by Justin Sloan
“Your home planet and his… It isn’t far from here?”
“That’s correct.” Mej lit up a planet on the map. “But like I said, no luck there. It’s largely uninhabited, and there are storms galore.”
“I see…” Valerie stood, nodding her thanks. “Then it seems our best bet is start with the space station. We can ask around and see if we learn something.”
“The minute you do, please let me know.” Mej stood and gestured to the door. “Come, I’ll show you more of the ship before we head back.”
“I would like that,” Valerie replied with a smile, and they made their way out. Although they’d arrived with tension and suspicion, they were leaving as allies in a war against evil and injustice.
CHAPTER SIX
Lien directed Kalan toward a metal causeway that led off the island and onto one of the ships.
“So when you say this is going to be an examination,” Kalan said, “are you talking about a written test? I’ve never been much of a test-taker. One look at a multiple-choice question and the page goes blurry.”
“Do they have a lot of multiple choice tests on SEDE?” Lien asked. Then he chuckled. “I’m sorry if that’s too personal. I noticed the tattoos on your arm. SEDE’s reputation is far-reaching.”
Kalan shook his head. “Man, even on a strange planet I’m labeled an ex-convict.”
“I’m not judging,” the Lavkin quickly responded. “I know what those tattoos mean. You were born there, not sent there for committing a crime. And even if you had been sent there I wouldn’t hold it against you. People make mistakes.”
“That’s very open-minded of you.”
Lien chuckled. “Maybe all these years of open seas and open skies have made me open my mind a bit.”
They reached the end of the causeway and stepped onto a mid-size ship. It rocked gently under Kalan’s feet, and his first few steps were a bit shaky.
“That’ll get better shortly,” Lien said when he noted Kalan’s unsteady walk. He gestured to the ship around them. “Welcome to Flamebird.”
“It’s beautiful,” Kalan said. He meant it, too. The moment he had walked through the airlock, he noticed the elegant design. The bulkheads rose at dramatic angles, and every surface was decorated with intricate but tasteful etchings.
“Thank you,” Lien said. “It’s been in my family for generations.”
That gave Kalan pause. “Your family? I thought this was a military fleet.”
“Oh, it is, but in our culture whole families join the fleet together. We believe family is important, so we make it part of almost everything we do. Every ship is run by a family, or a group of families. They live, work, and fight aboard the ship. That way if a battle does come, they aren’t just defending their ship, they’re defending their family and their home.”
“Sounds kind of messed up to me,” Wearl said.
Kalan almost jumped. He’d had no idea the Shimmer was behind him.
As if reading his thoughts, Wearl said, “Oh, come on. Did you really think I was going to let you go all alone to some mysterious ‘testing’ with a stranger? You must be as crazy as you are beautiful.”
He suppressed the urge to question her on that choice of adjective. As they often had when going into unfamiliar situations, they’d decided to keep her existence a secret for now. It paid to have an invisible team member only you and your people could hear.
“Anyway,” Lien continued, “it can get a little complicated. My family had this ship, and Mej’s family had another. When we married, my siblings took over this ship and I moved to hers. It’s much bigger. I do still come here to do research, though. The medical facilities are top-notch. Ah, here we are.”
He opened a door and led Kalan inside.
Kalan had never been in a research laboratory, but if you’d asked him to imagine what one looked like it probably would been something close to the room he stood in now. Huge machines with weird arms and tubes coming from them lined the walls, waiting to serve mysterious functions. A wall of computer monitors stood at one end of the room. There was even a table with some test tubes on a stand.
Lien took a seat at a desk near the front of the room and gestured for Kalan to sit across from him. “I didn’t answer your question before.”
“What question?” Kalan asked as he slid into the seat. It had clearly been designed for Lavkins, so it was far too narrow for him. He had to keep both feet firmly planted on the deck to avoid teetering off the thing.
“About the test. You asked if it was a written exam. It’s actually a series of medical tests.”
Kalan paused for a moment before answering. “I’m suddenly less excited about this.”
“It’s nothing invasive,” Lien said with a laugh. “No reason to be nervous.”
“Yeah,” Wearl said, “that was probably what they told Willom, too—right before they turned him into a freaking cyborg.”
“I’m going to need a little more information before I let you run me through any machines or poke me with any needles,” Kalan told him. “We did just meet, after all.”
Lien nodded. “Totally understandable. We have to make sure you really are a Bandian.”
Kalan chuckled at that. “The gray skin and large frame don’t give me away?”
“There are ways to fake such things.”
“If you think I’m a Pallicon—”
“That’s one of the possibilities we’ll test for,” Lien said,” but only one. My family has overseen Lavkin lore and history for many generations, and we have protocols for the tests we need to run if a Bandian should appear. It may seem strange, but the alliance we made with your people is our most sacred. There are those in the galaxy who would take advantage of the situation.”
Kalan considered that for a moment. On the one hand, it was insane to let a person he had just met and had no reason to trust perform some sort of medical test on him. On the other hand, there was something about these Lavkins that felt...right. He trusted them, though he knew he probably shouldn’t yet.
Wearl had said the way they worked their ships as a family was messed up, but Kalan didn’t agree. To him, it was surprisingly touching. Thinking about the same family living, dying, fighting, and working on this ship generation after generation...there was a beauty to it. He imagined children learning about the ship at their grandparents’ knees, and one day teaching their own grandchildren those same lessons.
Maybe it was because Kalan didn’t have much of a family himself. It had just been him and his mother as far back as he could remember. His mother was locked up on SEDE and he was out now, so he’d never see her again.
He knew that was part of what was driving his quest to find other Bandians, and that it was affecting his judgment now. But he didn’t care. He felt a tingle of emotion at the way these Lavkins put family before all else.
“Okay,” Kalan said. “Let’s begin.”
“Good.” Lien spun his chair around and dug through a drawer for a minute. “Ah, here it is.”
He opened a case and pulled out a syringe wrapped in plastic. “This test is simple. Give me your hand. It’s just a tiny prick.”
Kalan expected Wearl to make a joke about that turn of phrase, but she didn’t.
Instead she said, “Kalan, are you sure you want to do this?”
In response, Kalan held out his hand.
Lien watched the hand for a few moments. Kalan assumed he was looking for the telltale flicker around the edges that happened when Pallicons were shapeshifting. “Good. Now the prick.”
Quick as a burst of light, Lien poked the needle into Kalan’s index finger. Then he inserted it in a slot next to the computer and tapped the screen repeatedly, his fingers hitting commands too quickly for Kalan to follow.
“Easy as that,” Lien said, turning back toward Kalan. “It’ll take a few minutes to run the protocol, then we’ll have our results. While we’re waiting, why don’t you tell me what you know about the Lavkins and our Lost Fleet.”
Kalan shrugged. “Honestly, before last month I’d never heard of you.”
“That’s a shame,” Lien said with a frown. “Then I take it you don’t know how our two peoples came together and aligned their causes?”
Kalan shook his head. He didn’t know much of anything about the history of the Bandians, let alone the archaic details of their treaties.
“It started out oddly,” Lien said. “We attacked a settlement of Skulla, although the details of what caused that skirmish are lost to time. Perhaps they’d slighted us in some way, or perhaps we were greedy for more land. Either way, we attacked, and the Skulla mounted a rather pathetic defense.”
“Not sure what any of this has to do with the Bandians,” Wearl said with a sigh.
“What we didn’t know,” Lien continued, “was that the Skulla on that planet had a treaty with the Bandians. Our attacking force was a thousand strong, but a group of one hundred Bandians fearlessly joined the fight nonetheless. And to our surprise, they managed to turn the tide of the battle. They used brilliant—and perhaps reckless—strategies we’d never seen before. They defended the Skulla with such ferocity! We’d seen people defend their homes like that, but to put it all on the line for an ally truly impressed our fleet. We knew we wanted to work with these beings.”
“I can’t imagine they were too thrilled to work with you after you’d just attacked their friends,” Kalan pointed out.
Lien chuckled. “Indeed they weren’t. It took time to build trust between us. Decades. But eventually we proved we could be loyal friends to them, just as they were to the Skulla, and the alliance was formed.”
Kalan looked the Lavkin in the eyes. “So why is your fleet is still around, and the Bandians are not?”
Lien looked at the ground. “It was our greatest failure, and the reason we spread out—many of us went into hiding. We weren’t there when the Bandians needed us most. When they were being hunted.”
“By whom?”
Lien looked up in surprise. “You don’t know?”
Kalan shook his head. “My mother didn’t know much about the history of our people. She was an orphan.”
Lien scratched his chin with his impossibly long fingers. “Have you heard of the Wandarby? They’re a cult of religious Pallicons who believe the Bandians are an abomination that must be destroyed.”
“I’ve heard of the cult, but I didn’t know their name. Honestly, I didn’t know if they were real.”
Lien’s face tightened in anger at the thought of the Wandarby. “Oh, they’re real. They hunted the Bandians to near-extinction, and when that was done they turned their attention to us, the Bandians’ greatest allies.”
Kalan didn’t react visibly to the news, but his mind was reeling. This Pallicon cult was the reason his people were gone? When he’d heard of the cult, he’d imagined a few dozen Pallicons gathered in a house somewhere talking about the evils of the Bandians. This had to be much bigger.
And now they were coming after the Lavkins simply because of their association with the Bandians?
“The Wandarby cultists are brutal fighters,” Lien continued. “Our best defenses against them have always been our mobility and superior flying skills. A few months ago a group of Wandarby scouts discovered our location, and they’ve been attacking us ever since. Small strikes designed to frighten us, but Mej believes they are planning a much bigger attack.”
“Why not go somewhere else?”
“We cannot,” Lien said with a smile. “Remember what I said about family? Our admiral is family to everyone in the squadron. To even suggest leaving without him would be insulting, and no one in the fleet would consider it.”
Something beeped, and Lien turned back to the screen. “Ah, the results!” After studying them for a moment, he turned back to Kalan. “Congratulations, my friend. You are a full-blooded Bandian, which makes you and me allies.”
Lien held out his hand and Kalan grabbed it, shaking it to the left and the right in the Vurugu style.
“Let’s go tell the others the good news,” the Lavkin said.
When they had made it back to the island, Mej, Valerie, and the others were already waiting for them.
“How’d the test go, Kalan?” Robin asked with a grin. “Did you pass?”
The Lavkins waited for the answer with wide eyes, anticipation clear on their face.
Lien stepped forward. “My friends, we have a verified Bandian standing in our midst.”
A riotous cheer went up from the crowd.
Jilla sidled up next to Kalan and leaned in close. “Don’t let all this go to your head. I remember when you were just a shy, nerdy kid on the cellblock.”
“Don’t worry. This isn’t about me, it’s about the Lavkins. They blame themselves for the Bandians being wiped out. In me, they see a chance to make up for their mistake.”
The cheers finally died down a little, and Valerie marched up to him. “This is exciting and all, but we need to go.”
Kalan raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Go where?”
“From what Mej told me, they won’t leave this spot without their leader. I believe if we find him and the other heroes who left with him, we can unite the fleet. If we can do that we’ll have the firepower to defeat Aranaught, and maybe even win a powerful new ally for the Etheric Federation.”
Kalan considered her plan. It made sense, and it was the best move for the Prime Enforcer, but it didn’t feel right for him.
“Valerie, I need to stay here,” he told her.
“What? Why? You like the way they worship you?”
He blushed a little at that. “Not at all.”
“Then why?”
He took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to put words to the feeling in his heart. “I guess I feel responsible for their safety. We know Aranaught is after them. Lien told me a Pallicon cult has been harassing them, too. I won’t leave them to face that alone. They had an alliance with my people, so I guess that means they have an alliance with me.”
After a moment, Valerie nodded. “I can respect that. We’ll go find this Lolack guy, and you’ll make sure they’re still alive when we get back with him. Then we will reunite the fleet.”
“I’m staying with Kalan,” Wearl said quickly.
“Obviously,” Valerie said with a smile. “Kalan, I assume you want Jilla, too?”
“Wouldn’t hurt.”
“Okay, but that means you’re taking Bob again.”
Kalan chuckled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The teams wished each other luck on their respective missions and said their goodbyes. Kalan didn’t know how Valerie was going to find Lolack in the vast expanse of this system, but if anyone could do it, it was her and her Elites.
Within the hour the Singlaxian Grandeur lifted off from the island, and soon it had disappeared into the evening sky.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Checks and security at the space station were a joke, but after they had docked and exited the ship to get a look around, they saw why. Everyone here had a gun, and everyone here seemed drunk. It was practically a free-for-all, the exception being several blue-skinned people like Arlay who were walking about with large body guards who had marbled skin of black and gray.
“A family reunion?” Flynn asked, giddy because he didn’t have to watch the ship for once.
Arlay frowned and looked like she was about to hit him. “My people…they’ve sort of chosen a different path than I did. They’re mostly pirates.”
“Oh, damn,” Robin said, glancing back, then taking a stutter-step to remain close to the group.
“If anyone’s making money here, they’re likely behind it.”
“And if anyone’s causing trouble it’s likely them too?” Valerie asked, wishing she had Kalan and Bob and the rest here to help deal with any situation that might arise.
Arlay nodded.
“But not you?” Garcia asked, glancing back at her. “Hey, I have to ask.”
“No, you don’t,” Robin said, smacking him on the back of the head playfully.
“It’s okay, and no, not me. The thought never crossed my mind. I had…other dreams.”
“Such as?” Garcia asked, turning to make sure Robin wasn’t going to hit him this time.
“Other dreams,” Arlay said, not giving away anything more this time.
Garcia let it rest, and was the first to enter the bar portion of the space station, where they hoped to find their answers. What they found was a scene out of a circus, as far as Valerie was concerned. Male and female blue aliens with tentacled hair were dancing at tables, sparsely dressed, and all manner of others were either watching or drinking at their own tables. Two Lavkins sat at one side, and Valerie nodded their way.
“Could they be members of the Lost Fleet?” she asked, and since nobody made any protests, she walked over to them and introduced herself.
“We’re looking for a man named Lolack,” she started, but the two stopped her with looks saying, “Here we go again.”
“You won’t get far asking about him around here,” one of the Lavkins said. “Do you know how long that search went on, and how many times others have come through here asking?”
“However,” the second added, “you’re the first human female on his trail, so what’re you having?”
“Are you hitting on me?” she asked, not totally sure.
“I think he was,” Garcia said, moving over to them. One of the Lavkins started to stand, but Valerie grabbed Garcia’s arm and walked back to the others.
“What’re we trying to accomplish here, exactly?” Robin asked, having witnessed the whole charade. “You said so yourself, and they just confirmed it—this isn’t a lead. Not anymore.”