by J. K. Mabrey
“Oh, you see," he said with an air of pretension, "I believe I accidentally opened the maps application during my recalibrations. My location popped up onscreen briefly before the guard knocked me out that is. They didn’t find my stunt very funny in the least. That location is my best guess to where I think the compound is.”
“We can’t do a flyover," Brax said. "They’d probably shoot us down, no questions asked.”
“Logical conclusion," Vask said.
“We’ll have to get there on foot?” Dani asked. “Sounds a little dangerous," she said as she glanced at Zavik.
Brax spoke up. “Indeed it will be. Landing on Theros, and strolling up to Red Moon’s compound is suicide.”
“They don’t need to get real close,” Vask said. “A few long range scans and photos would be enough to confirm if the ships they have docked are the same as the ships that recently attacked Earth. Perhaps only one person should go, to keep the risks to a minimum.”
Zavik wasn’t keen on the prospect of trusting anyone to stay with his ship, and he wasn’t going to leave Dani on the ship with two Chokmnd’s he had just met. “Perhaps you should go," he said to Vask.
Defiantly he said, “I don’t think that was part of my agreeing to help you in this situation. I’m here to identify ships, not get recaptured by Red Moon.”
Zavik didn’t trust Brax enough to let him go alone to the compound, leaving only one other option. “Dani and I will go, you two will stay with the ship.”
“Seriously!” Dani and Brax shouted at the same time. “You trust them with the ship?” Dani continued.
“Of course not," he said trying to calm her. "You two will stay with the ship, but see this,” Zavik pointed to his wrist communicator. “This allows me to control the Rinada from anywhere; call it to my location, independently fly it, raise and lower shields, as well as a nice little addition of my own, self-detonate the core if I choose. See, I won't let my ship get into the hands of anyone else, and if I get a hint that you’re trying to do anything to her, I’ll destroy you both.”
Brax turned to Vask and said, “In light of that little bit of information, I highly suggest we just stay right here, and wait for them to return.”
“Come to that conclusion all on your own?” Vask replied.
The Rinada descended into the atmosphere, slowed by the air resistance. They glided across the land staying close to the shoreline. The radar showed a city ahead of them, with the sea to their port side.
“That’ll be Trandind," Vask said, "largest port city on Theros. Virtually all interstellar trade travels through there."
"There's hardly any activity," Dani said.
"I told you they were remote.”
Dani maneuvered them inland more, to cover more area. Vask wasn’t exactly sure of the compound’s location, this was the best way to cover more ground safely. They strafed the land, flying below radar levels. Suddenly a small artifact appeared on screen about thirty miles to their starboard side.
“What was that?” Brax asked, looking closely at the monitor.
“I’d say it’s a safe bet that’s their camp,” Vask said.
“It’s not really giving off any useful information," Dani said.
“No, it won’t, it’s designed to not be noticeable, unless you’re really looking for it, and know where to look. Set the ship down about two miles away. That should be out of range enough. Two humans on foot shouldn’t trigger any alarms.”
“That’s about a thirty-minute trip, or worse in this terrain,” Dani said.
“We’d better get going then," Zavik replied.
Dani maneuvered the ship close to the compound and sat her down on the sandy planet. Their equipment was prepared and the two left the ship.
Zavik tested his wrist communicator again before departing. “Brax, can you hear me?”
“Loud and staticky, Zavik.”
“We’ll be in contact with you while we move in. This device should show up on the radar the whole way. If something happens to us, promise me you’ll at least let Ambassador Hains know who’s behind the attacks. Remind Vask that she did help rescue him from Red Moon.”
“You have my word Zavik, and we’ll monitor the situation to see if anything changes with the compound. Now hurry back, Vask is a pretty boring character, once you get past the whole captured by Red Moon thing.”
They set off towards the artifact. The atmosphere was harsh, with high winds and sand blowing everywhere. The air was hot and dry. Sweat immediately began pouring down their faces, but the wind did little to cool them off. This really was the perfect place to hide a base. Sparse vegetation could be seen, and strange rodent-like creatures littered the area. Even in such harsh environments, life could thrive, if it evolved and adapted enough. These creatures would trigger any small sensitive sensors. Red Moon wouldn’t have any placed around here. They would be more worried about large ships and raids.
Zavik turned to Dani, “How you holding up?”
“Good,” she replied. “All this running around is new to me, it's a struggle to keep up.”
“You’re doing great. I know this isn’t exactly what you bargained for when you came aboard. I never mentioned any of this darting around the galaxy, looking for criminal organization hideout stuff.”
“Yeah, I don’t remember that in the job description.”
“I’m glad you’re here, though, much better than walking with Brax or Vask.”
“Thanks,” she laughed. “I guess that’s a compliment.” Her face turned serious and she stopped walking. “Have we gotten too involved in this to get out?”
“I’m afraid that after breaking Vask out we have. If Red Moon was involved in the attacks at Earth, they’ll know it was the Rinada that helped defend off the last attack. If they can identify it as the ship that broke Vask out, that will give them two reasons right there to hate us. I didn’t think Vask would lead us back to Red Moon. They’re dangerous, and they’ll be after us." He motioned her to continue on. "Hopefully being right under their noses will give us an advantage. If we can prove they’re involved in the attacks, the Council, or at least Earth, will step in. That’ll help get them off our backs.”
“I haven’t been this scared in a long time, Zavik." Dani's voice was trembling. "Definitely not since joining you. You always kept us outside the battles, and never in conflict with anything we couldn’t handle.”
“There were a few sticky situations before," he reminded her. "But being one of the most wanted by an interstellar crime organization? That’s definitely a first. You could say we’re finally moving up in the galaxy.”
“Yes, but how long will it last?” she asked.
“Don’t worry," he said putting his arm around her, "I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”
“Odds you keep that?”
“Even,” he said hoping to see her smile. She didn't. “Let’s keep moving, at a mile, we might be able to spot something in this haze.”
They pushed through the ever-growing harsh conditions. The planet's atmosphere was thinner than most and definitely thinner than they were used to. Zavik was out of breath just walking against the wind. They had to stop their trek many times just to rest. A dust storm began to flare up, blinding them to anything more than fifty feet away.
Zavik radioed the ship with his wrist communicator and Vask indicated they were less than a mile from the compound. It looked to be built in a low valley, which helped hide it from radar. Just beyond their sight, they saw a ridge overlooking the valley.
They climbed their way up the sandy ridge, the wind blowing from below the valley kicked up more sand that pelted against their bodies. The sand stung and cut at the small amount of exposed skin they had. Zavik internally questioned whether they were making the right decision. If the compound were consumed by a storm of haze they would have to risk getting even closer to get any information about their ships.
They reached the summit and dropped to their stomachs. Zavik c
limbed over the tip of the sand ridge and was caught by a blast of wind that would have knocked him over had he been standing. But it was clear. The inside of the valley was calm, save for the clear gust roaring over the peak.
The area was large, much larger than expected. A little under a mile away were dozens of buildings, mostly small. One towered over the others in the center of the city. Towards the right was an open field, littered with machines. They sat silent for a moment, in awe of the hidden fortress.
Zavik took out a pair of photo-binoculars from the pack and looked down at the field. "There’re hundreds of ships down there. They all look like the Chokmnd designs." He scanned the area, trying to take a mental inventory of the ships.
"Any of them look like the ones at Earth?" Dani asked.
"Hmm…yeah, there," he pointed to the lower right corner, a useless gesture at this range. "The bottom right. Looks like RA’s, and no visible markings. I'll take some photos to send to Vask, see if he can positively ID them as the same ones."
Zavik took photos of multiple RA's and a few of the LR-80’s that were docked. He sent them back to the Rinada. "This is what we found, can you ID them as the same ships that attacked Earth?"
"Not positively," Vask said, "but if they have similar engine drives and weapon systems, I say there's a good chance they'd be from the same organization, enough to convince me at least. Give me a few moments to put the scans through the analyzer. Yours is in desperate need of updating. Could've already been done if it were my analyzer."
"I'll take your word for it. Just let me know when-" suddenly a frightening sound of electricity penetrate deep in his skull. A muffled scream followed behind it. He turned to late to see her fall, but Dani was still convulsing on the hard sand when his eyes met her. He didn't have time to count them all, he was at five, not even half the total, when his world went black. The pain paralyzed him, it made hitting the ground painless. A faint cry from Brax was the last thing to pass through his head.
Predator
Traval burst into Varin’s office, almost out of breath with excitement.
“What is it Traval?” Varin asked, not bothering to look up from his terminal.
“I hate to interrupt you, sir, but we have the pilot of the Rinada.”
“Already?" he said. "Excellent work my friend. Where were they? Who caught them?”
He hesitated, “They were here, sir. We found them just outside the compound. It appears as though they were spying on us.”
“Really?" Varin said, finally lifting his head. "We must find out what they know, and if they’ve told anyone anything. I cannot afford to have the Council, or Earth, thinking Red Moon is behind these attacks just yet.”
“They’re in the holding section of the tower, in case you wished to supervise the interrogations.”
“Supervise? No," he said seething, "I mean to administer the interrogations myself.”
***
Zavik awoke with a jolt, his world dark, and his labored breathing smothering his face in hot air. He sat in a chair, hands bound behind him and a hood covering his face. Dani sat to his left, her coughing gave him hope that she was unharmed. His side seared with pain and there was no way for him to tend to it.
Zavik heard footsteps approaching from outside the room. Suddenly a violent clang reverberated throughout the room as the door slammed against the wall. Someone approached and ripped the hood off Zavik’s head, exposing him to the dark abyss that was the holding cell. A Chokmnd figure stood next to Zavik then removed Dani’s hood as well. Their eyes locked and a half smile crept up his face. Dani’s cheeks glistened from what little light there was as another tear streamed down her soaked face. The shadowed figure stood for a moment before sitting at a table across from them. Zavik glanced around the room, paying little attention to their captor. The room contained no windows, the only light bled through the outline of the closed door. The Chokmnd sat mere feet from them, his back to the door, theirs backed up against the back wall. If there was anything else of interest in the room it was hidden in the shadows. “Good day,” Varin said softly. “I wanted to welcome you to my little facility myself.”
Zavik twisted and pulled against his restraints, the metal starting to cut into his wrists. “That suppose to mean you’re in charge here?” he spat out.
“Yes,” he replied bluntly. “And I wouldn't worry about your restraints, they are quite secure. I only have a few easy questions for you. If you’re honest and forthcoming, I’m sure there’s something we can work out to make this mutually beneficial to all.”
“I doubt that," Zavik said, "but sure, try us.”
Varin’s eyes narrowed and he gazed directly at Zavik. “You are Zavik Khan, correct?”
“That’s an easy one, yes.”
“And who is this with you?”
“None of your business,” he said.
“Actually, information is my business, Mr. Khan. You can tell me, or I’ll eventually get it out of you. One will be fairly painless, the other, assuredly not so much.”
Dani cringed at the thought of him hurting Zavik and said, “My name’s Dani Epson."
“Oh, so she’s allowed to speak," he said in mock surprise. "Excellent. You see, I’m not really knowledgeable in human customs that well, and you never know what kind of cultural rules one might have on women speaking independently.”
“We're not like Chokmnds,” Zavik said. “Our women are free to do as they wish.”
He gave a hearty laugh and said, "I believe you mean to call out the Traguns. Do you know, I’ve been all over the galaxy and I've still never seen a female Tragun without her male handler. Talk about oppression,” Varin smirked. “Now, your ship, the Rinada I believe, was recently spotted at another one of my facilities. Why were you there?”
“I’m sorry," Zavik feigned, "what facility exactly are you talking about?”
Varin's sighed. “And here I was hoping we could be honest with each other. You really don’t want to make this any more difficult than it’s going to be.”
Zavik figured he already knew the answer to the questions he was asking, and decided to ease the interrogation. “You kidnapped the Secretary. We rescued him.”
“Yes, I know that. Why? To what end? Earth should have no vested interest in one of our secretaries.”
“We just thought he’d prefer to be free.”
“No!" Varin shouted, jolting Zavik and Dani back.
“No?” Zavik shook his head in confusion.
“No, that is not the reason," he demanded. "You break him out, then show up here not very long after. This is not a coincidence.”
“Perhaps, he wanted to be dropped off here.”
“You know what I think?" Varin asked. "I think you’re looking for something.”
“What could that be?”
“I don’t know, but I do know you’re going to tell me, and you’re going to tell me where the Secretary is.”
“We’ll see about that,” Zavik said continuing his glare at Varin.
Varin stood. "You should've known, Mr. Khan, that if you go poking around in other people's business, you're bound to get poked back."
“I’m not scared of you.”
“No," Varin said, staring deep into Zavik, "I’m sure you're not. Her, on the other hand, she is scared. I can see it in her eyes."
“You touch her and I’ll kill you,” Zavik said with an unshakable voice.
“Threats from an unthreatening figure, how amusing." He walked slowly around the table. "You see, as I said, I know little of human culture. Quite frankly, I find your people to be a plague on this galaxy. Unfortunately, I also don’t know your anatomy very well. I have to assume it follows a similar pattern to other hominid races. For instance, I don’t know how much torture humans can take before it kills you. So, I'll have to assume that like most species, the female is the physically weaker counterpart. That’s where she comes in. I can torture and push her to find out what she knows, and if I happen to push too hard,
then I’ll know how much you’ll be able to take before dying.”
“Zavik!” Dani cried.
“Awe, my dear," he rubbed her cheek, she cringed and pulled back, "this will be much easier if you just tell me what I want to know. I’m willing to bet he can’t hold out from telling me everything once I start my work. You are so very beautiful, for a human being. It will be a shame if that face is so horribly disfigured.”
Dani's heart was pounding. Varin's foul breath grazed her face. She locked her eyes on Zavik's and froze.
“Don’t!” Zavik yelled. “Take your anger out on me.”
“Anger? You think me angry, do you? No this is business, Mr. Khan. You took something from me, and I want to know why.”
“We don’t even know who you are, or what this place is,” Zavik said, his voice cracking from the strain.
“But you knew it was here. How?”
“We just stumbled upon it," he said.
“Wrong answer.” Varin took out a metal rod from the table and placed it on Dani’s back. A sudden surge of electricity coursed through her body. She screamed out in agonizing pain. The noise sunk Zavik’s stomach, and his blood started to boil. He couldn’t bear to watch her in pain, but he knew, as she did, that revealing any information could be damaging to Earth and the ambassador.
Varin removed the rod and said, “I always find electricity works well for stimulating good conversation. Now how did you find this place? The Secretary?”
Zavik stared at Varin, complete contempt for his life filled his eyes. “We were flying over and saw this shit hole and thought it was a good place to look for scum.”
“Humorous.” He prodded Dani again, and again her screams filled the room with pain. “You know dear, if you tell me, I’ll stop.”
Dani looked at Zavik through her tearing eyes and knew this was more important than just them. “Go to hell you bastard.” She spat what little she could towards his feet.
“That’s not nice," Varin said. "You survive this, I’ll have to teach you some better manners. How long are we really going to play this game? We all know one of you will break before long, it’s in your nature. I can forgive you taking the Secretary, all I want to know is why you’re here now?”