The Arrival (11 page)

Memories flooded his mind. His mom pleading for her life. He kicked Greecho’s ribs. The beatings he took all those years. He stomped Greecho’s right knee. The mistreatment of Jells. He did a leg strike at Greecho’s raised hands. Greecho wheezed and lowered his arms briefly.

“Get up!”
said Jake.

Greecho crawled off a bit and used the cargo container to stand up. He turned toward Jake with his arms raised. He swayed as his eyes fluttered.

More memories piled on Jake’s mind. The horror inflicted on Kathy. He struck Greecho’s wrist. The beating Robert received. He struck again. The destruction of everything in his life. He began to increase the blows on Greecho until Greecho fell to the ground with bruised arms.

“Get up!”

Greecho eyed Jake as his breathing staggered. “You win.”

“No! Get up!”
said Jake through gritted teeth.

Kathy laid a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “I think you won.”

Jake’s chest heaved as he bore a gaze through Greecho. “I can’t let him live. He has to die.”

Greecho laughed between bouts of spitting up blood.

“Don’t be like him,” said Kathy.

Jake licked his lips as he glanced at Kathy.

“Please,” said Kathy.

“Complete the cycle, Jake. Kill me and take my place, just like I did. I had no choice. You can’t hide from the Seceltor Empire. They’re everywhere. My death will be the birth of who you really are. Trust me. You’ll make a good slaver, maybe even better than me,” said Greecho.

Jake paused as he focused on Kathy. He then faced Greecho. “No. I choose my own path from now on.”

Kathy slipped her arms around Jake’s waist as he eyed Greecho. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps approaching.

Evaran arrived and looked around. “I apologize. This was not part of the plan.”

“I improvised,” said Jake, wiping blood from his lips.

Evaran scanned Jake with his ring. “I see that you have. Are you okay?”

“Bruised a bit, but I’m okay. The slavers?”

Evaran half smiled. “Enjoying time in my holo room jail for the moment.”

“So what now?”

“Greecho will be secured in my medical lab. Then we head to Greecho’s base,” said Evaran.

Greecho smirked. “So you want to try that again, huh? Idiot. You know all this is pointless, right? You can’t take on the Seceltor Empire.”

Evaran’s head snapped toward Greecho. “They will not know what happened here. The Kreagans will be notified of the outpost letting you through, and you will go to prison. You used the Seceltor slavery system as a cloak to justify your actions. No more.”

Greecho laughed. “Ain’t no prison going to hold me for long.”

Evaran narrowed his eyes. “We will see.”

Thirty minutes later, the Torvatta landed on one of the landing pads at Greecho’s base.

Jake noticed there was another ship parked on one of the landing pads, but he did not recognize it. The front hangar-bay doors were raised, and he could see no activity outside them. He shot a glance at Kathy sitting next to him. She had changed into a new shirt and had leaned back into her chair with a small smile. He had studied Evaran as they flew over. Evaran had given an order to U4, then with a pained look, tapped at his chair console. He did not think Evaran was taking it as well as his demeanor would indicate.

Evaran stood and then gestured toward the entrance. “Let us go.”

They exited the Torvatta and headed toward the open hangar-bay doors. A wind blew through them, causing goose bumps to raise on Jake’s arm. Jake and Kathy jumped as a blur shot in front of them. When it stopped, a man in a black suit with a cape stood before them. His black hair glistened in the sunlight.

Evaran glanced down toward Jake. “I got help this time, like I should have before. My underestimation was foolish.”

Jake nodded. The regret in Evaran’s voice was almost palpable. He could now see other men in black padded armor with weapons inside Greecho’s hangar. Having this the first time around would probably have saved U4. Evaran was powerful, but taking on a well-defended base head on seemed an unusual choice to Jake.

The man in front of them spoke. “Evaran.”

Evaran nodded. “Lord Noskov.”

“The base has been secured. Thank you for the command codes,” said Lord Noskov.

“Per our agreement, the base is yours, as is Greecho’s scout ship. You can pick it up from the coordinates I relayed to you earlier. Do you have the slaver ready to transport?”

Lord Noskov pursed his lips as he paused for a moment. “Not exactly. My men … they got a bit excited.”

“Elaborate.”

Lord Noskov turned and waved at them to follow him. They followed him up to the hangar-bay door, where he pointed at one of Greecho’s men lying lifeless on the ground. Blood had pooled around him, and half his clothes were missing. On the exposed bits of skin were bite marks and chunks of flesh taken out.

It reminded Jake of the aftermath of a wild animal tearing apart helpless prey. He grimaced as he glanced at Kathy.

Lord Noskov pointed at the dead slaver. “I apologize. They rushed in and … blood lust overcame them.”

“You could not contain them?” asked Evaran.

“The slaver killed one of my guards. They declared the rite of vengeance. Even I cannot deny that.”

“It looks like they … were eating him,” said Jake with wide eyes.

Lord Noskov smiled, exposing two sharp fangs. “Just some parts. They mostly just drank. Blood, that is.”

Kathy recoiled behind Jake. “You’re a vampire!”

“That I am. However, you have nothing to fear from me or my men,” said Lord Noskov, dipping his head. He handed Jake a device. “This is a communicator. Should you need my assistance in the future, please use it.” He reached out to hand one to Kathy, who hid behind Jake and slipped an arm around his waist. “Well, same thing applies for you.” He handed it to Jake.

Jake studied the circular communicators. He ran his fingers over the elegant design embedded in one of them and then looked at Evaran.

Evaran pursed his lips. “It is part of our agreement. Use it sparingly.”

Jake felt Kathy wrap her other arm around his waist and peek out over his shoulder. He had read about vampires, but to him, they were no more scary than the Ogeerians. “Will do. Thanks.”

Lord Noskov nodded. “One other thing. Since you are familiar with Seceltor technology, it would be appreciated if you could help us move in and adjust to it. You and your father are welcome to stay here during that time. We can help you relocate afterward and will provide funding so that Robert doesn’t have to work.”

“I’d like that,” said Jake. Living in an environment with technology he was familiar with seemed like a natural transition. Living with Robert for three months was a new experience for him. He had wanted to explore when Robert was at work, but not knowing the culture and norms and having to possibly deal with crews like Shakedown’s kept him inside. It was constricting for him. At least at this base, he had the scout ship to play with and would be able to spend more time with Robert and Kathy, and he could also learn more about Earth culture.

“My men are freeing the slaves below. Your father is there,” said Lord Noskov. “He’s anxious to see you.” He looked at Kathy. “We can take you home whenever you wish.”

Kathy nodded.

Jake took a deep breath. “Okay then.” Kathy stepped out to his side and grabbed his hand and half smiled at him. A creeping warmth spread across his body. He smiled back at her.

“I need to take care of Greecho,” said Evaran. “I will be back to send Greecho’s main ship off to the Kreagan Star Empire with information on the outpost. Lord Noskov, the coordinates of where to send it will be needed.”

Lord Noskov nodded.

Evaran glanced at Jake. “We can also visit Jells afterward if you wish. I suspect he would like to meet Robert and see you again.”

Jake’s eyes misted as he puckered his lips. He recalled the first time meeting Evaran, and his state of mind. To be here, now, with Kathy on his side, Greecho gone, a new relationship with his real dad, and the opportunity to see Jells again hit him like a freight truck. This new situation and perspective was intoxicating. Evaran had helped him find his true self when he did not have to, at the cost of U4. He was finally free and controlled his fate. Going back to how he used to be was not an option. He extended a hand toward Evaran. His voice cracked. “How can I ever repay you?”

Evaran shook Jake’s hand. “Be a Melkins.”

Jake cracked a smile. “On it.”

“What are you going to do with Greecho?” asked Kathy.

Jake thought he saw Evaran’s eyes glow slightly, as if there was an energetic fire being silhouetted against them. He noticed Lord Noskov take a step back.

Evaran clenched his jaw and then licked his lips. “He is going far away.”

An hour later, the Torvatta touched down back at the Bilaxian prison. Evaran walked into the holo room on the Torvatta. It had converted energy into matter in the form of three cells standing next to each other. Each cell had sleek metallic frames with a glass-like material serving as walls. Holes near the top and on the side allowed the three slavers to talk.

Evaran stood in front of them.

“Where’s the others?” asked one of the slavers.

“Greecho is in my medical lab. He is too hurt to be here. Your other crew member is dead. Your days of slaving are over, and you will never again endanger another human from Earth. You are all going to prison.”

“Fine with us. Not like it will hold us for long,” said another slaver with a smirk.

“I can guarantee you that this one will,” said Evaran.

“Better be glad we’re in here. Otherwise we’d stomp another hole in your ass,” said one of the slavers.

One of the slavers laughed. “No, no. Evaran has to ambush us. He remembers what happened when he tried to face us.”

Evaran turned and began to walk away.

Another slaver snorted. “Aww, he’s still upset we broke his robot toy.”

The other slavers laughed.

Evaran stopped for a moment before turning around. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the man. With his extended arm forward at a ninety-degree angle, he shook it and snapped. The cells disappeared.

The slavers looked around at each other for a moment, then turned on Evaran. The first slaver on the right rushed forward and kicked his leg out at Evaran. Evaran caught it. He twisted the man’s ankle, breaking it. The man fell to the ground, crying out in pain. The other two slavers charged Evaran. Evaran stepped to the left and side kicked the leftmost slaver in the chest, sending him flying across the room. The last slaver hesitated, then pushed forward, swinging with wild arms. Evaran caught one of his fists and squeezed. The man fell to the ground, screaming.

Evaran looked around. “Does anyone wish to try again?”

The men shook their heads in unison.

“Good,” said Evaran. He walked to the room’s entrance and signaled to someone outside the room.

After a few moments, three Bilaxian prison guards entered the room. They wheeled in cots with body straps.

Evaran pointed at the slavers. “They will need medical attention.”

The Bilaxian guards looked at the slavers, then at Evaran, with raised eyebrows.

Evaran drew his lips down. “They got loose. I will be outside with Warden Borox. Greecho is in the medical lab and is ready for transport.” He exited the room then the Torvatta.

Warden Borox stood at the end of the Torvatta’s ramp. “So only four this time, huh?”

“Yes. I appreciate you taking them. I know this was unexpected,” said Evaran.

“Not at all.”

The Bilaxian guards began walking out of the Torvatta with Greecho’s men strapped to the cots.

When Greecho passed by them, Evaran extended his hand out causing the guard to stop. He turned his head toward Borox. “This is Greecho. He is a slaver.” He faced Greecho. “So you know, you are in the Andromeda galaxy. These are the Bilaxians, once an enslaved race, by their own kind. They do not take kindly to slavers, as you can imagine. They have agreed to your incarceration on my behalf.”

“What?” said Greecho as he was wheeled forward with but a motion from Evaran. “You can’t leave us here!”