Twilight of the Star Vampires (Set of Books 1-3):A Parody of the Twilight Saga, Star Wars and Star Trek

by Paula Sunsong

  “Chewy?” said Lela looking into the creature’s amber eyes. Was there more than one werewolf on this space station?

  The werewolf grinned, then clasped Lela in a bear hug. Lela hugged back.

  “Thank you for saving us,” said Lela smiling at Chewy.

  Spocko stood up and disdainfully brushed werewolf hairs off his shirt. “We must immediately move to the safety of my ship.” He pushed past Chewy and led the way towards the landing bay.

  Brun galloped up. “I took out a contingent of guards,” she said. “Lela, you’re okay!”

  “Thanks to Chewy and Spocko.” Lela smiled. Brun eyeing Spocko. “He’s a friend,” said Lela. “He helped me escape the trash room.”

  “Princess Lela is also to be thanked,” said Spocko. “She kept me from falling into the gorge.”

  Lela blushed.

  “Come on, let’s rendezvous back at the Amazon Falcon,” said Brun. “I hope Obegone got the tractor beam turned off, or it’s going to be a short trip.”

  Obegone was making his way back to Brun’s ship. He could hear Cater’s voice, and ducked behind a metal trash can to hide, but ended up knocking it over with a loud metallic crash.

  “I’ve been waiting for you, Obegone,” said Dark Cater stepping towards Obegone.

  “Are you still wearing that silly mask?” said Obegone.

  “The circle is now complete, when I left you, you were the master, now I am,” said Dark Cater flicking on his light saber. It glowed with a menacing red light.

  “I’m still a Jetti master, Dark Cater, and I don’t need a mask to prove it,” said Obegone turning on his laser sword.

  “My mask is manly. Your powers are weak old man.”

  “If you strike me down I will become more powerful than ever.”

  “How could that work?” said Dark Cater. “I mean if I strike you down and you’re unconscious or bought the farm, how could that make you more powerful?”

  “Bought the farm?”

  “Croaked.”

  “You mean, if I was a croaking frog on a farm, I wouldn’t be more powerful?”

  Cater stroked his chin. “Yeah, that sounds right.”

  Obegone turned off his light saber. “Would I be a frog who turns into a prince, because then I could have power by being royalty?”

  “Well, I suppose if you wanted to be a frog prince, you could be,” said Cater scratching his head through his helmet.

  “Then I choose to be a frog prince. Therefore, if you strike me down, I will become even more powerful.”

  “Uh, okay, en garde!” Dark Cater fired up his laser sword and swiped at Obegone. Oh danced to the side. “Fancy footwork won’t save you,” said Cater.

  “Wrong, Cater, watch this.” Obegone crossed his feet and spun around, flying into the air, his laser sword spinning with him. Dark Cater backed away from the whirling blade of death.

  “Ha!” laughed Obegone, stopping his spin. Unnoticed, his robe caught on a power grid fence behind him. Obegone stepped forward to finish Cater, only to be jerked to a halt by his robe.

  “Now it is my turn,” said Cater advancing on the trapped Obegone.

  Brun, Chewy, Lela and Spocko ran towards the landing bay. They stopped at the storage room where Luck and the robots were hiding, and collected them. Luck ran ahead of them, while the others proceeded with caution, looking for guards.

  Luck saw the flash of Dark Cater’s laser sword as he moved towards Obegone.

  “Obegone!” yelled Luck. Dark Cater whirled around to look in Luck’s direction, blocking Luck’s vision of Obegone. Out of Luck and Cater’s sight, Obegone slipped out of his robe, turned, tripped, fell off the walkway and disappeared from sight.

  Ignoring Luck, Cater turned back towards Obegone, his laser sword flashing through Obegone’s robe, which fell empty to the floor. Cater poked at the empty robe with his black rubber boot.

  “No!” yelled Luck lunging forward to avenge Obegone.

  “Luck, it’s too late!” yelled Chewy grabbing Luck by his shirt.

  “Where’s Obegone!” said Brun running up to them. Chewy’s sad look in Cater’s direction drew Brun’s gaze. She saw Cater stepping on Obegone’s empty robe. Rage flowed into her eyes. “What did you do, Cater?”

  “Uh, oh,” said Chewy. He knew that look. Even as a werewolf, he did not get as angry as Brun did in her rare tempers. Brun pointed her laser pistol at Cater with deadly accuracy.

  “Ha, I destroyed Obegone. I am the Jetti master now,” crowed Cater.

  “Beg for your life, Cater,” said Brun advancing on Cater.

  Cater suddenly realized Brun meant it. Cater, in a moment of sheer genius or dumb luck did the only thing that could save him. He threw Obegone’s robe at Brun, and dove for safety through a doorway. Momentarily blinded, and reluctant to shoot through her last memento of Obegone, Brun held her fire. An Imperial guard hit the button to close the blast proof door, locking Brun in the landing bay.

  Brun picked up Obegone’s robe. Her downcast eyes followed the long, blackened cut through the robe that Cater’s laser sword had done. No one wearing the robe could have survived that.

  “Come, Captain Brun,” said Chewy gently. “Obegone is gone. We must get inside the ship before the Imperial troops regroup.”

  Still cradling the robe, Brun silently walked up the gangplank to the ship.

  The rest of the crew, Chewy, Lela, Luck and Spocko boarded. Brun headed for the cockpit.

  “I’m flying solo again,” Brun whispered and fired up the ship’s engines.

  Chapter 33 Pride and Prejudice

  Spocko, his hands clasped behind his back, stood in the Amazon Falcon’s lounge. He was observing Lela. In the rush to escape the Imperial guards, Spocko had not had time to board his own spaceship. He had no intention of leaving Lela—he had boarded the Amazon Falcon with her.

  In secret, Spocko had called his Vulcanturi ship, and programmed it via remote control to follow the Amazon Falcon. With its cloaking device on, the Vulcanturi ship went undetected by the Falcon’s sensors.

  Spocko had watched the Falcon’s crew, and evaluated their usefulness to the Vulcanturi. As an experienced pilot, Brun Solow was of note, but not of immediate use. Brun was too independent--she would not be loyal to the Vulcanturi. However her piloting services could be bought. Obegone might have been of interest to the Vulcanturi, but had apparently perished on the Dearth Star at the hands of Dark Cater. And as far as Luck went, well, Spocko, himself a centuries old Vampire Vullcan, thought Luck had the mind of a child. Although a werewolf might draw scientific interest, Chewy was moody and undisciplined. He was of no use to the Vulcanturi, and, thought Spocko, Chewy seemed like a flea bitten mutt.

  They had gotten lucky, escaping the Dearth Star, but the crew of the Amazon Falcon took it as a sign they could take on the whole Empire. They were delivering Lela’s schematic plans of the Dearth Star to the Rebel base, and planned a return assault on the Empire’s space station.

  Spocko suppressed a sigh. Lela was brave, but sometimes reckless. She could get hurt or killed executing the rebel’s attack plans. Her actions on the Dearth Star when they swung across the gorge could have ended her life.

  As soon as possible, Spocko wanted to get Lela away from her rebel cohorts on the Falcon. However, Lela seemed to be quite attached to the Falcon’s ragtag crew.

  At the moment, Lela was watching the movie Pride and Prejudice with Chewy.

  “I love the temple in the rain scene between Darcy and Lizzy,” said Lela.

  “It’s very romantic,” said Chewy leaning closer to Lela.

  “Princess Lela,” said Spocko walking up to her. “I must speak with you.” He glanced at Chewy. “Privately.”

  “It can wait until the movie’s over,” said Chewy with a subtle werewolf growl under his words. Even as a human, Chewy retained a werewolf quality.

  “It is imperative,” said Spocko.

  “Lela doesn’t need imperatives thrown at her.” Chewy was rising t
o his feet.

  “Chewy,” said Lela, putting her hand on his arm. “I’ll speak with Spocko, and then come back to watch the movie.” Chewy reluctantly sat down.

  Lela and Spocko found a private room to talk in.

  “Princess Lela,” said Spocko. “I feel compelled to point out the recklessness of your actions on the Dearth Star.”

  “Oh?”

  “When we swung across the gap and the rope was blasted apart, there was only one logical action: to use both of your arms to climb to safety. Instead you choose to hold onto me, thereby nearly falling yourself.”

  “When the rope broke, you still held onto me, too,” said Lela.

  “In my case, as both Vampire and Vullcan, I have sufficient strength to pull both of us to safety."

  “Yet you would have fallen if it wasn’t for me, illogically holding onto you,” said Lela. Her deep brown eyes seemed to fill Spocko’s vision. He tried to ignore their pull. He didn’t wish to be distracted when he had important things to say.

  “Your human instincts for self preservation should have overridden your wish to save me,” said Spocko.

  “They didn’t.”

  Spocko paused, contemplating Lela’s face. He was not getting anywhere with his current argument. “If you are to survive, you must give up these reckless acts.”

  “You are a friend. I saved you. That is all.” Lela turned to go.

  “You are mistaken. I am not a friend.”

  Lela turned back to face Spocko. “Not a friend? You got me out of the Dearth Star. You saved me. Was that logical? Staying at home would have been safer for you. It was the action of a friend.”

  “I am a Vulcanturi. I kidnapped your father,” said Spocko.

  Lela’s eyes widened. “What?”

  “I made him into a vampire, against his will. I thought with his telepathy, he would make a good addition to the Vulcanturi. I came here to see if we should add you to the Vulcanturi contingent also.”

  “I’m not joining,” said Lela backing away from Spocko.

  “The Vulcanturi don’t ask; we tell who will join us,” said Spocko.

  “Meaning?”

  “Don’t risk you life to save mine. I am no friend. But I offer you the relative safety and great power of the Vulcanturi. Forget the rebels.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” said Lela. “I would think you would want to keep it secret that you came here to do the Vulcanturi’s dirty work.”

  Spocko hesitated. Why was he telling her? “You have fallen in with a dangerous group. You plot to overthrow the Empire. You keep the company of a werewolf, a wanted captain, and an incompetent Jetti apprentice.”

  “and a Vulcanturi Vampire Vullcan,” said Lela looking pointedly at Spocko.

  “If you wish to overthrow the Empire, consider this: the Vulcanturi are the biggest threat to the Empire. The Vulcanturi are your best option.”

  “Goodbye, Spocko.” Lela walked away.

  “Don’t tell the others what I have told you,” said Spocko. “Instead come with me and I will take you to your father.”

  Lela froze. She turned to look at Spocko. With the both of them being telepathic, he could sense her thoughts. Her face betrayed her play of emotions--anger, feelings of hope to see her father, and responsibility to help the rebels fight against the Empire.

  “My mother has been searching for my father,” said Lela, “while all this time you’ve been holding him prisoner! You’re right. You are no friend. Werewolves are more loyal.” She stomped away.

  “Be careful of the werewolf. They have unbalanced minds,” said Spocko to Lela’s retreating back.

  “You look upset, did Spocko bother you?” said Chewy standing up when Lela returned to the lounge area. “If he upset you, I’ll rip his head off.”

  Lela shook her head. “No, I can stand up for myself. I can handle Spocko.” Lela’s head filled with thoughts of what should she do. She had conflicting responsibilities. If she abandoned the rebels, they may fail. If she abandoned her father, she and her mother may never see him again.

  “Spocko is a cold fish,” said Chewy moving closer to Lela. “You need warmth from a passionate man who can love with his whole heart. Vullcans have no heart.” Chewy placed a paw like hand on Lela’s shoulder. Lela patted his hand, but the pained look on Lela’s face moved Chewy to try to cheer her up.

  “I’ve been listening to 1970s pop music. I’ll show you.” Chewy got down on his knees. “Lela, you got me on my knees. Lela, I’m begging you please,” sang Chewy. “Darling, won’t you ease my worried mind.”

  Despite her problems, Lela laughed.

  “Could you love a werewolf?” said Chewy looking up into Lela’s face.

  “Sure, I like hairy men.”

  Spocko, watching from the hallway, tightened his jaw.

  Chapter 34 Freedom

  Edward meditated in the sanctuary area of his quarters. He was locked inside, and two Vulcanturi guards stood outside. Edward’s mind reached across the void of space, searching for the mind of his daughter, Lela.

  “Be safe,” he murmured under his breath hoping he would find Lela in good health.

  Since studying with Spocko, Edward’s mind powers had expanded. With telepathy, he could search across long distances for minds. He could reach farther if the mind was someone close to him. Because he had been captured before Paddy gave birth to their daughter Lela, he had never met her in person. Paddy had not been able to find Edward to tell him of the birth of their twins. She didn’t have to. Paddy and he shared a mind link. He could feel her pregnancy and labor. He could feel her joy at the birth of their twins.

  Since half of Lela’s chromosomes came from Edward, her mind might be reachable by his. Edward searched for any signs of great distress from Lela. He felt a distant agitation from her, but Lela still felt alive and well to his telepathic mind.

  “If only I was more powerful,” thought Edward. “I could send telepathic messages anywhere in the universe.”

  Since he’d gotten as far as he could in his search for Lela, he turned his mind to the guards outside. Spocko had not realized how far Edward’s talents went. After Spocko had turned him into a vampire, Edward’s telepathy had grown to the point of not only him reading minds, but he could plant suggestions in some minds, especially those of weak minded guards. Edward had been afraid to try influencing the guard’s minds when Spocko was in the Vulcanturi base, but now that Spocko was gone...

  Edward moved to the door to be closer to the guards, Aldonto and Gabriel. Although the door separated them, Edward could clearly see outside his quarters, through the eyes and minds of the guards.

  Both of them were vampire Romullans. They were an emotional and hot-tempered group. Edward sent his mind out to read their minds. Aldonto was thinking about how to cheat at cards tonight. Gabriel was hungrily looking at Aldonto’s neck. Briefly, Gabriel’s mind strayed to the thought of biting Edward, but Gabriel knew there’d be hell to pay if Spocko’s precious apprentice turned up injured. Gabriel went back to looking at Aldonto’s neck.

  Edward smiled. He knew what to do. He mentally scanned the nearby area. The only Vulcanturi in the area were the guards outside his door. From previous scans of minds, Edward had learned the layout of the Vulcanturi base, along with the location and codes for the spaceships.

  Taking three deep breaths to deepen his concentration, Edward sent a thought to Aldonto: Gabriel owes me a huge pile of money, and he will never pay up!

  With that angry thought, Aldonto’s head snapped to look at Gabriel.

  “When will you pay me? You owe me so much,” snarled Aldonto.

  Gabriel looked in surprise at Aldonto. “I owe you nothing. Why are you bothering me?”

  Liar, sent Edward to Aldonto’s mind.

  “Oh, so you deny it? Liar!” Aldonto stepped closer to Gabriel and raised his hands as if to choke him.

  Gabriel’s fangs lengthened and he tried to bite Aldonto. Aldonto punched Gabriel, sending him flying int
o the door controls. The controls shorted. Gabriel stood up and charged at Aldonto, knocking him further down the corridor.

  I’ll teach you a lesson! sent Edward to Aldonto.

  “I’ll teach you a lesson, you arrogant bastard!” said Aldonto.

  “Bastard? That insult from a low life like you? Your mother was a stripper.” Gabriel grabbed for Aldonto, but Aldonto was faster and grabbed Gabriel first.

  I’ll toss him into the river, sent Edward to Aldonto.

  “I throw you in the cesspool with the rest of the crap,” growled Aldonto as he carried Gabriel towards the sewer.

  The guards were now out of sight of the door. With the lock shorted out, Edward easily pushed the door open. He ran at top vampire speed to the spaceship landing bay.

  Edward chose one of the fastest Vulcanturi ships, and one with a cloaking device. He had learned about it from the mind of the newly arrived owner of the ship. The owner, or former owner, as Edward thought about it, had bought the ship with money from an illegal Vulcanturi operation.

  The takeoff went off without a hitch. Edward gave the right clearance codes to the Vulcanturi traffic controller. He quickly engaged the hyperdrive, to put as much distance between himself and the Vulcanturi as he could.

  But where was Lela? Edward reached out with his mind. She was like a butterfly dancing at the edge of his consciousness. He could not exactly pinpoint her without the onyx ring guiding him.

  “I need help finding Lela, but where can I get help?” Edward’s brow furrowed in thought. “Aha! Why didn’t’ I think of it before?”

  Chapter 35 Twelve Step

  The sign welcomed everyone to the 12-step meeting inside. People from all walks of life shuffled in, each suffering from the same affliction. A large shaggy haired man parked his hover motorcycle and wandered into the meeting. He was wearing a vest embroidered with a “Heaven’s Demons” symbol—a red demon sitting on a cloud, surrounded by harp playing angels. A pretty, dark haired woman in a black dress walked in after him.