by C. R Corbin
And then I saw it.
This small canister chucked in front of me, a white steam rolling out of it as my eyes grew heavier and heavier. My grasp on the knife weakened and I shut my eyes as the desk shifts behind me and I fall back into the arms of someone. The skin was a shade of blue, what was revealed of it at least, they had cold green eyes and a tussle of black hair. They wore a suit of black battle armor and pressed a thin needle into my shoulder as my eyes gradually fluttered and I was whisked away into the realm of sleep.
CHAPTER TWO
Janar
She was quite...interesting.
The way the blond hair gently fell over her back in that neat little tail that she had tied up. The way her green eyes flickered in the dim fluorescent light, the way her back arched and her smooth skin shone....I could see now why he wanted her so badly. She was so much smaller than I, perhaps a full head shorter, maybe more. Her curves pressed into my armor, her soft body melding with my hard armor as I sighed softly while glancing her over.
I was completely enraptured for a moment while glancing her over. I imagined all of the flesh that laid beneath those curves, the way they would shift as I stripped the cloth from her and stared at those ample breasts and that firm backside, all of those curves shaking as she moaned and spread her legs to reveal that soaking wetness that I would plunge myself into...Where the hell did that come from?
I clutched her body close as she fell asleep in my arms. I looked down at her and glanced over her body to see if there were any severe wounds that I would have to worry about. I listen in on my radio to see if they were inching their way closer to this floor.....they were still a couple floors above so I had that going for me at least. I take the vaccine needle out of her and sling her over my left shoulder while clutching my pistol in my right hand. Getting past his soldiers would be a challenge indeed. If they saw me holding her or worse, if he saw me holding her, they would demand that I give her up immediately and I couldn't have that.....there should be another way out of here. Perhaps there would be an elevator shaft that I could use.....elevator use was likely suspended to prevent their use by the enemy....that could work.
I looked around and I hear Khor and his men announcing that they were getting closer and closer, informing their soldiers to join them on the lowest levels in order to kill the remaining forces of humans. That was another worry, the humans, they were only a floor above at this point so I had to move quickly. I eventually see something that looks like an elevator shaft out of the corner of my eye and run towards it, dashing quickly and hugging her body to mine as I gripped the metal crack of the door with my right hand and forced it open.
Gradually the darkness of the shaft reveals itself to me.
I holster my pistol and leap at the metal wiring, hauling myself up the shaft with my right hand while clutching her in my left. Jorathians had one advantage that his Osons did not, we were excellent climbers. That also meant that we weren't as afraid of heights as they were, being the jungle dwellers in contrast to their mostly grassland centered culture. There was a reason that they didn't try to rappel down the shaft at all, they were fearful where I was fearless, clutching these wires and dragging myself up....here I felt at home.
I inch my way closer and closer to the main floor, I could hear them gathering outside there so I would have to move quickly. The elevator doors were in the midst of the lobby so I would have to think of something to get past the layer of soldiers already there. Most of them would be fighting the humans on the lower floors so there wouldn't be too many of them but....there was still the worry.
"Alright first floor." I muttered, gripping onto the ledge of the elevator door with my feet as I gradually pulled myself towards the small ledge and stood on it in front of the door. I stare at the cold steel and listen in....no one.
One thing that I had been anticipating was the blood thirst of Khor's men, they were constantly onto the next battle, there was little waiting for them here except for the occasional prisoner so there would likely be a low number of troops. I take my sonar readings and detect only a couple soldiers, I waited until they were facing away and pried open the elevator shaft with my right hand ever so slightly, enough to slip a grenade out of.
"Check to see what the hell that is." one of them said and the other walked closer and closer. I gripped the smoke grenade in my pocket and pressed it through the gap, shaking as the gas began to flow out and I shut my eyes, waiting for the cloud to grow large enough.
They begin to shoot wildly but the lasers don't manage to pierce the thick steel of the door so I cracked it open and made a mad sprint for the front door. The men were distracted by and coughing from the smoke cloud so I inched closer and closer to the back exit near where I had situated my ship. I run aboard with great haste while Khor's men call out to me, I ignored them. They begin to fire shots out once they realize what I was doing but I had already reached the ship before any of the weapons could harm us. They wouldn't risk blowing up my ship, not with his mate on it. I slip her into the seat next to mine and prepare for liftoff. Once I am in the skies it is much too late for them to do anything, a couple ships gave chase but I managed outrun them and once I was past the outer asteroid field of the star system, most of them didn't bother following me, they knew that I was the far superior pilot with a ship that was much better than theirs. All of their equipment was purchased by Khor whereas I purchased all of mine, leaving me with a far better quality of goods.
"You got her." said Fi as we inched closer and closer into the void of space, I sighed and gripped the throttle, glancing over at her and setting the autopilot.
"Yeah I got her." I muttered to myself and hoisted her over my shoulder. The anesthetic would likely be wearing off soon so I drag her over to the back cells of the ship.
The way the ship was shaped was a long triangular shape with a set of boosters in the back and a cockpit on the front of the tip. There were two hallways leading from the cockpit, a hallway leading to the living quarters and armory, the rooms of which were rather small but livable. The other hallway led to a lab, medical office, and the cells where I would be keeping her. The cell room was split into two, the entrance led to the viewing portion of the room which had a small chair and little else. The other half was the cell itself, a bed, a small bucket with an incinerator for any waste disposal, and a little pump for some water. Separating the two was a thick panel of plexiglass.
I press in the commands and the glass doors open before I set her down on the bed. The white sheets rubbed her back and the soft mattress melded against her body. I brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, the blond strands fall gently over her cheek while she groaned in her sleep. The arch of her back, the curve of her breasts...she looked wonderful.
I shake my head and laugh, I wasn't one to get so hung up over women, Jorathians usually found their mate early in life near their clans but I never got around to it, perhaps this was just old pheromones talking to me. Then again there was that assessment that came out stating that humans could interbreed with Jorathians, but I was no brute like Khor, I would not indulge my lowest pleasures at anyone's detriment, especially not a woman.
I go back to the cockpit and begin to set the coordinates for the colony and relaxed for a little bit. I take off most of my armor and take note that she would be waking in a little while, I had a small window to rest before I would have to deal with her and the fact that Khor would have caught on to the fact that I was running from him. I decide to go back to my quarters for a few moments, the escape had taken a lot out of me.
"I ran scans on her, she doesn't seem to be ill or anything of the sort so we're good. I'll make sure to give her a more rigorous vaccination but other than that she seems to be in top condition." said Fi. "Good." I muttered while sitting on my small bed. The soft red sheets of the small bed contrasting with my blue skin, the lamp on my nightstand shining against my left shoulder, the door to my right, in front of me is a small dresser
and a dull grey wall.
"I also listened into Khor's communications. Apparently they haven't entirely caught on yet since we just left, he's still raiding the place but reports say that the humans have for the most part surrendered with exception to a small amount of soldiers on the lower levels." reported Fi, that meant that he would likely begin his search for me shortly.
I had taken precautions before the operation to prevent him from finding me such as replacing the signalling of my ship so he couldn't track me as easily, painting it a different color, the works. I had a completely different signature than a few Jorathian days ago so he couldn't track me unless I wanted him to. That was exactly what I was trying to achieve however....I was trying to signal him towards that colony at the end of all of this, I would only be broadcasting once we got there, however.
"Did you give her the translator?" I asked Fi.
"She already has it from working on the colony. Can't leave Earth and establish colonies without coming into contact with other species. I already detected the nanites in her blood, she should be able to understand every word you say...whether she will be glad that you took her away from the base is another thing entirely. Should I sedate her?" Fi asked me, her light voice bouncing off the cold steel walls.
"I.....no. We don't want to risk any complications...too much sedation could lead to her death." I remarked. I needed her alive, if she was dead and I signaled him towards my location he would likely find out once he got close enough and took the sonar readings. Her heartbeat wouldn't show and he would just bomb me and be done with it. Having her alive meant that he couldn't kill me or use any of his major weaponry on me so that was another reason.
But perhaps....I felt a bit of sorrow.
At this point vengeance for those people I saw slaughtered was paramount but more so than that I had begun to regret my entire involvement with his organization. I Was a young man and looking for work when I signed up with him, not really knowing what I was getting into. I climbed the ranks and ended up as one of his lieutenants, I had rarely been on the front lines for his atrocities and when I was I just told myself that it was for the money. I couldn't make that same disconnect when it came to my people....however. The regret had grown and grown and now it was blooming inside of the darkest corner of my heart.
And when I gazed at her I felt the same...though her death was likely a necessity,.
In my mind it was a small price to pay, the life of an earth girl in exchange for bringing this man to justice. A man that would likely kill thousands more along with his men if I let him live. I had to take out his entire warparty in one fell swoop and I would perish as well, it was the only suitable punishment that could be arranged from someone as complicit as I.
The only innocent that would lose their life would be her. A regrettable occurrence I am sure but something that was necessary in my mind. In the meantime I suppose the least I could do would be to keep her comfortable in spite of the poor situation that I was putting her in. That much I could do in exchange. I wouldn't tell her of the plan and I would make sure she wouldn't feel a thing when it happened...
"Having doubts?" Fi asked me.
"No, nothing." I muttered.
When I looked at Lauren I felt something kindred, an innocence that I had lost during all of those wars, An innocence that I wanted back more than anything else in the world. If I had simply stayed home I would have become a hunter and perhaps had a family. Perhaps she had someone waiting for her at that colony, a husband, a family, friends, it was a life that I had longed only after it became clear that I could never seize it. A light that I only wanted after I had rejected it. My hands clenched and I glanced at the cold steel floor, None of the people he came across deserved any of those fates...but it wasn't about who deserved what, was it? It was about who had power, that was the only determining factor in suffering and joy in these cold throes of void and starlight.
"Might makes right...." I grimaced and laid on the bed, I thought Fi would ask something else but she merely kept silent. Once the human woke then Fi would deploy in her robotic state and hover over to the cell, likely to talk her through the events that had just occurred.
I lay there and pull the covers over my head, my muscular physique pressing into the soft mattress before I shut my eyes and sighed. I leaned into my pillow and exhaled, the light of my room shutting off before the door shut in front of me and I was confronted by my demons. Those cries, those voices, the visions of what I had done washing over my eyes in the darkness, I could see the red glow of their gazes as I leaned into the smooth fabric.
"Why didn't you save us? You're a monster. Murderer. Marauder." they all said and I shook my head, growling lowly before I grimaced. I would have to take it again today I suppose, the trauma wouldn't cease unless I did.
I slide the drawer of the nightstand out and grab the bottle of pills, grimacing as I spooned some of them into my hand and shut my eyes. I hated taking these, it was shameful but I had to if I wanted any rest at all. I slipped them down my throat and swallowed before laying back down, the voices gradually fading and darkness slipping over my eyes. I hugged my covers and allowed the abyss to claim me, my last thoughts lingering on that blonde girl in the next room.
#
Lauren
Of all the things to happen, being captured was the lowest on my list.
I open my eyes and looked around, I was in some sort of cage from what I understood. When I awoke I was on my side on some kind of bed, white sheets sliding against my cheek, still in my lab coat, still in one piece at least. I observe that I was not bound or tied up just yet and get to my feet, stretching my arms out and looking around. Some sort of glass cage enclosed around me, great, so I probably wasn't entirely free and we probably didn't fight off the invaders....whoever they were.
My shoes slide against the cold steel floor and I stand, the cell that was in was likely 10 by 10 feet. Not a lot of room at all and pretty cramped if I was being honest. I press my hands against the glass and bang on it, pretty durable, probably bullet proof. I looked around to see of there were any identifiers of what kind of ship this was, Jorathain, Neboran, anything else. I couldn't see anything that jumped out at me, no signs or control panels...nothing.
In my room was a small bucket as well as this little chute with a symbol of a flame printed on it. There was the bed which was quite comfy....all things considered of course. And then there was a small hose and pump for water if I ever needed it. No way of escape, not even a doorknob or lock, just one big sheet of glass. Not another human being was in this room with me which meant that they were likely being kept elsewhere, either that or all dead and I was kept for some sick purpose. I hoped the rumors that warlords often kept prisoners as slaves weren't true, I was much too fragile to endure such a life.
I reached into my pockets to see if I had kept anything that might help me get out of here but there was nothing, either they confiscated it or I had nothing to aid myself at all. I dragged out my communicator but there was no signal listed so I was likely outside of any city recognized by the galactic federation, most likely in space. If I was in transit then where were they taking me?
CHAPTER THREE
Lauren
“Hey!” I called out, banging on the glass wall to get someone’s attention. Maybe they left me alone here, maybe they were going to do some awful experiments on me...maybe.
“Hello there. It’s good to see you awake Lauren.” said a robotic voice, I could hear whirring before this hovering silver cube with trails of red light flowing through it hovered inside and stayed in front of me. I glanced at it for a few moments before concluding that it must be an AI of some kind.
The box was about 2 feet by 2 feet, the faces of it were mostly a cold steel but there was one face with a screen that glowed a dim shade of green. A simple drawing of a smile from a variety of pixels showed up on the screen and I glanced it over, below it was a variety of orange boosters lifting it up, it
was AI so it likely didn’t have any say in what was going to happen to me. I thought about what I could ask it, the details that I could gather, as an AI it likely knew why I was here in the first place. But I started off with the most burning question of all.
“Who has taken me prisoner? Neborans? Jorathians? Who?” I asked the machine, she responded in that same irritating sing songy voice.
“Jorathian. Not affiliated with them but he is a Jorathian.” she stated.
“Why?” I asked her.
“That’s classified.” she spoke and I grimace, banging on the glass and shaking with indignation. This was in violation of every treaty in the book.
“If he’s not with the Jorathian government then who is he with? A bandit? Is that it?” I asked and the face shifted from its smile to a neutral expression.
“He is an independent contractor for all intents and purposes. He is seizing you for his own reasons, reasons that I cannot disclose. He is not the man behind the assault on your base however.” said the robot and I questioned the idea that he wasn’t involved in the slightest. There was no reason for them to lie, however. Why would they give a lie to some harmless earth girl, a lie that would be revealed, eventually?
“So who is this man? What is his name?" I asked, from what I gathered it was one man, perhaps some sort of mercenary sent after me for whatever reason.
“Janar. He cannot attend to you right now so I am being sent in his place. I am his assistant, Fi.” she spoke and I sat back down on the bed, resting my head in my hands,.
“Please just let me go. Please.” I begged.
“I’m afraid that we cannot do that. You are needed for a specific purpose, a purpose that I have been ordered not to disclose to you.” she said to me, my hands tighten into fists and I scowl.