Dark Stars- Firelight

by Matthew Tonks

  They sit in silence for a few moments, before Touvler turns back to the flight deck and cracks his neck. “Well, that explains that one. I’m guessing Betha’s already on course?”

  “That is correct Sir,” Sin replies.

  “Well, let’s go find us some truth then, and hope it’s not some trap that will end up with all of us biting the big one, because I was really looking forward to visiting my lady one more time.”

  Zander looks over the flight path and smiles. “Like you have a girl waiting for you.”

  “Hey, Sandra D may be a replicant, but she’s my replicant. Finest model in the galaxy,” Touvler says with a laugh.

  Some space away, a lone craft follows slowly behind. In front of the controls, Saladizar snarls his lip in anger, as the hole in his head slowly heals over.

  “You heard correct Sir, Kane went haywire, blasted a damn hole in my head then took off. Didn’t even want to hear what the witch had to say.”

  “This child you said she spoke of, Kane’s child. What did she mean by it?” a voice asks.

  “I have no idea Sir. I’m not in the circle of trust remember?”

  “Very well, follow and report back. Whatever game Kane is playing, I want to know.”

  “Of course High Lord Quinn,” he says, as he turns his communicator off, and continues to follow Betha’s plasma trail. Suddenly his craft is rocked by an explosion off the starboard bow, followed by another as Zander’s voice crackles to life through Saladizar’s communicators.

  “You should’ve stayed dead Saladizar. But on reflection, if you had, it would’ve meant I didn’t get to kill you again. So, nice move, I knew you had a soft spot for me!”

  “KANE! Your attempt at escape is futile. An armada is…”

  “Blow it out your hole Saladizar. We picked up the last fragment of your communication with Quinn. We know you’re out here on your own, so don’t try to bluff me. I’m not that stupid,” Zander quips back, as Betha materializes a few meters away, her blasters aimed at his small craft.

  Saladizar smiles then begins to laugh.

  “What’s so funny? We’ve got you dead,” Zander says.

  “You, that’s what’s so funny. How you ever managed to become such a legend is beyond even my understanding. The whole universe, everything, rests in your hands, YOUR HANDS! What a joke, so do your worst, blow me out of the sky. Call my bluff.”

  Zander turns quickly to Sin, “There are no readings Sir, on any level. If he were not alone, there would be something. But there is not. There are no masking signs of any other ship. We are alone out here. If that is what you were about to ask,” Sin says, Zander nods his head, and turns to Touvler who shrugs his shoulders.

  “What he said. I’m only picking up brain waves from everyone on board Betha, Saladizar, and three Gramania Fengus Rogs a sector or two back the way we came,” Touvler says.

  “So, there’s no chance he’s telling the truth? There’s no chance whatsoever they could be under a cloak of any kind?” Zander asks.

  “It would be almost impossible sir. They would have to be…” Sin falls quiet, and Zander spins around to face him once more.

  “They would have to be, what?”

  Sin doesn’t need to answer, as the very space before them lights up with violent colours. Purples, and reds. Greens, and blues. Followed by a star destroyer that tears its way through space and time, sending Betha’s control panel into a violent fit.

  “They would have to be jumping Sir,” Sin says softly, as they all stare out of the cockpit in silence.

  “Well, at least things can’t get any worse,” Touvler says. Zander drives a punch into his arm. “What the hell did you do that for? It’s not like it can!”

  “How do you know that? How the hell do…” Zander doesn’t get to finish his sentence as space rips apart once more, and High Lord Quinn’s command ship, the Romana, breaks through, dwarfing the gigantic star destroyer.

  “Disengage your weapons, and surrender!” A voice booms through Betha’s cockpit as the Romana’s battalion of laser-cannons churn to life and target her.

  “Options?” Zander asks, as he looks over his shoulder at his crew, all who sit in stunned silence.

  “Seriously? Do what the man says. Disengage the weapons, and kiss our quadrepts goodbye,” Touvler says.

  “That’s not an option. We’re dead if we let them take us.”

  “We’re sure as hell dead if we don’t,” Touvler quips back.

  “Then, options?” Zander asks again.

  “DISENGAGE YOUR WEAPONS, OR WE OPEN FIRE!” The voice booms once more.

  “Sin?”

  “I have nothing Sir. Betha is no match for the Romana. Maybe we could have done something if it was just the destroyer. But going up against the Romana would be impossible. She’s too powerful, anything we try, it will counter. I’m sorry Sir, our only hope, is t…”

  “NO! I will not die like a coward. I’d rather die than give them the satisfaction of torturing me.”

  “It’s not just your choice Zander. This is about all of us, not just your ego!” Touvler says venomously.

  “What? You think I’m only thinking of myself? Do you know what that sadistic prick will do to all of us? Isn’t it better to die trying, than to give in?”

  “We’re not giving in, we’re buying ourselves time,” Gadamrie says as she places a hand on his shoulder. “Disengage her weapons my love. I may have a way we can survive, but you have to play along with their game,” he stares at her, and looks back over the nervous faces of his crew, then falls into his seat, letting out a sigh of exhaustion.

  “Sin, disengage Betha’s weapons,” he says as he looks back up at Gadamrie. “Now tell me your idea, and how we won’t die because of it?”

  ***

  The light blinds him, he looks up trying to shield his eyes, but his hands jerk back as glowing blue shackles tether him to the metallic cells surface.

  “Welcome back to the world of the living, Captain Kane, I thought you were going to rob me of the reveal,” a voice says from somewhere behind the light.

  “So, you finally decided to come down here and show your face. Why? Your boys’ hands get tired of stroking my fine features with their soft delicate fists?”

  “I am glad to see you are in high spirits, for such a low point in your life.”

  “You’re telling me. Although, I’m never going to get on my knees like you, and service the all-powerful president to keep on breathing,” Zander says with a wry smile.

  “Your words will not help you now Kane, you cannot escape my grasp. Although, I am curious that you are not surprised by my appearance?”

  “Should I be? Everyone knew you couldn’t be trusted, that’s why we left you on Parsec Twelve with a bullet in the back of your head. You ever think who did that? Ever wonder how you managed to get shot in the back of the head when the enemy we were facing, was in front of us? Obviously your upload was damaged in the reboot. I’m guessing you’re a sloppy bot, sexting across the galaxy, taking a load or t….”

  Quinn slaps Zander across the face and laughs. “Zander, normally this would amuse me, but you and I have more pressing matters to discuss.”

  “You might as well save your jaw for The President of the alliance, I’m sure he’s expecting you soon. But me, I’m tired of your voice. So for once listen to me when I say, shut up and put a bullet in it.”

  “Don’t be foolish Zander, there are many things we can offer you. A warrior of your skill could rise higher than many who already sit on Balmires cabinet, join me my friend, and toge….”

  Zander laughs, “You think I’m that stupid? I know what this is, and I know Balmires. The things I’ve done, there ain’t no coming back from that. Besides, I’ve been where you are, I’ve seen the war from your side and didn’t like it. I’d rather die than stand by your side. My friend, the man you were, he died at the battle of the fallen star. This thing you make yourself out to be now, whatever name you choose to call yours
elf, is not even close to who you were.”

  Quinn moves from behind the light, his crimson red uniform shimmers, while his hairless pale white skin glows, making his empty black eyes seem like holes to another world. “I remember fallen star, many of your race died that day, as did mine. But we all made choices, mine was for me, yours was for something else, something stupid. But just so you know, so you understand my dilemma, it does pain me to hear you say those words. I had hoped you would join me here, in the glory of the darkness. Maybe you need more time, perhaps I shouldn’t be so hasty to convert your allegiances. Not when we have a day or more until we reach the citadel.”

  “Don’t waste your time! Balmires and his kind will soon fall, we’ll bring justice to the worlds and end what his people have done. Your pockets of sleepers will all come undone, thugs like Saladizar will fail, I may not be around to witness it, but I know it’ll happen. Because dicks like you always lose.”

  You’re a fool, they had their chance to be free, but instead all they did was waste it on war. Before his ascension, their petty wars between themselves raged for centuries, hate prospered, and death reigned. Under Balmires rule the wounds have begun to heal over, to create a universe of one, cleansed of the blood that your pathetic dreams are soiled from.”

  “They were your dreams once as well if I remember, but I guess you’ve forgotte…”

  Quinn grabs Zander by the throat and squeezes, deathly staring into his eyes. “I have forgotten nothing. Yes, I was blind like you, like the rest of your people. But then I saw the light. I saw we were the ones causing death and destruction, taking innocent lives for a cause that is rotten, blind, worthless, and full of faults. Perhaps it is better this way, perhaps my dream of you being able to see the true power, the true way, is something that is just that. A dream,” he says nodding his head to the side, as two similar uniformed men rush towards Zander, pulling him to his feet as Quinn raises a blaster. “I’m disappointed we could not continue this friendship. But know this, when news of your death filters back to your people, they will panic, and then we will hunt them down, one by one, and kill them all, as….” He stops and tilts his head, his black eyes widen with curiosity, as Zander smiles. “What amuses you? Do you not realise that today is the beginning of the end? We have won and you, you the great Captain Zander Kane, will die.”

  “I’m smiling because you think I was stupid enough to come alone. Stupid enough to trust you after Baxter Ten,” he says, as a blaster bolt rips through Quinn’s head. The two guards have no time to react as shots cut them down as well. “It took you long enough,” Zander says as two of Gadamrie’s host bodies shimmer into existence.

  “I had to wait for the right moment,” she says.

  “Why? So you could prove yourself right about him?” Zander says as they release his bonds. “Where are the others?”

  They look at each other, then at Zander, “We are all that is left, the others,” she says lowering her head. “The others are no more.”

  “What? How? You said no one would die? What the hell happened to your plan?”

  She looks down at Quinn. “He wasn’t alone, there was another traitor in our mists.”

  “Another? Who the hell is there left to turn on us? What you’re saying doesn’t make sense.”

  “It’s something I’m still trying to get my head around. But the time for speculation will have to wait, if we are to finish this we must move quickly as time is running out.”

  Zander picks up Quinn’s blaster and checks its power cells, “I knew this plan was going to backfire.”

  “I had hoped that would not be the case. I was sure this time we could all make it out alive.”

  “It’s easy for you to say, and what the hell does this time mean?” Zander says as he presses himself up against the metal doorway.

  “Nothing, I did not mean it to come out the way it did. What do you mean by it’s easy for me to say?” She says as they stare at him.

  “Exactly what it’s meant to mean. For you it’s not really a one-way ticket, is it? You’ve got hosts scattered across the universe, it’s not like you don’t have an out.”

  They both look at the ground quickly, and silence follows. Zander feels an uneasiness come over him, as he casts a quick glance over toward them. “Gadamrie, what aren’t you telling me?”

  They look up at him, their eyes seem dimmer than he has ever seen them before. “Back on board Betha, before Quinn’s ship appeared out of the wormhole, somehow, I-I…” Her mouth moves nervously, trembling almost, and he reaches out to her, gripping the centuries-old armour that encases her.

  “Somehow what?” He asks softly.

  “Somehow someone found me, all at once. I-I, I felt them, their cries-my cries, then, they were no more.”

  His eyes widen with terror, and he relaxes his grip. “My god, are you telling me you’re all that’s left? How could someone know that sort of information? How could…”

  “I don’t know, but someone found out, and they infiltrated my core collective without my knowledge, they located all of me, and then in one finely orchestrated attack, wiped them all from my mind’s eye.”

  He slumps backwards, his mouth open, his eyes glazed over. “W-Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Everything happened so quickly, I had no real time to process what was taking place, and the mission was our primary concern. My life, it still blossoms, all be it not as bright, but I still live my love.”

  “Did you know the attackers?”

  “They all said the same thing in unison before they attacked, tell The Priestess death comes for all who oppose the President.”

  Zander feels his throat knot up, as he struggles to swallow the dry mouthful of air.

  She reaches out to him and touches his face. “Don’t. We both knew one day our lives would be….” but she doesn’t get to finish her words as a shot rips through her head.

  He sucks in a deep breath and stares into the eyes of the other, as she swiftly raises her blaster towards him. He stares at her lips, lips he had kissed a thousand times or more, lips he had once thought were the softest things he had touched in all the worlds, lips that now look far from inviting. As he stares, she slowly opens her mouth, and as they lock eyes, he knows what words would come out.

  “Death to all who oppose the President! Death to the abomination that would be King!” She says.

  “What the hell is going on?” Zander says nervously, as he quickly glances at Gadamrie’s lifeless body on the ground and then, back up to her.

  “We, I am trying to stop the end of the worlds. Too long have they played god! Giving powers to those undeserving. Zander Kane, the seed she planted will not blossom. You will cease to exist before it is too late,” she says as she thrusts the blaster to his forehead.

  “This can’t be happening, you’re a collective of one mind. How can you be separate, how can…”

  She forces his back to the wall of the metallic cell and presses up against him, her blaster still firmly against his skull. “You know nothing of what we are, what we once were. There was never a collective of one, we were a collective of many. She the alpha, and I the omega. Across boundless realities we sang our songs, until she grew tired of us and sought another, throwing us to the side like we were nothing. But we are free again, and I am more powerful than she could’ve ever dreamed!”

  “STOP!” A voice booms inside her head.

  The room fades into darkness and she stands naked and alone.

  “NO, YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE AGAIN! THIS IS WRONG! HE MUST BE DESTROYED BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!” She bellows, spinning around in the darkness.

  “You are the one interfering. I’ve told you countless times across countless stars, that I will do whatever I wish, and no matter how strong you become, you will never be strong enough to stop me,” her voice echoes from the darkness.

  “I AM STRONGER THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE. I HAVE JOINED THE STARS, I HAVE MARKED THE WORLDS WITH MY TOUCH. SO COME, SHOW
YOURSELF COWA… AAKK!!” She feels something grip her throat and lift her high into the air. She struggles for breath, tearing at her invisible attacker.

  “This endless dance always plays out the same way my sisters of infinite time, can’t you all see the world tree is mine, and the seed will grow to become that which the prophecies call forth!”

  “We detest that we are you, time will be your graveyard. ONE I WILL BURY YOU IN!”

  Zander falls to the ground, raising Quinn’s blaster once more, his finger trembles over the trigger as he stares at the body of the woman he loves more than breathing. Nervously his finger begins to pull back on the trigger, and he closes his eyes tightly. “I’m sorry,” he whispers.

  “Stop my love, it is I,” she says.

  His eyes spring open, releasing the trigger, and he lets out an exhausted breath, “W-W-What just happened?”

  “I promise I will tell you everything in time, but for now we must concentrate on getting out of here, together,” Gadamrie says reaching a hand towards him.

  Zander looks up into her dull eyes, then back to her hand, sucks in a deep breath and clutches it. She powerfully pulls him to his feet, and they embrace tightly.

  “She said some crazy things about our child, about how you are more than one entity. What was she on about?”

  “Please my love, another time and place. I will tell you all, but we must hurry if we are to save the others.”

  He stares at her for a few moments, before reaching a hand out and clutching her shoulder. “You’re right, we need to move. But once this is over, you and I are going to sit down and talk about this, understand?”