Star Alliance (13 page)

The soldiers accompanying Kandra Rene kept their weapons pointed at him, and Zack raised his hands.

“You didn’t run,” Kandra Rene said.

“I didn’t see much point since you can track my every move,” Zack said, and raised the forearm the tracking device was in.
 

“I have more questions for you,” Kandra Rene said. She raised her wrist and activated a holoprojector. “We’ve collected some data from the cruiser you and your companions destroyed. The images were quite informative.”

A holoimage appeared, hovering over the ground, showing Zack kneeling outside the elevator doors with his hand pressed on the glass. Zack knew that if they zoomed in on the elevator they would see Kaylan.

“And this,” Kandra Rene said, stepping closer to him.

The image rewound to where it showed Zack kissing Kaylan before locking her in the elevator. Zack’s throat thickened, and he tried to keep his face impassive.

Kandra Rene watched him intently. “I’m not familiar with this practice, but judging from your pheromone levels I’d say there was a strong attraction between the two of you. This begs the question of who you were protecting. Who is so important that you would sacrifice your own life to protect theirs?”

Zack clamped his jaw shut and refused to answer.

Kandra Rene circled around him until she came to stand right in front of him. The Xiiginn’s tail slinked behind her. Zack glanced at the Xiiginn solders that had surrounded him, then forced himself to look Kandra Rene in her alien eyes. The deep purple irises seemed oddly dilated. She stepped closer to him.

“Does this form not please you?” Kandra Rene asked.

Zack felt a slight buzz begin to build in the back of his mind. As the Xiiginn spoke, he kept focusing on the fullness of her lips, then slid his eyes down her revealing outfit. Zack’s mind felt as if it had become muddled, and he forced himself to look away.
 

Kandra Rene reached out and gently raised Zack’s chin so he had to look back at her. The buzzing in the back of his mind increased to a level where it became hard for him to think. Zack became aware of his rapid breathing.

Kandra Rene rested her gloved hands on his shoulders, and Zack felt her tail slink around his waist. “See how easy this could be? I could show you pleasures undreamed of if you just tell me what I need to know,” she said.

Zack glanced at the holoimage behind her. It was still on a loop showing him kissing Kaylan and then pushing her into the elevator. He focused on his hand pressed against the glass door of the elevator and Kaylan’s silent screams coming from inside. Zack closed his eyes and replayed the memory over and over in his mind. Suddenly, he felt like someone had poured an icy bucket of water over his head. The buzzing in his mind instantly ceased, and Zack’s eyes snapped open.

Kandra Rene was leaning in, and Zack roughly pushed her away.

“Get away from me, psycho!” Zack said.

Kandra Rene barely stumbled and came at Zack in full force. Her fist snapped against his chest, and Zack was knocked off his feet by the force of the blow. His chest burned as if an electric charge had been unleashed. She leaped atop of him, howling in rage and pummeling his face. Zack tried his best to block her, but she was too strong.

Grabbing his hair, Kandra Rene pulled Zack’s head off the ground. “You will tell me what I want to know,” she hissed and struck him again.

Later on, Zack woke up lying on the ground. He didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious, but his head was throbbing with pain. His face and jaw hurt from where Kandra Rene had beat him. When he tried to sit up, his vision swam, and he almost passed out again. He just lay there on the ground and looked up at the sky. The sun was still up, but that didn’t really help him figure out what time it was because the days were longer here. He shook his head and clenched his teeth, only to be painfully reminded of how tender his jaw was. Catching a flicker of movement off to the side, he tried to look over.

Zack heard soft footfalls near his head, but he didn’t have the strength to look over at the source. Someone placed a damp cloth over his face and immediately the burning and aching lessened considerably. Part of him reeled with worry about what manner of creature was with him, but the damp cloth felt so good on his face that he just didn’t care. There wasn’t anything he could do about it, so he just lay there on the ground and drifted back to sleep. When next he woke, the cloth that had been on his face was gone. His mind felt clearer, and there was much less pain. Someone groaned next to him.

“Don’t you do anything the easy way, Human?” Etanu said.

Zack glanced over and saw the Nershal lying on the ground near him. Etanu didn’t look any better than Zack felt.

“They let you go?” Zack asked.

Etanu rolled onto his side and glanced at Zack tiredly. “We were interrupted. After she got done with you, she returned to the sled where I was. Thankfully, a proximity alert was triggered, and they dumped me near you,” Etanu said.

Zack frowned. “There was someone else here before. I think they helped. They placed a damp cloth over my face, and it took the sting out of the wounds.”

“Healing,” Etanu said.
 

“Who would heal us?” Zack asked.

“Not us—you—and I’m not sure who they were. The Xiiginns knocked me out with one of their stunners,” Etanu said.

“What happened to you?” Zack asked.

Etanu looked away. “They questioned me about you and the others.”

“What did you tell them?” Zack asked and braced himself.
 

Etanu closed his eyes, and his mouth became a grim line. He forced his eyes open and looked at Zack. “I told them everything. They did something to me, and it was like I couldn’t stop myself. I tried. Please believe that I tried.”

Zack’s stomach clenched, and he felt weighed down. “I believe you,” Zack said and looked away. His lips lifted in a half snarl. “I really hate her.”

“Kandra Rene?” Etanu asked. “Me too.”

Zack felt his blood begin to boil. “Yes. Are all Xiiginn like her? Cruel and manipulative?”

Etanu glanced away again. “We didn’t always think so. They were admired as an ideal to strive for. The Boxans tried to warn us. It wasn’t until much later that my father started to question the Xiiginns’ motives. He began to teach us to question their motives as well, but it’s difficult. At least it used to be.”

“Well they seem to be showing their true colors now,” Zack said. He stood up and clenched his fists. There was a fire blazing inside him, and he couldn’t clench his fists tight enough. He pictured Kandra Rene here with him and imagined his hands wrapped around her throat, choking the life out of her. The anger in his heart purred at the thought, but other parts of him were silent—the silence one experienced when being judged—and it made him push away such dark thoughts.

“We need to focus on getting out of here,” Zack said.
 

“You’ll get no arguments from me,” Etanu said. “I saw what might be a way for us to cross over the wall.”

Zack shook his head. “I mean all of us,” he said.

Etanu frowned. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying we need to find a way to free every living thing trapped in this pit. It has to be all of us or none of us,” Zack said.

Etanu regarded Zack for a moment. “The strong will rise,” he said.

Zack’s eyes widened. “I’m not strong. I just had my ass handed to me, and you think I’m strong?”

“Strength comes in many forms. Tell me what you have in mind for escaping this place,” Etanu said.

Zack scanned the area, looking for possible threats. Sitting out in the open around twenty yards away was one of the blind mutants. The creature was alone, rocking back and forth. There was a pile of rags with dried blood in front of him. The creature’s milky white eyes stared off into space, but its hands were working on something in its lap. Zack took a few steps closer, trying to get a better look.

“It has my PDA,” Zack said.

Etanu came to his side.

The blind mutant cocked its head slightly when they spoke but otherwise kept working. Pieces of Zack’s PDA were spread out on a piece of tan cloth that matched the remnant robes the creature wore.

“It’s in pieces,” Zack said, and started to walk toward it.

Etanu grabbed his arm and stopped him. “Wait. Look at the rags at its feet. This is the one that healed you.”

“Yeah, but I need my PDA. I was trying to fix it before Kandra Rene decided to pay me a visit,” Zack said. He tried to move, and Etanu held him back.

“Just wait,” Etanu said.

The blind mutant lifted up one of the components of Zack’s PDA and examined it. The tips of its fingers traced the component. After a moment the mutant placed it back into the PDA’s housing. Next it ripped out the small battery pack.

Zack pulled his arm free. “It’s tearing it apart. If I don’t get it now, I may never be able to fix it.”

Zack walked over and stood in front of the blind mutant. The creature’s fingers were still fiddling with the battery. It ripped the cord that connected it to the pack and threw the actual battery onto the ground.

“Stop,” Zack said, squatting down and picking up the battery pack. It was a tiny thing, no more than an inch square.

Zack saw the spread of the PDA’s components on the mutant’s lap and groaned. He wanted to reach out and snatch it away. He’d never fix it now.

“I’m going to need that stuff back,” Zack said.

The blind mutant ignored him. It grabbed another piece and placed it into the PDA’s housing. The creature repeated this process until all the pieces were put back into place, with the exception of the battery. The blind mutant reached inside its robes, withdrew a small circular crystal, and pushed it into the spot where the battery was supposed to be. The mutant then reconnected the wiring, with one end being absorbed into the crystal. The mutant held the PDA up so the crystal captured the sun’s rays, and it immediately began to glow. It brought the PDA back down, attached the cover, and handed it toward Zack.

Zack reached out and took his PDA. He thumbed the power button and gasped as it powered on. A brief status check flashed on Zack’s internal HUD.
 

::Available power increased by five hundred percent. Personal Digital Assistant ID 11757, primary user Zackary Quick,:: Athena said.

“Yes!” Zack shouted. “It works,” he said more quietly to Etanu.
 

He strapped the PDA to his wrist and ran a few more system checks to be sure it was fully operational.

Zack glanced over at the mutant. “I’m not sure if you can understand me, but thank you,” he said.

The blind mutant stood up and waited.

Zack’s implants came fully back online, and a threat assessment appeared on his HUD. He didn’t need a computer to tell him that the blind mutant was a benign entity.

::Athena, can you reach the ship?:: Zack asked.

::Negative, the ship is out of range,:: the AI answered.

Zack relayed the information to Etanu. Zack tried to speak to the blind mutant again, but he didn’t get a response. He offered the mutant his canister of water, which it accepted and drank.

“I’m not sure he can speak,” Zack said.

Etanu glanced at the mutant. “There is scarring in the throat area.”

Zack tried to see what Etanu was referring to but couldn’t see anything that looked like scarring. Instead of the smooth, pale green skin of the Nershals, the mutant’s skin was much looser, as if it were older.

“What do we do?” Zack asked.

“About him? Nothing. I want to hear more about this plan of yours. I’m assuming with your PDA working you can do more with your implants?” Etanu asked.

“Yes, but we should move and talk at the same time. There’s something we need to check out,” Zack said.

Etanu frowned. “Why do I get the feeling we’re heading back into trouble?”

Zack smiled. “When are we not in trouble?” he said, and got his bearings.

Zack began walking and glanced behind them to see if the blind mutant was going to follow them. The creature was already moving, and it was surprising how quiet it was.

“You do realize what lies in this direction?” Etanu asked.

“The giant mutant,” Zack said, “but I need to check out the area.”

Zack told Etanu about his theory for the placement of the mutants that were highly territorial. It would be extremely dangerous to try and sneak into the area with the giant mutant, but he had to know if there were power lines and a hidden doorway in that area. Now that he had his PDA and access to the AI, he would be able to scan for ways to open those doors, if there were any. And, of course, assuming the giant mutant didn’t mutilate them in the process.

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTEEN

K
AYLAN
SAT
IN
the pilot’s seat on the Athena’s bridge. They couldn’t burn their engines all the way to Nerva; the risk of detection was too great. They did strategic burns and put Sir Isaac Newton in the driver’s seat. They needed to get within shuttle range of Nerva and sneak onto the planet without alerting anyone. Ezerah would help them with the Nershals, but they had to avoid contact with the Xiiginns. The Athena wasn’t equipped to deal with conflict. It was strictly a passenger ship for scientific research. Kaylan supposed that if it came to it, they could try to run if they were detected, but she didn’t place their odds for getting away very high. She was glad Kladomaor hadn’t pursued them and had instead worked to give them the time they needed to find Zack. Despite Ma’jasalax’s assurances that Kladomaor would change his mind when the situation changed, Kaylan hadn’t been sure he would. The Boxan was extremely self-assured, but she supposed Kladomaor’s opinion of her was similar. Kaylan’s lips curved into a smile.