by Justin Sloan
They followed her orders without question, and soon had a good walkway across the clay. Others saw this and did the same, while some on the ship started making their way over to follow them.
When they reached the edge of the clay and the beginning of the orange bushes someone started firing at them, but the shots went wide.
Valerie glanced back to see Captain Tuttle, but she didn’t waste much time on him.
"They’re going to be coming after us; hunting us down, if possible," she said. "We need to find cover and a place to hide."
"I say we risk it with the Norruls," Robin declared. "We don’t know for sure they betrayed us."
"Who else would’ve called in Demus’s fleet?" Garcia countered.
Valerie scanned the area, searching for an alternative but finding none. "He’s right, but you both are. There’s nowhere else to hide."
"So we hand ourselves over to them?" Robin asked as they entered the vegetated area, doing their best to move quickly as more shots came. The bushes were prickly and reached out as if they were alive.
"No, we find a way in without them knowing," Valerie replied.
Kalan laughed. "I’m not exactly...you know…inconspicuous."
"But one of us is," Jilla pointed out.
"Ah, Wearl."
Everyone froze and Kalan called, "Wearl?"
"Yes?" Wearl’s voice came from behind Valerie.
"Can you look for a way in that won’t get us noticed."
"One step ahead of you," she said, sneaking past, "but a word of caution. The others are starting to round up the prisoners, so let’s hurry this up."
"All on you," Valerie said.
"Any coming after us yet?" Kalan asked. They saw a group of escapees getting pushed to the ground by invisible guards in the distance.
Silence followed for a moment, then Wearl said, "No, but keep down while I’m finding us a way in. Don’t move until I’m back."
They did their best to get under the bushes and out of sight, and stayed still. Valerie and a few others still wore their battle armor, but not Kalan.
"How’s your shoulder?" Valerie asked Robin in a whisper. They were side by side, and when she turned her head she could see herself in her friend’s eyes through her faceplate.
"It’s healing up well. Almost done, I think."
"I’m glad it missed your heart."
Robin frowned. "Think that would’ve mattered? I mean, would a wound like that kill us?"
Valerie shrugged. "I’ve actually never asked the one person I think would know, and I haven’t experimented, so...good question."
For a moment they lay there, and then Robin held out her hand. Valerie took it and tilted her head, confused.
Squeezing it softly, Robin smiled and said, "We’re going to get through this," before withdrawing her hand again. For a moment Valerie had thought maybe there had been more to the gesture, but judging by the worried look in Robin’s eyes, that wouldn’t have made sense. This was a time for them to run for their lives, not hold hands and bat eyelashes at each other.
"As soon as the captain gets out of there he’ll send the guards in our direction," Jilla pointed out.
"Not to worry," came Wearl’s voice. "We have an in."
"You’re a lifesaver," Valerie whispered. "Show us the way."
"Follow my voice," Wearl replied, then started making low tsking sounds as she moved. The rest crawled out from under the bushes and followed in a crouched run.
She led them to the side of the metal pillars, from which location they saw a group of Norruls running toward the crash site. Whether they were going to help or fight escaped prisoners, they were best avoided for now.
After more tsking, Valerie saw an unguarded opening near the back of one of the wider pillars. The group moved toward it, pausing only once as more Norruls passed by two rows over. As the group ducked in Valerie stood aside, wanting to be ready in case there was trouble and she needed to cover them. Her eyes wandered over the natural stairs within the tower, which looked as if someone had simply told the metal what to do and it had listened. How anyone could have built this was beyond her.
Once everyone was in she cautiously entered and went up two steps…and found herself staring straight into the eyes of a young Norrul. The small girl looked almost like a human, her carapace barely formed except for low ridges around her collarbone, which were visible through the nightgown she wore.
"I’m not going to hurt anyone," Valerie whispered, slowly moving back.
"They didn’t mean it," the girl said, eyeing Valerie sadly.
"What?"
"The others. I heard them talking and debating… When they called him, they didn’t have a choice.”
Valerie nodded, understanding that she must be referring to Moralu calling down this Demus character and his fleet.
"Are you safe?" Valerie asked.
The little girl grunted. "Yes, but if they hadn’t told him and he had found out... Others serve him. Others would have told on us."
"I understand," Valerie replied, turning to leave. "I’m not mad."
"You’ll stop him?"
Valerie stopped in her tracks, turned back, and nodded. "He scares you?"
"I have nightmares."
"Those nightmares won’t go on much longer, I promise." Valerie gave her a smile, then turned and followed her friends below, more determined than ever to find a way to defeat Demus and his fleet.
They found themselves in another large room, similar to the one in which the so-called celebrations had been held earlier. This room’s metal walls were less finely formed, as if the being shaping them had been practicing. In areas the metal jutted out like arms or legs, and on one wall it looked like someone had made a large face.
"How are they doing this?" Garcia asked, tracing his hand along the metal. "It’s all one piece, not welded together."
Flynn chuckled. "Let’s hang around for a bit so they can capture us, and we can ask them. Or, we can keep moving."
"Shut up." Garcia turned to Valerie. "When did he become Mr. Jokes?"
But she was still too focused on thoughts of the little girl and what sort of person Demus must be if he inspired such fear. She just shrugged. The others felt her mood and became silent as well, which was smart considering their predicament.
It wasn’t long before the first of them had to relieve themselves, so they took a break at a section of tunnels and, feeling bad about it, used a side tunnel to take turns. They found a spot to rest for a few minutes, which was even more necessary because they didn’t have water or food.
"Finally," Flynn griped, stretching his legs.
Robin went to each of them to check for injuries, careful to not bump into Wearl.
"How’d we find ourselves in the middle of this war between two large fleets?" Valerie asked when the younger woman came over to her.
"And neither side is Earth," Robin replied with a laugh. "But at least Lolack would make a good ally."
Valerie nodded. "Anyone willing to hurt innocents in their quest for justice is wrong. It brings on more injustice and a new round of people seeking their own revenge."
"We’re on the right side here, no doubt about it," Robin assured her, then left to check on Flynn and Garcia.
"It’s never easy." Kalan glanced at her from his place against the wall. With his gray skin, it almost looked like he was part of the metal.
"What’s that?"
"Choosing sides. Figuring out who the real allies are." He grunted. "I wasn’t even fully sure about you until recently."
"You’re joking!"
"Maybe. I knew you were trustworthy right away, but think about it… You just showed up and took over the transport ship, then convinced me to kind of break the rules to get you into a death fight. The Damu Michezo. Are those the signs of someone you should trust?"
"Huh. Good point!"
"And then you destroyed the Damu Michezo," he continued, "and risked your life to help against Aranaught. You know
, when she was still an enemy. All that made me see you in a different light."
"Sometimes we have to do things that don’t seem right," she admitted. "I think it’s the moment you allow innocents to get hurt that separates the evil from the just."
"I agree. Do the ends justify the means? Only if evil wasn’t done to achieve those means."
She assessed Kalan, then smiled. "You know, I don’t think I’ve told you yet how much I appreciate you."
He laughed. "No need for that."
"No, no." She stood, walked over, and took his hand as if the shake it. "There needs to be more people like you in the universe. How many times would we have been helpless without you?"
"Helpless? Probably zero," he demurred. "You would’ve found a way."
She shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Point is, you’re great."
She let go of his hand and was about to go over to see if Robin needed help when a gleam of metal caught her eye.
"Did you notice that?" Robin asked, pointing the other way.
Valerie hopped to her feet. "Go! The walls are moving."
The others began to rise, but clearly her words had inspired more confusion than reaction. They were all trying to see if the walls were indeed moving. There was no time for watching so Valerie led the charge, motioning them along and grabbing Flynn by the arm and pulling him with her. Kalan was beside her, and together they held a wall back when it tried to close before half the group was through.
They made it through and fell back as the metal slammed together, and sure enough the tunnels ahead were moving too, changing direction right before their eyes.
"Just go!" she said to the others, who were looking at her and Kalan hesitantly. "We have to find a way out."
They kept running, but the tunnels appeared to be moving back around. All passages led back to Demus, she imagined. As much as she wanted to find out how this was done, getting out of there was more important.
At the next tunnel she decided to try something. With all her strength, she ran at the metal and kicked, breaking right through. Of course, they were in another tunnel and the far wall was moving too, but at least she now knew that the metal wasn’t very thick.
They followed her through a few more tunnels in this fashion, until they heard voices behind them. Turning to see Rokal, Valerie watched with awe as he put his hand to the wall and his metal carapace vibrated. A moment later the walls started forming layers around Valerie and her team.
If she didn’t act fast, they’d be trapped.
"Robin, on me!" she said, and they ran to the far side, kicking and punching their way through metal walls. The others joined them and started pushing, but suddenly there was a yelp behind them and Valerie saw that Jilla had been cut off from the group.
Valerie tried to punch back through, but more walls warped inward, nearly catching Kalan. He pushed back, his strength almost enough to hold it back. Valerie fought to get to him, but the metal was moving in on her now too.
"Get help!" he shouted. "Find a way out. We’ll figure this out!"
She wasn’t about to let them go so easily, but the walls kept coming and Robin pulled her back.
"He’s right!" Robin said, holding her close, nose inches from her own. "It doesn’t do the team any good if we’re all captured."
Valerie shook her off and kept pushing through walls. At one wall, the metal gave way to reveal green skin and wide eyes—Jilla!
She ran to Valerie and Robin, happy to see them, then glanced around. "Kalan? The others?"
"We can’t leave them!"
"We won’t," Valerie assured her.
Garcia stumbled in on them and fell to his knees, and they helped him to stand. "We can’t hold out like this," he said, eyes wide and searching. "Where’s Flynn?"
"We’ll find them," Valerie said, continuing the fight even as more walls pushed them back, making it seem more hopeless by the minute.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Planet Rhol
Kalan slammed his hand against the metal wall of the tunnel. “I can’t believe this! We reunite with Valerie for, what, twenty minutes? Now we’re cut off from her again?”
“Metal tunnels,” Wearl noted. “Exactly like home.”
Flynn’s face was pale as he stared down the tunnel they were in. “So I’m with you guys now? Normally I roll with Valerie.”
“Yeah, well, normally we end up with Bob, so I guess we’ll consider you an upgrade.”
Kalan took a deep breath. He needed to get it together. Part of SEDE had just broken off, and they’d crashed to this strange planet. He had to assume most of the prisoners had died in the crash, as well as most of the guards. Only a few dozen in that part of the ship, Captain Tuttle had said, but every lost life was a tragedy. He could hardly imagine how scary and confusing their last few minutes must have been. They had been going about their normal day in their cellblock, when all of a sudden the world started spinning. And a few minutes later, they’d crashed into a planet they hadn’t even known they were falling toward.
He tried to push those thoughts away. Wearl and Flynn needed him. Valerie needed him. And Captain Tuttle needed a punch in the face—one Kalan would be more than happy to provide.
Down the tunnel they heard echoing footsteps, as well as a strange dragging sound.
“I suddenly regret pounding on the wall,” Kalan muttered.
Flynn nodded. “Probably not the best idea, considering we have the captain of a prison ship and an army of invisible guards after us.”
“Not to mention the creepy locals,” Wearl added.
Kalan’s hand went to his weapon. “Let’s just be ready.”
They waited in silence as the footsteps grew closer, preparing for the fight they knew was coming. After a moment, a large shape darkened the entrance to the tunnel.
Kalan couldn’t help but smile as he recognized the being approaching them.
Flynn raised a shaky finger. “Um, big ugly blue guy. Should we be shooting at him?”
“Nah,” Kalan said. “He’s a new friend. Glad to see you’re alive, Nostro. We didn’t know what Captain Tuttle did to you.”
“Threw me in a closet was what he did,” the Pallicon explained. “Said it was for my own protection, so the Shimmers would help him. Let’s just say it was not a comfortable landing.” He looked at Flynn. “I don’t mind being called ugly, but I do mind you not helping me with my buddy here.”
He angled his large body to the left and Kalan saw that he was dragging someone along with him; an injured person.
Kalan and Flynn ran to help as soon as the saw the prisoner, a young, Skulla male. They laid him gently on the ground.
Nostro crouched next to them. “What do you think? Is he going to make it?”
Kalan observed the teen Skulla’s shallow breathing and the massive wound on his head. “I’m no doctor.” That was the most positive thing he could say.
They waited in silence, tending the Skulla’s wound as best they could, but within a few moments, he’d taken his last breath.
Kalan put a hand on Nostro’s should. “I’m sorry.”
Nostro brushed the hand off and got to his feet. “It’s not you who should be sorry, it’s Captain Tuttle. When I catch him, I’m going to make him pay.”
“That’s what I was thinking too,” Kalan agreed.
“I dug through that rubble for twenty minutes near where the cellblock must have been, and this guy was the only one I found. The Shimmers must have gotten the rest.” He slammed his hand against the wall, and it clanged even more loudly than when Kalan had done the same thing.
“Really?” Flynn asked. “Again with the wall-hitting? Have we learned nothing?”
If Nostro heard the comment, he gave no indication.
Kalan glanced down the tunnel, wondering who else might have heard the noise. “We’ll make Captain Tuttle pay, but I think we should get moving.”
They headed down the tunnel in silence. Each time they came to a fork, Kalan took the ri
ghthand turn—not out of any sort of knowledge of the tunnel system, but simply because it took the choice out of it and let them keep moving quickly.
They’d been walking for ten minutes when Wearl said, “Hang on, I heard something.”
The group froze, and sure enough…a few minutes later a figure appeared. It was a Norrul female, but she had no metal carapace. This one looked more like the standard variety Kalan had been seeing all his life.
The female blinked hard when she saw them. “What are you doing down here?”
“We’re trying to get out of here,” Kalan said softly. He had often found when encountering strangers, even big Norruls, he needed to work hard to come off as non-threatening.
She looked at them for a long moment. “The only way out is through.”
“Huh.” Flynn scoffed. “I think I saw that engraved on a plaque or something once. Very inspirational.”
The Norrul looked Kalan in the eye. “Keep going down this tunnel. Every turn, take the way that leads deeper into the ground.”
“Deeper? That’s the way out?”
She nodded. “It’s the fastest way, but it’s also the most dangerous. Be careful not to wake him.”
“Him?” Nostro asked. “Him who?”
“The Ravagion. He’s hungry when he wakes up.”
Flynn raised a hand. “Um, is there maybe a slower way that doesn’t have a sleeping Ravage-thingie?”
“Once you’re past the Ravagion, follow the tunnels that lead upward. I’m sorry, I have to go. They’re trying to find me.” With that, she squeezed past them and took off running the way Kalan and the others had come.
“Well, that was cryptic,” Wearl declared.
Kalan started down the tunnel again. “At least we have some direction now. We’ll just be careful. No more hitting walls, and limited talking—then we won’t wake the Ravage-guy.”
They continued walking, proceeding as quietly as possible. The next three forks they came to, they took the path that sloped downward. The farther they went, the less they heard the echoes of the city from behind them. The air began to smell of dirt, but there was also a coppery metallic component to the scent.