stole it?” Retinda asked. “Such blatant disregard for life. We need to act.”
“Act how?” Blake asked, but Retinda moved to Wilster.
“Tell me, Wilster,” Retinda said, “can you see or control the Kursas ship from here?”
“Guide me as I close my eyes,” Wilster said. Retinda took his arm, and the Manipulator glowed brighter as he tilted his head, apparently “looking” around with his eyes.
“Yes,” he finally said. “I can see them all. I see three hundred Kursas and one hundred eighty-four narans. I can see their minds as if they were my own. I can control them.”
“This is dangerous,” Blake warned.
“That’s enough out of you,” Retinda snapped. “If you’re not with us, you’re against us, and will pay the penalty for treason.”
Blake paused in surprise. She had been so level headed through more stressful situations, and one he felt would be cautious in a scenario like this. He had an idea as to where her thoughts were going.
“Make them release our people,” Retinda said.
Wilster said nothing, but the ball glowed even brighter as they reached the end of a hallway. Darvin pressed a button on the wall which opened a pair of sliding doors into a large, round room which was likely the elevator Retinda had referenced. They all entered the elevator, which held all of them comfortably, but with very little room to spare. The doors closed, and they felt the machinery pushing them toward the surface.
“Our people are being released,” Wilster said. “The stronger ones are helping the weaker leave the ship. It will take several minutes for them all to clear out.”
“Can our prisoners hear u
s?” Retinda asked.
“I can instruct them not to,” Wilster said.
“Do it.”
“It is done.”
“Have them prepare the ship for takeoff. Start the engines or whatever they need to do, so that when our people have cleared the ship, they will be ready to leave immediately.”
Blake nodded at this action since it would give them the best chance of getting the Kursas off the planet before they know what happened. There was a chance they might return, but the Larsarin Manipulator could plant the thought that the device was destroyed, which could prevent their return.
“As soon as the narans are off the ship,” Retinda continued, “and I mean the very second the last one has cleared the exit, they are to take off. They are not to wait on anyone else. Their orders are to leave immediately.”
“What about these Kursas?” Perry asked.
“They will be dealt with,” Retinda said. “Someone has to pay for the atrocities done to our people.”
“They’ll eventually realize they left without their commander,” Michelle noted.
“No, they won’t,” Retinda said turning back to Wilster. “Have them set course for the sun.”
“That is murder,” Blake said.
“Any more than what they did to our people?” Retinda challenged. “Any more than the murder they’ve committed on countless other worlds to fuel their ship? I don’t know how much life is out there, but they have a spaceship that lives on the deaths of others. Tell me how I’m not justified in getting rid of it.”
“You are taking lives in order to do so,” Blake said. “Three hundred of them, according to Wilster.”
“This is war, Mr. Blake Williams,” Retinda said. “War involves casualties, and sometimes, you have to take someone’s life to save the life of another. If we did not do this, they would keep going, and I would be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of others because of our lack of courage. I was given the choice. Take three hundred lives, which I will have to live with, or save them and risk hundreds or thousands of others. If someone before me had done it, they would not have taken the lives they did here. Do I like killing people? No. I’m not a monster. Would I do it to save countless others? In a heartbeat. Call it murder if you want, but my conscience is clear.”
The entire elevator suddenly broke the surface of the planet, and the doors opened much like those of the Maze’s elevator to reveal the open planet surface. The Kursas, narans, and humans all exited the elevator which retained its place above the surface until Darvin pressed a button to lower it back into the ground.
“The ship is clear,” Wilster said. “Takeoff initiated.”
Wilster suddenly retched in pain, dropping to his knees but never letting go of the ball. “Course for the sun laid in,” he continued.
In the distance, they could see the ship take off. It spun around and flew over their heads to build up speed to leave the planet’s gravity. It disappeared into the distance, and Blake thought he saw one of the Kursas move. Wilster’s hold was breaking.
“Step back,” Blake said to Michelle, Perry, and Halera. He knew Retinda and Darvin wouldn’t listen to him.
Retinda knelt next to Wilster, never making a move to touch him or the device. She knew how dangerous it was and did not wish to risk herself in this.
“The ship has left the planet, and is on a course to make a landing on the surface of the sun within sixty seconds,” Wilster said, but his voice was broken as he spoke. He was unable to communicate as smoothly as he had been. A squad of at least twenty Kursas were fighting against his mind.
Wilster opened his mouth in a silent scream of pain before the Larsarin Manipulator took another victim and he fell to the ground, dead. As he fell forward, the glowing ball dropped from his hands and rolled along the ground toward the Kursas. Retinda gasped and started to run after the ball whose glow had dimmed to a dull gray, but Darvin held her back.
The ball came to a rest against the heel of a Kursas warrior who slowly turned to look at it and then look at the six people who had previously imprisoned them. He raised his weapon followed slowly by the rest of them. Finally, a gloved hand reached down and picked the forswight up off the ground.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Pyrhinia stared at the forswight, which set dormant in her gloved hand. The device did not react to her at all, since the gloves were blocking the touch required to activate it. She looked at the body of Wilster on the ground and walked to him. She placed the tip of her boot under his body and flipped him over onto his back.
“Lesser species should not interfere in things they cannot handle,” she said before she drew her sidearm and shot a hole in his head for good measure. She glanced up at Retinda and Darvin and then to Blake, Perry, Michelle, and Halera.
“You should know that we are not leaving your planet until it is stripped absolutely bare of every resource it has. This was our goal,” Pyrhinia said holding up the forswight, “but your planet is rich is so many things. After this insult, it will be ours.”
“Will it?” Retinda said defiantly. “Are you so certain?”
“Your pitiful people have been unable to stand up to our might since we arrived,” Pyrhinia said. “You can fight all you want, but no one has defeated a fully armed Kursas cruiser.”
“Then it’s a good thing there isn’t one of those around here,” Retinda said. “Just you.”
“What are you talking about?” Pyrhinia said with what Blake could only assume was an expression of worry. It was, at least, the first time he had seen that particular expression on her face.
“Darvin, has it been sixty seconds?” Retinda asked.
“Easily,” he replied.
“Your ship is gone,” Retinda said. “Do you know what that thing in your hand does?”
“Oh, Retinda, I don’t think this is a good idea,” Blake said. He wanted to get everyone out of there as soon as possible, but the Kursas squad was watching them as well.
“That thing you were looking for controls the minds of species, including yours,” Retinda boasted. “It not only drove your original crew mad with jealousy over it, but we used it to send your ship on a course for the sun. You have no ship.”
Pyrhinia pulled a device from her belt and spoke into it in the Kursas language. When there was no reply, she repeated her query. Her voice grew more desperate with every phrase she spoke. Slowly, she looked back to Retinda who stood defiantly before her as she returned the communicator to her belt.
“I know what this does,” Pyrhinia said. “And I’m not afraid to use it.”
Blake took a reflexive step away from them along with the three who stood by him, but the Kursas soldier who was watching them flinched as well, keeping his weapon trained on them.
Pyrhinia removed a glove to reveal her long, scaly fingers, and she transferred the ball into that hand. She held up her other hand, and a Kursas directly behind her removed its glove as well. The ball glowed brightly as she interfaced with it.
Retinda and Darvin suddenly went rigid. Their confidence was shattered in an instant as their eyes reflected panic.
“You want to destroy a ship of the Kursas?” Pyrhinia said angrily. “I can see through this that you tell the truth. We are the only Kursas on this planet, and I cannot find my ship anywhere. You will pay for your actions.”
A short distance away, several elevators emerged from the ground, and Blake realized that the exit from the underground bunker was not too far from the residential neighborhood where Wilster lived. Narans walked out of their elevators like zombies towards them. These would be nothing more than families who had likely only seen the Kursas invasion on the news without any knowledge of anyone they had taken. Pyrhinia had apparently allowed Retinda and Darvin to retain their mental faculties as they had panic in their eyes at the people’s approach.
“How’s your aim, leader of narans?” Pyrhinia asked. “Shall we find out?”
Retinda drew her weapon and aimed it at one of the appr
oaching people. A tear dripped down her face as her arm seemed to take aim of its own accord. She took a shot, but missed.
“Hard to hit a moving target, isn’t it?” Pyrhinia said. “Try again?”
A man stopped moving about 30 yards from Retinda. Retinda fired again hitting the man square in the head. He dropped to the ground in front of a woman and two children who continued their slow walk towards them.
“Now, perhaps your little assistant can do better,” Pyrhinia said. “Fire, little man.”
Darvin fired, hitting another man in the head. Pyrhinia nodded. Retinda and Darvin fired every shot in their weapons, flawlessly hitting person after person in the crowd approaching them, dropping each one with a shot in the head. Tears streamed down both of their faces as they were forced to kill their own innocent civilians.
“Very good,” Pyrhinia said. “Now, let’s do something else. Perhaps you both have some frustrations you need to let loose.”
Retinda and Darvin turned to each other. Retinda threw a punch at Darvin’s face, and he flinched right before she hit. He spun and hit the ground. Pyrhinia walked around them, and Darvin rose back to his feet. He punched Retinda, and she dropped to the ground as well. Another punch for Darvin broke his nose. Blood streaming out, he punched Retinda which broke out some teeth. Retinda hit Darvin again, which cut his face and sent him to the ground again.
“Get up, little man,” Pyrhinia insisted. Darvin tried, but he did not have the strength. “Yes, I can see you’re done.” She kicked him hard in the face, and he stopped moving entirely. “This was getting old anyway.”
Pyrhinia walked to stand next to Retinda who was still frozen by her power. She made her way to the other four, who had not moved through this entire exchange.
“I believe we will have no problem taking your technology when your ship arrives, traveler,” Pyrhinia said. “You said all we needed to do was keep you alive so they come back, and I’ve kept my promise.”
A small group of the Kursas’ red panda mounts ran through the group of frozen people, not touching a single one until they stopped next to the squad of Kursas. Behind her, the shuttle that had brought Perry and Halera landed, and Pyrhinia climbed aboard as the rest of her squad mounted their pandas.
The Kursas Page 13