Starfire at Traitors Gate

by Christine Westhead

  "My name is Keen," he began. "I am here to escort your party to safety."

  "Safety from what?" asked Raan from his position in the turret.

  "As you know, there are wandering bands of nomads in this area. All of them are hostile." The young man seemed very sure of himself, and Erion had the distinct feeling that they had been watched from the very moment they had landed on the planet. She threw Raan a warning glance and said,

  "We haven't seen anything of them."

  "My dear," said Keen with a smug smile, "we have been watching your progress closely. You have already staved off one attack. You have been very lucky. Might I also remind you that had we not switched off our shields, you would have burned up before you even had a chance to land."

  "You mean you knew we were in trouble and didn't help us?" asked Erion.

  "You must understand, we had to be sure you were not sent from Terrell to spy on us. We let you through our screens and watched you crash on our planet. I assure you we would not have let you die. I must say your pilot is very experienced. Your work?"

  "No," said Erion, "that was Starfire. She is out there with another crewman. They have been gone too long. Can you find them for us?" Erion looked so pathetic that Raan had to look away in case he caught her eye.

  "We will return to our base and look for them with our scanners," said Keen.

  "No way!" snapped Raan. "They have no survival gear. We can't just leave them out there."

  "I appreciate your concern for your friends, Captain but I assure you we can best help your friends from our base. It is far too dangerous to look for them now."

  "We are receiving a signal from the first vehicle," broke in Delta Ten from his post. "They request communications."

  "They will be concerned for my safety," said Keen. "May I speak with them?"

  "Go ahead," said Erion the dancer in a bored tone.

  "This is Keen," began the young man, "I am alright. What have you to report?"

  "Natives heading this way in large numbers, Sir."

  "Can we out gun them?" asked Keen, worriedly.

  "No sir," answered the voice.

  "What do you mean, you can't outgun them?" asked Raan. "They haven't any guns."

  "As I said, you have been lucky," said Keen hurriedly. "These creatures know no fear. In the past they have attacked and kept coming until our guns have lost power. They have lost hundreds of their warriors, but they will keep coming until they breach our defences. The band that attacked you was just a small hunting party. You killed them all. That is why you survived their attack. You must believe me and come with us." His voice hardened. "It isn't as if you have a choice in the matter."

  "But Starfire and Hal…." began Raan.

  "Your friends are more than likely dead already." Keen was beginning to look frightened and he wasn't that good an actor. "Even if you stay here you will not be able to save them. Your only chance is to come with us." Delta Ten looked up from his console.

  "I am detecting multiple life forms heading this way," he said quietly. "They are in extreme range and will be within contact distance in four point two minutes." Erion and Raan looked at each other. Raan sighed and looked down, shaking his head.

  "You must also be aware that you are caught in a crossfire configuration," Keen said in a superior tone. "This is not a polite request. You will accompany us now!"

  "We do have you though," pointed out Raan. Keen gestured towards the comlink and Erion stood aside for him.

  "Lieutenant Rand, what are your orders?"

  "To open fire on the ATV in two minutes time whether you are aboard or not, sir."

  "All right Mr Keen, you win," said Erion with a resigned sigh. "We will come with you. Would you like to stay with us or return to your own car."

  "I'd like to get back to my men," began Keen, bowing slightly. He spoke into the com link, "I'm coming out, Lieutenant. We're heading back to base. Keep tracking those savages."

  "Yes, Sir." There was obvious relief in the other's voice.

  "Please follow the first car," instructed Keen. He stopped at the door and raised his second in command again. "Lieutenant, please contact the scanner room at Control and have them scan for…"

  "A Terrellian man and woman," supplied Raan.

  "What weapons are they carrying?" asked Keen.

  "Laser carbine and laser bolt hand gun," called Raan. This information was relayed to the faceless Lieutenant and Keen left the ATV, running towards the forward vehicle. It had begun to turn around as soon as Keen had contacted it and while it was in the process of doing so, Erion opened the hatch and flung a survival pack into the blackness. Delta Ten started their truck moving and the second troop carrier waited until they had gone by before pulling in behind them. They were bracketed and could do nothing but follow the truck in front. Raan climbed down from the turret to sit with Erion and gaze into the hologram screens to chart their progress. Direct viewing was impossible in the total darkness, but the scanners could work in those conditions and relayed computer holograms to the inside of the truck that gave a 3D view of the world around them.

  "Well at least we know my father was right," said Erion.

  "About what?" Raan place two coffees on the little dinette table and sat down opposite her.

  "You're not in uniform. Keen called you 'Captain'. How could he know unless there are spies on Terrell?"

  "Yeah, I noticed that myself. Do you think they know who you are?"

  "I don't think so. Keen called me 'Miss' not 'Major', so we'll keep Erion the Dancer around for a little while longer."

  "This is Keen to ATV. Come in please?" The comlink blurted suddenly.

  "This is Raan."

  "I suggest you all get some rest, Captain. We have a long way to go tonight." Raan and Erion looked at each other, shrugged, downed their coffees and lay down on the bench seats to try and get a little sleep.

  "Major, we seem to be heading straight for the side of a mountain," said Delta Ten, a few hours later.

  "Eh?" Raan sat up from where he had been lying, leaned across to Erion and gave her a nudge."

  "Put your hair back on, Major. I think we've arrived."

  "Do not be alarmed," Keen's voice called over the comlink. The first car reached the cliff and disappeared. They followed and saw the structure of the rocks dissipate as they approached. Suddenly they were through and driving down a dimly lit tunnel large enough for two of their trucks to pass with no difficulty.

  "Very neat," mused Raan, impressed despite himself. "I've never seen a holo that big. It must take some power." Erion nodded.

  "It also explains why there are no traces of this place on the surface. It must shield the base as well." They travelled steadily for three long minutes, heading on a slightly downward path all the way. The car in front started to slow down and Delta Ten was instructed to pull into a vacant space in the vehicle park. Apart from the grey concrete floor, it was light, clean, modern looking and reminded Erion of Central City on her home planet. She was about to remark upon this point when Keen spoke on the comlink.

  "Our leader has expressed a wish to meet you in person. As our guests, I am sure you would comply with our request that all weapons be left aboard your ATV. You may lock your vehicle and I assure you nothing will be touched." Clearly this did not go down well with Raan whose hand flew to the gun at his side. He set his jaw and shook his head.

  "No one takes my gun."

  "Captain, please scan the immediate area. Due to the nature of our work here, you will find no one carrying weapons."

  "He is correct," supplied Delta Ten.

  "I still don't like it," snarled Raan. Erion caught his eye and tried to convey something to him without Keen picking up on it.

  "Raan, honey, I'm tired and I'm sick of running. Why can't you just take off the dammed gun and let's go meet the man who saved our lives." It was Erion the Dancer talking but Raan received the message loud and clear. They had come too far now to cause a scene. She stepped clos
e to him and purred, "Please Raan; for me?" Then she hissed in his ear so that Keen could not catch it, "We're supposed to be among friends. Now act like it!"

  "Sure sweetie," smiled Raan, unbuckling the heavy gun belt and letting it slide downwards. He caught it with his other hand and placed it gently on a vacant seat. "Let's go meet the man." They climbed down from the truck and Delta Ten locked it before stepping into a gleaming hover car. It set off along many twists and turns, obviously designed to confuse them and make returning to the truck difficult. However Delta Ten had already planned a route map for their return. He calculated that although they had been travelling for over twenty minutes, they were less than a thousand metres from their original position.

  The car stopped in a bright, well lit lay-by; more than likely some sort of dropping off point. Several people were sitting on benches, obviously waiting for a routine aircar. Keen stepped out of the ground car and held his hand ready for Erion to take. He raised his wrist, spoke into it and marched to the aircar door. Within seconds, the light above the door changed from red to green and the door opened to a familiar chime. They stepped inside, ignoring all the other people who waited outside and studiously looked anywhere but in their direction. Their journey wasn't long and soon the door slid open to reveal a hard faced young Aurian woman seated behind a large desk. She nodded to Keen, pressed a button on her console and said,

  "Your guests are here, Sir."

  "Send them in, Vander." She pressed another button and a door behind her desk and slightly to the right slid open.

  "Go in," she ordered and Keen motioned them forward. They entered the room to see an obese Aurian man sitting behind a desk. He rose to greet them and stepped from behind it, his fat, pudgy hands reaching out to take Erion's.

  "No," said Raan, softly. Erion looked swiftly sideways at him, worried by his tone.

  "Oh, don't stand on ceremony, Captain Raan," said the fat man, "introduce me to the lady."

  "I'd sooner introduce her to a wanga."

  "Do you know this man, Raan, honey?" asked Erion, still in the guise of the dancer. Raan gave a deep sigh and spoke reluctantly.

  "Erion, Del, meet Dolton Blass."

  Chapter 7

  Starfire shuddered and huddled nearer to the lean gun fighter, trying to keep warm. Wispy clouds covered most of the sky and hid Terrell from view. Without its brightness in the night sky, the darkness was absolute and she didn't like the idea of temporary blindness. They had switched off their torches, not knowing if they might need the valuable energy in its batteries to recharge their guns.

  "Can't you keep still?" grunted Hal, as Starfire tried to make herself more comfortable. Rather than pitch the tent Erion had thrown from the ATV, they wrapped it around themselves and sat with their backs against the rocks in a small depression out of the wind. It was cold and comfort-less in the darkness but Hal, as usual, had managed to fall asleep.

  "It's alright for you," she grumbled, "but I'm not made of steel." His hand closed over her wrist with such force that she almost cried out but his words silenced any outburst.

  "There's something out there," he hissed in a harsh whisper. "Get up slow and easy and be ready with the torch when I say." They shrugged out of the tent as quietly as they could and Starfire sensed rather than saw him standing by her side in the darkness. She heard the faint sound of him drawing his gun and reached for the button to switch on the torch.

  "Now," he hissed and she switched it on, barely holding down a gasp of fright at the sight that met their eyes. Over thirty natives surrounded them, standing like statues with glittering eyes and stone age weapons gripped in sinewy hands. They must have been steadily creeping up on them for hours, one of them making a slight sound which had alerted Hal. No fool, the latter dropped his gun and raised his hands above his head, instructing Starfire to do the same. They were hopelessly outnumbered but with any luck, a chance to escape would present itself sooner or later. The natives lit brush torches and walked closer to inspect their captives. Their leader, a huge bear like man with only one ear reached out for Starfire and pulled her forward with a leering grin. She bunched her fist and slammed it into his middle with all her might. It was like hitting a wooden plank and she gasped in pain, rubbing her knuckles and letting out a strangled curse. This action seemed to delight the man and he grabbed her by her hair and shoved her into the middle of the natives. Hal was pushed roughly after her and landed in a crumpled heap at her feet. She lent him a hand to rise and they both submitted to having their wrists tied behind their backs with coarse rope.

  The leader had picked up Starfire's torch and turned it over in his hands. He looked down, aimed it at himself and managed to light it before dropping it with a scream as it shone into his eyes. He motioned to one of the others in a guttural tone and pointed to the ground where their weapons and the torch lay. With great reluctance, the underling carefully picked up the torch and guns and walked well behind them, as instructed by his glorious leader. Either the brute had seen high tech weapons before or he was smarter than he looked, but he wasn't taking any chances. The little they could see of their captors proved that they were probably from the same species that had attacked their camp the night before. They certainly smelled the same as Starfire could testify. The large brutish, one eared leader mimed them forward with a grunt, pushed Hal roughly in the back with the shaft end of his spear and brought him to the ground with a thud. The others thought this was most amusing and loud guffaws greeted Hal's attempts to rise as the one eared thug prodded him back to ground with the wooden staff.

  Starfire couldn't quite see what was happening, but somehow, Hal made it to his feet and planted a hard kick on his assailant's shin. From the awed gasps of the onlookers, it was clear that the brute demanded unthinking obedience from his followers and Hal's retaliation took him completely by surprise. With a huge bellow, he swung a hairy fist which lifted Hal from his feet and sent him crashing back into the dust. Hal picked himself up and made a mental note to place the brute on the top of his payback list.

  They walked for over an hour, stumbling over the rocks and sand, too tired to talk and concentrating on keeping their balance in the dim, flickering lights of the torches. The party turned into a narrow crevice in the rocks which widened out into a canyon and eventually emerged at the base of the cliff Hal and Starfire had been leaning over the night before. Several huts were spaced out around one large central lodge and the whole area stank of rotten meat, old sewage and stale wood smoke. There was a great commotion at their appearance and they were led to the large central hut where all the villagers amassed to peruse them. Vision was improving with the rising sun and Hal could see they were in a lot of trouble. Still, he had been in worse spots and survived. A quick glance at Starfire showed she was holding up well and not showing anything of the apprehension she must be feeling. If anything, she looked angry and Hal caught her eye and winked. She smiled back, then looked towards the centre of the clearing as a sudden hush descended upon the crowd.

  All eyes turned towards a large, bearded man and a short, muscular woman who stepped out of the central hut. Both wore filthy, moth eaten rags and had long, brown, dirty hair that tumbled over their shoulders. The man's face was disfigured and warped; one eye much lower than the other. He wore Hal's gun belt around his waist and the woman was carrying Starfire's carbine and pistol. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was the Head Man and his First Lady. The whole tribe were clearly Terrellian, and now that the sun was up, it was clear to see that all of the savages were deformed in some way. Head Man swaggered forward, peering closely at Starfire, who reeled back from the smell of him. He roared with laughter and grabbed her arm, meaning to haul her off in the direction of his hut. Hal received the same attention from the man's good lady but Head Man shook his head. After some violent bickering, where Starfire was pulled this way and that between them, like a sale bargain, Head Man gave his consent and presented Hal to the woman. He dragged Starfire roughly towards th
e large hut in the centre of the clearing, laughing and talking to her in their guttural language. The woman cackled loudly and ran her filthy, claw like hands over Hal's black shirt, feeling the soft material between her fingers. He in turn studied her closely, noting her sturdy frame and hard muscles, but he figured he could out match her if he could get to Starfire's light blade and free his hands.

  The sound of fighting came from inside the hut and Hal heard Starfire scream an obscenity followed by the sound of smashing pottery. The watchers were greatly amused by this and there was much nudging and pointing. Hal forced himself to remain calm as Starfire yelled out again and then there was silence. The filthy woman favoured Hal with a toothless grin and pointed to the hut, making an obscene gesture. He smiled sardonically back, looking very handsome and very innocent. Still smiling he said, quietly,

  "If you've hurt her in any way, I'll kill you both, you see if I don't." The woman nodded her assent and, babbling away in a foreign tongue, pulled him to the now silent hut. 'What a way to go' he thought to himself as he shouldered his way inside, admitting to himself that there was indeed a fate worse than death.

  Hal squinted his eyes to adjust to the gloom inside. The large hut was roughly spherical and reeked of stale sweat, rotting food and old smoke. There were no windows, but light filtered down in a dusty beam from a hole in the roof. A blackened cooking pot and a few charred bones lay scattered on the remains of a dead fire underneath the hole, and Hal guessed it served as a chimney. There was a pile of rancid smelling straw to one side, on which Head Man lay, moaning softly but there was no sign of Starfire. The same thought occurred to the woman and she opened her mouth to bellow something, but Hal lowered his head and butted her in the stomach. Her foul breath gushed forth and she doubled over with a croak. Starfire slammed shut the wooden planked door and sprang forward from where she had been behind it. Hal leaned on the door to prevent the woman's escape while Starfire lifted a large pot and brought it down upon the woman's head. It broke with dull, pottery sound and she fell to the floor unconscious.