by Andrew Mack
The man screamed, “Yes.”
She hit him again. Then whispered, “You gonna show her what a man you are?”
The man screamed again, “Yes.”
Jones and Willits, still outside the beads that separate the room, continued to watch. Madam Rouselle softly said, “Two exotic, darker skin ladies from Avola. You like Nolan?”
Jones answered, “What is there not to like?”
The girl in the swing screamed out, “Fuck me!”
The second girl hit the man with the whip again. “Fuck her like she is your’s.”
Still standing outside, Madam Rouselle asked Jones, “Do I need to find a third for you?”
Willits interjected with “Nothing for us, thank you.”
Madam Rouselle quickly countered, “Since when do you come here and not leave entertained.”
Willits responded, “An enigma, I know, but we’re working.”
Jones, looking at Madam Rouselle, said, “You should’ve asked me a couple of days ago when I would’ve ignored that fact.”
Madam Rouselle shrugged her shoulders and said, “Whatever you say.”
Willits looked at Madam Rouselle and said, “These ladies will do fine. Do they play cards?”
Back in the bar, Alexis was now in a conversation she did not want to be in. Clearly uncomfortable, she said, “No, I am just waiting on my friend.”
The guy was sitting next to her with a drink in his hand. He used his other hand to grab her on the leg as he said, “I don’t see him. Looks like he forgot about you.”
Alexis tried to look to get the bartender’s attention, but he was on the other side of the bar talking with someone else. Alexis was trying to be polite, but that tactic was not working. She pushed his hand off her leg, “I really need to be going, so if you do not mind.”
The guy put his hand right back on her leg and said, “Where are you going? You just got here. At least let me buy you another glass of wine.”
Alexis was insistent. “No, but I must…”
The guy grabbed her wrist. They struggled for a few more seconds, the man getting more aggressive. He was digging into Alexis’ arm when he whispered, “Look, lady, you shouldn’t leave without getting what you came in here for.”
Alexis looked right at him and said, “But I did.”
The man said, “Really? Come on. You know what you want.”
Alexis said, “Yeah, a glass of wine. Too bad it came with the dickless prick.”
The man said, “Go ahead, bitch, you want to see this prick?”
The man stood up before he was immediately grabbed on the back of the shoulder. As he tried to turn around, Trujillo used his leg as leverage to trip him, throwing him to the ground. Alexis looked up at Trujillo, then stood up behind him. With a serious look, Trujillo said to the guy, “I think the lady said to leave her alone.”
The guy on the ground was rolling a bit, trying to get back to his feet. He managed to get on all fours before muttering, “And who the fuck are you?”
Trujillo kept looking down at him before saying very clearly, “I’m the guy that guys like you are scared to fuck with.”
The man finally got up, standing in front of Trujillo. He was a couple of inches taller than Trujillo, but clearly a little overweight and not as in good shape. The guy stared Trujillo down as a few people in the bar had now turned to see the ruckus. Trujillo had his jacket open. The man noticed his gun. He said, “Tough guy with a gun. I wonder how tough you are without one.”
Trujillo paused for a moment. Then, tilting his head, cracking a tiny smile, he stared right into the guy’s eyes. He then grabbed his gun, flipped it over, and caught the barrel side. He turned and handed the gun to Alexis. He then turned back and noticed the guy looked a little shocked. Trujillo then said, “Careful. She might pull the trigger. I’m just gonna break a few bones.”
The guy swung at Trujillo, who ducked. Trujillo got two punches in the stomach before another man hit him with a bottle over his head from behind. He scrunched down and turned around. He swung and missed the guy that had hit him. A couple of blows were exchanged, mostly missing Trujillo, before he kicked the guy in the chest that sent him flying across a table. He then turned to Alexis and the other man, who had now come back up to Alexis and said, “Where were we?”
Alexis flipped the pistol over and struck the man directly in the middle of the forehead. He was taken aback but soon regained his senses. He then pulled out a knife and said, “You don’t want to shoot me. You just came in here for a good time.”
Alexis whipped the pistol around again and pointed it right at the forehead of the man. She tilted her head and said, “You wanna bet?’
The man stared at her for a few seconds. Alexis gave no indication that she was nervous. In fact, she was almost daring him. A few seconds went by before the man backed up and said, “Fucking bitch.”
He turned and walked down to the other side of the bar, which went back to normal activity. Trujillo, now with blood running down from the top of his head, took a couple of steps towards Alexis. She flipped the gun over, holding the barrel, and gave it back to Trujillo. As she did, she said, “Both sides of it work.”
The C-62T now was in a private hangar that Kovo had arranged. Alexis and Trujillo came walking up to the doors of the ship. Alexis was holding her arm, Trujillo was holding his head, the other hand on the gun. Standing in the common area next to the doors, Tunsall was sipping on coffee with a gun in his hand. On a small round table, Willits and Jones were playing cards with the two very attractive, professional Avolian girls. All four were drinking coffee. Jones then spoke as he laid down a card. “Three of diamonds.”
The door opened, and Tunsall helped Alexis in, immediately noticing her arm. Willits and Jones turned as the doors opened, but didn’t get up, noticing it was Trujillo and Alexis. Tunsall immediately grabbed a first aid kit on a shelf next to the doors. He threw a towel at Trujillo first, then began wrapping Alexis’ arm. Willits glanced over again, still not getting up, and said, “Miss Devanoe, are you alright?”
One of the professional girls then laid a card down. “Seven of spades.”
Alexis, letting Tunsall continue to wrap her arm, said, “I am fine, just a bruise.”
Jones looked up and offered, “Did Cadet Trujillo try to make a move on you?”
Tunsall then asked Alexis, “What happened?”
Trujillo, annoyed by Jones’ comment, was wiping the blood off his head. He then answered for her, “She went off somewhere she shouldn’t have.”
Willits, still looking at his cards, replied, “She looks alright to me.”
One of the professional girls, looking at Trujillo, asked, “Who is the pretty boy, Nolan?”
Willits replied, “That’s my security, ladies. He is so good, he needed assistance from Miss Devanoe.”
Trujillo, holding a towel over his cut, tilted his head and said, “Really?”
Alexis answered, “I went to the bar across the bay to have a drink, that’s all.”
Then the other professional girl, still looking at her cards and never looking up, said, “That’s Blutoo’s girl, bad place. A lot of assholes in there. Jack of hearts.”
She threw the Jack down. Jones, cards in one hand, was pouring himself some more coffee in the other. He looked at the girl next to him and said, “More coffee?”
She smiled and said, “Yes, please, thank you.”
Willits continued, “Went into a bar and came out with a lump on my head. Don’t miss those days. Did Miss Devanoe hit you, pretty boy?”
There was a collective chuckle at the table as Willits had called Trujillo pretty boy. Trujillo took his jacket off and unholstered his gun. “She was talking to some asshole, I intervened.”
Tunsall was almost done wrapping Alexis’ arm. She said, “I didn’t need to be rescued.”
Willits, still with his eyes on his cards, glanced up at Trujillo, before looking back at his cards. He then said, “Trujillo, didn’t I tell you to stay on the ship? Two of hearts.”
He laid the two of hearts down before glancing back up at Trujillo.
Trujillo replied, “I was following Miss Devanoe to make sure she was alright.”
Willits, now with a slight scowl, said, “Next time I tell you to stay on the ship, you do it. Same goes for you, Miss Devanoe.”
Alexis then looked back at Willits as Tunsall finished wrapping her arm. before saying, “You didn’t tell me.”
Willits kept looking before replying to Alexis, “But you know better. I cannot protect you and the Ambassador if you keep running off every chance you get.”
Alexis just stared at Willits with a disapproving look. Jones then asked, “Anybody follow you? You didn’t cause a scene?”
Alexis responded, “As long as you don’t count the drunk guy, I bludgeoned in the forehead.”
Willits turned and stared down Trujillo. “Really? Where were you?”
Trujillo looked right back at Willits rolling his eyes. “I was defending her….”
Willits looked at him and said, “With what? Bad language?”
Alexis then sat down with some coffee “I don’t need defending….it was just a guy who had too much to drink. Nobody important.”
Willits went back to playing cards. Jones said, “Hopefully not. We need to keep a low profile.“
The other professional girl then laid down a card. “Queen of Spades. Don’t worry, Avery. If drunk, unimportant guys were trees, Blutoo’s would be a forest.”
She took a sip of her coffee. The back door then opened, and the Ambassador, who had been sleeping this whole time, walked into the room. “What the hell is going on here?”
Belinea 2.14
Battle Cruiser 54 - Corvalis System
Commander Nickalis Devanoe was the watch officer. He had control of the ship currently, or more importantly, he had the Conn, standing where the Captain would. The Corvalis system was a wide range of mostly inhabitable planets, sandwiched between two massive asteroid belts. Most of the planets had ten plus moons, making it an ideal spot for hiding. Devanoe had an entire patrol team looking for Taz. while waiting on Ambassador Bird’s ship. According to the manifest, they were already supposed to be there.
The Commander sipped on some coffee. A communications officer came up to him and said, “Sir, this is a communication from Ambassador Bird’s ship.”
Commander kneeled down to see the message on his screen. He quickly read it, muttering, “They are on Braccus? What the fuck? Out here with our dick in the wind. Lieutenant, get me, Captain Kimmel.”
A few moments went by as Devanoe began making some calculations. “Lieutenant Wilcox, status update on the patrol crafts we got out?”
The Lieutenant looked at the screen and replied, “Patrol craft two is twenty minutes from the fourth Planet, which makes it approximately two hours away from us. Patrol craft six just did a sweep of the moons on the second Planet. It is now returning to us and is two and a half hours away. The other four Patrol ships are all about an hour out after doing a complete sweep of the third Planet.”
Devanoe sounded pissed. “Lieutenant, call them back in, all of them!”
Captain Kimmel walked onto the bridge of the Battle Cruiser. “Commander Devanoe, what is the status?”
Devanoe stood at attention while simultaneously giving up the Conn to the Captain. “Sir, contact has been made with Ambassador Bird’s ship. The DAG team has him on Braccus and has asked that we pick them up there.”
The Captain seemed agitated by this discovery. “And no explanation on the change of location or the manifest?”
Devanoe shook his head, “No, sir.”
The Captain then asked, “All the patrol craft still out looking for Taz?”
Devanoe responded, “Yes, sir. I’ve already called them back, but it will take at least 2.5 hours to get them all on board.”
The Captain thought for a moment, then realized he did not have that kind of time. “Where did this DAG team say they were on Braccus?”
Devanoe responded, “They did not say, sir. The transmission came from that area, but it’s not the AuFa Base, they would’ve already notified us. They are likely hiding somewhere else.”
The Captain was now really annoyed. “Well, the DAG team clearly does want us to know where they are, and telling the AuFa to go looking for them might send up the wrong signals if Taz intercepts the message. So, I guess we are forced to play their little game.”
Captain Kimmel looked at the screen again. Then addressed Devanoe. “Take a T141 transport and load it with two Sirator Fighters. Take two of your pilots and a security detail team to Braccus. Once there, reconnect with that transmission, and get them on that AuFa base. Get the local BRG to help you. As soon as I get all the Patrol Craft back, I will meet you there.”
Devanoe responded and saluted before leaving. “Copy that, Sir.”
Belinea 2.15
Braccus
Port Braccus
Port Braccus was a mammoth and sprawling facility. In the middle was a colossal Control Tower, one hundred and fifty meters high. Around it were eight smaller towers, fifty meters high and two kilometers away. The Control Tower and smaller towers were connected by elevated trains and bridges. Each of the eight smaller towers had eight concourses branching out from it to handle the volume of transport traffic. A separate elevated train with a Walkway Tunnel Bridge connected the entire facility to the Terminal of Port Braccus. The Terminal served as an entry point to Braccus City, a vast metropolis with several hundred tall buildings, each two hundred meters plus high.
A sizeable civilian transport had just landed. It’s doors opened, allowing the eighty passengers to exit onto the concourse. Dressed all in red, with his hood over his head, a Quillisar Priest grabbed a bag and continued out to the concourse. The chain was visible, while the silvery ring and orange stone it held was not, hidden behind the red cloak. He boarded a train carrying a small bag in his folded hands. The train took him across the long elevated bridge over to the Port Braccus Terminal Building. Getting off with several other passengers, he made his way to the security guards. One inspected his bag of gifts and boxes with bows on them. He asked, “Gifts my Quillisar?”
The Quillisar Priest, still with his head down and the hood completely hiding his head, nodded slightly. He let the Port security guard scan his ID bracelet, and the guard let him through. The Quillisar Priest walked out and down to the immense pedestrian traffic of Braccus City. He turned down a few streets, first turning right, then left, then right again. A few times, he passed Belinean officers, who all nodded and respectfully said, “Quillisar…”
After walking twelve blocks, the Quillisar Priest found the massive Temple. He walked up the steps and then inside. The Temple was packed, with several people, including children, soldiers, and families, all in prayer. The Quillisar Priest went into one of the pews, looking up at the diamond-shaped object on the wall. In the middle aisle, people formed a line to get to the Head Quillisar in front of the altar. Each person gave him an offering, or gift, to lay on the altar. After, they made the shape of the diamond with both hands. The families then went off to the side of the altar, where another Quillisar would ask the children, “The sun is where my child?”
The child answered, “In the Quill my Quillisar.”
The Quillisar then gave each a present, wrapped in a box. Both the child and parent nodded.
After a minute, the Red Priest stood up and joined the line down the center aisle. One by one, people laid an offering down in front of the Head Quillisar. After a minute, the Quillisar Priest finally got to the front altar. The Head Quillisar said, “Offering Quillisar?”
The Quillisar Priest pulled out a small red box
from inside his sack. He put it down in front of the Head Quillisar, adding it to the other offerings. But the Quillisar Priest failed to make the diamond shape sign with his hands. His ring was unusually beneath his cloak. The Head Quillisar was slightly confused and miffed, but said nothing, as there was still a long line of people behind. The Quillisar Priest then walked to the side altar where the families were. He took five boxes out and put them on the pile of boxes. The other Quillisar acknowledged the offering and nodded. The Quillisar, still holding his bag, walked to the back of the Temple.
Passing several people, he made it to the back corner. He kneeled in front of a table with a hundred candles and took out a small blue box. Opening it, he took out the plastic wrapping contents with wires in it and stuck it underneath the tabletop. Getting up, he walked to the other side of the room to the other table with a hundred candles. He did the same, sticking the plastic wire contents underneath the tabletop. With the sack now empty, he disposed of it underneath the table. He walked over to the giant front doors and proceeded to walk out of the Temple. As he was going down the steps, a few soldiers bowed their heads out of respect and said, “Quillisar….”
The Quillisar Priest began to walk back to the Terminal Building, taking the same route. A small girl came running up to him with an offering in her hand. The girl tried to hand it to the Quillisar Priest. She said, “Offering….”
The Quillisar Priest stopped. Standing there motionless, he didn’t extend his hands to accept the gift. After a moment, the girl, still holding the present out, said, “Offerings Quillisar….”
Finally, her father walked up and pulled the girl to the side. He said, “Sorry, Quillisar. My daughter is still learning the proper way to give offerings, forgive her. “
But the Quillisar Priest did nothing. The father then grabbed the offering from his daughter’s hand, and after bowing his head said, “Offerings in the name of the Quill, Quillisar….”
But the Quillisar Priest still did nothing. He took a step to the side and just continued walking toward the Terminal building. The man and his daughter were left speechless. Baffled by the events that just took place, the man yelled, “Hey, Quillisar!”