“Why didn’t she? Everything she does is for a reason and the number one reason is survival. So if her main goal is to protect Mystique, then why not take control of the ship and some of the crew?”
“She was afraid we’d kill Mystique.” It was the simple answer and it made sense.
“Nah, something else is going on and you have to figure out what soon.”
“You know her better than I do. Why don’t you figure it out?”
“Because I’m on her side. Where you put me,” Bruce stated defiantly.
“What do you mean, where I put you?”
“First you arrest my mom, then you arrest me for treason, and now you have me locked in this room while the ship heads off to some prison planet. You convicted me of being some kind of demon worshiper without even asking how I know her. I bet half the crew wants to kill me, as well as Mystique and Shektee. You ruined my life, so screw you!” Bruce was almost in tears as he screamed the last words at Remington.
“Your life isn’t ruined. You’re confined to this berthing area for security reasons, not because you’re under arrest. Your mother was released as soon as you arrived at the police station. I’ve been hunting demons for over five years and Shektee is the first one to ever communicate. Right now you’re the only one who can get her to talk. We need you to find out as much as you can about her and her kind,” Remington explained, trying to calm Bruce down some. He needed the young man to be thinking calmly and focused on learning everything he could about Shektee.
“I won’t try lying to or tricking her, but I’ll find out what I can. What do you want to know?” Bruce said, feeling a little better about his situation. He still figured he was screwed, but maybe not as badly as he had thought.
“Anything you can find out about where she comes from. How some of them can get across the dimensional barrier without being summoned. What abilities and weaknesses they have. Information like that; I’d even like to know about their social structure if they have one. I understand better than most the risk you’re taking every time you walk into a room with her. This could be a very influential boost to your military career.”
The two continued to talk for the next hour or so about what Bruce had already learned about Shektee. He described how they’d first met and how he’d resisted her mind control. Remington was very interested in that part. If she couldn’t mind control everyone, then he’d be able to trust some of his men to guard her. He was starting to feel better about being able to control Shektee.
That’s when the klaxon sounded and the PA system announced they were fifteen minutes from jump. Everyone was instructed to man their battle stations and all troops were to don their armor. Remington excused himself, saying he needed to be on the battle bridge during transition to jump space. He suggested Bruce either lie down in a rack or sit on the floor. The first transition can be a little hard on the body.
***
As the ship passed through the dimensional barrier into jump space, a new alarm sounded. Every member of the crew knew what it meant. They had an intruder. Something had come aboard during the transition. Then a second alarm sounded, stating that the prisoner in the brig had escaped.
The intruder had appeared in the medical bay inside the room where Mystique was being treated. The soldier standing guard over Mystique was surprised at the sudden appearance of an old man in the room. He’d spent many hours training so his body was in motion even before his brain understood what was happening. The soldier started to raise his rifle, but never got the barrel into position before his armor froze.
The guard outside the isolation room watched as the old man tore open the regeneration tank and removed Mystique. He wanted to stop the man but his armor had locked up and wouldn’t respond to any commands. He’d turned to see what was happening in the room when the guard inside sounded the alarm. Now he had a perfect view of what was going on, but no way of affecting it.
The old man was removing the leads and needles from Mystique when the demoness from the brig appeared next to him. The old man stopped and stepped back so the demoness could finish. When she was done, she used some magic or power on Mystique, causing her to wake up. Then the three of them disappeared and as soon as they were gone, his armor started working again.
***
Captain Remington listened as the reports came in from Medical. The intruder appeared to be an old man. He’d done something to the armor of the soldiers assigned to guard Mystique. Shektee had joined him and now the three were in the forward-berthing compartment with Bruce. Remington had an assault team forming up outside the compartment but with the way they seemed able to teleport around, he wasn’t sure how effective his men would be. So far nobody had gotten hurt, so he was willing to wait and see what developed.
Captain Remington didn’t have to wait long. Shektee appeared in the middle of the combat bridge right beside him. “Dinnertime,” Shektee stated with an evil grin as she grabbed him and teleported away. Everyone on the bridge stared in shocked fascination as the master demon hunter was taken with ease.
They appeared in the small recreation area of the berthing compartment. The hard chairs and tables had been replaced by cushioned high-backed armchairs positioned around a small banquet table covered with platters of food. The old man was at the head of the table with Mystique to his right and Bruce to his left. Everyone at the table had a large plate of food sitting in front of them; Mystique was the only one actually eating.
“Ah, captain, glad you could join us,” the old man said in a pleasant voice. “Bruce here was just trying to convince me not to destroy your ship and crew. He seems to think your attack on my servants was justified.”
“Captain, please have a seat. Would you like something to eat?” Shektee offered as she stepped around the end of the table to sit in a chair next to Mystique.
“What’s going on? Who are you? What happened to my armor?” Captain Remington asked as he continued to look around.
“Captain, you need to be able to adapt to new situations faster if you want to have any chance of surviving. But you do bring up a good point. I am Shektee’s true master and Mystique’s beneficiary of sorts. You may call me sir,” the old man stated before taking a long drink from his wineglass. “As for your armor and weapons, I did not see the sense in you being encumbered by useless garb, so I removed it.”
“You should surrender now. My men will be coming through that door any second and they have orders to kill everyone in this room,” Captain Remington stated trying to take control of the situation.
“I told you he won’t listen to reason. He always has to be the one in charge,” Shektee pointed out. Her sarcasm and dislike for Captain Remington was obvious.
“You can’t kill him just because you don’t like him,” Bruce protested.
“Sure I can; in fact, I do it all the time,” the old man stated matter-of-factly. “But for your sake I am willing to give him a little leeway.”
“Captain, you were brought here to assist Bruce but your comments so far are boosting Shektee’s argument. I would suggest that you take a drink from your wineglass and think before making your next comment,” Mystique advised, speaking for the first time.
Captain Remington was not used to being told what to do by people he considered criminals. But these were extraordinary circumstances so he decided to do at least part of what Mystique had suggested. He decided to listen to what was going on before making another comment.
“As I was saying, the simplest plan is to infest the ship with a ravager or two and let it continue on its course. Mystique will be placed on one of the crowded ships leaving this plane. Unfortunately, Mystique objects to Bruce’s death so a more complex plan will be considered,” the old man explained.
“Captain, Bruce seems to believe that you can help with a plan which will solve the problem of you hunting Mystique and does not require the death of you and everyone else onboard this vessel. Are you equal to the task?” the old man asked like he was ask
ing Remington to pass the potatoes.
“Captain, a few things you should understand are first that jump space is where the creatures you call demons live, and second is that they are more powerful here. You already have an idea about how powerful Shektee is. Her master is her master because he can kill her with very little effort. Now think how easily he can do whatever he chooses to the people on this ship. Personally I don’t care what happens after the way you hunted me, but Bruce seems to think I should, so I’ve asked that you be given a chance,” Mystique explained. Captain Remington realized as he listened to Mystique that her records were wrong on one key topic. She didn’t have psychopathic tendencies; she was a psychopath.
“They live in jump space. I guess that does explain a few things,” Remington said, trying to switch topics and give him a chance to figure out what to do. They were right that fighting was futile.
“Yes, but luckily for you humans, only a few of us know that you enter our realm. Most stay close to the planets where they can feed on the small amount of energy that bleeds through the barrier. If they were to learn about these vessels, I would think that none would ever make it to their destination again,” the old man observed. Remington understood the underlying threat very clearly.
“What energy are you talking about?” Bruce asked, trying to reduce some of the tension.
“Human emotional energy passes through the barrier in small amounts. As we become more powerful, we can have a greater effect on humans, causing a variety of emotional responses. The easiest being fear, but my kind specializes in lust. And as the captain can attest, sometimes we are able find a way to cross the barrier and enter your realm. Then we can feed directly on your life energy. We’re all driven by an unquenchable hunger, or what I thought was unquenchable. Either way, most do not take the time to think; they simply feed,” Shektee explained.
“Captain, if you were let go, would you come after me again?” Mystique asked, causing the others to look at the captain.
“Yes. Either me or another member of psi-core.”
“Who has the authority to stop you?”
“The sector grand marshal or someone higher in rank.”
“See? Killing him won’t solve the problem,” Bruce broke in.
“Maybe not, but it would be fun and satisfying,” Shektee countered with an evil grin.
“Maybe later. First we’ll see if the captain thinks Bruce’s plan can work, and will accept his part in it,” the old man said as if he were calming an attack dog.
“Captain, do you think you can convince your superiors to leave the Grayson family alone and call off the hunt against them?” Bruce asked, trying to get the others back on topic.
The whole family, not just Mystique, were concerned about the wellbeing of the whole family. The realization opened up a new line of strategies but before he could decide on the best course of action, the old man broke his chain of thought. “Captain, I’m not very patient, so I do not intend to drag this out with long negotiations. Are you willing to convince your superiors to leave the Grayson family alone or not?”
The warrior in Captain Remington screamed, “No, I am not your errand boy!” but luckily he was too disciplined to allow his emotions to control his actions. Instead, he simply said, “Yes”
“Good. Shektee will accompany you and answer most of your questions while Mystique and Bruce return to school. At any time Shektee feels the desire, she may return to our realm. I leave that decision up to her. You’ll also explain to the authorities on Nebular 4 that Mystique and Bruce are not to be harassed in any way. I understand your influence is limited, so minor transgressions are up to them to deal with,” the old man stated
“And for past transgressions…Shektee, you are allowed to feed on the humans in the hall.” And before anyone could react, Shektee disappeared. Within second the muffled sounds of fighting were heard in the hallway.
“What are you doing? That wasn’t part of the deal!” Captain Remington demanded as he jumped to his feet.
“Sit down!” the old man ordered, allowing just a fraction of his true power into his command. Captain Remington could not resist; no matter how much he wanted to refuse the old man’s commands, he slowly sat back down.
“Captain, when dealing with our kind, there is one rule you must always keep in mind. Everything has a cost. Your people are now paying the cost for attacking Mystique. I suggest you remember this lesson when you start interrogating Shektee.”
Bruce sat stunned at the idea that Shektee was killing the soldiers in the hall. He had known she was capable of killing, but the idea of her attacking a group of armed and armored soldiers was hard to comprehend. It was suicidal but he was the only one who seemed to think so. Nobody, not even Mystique, seemed the least bit concerned about Shektee’s safety. Was she that powerful or was Mystique that cold-hearted?
“Captain, will you honor our agreement?” the old man asked as he stood up.
“Yes, I will speak with my superiors,” Remington conceded, still feeling the effects of the old man’s power.
“Very well. I am done here. Mystique it was a pleasure to see you again,” the old man stated just before vanishing.
***
Captain Remington struggled against the hatch, trying to open it. The sounds of combat had ended shortly after the old man disappeared. Captain Remington had run to the door, but it was locked and wouldn’t acknowledge his commands. He had tried everything he could think of and was now down to pounding on it with his fists.
“You can calm down, captain. I doubt she’s killing them,” Mystique called over to him as she picked at her plate of food. This caused both Bruce and Captain Remington to give her a quizzical look.
“What makes you think that?” Captain Remington asked, not moving from the hatch.
“She knows that she is going to be working with you and that killing your men will cause problems. She’s not a mindless killer. You just have to give her a reason not to kill, kinda like me,” Mystique explained, wondering why it was not as obvious to them as it was to her.
“Oh, I’ll give her a reason,” Captain Remington replied, grinding his fist into the palm of his other hand.
Bruce thought he saw Mystique smile at that. “Captain, before you threaten anyone, you should figure out what they’re afraid of. Shektee is obviously not afraid of you and if by some chance you did succeed in scaring her, then you’d die.”
Before Captain Remington could think of a reply, the hatch swung open. Shektee was standing on the other side, blood splatter covering her upper torso and arms. She was still in her combat form, which caused Bruce to worry that she was going to attack them next. Captain Remington shifted into a defensive stance, refusing to die without at least putting up some kind of a fight. Only Mystique seemed unaffected by her appearance.
“Your men need medical attention,” Shektee said as she walked past Captain Remington, shifting forms to her natural state. Mystique noticed that Shektee’s horns were larger than she remembered.
“None of them are anywhere near as injured as Mystique was after your attack, so they should all live,” she told him as he scrambled through the open hatch to check on his men.
The scene in the corridor was worse than Captain Remington had expected. Not only had Shektee attacked the ten soldiers waiting in the corridor, but she’d also attacked the six medical personal. To his relief, only a few looked to be physically injured; the rest looked like they were happily sleeping with smiles on their faces. Most of the injured had bullet wounds from where other soldiers had shot them. Only one looked to be in critical condition, his breastplate and part of his chest, as well as his helmet, were ripped open. His heavy rifle was lying next to him with claw marks gouged deeply into the barrel. It looked as though he had tried to defend himself with it.
The secondary medical crew was waiting back far enough to avoid Shektee’s attack but close enough to hear the combat. When their senior officer received the all-clear signal, she had th
em move in as quickly as possible. Their primary goal was to stabilize the injured and move them to the med bay. Captain Remington called the first to arrive over to the soldier who he was kneeling beside. The rest of the medics spread out among the bodies, checking for injuries and vital signs. The medic helping Remington called for assistance with moving the injured man and informed med bay of the man’s injuries. The chief medic informed medical of the number of patients who would be needing treatment as well as the types of injuries.
Captain Remington was proud of, if not a little surprised at, the speed and proficiency of the backup medical group. He made a mental note to mention it to the captain. Within a few minutes all of the injured and unconscious had been removed from the corridor and a fresh group of soldiers were standing ready for orders. Captain Remington thought about attacking Shektee and Mystique but quickly decided against it. Instead, he sent the troops to guard key locations around the ship while he verified that the danger was over.
***
Bruce was standing near the hatch when Captain Remington opened it. He’d wanted to go see if he could help, but Mystique had suggested that he’d only make matters worse. So he’d waited and listened while the other two sat patiently waiting for Captain Remington’s return. Shektee thought that he was foolish enough to charge in and attack while Mystique figured that he would simply try to lock them in again.
“Are your men going to be okay?” Bruce asked, not trusting Shektee’s assessment of the wounds she’d inflicted. Captain Remington’s hands were covered in blood and he had a look of barely contained rage on his face.
“Captain, I suggest you go clean up and prepare to re-enter the Nebular 4 system. Bruce and I will wait here for your return. Shektee will not be crossing back into normal space with the ship,” Mystique said, trying to sound pleasant but failing miserably.
“What? How? We are headed—” Captain Remington stopped himself before disclosing their destination; only authorized personal knew of the existence of the base they’d been headed to.
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