by Trevor Gregg
“No, they aren’t going to kill her,” Raegar explained. “They wish to meet with her, with you all, but they are not forcing you to go. You are free, there is no more death order, Elarra.”
“How?” she inquired.
“Darius has disappeared. The council was only following his lead, so in his absence they have lost their thirst for your death. Instead, they now seem fascinated by you.”
“How do you know all this? Have you seen it?” Elarra responded.
“Indeed, I’ve foreseen your visit. Put your mind at ease, your people are no longer a threat to you. Your defeat of the Crevak has made you revered, now.”
“Pfff,” Kyren snorted. “You’re telling us everything is peachy now? You people tried to kill us, to kill Elarra. So we should just forget it, sweep it under the rug now?”
“I am not a council member, I hold no power, so I cannot answer you, young man. I am merely a simple motocab driver who gets the honor of transporting you.”
“Well then, Raegar, take us to our destination,” Elarra instructed.
Raegar navigated the cab back into the street and bore them to their destination, the council amphitheater. Kyren unslung his rifle and kept it close, carrying it loosely but ready to snap to his shoulder at a moments notice.
“Stay ready, everyone. If these buggers make any threatening moves, we’re escaping, understood?” Kyren dictated.
Elarra strode up the sidewalk to the arched entryway to the coliseum, motioning for the others to follow. Kyren fell in beside her, head on a swivel, anxiety leaving a damp sheen on his palms.
“Elarra,” Geri began. She continued as Elarra turned, “We should have a code word to abort. If you say the word, we’ll take action.”
“How about “platypus,”” Kyren replied.
“Fine, you say platypus and we’ll move,” Geri agreed.
He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and followed Elarra through the archway.
4
Return to the Council
I’m not afraid, Elarra told herself. Perhaps they were just luring her in, to make the capture easy. They could be walking into their deaths. She pushed doubt from her mind. Raegar’s words were persuasive, but only to a point. He could by lying, or just mistaken. She steeled herself and walked into the amphitheater, trailed closely by Kyren and Geri, both coiled like springs under great tension.
It took a moment to take in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the absolute lack of liadi’s hardened, highly trained raxi. There was no guard to be seen anywhere. That was reassuring. She looked to the raised stage and observed the council, minus Darius and Saeli, seated at a long table.
“Elarra the Visikaji has arrived,” a liadi standing near the archway hollered out.
Murmurs went up through the crowd like wildfire through dry grass. The council was beginning to stand. They made their way to the front of the stage and motioned for Elarra to approach. She hesitantly climbed the stairs, walking towards them with great apprehension. Kyren and Geri followed closely.
“Welcome, revered one,” Gabai said, smiling and opening his arms.
Waving Kyren and Geri back, she stepped forward and came to stand before them, a hard, angry look on her face.
“You ordered my death! And now you stand before me as if it never happened?” Elarra said hotly.
“Yes, we understand we made a terribly tragic mistake. We hope you can forgive us,” Persephone said, with a surprising tone of submission, completely out of character.
“We will swear our allegiance to you, Elarra. We will follow you, aid you in whatever way we can. The council has now seen the future you spoke of. We now have context for your actions,” Gabai continued, his tone pleading.
“The vision we had, collectively, was that of our planet being destroyed. A giant monster that comes from the sky will destroy us all, if it isn’t stopped. But we have seen it continue, seeding the galaxy and wiping out civilizations. We understand what you are fighting. We are prepared to offer what aid we can,” heavyset Dynor interjected.
“Yes, we’ll help. We may not have an army, but I’m sure our raxi can aid in some way, they’re willing to trade their lives for salvation of the galaxy,” Samiratha said, her red curls bouncing, blue eyes twinkling.
“For the Visikaji, we serve,” Gabai said ceremonially, and took a knee.
The other council members followed suit. She felt Kyren and Geri relax behind her.
“Perhaps a squad of raxi will help. A security force to help keep you safe?” Vero spoke, surprising Elarra, as he was known to be one of very few words.
“Yeah, that’ll help,” Kyren said over her shoulder. “But don’t think I’ve forgotten you ordered the very same raxi to kill us.”
“The raxi are genetically engineered to follow orders. If they are ordered to protect you with their lives, they will do so to the best of their considerable ability,” Gabai explained.
“Yes, I experienced that. Shortly after I killed Darius,” Elarra said, a little louder than she had intended.
Her voice carried through the amphitheater, and a hush fell over the murmuring crowd.
“I suspected he had met with an ignominious end,” Gabai sighed.
“Indeed. He tried to kill me, but I was stronger. Now, I am here not for your platitudes but to seek the location of Joraq.”
The murmuring broke out again, more furious this time. The councilors stood and straightened their garments.
“But we know not her location. No one does. She has been absent from visions, as if a blind spot exists where she should be,” Persephone explained.
“That is not entirely true, Persie,” Samiratha said. “Saeli may know. He once hinted that she was somewhere in the Tregas sector, at the far end of the Perseus arm.”
“Unfortunately, he also has not been seen since Darius left,” Gabai informed her. “We have no way of reaching him, either.”
“We saw him, he helped us out,” Kyren said cautiously. “Maybe he’ll come to us again, Elarra?”
“Yes perhaps Saeli will decide to return,” Dynor said optimistically. “In the meantime, you may rest and make full use of our hospitality. We have a residence prepared for you and your attendants.”
“Yes, that would be acc…” Elarra began, but felt her words choke off as her vision began to fade.
She was once again facing the Kirugi, looming on the horizon. Again, a giant robot battled. And again, the hordes of alien creatures washed over the sea of people, engaging in mass carnage.
But then there were Consortium soldiers, pouring weapons fire into the creatures. Many soldiers fell but the tide was pushed back. She turned to the left and peered down an alleyway. The creatures were flooding around the corner, moving to flank the soldiers.
She was right in their path. There was no fleeing, they were too fast. There was no escape. She braced for the onslaught, but it never came. Blazing bolts of plasma rocketed past her head as a squad of raxi, leathery face flaps covering their cheeks, their chins protruding, yellow eyes full of serious intent, opened up on the approaching creatures. They took up a defensive perimeter around her, stopping the creatures advance.
Her vision faded back to reality, and she found herself leaning against Kyren while he was holding her steady.
“What did you see, revered Visikaji?” Gabai asked inquisitively.
“I saw the aid you can provide. The raxi, they can help, they will play a part in what is to come,” she continued. “For now, let us avail you of your hospitality, as we work out how the raxi can best aid us.”
She was about to continue when a commotion at the archway caught her attention. It was Benjam. Dammit what was going wrong now? She felt dread until she saw his face, contorted in a look of pure joy.
“She’s alive! She’s alive!” Benjam cried.
5
Only a Ship
She thought it might actually be driving her insane. It was certainly doing more harm than good, sh
e realized. Reaching out she turned off the chronometer. It was torture not checking it, and she broke down and flicked it back on.
Drat! This was going to kill her way before falling out of orbit would. She would expire from boredom before too long. To stave off the space madness, she had spent a considerable amount of time talking to Isa, although she was unsure of whether or not she had heard her.
“You know, he was at peace, in the end. I mean, he was engaged in a struggle, sure. But he looked like he knew exactly what he was doing. He seemed such a different man than what I knew in the other time,” she said aloud.
“I mean, the first time I met him, he tried to kill me with his bare hands. He would have had Kyren and Elarra not saved me. Imagine how difficult it was for me to accept him in any other role.”
“I think he was heading into a dark place, before we met you. I mean, he must have been if he went on such a rampage, I think. But he rescued us, Consortium or not, he put aside his animosities to help those in need. And he continued helping us, just as you have. He seemed to have signed on to our cause, and that, I think, is very noble.”
“I have known both the villain Tharox, and the hero Tharox. I think the hero was the true man. I know you wouldn’t have loved him otherwise,” Alis finished.
“I know… I just don’t know how to continue,” a faint voice trailed from the ship’s speakers. “Where do I go from here, Alis? What do I do? I’m only a ship, yet I grieve.”
“Isa! You still have me. I won’t abandon you. I’ll be here, through your grief. I won’t let you suffer alone,” she replied quickly, unsure of exactly what to say to assuage Isa.
“It’s so black, so dark in here. It was what I wanted, but now I’m not so sure,” Isa whispered.
“Yes, power on, let’s go somewhere. Anywhere but this system. We can even try to raise the Ashari, hopefully somebody survived.”
“Alis,” Isa said bashfully.
“Yes Isa?”
“I can’t seem to get anything to power up. I’m afraid I may have blown a transducer conduit.”
“Okay then, that is a problem I’m sure we can solve. See, there we go. One solvable problem at a time.”
She spent the next several hours tracing down the blown conduit, and several more performing some delicate repair work.
“Isa, try now. Bring your light back,” Alis coaxed.
The lights flickered and then sparks flew from the open access hatch in which she had been working.
“Dammit! Let me see what I did wrong,” Alis cried embarrassedly.
She spent a great deal more time examining the repairs, finally discovering the shorted component.
“Sorry Isa, you’re gonna be without full radar functionality. The reticulator is shot, the zeta band scanning is inoperable,” Alis explained.
“Oh well, not important. This isn’t going to work. I’m going to go back to sleep,” Isa slurred.
“No!” Alis cried. “Wait, I can do this, just stay with me please! We’ve been through so much together, don’t let this be it.”
“Yes Alis, I’ll try,” she replied, her words held more vigor this time.
Alis continued working until she felt satisfied. This time it would work, it would hold and Isa would regain control. At least she hoped.
“Here we go,” Isa’s tiny voice quavered.
The lights flickered several times, then the emergency lighting engaged.
“Good start, let’s see what else you can access.”
The engines hummed to life and the viewscreen sprang on, revealing the planet hanging huge in their view. The edges of the screen were just beginning to glow orange. Uh oh, they were on a reentry course. Isa better get control soon, or they were going down.
“C’mon Isa, give it more,” Alis urged.
“I’ll try,” Isa acquiesced.
The lights went on fully and the maneuvering thrusters kicked into action, raising their orbit and diminishing the orange glow until it disappeared completely. They had a stable orbit, and it seemed Isa had regained control. What now? Contact the Ashari.
“Isa, send a message on the quantum subspace network, we need to reach the Ashari. I need to know if anyone survived,” Alis suggested.
“Message sent, awaiting response,” affirmed Isa.
“Okay, let’s hope someone is there to get our message.”
6
Thessell Hydra
Kyren blinked, taking a moment to process. Benjam was hollering and locomoting toward the stage at a furious pace. And bellowing. Could he really mean…
“She’s alive, Kyren! Alis! Alis is alive!” Benjam squeaked in pure joy.
“How… how did you, I mean, how do you know?” Geri asked, still looking doubtful.
“She called us. Or rather, Isa called us on the quantum entanglement transmitter. Alis is with her!”
Geri broke into tears of joy. Kyren couldn’t help himself and hugged Elarra tightly. Benjam reached the stage and slithered up the stairs enthusiastically.
“Good news, I take it?” Dynor said with a smile.
Elarra turned and responded, “Yes, very good news indeed. It also sows doubt.”
“What do you mean?” Gabai asked, curiosity evident.
“Well,” she began, face darkening. “It means I misinterpreted one of my visions.”
Kyren understood the implication almost immediately. His heart sank and he felt betrayed. Elarra had known Alis was going to die. But she had led them on, anyway.
“Elarra, how could you?” Kyren said, stepping away from her. “You knew, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about, Kyren?” Geri asked, concern growing on her face.
Kyren knew if he responded, Geri would be tremendously upset. He didn’t know what she would do though. But she would figure it out soon enough, she probably already knew just didn’t want to accept it.
“Um, well, Elarra knew about Alis’ death, er, supposed death,” Kyren began, tentatively watching for Geri’s reaction.
Geri rounded on Elarra, reaching out and grabbing a handful of the front of her dress. She hauled her close as her face contorted into rage.
“You. Let. My. Daughter. Die?” she growled.
Elarra appeared as implacable as ever, speaking in an even tone, “Yes, it was a choice I had to make. It was either Kyren or Alis, and Kyren will be instrumental in the conflict with the Kirugi. So I chose, but it hurt my heart, truly. And now I’m overjoyed to have been wrong.”
“You, overjoyed? You’re cold and calculating, Elarra. I won’t forget that,” Geri said venomously, releasing her fistful of cloth.
“You are entitled to your opinion, Geri, but know that I am truly sorry,” Elarra was trying to soothe her, it seemed, but was only making her more angry.
“So Benjam,” Geri said, turning her back on Elarra. “Where exactly is my daughter?”
“They’re on their way, they are!” he piped. “They will be here in several hours.”
There was more commotion and murmuring in the crowd as a single raxi ran into the amphitheater. He made straight for the stage, bearing for them. Kyren tensed, coiled like a snake ready to strike.
The raxi was unarmed, though. He ran past Kyren to the councilors.
Speaking quickly in his native tongue, he babbled to the council members. Kyren felt a sense of dread as he saw their faces darken.
“Elarra, is it true your people have a warship?” Samiratha asked eagerly.
“Yes, we do, why do you ask?” Elarra replied.
“Saeli, he is in trouble,” Samiratha said, concern in her voice evident.
No, it was more than concern. Love, perhaps? Her distress was apparently genuine.
“He just contacted us, he has arrived in system. Unfortunately, he is not alone. A thessell hydra has followed him through his warp portal. It’ll reach him before he’ll get to the planet,” Samiratha said dramatically.
“Geri, will you fly to Saeli’s aid? Will you bring the Ashari to
bear on this interstellar beast?” Elarra questioned, looking Geri in the eyes.
She said she was remorseful, but Kyren just didn’t see it. Of course, with how implacable Elarra was, he doubted he’d see much emotion anyway. He just couldn’t get over it, though. She had let Alis die. Well, she didn’t die, but Elarra hadn’t known that. She’d been willing to sacrifice Alis to stop the Kirugi. Would she do it again? Who else would fall along the way, he wondered?
“Yes, I will. But when this is over, we’re gonna have words,” Geri growled back. “Kyren, Benjam, I’ll need you to man the auxiliary consoles.”
When they didn’t respond immediately, she barked, “Move, now, people!”
Kyren and Benjam followed her as she dashed to the exit and out to the street. Gabai followed.
“The raxi are bringing a car in just a moment,” he informed them, just as a motocar squealed around the corner down the block.
It zipped up to the curb and slowed long enough for them to get in, before taking off at full acceleration. Sirens wailed as the car sped down the street, motobikes and motocars dodging out of the path of the careening vehicle. The raxi driver delivered them right to the ramp of the Ashari, mere minutes later.
Kyren dashed inside with the others and sprinted to the bridge, practically diving into his seat. The others followed suit, with Elarra tentatively stepping onto the bridge, hanging back and waiting, it seemed.
“Kyren, get those weapons queued up. The Consortium engineers rearmed her, and installed a few new goodies,” Geri ordered. “Benjam?”
“Yes ma’am,” he replied, saluting with a tentacle.
“Bring those shields online and keep an eye on them. Okay?”
“Yes, I can do that,” Benjam said as he squiggled into a terminal.
The Ashari lifted off, heading for high orbit at full burn. Kyren scrolled through the weapons. There was the main gun, the focused proton beam. And the DS cannon slung underneath, it was apparently back online too. The proton torpedoes had been reloaded, but there was no singularity bomb, unfortunately.