by N. I. Snow
Kahluna opened her eyes and stared steadily at both men. Before she could continue the transmission panel at the front of the hangar sprang to life. Voices coming from the panel shouted and pleaded as Monale rushed over to the panel. A chill filled the hangar as different voices faded in and out. Kahluna looked over at the panel with some interest as Jonah clapped his hands over his ears and closed his eyes.
“Command! Come in! Anyone, do you copy?” came a desperate voice of a male soldier. “We Are Under Attack! Blue-Scaled Alien! Destroyed The Alien Shuttle!” Before Monale had time to open a wave, the voice broke into a blood-curdling scream and the transmission broke off.
All eyes turned to Kahluna as she spoke ominously, “My sire has arrived.”
Salianos straightened his back while his clawed hands across his robe wiping off any fleshy fragments. His blue tongue ran along his snout, licking away blood and bits of flesh. Smoothing his green hair with a bloody claw, he walked casually over to the woman he had knocked down. Her left leg had been impaled by a metal pole lodged in a block of rubble.
Her eyes were mixed with panic, pain, and hatred at the sight of Salianos towering over her. She yelled in agony as he pulled her off the ground by the front of her thick armor, ripping the pole out of her leg. Salianos smiled sweetly as he lifted her chin up with a claw. Her matted brown hair fell away as her green eyes met his cruel violet eyes.
His hot breath flowed against her face as his calm, raspy voice conversed almost as if they were good friends, “There you are. Now you are going to be a good girl and tell me where she is.”
“Who?” gasped the female soldier trying to steel her voice.
Salianos chuckled, “There's no need to play dumb. If you answer my questions, I will let you go.”
The woman tried hard to glare at Salianos, “I don't give information to the enemy.”
Salianos pressed his claw harder against her chin, blood flowing at the tip. “You remind me of my daughter, which for you is not a pleasant idea. Now either you tell me where they have taken the Tazalian that was here or you will die painfully slow.”
The woman's eyes watered and her voice cracked as she spoke, “They have taken her to the military base west of here. It is not far, it will only take a few minutes to reach.” She began to plead, “Now will you let me go.”
Salianos's hand released the woman's armor. He watched as she fell back against the metal pole, the piece of steel piercing through her armor into her chest. As she lay gasping for life, Salianos’s cold eyes watched. The sweet smile still played on his snout. “As you wished.”
Nine
Jonah watched as the presidents called out commands to their men. The entire hanger was in an uproar after the transmission. Soldiers checked their gear before marching out of the hangar. Even the presidents armed themselves. Yet, despite the commotion, Kahluna's thick voice could still be heard.
“The more force you show, the more you endanger your people. I have seen entire civilizations become extinct due to Salianos not receiving what he wanted.”
Hamen turned on her and aimed a rifle at her, “Are you suggesting that we surrender to your psychotic father.”
Soldiers froze in their positions as a bone-chilling growl echoed through the hangar. Kahluna's fangs dripped with saliva as her snout distorted in a snarl. The pupils in her eyes were only slivers in the sea of red. Even Jonah shrank away from her; he had never seen her this angry and it was frightening. Her voice was as sharp as her claws as she snarled, “If you value your life, you will never use that term again. His blood may flow through my veins, but he is not my father.”
Hamen backed away as Monale spoke calmly to Kahluna, his eyes showing no fear, “Then what are you suggesting we do.”
As fast as her anger struck, it faded away. “Trust me. Salianos will follow me to oblivion. When Jonah and I go to Tazal, he will be sure to go as well. Only he can give the order to destroy your entire race. With him gone, it will buy you more time to drive back the Tazalian forces.”
Before either of the presidents could move to release her, heavy artillery fire broke loose outside the hangar. Armed soldiers hurried out of the hangar leaving the presidents, Connell, and the prisoners. Outside the gunfire was soon accompanied by screams. Brave and skilled as they were, Kahluna knew the soldiers wouldn't be able to hold off Salianos much longer. Muscles flexing, Kahluna pulled her arms from her back snapping the thick steel cables like thread. One of the thick wires nearly whipped against Jonah's back. The cable around her neck broke away as she leapt toward the dropship.
Jonah didn't hesitate to follow her. As the blue-green Tazalian hurried over to the landing platform of the ship, she tore off the remaining pieces of cable. Now unhindered she reached the base of the ramp when a warning from Monale alerted her. Her tail cracked the air like a whip as she turned quickly on one foot. Her red eyes narrowed to slits and her spine stiffened at what she saw. Wild eyed and jaws grinning, Salianos had one arm around Jonah's neck and a dagger pressed against the boy's chest with the other.
Connell and the presidents raised their weapons at the faded blue- scaled Tazalian only to receive a low hiss from the High Elder, “Interfere and the boy dies. This is between her and me.”
“We both know you plan to kill him no matter what they do,” Kahluna snorted as she stepped towards the High Elder. Her heart dropped at seeing terror in Jonah's green eyes. She wouldn't let him die, not this way.
“Kahluna,” Salianos spoke her name with respect, like a father happy to find his daughter alive, “I knew you could not have been that easy to kill. How is it I leave you for dead on that forsaken frozen planet only to find you meddling with my plans here?”
Kahluna placed a clawed hand over her chest where a round scar was hidden beneath her worn shirt. “Your aim is not as precise as you believe.”
Salianos tossed Jonah to the ground and held the dagger by the tip. In a single motion he threw it towards Kahluna. “My aim is perfect!”
Kahluna tried to duck away from the projectile only to have it bury into her left shoulder. Gritting her fangs, she tore the blade out and tossed it back towards its owner. Jonah rolled out of the High Elder's path as the large Tazalian dodged the dagger. The blade grazed his backside and landed on the ground three meters away. Jonah quickly got to his feet and dashed to the loading ramp before Salianos recovered. Blue blood flowed from both Kahluna's shoulder and Salianos's back as they glared at each other, burning violet eyes meeting frigid red eyes.
Gunfire from Connell's weapon broke up the Tazalians standoff. Kahluna watched as the Lieutenant Connell distracted the High Elder from her and Jonah. The young boy hurried up the ramp and disappeared into the hull as Kahluna continued to watch. Connell ordered both Kahluna and the presidents to leave as the blue-scaled Tazalian eluded Connell's gunfire. Kahluna nodded to the man, this was his redeeming moment. He was sacrificing his life to protect theirs, just as Kahluna would to protect Jonah and Emma.
As Monale and Hamen escaped out of the front of the hangar, Kahluna quickly boarded the dropship and pressed the button next to the ramp, folding it toward the ship before a pair of doors slid shut. Blue blood still flowing from the wound on her shoulder, the former Seeker hurried past a distraught Jonah to the control room. In the round room, as her claws quickly worked at the controls, Kahluna watched Connell battle against the cruel Salianos. The lieutenant had managed to recover Salianos’s dagger after his rifle had run out of ammo.
As she sent the ship towards the roof of the hangar she caught sight of Salianos clutching Connell's throat in one hand. His free hand battled the lieutenant for control of the dagger. Hissing through her fangs, Kahluna blasted a hole into the roof of the hangar with the dropship’s canons. As the dropship flew out of the newly made opening, Salianos let go of Connell to dodge the debris. Now unable to see Connell, Kahluna could only hope he had escaped.
Salianos wove through the falling rubble growling with rage as he watched the dropship
escape through the roof. He ignored the groans of Connell, whose legs had been pinned underneath a large piece of roofing. The High Elder was a blur of blue scales as he ran out of the hangar to his awaiting fighter crushing under his feet various body parts of soldiers that he killed on his way. He would catch up with Kahluna. If he couldn't kill her on the ground, he would destroy her in the air.
Kahluna ignored the pain in her shoulder as she sent the ship rocketing through the sky. She instructed Jonah where to find the medical supplies. The young man was buffeted against the walls of the hall as Kahluna maneuvered the ship through numerous explosions. He hurried out into a large, open room in the hull. Tossing the shoulder bag to the ground, he opened the panel where Kahluna told him a medical pack could be found. He quickly grabbed the pack and ran back to the control room. When he entered, he gazed out of the thermal panels in shock. From all sides, Tazalian jets rushed towards them trying to cripple the dropship. Kahluna twitched both clawed hands on the red holopads at each side of her, sending the ship into a roll. When the ship straightened out, Jonah pulled himself up and hurried over to her side.
Kahluna told him how to use the medical supplies to treat her wounds as she continued dodging more enemy ships. “There's a round orb shaped device.”
Jonah opened the pack and pulled out a round, dark-blue orb, “This it?”
Kahluna nodded without taking her eyes from viewport, “Yes. There is a button on the top that will open it up. Push it.”
Jonah pressed the button and nearly dropped the orb as it broke apart into two separate pieces, “Now what?”
Kahluna pulled her hands across the pads, sending the ship into a steep climb as a group of jets circled towards them, “Place it onto the wound.”
Jonah's legs shook as he walked over to Kahluna. He set both pieces of the orb onto the large gash in her shoulder. Smoke rose from the wound bringing with it the smell of burning flesh. Kahluna showed no signs of pain or discomfort as she sent the ship spinning between two warships. After a brief moment, the smoke faded away and the two halves of the orb fell away from Kahluna's shoulder. The wound had been cleaned and sealed, there was hardly any mark left from the blade.
A blast at the rear of the ship nearly knocked Jonah off his feet. Kahluna gritted her fangs as she twitched both hands on the controls, giving the ship an extra burst of speed. The ship bucked with each explosion. Salianos was catching up. Kahluna quickly pressed an image on the holopanel of the control board. The image showed the forward shields being diverted to the rear. They wouldn't last for long; but if they held out until the ship was out of Earth's atmosphere, she would be able to activate the lotardrives.
Kahluna pressed another image on the holopanel as another explosion rocked the ship. The new image brought up the dropship’s weapons system. The ship was not outfitted with heavy artillery weapons; it was designed to quickly drop off troops, not engage in a dogfight. Appropriate for its intended use, it was equipped with smaller laser turrets, which lined the ship's hull. The turrets were only used to deter enemies from attacking the dropship. Kahluna knew they wouldn't distract Salianos as bolt after bolt of laser fire either shot past his fighter or glanced off its thick armor.
She continued dodging Salianos’s missile fire and returned fire with the useless turrets. They were now hardly seventy-five kilometers from Earth's surface, but they were running out of time. With Salianos on their tails, Kahluna wouldn't be able to exit Earth's atmosphere. She could risk trying to jump into Earth's Thermosphere, but the gravitational field from Earth could be enough to pull the ship apart if she made the jump. As a pair of Tazalian fighters flew towards the dropship, Kahluna made her decision.
Keeping her pace, she flew the dropship towards the two fighters with Jonah gripping to the seat tightly. A wild light shone in her red eyes as the fighters rushed towards her with neither she nor they making any signs to maneuver out of the way. Just as it seemed they were about to collide, Kahluna barreled the ship upwards in a steep ascent. Had it not been for his heavy hold on Kahluna's seat Jonah would have flown to the back of the compartment. Behind them, Salianos hardly had time to dive his fighter underneath the rocketing Tazalian fighters. Kahluna pitied the unfortunate Tazalian pilots; she knew very well what Salianos would do to them once they returned to one of the warships.
Kahluna wasted no time as she continued to pilot the ship upwards. She understood the risk of making the jump within the Thermosphere, but Salianos would recover quickly from his near collision. She felt the ship shudder from the strain of the incline. It wasn't built for such extreme flight. The vibrations in the ship worsened as she flew it a hundred kilometers higher. Gritting her fangs she pressed an image on the holopanel and began setting the coordinates for Tazal into the lotardrives. She heard Jonah hold his breath as she pressed another image activating the drives. There was a gut-wrenching groan from the hull as the ship vanished from Earth's atmosphere.
Streaks of stars filled the viewport as the ship raced through the galaxy.
Jonah relaxed his grip on the chair, his breath heavy in his chest. Kahluna sat back in the pilot's seat, her eyes still shining with a feral light. At last they were on their way to rescue Emma. Once again Salianos had failed to kill her. The former Seeker turned her head towards the white- faced Jonah. The poor boy looked pale and ready to collapse. He may not be a soldier, but he did show some courage. He would, however, need all the courage he could muster to rescue his sister. Tazal wasn't Earth. Infiltrating the capital city would be a difficult task, so teaching Jonah how to conceal himself would become a high priority.
“You can relax now, Jonah,” Kahluna spoke comfortingly to the boy, “We are now on route to Tazal.”
Jonah tried to keep his voice even as he stood back from the chair, “How long will it take us?”
Kahluna stood up and stretched her stiff limbs, “My ship could have gotten us there in four months,” she motioned to the control panel, “This ship will take six months to arrive.”
“And Zaharak's?”
Kahluna snorted, “Three weeks, maybe a month. His ship has been well outfitted. There is no vessel I know of in the universe that can outdo it.” She watched as his head sank. “This gives us an opportunity to formulate a plan to rescue Emma as well as an opportunity to regain our strength. Plus, I will need to train you in some of the Seeker's ways.”
Jonah's head shot up, his eyes wide with shock. “What?”
Kahluna walked past him towards the doorway without her booted feet making a single sound. “Your footsteps could wake a whole herd of syndis, you breathe too heavily, and you need to learn to blend into the shadows. Tazal is not Earth. If you tried to infiltrate one of our colonies, you would be picked out immediately.”
Jonah followed her out into the large open room in the back of the hull where he had dumped the shoulder bag with the relic still hidden in it, “And you can teach me all this in six months?”
Kahluna opened up a food storage receptacle in the right wall of the room and removed two oddly shaped packages as she replied, “I may be able to train you enough to bypass normal Tazalian citizens, but it may not be enough should we run into any of the other five Seekers or one of the Elders.”
Jonah caught one of the packages that Kahluna tossed to him and examined the wrapping. “What's this?”
Kahluna smiled, “Food, what else?” She sat down on the floor and tore the bag open. “You look starved after that run through the city. Eat up, rest, and we will begin your training.”
Jonah tore the bag open and examined the contents as Kahluna began devouring her meal. The bag held a mixture of odd-looking dried fruits and meat. Jonah wondered if he wanted to ask Kahluna what they were; but after picking up one of the pieces of meat, he decided it was better not to ask. Amazingly, taking a bite into it he found that it was rather good, though a bit gamy. As he chewed, he looked over at Kahluna who had already finished her meal and now lay flat on her back, her long tail curled over her body.
He wished he had some way to repay her for all her help. She was risking her life to help him and Emma. If they made it off Tazal alive he would do his best to aid her with anything she needed, even if it meant fending off Salianos. Jonah shivered at remembering the blue-scaled Tazalian's hold on him. He had been helpless to break free of the cruel High Elder, but he promised himself the next encounter he wouldn't be so weak. He would help Kahluna end the tyrant's reign.
Rage filled every scale on Salianos's body as he flew the fighter into one of the docking stations on the main warship. He had been close to destroying Kahluna's ship. He had the taste of victory on his fangs, but those two bumbling morons had interfered. Had they diverted away from Kahluna's ship, Salianos would have ended her life then and there. Now he would have to hurry to Tazal before she rescued the human cub.
As he landed the fighter in the large, vaulted dock, his violet eyes lighted on the two soldiers kneeling at the feet of Tarline and Yahrik. The hatch above his head opened up, and he climbed out of the cabin, his eyes ablaze. Approaching the group he did nothing to hide his fury. One of the soldiers, a bronze-scaled and green-eyed Tazalian, tried to stand and flee, but the strong-armed Yahrik pushed the unfortunate Tazalian back to the ground.
Salianos ran up to the prostrate soldier and began to kick viciously at the warrior's side, ribs breaking with each blow. “Idiots! Kahluna was as good as dead until you two flew in!”
The soldier on the ground began to whimper as he spoke in a cracking voice, “We had no idea you were behind the dropship, High Elder. We were only trying to stop it.”
Salianos reached down and lifted the poor soldier to his feet by his tuft of hair. Without warning, the High Elder grabbed the soldier's lower jaw and twisted his head around, snapping nearly every vertebrae in his thick neck. The bronze Tazalian's body went limp in Salianos’s claws. The High Elder dropped the body in front of the remaining gold-scaled soldier, whose blue eyes filled with tears as he stared up at the rage-driven Salianos.