by Adam DiSalvo
“Stop play’n!” Tank demanded as he deflected the ball of trash.
Lusio pulled Serena around by the waist. She followed along.
“Tank Le’ Forge” this is “Serena —. Oh! I don’t know your last name,” Lusio stuttered. "And here I thought the night might still go a certain way.”
“It still might,” Serena whispered.
She reached across the bar for Tank’s hand. He took it and they both shook.
“I’m Serena Redbird,” she responded. “Pleasure.”
“Tank Le’Forge.” he replied.
The music changed pace and the bass filled the room with its deep thud. Lights in the ceiling shifted to a soft purple and bright orange. Sharp green lasers streamed across the room, dancing on the walls. Serena released Tank’s hand and tuned to Lusio.
“Introduce me to the DJ,” she smiled.
“Lexa?” Lusio grinned. “Hell yeah! Let’s go!”
Serena led Lusio to the dance floor and through the half dozen dancers. They each waved a happy greeting as the two approached. Serena stepped up to the DJ booth with Lusio right behind her.
“Lexa!" Lusio screamed over the music.
Lexa ignored him, dancing behind the booth gripping her headphones tight to her ears. Lusio turned to Serena and chuckled, raising his eyebrows in confusion.
“Lexa Grace!” Lusio yelled again, waving his hands.
Lexa looked up, ecstatic to see him. She removed her headphones and grabbed her mic, turning it up. She chanted to the music.
“Who’s that cap though! Lusio! Who’s that cap though! Lusio! Who’s that can though! Lusio!”
The room joined in. Lexa cranked out a fist bump.
“Who’s that cap though! Lusio! Who’s that cap though! Lusio! Who’s that cap though! Lusio!”
Serena covered her beaming smile while Lusio shrugged. She slapped him on the shoulder.
“You planned this you ass!” accused Serena. “You’re crazy!”
Lexa roared with laughter and addressed Serena.
“Lady! If the captain brought you here to meet all of us you must be cool!” she yelled. "I’m Lexa! The ship DJ and third in command! In that order!”
“Your music is awesome Lexa!” Serena commended.
Lexa waved her hand.
“Thank you! This is my life! Traveling the stars with awesome people while spinning music is the best way I could spend it!”
Lexa stepped back around the booth and placed her headphones back on her head. She started dancing again and gestured for Lusio and Serena to do the same. Serena grabbed Lusio by the hand and turned him around to the dance floor.
“Show me what you got,” she cooed in Lusio's ear.
For hours the pair danced across the floor like feathers caught in the wind. Enchanting rhythms swam along with the droning bass. Sweat covered their bodies. Lusio grabbed at Serena’s sides pulling her in. The kick from the subs vibrated through the room chasing away the past and future. Serena ran her fingers though her hair and wrapped her arms around Lusio. He gripped her tight. They breathed deep.
“They love you. Don’t they,” gasped Serena.
Lusio nodded.
“We’re a family."
"What did he mean by only the nice ones?” whispered Serena into Lusio’s ear.
“The job we do is really tough. Some of the guys can't compartmentalize life and the job,” he whispered back.
“What about you? Can you compartmentalize work and life?”
Lusio pulled his head back looking into Serena’s eyes.
“Depends. What kind of work needs to be done?” he replied.
Serena placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
“Where’s your room?"
CHAPTER 9
“TWO HOURS OF sleep was not enough,” panted Jaithen as he ran through the forests of the Skyreach Mountains.
Marcus looked up as Imperial fast movers screamed across the sky,
“Captain. They are maneuvering a spy sat into position directly above us.”
“The point of entry is just a bit further,” Marcus assured them. “About half a mile or so.”
The three maintained an exhaustive pace with Marcus in the lead. The roar of the Imperial jets grew more frequent as the radius of their search narrowed. The distant sound of all terrain vehicles tugged at their heels. They bounded through trees and over rocks, straining to stay ahead of their pursuers. Jaithen and Marcus were bathed in sweat, gasping for breath as they ran.
Chandra chased along as the plates concealing the TIGR drones opened. She ejected them into the sky while she sprinted. Jaithen pulled down his face mask and began steaming data into his HUD.
“Marcus there’s over a hundred of them!” Jaithen warned.
“Keep moving!” Marcus shouted back. “We’re almost there!”
Their feet pounded the dry leaves and pine needles beneath them. They trampled ferns and small bushes carving a clear path though the forest floor. Then it hit them. The light aroma of terrestrial city crept into Jaithen’s senses. Marcus’s pace quickened. The rising sun’s golden light split through the trees, strobing along their faces as they charged ahead. The Imperial air units screeched by again, passing ever closer.
“Captain. The satellite is in position,” verified Chandra. "Shall I fire upon it form the Alejandra?”
“Negative,” Jaithen gasped. “The Alejandra is our only way out of here. We can’t risk exposing it.”
“Acknowledged."
The sound of all terrain vehicles grew closer, ushered along by the muffled chop of heavy aerial transports. Jaithen removed his jacket as they ran and threw it away. The hunt was unrelenting.
“Captain the proximity alert onboard Drop 1 is active. There are several hostiles approaching from all sides. Despite the cloak, I believe they have located Drop 1.”
“Chandra. Arm Drop 1 for tactile self destruct.”
“Stand by.”
Marcus pulled his weapon around while they ran.
"Drop 1 is armed for tactile self-destruct.”
Jaithen brought his rifle around, shadowing Marcus.
“Confirmed.” Jaithen acknowledged.
Leaves and branches nipped at their faces as they fled through the forest. The massive three hundred foot tall trees stood silent witness to the plight below.
The snarl of the ATVs stopped. Jaithen turned to witness streaks of gun fire rip toward them through the underbrush. Rounds gnashed the tree next to him.
“They’re almost on us!” Jaithen yelled. “Go go go!”
More rounds chased them though the trees. They were now at full sprint.
“Marcus? What the fuck? How much further?”
The yelling from enemy combatants was now audible.
“They’re fucking on us!”
More rounds joined the pursuit.
“Just keep going!”
The air around them filled with gunfire.
“Chandra! Can you get some off our backs?” Marcus roared.
“Affirmative.”
Chandra folded down into her feline form with both sidearms protruding from her back. She broke away from the group running low along the ground beneath the canopy of the underbrush. The rapid clap of Chandra's guns chased along with her.
“Captain. These are Imperial regulars.” she exclaimed. “Engaging."
Chandra was ferocious. With her cloak engaged she was impossible to see and shredded through soldiers at lightning speed, morphing from beast of predation to human, and back again. The fields of fire shifted as the soldiers tried in vain to engage their invisible assailant.
“I see the P.O.E.!” Marcus exclaimed.
“Chandra! We’re here! On me! Now!” Jaithen ordered.
Chandra pulled her incisors from the neck of an Imperial soldier. The fast movers made another pass, rustling the canopy above them.
“Yes, Captain but, how will we cover our escape through the P.O.E.? They will pursue without pause.” Chanda purposed
.
Like a ghost of the battlefield she slipped up behind a squad of soldiers. She burst from the underbrush sinking her teeth deep into the shoulder and neck of the rear soldier. Chandra shifted to human from, wrapping him up in a standing rear naked choke. Her prey screamed, alerting his squad mates. They pulled their weapons around to engage.
“Fire on my designated position!” one soldier cried.
Chandra's twin sidearms deployed from her back as the combatants fired upon their fellow soldier. White hot rounds crisscrossed through the air hacking the soldier’s body apart. Chandra returned fire, using her hostage as a human shield. Her weapons found their marks with machine precision, caving into the heads and chests of her victim's nearby comrades.
“We’re within two hundred feet Jaithen! Where's Chandra?!”
“Chandra we’re closing in on the P.O.E. Where are you?”
Two more Imperial soldiers went down.
“On your six captain. Be there in twelve se—”
Chandra’s voice cut out following a tremendous explosion. Dirt and smoke rushed through the trees, covering everything in ash. The shockwave knocked Marcus and Jaithen to the ground sending them tumbling through the brush. Silence followed, clinging to the thick cloud of dust now permeating the forest.
“Fuck that stings every time,” winced Jaithen rolling onto his back. “The ringing is so loud!"
“Captain,” chirped Chandra’s voice in Jaithen's earpiece. “Drop 1 has been destroyed. Tactile self destruct was triggered.”
“What?” stammered Jaithen.
“Drop 1 has detonated. The tactile self destruct was triggered.” Chandra repeated.
Jaithen looked up searching for Marcus. He rose to his feet and staggered over to Marucs's unconscious body and fell down next to it.
“Fuck.”
Jaithen peered through the smoke.
"How many did we get?” Jaithen grunted.
“Sensors indicated there were thirty-two heat signatures inside the ship’s kill zone when it detonated.”
Imperial soldiers started calling out to possible survivors through the devastation.
“Guess we didn’t get all of them.” Jaithen mumbled to himself.
Jaithen shook Marcus’s shoulder.
“Marcus! Wake up! Hey! We’re still in this!”
Marcus grumbled, his consciousness returning.
“Marcus c’mon! We’re almost there! Get up! Let’s go!”
Chandra slid in next to them. Her TIGR drones buzzing just above her head.
“Is he okay?” she asked.
“He hit the ground hard.”
Jaithen pressed his weapon against his shoulder and rose into a low crouch. He shook the soot from his head and squeezed off a few rounds dropping a shellshocked soldier stumbling through the haze.
“What the fuck,” murmured Marcus.
“Get him up.” Jaithen urged.
“Yes, Captain.”
“The fuck was that?” groaned Marcus as Jaithen felled another.
Chandra helped Marcus from the ground. He teetered regaining his balance with Chandra’s help. He opened his eyes wide and shook his head. The dirt and leaves fell from his thick beard. Jaithen patted him on the back. The cries of enemy soldiers carried on.
“Drop 1 self destructed. You good?”
Marcus nodded leaning hard on Chandra.
“Yeah. Wait. The ship? How are we going to get off the planet?!”
“We had no choice Marcus,” explained Chandra.
“We have to keep moving.” Jaithen advised.
They made their way through the ash covered trees. The smell of burnt ground and wood saturated the air with the glow of the rising sun throwing orange streaks through the forest. The ash ladened air caked up in their mouths.
“Damn it! Where’s the entrance?” Jaithen spat. “Which way do we go?"
“It’s close,” Marcus pointed still leaning on Chandra. “Over there.”
Marcus limped along with Chandra as Jaithen followed. The archway materialized through the smoke as they approached. Its overgrown rectangular shape jutted out from the base of the mountains. They crossed through the vines and over the threshold of the P.O.E. Before them lay a black passageway stretching on for miles.
“I detect a transport,” alerted Chandra. “Just up ahead.”
The transport was old. The windows had been smashed out and it was covered in cobwebs.
“Get him inside.”
Chandra helped Marcus into the front passenger seat. Jaithen took the wheel while Chandra shut Marcus’s door and climbed in back.
“I think the ignition card is below the seat.” suggested Marcus.
Jaithen grabbed the card and waved it in front of the ignition pad. The motor tuned over.
“Ha!” Jaithen yelled. “Life!"
Jaithen pulled the vehicle into the center of the passage and sped away. Chandra’s TIGR drones kept pace, falling in line behind the Ttransport. Wind caressed their faces as it rushed in through the broken windows.
“Is it clear all the way down?”
Marcus nodded his head.
“These tunnels are only used by Terralat Security. They should be clear of debris.”
Jaithen pressed down the accelerator picking up the pace.
“How long is this tunnel?” Chandra asked over the rushing air.
“The passage snakes its way under the mountain for about 20 miles.”
Jaithen turned to his passengers.
“Why so long?”
“To discourage foot travelers mostly."
The smooth cement walls stretched into a gray blur as they flew past. The transport's headlights pierced deep into the darkness revealing an old paved road ahead of them.
“What happened to the ship?”
“It was set for tactile self destruction,” Chandra replied.
“You mean like touching it sets it off?”
“Precisely. It’s particularly deadly when the cloak is engaged”
“Cloak? You two are something else. I thought only the illuminated could go invisible.”
Jaithen smiled. They hit a bump and he turned to look at Marcus.
“Oh,” Marcus let out. "You’re both serious.”
Marcus grit his teeth through the pain as he coughed. Jaithen frowned.
“Where is your daughter going to be once we reach Terralat?"
“She’ll only be about a mile in once we reach the city’s edge. She’ll be in the botany labs. Third story, suite three-one-three. All the arrangements were made ahead of time.”
“What if the city has already fallen by the time we get there?” Chandra postulated. “Does the city have an evacuation plan?”
“Yes but, not one we could ever take seriously.”
“What do you mean? A city the size you’ve described needs some sort of disaster plan.”
“Captain, where would we go?”
The cab rocked back and forth as it passed over uneven pavement.
“We just need to get to Lilyth. That’s all that matters now.”
Jaithen looked down to see a small yarn doll in Marcus’s hand. He rubbed it over the forehead with his thumb in silence. He shifted his gaze back to the road.
“We will find your daughter Marcus,” Jaithen assured him. “You have my word.”
“My daughter’s life hangs on the word of a smuggler."
“Pirate actually,” Jaithen cheerfully pointed out. "But no harm no foul.”
Marcus chuckled.
"Your optimism is heartening Captain.”
“Did your daughter make that?” Jaithen asked.
Marcus turned to Jaithen who gestured down at the doll. Marcus looked down and held the tiny toy in both hands.
“Yeah. She made this for me. She’s really talented.”
Marcus rubbed the doll with his thumb again.
“She is special,” Jaithen observed. “Isn’t she.”
Marcus blinked hard and rubbed his eyes.
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“Yeah. She is.”
Marcus wiped away a few small tears.
"She’s all I got. Her, uh. Her mother died when she was born.”
“That’s awful Marcus. I’m so sorry,” comforted Chandra. “What was her name?
“Lanna.”
Marcus turned to the back seat.
"Chanda you’d have liked her. She never listened to me either. Lilyth is just like her mother. Strong and stubborn."
“Do you have any other family?” asked Chandra.
“I do. some of my cousins will be there with her. And some of their children”
“How long will they wait there?”
“Depends on how long it takes for everyone to show up. They won’t leave until everyone is accounted for.”
“Does that include you?” Jaithen interrupted.
Marcus turned back around. His tone went heavy.
“No. It does not. Once they have everyone they will head to another P.O.E. Where I have already staged vehicles for them.”
“How close are the two entrances?”
“They’re close. About eight hundred yards. We should head there first. We'll check whether or not they left in the transports. Then we can make our way to the labs if we need to.”
“Can everyone fit in the transports?” worried Chandra.
“I don’t know. We might have to commandeer better equipped vehicles once we get inside the city.”
Marcus turned to Chandra again.
"There’s large, heavily armored and camouflaged transports located at one of the surface stations not far from my family’s chosen exit point. The stations are military controlled but, I have access. If we need more space for passengers we can look there.”
“Captain. I’m intercepting data on the local Imperial network. They’ve located several P.O.E.’s and are mobilizing around them. Including the one behind us.”
Marcus turned and stared out the window.
“The snatchers are already ahead them.”
“What?” Marcus yelled as he tried whipping around to face Chandra.
Marcus stopped rotating halfway squeezing his sides in pain. His face scrunched as he let out a breath. He forced out his words.
“What do you mean the snatchers are ahead of them?”
Chandra hesitated.
‘Chandra. What do you mean, the snatchers are ahead of them?"