by S. E. Smith
Jeslean had been the home of the Ancient rulers, the Knights of the Gallant Order, an elite group of men and women devoted to the protection of the galaxy. Hutu Gomerant had been the only remaining active Knight of the Gallant Order – until the mysterious ship and the pods appeared.
The initial strike against his iron-fisted rule had been on Tesla Terra. One of his commanders had tracked the first pod to a forest not far from Jemar de Rola’s vineyards. Jemar had also been a Knight of the Gallant Order, but the old Knight had retired years ago after Andri had ordered the assassination of his wife.
At Andri’s behest, the Legion commander in charge of investigating the pod had killed Jemar and his young son during a confrontation. Instead of discouraging further rebellion, however, de Rola’s daughter and a stranger to the known galaxy had defeated a squadron of highly trained Legion forces – and then escaped.
Andri knew that Cassa de Rola had then met up with General Hutu Gomerant, the legendary Gallant Knight and close friend of her family, and the stranger had met with another who had arrived in a pod.
Andri had hoped that leveling the ancient city of the Order of the Gallant would strike fear into the hearts of his enemies. Instead – fueled by the false hope that at least two of the ‘Ancient Knights’ themselves had returned from a distant galaxy – the rebellion was gaining power and followers. Now, there was the possibility of two more knights surviving their arrival in those damn pods. He needed to find at least one of the aliens from the pods and demonstrate that they could die, just like anyone else.
“Where did you come from, and what brought you here now?” Andri murmured, staring out the window as he thought of the strange capsules.
General Coleridge Landais sat back in the chair of his office aboard the Legion warship. He stared at the blank screen in front of him, his mind on the issues at hand. Rising from his seat, he walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. The chime at the door drew his attention.
“Enter,” he ordered. The doors slid opened to reveal his first officer. “What is it?” he asked.
“You asked to be informed when we were within deployment range of Turbinta, General Landais,” the First Officer replied.
“Prepare an away team. I want fighters on standby. Any ship trying to leave is to be redirected back to the planet and thoroughly searched,” Coleridge ordered.
“I’ll instruct the fighters to be prepared. Will you want me to lead the search, General?” the First Officer asked.
Coleridge was silent for a moment before he shook his head. “No, I will personally oversee this mission,” he instructed with a dismissive tone.
“Yes, sir,” the First Officer replied with a bow of his head before he backed out of the room.
Coleridge walked back over to his desk. He reached out and tapped a series of commands. After several seconds, he slammed his hand down on the desk. Liquid from his glass sloshed over the side onto his other hand.
His lips tightened in irritation when he saw that the tracking signal he’d had embedded in his son’s arm was offline. Coleridge had suspected that Roan was aware of Andri’s suspicions. Coleridge hadn’t felt the same reservations about Roan – until now.
“Do not betray me, Roan,” Coleridge murmured.
He lifted the glass in his hand and drank the clear liquor in one gulp. Placing the glass down next to the computer, he stepped around the desk, and strode toward the door. Once he located the pods, he would locate his missing son.
Turbinta: Aboard the Star Runner
“We have to get off this planet,” La’Rue stated. “H, I need you.”
Sergi followed La’Rue down the long corridor to a ladder that led to the lower section of the ship. A small robot with eight legs scurried by him, and he muttered an oath as he jumped to the side. He shook his head.
After La’Rue had dropped her nuclear bomb of a statement, they had eaten the rest of their meal in silence. He hadn’t minded since it gave him time to appreciate the complexity of the situation he was in – and the woman across from him. Not to mention, the silence gave him time to absorb the fact that he was still alive and in an alien world unlike anything Earth’s scientists could have imagined.
He’d been to his fair share of movies during his life. If he ever made it back to Earth, he would have to tell a few scientists that they needed to hire some writers because the men and women making up that shit were doing a pretty realistic job.
Sergi watched as La’Rue bent down and descended the ladder, the eight-legged freak machine right behind her. He shook his head and wondered if perhaps he had fallen through the universe’s version of a rabbit hole into an alternate reality. It wasn’t such a far-off concept.
“Will more of your people come to help you once they realize you are in danger?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder at him as he jumped to the deck.
“No,” he replied, looking around the rectangular room.
“H, work on the engine circuitry. What do you mean ‘no’? Do they not value your life?” she questioned with a frown.
“My people…. Let’s just say that it would be very difficult for anyone to come to my aid,” he dryly replied. “I need to find the other pods. Mei was not inside the one in the gorge. That means she must have escaped.”
“Or she could have died by falling into the ravine or drowning,” La’Rue countered. “Might I remind you that you almost died? You’re welcome by the way.”
Sergi felt a flash of amusement even as he shook his head in denial. Yes, she had saved his life, but he refused to believe Mei was dead. That tiny, formidable Chinese woman was much too resourceful to have plunged to her death.
“Chert voz'mi!” Sergi cursed.
“What does that mean?” La’Rue asked, looking up at him from where she was pulling a series of circuit boards.
“I will be back to help you,” he replied as he turned around and gripped the ladder.
He paused when he felt a hand on his arm, and he turned to look at La’Rue. Her dark eyes were filled with confusion and a hint of suspicion.
“What did you just say? The ‘chert voz’mi’,” she said, slowly repeating what he had said.
Sergi chuckled and cupped her chin. “A word unfit for a lady’s ears,” he said, bending and brushing a kiss across her lips. “I need to check something.”
He turned away from her bemused expression. Climbing the ladder, Sergi pulled the video recorder from his pocket. Its battery was dead. He needed to rig a power source so he could see what had happened to Mei.
Returning to the galley, he opened and closed the cabinets. In a side drawer, he found what he’d been looking for – a conglomeration of tools and discards. Some things appeared to be universal – even in an alien galaxy.
In minutes he had rigged a power source for the video recorder. The recording started as soon as the lid was opened. In the background behind Mei, he could see the Gliese 581 ship shaking violently, lit by blinking lights. The alarms sounded tinny through the recorder’s speaker. Behind her, he could see his pod and then Julia’s.
“What about Ash and Josh?” Mei worriedly asked as she climbed into the pod.
“We have to trust that they will be able to guide us through this,” Julia stated above the alarms.
“Sergi….”
He could see Mei’s eyes move to his pod, her expression filled with worry and regret. Julia’s reflected the same emotions – along with resignation and grief. He watched as Julia climbed into her own emergency pod. Neither woman wore a spacesuit.
“We’ve done all that we can, Mei. He is stable. In the end, he may be the luckiest one of us all if he never realizes what is going on,” Julia replied.
“Catastrophic hull breach imminent. Prepare for emergency pod evacuation,” the computer warned.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to be a part of this mission, Julia,” Mei quietly replied before she laid back and closed the lid of her capsule.
Sergi’s throat tightened when he saw
the tear escape from the corner of her eye and slide down the side of her face. The interior of the pod grew dark for a few seconds before the interior lights kicked on as it slid into the ejection tube.
Mei bit her lip to keep from crying out when the capsule shook violently. Nearly ten minutes passed from the time Mei entered the capsule until it was ejected. He watched as her breathing sped up before it finally slowed, and a look of wonder filled her eyes. The video became less shaky, and he wished he could see what Mei was seeing. A moment later his wish came true when she turned the camera so that it angled outward. His breath caught when he saw the Gliese 581 breaking apart. Minor explosions lit the darkness, but it was the pieces spinning in slow motion that held him captivated. It was as if someone were spilling the pieces of a puzzle out on a black velvet cloth.
There was no way to know if all of the emergency pods made it safely away from the ship. He knew his own and Mei’s had, but what of Julia, Josh, and Ash? Without being able to enlarge the image and analyze, it was impossible to tell if any of the moving pieces of wreckage were the ship or a pod. He listened as Mei began to speak in a soft voice filled with awe and grief.
“I do not know if anyone will ever see this video, but I do not want us to be forgotten. The Gliese 581g project was Earth’s first mission into deep space. We learned that we are not alone in this beautiful universe. There were five of us aboard the Gliese 581: Commander Joshua Manson, Commander Ashton Haze, Sergi Lazaroff, Julia Marksdale, and myself, Mei Li Hú,” she said before her voice faded and she turned the video back toward her face. “The pod is going into conservation mode. I will sleep now. I do not know if I will ever wake up again. If my father should ever see this, please know that I have died with honor.”
Sergi watched Mei’s eyelashes flutter before her face relaxed, and he knew the low dose of sedative to slow body function had been released. The camera remained locked on her sleeping face for several more minutes before it went black. Then there was a flicker.
He frowned when he saw the camera screen flicker. It was only meant to come on if it detected motion. He fast forwarded until the video began to play again, and he saw Mei pushing open the lid of her emergency pod. She moved the camera to show what she was seeing. The view showed the interior of a spaceship. There was a large collection of debris. All of the junk reminded Sergi of a garbage dump.
He grinned when he saw the way Mei slipped over the side of the pod and turn in slow, measured movements. The intense scrutiny, plus the way she analyzed her surroundings, validated her military training. This was the part of her that she kept hidden from the rest of the crew. His grin grew when she turned and began removing a wide variety of weapons and supplies from the pod. A few of the items and weapons that she held up made him whistle under his breath and wish that he had checked out her capsule when he had a chance.
“Milaya, Mei. You have very good taste in weapons,” he chuckled.
After she had secured all of her weapons, she turned back to the camera. There was a look of fierce determination in her gaze. Once again, he could see the calm that came with being focused on a mission.
“I’m alive. I don’t know where I am. It looks like some kind of alien spaceship. If we ever had doubt that life existed elsewhere, we have found undeniable proof now. I will do everything I can to stay alive as long as possible. Sergi, I know you are a member of the FSB. I wish you were here now. I would feel better with a few more weapons. I hope you and the others made it. If it is possible, I will search for any survivors. If not… Fight well, my friend,” Mei added the last in Mandarin.
His features hardened when he noticed a movement behind Mei. A large man appeared out of the shadows behind her. The useless warning on his lips died when Mei suddenly turned, sensing she wasn’t alone. The combination of darkness and the limitations of the camera view made it difficult for him to see exactly what was happening. He could hear the sounds of masculine grunts mixed with Mei’s more feminine ones.
Sergi jerked back when a male’s unfamiliar face suddenly appeared in front of the camera. The man’s expression was frozen in shock even as his eyes glazed over in death. The handle of a knife was the only thing visible against the skin of the man’s throat. The blade was completely buried in his neck.
Sergi had wondered how the body ended up in the pod. He now had his answer as he watched Mei – with a lot of grunting and a few surprising, but impressive curses in Mandarin – push the man into the pod and close the lid.
Sergi pause the video when he noticed the writing on a door behind Mei. He stared at the characters, committing them to memory. If the symbols were unique to the ship that Mei was on, then it would be possible to find her. La’Rue might know who the ship belonged to. If nothing else, she could tell him what it said.
He pocketed the video camera and slid it into the leg pocket of his cargo pants. Rising from his seat, he made his way back down to where La’Rue was working. His lips twitched when he heard her yelling for H.
“What do you need?” he asked, sliding down the ladder.
She scowled at him. “A billion credits would be nice,” she retorted. “The auto-navigation is shot, the engine needs six new fuel rods, and we are on a planet where shit doesn’t come cheap and stranded customers end up dead, so they can sell your ship to the next unsuspecting victim.”
“You need the parts, we get the parts,” Sergi replied with a shrug. “The question I have is where do we find what you need.”
La’Rue grimaced. “Tribute. It’s Turbinta’s only large city – well it’s large compared to the villages dotting the rest of the planet. Tribute is that so-called sanctuary I mentioned, where killing is discouraged and if there is a bounty on your head, you can’t be touched. It’s a lie, Sergi. If we go in, we won’t come back out.”
Sergi raised an eyebrow. “So we’ll just stay here, then. That is the plan? Live off the supplies you have until we live no more?”
La’Rue scowled. “The Turbintans can look like anyone, you know. They can sound like anyone too. They usually have tattoos to represent their tribe and mark how many kills they’ve made. Slate met a Turbintan once. He was lucky he wasn’t the target. The pirate he was with wasn’t as fortunate. The Legion is not exactly at the top of the list of people you want to run into either. Actually, with the price on your head, you might have to stay away from everyone no matter where you are.” She wiped her hands on a rag that had been hanging on a hook, her expression thoughtful.
Sergi folded his arms. “That might be a little difficult. How much has this Legion offered to pay?” he curiously enquired.
La’Rue pursed her lips and looked down at her dirty hands, hiding her expressive eyes as she rubbed at a spot. Dropping his arms to his sides, he stepped forward and cupped her chin. She tilted her head back and looked up at him.
“How much, La’Rue?” he quietly repeated.
“One hundred thousand credits,” she replied.
Sergi could see a faintly wistful expression in her eyes, though he could tell she was trying to keep her expression neutral, and he wondered, Are you desperate enough to trade me for the reward?
Chapter Seven
La’Rue started to pull her chin away from Sergi’s hand, and was surprised when his arm slid around her waist. He gazed down into her eyes with a searching expression. She tried to look away but found it impossible.
“You could use those credits to fix your spaceship,” Sergi reflected, watching her carefully.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Yes, I could, couldn’t I?” she replied before she glowered up at him. “I may be lots of things, but I still have some standards. You saved my life. I don’t turn in people who do that, even if I could use the credits.”
She shivered when he lightly stroked her jaw and tangled his fingers in her short hair. She took a deep breath when he lowered his head closer to hers.
“You saved my life as well,” he reminded her.
She swallowed. “I… guess that means
… you can’t turn me in either,” she murmured, her gaze dropping to his lips.
La’Rue leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. She wanted to deepen the kiss, but the sound of an alarm made her quickly pull away. He released her and looked at her with a concerned expression.
“I… have to go help H before he blows up the ship. I’ll be back,” she said in a breathless voice.
“I think that is an excellent idea. I would rather not be blown up. Almost dying in space and drowning were enough for me,” he murmured.
Sergi stepped to the side when she reached for the ladder. She was halfway up when she heard his chuckle and soft comment. A smile curved her lips. She liked that he had a sense of humor.
Four hours later, La’Rue tiredly walked down the corridor to the repair room. She was wet, tired, muddy, and hungry again. Outside, the constant rain had turned into a savage lightning storm. The thick hull of the ship insulated them from the sounds of the raging storm.
She stored her tools in the cabinet and secured the door so it wouldn’t open. Her mouth opened in a huge yawn and she ran a hand through her wet hair. Turning, she released a startled squeak when she saw Sergi leaning against the doorway, watching her. She lowered her gaze to the large circuit board in his hands.
“What are you doing with that?” she suspiciously asked.
He looked down at the board before he held it up. “It is the one you were working on before you disappeared to prevent H from blowing up the ship. I did a little trouble-shooting on the issue and repaired it,” he commented before he looked her up and down. “What did you do? Fight in a mud ring?” he asked.
“I should have let you drown,” she grumbled, reaching for the circuit board.
She raised an eyebrow at him when he pulled the board away and out of reach. A retort hovered on her lips, but the caustic remark changed to a soft hiss when he raised his hand and twisted a damp swathe of her hair around his finger.