Chapter 82
Into the night
“They seem to be blocking our way Admiral.” The officer said. Furonius looked out the view port and saw Feloid ships directly in his path. They were a combination of Ty and Visiok ships that had sworn loyalty oaths to serve the new Ty Leader, Mundis.
“Have they tried to hail us?” Furonius asked.
“We haven’t received any message from them at all sir.” The officer replied.
“Get me a hailing frequency, I want to talk too whoever is in charge.”
The officer pressed a few buttons. “You can speak at any time sir.”
“This is Admiral Furonius, why is my flight path being blocked?” he asked beginning to get angry.
A few seconds went by with out any response then Mundis’s face appeared on Furonius’s view screen.
“Ah, Furonius! We are so glad to see you are all right. Forgive the blockade. We wanted to make sure it was still you in command of the fleet…you did win your battle didn’t you?” Mundis asked.
“The Visiok fleet surrendered when we made contact. They had received notification from their commanders that we had won and they were too stand down and surrender too us. We haven’t been able to make contact with the Palace until now.” He replied.
“Oh yes…the communications bunker was one of the first casualties.
We have been trying to get it operational but haven’t had any luck. This message is being relayed to you via the Visiok fleet communication grid.” Mundis said smiling happily.
“What are my orders My Lord?” Furonius asked. He still wasn’t sure if Mundis had intended to turn the Leadership position over to him as he said he would.
“You’re orders? I thought I was the jester of the family.” Mundis laughed. “You are to come home at once and join us here at the Palace little brother. We have much to celebrate and discuss. Fate has dealt us a winning hand and we shall not be foolish with it. But this is not the time or place for this discussion. Make all speed for home and bring you’re Visiok friends with you, we’re all one big Clan now just as Lionette had wanted but sadly not how she wanted it to happen. Come home brother as soon as you can.” Mundis smiled and signed off.
“What do you make of that Lurrah?” Furonius asked his second in command.
“It’s hard to read your brother sir…he varies in his moods.” She said carefully.
“You mean when he’s sober? You can talk freely amongst the crewmen on this bridge. They all know the family secret.” He said half jokingly. There wasn’t anyone in the Ty clans that didn’t know about Mundis’s excesses.
“It is possible that he has decided to shape up, at least until you can make it back home. There are others at the Palace loyal to the Clan that would make sure he remained…in command of his faculties until you’re return. I don’t think he is so far gone that he wouldn’t allow them that type of control over him for a short while.” Lurrah said.
“Perhaps you’re right but I have a very bad feeling about this whole thing. I feel there is an unknown factor we are not aware of that has influenced this outcome. It just keeps rolling around in my head that Mundis killing Azak in a close quarters fight doesn’t make any sense at all.” Furonius said looking back at the now empty view screen.
“I know someone else that changed their ways almost overnight. He was an abuser of cat girls and a bully but he changed.” She said.
“I want to believe it but even though I love my brother I’ve never seen anything redeeming in him… no will to excel to greatness.” He replied.
“Then my suggestion is you make all speed back home and find out what the situation is. You can count on the crew of this ship to back any play you wish to make.” Lurrah said.
“I know that, it goes without saying. This crew’s loyalty has never wavered as long as I can remember.” He said smiling at each and every crewmember present.
“Helm, make speed to Ty Prime. We’re going home.” He said.
The helmsman set the controls for home and pushed the igniters forward. They would be there in twelve hours at the current speed.
Furonius sat down in the command chair and relaxed. Lurrah stood next to the chair with her hands behind her and watched the crew as they went about their duties. It was quiet; everything that needed to be said had been said. The future was uncertain as to what Furonius would find when he arrived. Nothing happened in this war that he had anticipated. He stroked his chin and thought. His gut still told him something wasn’t quite right at home but he didn’t dare try to dig up the details over a transmitter signal that could be intercepted. He knew the appearance of family solidarity was of the utmost importance so he would have to play along for a little while longer.
“Look Villem, smoke!” Khayle said pointing up at the ridge.
“What do you think it is?” Villem asked.
“Not sure but we’d better check it out. The Captain is gonna want to know if we got company on this rock.” Khayle said.
Villem looked up the ridge nervously. It could be anyone up there. He nodded back at Khayle affirming his willingness to follow him up the ridge.
Timtam hooked the last wire up to the makeshift generator and started to turn the crank on its side. The gauges jumped to life indicating the generator worked better than she had thought it would.
She looked at the humming pile of bits and pieces she had cobbled together and smiled. Five of the little creatures had been watching with mild interest but when the thing began to hum they all craned their necks to see this new gadget in the camp.
Timtam giggled as she turned the crank slowly and then faster causing the little animals to become more and more interested.
Suddenly they all turned and looked down hill as if on cue. They all ran off into the jungle and disappeared. Timtam stopped cranking the generator and stood up smiling. Hudd was coming back early. Then it hit her. Why would he be coming up the hill and not use the path? She could hear something coming closer and closer as if it were trying to be quiet. It was sneaking up on her. Her hair stood up on her neck and she felt her tail fur bristling. She looked around for the best place to hide and as she turned she saw a big ugly Feloid standing behind her. Before she could move he had grabbed her and lifted her off the ground as she kicked violently trying to free herself.
“Come on out Villem! I got her but she’s kicking like crazy up here!” Khayle yelled. Villem stood and stumbled up the hillside through the underbrush. He finally reached the top and grabbed Timtam by the hair. “Stop your struggling girl you got nowhere to run” Villem yelled.
“Let me go! I’m a free person you can’t treat me this way anymore!” she yelled.
“Find something to tie her up with quick. Then we can show her how we treat free women.” Khayle laughed. Villem stepped inside the pod and began to look around.
“Where’s your man at? We know you’re not alone.” Khayle asked still holding her tightly.
“ I am alone…I’m the only one who survived.” Timtam protested.
“Stop lying! We saw his boot tracks all over the place.” Khayle said.
“ You can’t hurt me…I’m under the protection of the Ty Clan. If you let me go and don’t harm me I’ll tell them to take you with us when we leave.” Timtam had learned how to make up lies quickly as a slave.
“The Ty Clan’s got enough trouble with them Visiok ships right about now. The Ty Clan was invaded.” Khayle replied.
“Here you go Khayle.” Villem came out of the pod carrying a coil of rope from the parachute. He quickly bound Timtam’s feet and hands as Khayle held her tight.
“String her up!” Khayle ordered as he threw part of the rope over a branch above him. Villem let out an evil laugh and pulled on the rope lifting Timtam into the air by her ankles. Timtam grimaced in pain as the rope cut into her flesh.
“Don’t move a muscle!” Hudd yelled as he stepped out into the clearing. He had made it back just in time. Khayle and Villem froze in shock as they saw Hudd pointing his blaster at them. Khayle smiled as he saw Hudd’s hand shaking.
“What’s the matter human, scared?” Khayle asked smiling.
Hudd saw Villem had only been able to hoist Timtam up enough so that her shoulders were still touching the ground. He shot once with a shaky hand missing then shot again hitting him in his shoulder spinning Villem around knocking him to the ground.
Khayle drew his blaster and fired just missing Hudd as he tripped over a branch while moving forward. Khayle took a few steps closer to finish the job. Timtam rolled over on her back and kicked him in the groin with both feet still tied together. Khayle screamed and dropped to his knees. By that time Hudd was able to get to his knees and shot him at point blank range in the chest. Hudd got up and walked over to Villem writhing on the ground holding his shoulder. He hesitated as he pointed his blaster at him.
“I give up… don’t shoot…please have mercy…” Villem begged.
Hudd looked down at Timtam as she struggled to free herself from the ropes.
“We didn’t want any of this you piece of shit! Why can’t you all just leave us alone?” Hudd yelled as he emptied the blaster into Villem. Hudd raced to Timtam’s side and untied her as quickly as he could. She threw her arms around him and cried.
Hudd pushed her away gently but firmly. “There’s no time for that now honey. There’s more of them and after that shoot out I’m guessing they’ll be on their way over here to find out what happened.” Hudd said still a little shaken.
Timtam quickly wiped her eyes and nodded in agreement.
“Get their guns while I take care of the bodies.” Hudd said wiping his brow. Without thinking he went through the dead Feloids pockets and gathered up the contents to be gone over later.
“Do we have to leave here?” Timtam asked.
“We’ll have to find a place to hide until we can figure out how many are left.” He said.
“Then what will we do?” she asked.
“We have to kill them. We’ll kill them all.” Hudd said.
Lionette relaxed in the large tub. The water was hot, the way she liked it. She lay back and sighed happily as the Mothers Milk took effect. The cat girl that had been sent to bathe her had also been given the task of giving her an injection of the drug.
Lionette watched as the girl put away the needle and other accessories used for such things.
“Thank you.” Lionette whispered as she slipped down further into the steamy water. The cat girl didn’t respond. She new she hadn’t done anything more than to hasten Lionette’s death.
Lionette didn’t care about her survival anymore. She felt good again. She was relaxed and yet hungry for pleasure. The cat girl turned back towards her and knelt down by the side of the tub.
”Lean forward so I may wash your hair please.” She said.
Lionette did as asked and pulled her hair up on top of her head so the girl could pour warm water over it. The warm water felt good as it made its way through her hair and down her face. It felt as though all the degradations of the beast men were being washed away.
“What’s your name?” Lionette asked the girl.
“I am called Bug.” She answered quietly. “I’m called that so I remember my place.”
“You can call me Lionette if you wish.” Lionette said being generous.
“No ma’am, I will only speak to you if I am ordered to, it’s how things work here.” She said working the soap into Lionette’s thick full hair.
“You must be careful when speaking with him. He has a murderous temper.” The girl whispered into Lionette’s ear.
The cat girl poured hot water over Lionette’s hair rinsing the soap out and into the tub. She had Lionette stand as she continued to wash her head to toe. Lionette found it hard to stand up strait because of the drug and had to steady herself against the wall while the girl finished.
After she was done with the bath Lionette was dried and had her hair combed as the girl made her ready to be presented to the Ghost. She was given the red robe and lead back downstairs but to a different room where she was told to sit on a large sofa and wait.
After a few minutes the Ghost came into the room. He was now wearing a longer robe made of red velvet with a black fur collar.
“Do you feel better now?” He asked as he walked towards an overstuffed chair across from her.
She stretched her arms over her head arching her back. “Oh yes, much better. A hot bath is just what I needed.” She replied.
The Mothers Milk was dulling her senses more and more with each dose. Lionette seemed as though her kidnapping and repeated molestations meant nothing to her. As long as the drug was in her system nothing else mattered. The drug had been designed to stimulate the pleasure sensors in the body causing all stimuli to feel good even pain stimulated a pleasurable response.
“I was lucky to have what you needed in stock.” He said.
“I had the opportunity to check out your story while you bathed. I was glad to find out everything you told me was the truth. If you had lied to me I would have had your throat cut and your body given to those troglodytes outside the walls.” He smiled.
“I have no doubt that you too are telling the truth.” She replied.
“It’s time I explained your situation to you. As you know we are an engineered race, quiet artificial. During the time when Feloid scientists attempted to make the warrior class known as the Pink Heads they also had many other…experiments on the drawing board. Once the first Pink Heads had been developed successfully the other prototypes were abandoned here on the planet where the laboratories were. We were left to fend for ourselves and to see how we did on our own. During the Pink Head uprising this planet was removed from the star charts by the High Counsel so the Pink Heads couldn’t find it. Eventually in all the fighting we were forgotten about and lost to become only a legend.” He said leaning forward to make sure she was listening.
“Two thousand years past and now on this planet are the surviving prototypes. The first is the one you had the pleasure of meeting outside the walls. They were bred as soldiers, huge and aggressive brutes but too dull witted to serve in a modern force. The second is my kind. We are the opposite end of the chart.” He said as he looked at the fireplace. He closed his eyes and the wood in the fireplace began to burn slowly and then in a huge blaze.
Lionette immediately thought of Pep’s powers but didn’t say anything.
“As you see we don’t have any problem controlling the brutes outside with powers like these.” He said smiling confidently.
“That is amazing…” Lionette hesitated. “Forgive me but I don’t know how you want me to address you.”
“Light of the sky.” He said. “It may seem an odd name to you but here it is easily accepted. I am a God to these Beastmen and cat girls. They don’t know anything else.”
“Where are the others of your kind?” Lionette asked.
“Each of us controls a sector of the planet. Our type has no females so we use cat girls for breeding. As you well know Feloids of mixed type unions cannot produce a hybrid Feloid. The child is either a type like the mother or the father. Males raise the males bred to us. All females are given back to the mothers to raise until old enough to be used for other duties.
“Is that what I am to be used for?” Lionette asked nervously.
“Perhaps, but first I must find out more about your value to the outside world, after all you are still a Princess of the Ty Clan. They may pay to get you back…or maybe they’ll pay to have you disappear completely.” He said with an evil smile.
“We lack many modern conveniences so selling you to the right person might buy us these things. Until then you will be used as I see fit and you will cooperate or your cat girl friend will die and you will no longer be given any Mothers Milk.” He said calmly.
Light of the sky knew he held all the cards and he wanted Lionette to realize she had no choice but to obey.
“I won’t give you any trouble, I promise.” She said.
“Of course you won’t. Of that I have no doubt.” He said.
Mykala was awakened by the sudden jolt of the ship landing. Something was wrong; they shouldn’t be on Coruscant yet. They journey should have taken several days more. The cargo bay door opened and in walked Stella.
“We were forced to stop here to re-supply so don’t think your off the hook Mykala.” Stella said bending over and looking in the cage at Mykala.
“Great, any chance I can get a shower? I’m beginning to smell pretty rough.” Mykala said.
“I could bring one of the crew in and he could use the fire hose if you wish.” Stella replied.
“I’ll pass but thanks for the offer.” Mykala said as she sat back in her cage and crossed her arms. She knew the cage was equipped with a stasis field to inhibit her force abilities. As long as she was inside she was no risk to anyone.
“What do you need to resupply with so badly”? Couldn’t you just have hailed another Imperial ship for what you need?” Mykala was fishing for clues.
“The water tanks for the cooling units lost a hose coupling. There’s no water in the tanks so we stopped here on Cestiss Mortis. There’s almost nothing here at all but water, all it does here is rain. You should be glad you don’t have to go outside.” Stella smiled.
The cargo bay door opened and in stepped a storm trooper. Stella went over and he said something to her that seemed to get her upset. Stella turned and looked at Mykala then without another word left with the storm trooper closing the door behind her.
Mykala looked up and saw a screw seemingly unscrew itself from an air vent in the ceiling, then another and another until they all had been removed. The air vent swung down slowly followed by a humanoid figure dressed in black. Mykala noticed at once it was a Feloid by its tail. She noticed he was taller than her as he got closer and he seemed familiar in some way.
“Don’t touch the bars, I have to short out the stasis field before I can open the door to the cage.” He said.
Mykala leaned forward and covered her eyes as he shorted out the circuitry. Without hesitation Mykala sprung from the cage and pulled down the scarf that covered her saviors face.
“Destriss!” she exclaimed as quietly as she could. Destriss was Araya’s younger brother that had been charged with watching over Mykala by Lionette.
“How did you get here?” she whispered. She almost couldn’t believe it was actually him.
“I’ve never stopped watching you Mykala. I’ve just gotten better at not letting you see me.” He smiled very pleased with himself.
“Come on, we don’t have much time. We need to get off the ship while the storm is still raging.” He said as he took her by the arm and pulled her between the stacks of boxes.
“I saw them knock you out back on that Hutt world so I made my way too the space port and gambled they’d take you back to Coruscant. Luckily there was only one Imperial ship getting ready to leave so I snuck on board and waited. I over heard one of the crew saying they were going to be near Cestiss Mortis, the rain planet. I knew I had to stop the ship before it got to Coruscant so I pried loose the couplings and let all the water drain out, they would have to stop and get more water so here we are.” He said.
“Not a bad plan Destriss, I’m impressed.” Mykala said squeezing his hand.
“Okay this is where it gets tricky. Once I open this hatch the alarm will go off. I don’t know where we landed so be ready for anything and try not to get separated from each other.” He said.
“Stop talking and open the door.” She said grinning.
As soon as the door opened the alarm went off just as expected. Destriss leapt down to the ground and motioned Mykala to follow him. The wind and rain were coming down hard in the dark wet night. She jumped down easily letting Destriss steady her as she landed. Being cooped up in that cage had caused her muscles to cramp up so she wasn’t at the top of her game.
Lightening flashed across the sky followed by deafening thunder. She had to shield her eyes from the deluge of water and wind so she could see.
“Where to now?” she asked Destriss.
“Over there, towards that row of buildings.” He said pointing at row of concrete black houses. They ran as fast as they could through the rain and finally made it to a fairly dry area that was partially covered between two of the buildings.
“How did you plan to get off this planet? As soon as they realize I’m gone they’ll shut down the whole place. Every ship will be searched.” Mykala asked.
“I only have to get you back.” He said drawing his pistol. “I’m going to send you to safety like my brother did.” He said referring to the time his brother had killed her thus teleporting her back to safety. “This is a one way trip for me Mykala.” He said smiling sadly.
Mykala grabbed the pistol and pointed it away.
“No! Not again! I won’t have anyone else die for me. If you sacrifice yourself for me I’ll turn myself in to the Empire because then I’ll know just how evil this ability of mine is. If it causes good people to die then it must be an evil thing.” She said angrily.
“Freeze!” yelled the storm trooper. They hadn’t noticed they had been followed. “Put down the weapon or die.”
If you have enjoyed these stories please check out my first all original book series at Amazon.com. The title is Beyond the Crystal Heaven.
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Last Updated (Tuesday, 10 September 2013 02:51)