Star Alliance (21 page)

The blind mutants continued to harass the silent hunters. The giant mutant followed Zack and Etanu over to the wall, and the remaining mutants closed in on the remnants of the supply cache, picking it clean.
 

The area by the wall with the exposed cables looked as it had before, with cables running up into the wall. Zack reached down and felt along the edges with his fingers, seeking a release. He found a small depression and pressed down on it, releasing a large panel, which he and Etanu pulled open. The cables ran to a junction on the wall.

“What do you intend to do?” Etanu asked.

“These are power cables. If I can get one of these canisters to bridge the connection between two of the wires, they’ll overload,” Zack said.

“I see. The problem is, how can we do that without hurting ourselves?” Etanu said.

“Can I borrow your stick?” Zack asked.

Etanu handed Zack the long staff he’d been using to fight off the mutants. Zack raised it up and slammed it down on his leg, intent on snapping the stick in half, but the staff bounced off in a bone-jarring halt. Zack swore. As if he needed another damn bruise. Etanu asked for the staff, took it over to the wall, and pressed his foot against the middle of it. The staff snapped and gave way. Etanu handed the two halves to Zack.
 

“Thanks,” Zack said.

He placed the two halves on the ground so they crossed each other about six inches from the top, then ripped off the sleeves of his shirt. He tied the crossed sections together and left some slack so the metal canister could be easily secured to it. After a few minutes Zack lifted his makeshift contraption off the ground, trying to quell the voices in his head that told him how stupid this idea was. He worked his hands back so they were at the far end of the sticks and glanced at Etanu. The Nershal intently watched what Zack was doing and gave him a single nod.

Zack blew out a breath and steeled himself for what he was about to do. He pushed with all his might, fighting the urge to let go of the sticks in order to keep from being electrocuted, and missed the target completely. Zack took another deep breath and steadied his hands. This time he held the canister as close to the power cables as he could without making contact. With a sudden burst he forced the canister between two of the cables and leaped back, turning away.
 

Silence.
 

Zack opened his eyes and glanced back at the cables. The metal canister was firmly between two of the power cables, but there was no overload. Zack inched back and tentatively touched the ends of the two wooden shafts. He wiggled the sticks a little bit, working the canister in place, but nothing happened.

Zack frowned. “This should have worked,” he said.

Etanu came over and grabbed the ends. The Nershal’s face contorted with effort as he forced the canister to wedge further between the cables. Zack’s eyes widened as the cable connectors began to buckle. A loud pop sounded and both Human and Nershal jumped back, but it wasn’t the cables. They heard it again, followed by more. It sounded like it had come from beyond the walls of the pit. An alarm blared from above, and some of the mutants raced away. The giant mutant winced as if it had been struck and backed away, covering its ears.

Zack frowned and Etanu pulled him away from the wall.

“Xiiginns,” the Nershal hissed.

They heard the whine of the engines from a Nershal battle sled as it crested the pit’s walls and landed by them. Armed Xiiginn soldiers in full armor readied their weapons and hopped off the sled. Zack noticed that not all the mutants retreated. Most stayed and watched the Xiiginns from a short distance away.
 

Zack caught sight of Kandra Rene’s platinum-colored hair as she leaped to the ground. She glanced over at the mutants before coming toward Zack. He glanced at Etanu, pressed his lips together, and raised his hands above his head.

The Xiiginn strode over to him, her pale face set in a grim mask, and there was an edge to her purple eyes. The alien’s tail flicked to the side, and she had a white-knuckled grasp on a hand cannon. There was another loud pop from beyond the walls that sounded as if it were getting closer. Zack shared a look with Etanu, and the Nershal moved in front of Zack as the soldiers came to a halt and pointed their weapons at them. Nearby the giant mutant groaned, holding its head in its hands.

“Stop hurting him,” Zack said.

Kandra Rene spared the briefest of glances at the giant mutant. “The creature should know its place isn’t here. What have you done to make it stay?”

Zack shook his head. “I haven’t done anything.”

Kandra Rene glared at Etanu and raised her weapon. Zack gently urged Etanu aside, and the Nershal grudgingly gave way.

“Tell me about the others who came with you in the cruiser,” Kandra Rene demanded.

“What makes you think I’ll tell you anything?” Zack asked.

Kandra Rene raised her weapon and fired. The ground near Zack’s feet exploded in a flash of light, and a two-foot crater appeared.

Zack felt the Xiiginn push against his mind. The buzzing intensified and pain lanced across his forehead. He cried out, collapsing to his knees.

“Tell me,” Kandra Rene hissed.

Two soldiers grabbed Zack and hauled him to his feet.

“Tell me what I want to know or I will keep you in a state of permanent torture until there is nothing left,” Kandra Rene said.

The agonizing pain in his head eased up but there was ringing in his ears. The soldiers let him fall to the ground. Kandra Rene waved them back and used the tip of her weapon to raise Zack’s head.

“Alright,” Zack gasped. “I’ll tell you.”

A sneering smile twisted Kandra Rene’s face. Loud pops continued to sound from beyond the walls.

“My planet is full of people just like me who will never comply with the likes of you,” Zack said, reversing his seeming compliance with an uncompromising stare of contempt.

Kandra Rene’s jaw tightened and her nostrils flared. The Xiiginn spun, and her tail struck Zack on the face. Zack brought his hand up to his cheek and felt blood trickling down.

“Your kind isn’t as infallible as you believe. Placing your trust in the Boxans was a mistake. They once thought to defy us, too, and we took their empire away from them,” Kandra Rene said.

“Is that why you’re still at war with them?” Zack asked.

Kandra Rene stepped back. “I think you’ve outlived your usefulness. Do you really think anyone will care if I kill you?”

Zack sucked in a breath and ignored the hand cannon she was pointing at him. “I’m never going to tell you anything,” Zack said, and glanced over at the wall. “And I think your time is running out.”

“We have plenty of time. The rebels outside these walls cannot break through them,” Kandra Rene said.

Zack watched as she went over to the giant mutant.

“Kill him,” Kandra Rene said, pointing to Zack.

The giant mutant stopped struggling and turned its maddened eyes toward him. Howling, it took a step toward Zack. Then it brought its hands to its head as if it were fighting some unseen force. Kandra Rene’s face was a mask of concentration. Zack glanced at the soldiers, but they were watching the thrashing mutant.

Seeing his opportunity, Etanu leaped forward and snatched the weapon from Kandra Rene’s hand. The soldiers spun and were poised to attack, but Etanu held Kandra Rene and pointed the gun at the side of her head.

“Tell them to back off,” Etanu said.

Kandra Rene stopped struggling. “You forget your place, Nershal,” she said.

The soldiers stopped closing in.

With Kandra Rene distracted, the pressure in Zack’s head vanished.

Etanu pressed the barrel of the hand cannon to the side of Kandra Rene’s head. “Listen up, Xiiginns. I want you to open these walls and let everyone go.”

Kandra Rene laughed. “These creatures don’t know how to survive outside these walls. They are less than animals.”

“They’re much more than that,” Zack said. He looked at the Xiiginn, and even with a gun to her head, she showed no fear.

Kandra Rene smiled, then heaved forward, using her tail to pull Etanu off balance while knocking the hand cannon from his hand. The Nershal slammed his fist into the Xiiginn’s face, following it with a crushing thump with his elbow. Kandra Rene shook off the blow and kicked out with her leg, but Etanu dodged the strike. The Xiiginn’s tail sliced through the air, and Etanu leaped forward, absorbing the blow to his side. The Xiiginn spun and climbed atop the Nershal, locking her legs around his torso and rapidly landing blows to Etanu’s head. Etanu brought his arms down, holding Kandra Rene’s legs in place, and fell to the ground, pivoting so the Xiiginn bore the brunt of the fall. Escaping their grotesque embrace, Etanu scrambled away and readied himself to face the Xiiginn once more.

Zack watched as the alien combatants traded blows in a whirlwind of precise hits. Each used whatever advantage they could. Zack saw the hand cannon and dove for it. Kandra Rene saw where he was headed and broke off her attack on Etanu, charging toward Zack. He stumbled back and Kandra Rene jumped for him. Just then, a large shadow moved next to Zack, and the giant mutant caught the Xiiginn mid jump in one of its massive hands. It raised the Xiiginn high into the air. Kandra Rene frowned in concentration, and the giant mutant faltered. The Xiiginn thrashed against the giant mutant’s grasp, trying to free herself. The creature roared and slammed the Xiiginn against the wall near the open panel. Kandra Rene was hardly affected, her battle armor absorbing the blow. Zack’s eyes widened in astonishment as the giant mutant drew back its hand to slam her again.
 

Energy bolts seared into the giant mutant’s back. The creature stumbled toward the wall, howling in pain, and dropped Kandra Rene. The surrounding mutants charged forward, and the soldiers turned their attention to the unarmed mutants. They fired their weapons, killing many of the mutants, but still they came. The Xiiginns were cut off from the sled. Zack watched as one of the Xiiginns shouted into his wrist comms for them to open the door in the wall. He glanced at the open panel where the canister was still lodged between the power cables. Etanu followed his gaze and the Nershal’s eyes conveyed understanding. He grabbed Zack and threw him to the ground.

The door that was used to bring the supply caches into the pit started to open. There was an enormous crackle of energy that burned its way up the wall, speeding toward the tower. Zack felt the hot blast of thunderous explosions around them, and then something large landed on top of them. Zack gasped, feeling the breath forced from his lungs. Etanu coughed next to him. Zack struggled to push up and barely managed to gulp another breath of air. The explosions stopped.

“Etanu, are you okay?” Zack asked.

Etanu coughed and nodded.

“Something is on top of us. We need to push together,” Zack said.

When Etanu was ready, Zack counted down, and they pushed together. Zack gritted and strained against the wreckage pinning them to the ground, to no avail, but suddenly there was the sound of groaning metal being bent, and the wreckage was pulled away. He poked his head up and saw the lumbering form of the giant mutant. Zack pulled himself out, and Etanu quickly came to his side. The giant mutant was hunched over, and one of its arms hung loosely by its side. Dark blood flowed from all its wounds, but its gaze softened when it looked at them.

Zack approached the giant mutant. “Thank you,” he said.

Zack didn’t know if the creature could understand him, but he hoped the sentiment somehow bridged the gap between them. The giant was covered with wounds. The glowing points of blue on its forehead grew dimmer, and it collapsed to the ground.
 

Zack swallowed hard. He didn’t know what to do. “There’s got to be a way we can help it.”

Etanu looked at the giant mutant, his eyes reflecting his concern. The creature’s harsh, labored breathing grew softer.
 

“You did help it. You freed it from the Xiiginn, and now it can die in peace. Look,” the Nershal said, and gestured away from them.

Zack’s mouth opened in shock. A large portion of the wall was blown away, and the formerly captive mutants were escaping through the gap. They were finally free of this place. More mutants burst forth from the trees and were bolting toward freedom. Zack turned back to the giant mutant and walked toward its head. The creature watched him with tired eyes. Zack could see traces of Boxan features mixed with those of a Nershal, but there were others, and he had no idea what they were. He reached out and placed his hand on the roughened, greenish skin, and the mutant’s eyes slowly closed. Its labored breathing stopped, and Zack let out the breath he’d been holding, his throat thickening with emotion.

“Come, Zack, we can go now,” Etanu said.

Zack stood up and glared up at the burning tower. Smoke billowed from the structure. He glanced at his forearm where the tracker had been placed.

“We can cut it out of you and then you’ll be safe. The power is out, and the Xiiginns will be unable to transmit the signal that would trigger the device,” Etanu said.
 

“The Nershal is correct. I’m not detecting any comms signals from the tower,” the AI said, its voice coming through the speaker on his PDA.

“I heard sounds of fighting outside the walls. Let’s go. Someone could be here to help us,” Etanu said.

Zack nodded and glared at the tower. “She got away,” he said.

“I don’t know. It all happened so fast. All that matters is that we get out of here,” Etanu said.

Zack followed the Nershal. Stragglers emerged from the pit and dashed through the broken wall. They were among the last to leave. Zack turned around, taking one last look, but the smoke-laden air blocked most of the view. He slowly shook his head in disgust. The horrors of this place would be with him for a long time, but he quickly blocked those thoughts and focused on following Etanu. The Nershal guided him out, and Zack allowed himself to be led. Soon they were away from the walls, and the AI picked up a Nershal comms signal.