Beyond the Stars: INEO (29 page)

I shook my head. “What do you want me to do? Sit here and do nothing, acting useless?”

“Humph.
You’re unbelievable.” He sighed. “Actually, yes,” he continued. “I would like that. You should say, ‘sure love, I will stay here where it’s safe’, but instead you adamantly object to being protected. You’re relentless—you can’t take no as an answer, can you? There’s no reasoning with you,” Gaelan said, while he tore both of his hands through his hair in frustration.

“I’m glad you understand.”

I pretended to interpret his words as a concession and went to rejoin Tyden, who was concentrating on the screen in front of him. The oncoming planet was growing larger as we neared. Gaelan came and stood silently beside us. Although I knew he wasn’t pleased, he didn’t bother to continue our fight, probably knowing it was a losing argument. It made me feel confident I had won. I figured Gaelan must have read my strong emotions radiating from the connection we shared through our matching Katarian bands. My passionate desire to help was making the band almost throb on my wrist. He
knew
I was going.

Accepting my presence on the mission, Gaelan explained that only Noah and Urit would be accompanying us. He and Tyden had decided it was better to keep the rescue team small. We reported to the landing to get ready. Azil and Zaric came to help us prepare.

“Don’t make it a one way trip,” Azil said, giving me and then Gaelan a hug.

“Have some faith, will you?” Gaelan smiled at her.

“Remember, guys, if you get into trouble, call,” Zaric said, like it was an order. “We will be ready to play.”

“Down, boy.” Azil smacked him. “They won’t need to call. It is going to be a nice, quick, uneventful rescue and retreat.”

“Thanks, Azil. I’m hoping for the same,” I said, wishing for her idyllic scenario. Although, it was also good to hear the remaining Katarians were all on standby, if in case, we accidentally became captives ourselves.

Noah entered the room lugging a large duffle bag over his right shoulder. “I have our boarding pass,” he said with a dimpled smile, patting the bag.

“Noah, what do you have in there?” I asked inquisitively.

“My team has been working on ways to open the Dreons’ door without making a ruckus. I’m bringing along several options,” Noah explained proudly.

“Listen.” Gaelan leaned closer to Noah. “Aside from removing obstacles, help me to keep an eye out for Sami,” he said loud enough for me to hear.

Noah’s looked at me with his overprotective big brother eyes.

“What?
You’re coming with us
?
The three of us can handle this,” Noah said shrewdly to discourage me.

“Don’t you start on me, too,” I snapped back.

“There’s no talking sense into her. She’s way too stubborn,” Gaelan said with reluctant acceptance.

“Okay, then consider me your personal bodyguard.” Noah tackled me with his long arms and held me in a smothering bear hug.

I struggled to push his large body away. “Stop it. I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, right, I could take you down right now,” Noah shot back, tightening his grip.

With a knee to the thigh and an elbow to the gut, I broke free from his hold and ducked out from under his arms.

Gaelan gave me a surprised look and seemed impressed by my quick defensive reaction.

“Nice move,” Noah complimented, holding his side like it hurt.

Little did we notice Urit had come into the room. We promptly regained our professional demeanor after we saw him.

“Warming up, you two? I like your fighting spirit,” Urit interjected.

Urit looked like a solder going into battle. His eyes held a concentrated gaze, posture was tall and stiff, and he appeared to be oozing a tangible tension of dread from every pore. It wouldn’t take much to set him off today. And knowing Urit’s inhumanly quick speed and agility, any Dreon would be a fool to get in his way.

I empathized with what he must be thinking. There was no telling what condition we would find Nia in.

I reached for Urit’s hand. “We’ll help you get her back safely,” I said with the utmost confidence, even though I, too, was unsure of what we’d find.

He didn’t reply. Instead, he nodded and gave me a deep sigh. He seemed to be holding back tears.

We all got dressed in full Spacesuits complete with a helmet and supplemental oxygen. Azil explained that the planet’s atmosphere was less than desirable and the suits were most likely overkill. Better safe than sorry.

Bravely, we exited the ship and started trekking across the red rocky terrain of the planets hilly surface. A red sun loomed over the edge of the horizon. I couldn’t tell for sure, however, I hoped it was rising and not setting. I didn’t want to do this in the dark. We were surrounded by drifts of untouched sand and dirt formed into low dunes resembling ski moguls on a hillside. The place felt oddly familiar and eerily desolate. As I walked, I looked around and wondered what resources the Dreons sought here.
What a lousy planet to set up camp.
At last, we saw the Dreons’ ship parked ahead. It was circular and mammoth in size. I sighed quietly. I dreaded this. Even their ship looked ugly.

Zaric’s voice came through the speakers in our helmets. “Gaelan, you’re all clear,” Zaric reported with a tone of relief. “Our instruments just detected a group of Dreons mining in an underground cavern about fifty feet below their ship. You’re safe on the surface…although, I’d stay alert. I imagine they will teleport back once their work is complete.”

“Thanks, Zaric,” Gaelan replied.

“Oh, and you really don’t need those ridiculous outfits,” Zaric mocked.

“
Ridiculous,
huh?” Azil said in the background.

We heard some rustling on the speaker.

Zaric continued. “We just identified the mysterious gas that showed up on the scanners. It’s completely harmless. The temperature is a little balmy at 102 degrees Fahrenheit and oxygen levels are good at eighteen percent.”

We nervously looked at one another through our shields. Without delay, Gaelan clicked open his face mask and took a breath. Then, with a flick of a button, he retracted the entire helmet and shield into the back collar of his suit. Appearing to be fine, we followed his lead. Almost immediately, I was struck by the hot desert wind. It was so dry, it almost burned, and it smelled rancid. I wondered if there was a dead animal nearby. Perhaps the face-shield was a good thing. We approached the ship and searched for an opening in the silver metal hull.

Urit briskly walked around the parked ship. “Over here,” he called out.

Without delay, we joined him and found him studying a groove outlining the vessel’s large doorway. Noah pulled out a gadget from his sack and ran it across the ship’s smooth surface.

“Perfect,” he said, sporting a little smile while he fiddled with the instrument. “It’s a regular hatch.”

“Can you open it?” I asked impatiently.

“We could penetrate it with our weapons or make a cut to peel back the shell. The ship’s composition is actually quite weak,” Noah explained.

Gaelan gave him a disapproving look. “Noah, can’t you do it
quietly?”

I gave Gaelan a nod, agreeing with our need to remain inconspicuous. Blowing a hole in their hull was definitely not the most viable option.

Noah grinned. “Just kidding. I brought along something to override the magnetic field of their locks.” He pulled out a small black square from his pocket and placed it on the doorway. It stuck to it like glue.

“Back up,” Noah instructed, as he pulled out an odd gun, aimed it at the device, and fired. A flickering blue electric current crackled and sparked between the gun and the device. Magically, I heard a pop. Noah smiled. “It’s practically an invitation,” he said, sounding pleased. Meanwhile, the hatch started to lift, causing the electrifying current to disperse across the surrounding sheet metal before hitting the ground where we stood. In an instant, our bodies were thrust airborne, landing us flat on our backs … almost twenty feet away.

“Ow,” I moaned. Despite the sandy ground somewhat breaking my fall, the dirt was as hard as pavement. “I didn’t see that coming.”

I looked at Noah when he sat up. He rubbed his forehead, and started to giggle. “I was not expecting
that,”
he said, sounding slightly stunned, and oddly entertained.

I, too, let out a laugh and gazed up at the sky. “I never flew backwards so far in my life.” Luckily, the only thing hurt was my pride. “I’m guessing we were standing too close.”

“Yep, much too close,” Noah confirmed with a nod and a smirk.

“I bet we look pretty dumb right now.” Urit sat up and brushed some red dust off his lap.

Gaelan groaned as he got on his knee to stand up. “I’m sure Zaric will show us the recording later—probably over and over. This one will be hard to live down,” he said with a sigh.

Noah climbed to his feet. “Hey, it worked!” he exclaimed. “Look.”

I stood up with the others, brushed the rough sand off my clothes, and shook out my hair as I looked over at the saucer-shaped ship. I was surprised to see how far we had landed away from it.
Yes,
I thought. The door was completely open.

“Be alert, everyone. Let’s proceed slowly,” Gaelan ordered coolly when we neared the newly acquired entrance. He turned briefly to give me a determined look, the one which meant he was ready for anything before he boldly stepped into the enemy’s lair. I walked behind him, stepping onto the scorching hot Dreon floor with Noah and Urit behind me. My feet immediately started to burn through the soles of my shoes from the heated metal. I took a deep breath.
Here we go.

CHAPTER 21

DREONS

Together, the four of us went deeper into the Dreon’s ship in search of Nia. Trying to be brave, I fought my fear of entering into the unknown. This was the last spot I’d want to let my confidence dwindle. Why did I insist on coming? I thought about turning around. I hated every step I took. I pressed on my stomach as it knotted into a ball. My hands felt clammy. I never anticipated how scared I would feel once I was here. What if my initial instincts were wrong and I was endangered by coming? They might decide to kill me if they found me. If it wasn’t for guilt, I never would have volunteered. It was my fault the Dreons took Nia.
Find Nia and get out,
I repeatedly told myself.

The creepy Dreon ship was all too familiar with the gray sheeted walls, the poor lighting, and the rows of industrial sized rivets covering the floors every few feet. Unlike the Katarians, I was immune to the Dreons’ amnesia, although no one knew why. I was able to remember their ship clearly from when they took me from my bed and brought me aboard on our way to Kataria. Not to mention, my recent visions of seeing their ship made the place hard to forget. Except this time, I knew I wouldn’t be invisible to them. This time, they could hurt me.

The corridor split into another long passageway. “Wait, I recognize this,” I said, tracing my finger over the indentation on the corridor’s warm metal wall. “Their doors blend in.”

“Good,” Gaelan said to me, sounding a little bothered. “Do you know where she might be?”

I looked both ways. “That isn’t it,” I said, studying the hallway opening to our right. It ran much too straight. “This way,” I instructed. I said it with such confidence it sounded as though I had extensive knowledge of their ship’s layout.

With no Dreons in sight, we moved through the vacant passageway with ease. I saw the doorway leading to the room where they had tortured me—where they shoved a burning instrument straight through my skull to implant me with their tracer. I’d never forget that night, and how they took me from my bed. I passed by it, purposely not looking, fearful that the room had the ability to suck me in. I couldn’t bring myself to look inside for Nia. I would rather check every other room on their ship before I went in there.

“Hold up,” Gaelan whispered, reaching his hand out to block me from taking another step forward.

We all stopped and stood still. Then I heard something, too. Echoing footsteps were coming towards us from around the corner. They faded almost immediately, and we gave each other an eye-sigh of relief at the close call.

“There, I think that’s the place.” I pointed to the door ahead.