“I don’t.”
“—but you can let my crew and I help you,” Sora said, not breaking his stance. “At least let us get you and your brother off this planet.”
Scout didn’t respond or look up. Sora knew that she had a lot to process. This offer didn’t look conventional or normal, but Sora believed that it was worth it. Talek and Fi’s lack of protests showed that they did, too.
Scout didn’t move, but she spoke. “First, let’s just hope they bring Nait back.”
“How close are we?” Trika said, rounding another corner to the right. She had lost count of how many directions Kossk had given and how many turns she had taken. ConSec didn’t design a simple ventilation shaft.
“Our bodies are drawing near the destination. The cell block is below,” Kossk said. They crawled over another opening that gave a glimpse into the government world.
Trika looked down into the cellblock, peering into the cell she could see. Purple force fields blocked the prisoner inside the square metal box. A small slab sat against the wall, but the blue prisoner lied on the floor. Trika couldn’t guess his species from this distance, but she could see scorched tentacles on his head. She could see cuts and bruises on his torso.
“These bodies have been tortured,” Kossk said, as if he knew what she thought. “Worse than my mind had envisioned.”
Maybe Sora’s idea to rescue the girl hadn’t been so stupid.
Trika crawled forward, ignoring the next few cells that they passed. She didn’t want to look. She didn’t notice any guards in the corridor and she didn’t know whether to take that as a good sign or not. She figured the place would be lined with them.
Less for them to deal with, though.
“How close is our exit?” she said. Her knees and palms ached from constant movement on the metal.
“My eyes have not yet spotted an opening suitable enough for our bodies. Perhaps after the next turn,” Kossk said.
She started to roll her eyes, but a bang interrupted her irritation. It sounded like it came from below.
Another bang. This one sounded like it came from their level. Then another.
She stopped crawling and froze. Her eyes went wide as they darted back to Kossk. “Something’s in here.”
Had the guards found them already? Were they really crawling in here to kill them?
The banging continued and the noise loudened. Kossk didn’t even acknowledge Trika, but he stared forward. He closed his eyes and inhaled through his narrow nostrils.
“Another body is here.”
Trika kicked the Mizan, ushering him backward. Her voice had the hiss now. “What are you waiting for?! Go, go!”
He didn’t move as the banging and clanging grew. Trika turned forward again to see a mystery person rounding the corner in front of them. Trika clenched her fists.
Light from below illuminated a boy with crew-cut, brown hair and an old, torn short-sleeved shirt. Trika noticed ripped leather pants and brown boots in the background. He pretty much wore rags.
He jumped when he noticed Trika and Kossk, hitting his head on the top of the vent and creating a bang that echoed throughout the whole shaft. He cried out afterward and grabbed his head.
“Shh!” Trika said on instinct. That probably blew their cover.
“This is the body of the teenage boy,” Kossk said. His hiss still sounded calm and controlled. None of this phased him. “Nait Gash.”
The boy, apparently Nait, grimaced while he nursed his pounding head. He blinked at Trika and Kossk. “Who in the hell are you guys?”
“Our bodies have come from the Killer to rescue your body from these evil forces,” Kossk said. “Yet your body escaped without the help of ours. Your mind is intelligent, boy.”
Nait blinked again and removed his hands from his head. “Uh, okay?”
Trika groaned. She stood as the only voice of reason between the fugitive teenager and the alien sage. “My name’s Trika and this is Kossk. Yeah, Kossk is right: we’re here to get you out.”
Nait shook his head. “Forgive me if this seems a little too random to believe. I don’t know how you know who I am or if the guards sent you up here once the exterior was breached, but I’m leavin—”
He began to move forward, curling his fists up in preparation for a fight. Trika’s natural response told her to fight back, but before anything could happen, Kossk spoke again.
“The body of your sister, Scout, sent us.”
Nait stopped and immediately relaxed his hands. His face paled. “Sc-Scout? What did you do to her? If you and Bettina did something to her, I swear—”
Trika groaned. “Kid, we saved her from these goons a few hours ago and now we’re saving you. Since you probably just told the entire building where we are with your little bump, I suggest we get going.”
Nait hesitated, looking back. After a second, he looked at them again and gulped. “Just please take me to her.”
Trika motioned for Kossk to move and he did. Both Trika and Kossk turned around, squeezing their backs against the walls again as they did so. Kossk crawled at a faster pace this time and Trika followed suit. Nait proceeded behind them.
Thirty seconds didn’t pass before Trika heard a blaring from all directions. Red suddenly took over the white corridors, nearly blinding her.
“Guess they know you’re gone,” Trika said as the trio crawled even faster. The clatters echoed throughout the shaft and probably into the HQ below. “Good going on that crash.”
Nait growled. “FYI, miss, they already knew that something was wrong. I only managed to get out because the guards got an alert that a vent had been exposed outside. You took my idea and let everybody else know about it, too.”
Well, that didn’t sound great.
“Been eyeing the vent in my cell for days. Easier to rip off than those morons think.”
As much as Trika would have loved to continue this banter, she focused on the shuffling underneath her. Officers, just like those that greeted them on the landing pad, charged through the corridors, heading for the cell block.
Good. That meant that they would focus on the empty cell and not the shaft outside.
Kossk sped forward and Trika felt metal scrape her knees as she kept his pace. She gritted her teeth. Fi could go with him on the next rescue mission.
“Our bodies cannot delay. Their minds know where our bodies are,” Kossk said as he crawled around a corner.
“I don’t see them anywhere, do you?” Trika said. Nait’s crash had been loud, but the guards seemed focused elsewhere. She pushed her arms forward, pushing herself down another hall.
“The shafts have defense mechanisms,” Nait said. Now his labored breath touched Trika’s legs. “If they want to get us out of here, they will.”
The alarm’s blaring continued as they crawled, drowning out every noise but the other voices in the vent. As they took a right, Trika heard a faint noise coming from the walls of the vent. It sounded like a spray or some sort of release.
She ignored it as they kept going. They couldn’t have many twists and turns left before they ended up outside.
They turned to the left. Kossk glanced back at Trika and Nait. “Our bodies are close to the end.”
They didn’t speak but kept crawling. However, Trika saw trickles of green between her and Kossk. She kept moving, but as seconds passed the trickling grew into a cloud that obscured everything but Kossk’s boots.
Trika waved her hands back and forth, pushing the green smoke out of the way. She coughed. “Fumes!”
Behind her, Nait launched into a coughing fit. His body probably couldn’t handle much more pain. “They’re… trying… to gas us out.”
They turned to the right. Trika’s coughs became more constant, too. Her vision blurred. She cleared her throat, shoving the poison out of her system. “Kossk! Get us out of here!”
“Our bodies can exit ahead!”
Trika could see the light of Con peering through the green gas. She quick
ened her crawling, digging her palms into metal as she rushed forward. She couldn’t stop coughing and her vision faded in and out.
“I’m… having trouble,” Nait said. The clanging of his hands and knees stopped.
“You’re… not… dying on us now,” Trika said, reaching back and yanking him by the arm as she reached the opening. They fell out of the hole, hitting the silver ground.
She closed her eyes and finished her last few coughs. It sounded like Nait did the same.
They did it.
“Freeze, escapee!”
Or not.
Trika’s eyes shot open to see Kossk on his feet and five ConSec officers standing across from him. All of them pointed their assault rifles at the Mizan, but kept their eyes focused on Nait. He scrambled to his feet.
The leader of the group, who looked to have two sets of black armor over his chest, stepped forward. “Hands up. Prisoner, step forward. Then we’ll deal with the other two.”
Kossk’s feet didn’t budge, but he held his hand out to block Nait. Nait looked at him, breathing heavy.
The leader scowled. “Last warning. Step forward now.”
“He’s not going with you, manservant,” Trika said, pulling herself off the ground. Her hand slipped to her side. “He’s coming with us.”
She ripped her rifle out of her belt and fired at the next closest officer, sending him to the ground. They returned her fire and filled the alleyway with red lasers. Trika, Kossk and Nait ducked for cover, but Trika felt several bolts burn into her right shoulder. She screamed.
She fired again, taking out another officer. More shots hit her and she felt the burn of her skin. She bent over but buckled her feet to the ground. These guys wouldn’t be the death of her.
Nait came to her side. “Wherever you’re taking me, uh, I think we should get there now.”
She nodded. “Run.”
Two officers stood directly in front of her and the teen, but Trika charged forward and Nait grabbed her side, helping her along. She kept firing at the soldiers directly in front as bolts whizzed past them. One hit Nait’s cheek and he stumbled back with a hiss. She pulled him forward, firing more shots to distract the officers. The two in front of them had fallen.
She looked at Kossk. He remained in the same place that he stood when this started. She glanced to her right where the front entrance sat. She spotted more officers emerging.
“Kossk,” she said, dodging another bolt as three officers closed in on her and Nait. The leader of the group still lived, standing between them and Kossk. “Come on!”
“You’ll die here!” the leader said, firing a shot at Kossk. He jumped out of the way. “Kill all three of them!”
“Get your bodies to safety,” Kossk said as he landed. He reached behind his back. “My body will dispose of these.”
Kossk removed his spear and charged at the leader. The leader fired repeatedly at Kossk, but Kossk danced out of each bolt’s trajectory. He thrusted his spear forward and it pierced through the leader’s double armor. His chest spat out blood as he yelled.
Kossk removed his spear and launched himself over the leader’s collapsing body. He stabbed the back of the officer on the far left, then as the center officer spun around Kossk’s spear collided with his neck. The last officer on the right fired, but Kossk jumped again, taking his spear out of the bloody neck in the process.
Nait looked at Trika, jaw hanging. Trika hid her shock and shrugged, using the distraction to shoot the last officer. Taking a brief view of the carnage, she noticed that blood splattered onto the formerly sterile exterior of ConSec HQ. The silver didn’t glisten as much with the red tint.
“Don’t let them get away!” another voice said. Trika saw the officers from the entrance running toward them.
She motioned for Nait to keep going. They both turned and ran. Kossk stayed on their tail, but he faced ConSec HQ, eyeing the pursuing officers. Trika knew they couldn’t hold the Queen’s dogs back for long.
She briefly glanced back again and she saw turrets moving. That didn’t bode well for them.
Seconds later, large red bursts made impact with the ground next to them. It barely missed but Trika still felt the heat. The impact of the shot caused her to lose her balance, but Nait managed to hold her up. They ran faster as more turret shots rained down around them.
“Trika,” Kossk said. “Your explosive will deal with their bodies and distract the weapons.”
Trika forgot all about that. “Are you sure?”
“Our minds have no time to consider it.”
“Wait, explosive—”
Trika ignored Nait’s question and pulled the frag grenade off of her belt. She didn’t slow down as she pressed the small button on its top and chucked it at the group of ConSec officers. Seconds later, a small burst of yellow appeared, consuming officers and sending some flying.
Smoke remained but she could still see some leftovers charging in the distance. The turrets kept firing but couldn’t get a clear aim.
“Now’s our chance,” Trika said, turning her attention back to Nait. “Keep going.”
“I hope this isn’t futile,” Fi said, still leaning against the wall as Sora walked back into the main hold. Scout hadn’t moved from the couch, but Fi and Talek both still stared at her. “Quite a big undertaking, Sora. Even just rescuing her and this brother.”
Sora nodded. He understood the crew’s concerns but knew that they saw the wider picture. Fi showed that when she decided to chase Scout. “You’re right. I don’t know what we will accomplish but I think this is worth it. Something bigger than ourselves.”
Fi pursed her lips. “Rescuing her brother was the right call. A girl needs her brother and a boy needs his sister. We will see how it proceeds from here.”
“I support this, Sora,” Talek said, stepping away from the wall. His eyes locked on Sora. “This galaxy is much bigger than us and it’s about time that we stepped into the bigger picture. The makeup of our crew alone shows our potential.”
Sora nodded again. No more small-time transport jobs. He wanted something more. He always did.
He walked forward, approaching Scout again. She flipped her greasy hair out of her eyes and shook her head. She stared forward like earlier. “My brother and I would be able to do more on our own. We were trained in Bettina’s ways. We know her.”
“That’s kept you alive but hasn’t gotten you any closer to freedom,” Fi said. The first time she had spoken in all of these conversations between Sora and Scout.
“We don’t know the Queen,” Sora said, gripping the back of the couch. His fingers sunk into the cushion. “You don’t just need people who know her. You need people who know the nebula.”
Suddenly, Sora heard several thumps from the right. The thumps grew louder within seconds and he looked to the right to see Trika, Kosskand a boy rush into the main hold.
“Nait!” Scout said, shooting off the couch. Her eyes went wide and Sora thought he saw a hint of water. “You’re...”
Nait rushed forward, ignoring Sora and wrapping his arms around Scout. He closed his eyes and gripped her back. “Yeah, I’m okay. Like you had any reason to worry.”
Trika stumbled forward, nursing her right shoulder. “Sora, more ConSec officers are coming. Get us out of here.”
“I’ll get on the guns,” Fi said, taking off into the other room. “Finally.”
“Got it,” Sora said, turning to the left and running toward the front corridor.
Seconds later, he entered the cockpit. Chok sat in the co-pilot’s seat, exactly where Sora left him at the beginning of the day. “Chok, fire up the ship. The Queen’s men are coming.”
“Aye-aye, Captain,” Chok said. His small, fat fingers reached forward and began pushing and pulling away. Sora heard the familiar rumble from the back of the ship.
Sora leaned over his chair and stared out the viewport. Two by two, officers darted onto the landing pad, firing at the ship. The bolts barely pierced the freighte
r’s armor, but more appeared and fired. A barrage of red lasers bounced off of the Killer. Then, a large, green laser fired back. The turrets blew a hole in the landing pad, sending several officers backward.
“Let’s go,” Sora said.
Chok grabbed the pilot sticks and spun them around. The Killer lurched and then lifted off. Sora heard the clash of lasers and metal outside as Chok pulled the sticks back and the Killer ascended into the sky.
“Bye bye, big butts,” Chok said with a snicker. Blackness surrounded the Killer yet again as it exited Con’s atmosphere.
“You’ve got it from here,” Sora said, giving Chok an affirming slap on the shoulder. Sora exited back into the corridor.
He stopped as he arrived in the main hold. He stood in the doorway and took in the sight before him: Talek standing with his arms crossed on the right and Fi returning to his side. Kossk stepped into the center of the room. Scout and Nait sat on the couch, hands clasped together. Viktor stood on the left, tending to Trika’s injured shoulder.
What a sight. A true crew.
Scout looked up, meeting Sora’s eyes for the second time today. “You did it. You really rescued him.”
“Wasn’t easy,” Trika said, hissing as Viktor applied some ointment to her wound.
“I was already making it out on my own, but…,” Nait started. Trika glared while Kossk just stared at him.
He held up his hands. “Okay, okay. This is really weird and I don’t know what to think, but thank you guys,” he said, giving Sora a nod. He gestured to Trika and Kossk. “They really did help me out, Scout.”
Sora stepped closer to the siblings. “Our offer still stands. We will help you fight Queen Bettina.”
Scout hesitated but her eyes still focused on Sora. “Okay. You’ve made your point. It’s not gonna be easy, but if you want to do this, we’ll do it.”
“It does seem a little out of our league, Captain,” Viktor said, looking up at Sora. Sora saw the uncertainty in his blinking eyes. “Even for you and I.”
“We won today,” Talek said, walking beside Sora. “I think we can handle tomorrow.”
Sora nodded and returned his focus to Scout and Nait. He smiled. “Welcome to the Killer crew.”
Survival, Dark Times Page 6