Legend Beyond The Stars (4 page)

At last, Norman raised his head.

Their eyes met. His weary expression reminded Alana of a fallen soldier preparing for one final battle.

”Since your arrival on this ship, we have hoped that you could engineer an escape. We will be honoured to join with you.”

“Good. That’s settled then.” Alana waved the other Jurians over to join their small group. “We need to move fast. They won’t be away for long. Pity they left guards. Is there a habitable planet close by, Norman ?”

“Yes.” He eyed Alana with caution.

“We take those shuttles you mentioned earlier, Norman and we head for land.”

Collective gasps came from the women and the Jurians.

“No, no, no,” wailed Linette.

Alana captured the other woman’s flailing hands. She held her gaze. “Consider the alternative, Linette.” She gave a reassuring squeeze and released her hold.

“Yeah. It sure doesn’t sound so hot to me either.” Jessamine twiddled her braids with restless fingers. “You know—shades of Roswell, two centuries ago. God knows what hideous devices they’ll use. It’s giving me the creeps just thinkin’ about it.”

“Do you mean aliens really did land in Roswell and we experimented on them?” the younger girl, Elise asked, her sky-blue eyes as round as saucers.

“Who knows?”

“But Jess, you just said …”

“Honestly, I don’t know. My little brother is a real conspiracy theory nut.” Jessamine grinned then her amusement died as reality smacked her in the face. Tears glistened in her eyes.

Alana clasped her friend’s hand tightly as silence fell over their small group. She suspected those not thinking about monsters were enmeshed in bitter-sweet memories of families and lost lives.

But, the clock was ticking.

She checked the time on the antique wrist watch, a birthday gift from her mother and stepfather. Her touch smoothed over the face with loving care. She stifled a quick pang as she wondered how much life the solar powered battery had left.

A quick look at the anxious faces surrounding her and Alana had no difficulty in reading what was rocketing through their minds.
Sheer terror
. She didn’t feel too great herself. To leave the comparative safety of a spaceship. To catapult into outer space. Were they really going to attempt this insane feat? But their options were pitifully few.
Still
. She licked her parched lips, longed for a large bottle of Evian. The liquid offered by the aliens somehow never quite quenched her thirst.

“Well, Norman ? Is this doable?” she asked.

His eyes glowed. “This may work. Although our knowledge is not vast, we can operate shuttles.”

“Plus, I’m a shuttle pilot. We’ll separate into groups of eight or so, each with a Jurian pilot plus one group with me.”

“What about the guys?” asked Jessamine.

“According to Norman, they’re on another ship. I guess they’ll have to take their own chances,” said Alana.

One of the Jurians stepped forward. “Their fate is not dire. They will be sold for working the mines.”

Alana drew in a shuddering breath.
Save who you can
. Her shoulders taut, she gestured the other women to come closer. “I know you’re all scared but we have to take this opportunity to grasp our freedom. I need a volunteer to give a really good impression of someone having a
seizure. Norman, will then open the door and yell for help. Once the guards enter, I’ll jump them from behind.”

“Both of them? You’re gonna need some help. I’ll take one out and you the other.”

“Ok, thanks Jess. Now, who’s going for the Oscar?”

One of the women raised a shaky hand.

Alana and Jessamine positioned themselves either side of the door. Alana nodded to the woman who threw herself quite realistically onto the floor. She started screaming and thrashing her legs.

Norman hurried to the door, punched in the code. Alana held her breath while vital seconds ticked away before the door slid open.

Norman’s shrill voice yelled for help and the two guards raced in. She tackled one from behind. Together they fell to the floor.

Alana slammed her guard’s head hard against the tiles a few times then leapt to her feet. She jumped onto his wrist. The sudden impact made him loosen his grip on his weapon. It spun across the room. Alana dived for it, rolled and rose to a half crouch. Took aim at the soldier rising to his feet. The blast sent the guard smashing into the wall behind him. She whirled round just in time. She shot the other guard who, having thrown off Jessamine, was within arm’s reach of Alana.

“Jess, are you okay?” asked Alana as she straightened.

Elise and another woman, Tina, helped a trembling Jessamine to her feet.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Only winded,” she said wheezing. “Are they dead?”

”Of course not.” Norman sounded shocked. “Stunned only. We must hurry.”

“Let’s move. Just follow your group leader and be as quiet as possible.” Alana nodded to her friends. “Good luck.”

With Norman leading the way, the women jogged along the long corridor.

“Amazing isn’t it?” Elise said in awe as she craned her head from side to side to try and see as much as possible. “I wish I knew what all these bits and pieces do. See the strange contraption in the ceiling? It looks as if it’s actually imbedded into the metal.”

“Do not look at it. It is part of the ship,” Norman hissed, as he scurried towards a blank wall. “It is monitoring our movements. Hurry, now this is where we must form into our groups and go our separate ways. Behind these walls is a small passage which will lead to a loading dock and this is where the shuttles await. As soon as I press the codes, all the doors will open. You must move fast and be secured in the shuttles before we can commence flight sequence.” He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes bulging with fright. “The Darkons are fearsome warriors. Soon, they will be upon us.”

“I guess they’re going to be seriously pissed off.” Alana smirked. “Huh! Serves them right. Ready ladies?”

Everyone nodded.

“Do it, Norman, ” Alana ordered.

Six doors slid open. Alarms shrieked a warning. The women hurried forward.

Alana led her group through the narrow tunnel, hunched over a little to accommodate the lower ceiling. At the end the tunnel opened up to a large room. The shuttle stood squat and
dark. She longed to inspect it, especially the power system, but there was no time. Not now. At the side of the vehicle, was a small panel. She punched in the code memorised from Norman’s instructions. “Okay, everyone inside and once you’re strapped in, roll call.”

Precious minutes ticked by before the last name was ticked off. Alana’s heart pounded a rapid native beat. Sweat beaded her forehead. Any minute now she expected those demons to come thundering down the corridor to drag them off, probably in chains.

She swore she heard distant shouts.

Faster, faster
, Alana chanted under her breath as she secured the outer door then made her way to the small cockpit. She adjusted her earpiece, expelled a loud, relieved breath when Norman’s prissy tones came through loud and clear. Offering up a small prayer, she prepared the craft for flight. With the technology similar to the Earth shuttles and Norman nattering his instructions, she had little difficulty in adapting to the foreign controls. Lights flicked on, the faint reassuring hum of power tingled through her ears and the machine responded with easy smoothness to her commands. Confidence surged back as Alana completed her checks.

This was going to work.

A sudden explosion rocked the spaceship.

And then another. The shuttle broke free of its constraints and slid across the floor. Debris clattered onto its roof.

It looked like the Elite Forces were done with negotiating
. Alana leaned forward. She peered through the small porthole which served as the shuttle’s lone window.

”The Elite Force has resumed its attack,” Norman’s shrill voice wailed. “We have to leave now. I will open the outer doors.”

The outer door slid open and the cold vastness of space beckoned.

The traders’ ship gave a massive shudder.

Alana braced herself, punched in a code sequence. The shuttle hurtled down the small runway and catapulted into the unknown.

Chapter Three

Alana stood beside the battered shuttle. She heaved a hefty sigh and surveyed the wisps of smoke curling up from its undercarriage.

“Me, I know nothin’ about cars let alone a spaceship, but this sure don’t look so good.” Jessamine tilted her head to the side. Hands on her hips, she glared at the wreck.

Alana nodded, her mind busy weighing options while she glanced at the cluster of women gathered some distance away. “Status report please.”

“Sure thing, Captain.” Jessamine tugged at one of her braids and took a deep breath. “Everyone here appears to be okay. A bit wobbly on their feet but all well considerin’ the bumpy ride you gave us.”

“Point taken.” Alana smiled. She had taken Jessamine on board as her second-in-command. A decision which she was glad she had made as her friend, for a civilian, had proved remarkably composed under fire. No sooner had they left the small docking pad than they had to deal with malfunctioning equipment. Then, dodge blasts from an enormous spaceship which bristled with strange weapons. This new threat seemed determined to obliterate both the Scaleen traders and the Darkons.

Or on second thoughts perhaps it had been
them
it was determined to destroy
? Interesting concept. Alana stored the thought away to analyse later. “What about the others?”

“Before communications gave way, I’m sure at least three other shuttles made it safely to ground. They shouldn’t be too far away. Norman said there was some kinda homin’ beacon in these machines. I’m a hopin’ we’ll meet up soon.”

Alana gazed into the distance, not wanting to meet her friend’s anxious eyes. With difficulty, she kept her expression shuttered.

Only four shuttles safe on ground
. A knot tightened along her shoulder blades, as she worried over whether she could have done anything differently which would have changed this outcome. Her gaze searched the sky so intently her eyes ached with the strain. She took little
notice of the strange yellow colour, neither of the cloudless vista nor of the huge orange-brown planet which climbed languidly from the horizon.

The one thing she wanted to see remained missing.

“Wowee. Get a load of that there thing. Sure is one serious moon.” Jessamine goggled at the sight.

Alana said, “See if you can find any supplies on the shuttle. Organise the others to look for blankets, water, anything which may be of use.”

At the happy cries of shrieked greetings, she turned around. A ragged line of women trudged down the rocky slope of a slight hill. Some waved their arms, whooping loudly. She grinned and waved back, her throat tight.

Thank heavens, some good news
. She scanned the crowd, picking out familiar faces and her shoulders rounded as some of her heartache eased. “It looks as if the others have found us.”

Beside her, Jessamine ticked off names from her list. Their small band of women hurried forward to greet the newcomers, arms outstretched. The other Jurians held back a few paces bunched together while Norman bustled ahead; there was a tear in his baggy flight suit. A large bump above his eyes seeped a thin purple liquid, but his grip was strong enough when he reached out and squeezed Alana’s fingers.

“Good. We are all here, yes?”

“No. It appears one shuttle didn’t make it. Who was it, Jess?”

Jessamine shook her head in disbelief, and cleared her throat. “It was Carly’s shuttle,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.

“Thought so,” Alana muttered. She shook off her dismal thoughts.

“Perhaps they crash landed? We could look for them,” Tina responded softly.

“Norman ?”

“I am sad to report contact with one shuttle ceased well before we landed.”

“Then, there is nothing we can do,” stated Alana.

Elise rubbed the tears from her eyes and asked, “Do we have time for a memorial service?”

Alana thrust her hands in her pockets and clenched her fists so no one would see them. “Unfortunately we need to leave the landing site as soon as possible and find shelter. Damage report on your shuttles, please Norman.”

The alien wrung his hands. “Not good. For one, the others can fly but these shuttles are not designed for long distances and have limited weight capacity.”

Alana was glad Norman refrained from suggesting they leave some women behind. He waved his arm behind them. “There is an outpost settlement over there. We need to find shelter and food. The night lasts many rones on this planet and the temperature drops to below freezing point.”

“Great,” muttered Jessamine. She whisked out a man sized handkerchief and blew her nose. “Is there no end to this misery?”

”The flight suits you are wearing will protect you for a few rones. But once the temperature falls to freezing point and below, we must be in shelters,” Norman pointed out.

Jessamine rolled her eyes at the short lecture.

Alana sent her a comforting smile. “Just think of the stories you can tell to your grandkids.”

Jessamine snorted. “As long as said grandkids don’t come with tentacles for legs and antennae a’sproutin’ from their heads.”

Tina and Elise laughed and some of the other women smiled. The mood lightened. There would be time to grieve for lost friends later. Norman and his fellow Jurians stood with looks of confusion on their flat faces.

Alana intercepted before Norman could voice his curiosity and they wasted time in explanations. “We leave the shuttles and take only what is necessary. The sooner we leave the landing site the happier I’ll be. Norman, is there a self destruct mechanism on these shuttles? If so, use it on all of them. I want some debris from inside the shuttles scattered around them as well as some scraps of torn clothing. If we’re lucky anyone who comes looking for us is going to think we died on impact. This will buy us some time to consider our next move.”