4
Black stillness covered the room. The walls and corners of the room remained well-hidden from the naked eye. Darkness even overshadowed the grand double doors. A large, round window sat at the end of the room, shining in natural light from the surrounding planet. It illuminated the only two important objects in the area.
First, it illuminated the throne. Light shone around the back of the red stone chair. It sat at roughly half the size of the window and its arms made themselves visible in the daylight. The center of the throne, however, remained shrouded in darkness.
Second, the light illuminated a chess set. The marble white board and pieces sat directly in the center of the room, just feet away from the throne. The pieces sat in perfect formation, with one exception: the golden queen stood at the center of the board.
The double doors slowly rose, allowing in one visitor. An armored man in all blue entered. He stopped five feet away from the doors and kneeled.
“Your Majesty,” he said, keeping his face to the floor. “We just received word from ConSec. Both Gash children escaped. The boy was rescued from HQ and officers watched him and his rescuers blast away from Con on a freighter. Officers who were in pursuit of the girl were killed, so they believe they fled together.”
Her white hands slipped forward, grabbing the bronze queen from the opposite side. “Felicia Malone is dead.”
She discarded the piece to the side of the table. It rolled onto its side, defeated.
She grabbed three of the four rooks on the board, leaving one bronze rook. “All but one member of Parliament are dead.”
She discarded them to the side. They rolled beside the other queen.
Finally, she grabbed four golden pawns. “Nearly all are dead and yet these four children live and breathe as free people? Unacceptable. Order that any officers who let the boy escape be executed.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Queen Bettina leaned forward, sitting the pawns back on the board. The pawns sat near the queen at the center. “Order that all units throughout the galaxy be on the lookout. I want those children brought to me on their knees.”
Scout pressed her hands down on the cushion of the mattress. Softest surface she had felt in weeks. The women’s quarters had eight bunks but every mattress sat in the middle of a nook, giving each bed a sense of privacy. Small storage compartments sat on both sides of the nooks. Scout supposed that meant she could store her one set of clothes.
For a freighter full of lower-class citizens, this place had an uppity feel to it. Scout didn’t like it.
“Are the guys’ quarters this pampered?” Scout said, dropping off the mattress to face her brother.
“Yeah, pretty much. Nicer than where the Queen kept us, for sure,” Nait said with a shrug. He leaned back against the opposite wall and let out a yawn.
“Bettina. Her name’s Bettina.”
Nait didn’t acknowledge the comment, tilting his head sideways as he tapped the metal wall behind him. “So how did you convince a bunch of delivery people to become the cavalry?”
Question of the hour right there. “Wasn’t it obvious when you got here? When I was talking to the captain?”
“Um… no?” Nait said, blinking.
Scout facepalmed. The slammer hadn’t made Nait any brighter. “I didn’t convince them at all,” she said, putting her hands on her hips as she admired the other half of the room. A little bit of clutter in the form of boxes took up some free space. “ConSec almost had me, but they fought the officers, rescued me and insisted on rescuing you. That Sora guy wouldn’t let it go. Everyday people and they want to help us.”
She still didn’t get it. Well, she got it more now. Sora’s past spoke for itself but throwing your crew into a war against the galactic dictator still seemed a little extreme. Now, Scout didn’t know whether she should feel hesitant or flattered. She followed her intuition and objected, but should she have just accepted the help without a word?
“These aren’t everyday people. They’re weird people. I crawled through a vent with two of them and watched them take on a squad of officers,” Nait said, shaking his head. “Not everyday people. Not normal people.”
Yeah, definitely not normal.
“Listen Scout, I know you don’t trust them and I don’t either, but where else can we go?” Nait said, crossing his arms as he stepped away from the wall. “These people stepped in at the right time and we might as well take it. We need friends.”
Scout didn’t believe friends existed anymore.
“Thank you, wise sage, for your deep observations. I hadn’t thought about any of that,” Scout said, scoffing and giving him a slight bow. He glared. “What did they do to you in HQ anyway? Are you okay?”
Nait nodded. “A few torture sessions, but it was all electric shock. They wanted information about you. I think that’s why they hadn’t shipped me off to her yet: they were using me to get to you.”
Scout nodded back. Bettina never accepted a job half-done. She wanted her and Nait’s heads in one package.
Nait narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to Scout. He exhaled. “There’s one more thing. I wanted to wait until we were alone.”
Scout rolled her eyes. “Cute girl, huh? Do we need to go back and get her?”
Nait didn’t indulge in the joke. “They asked me a couple of questions about Naos, too. They asked me if I knew anything about the planet Puntan.”
Scout’s eyebrows rose and she dropped her hands off her hips. “Puntan? Do they think that’s where he is?!”
Nait bit his lip and nodded. “I don’t know for sure, but I think so. They asked about Senator Valie, too. They think she’s there with him.”
Scout backed up, trying to keep her jaw from falling. Natalia? She lived through the takeover?
“If Puntan’s where they are, then we need to get there before Bettina does,” she said, turning to the door. “Let’s go talk to Sora.”
Nait followed, but before Scout took another step the door opened. Fi appeared in the doorway. The woman always had an emotionless look on her face, but she helped Sora rescue Scout, so she figured Fi didn’t feel disgusted that they took her in. Scout just couldn’t get a read on her.
“Is everything suitable for you?” Fi said. “Your ankle looks better.”
“Um, yeah, sure,” Scout said, gesturing to the mattress. “A bed is… a bed.”
“It’s more than what you’ve had in recent weeks, I’m sure,” Talek said, appearing behind Fi. They both stepped inside the room. Did Sora send a hospitality committee? “The ship’s amenities are comfortable, considering our lack of funding.”
Nait nodded. Scout wanted to dart out of the room, but Nait’s slouched shoulders suggested that he wanted to stay and converse. “Yeah, where did you guys get this ship anyway?”
Fi looked at Talek, who walked further into the room, as if he had never been in the female quarters before. “You joined before I did,” she said.
He turned back and shrugged. “I’m not sure. Sora has never said and I’ve never asked. Didn’t seem important to the work we were doing.”
“Was that work always going around and looking for whatever fight you could jump into?” Nait said.
Good question. Sora, Talek and Fi jumped straight in and fought Scout’s pursuing officers. The others hesitated, but not them.
Talek shook his head. “No, far from it. We transported shipments from one planet to another. No action whatsoever.”
“Then why rescue us on a whim? You had no reason to fight ConSec,” Nait said. Scout slightly admired the mini-interrogation he initiated.
Talek stepped back toward them. He paused for a few seconds but then lightly smiled, which Scout found strange. “I have seen a lot in this galaxy and I know this to be true: no matter how hard one may try, the fight will always catch up to you. Best to stay ahead while you can, if you ask me.”
Fi didn’t display a reaction to this statement, like it sounded totally normal. Scout a
nd Nait looked at each other with furrowed eyebrows.
She looked back at Talek. “What?”
“The nebula is a mysterious place, Scout. People think that it is about simple activities: eating, drinking, commerce. Some of us know differently,” Talek said, stepping forward again. He practically loomed over her. She looked at Nait again. “Darkness covers the nebula and eventually every person has to make a decision on where they stand in regard to that darkness. Embrace it or fight it.”
Words that Bettina would never utter. She always wanted the nebula to appear perfect if she ruled it. It had to be pristine and without fault, just like her. Now, Scout disagreed with that concept, but she didn’t know what Talek was talking about.
“Right now, your queen represents a great deal of that darkness,” Talek said, rubbing his temples. “Although not in its entirety.”
Scout scowled. “She’s not my queen.”
“Good,” Talek said with a nod, taking his hand away from his forehead. He locked eyes with her. “Very good.”
Scout resisted the urge to shudder as she felt a chill. Something didn’t feel right about this guy. Scout couldn’t place it because he hadn’t done anything suspicious, but the air changed when he walked into the room. As he talked and rubbed his temples, her gut felt queasy.
Then again, she trusted Bettina with her life and look what happened. Maybe Scout didn’t know how to judge people’s character.
Nait cleared his throat, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the room. “Uh, yeah, things really suck right now. So, I guess you’re right.”
Good job, Nait. Really smoothed everything over.
The swoosh of the door echoed into the room and Scout looked to see Kossk standing in the doorway. Great, one big party.
“The captain requests the presence of your bodies,” Kossk said, gesturing to Scout and Nait. “His body is in the cockpit.”
“Finally, some good news,” Scout said, nodding at Kossk and motioning for Nait to follow her. “We’ll be right there.”
Kossk looked to Talek and Fi. A slight hiss emerged from his mouth. “What are your bodies doing in here?”
“Checking on our new arrivals,” Fi said, crossing her arms. Scout stepped toward the door, trying to edge out.
“Surely your minds are aware it is not mating season,” Kossk said.
Okay, that stopped Scout in the middle of her next step. She glanced at Nait again, whose jaw dropped as he stared at the Mizan.
Fi still looked emotionless, but Talek raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, what?”
Kossk shook his head and held his claw out toward Talek and Fi. “It is not mating season and yet your bodies are preparing to mate. My body detects it.”
Fi growled. “First, our species doesn’t have a mating season.”
Talek chuckled. “Yes, we can mate whenever we want. The time of year doesn’t matter.”
Fi’s eyes shifted toward Talek, but quickly returned to Kossk. “Second, we are not about to mate. Your intuition is off on this one, Kossk. We were only checking on Scout and Nait.”
Talek nodded, stepping beside Fi. “Fi is right. No mating here.”
Scout didn’t like that entire exchange, except that Nait’s grimace showed how uncomfortable he felt. She didn’t need to hear any of that. “Uh, to prove that no mating’s happening, let’s all just go,” she said.
“I agree,” Talek said, gesturing toward the exit.
Kossk hissed, turning toward the exit. Scout again motioned to Nait and he scurried ahead of the other three as they walked into the corridor. Both siblings heard the footsteps behind them, but they rushed to stay ahead.
“Like I said, not everyday people,” Nait said, lowering his voice to a whisper.
“Yeah, yeah, focus on Naos and Senator Valie.”
They hurried across the ship, rushing through the main hold and into the next corridor. Soon enough, they wound into the cockpit where Sora stood in front of the viewport. A Kila sat in the pilot’s chair, fiddling with the controls.
How many people lived here?
Sora turned and smiled. “How is every—”
Scout didn’t want to wait. “Sora, everything’s fine. I know where we need to go next if we want to take on Bettina.”
She hadn’t felt this confident talking to him until now. It felt better than arguing with him.
“Where? The ship’s ready when you are.”
“ConSec let it slip that one of our friends, Naos, may be hiding on the planet of Puntan,” Nait said, folding his hands behind his back and standing straight. “They think he’s hiding with another fugitive: Natalia Valie.”
“Senator Valie was an important member of Parliamentand I thought Bettina killed her,” Scout said. She met Sora’s eye. “She could help us fight back and both of them are in danger.”
Sora’s stare didn’t waver. He slowly nodded. “Puntan is a planet of valleys and open plains. It would be an easy place to hide.”
“Government not hold much power there,” the Kila said, continuing to fiddle with buttons on the main console. “Heard rumors a month ago that crime lord took over.”
“I’d say that is another sign it’s a good place to hide,” Sora said, glancing back at the pilot. Scout kept her eyes locked on Sora.
He turned back toward Scout and her brother. He paused and pursed his lips. “Naos is very important to you, isn’t he?”
None of Sora’s business, but more than he knew. Scout hesitated but kept her eyes firmly fixed. “Yes. Yes, he is.”
Sora gently smiled. “Chok, get us to Puntan.”
Scout looked at her older brother and allowed a small smile to form. He sighed and lowered his voice to a whisper again.
“Not everyday people.”
5
The large, green orb of Puntan appeared in front of the viewport, edging other stars out of sight as the Killer zoomed toward the green giant. Industry and pollution had not tainted the planet, so it did not surprise Sora to see green everywhere. He had only visited Puntan once before, but the planet gave the impression of a simpler life.
Whether that impression held merit, Sora didn’t know.
“Descending into atmosphere now, Captain,” Chok said, gently pushing forward on his control stick and punching a few buttons as the Killer dipped downward.
Sora smiled and patted Chok on the shoulder, feeling the comfort of his soft fur. He turned to Scout and Nait, who stood behind him in fresh sets of clothes. Scout wore a maroon shirt and black pants while Nait sported a white tunic and beige pants. Fresh clothes looked much better than torn rags.
“We will find your friend and the Senator in no time,” Sora said, slapping his hands against his thighs. “Simple as that.”
“We’ve never been to Puntan,” Nait said, peering past Sora as the ship continued its descent. Sora assumed he spotted the blue skies. “You sure that Bettina doesn’t have much of a presence here?”
Sora shook his head. “Last I checked, no. There’s not much to gain on a planet like this.”
“Chok said something about a crime lord yesterday,” Scout said, motioning to the small pilot. “What happened to this planet’s governor? They should have reported to Bettina.”
“Probably killed in takeover,” Chok said, keeping his eyes fixed on their landing path.
“Someone always rises. Thankfully, crime lords are closer to the crew’s specialty,” Sora said, turning around as bright sunlight twinkled in the glass of the viewport. He spotted wide, green and yellow valleys beneath the ship.
Sora heard thumping and glanced to see Kossk entering the cockpit. “Captain, the communications center received a signal from Puntan’s governing bodies. They request that our bodies land at their central landing pad.”
Sora nodded. Probably a landing fee. “Set us down, Chok.”
“Puntan is a planet of beauty and peace,” Kossk said, staring out the viewport as he stepped beside Scout and Nait. “Our minds may not see those
aspects today.”
“You’ve been?” Nait said, casting Kossk a wary glance.
“My body fought there many years ago. My kind was at war and our bodies encountered each other here,” Kossk said, continuing to take in the sunlight. “It was a challenge to see beauty in the chaos. I fear our minds will have the same challenge today.”
“There’s no beauty in war,” Scout said, grunting. “All we have to do is grab Naos and Senator Valie, then go.”
Kossk turned away from the light, fixing his eyes on Scout. “Let your mind be on guard. Events always hold deeper consequences.”
Nait shrugged. “Not all events. Just mating season.”
Sora blinked, not sure what that meant. His thoughts drifted away when he heard the stomp of the ship’s feet disengage and touch the ground. He walked out of the cockpit and heard the shuffle of footsteps as Scout, Nait and Kossk followed.
Talek and Viktor met him in the main hold. “The ship’s systems are cooling now, Captain,” Viktor said, rushing to his side. “Everything is in good condition.”
“Does everyone have weapons ready?” Talek said, looking at the small group. “In case things get ugly. You never know.”
Sora patted the rifle on his belt while Scout scoffed. “We wouldn’t go anywhere without a weapon,” she said, proceeding out of the main hold.
Trika and Fi reached the exit ramp just as the others did. Sora hit the button in front of the ramp and listened to the hiss of air as it lowered. He felt a tap on his shoulder and craned his neck to see Trika behind him. “Why do you think they wanted us to land here?”
“The crime lord probably wants payment if we’re going to be on the planet. It’s typical,” Sora said, nonchalantly waving his hand. “It shouldn’t be anything too bad.”
The ramp touched the concrete. Sora turned his head forward and strolled down the ramp. He could see several people standing in front of the ship, but he couldn’t get a clear view of them. The rest of the crew followed Sora’s lead.
Survival, Dark Times Page 7