Star Rising: Heartless (14 page)

As the boy spoke, Amalidh stared into his eyes. The Alioth spoke truth, of that he was certain. Though he couldn’t understand why an Alioth would give up one of his own kin so easily.

“You’re probably wondering why I wouldn’t even try to defend him. The truth is that he disrespected me, the great Lastrius. Now he will—”

Amlaidh reeled his fist back and rammed it into Lastrius’s face. He fell over his companion, unconscious and bleeding from his nose. “Idiot. Do you really think I have time to listen to your stories?”

Cursing under his breath, he sprinted back to the Delta. He jumped on board and flicked a button. The engine roared to life. There was a loud crack and then it went dead. Smoke poured from under his seat and into the cockpit. The stench of charred electric wires invaded his nose.

With heavy fits of coughs he jumped off the Delta. “No. No. No. No!” He beat at the ground. He fired bolts of plasma at the nearby trees, sending flocks of birds fleeing as their homes fell. “I’m so close. So close to fulfilling my father’s wish!”

The Delta continued to smoke as he screamed in rage, letting the anger that lived within his heart known to the universe.

Chapter 13

Xalen stared at the red orb, hanging in the darkness of space. Even from afar, he could feel the heat emanating from the planet. Or was it heat? It felt different. He couldn’t place his finger on it.

“Is that the planet that were going into?” he asked, unable to hide the twinge of nervousness that had invaded his voice.

“No…” answered Sensei Wize. Like everyone else in the shuttle, she wore a face of dread. “There is something inside that planet. Something off.”

“It must be the heat,” offered Ifi. “Lagnar is bloody hot. One of the hottest planets in the galaxy if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yes…” agreed Xalen. “That must be it.”

“No,” countered Wize. The plump woman’s face exuded worry. “Lagnar has always consisted of seas of lava and magma. This feeling is something different. It’s…chaotic.”

“Chaotic?” asked one of the Alioths that accompanied them. “Can we fly in there and investigate?”

“No,” said Wize. “The heat around the core of the planet is too great. There is no way any ship could ever penetrate it...” Her brow raised in thought. “Yet, I definitely sense a strong feeling of chaos within the planet, aching to break free. If I didn’t know any better, I would say someone’s trapped in there.”

“Blah…blah…blah,” said Nandi in a high-pitched sneer. “Who cares? We didn’t come here to investigate this…” she waved her hands dramatically, “this supposed chaos. We’re here for Boilye. Are we not?”

Wize shook herself back to attention. “Yes. That is correct. Pilot!” The man from the cockpit arched his head back. “Keep us moving!”

It turned out that they didn’t have too far to go. Boilye was a mere half an hour further.

“There she is,” cheered Wize once the brown planet shaded with green came into view. “Boilye. The little mining planet that is going to save the universe.” The fear from before was long gone.

“Riiiiight…” said Xalen.

No one heard him though. Ifi’s cheers had drowned him out completely.

“Finally!” she burst out joyfully. She stood and twirled in place like some kind of odd pub dancer. She then shook her head and ran her long fingers through her hair. “I get to accompany the great Sensei Wize in a science mission. I will walk in her footsteps.” She bit her fist. “Literally.”

“Yippedeedoo,” mocked Nandi.

Ifi ignored her. Xalen had a feeling that nothing could bother her at this moment.

Xalen took a tentative step toward Nandi, who was staring out the window and down at the planet, which grew in size every passing second. “Hey, Nandi—”

The Mordered girl stuck her nose up in the air and walked away. She sat on the steel bench across from where Xalen sat.

“Ignore her,” said the first of the Alioths. He was skinny with the longest forehead Xalen had ever seen. “She’s not worth it.”

The second Alioth bobbed his head. For some reason that Xalen did not care to know, he had a tag on his jacket where his name had been inscribed in bold letters: Roerkel “Smyuiles is right. That Mordered girl is a traitor. Stick with us, lad.”

Xalen felt a tug at his heart. For a second, he was going to say something back, to defend Nandi, but he stopped before the words came out. Pointless. Useless. Meaningless. That was what his actions amounted to.

No there was no use. Xalen hunkered down in his seat and tried to drown out the hysterical cheers of Wize and Ifi, which reverberated through the small vessel.

ΩΩΩ

The pairs moved from side to side, swaying their arms and hips to the music. Beatrix thought it all very strange. She didn’t have much experience with dancing, but even she could tell that none of the couples were any good at it. Stranger still was the music, there were no voices over the loud drums and sound of high-toned flutes. But the most awkward thing of all had to be the setting. A medium-sized room within the cave couldn’t have been their first choice to hold a dance. Then again, they didn’t appear to have many options.

They were a few lonely men and women sitting on wooden chairs that lined the walls; wanna-be dancers without a partner. The last thing Beatrix wanted to do was dance, but Gavin had instructed her to mingle with the members of the sanction. It was also the ideal situation for her to find out some information on Gavin and Sophic. She knew very little of both of them.

Apparently she wasn’t the only one. No one in the room seemed to know anything about Gavin and Sophic, save their names and the little they’d been told. Which was the same that Beatrix had been told. Gavin was former Alioth who now fought against the injustices of the Bastion. No one seemed to know how he had lost his eye. Even less was known of Sophic, who had joined the Black Sanction ranks less than two cycles ago.

Eager to find out anything, Beatrix continued her investigating. “So you’re saying that no one here even knows what essence Sophic uses in her metaton?” asked Beatrix to the particularly ugly boy she danced with. He had the largest buckteeth protruding out of his closed lips. The brows above his droopy eyes had to be the bushiest she had ever seen.

“That is what I said,” muttered the buck-toothed boy. His gaze travelled to the end of Beatrix’s short skirt before skidding over her blouse. “So … did it hurt when you fell from h…h…heaven?”

“Heaven?” Beatrix looked at him quizzically. “I came in a ship. It was working just fine. It landed with no hiccups. It didn’t fall.”

Buck-tooth boy wiped the sweat that had formed on his brow. Come to think of it, the sweat seemed to be everywhere. His cheeks. Soiling his shirt over his armpits. “I didn’t mean that you actually fell. It was a line. To … you know …”

Beatrix took a step back. “No. I don’t know.”

Opting to find someone else who wasn’t as strange, she searched for a new dancing partner. Which wasn’t as difficult as she initially thought it was going to be. The boys were now lining up, awaiting an opportunity to dance with her. Many of the girls who were now finding themselves without a dancing partner, they looked on, frowns on their lips.

“So you’re saying that neither Gavin or Sophic never talk to anyone? They’re the leaders. Shouldn’t they have some kind of microphone system across the cave where they can communicate with everyone? A way for them to tell everyone the plans of the Black Sanction?”

“Yes, I suppose,” said her new dancing partner. Though, like the boy before him, he seemed more preoccupied with staring at her legs than actually discussing their leaders. “They must not care much. We’re just the new recruits. The more seasoned fighters are in the other camp.”

“Other camp?” asked Beatrix, suddenly very interested. “What other camp?”

“The one with the trained sanction members. We’re just recruits.” He put his hand around her waist, and Beatrix had to resist the urge to gag. He obviously hadn’t showered in days, maybe even weeks. “But how about we worry less about them, and talk more about you and I.”

Beatrix had to admit her new dancing partner was a better looking than the last. Had not been for the layer of grime on his face and the fact that he smelled like a privy, he might actually be a tad charming.

“I have to go,” said Beatrix, removing the boy’s hand.

She stood against the wall, ignoring the boys in the line waiting a turn to dance with her.

Quietly, the questions reeled in her mind. Why didn’t Gavin or Sophic communicate anything to the members of the sanction? What was their plan? Why hadn’t Gavin told her about the other camp? Was he hiding something? Or was Beatrix simply being paranoid? Yes, she mused. I’m just making a big deal out of nothing.

“This is a miracle. Why is the chosen one mingling with us regular folk?”

Beatrix turned to find Jesemiah staring down at her. His nose was crooked, no doubt the result of Sophic breaking it a few months back.

Jesemiah extended his metaton. “Care for a dance?”

“No.” She turned to leave.

“Of course you won’t,” sneered the voice behind her. “I expected as much from the chosen one.”

Beatrix rolled her eyes, sure she was going to regret this. Her curiosity, however, had gotten the better of her.

She took Jesemiah’s hand and he held her close, putting his bony hand on her waist. There was an audible sigh of disappointment from the waiting boys.

“What do you mean by chosen one?” she asked.

“What do you think? Many of us, myself included, have waited for years to have an opportunity to train with Sophic. And you just show up out of nowhere and get to train with her.” His voice rose. “Who do you think you are?”

“Is that it? You’re here to cry about how unfair your life is?”

“I’ve been Gavin’s right hand since he left Alioth. I should have been allowed to train with Sophic. To learn her secrets.” He gritted his teeth. “But you came and ruined everything.”

Beatrix shoved him away. “If they wanted you to train with Sophic, you would have. With or without my arrival. Don’t blame your failures on me.”

The dance had stopped. Their voices had grown so loud that everyone’s eyes were on them.

Jesemiah’s face grew red with anger. Or it may it was embarrassment. Beatrix wasn’t sure.

He got into her face, his wild pupils baring into her. “Mock all you want. When it’s all said and done you’re a nobody. Gavin trusts me and only me. You’ll quickly be forgotten, you’ll see.”

The door to the cave flung open, and in stomped Sophic. “You there. Pack your things. Gavin wants us to look into an group of Alioths on a nearby planet.”

“Me, ma’am?” Jesemiah pointed at himself in disbelief. “I’ll get my things packed at once.”

“Not you,” Sophic sneered. She pointed directly at Beatrix. “You. Get your things ready and meet me in hangar seven in thirty minutes. Don’t keep me waiting.” The woman turned and headed back through the door.

Beatrix hurried after her. As she left the room, she could feel the hateful gaze of Jesemiah staring daggers at her.

Chapter 14

The sensei and the five Alioths in training emerged from the shuttle. They stood in a clearing that was obviously the remnants of a mining camp. Old mining poles still protruded from the ground. The long, rusted metal spikes rose fifty feet to the sky, a testament of the operations that had taken place here. Tangible proof that this deserted land was once full of life as miners worked day and night to strip the planet of its precious resources. Orange work helmets and dirt-encrusted leather gloves littered the ground.

“I take it this was once a mining planet,” said Xalen, pointing out the obvious.

“Not once,” said Wize. She didn’t bother looking up. She was on her knees, digging with her bare hands. From time to time she would bring dirt to her mouth, lick it, frown, and then spit it out. “It still is. This area has obviously been completely drained. From the amount of rust on these tools.” She picked up a decaying shovel. “The miners must be at work in another part of the planet. From the condition of these gloves, I’d say they abandoned this site, two, perhaps three cycles ago.” She stood up with a hop. “Which means we’ll be able to work undisturbed.” Her voice was full of excitement.

Ifi followed her sensei’s example. She hopped, her tail flapping eagerly. “Yes, great sensei. No one bothering us will surely make our progress move all that faster!”

Xalen had no doubt, that with Wize’s and Ifi’s enthusiasm, they would find something, anything and get them back to training on Chas in no time. Wize was a galaxy-renowned scientist after all.

ΩΩΩ

Xalen wasn’t the only one that was growing increasingly frustrated at their inability to yield results. Nandi’s irritation was growing with every passing day. Xalen could see it in her walk, her increasing frowns, even in her speech. The most trivial of things would send her in short fits of anger that always concluded with her stomping away as she cursed under her breath.

“Do you have to sing that ridiculous song every passing second of every minute?” asked Nandi one afternoon. They, along with Ifi, had been assigned to gather rocks inside a particularly musky cave. The heat lingered in the air, making the assignment all that more uncomfortable.

“No,” said Xalen defiantly. Maybe it was the heat, or perhaps the frustration of not getting any results, but he was getting tired of Nandi’s indifference toward him. He’d made one mistake. It wasn’t like he’d cursed her family. Xalen picked up another rock and tossed it in the bucket. He continued to sing. “Little wielder boy resting under the spruce! What are you doing, my little wielder?” Nandi eyed him with a frown. “You took your mother’s love and ran away with it. Oh, my little wielder boy–I”

“Where did you learn that stupid song, anyway?” asked Nandi angrily. “I’ve never heard it. I’m not surprised since it makes no sense.”

“I learned it from a book,” answered Xalen thruthfully.

“I think it’s beatiful,” said Ifi dreamily.

“Whatever!” Knocking the bucket aside with a kick, Nandi stormed out of the cave.

But whatever anger Nandi held toward Xalen, it was nothing compared to her disgust and disdain of Ifi. The girls were polar opposites. One angry at the universe, while other was swamped with joy over the most trivial of things. Xalen felt guilty, but part of him was glad to have Ifi around to divert some of Nandi’s rage. Nandi never actually spoke to Ifi. Usually she showed her displeasure by rolling her eyes or simply walking away when the Krington girl came around. But that all changed on a particularly hot afternoon. Nandi and Xalen had been working all day in a cave, excavating rock samples for Wize. Everytime they would fill a bucket, they would take back up to Wize and Ifi, who were inside a large tent they had set up days before.

Later, the five Alioths sat around a campfire, waiting the return of Wize. The stars were out, and a distant purple moon played peek-a-boo with the dark clouds that loomed overhead.

“What’s taking that woman so long, anyway?” complained Nandi. “She said the village was only a mile away. Shouldn’t she have brought the food back by now?”

“Don’t get cross with her!” retorted Ifi. “She’s been working really hard all day. She’s tired.”

Nandi kicked the ground. A cloud of dust rose from the ground.

“Yes. It must be really tiring to stay inside an air-conditioned tent all day, accomplishing absolutely nothing.”

“Not as bloody hard as the menial job of picking up rocks and tossing them into a bucket. Must burn a lot of brain cells doing that every day.”

“You try sittiing in a sweltering cave all day and delivering samples to people who have no idea what they’re doing.”

“No idea of what she’s doing?” Ifi’s voice was the highest Xalen had ever heard it. “You do realize that breakthroughs require time. I refuse to believe that the Alioths at Zizor are this bloody thick.”

“You can believe whatever you want,” retorted Nandi, her face a mask of indifference. She brought her face beside that of Ifi’s. “I’m going to sleep.”

Ifi shrugged. “See you later, then.”

Xalen had to give it to the Krington girl. She had guts for a science geek.

“I’m sorry if I offended you,” said Ifi to Xalen once Nandi had crawled into her small tent. “I never argue, and I didn’t mean to insult your entire dojo. But being around someone so mental…” she looked toward Nandi’s tent. “Someone that actually has the gall to insult the great Sensei Wize just burns me up.”

“I’m not offended,” said Xalen. “But please don’t think too badly of Nandi. She’s actually very nice.”

Ifi raised an eyebrow. “Nice?”

“I know. I know. It’s hard to believe, but she is. She’s the only one who went out of her way to make me feel welcome at Zizor. She’s also my only friend.”

“She doesn’t seem too nice,” said Ifi over the croaks of nearby desert lizards. “It’s to be expected. Mordereds are a bloody savage race, prone to fits of rage. It’s what their culture is all about.”

“I’m not going to pretend to understand how Mordered culture works, but I do know Nandi. She’s just going through a lot right now. But underneath that hard exterior is a funny girl that I’m proud to call my only Alioth friend.”

Ifi was lost in thought for a moment. Then she smiled. “I’ll take your word for it, then.” She craned her neck. “And you don’t have one Alioth friend. You have two now.”

There was another moment of silence. “Thanks,” muttered Xalen.

As he spoke he thought he saw an eye peering out of a gap in Nandi’s tent. A blink later, and the eye was gone.

ΩΩΩ

Amlaidh’s gaze darted from one Alioth to the other. After his Delta had broken down, he had tried, unsuccesfully, to fix it for three days. Finally, he had given up. He would need to steal an Alioth vessel. Which might be a blessing in disguise. With his Delta, he had been forced to take long, hidden routes. With an Alioth vessel, he wouldn’t have to deal with those problems. He would still have to be careful not to fly close to any Alioth or Bastion patrol ship, but he could navigate official routes without much danger. For now, however, he needed to figure out a way past the two Alioths assigned to night duty at the hangar.

The Alioth hangars were unlike any he’d seen. Up until now, all the hangars he’d been in were indoors. These ones were outdoors. Which was good news; it meant he could easily board the ship and just fly it straight into the sky. But it also meant that the Alioths would have an easy target to shoot down with their blaster cannons. If he was going to make a successful escape, he was going to have to knock the guards out.

Above him the sky continued to drizzle snow. The cement pad where the ships were aligned in rows was completely covered in several inches of snow.

“That one,” said Amlaidh to himself. Right at the center of the hangar was a small blue vessel. It had a sleek, reflective design. Judging from its color and its long, pointed end, Amlaidh was certain it was an Egmont class ship. It was exactly what he needed. Fast enough to get him to his destination quickly, but powerful enough to sustain blaster fire if he was forced into a space fight.

Ever so carefully, Amlaidh tiptoed around the bush where he’d been hiding. Still crouching, he darted behind the closest ship. A red
Omega-
234. The Alioths, who were now standing side by side with their backs to him, did not notice the movement.

“She tried to tell me what to do,” said the Alioth to the right. He had a large, V-shaped back and giant triceps emerging from his shirt. “So I looked her straight in the eyes and told her, ‘Baby, if you want to be my girlfriend, then you’re going to have to accept that I come and go as I please.’”

The second Alioth, a skinny, frail-looking man, uttered a sigh of admiration. “You’re amazing. How can I hope to be a ladies man like you?”

The first Alioth flexed his biceps. “You can never hope to have my level of genetic fortune, but I can give you some tips that even a frail loser like yourself can utilize.”

“Please teach me.”

“First. It’s important that you teach the girl you want to court that you’re the boss. Not her.” His voice was that of absolute certainty. “If she wants you to pick her up at dawn, you make her wait and pick her up an hour later. This way you can exert your dominance. She will be so enthralled by your mascunility, that she’ll have no choice but to fall for you.”

The smaller Alioth nodded his head. “I see. I see.”

“And if for some reason that doesn’t work, then you simply make fun of what she’s wearing. That way she sees that you have a wonderful sense of h—”

Crack!

Amlaidh grabbed their heads and slammed them so hard together, that it had only taken one impact for both of them to crumple to the ground. The muscular Alioth mumbled something under his breath, but a punch to his cranium silenced any further complaints.

Having dipatched of the duo of buffons, Alioth hopped into Egmont. A few buttons switches later and the ship had roared to life. He pulled back on the lever and the it took to the sky.

“I’m coming for you, Alioth Xalen,” said Amlaidh to himself. “There’s nowhere to hide now.”