Aliens from Arapholanx: The Burn of Magic
Page 23
“I’m tired and more than a little sore. But I’m not going to complain.” Patrick recalled the hangar falling and how a few inches had meant the difference between life and death.
“Good, good. I hope you are well to travel? I fear we cannot waste any time in hunting the remaining Plutonians down.”
“Have the teams you sent out scouting returned yet? I still need to find my people as well.”
“Two of the teams returned but have found nothing. We’re still waiting on the rest.”
“The two teams that have returned, how many Yakopiz are there?”
“Five on each team.” Chowsin anticipated the next question. “They can be ready within the hour. Meet them on the ground.”
“Thank you, Chowsin.”
“It is I who should be thanking you. Now, if you wouldn’t mind I’d like to get some rest. You’re free to explore the city as you wish.” Chowsin motioned to the door. “Come find me when you’ve returned.”
With that, Patrick made his way out of Chowsin’s office. Chowsin had closed his eyes and Patrick closed the door quietly, not wanting to disturb him. Down on the streets, the Yakopiz were still celebrating. It took some time, but Patrick managed to make his way back down to the surface of the planet where he waited for the scouts to join him.
◆◆◆
One of the two ships at the crash site was fully engulfed in flames when the Dezoran and the others arrived. They had landed upside down and there was no way to get on board and help anyone. The other ship fared much better. The bottom had grazed the tip of a mountain as the pilot struggled to keep the ship straight. It tore a large hole in the hull, but the pilot had still managed to successfully land with minimal damage. Those capable of it, quickly set about helping their comrades on the ship. It took some time, but eventually, all fires were out, all wounds bandaged and all the dead removed.
Flupotia made it to the crash sites just in time to see Gin-us, Gneiss, and Roger unloaded from a small ship. Where are Patrick and the others?
“That’s Doctor Jenku!” Flupotia was shocked to see a familiar face amongst the Plutonian soldiers, especially one she knew to be a part of the rebellion. I have to get a message to her, let her know we’re here!
“Frize,” Flupotia turned to him, “I have a mission for you.” She smiled, knowing he was perfect for the job.
◆◆◆
Patrick spent the next two days flying across the planet looking for his people. But everywhere he went the planet appeared to be dead. The only life he had found was within the rolling city. Flat stretches of land covered in hard sand spread in every direction as far as his eyes could see. Occasionally he stumbled across rivers of red but even those were void of life. It was near the end of the second day of searching that one of the Yakopiz noticed the wreckage of the ships in the distance.
They flew in as close as they could without revealing themselves. One of the ships was completely destroyed, an empty hull burnt out. There however appeared to be an incredibly amount of activity bursting from within another ship. The surviving Plutonians had set up a small camp on the side of the ship where a large tear had opened.
“Nobody move.” Patrick felt a chill as a cold muzzle was pressed against the base of his skull. “I want you all to stand up slowly.”
They did as they were told. Patrick saw in his peripheral vision that each of the Yakopiz were facing a similar situation.
“Now, walk forward nice and slow.” The soldier pushed the gun into Patrick, forcing him to take a step forward.
“Hey everyone!” he hollered as they walked into camp. “Look what we found! Some locals spying on us.”
“Crint, you really think this is all necessary?”
“Yes, I do!” Crint pulled his gun from Patrick’s neck and pointed it at the other Plutonian soldier. “Do we have a problem with that?”
“You’re the boss.” The soldier held his hands up and then returned to what he was doing.
“That’s right!” Crint hollered as he waved his gun around the camp. “None of you wanted to step up when the General was killed. I did! That means I’m in charge until the rest of our troops get here.”
“Well, if you’re in charge then I’m not all that worried anymore.” Patrick poked at Crint whose face flushed deep.
“Excuse me!” Crint shoved Patrick to the ground while the rest of the camp tried to hold back their laughter. “You all think that’s funny, do you?” Spit was flying from his mouth. “You won’t be laughing when we’re done with your planet.”
“You’re right.” Patrick stood and brushed the dirt from his pants. “There’s nothing funny about beating someone so pathetic.”
“You little.” Crint stepped forward and shoved Patrick backward hard. “I want him in the cells with the other prisoners!” Crint jumped on Patrick and landed a blow from the butt of his weapon.
His world went dark.
◆◆◆
XVI: A Gathering of Rebels
“Hello.” Someone was shaking his shoulders gently. “You need to wake up.”
“What?” His eyelids felt incredibly heavy. “Where?” He coughed, the dryness of his throat making it impossible to speak.
He cracked his eyes open and struggled to adjust to the darkness around him. There was no sign of light and the air in the room was hot, sticky, and heavy. He found it difficult to breathe as he tried to remember how he had ended up here.
“There we go.” The voice said again.
A bright light was flicked on in front of Patrick. His eyes snapped shut as the light burnt his retinas.
“Come on, open up.” They were now rubbing a wet cloth over his eyes and pouring water into his mouth.
“Who?” He coughed again, choking on the water they were trying to give him.
He tried to see who was in the room with him, but they had strategically stood behind the light which was still blinding him. He could just start to make out the features in the room on the edge of the light. He was in a medical ward of some sort, tied down to a chair.
“Not like the others, is he?” a different voice chimed in.
“No. He’s definitely different,” another voice said, this one deeper than the other two.
“What do we do with him?” a fourth voice.
“We know what Crint wants to do with him,” the second voice again.
“Forget Crint. I’m not listening to that fool no matter what he thinks.” The first voice silenced the others. “He may be a prisoner on our ship, but we’re still doctors and we’ll take care of him.” A shadow stepped in front of the light, dragging a chair in front of Patrick.
“I’m sorry for all of this.” The female Plutonian smiled at Patrick as she nodded to his restraints. “But you have to understand how these things go during the war. I’m Dr. Jenku of the medical staff on this ship. I was sent here with my colleagues to determine who,” she paused and looked him over, “and more importantly what, you are.”
“Where,” he took a deep breath, “is everyone else?”
“Try not to speak unless you’re asked a question, please. We disabled your PTD and have set the oxygen levels fairly low in here.” Dr. Jenku stood and faced the others in the room. “I think we can raise the oxygen level a little bit, he isn’t going anywhere.”
Patrick felt the pressure in his lungs recede as someone turned a dial near the door. Cool air rushed into his lungs. Dr. Jenku had left Patrick’s side and was conversing with the others in the room. He could not hear what they were saying but every few seconds one would leave the huddle and return with a new tool or device. Dr. Jenku finally turned from the others and returned to Patrick’s side with a clipboard in her hands.
“What can I call you?” she asked as she sat down, tucking her medical gown beneath her legs.
“My name is Patrick.” He struggled to get the words out. “Could I get some more water?”
Dr. Jenku waved over her shoulder to the others. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“We just want to talk about you.” She smiled sweetly, almost too sweetly, Patrick thought. “What species are you?”
“Yakopiz.” I’m not giving you anything.
“You don’t look like the others we’ve captured. So who is lying, you or them?”
“Who said we all had to look exactly the same?”
“Fair point. So you hail from Mercury then?”
“I’ve been here my whole life.”
“With your parents?”
“They died when I was born.”
“Any siblings?”
“One brother.”
“What is his name?”
“Chowsin.”
“Interesting name. Older brother?”
“Yes.”
“And how old are you?”
“Eighteen.”
“Favorite color?”
“Red.”
“Birth planet?”
“Earth.” Patrick’s eyes went wide.
“That’s all we needed to know.” She smiled again and walked over to the others.
Patrick knew he was in trouble now. This Plutonian was smart and had tricked him into slipping up. Dr. Jenku sent everyone else from the room and returned to his side.
“Patrick, do you have any idea the danger you’re in here?”
“I haven’t done anything!”
“Let’s not play these games. I know who you are.” She leaned in close. “You took over the base on Earth. You stole our King's powers and set all of his plans back.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Patrick pulled back from her.
“Playing dumb isn’t going to help you now. This will all be easier if you just admit who you are!” She stared him down and he remained tight-lipped. “Do you know what our King does to rebels? He has them tortured for days on end. The lucky ones die, the ones who survive end up spending a lifetime in slavery. For someone like you though? It would not be a swift death. The King will want to make you suffer. It’s a good thing I’m the one who found you.”
She smiled at Patrick as she placed one hand on his right shoulder and lifted his chin up to face her. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“You have got to be kidding.” He almost laughed. “I’m supposed to buy that?”
“What other choice do you have?”
She let go of him and began releasing his restraints. As soon as he was free he jumped up, shoving her to the table behind her. The light crashed to the floor casting shadows on the ceiling. He grabbed a bone saw from the table next to him and held it out, ready to swing should she try and advance.
“Put that down before one of us ends up hurt. I’m here to help you.”
“You say that like it’s supposed to make me magically trust you.”
“Flupotia sent me.”
“Flupotia? She’s here?” He let his weapon drop a few inches.
“Yes. Her and the rest of your people are nearby. They found us when we crash-landed. She sent Frize to come find me. We’ve been sending messages back and forth for a while now. We thought you were a prisoner of the Yakopiz and were working on a rescue plan.”
“Rescue plan? You have it all wrong. I was working with them.”
“Well that’s,” she had a puzzled look on her face, “that’s very interesting. I think you and Gin-us need to speak.”
“Gin-us is here too?”
“Yes. They picked him up just outside the Yakopiz city. He was getting ready to storm it on your behalf.”
“Take me to him.”
“That was the plan.”
Dr. Jenku led the way out of the medical ward using a passkey. They stepped out into a hallway and were met with a musty smell, not unlike a dirty bathroom. Patrick pulled up his shirt to cover his nose as they wove their way through the halls. He didn’t let his guard down for a second. His muscles were tense and he was ready to flee if needed.
Dr. Jenku moved quickly, swiping her pass key at each door they came to. She finally came to a stop in front of a set of double doors that had been painted with a yellow circle. She swiped her card and pushed the door open. Sitting around a large table in the center of the room was Roger, Gneiss, and Gin-us.
“Gin-us!” Patrick ran into the room, pushing past Dr. Jenku. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you!”
“Patrick!” Gin-us jumped up from the table he was sitting at and wrapped an arm around Patrick. “I was worried about you! Sit, we have a lot to catch up on.”
They then fell into an animated conversation about their adventures since they had last seen one another. Patrick told Gin-us and the others about the machine he had seen the Plutonians powering up. Dr. Jenku then informed them that it was used for convergence on the planets. It was capable of removing centuries-old magic that had hidden life on the planets from one another. Gin-us told Patrick about the Rojozic and their cryptic favor. Neither was sure how they were going to be able to smooth the relationship between Yakopiz and Rojozic. It was clear that they viewed each other as enemies.
“Now that you’re here,” Dr. Jenku interjected as the conversations died out, “I sent Frize back to Flupotia. The rebellion here is ready to fight back.”
“How large is this rebellion?” Gin-us looked down at the ship map in front of him.
“Nobody knows the real numbers. We have a vast network, each of us only having a handful of contacts. Keeps us safer if anyone is to be found out. But I think you’ll find as you progress that there are more of us willing to join your cause than to fight against it.”
“Then why haven’t they risen up?”
“Many of your exploits are still just rumor. They need to see you as a leader they can believe in. Right now the fear of our King is greater than their belief in you.”
The door slid open and a Plutonian soldier Patrick didn’t recognize entered. He tensed up momentarily and reached for his weapons. Gin-us placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Frize reported back. Flupotia is ready to attack as soon as the signal is sent.”
“I have to ask that you remain here.” Dr. Jenku was addressing Patrick, Gin-us and the rest. “Our plan only works if we can take them by surprise. Just knowing you’re here is all the rebellion needs right now. They’re ready to act.”
“You pose it as a question, but I get the feeling we don’t really have a choice?”
“I’m sorry, but no.” Dr. Jenku stood, motioned to the other Plutonians in the room and left, locking the door behind her.
◆◆◆
The blue smoke came curling out from a crack at the head of the ship and Flupotia instantly recognized the signal. She ran down to the bunks.
“Alright, everyone up!” She flipped on the lights. “Up, now!” She started banging on the walls.
“Is it go time?” Reizod propped herself up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“It’s go time. Down in the hangar in sixty seconds.” She turned and left the room, knowing that Jane and Noca were on the other two ships getting everyone else up.
Down in the hangar they had unloaded their gear in preparation for this moment. Full suits of armor and weapon load-outs were carefully organized. Flupotia went to the front of the line and began to put the first one on. The room around her quickly filled up as everyone ran down the stairs, ready for the battle that was about to begin.
◆◆◆
“Ahhh!” Flupotia jumped from the ship as bullets ricocheted off the sides of it.
The soldiers behind her jumped as well, some hit the ground gracefully while others rolled several yards before they were able to right themselves. Bullets continued to fly around them, all of which were missing their targets by several feet. As she ran down the hill amidst her soldiers, Flupotia knew this was her moment. She saw Dr. Jenku waiting just inside the cracked hull, scanning the crowd f
or her face. Flupotia ripped her helmet off, tossed it in the air and detonated the small explosive inside of it. Blue dust settled down around her. Dr. Jenku smiled warmly as her eyes locked with Flupotia.
Dr. Jenku ran to the battlefield as more eyes fell on Flupotia. Those who had been a part of the rebellion understood what this act signified and they all stopped firing on her advancing soldiers. Almost a quarter of the army had dropped their weapons to their sides. Those left firing revealing their allegiance to the King. They soon ceased fire as they realized their guns had been loaded with blanks. The rebels turned their weapons on their own then, quickly disarming and ending the battle before it had even really begun.